Super Mario Advance

"Even though I hate Mario 2, I think Mario Advance is a good game."

Out of all the Mario games in existance, the one I loathe the most is Super Mario Bros. 2 (or Super Mario USA to Japanese players). I keep saying to myself that this is NOT true Mario (and it isn't). Why the first Mario game for GBA had to be this, I'll never know. It does include the old Mario Bros. game for single and multiplayer games, so that pretty much evens out an abysmal package in my eyes.

STORY: If you don't know the story by now, it doesn't really matter. Mario and his friends must save a dream world from the veggie-hating Wart. Don't expect to find any goombas, koopas, fire flowers, or any other traditional Mario aspect. In terms of storyline, it's not that great, but Mario games aren't exactly known for amazing stories anyway, so this flaw is irrelevant. As far as the second game goes (Mario Bros. Classic), there is no story. 7/10

GRAPHICS: To say the graphics are similar to the Mario All-Stars port of SMB2 is an understatement. There are some decent graphical improvements that can be found throughout the game. The character-select screen and level intermission screens are also well-done and are nicer than the old ugly player select screen of the original. 7/10

SOUND: The sounds are nicely ported from the SNES to the GBA. The only annoyance are the added voices. Maybe you'll get used to it over time, but I'm going to stick with Mario, but the other characters' voices are painfully annoying. 7/10

GAMEPLAY: As I said, Mario 2 is the one game I hate the most out of all the Marios. That said, SMA plays the same way as its originator, but some new stuff (bigger enemies and a new boss) has been added. I haven't tried the Mario Bros. game, so I can't comment on that one. 7/10

CHALLENGE: The game has a moderate challenge. It's easy early on and gets harder as you progress through the worlds, the way most games should be. Mario 2 veterans shouldn't have too much trouble getting through this game and newbies will have a good challenge. 8/10

REPLAY VALUE: In my case, one time is enough. However, SMA has some replay value. There are four characters that you would want to play the whole thing with. Then there's the extra Yoshi Challenge and stuff you can uncover later, so there is some replay in this game. 7/10

OVERALL: Even though I hate Mario 2, I seem to enjoy Mario Advanced... well, not really, but it made want to play the game even though I hate Mario 2. If you want a good game, this one should qualify. You want a good 2D Mario, go with Mario World, but give this one a try(I can't believe I'm saying this). And even if you've played Mario 2, this version is different enough to warrant a try. 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/12/02, Updated 03/12/02