If you grew up in the eighties, you probably remember the feeling of popping a brand-new Nintendo cartridge into your NES and expecting a fun, colorful adventure. Most of the time, that's exactly what you got. But if you were a kid in Japan in 1986, or if you were a frustrated American teenager playing the Super Mario All-Stars collection years later, you encountered something else entirely. You encountered Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. It wasn't just a sequel. It was a slap in the face. Honestly, it's one of the few games from that era that feels like the developers were actively trying to troll the player.
Nintendo of America looked at this game and basically said, "No thanks." They thought it was too hard. They thought it looked too much like the first game. They were probably right, too. Instead of a direct port, they gave us a completely different game (the one with the vegetable throwing) and rebranded it as Super Mario Bros. 2. But the original Japanese sequel, known there simply as Super Mario Bros. 2, eventually made its way West as Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. It is a weird, punishing, and fascinating piece of gaming history that still manages to make modern players throw their controllers in a fit of rage.
What Actually Happened with the Japanese Sequel?
The story of how Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels came to be is a mix of corporate pragmatism and Shigeru Miyamoto’s desire to challenge the veterans. By 1986, the original Super Mario Bros. was a global phenomenon. People had mastered the physics. They knew where the hidden blocks were. They knew the shortcuts. Nintendo’s R&D4 team, which included Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka, didn't want to reinvent the wheel just yet. They wanted to provide more content for the "pro" players.
They used the same engine. The same sprites. The same music by Koji Kondo. To the untrained eye, it looked identical to the first game. But the level design was a different beast entirely. It was designed for the Famicom Disk System, an add-on that allowed for more data storage and the ability to save progress. This tech allowed for longer games and more complex mechanics, which the team used to ramp up the difficulty to almost sadistic levels.
Howard Lincoln and the team at Nintendo of America weren't impressed. When the game was evaluated for a US release, the consensus was that it was "undeservedly difficult." They feared that if American kids—who were just starting their love affair with the NES—played a game that was this punishing, they might give up on Mario altogether. So, they looked at a different game Nintendo had developed called Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, swapped the characters for Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad, and called it a day. That’s why the "real" sequel stayed in Japan for years.
The Poison Mushroom and Other Dirty Tricks
The most famous—or infamous—addition in Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels is the Poison Mushroom. In the first game, mushrooms were always good. They were your friends. You saw a mushroom, you grabbed it. In The Lost Levels, the developers turned that trust against you. The Poison Mushroom looks almost exactly like a regular Power-Up, but with slightly darker spots and a different hue depending on the version. Touch it, and you shrink or die. It was a psychological move. It forced you to unlearn everything the first game taught you.
💡 You might also like: Thinking game streaming: Why watching people solve puzzles is actually taking over Twitch
Then there are the Warp Zones. In the original game, Warp Zones were a reward. They let you skip ahead. In this game? Some Warp Zones actually send you backward. Imagine fighting your way through World 3, finding a secret pipe, and being sent back to World 1. It’s brutal. It’s mean-spirited. And it’s exactly why the game has such a legendary reputation.
The wind is another factor. Random gusts of wind will suddenly push Mario across the screen, often while you’re trying to make a pixel-perfect jump between two tiny platforms. You have to use the wind to gain momentum for jumps that would otherwise be impossible. It adds a layer of physics-based frustration that simply wasn't present in the first outing.
Luigi Finally Finds His Identity
Before Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels, Luigi was just a palette swap. He was Mario in green clothes. This game changed that. For the first time, the two brothers had different attributes. Mario was the "standard" control scheme—solid, predictable, easy to stop. Luigi, however, was given a much higher jump but significantly less friction. He skidded around like he was on ice.
- Mario: Better for precision platforming and tight spaces.
- Luigi: Essential for reaching high platforms or clearing massive gaps, but a nightmare to control near edges.
This distinction became a staple of the series. If you play Super Mario 3D World or Super Mario Run today, Luigi still has that high-jump-low-friction feel. It all started here because the level designers realized they needed different "tools" to navigate the absurdly difficult terrain they were building.
Hidden Worlds and the "Perfect" Run
You can't just beat the game and call it a day. If you want to see everything Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels has to offer, you have to be perfect. If you manage to beat the game eight times in a row on the original Famicom version, or if you beat it without using any Warp Zones in the All-Stars version, you unlock World 9. World 9 is a "fantasy" world where the underwater physics apply to the land, and the visuals get even weirder.
