Check out Super Mario 2

When somebody asks me which Mario game is my favorite, they are usually surprised when I tell them that Super Mario 2 is my favorite game in the series.  Super Mario 2, they ask.  Yes, Super Mario 2, and I am not going to apologize for it. 

There are many good games in the history of the Mario franchise and I am not saying that the second game is the best of them; all I am saying is that the second game is my favorite.  Why?  Well I will tell you.  It was because it was so different than the first game, but it had so many new and exciting elements that it surpassed the first game for me. 

Also it might be the fact that I never had to buy the game; I found it lying in the grass on the way home from school one day. There is nothing more fun than buying a new video game, but getting one for free is even better.  Until I found that game I had to borrow a copy from my best friend.  He would let me play it and we would play Super Mario 2 together for hours on end. 

I know that it wasnt even a true Mario game; the developers just changed the characters for the US release and called it Super Mario 2.  I know all that but still love the game.  I loved the colorful characters, the way you got to choose which character you wanted to play with.  You could choose from Mario, his brother Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad.  I always picked the Princess because she could glide through the air with the aid of her dress which puffed out like a parachute.  You could jump farther and have greater control over those jumps.  Using the Princess allowed you to access places that were unreachable with the other characters. 

Most players like all the hidden areas and the way you could pick things up and throw them.  The game had lots of new enemies to fight and new worlds to explore. There was even a mini game between levels that worked like a slot machine to earn extra lives.  The game was originally released on the NES and then rereleased on the Gameboy Advance.