Which is the Best (Official) Way to Play Super Mario Bros. 2?

Super Mario Bros 2 might not the fan favourite or most fondly remembered of the original Mario Nintendo Entertainment System platformer trilogy, but it is still a pretty fun and worthwhile game to play, despite how brazenly strange it is.

It's still beloved, don't get me wrong, but it's more slippery nature and cryptic puzzle levels don't have it sitting as high in terms of nostalgia the same way the original Super Mario Bros or Mario 3 do.

But hey, it's the first appearance of Shy Guy and a few other franchise staples, so I'm a fan.

Before this point, I had never played through Super Mario Bros. 2 to completion, and now I've done it three times.

There's the original on NES from 1988, based on the Japanese 1987 game, Yume Kojo: Doko Doki Panic, which was, by the way, kind of based on the Super Mario 2D platforming engine, just more focused on vertical design rather than just horizontal, left-to-right movement.

I played this via the Switch Online NES games emulator, where most people who want to play the game legally would play it as of time of recording, though it's around in original cartridge form on various online used storefronts for reasonable prices. If that's the route you wanna go.

And by the way, I'm obviously not talking about the 1986 Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2, which is better known in the west as Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. I will eventually play through that game... but I gotta work my way up to that.

There's a reason Nintendo thought us westerners couldn't handle it until Super Mario All Stars came out.

Speaking of which, the next way to play it is via Super Mario All Stars, where it got effectively remade for the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993.

This one is, of course, playable on the Nintendo Switch Online SNES emulator. You might also find the original cartridge goes a little more expensive than the original Super Mario Bros. 2 cartridge on websites like eBay.

All Stars also got re-released for the Wii, so that option could work for you if you're looking for a used physical edition of the game, and don't have a SNES laying around.

Finally, we have Super Mario Advance on Game Boy Advance from 2001, which, in my opinion, remains the most robust and modernized official version of the game... but it's not necessarily my personal pick for the best.

This one is also most readily available through the Switch Online GBA emulator software, though it's locked behind the Expansion Pack pay wall.

Finding used versions of the GBA cartridge though is by far the easiest and cheapest, so if you want to play it on original hardware, this would be your best bet, in my opinion.

And truth be told, to me, this is the best version, though it has it's caveats.