Super Mario Bros. 2/Gameplay

Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and mushroom retainer Toad are getting deeply involved in a strange dream world where they must hop, jump, run and find vegetables.

Starting the game
Turn on the game, press at the title screen to reach the character selection screen. Use or  to select a character, then press  to confirm the selection.

In Super Mario Advance, you will have two options: play the game, or choose settings. If you choose to play the game, you will have two more choices: Super Mario Bros. 2, or Mario Bros.

If you choose Super Mario Bros. 2, it will show the three save slots for the game. Choose a slot to begin playing from where you last left off. If it is a new slot, it will show "New". If it is a saved game, it will show the world that you last saved on (e.g. "4-3").

HUD
The only information that is visible while you are running around is your HP. This is displayed as diamonds on the left side of the screen (in, these are hearts). You start the game with two HP, and you can acquire more by getting mushrooms. If you get hit by something and take damage, your bottom-most HP will turn white/appear empty. If you get reduced to a single HP, your character's height will be halved, as in the screenshot to the left.

When the last, top diamond turns white, you will die and have to restart the level from the beginning.

Lives
You start the game with three lives. You lose a life if your HP reaches zero or you fall in a hole/waterfall. You can get more lives by finding 1-Up mushrooms or continuing after dying three times.

Death
If you happen to die, and have an extra life, you will start at the beginning of the area that you were in when you died (e.g. the boss room).

If you run out of extra lives, you will be taken to the continue screen where you can either continue or end the game. If you continue, you will start at the beginning of the world you were in (e.g. if you continued at 4-3, you will start at 4-1). After continuing, the amount of lives you have will be reset to three.

Pause menu
If, during gameplay, you press, the pause menu will appear. In the original game, this will show you what world you are on and how many extra lives you have left.

Note that the background music will change when you are on this screen, leaving just the bass line playing.

Controls
To make it through the seven worlds of Sub-con, you must learn a lot of special techniques. Control the movements of your character by using a combination of and  as well as the direction pad. If you want to jump, simply use. To increase your speed, hold for the "B button run." It just takes a bit of practice, and you'll have these moves down. Additional techniques are explained below.

Straight jump
While you are standing still, press. You'll jump up and down, but not be very high.

→

Running jump
Jump while you are moving to the left or to the right and you will jump higher than when you stand in one spot. You can leap over enemies and obstacles. →

Power jump
To jump extra high, hold until your character is flashing. Then press to make the highest jump yet. You will jump nearly one and a half times higher than a regular jump. →

Guided jump
While you up in the air, you can press or  to steer or guide your character through the air. Use this to successfully land on top of moving enemies.

B button run
Hold down while you press  or  to run faster than usual, just like in the original Super Mario Bros.

Squat
Throughout the crazy dream world of Sub-con, you'll find that you'll want to duck out of danger. Hold down to squat under enemy attacks. Run and duck on ice to slide. You can also use this method to enter jars.

Climb
Press when standing in front of a vine, a chain, or a ladder to begin climbing up. Press to climb down, or press  to jump off.

When you're climbing vines, it is possible to jump on top of enemies and use them to get a lift up and down the vine. Hoever, if you press while standing on them, you will initiate the act of lifting them, and begin to fall. →

Open doors
Press when standing in front of an unlocked door to open it and head inside. →

If the door happens to be locked, then you will be unable to open it unless you happen to be carrying a key when you stand in front of the door and press. →

Digging
Press repeatedly to dig into the soft sand and move downward. If they're present, grab Cherries along the way.

Lifting and throwing
Mario and his friends may be in a strange land, but they are quick to find lots of handy survival tactics. This is one strong group, and they are at their toughest when you use. With the B button, they can pull up the grass, and even lift enemies off the ground!

Plucking vegetables
Press while standing in front of waving grass to pluck the vegetable out of the ground. →

Lift items
Press while standing on top of an item that you would like to pick up, in order to lift it. This works on items such as Mushroom Blocks or POW Blocks. → →

Drop items
While holding an item over your head, press to drop the item in direction that your character is currently facing. Note that you will only drop bombs and mushroom blocks at your feet. Other items will be dropped a short distance from you. →   →

Toss items
While holding an item over your head, hold or  and press  to toss the item in the desired direction. Note that you can throw bombs and mushroom blocks farther than other items. →   →

Toss enemies
The same rules apply when you are standing on top of an enemy. Press to lift the enemy up over your head, and then hold  or  and press  to throw the enemy in a particular direction. Try throwing one enemy into another to defeat two of them at a time. → →

Using bombs
In various parts of certain stages, you will find weakened walls which can be destroyed with a bomb. To create a hole, drop a bomb near the wall before it explodes, then run away to safety. Your character will suffer damage if he or she is caught in the blast.

Using potions
Potions have a very special purpose in the world of Sub-con. They provide you with access to sub-space. In sub-space, you might find hidden mushrooms which can power up your character, and you can plucks coins from the ground, but only for the first two visits to sub-space in any particular stage. To visit sub-space, you must first pluck a potion out of the ground. Then press to drop it at your feet. A door will appear. Step inside the door by pressing. In sub-space, the screen will not scroll, so it is important to give careful consideration to where you drop the potion. → →  →  →

Defeat your enemies
The World of Dreams consists of seven worlds. Each worlds has three areas, except for the 7th which has two. All areas have a Mini-Boss at the end. When you defeat it, you'll finish the area and you will finish each world when you defeat the Mini-Boss of the last area. Here are some of the various ways you can conquer your enemies:
 * Vegetables: Fight your enemies with vegetables. Simply pull them up from the ground and throw them at the bad guys.
 * Lift enemies: You can defeat the enemies by throwing them. First jump on top of the enemy character and lift him up with ease.
 * Slide and hit: You should try to defeat as many enemies as possible while you are in hot pursuit of the Turtle Shell.
 * Explode!: Bombs can be found to destroy walls and attack the enemy. Learn the timing of the bomb explosion.
 * Earthquakes: The most powerful weapon in your Sub-con arsenal is the POW Block which blasts away the enemy force with its power!

exclusive oddities
has some strange new additions. For one, there are hidden, spring-like carrot creatures that live underneath some hill platforms. If you stand on one of these platforms, the carrot will grow to its full size, pushing the platform up high enough for you to help reach other platforms or nearby items. You can walk past it without taking damage, or stand on the platform above its head to be lifted into the air.

Beating a level
Many levels have a boss you have to defeat before clearing the level. After beating a boss, or if there is no boss, a crystal orb will be found. Grab the orb to open the hawkmouth, then walk through the open hawkmouth.

After going through a hawkmouth you will either reach the slot machine mini-game, or a boss. If you beat the boss (you will get the "Course Clear!" message in ) then it will go to the slot machine mini-game.



Mini-game: bonus chance slot machine
After completing a level you will be rewarded with the ability to play a slot machine. The goal here is to match three images. If you do, you will be given an extra life.

You can play once for each coin you acquired in that level. If you picked up no coins, you will see "NO BONUS".