From Doki To Mario
March 25, 2007
The fact that the version of Super Mario Bros. 2 released outside of Japan actually has roots as a different game called Doki Doki Panic is one of those non-secrets that (for some reason) everyone seems to think is shockingly secret insider information. It's one of the Internet's worst kept secrets in that everyone who knows that Nintendo rejiggered Doki into Mario for the western world seems to think that nobody else knows this bit of information. "Hey, did you know that Super Mario Bros. 2 isn't a real Mario game?" Yes, we know by now that the original plot revolved around an Arabian family that was pulled into a storybook. No, that doesn't make the end result some kind of "false" Super Mario game. Shy Guys are real! Let's not rehash that again. Instead let's take a look at the game in transition in this Super Mario Bros. 2 prototype that isn't quite Doki Doki Panic or Super Mario Bros. 2. Instead it's its own unique hybrid of the two. Marvel as familiar Super Mario characters interact with objects that were removed from the final version of the game. Thrill at the previously unheard musical remixes of familiar Super Mario Bros. themes! Gasp at odd debugging glitches! Take note of the general unfinished nature of the game at this stage of development!