📖 Related: Why 4 in a row online 2 player Games Still Hook Us After 50 Years
Beyond World 9, there are Worlds A, B, C, and D. These are the true test of a Mario master. They feature some of the most complex layouts in 8-bit history, including jumps that require you to bounce off a Koopa Paratroopa in mid-air to reach a platform that isn't even on the screen yet. It’s the kind of stuff you see in modern "Kaizo" Mario ROM hacks, but this was official Nintendo content from the mid-eighties.
Why It Still Matters in 2026
We live in an era where "masocore" games like Dark Souls, Elden Ring, and Celeste are mainstream. Players crave difficulty. They want to be challenged. In that context, Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels was decades ahead of its time. It was the first "Hard Mode" for a major franchise.
It also represents a turning point in how Nintendo handled localization. The decision to skip this game in the US led to the creation of two distinct Mario timelines for a while. It forced Nintendo to think about their audience's skill levels and expectations. Eventually, when the game was released in the West via the Super Mario All-Stars SNES collection in 1993, it was a massive hit. People were finally ready for it. They wanted to see the "forbidden" Mario game.
Technical Limitations vs. Creative Sadism
It's easy to blame the difficulty on the tech, but that's not quite right. The Famicom Disk System gave them more room, sure, but the difficulty was a choice. The designers were bored. They wanted to see how far they could push the players. They introduced "Super Springs" that launch you so high you disappear from the screen for several seconds. They put Piranha Plants in pipes that don't care if you're standing right next to them—they’ll bite you anyway.
The game also features "invisible" blocks that are placed exactly where you would naturally jump. You're mid-air, you hit an invisible block, your momentum stops, and you fall into a pit. It’s the definition of trial-and-error gameplay. You don't beat The Lost Levels through reflex; you beat it through memorization and suffering.
👉 See also: Lust Academy Season 1: Why This Visual Novel Actually Works
How to Play It Today (and Actually Survive)
If you're looking to dive into Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels today, you have a few options. It’s available on the Nintendo Switch Online service. You can play the original 8-bit version or the 16-bit All-Stars remake. Honestly, the All-Stars version is a bit more forgiving because it allows you to save your progress at the start of every single level, whereas the original was much more punishing about "Game Overs."
If you’re going to try it, here is the reality: you will die. A lot. Probably hundreds of times. But there is a specific rhythm to the game that, once you find it, is incredibly rewarding.
- Don't trust the scenery. Just because a jump looks safe doesn't mean there isn't a hidden block waiting to ruin your day.
- Pick your brother wisely. Luigi is almost a requirement for some of the later worlds because his jump height is the only way to clear certain gaps.
- Watch the clouds. In many levels, the wind direction is signaled by the movement of the clouds or debris in the air.
- Embrace the Warp Zones... carefully. Not all paths lead forward. If you see a Warp Zone that looks too easy to get to, it’s probably a trap.
The Legacy of the "Real" Mario 2
Ultimately, Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels is the bridge between the simple charm of the first game and the sprawling masterpiece that was Super Mario Bros. 3. It showed that Mario didn't just have to be for kids. It could be a technical, demanding platformer that required absolute mastery of the controls.
It also gave us a glimpse into the minds of Nintendo’s top designers when they weren't worried about being "approachable." It’s raw, it’s unpolished in places, and it’s arguably unfair. But it’s a vital part of gaming history. Without the "failure" or the perceived "too-hard" nature of this game, we might never have gotten the experimental and weird Super Mario Bros. 2 that we know and love in the West. We got two great games out of one sequel. That's a win for everyone.
To truly understand Mario, you have to see him at his most aggressive. You have to experience the frustration of a Poison Mushroom. You have to feel the wind pushing you into a Lakitu. Once you’ve cleared World D-4, you can truly call yourself a Mario expert. Until then, you’re just playing in the mushroom kingdom; you haven't survived it.
Next Steps for the Aspiring Mario Master
If you're ready to tackle this beast, start by loading up the NES version on Nintendo Switch Online. Use the "Suspending Point" (save state) feature—there is no shame in it for your first run. Focus on mastering Luigi's slippery physics first, as his jump is your greatest asset. Once you can clear the first four worlds without losing all your lives, try a "pure" run on the SNES All-Stars version to see the upgraded graphics and slightly tweaked hitboxes. Record your death count; it’s a badge of honor in this community.