Super Mario Bros. 2 was initially released on the Famicom Disk System in Japan in 1986, but was not released in North America or Europe in its original form, as you might have expected. It was instead decided that the gameplay was “too difficult” for Western gamers (and also the video games market in North America was undergoing a crash at the time), so Nintendo decided not to release it in English language territories – at least until it was later re-branded as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost levels – and released a different Super Mario Bros.2 in North America instead.
Tag Archives: scrolling
Super Mario Bros., NES
The successor to the 1983 arcade game Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. was released in Japan and North America in 1985, although it wasn’t released in Europe until 1987.
It is considered by many gamers to be one of the greatest video games of all time, and I wouldn’t dispute that assessment.
Super Castlevania IV, Super Nintendo
Released in 1991, Konami‘s Super Castlevania IV was one of the earliest releases for the Super Nintendo console – and one of the best.
Mayhem In Monsterland, Commodore 64
Mayhem In Monsterland came very late in the life cycle of the Commodore 64 – 1993 to be precise – but it made a huge impression on any games-player who saw it and demonstrated that the machine was still a force to be reckoned with at the time.
Salamander, Arcade
Konami‘s Salamander is a classic scrolling shooter first released into arcades in 1986. It is part of the Gradius/Nemesis series and features both side-scrolling and vertically-scrolling gameplay set over six different levels.
The Addams Family, Super Nintendo
Back in the early 1990s Ocean Software had a reputation for producing mostly movie-licensed action games, and The Addams Family on the Super Nintendo is arguably the pinnacle of that niche.
Z, Commodore 64
Chris Butler‘s Z is a slick, eight-way-scrolling, overhead shoot ’em up published by Rino Software in 1985. Not to be confused with the 1996 game of the same name, by The Bitmap Brothers.
Gauntlet II, Arcade
Gauntlet II is the 1986 sequel to the classic four-player arcade game, Gauntlet. It was made by pretty much the same Atari Games team that made the first game, so retains a lot of its qualities. Which is great, because the first Gauntlet was brilliant and fans wanted more of the same – only with enhancements. Which is exactly what they got.
Hunter’s Moon, Commodore 64
Hunter’s Moon is a multi-directional scrolling shooter by Martin Walker, published by Thalamus for the Commodore 64 in 1987.
Spindizzy Worlds, Super Nintendo
Paul Shirley‘s superb isometric puzzle/action game, Spindizzy Worlds, translates well to the Super Nintendo, even though this conversion did not have his blessing.
The King of Grabs 