Super Mario Advance

In 2001, Super Mario Bros. 2 received another enhanced remake as part of Super Mario Advance (also containing a remake of Mario Bros). Super Mario Advance was developed by Nintendo R&D2, and represented the first Mario title for the Game Boy Advance.

The Super Mario Advance version of SMB2 includes several new features such as the addition of the new enemy, Robirdo (a robotic Birdo acting as the boss of world three), the addition of the Yoshi Challenge (in which players may revisit stages to search for Yoshi eggs), and an all-new point-scoring system (a first for the game). Graphical and audio enhancements were also added in the form of enlarged sprites, multiple hit combos, digital voice acting, and such minor stylistic and aesthetic changes as an altered default health-meter level, boss-order, backgrounds, the size of hearts, Princess Toadstool being renamed to the now-standard "Princess Peach," and the inclusion of a chime to announce starmen, were also added. The game also included a full version of the original Mario Bros. arcade game from 1983, with updated audiovisuals and Mushroom Kingdom-based enemies replacing the generic creatures of the original (Spinys taking the place of Shellcreepers, for example); this game would be included in all three subsequent Super Mario Advance titles, including Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.

Super Mario Advance was a best-selling launch game, and became part of the GBA's Player's Choice lineup as one of the console's first three Player's Choice games (along with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Super Mario Advance 3).

Version Differences
While Super Mario All-Stars contained ports that almost identically corresponded to their NES counterparts with the only real change being an audio and graphical upgrade, Super Mario Advance contains numerous differences from its previous incarnations. Here are the primary differences from Super Mario Advance and the NES version.


 * In this version, it is possible to pick up Birdo's bow and carry it around. The player could either put it back on Birdo's head by throwing it at her, or simply throw it away. However, this will not work on Pink Birdos or Robirdo.
 * Graphics for the GBA version are based on Super Mario All-Stars, and between both versions, there are slight changes in the GBA version, such as the spot pattern on Toad's head.
 * All main bosses and the four playable characters now have voices. Both the Japanese and the English versions feature nearly identical English voice-overs. (with the exception of the change from "Super Mario USA" to "Super Mario 2")
 * Two bosses have been changed. In the NES version, Mouser appears at the end of 1-3, and 3-3. Triclyde makes two appearances, one at the end of 2-3, and 6-3. In SMA, a new boss named Robirdo has replaced Mouser as the boss of 3-3. Robirdo is essentially a giant mechanical Birdo that rolls on wheels, shoots larger eggs, and can shake the ground. Mouser replaces the 6-3 Tryclyde. Birdo is now clearly female, with a feminine voice and a bow on her head.
 * The character selection screen is now different. In the NES version, the player would select the four players (Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad) in a single row; now whichever one he selects is center focus, with the characters now being chosen like a revolving door. Also, the four characters now have star ratings (ratings are based on a one to five scale) for three categories: Power, Speed, and Jump. Note that none of the characters have stats with a one-star rating.
 * The very first opening segment of 1-1 has been changed to include a large Shyguy and a platform that springs when a player steps on it.
 * There are now what can be best described as super enemies and vegetables. These enemies and vegetables are giant-sized in compared to the rest of the game’s sprites. The enemies always give off a heart when thrown or killed.
 * In the original, a player could gain a floating heart that would restore a hit point of health by wiping out several enemies at once with a single vegetable. In the GBA version, they are much more plentiful, and can even be pulled up in vegetable patches (heart radishes) and can be seen floating freely in the air.
 * The timing has been changed on the bonus chance game to win extra lives. The player can also bet more than one coin at a time and has the 7 icon which was present in the SNES version but not the NES.
 * There are now three mushrooms per level, which gives the player five hit points rather than four.
 * There are several new vases spread throughout the game that lead to new, single room screens not present in the original.
 * Points are awarded for every enemy wiped out, root upturned or coins collected.
 * The inside of a vase looks completely different and has new music.
 * Koopa shells are larger (and more pixelated). When they hit a wall, they bounce back now instead of disappearing. Also, when they defeat enemies, hearts always appear. Finally, shells can now hurt the player.
 * There are several places where additional enemies have been added to individual levels.
 * In the NES version, a player is bound to whichever character he choses to complete the level until that level is complete. In All-Stars, this was changed so when a player dies, he may select another character to try to complete the level with. This change was retained for the GBA version as well.
 * When a player dies and restarts a level, he starts fully small, and must gain heart pieces to grow in stature. In the NES/SNES version, when the player restarts a level after dying, his/her hit points are fully present.
 * Five red Ace Coins have been added to each level, and when all five are obtained the player gets a 1-UP and a red star appears on the level map indicating that all coins were collected for that level.
 * Some 1-Ups’ locations have been changed, and some include a bubble which takes three strikes by either vegetables or enemies to make the 1-ups accessible. Also, 1-Ups are more plentiful.
 * After finishing Super Mario Bros. 2, a new mode called the Yoshi Challenge becomes available, where the goal is to collect two Yoshi eggs per level. There is also one Mushroom in each level that gives the player an extra hit point. Yoshi's eggs sometimes replace mushrooms in Subspace.
 * A save system has been added.
 * There is now a special item that looks like a basket. It can be found when pulling up certain mushroom blocks or blowing up some dirt blocks. This basket releases one of three items- a heart, a star, or a bomb. These can be useful if timed to get the desired item.
 * The Japanese version lists the cast exactly the same as the English version as in previous incarnations, except Princess is Peach, and Toad is Kinopio. The rest of the names are identical to the other releases, except Shyguy is now properly Shy Guy, and Sub Con is now Subcon. Ostro and Birdo's names have also been fixed. In the English release, Kinopio is restored to Toad, and a few additional touchups were done to this version's names, including changing Hoopstar to Hoopster, and Clawglip to Clawgrip (due to the interchangeable nature of the letters "l" and "r" in Japanese).
 * Like most other Mario games, now the enemies do not appear after being killed until the player exits and reenters the playing area, while they would reappear regardless after being killed in previous versions of the game.
 * Palette changes for some enemies: Hoopsters are yellow instead of red, Pidgets are purple instead of blue, their carpets are red instead of yellow, and Autobombs are grey instead of blue.
 * There are many new ways to destroy enemies, such as giant POW blocks and new rolling balls found only in vases. These balls are surrounded by numerous sparks and produce hearts for each one killed.
 * At the end of World 5-3, Clawgrip was seen as a crab baddie from Mario Bros and grows to super size.