Editing Super Mario Bros. 2 (section)

== Development ==
=== Background and conception ===
{{Quote box|width=33%|quote=The idea was that you would have people vertically ascending, and you would have items and blocks that you could pile up to go higher, or you could grab your friend that you were playing with and throw them to try and continue to ascend&nbsp;... the vertical-scrolling gimmick wasn't enough to get us interesting gameplay.|source=—[[Kensuke Tanabe]] at [[Game Developers Conference]] 2011, on the gameplay mechanics that were later used for ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' and ''Super Mario Bros. 2''.<ref name="Secret History of SMB2" />}}

Nintendo originally released a different game called ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' on Japan's [[Family Computer Disk System]] in 1986 (later released as ''[[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]'' for [[Super NES]] as part of ''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]''). Its engine is an enhanced ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'', with the same gameplay and more complex level designs, character features, and weather features. Some of the advanced level content had been culled from ''[[Vs. Super Mario Bros.]]'', a 1986 coin-operated arcade version of the original ''Super Mario Bros.'' for NES.<ref name="Secret History of SMB2" /><ref name="History of SMB at IGN">{{cite web|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/14/ign-presents-the-history-of-super-mario-bros|title=IGN Presents The History of Super Mario Bros.|last=McLaughlin|first=Rus|website=IGN|date=September 14, 2010|access-date=April 9, 2014|archive-date=November 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109000531/https://www.ign.com/articles/2010/09/14/ign-presents-the-history-of-super-mario-bros|page=3|url-status=live}}</ref> All of these factors combined to yield an incremental game design with significantly higher difficulty.

Also that year, the young subsidiary [[Nintendo of America]] was just beginning its launch of the new [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] and its flagship game, ''Super Mario Bros.'' This international adaptation of the Famicom platform had been deliberately rebranded in the wake of the American [[video game crash of 1983]], a regional market recession which had not directly affected the mature Japanese market. Nintendo of America did not want the increasingly popular [[Super Mario|''Mario'' series]] to be too difficult to a recovering, transfiguring, and expanding market — nor to be stylistically outdated by the time the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' could be eventually converted to the NES's cartridge format, localized, and mass-produced for America. Utilizing its regional autonomy to avoid risking the franchise's popularity in this nascent market, Nintendo of America declined the Japanese sequel's localization to America and instead requested a newer and more player-friendly ''Super Mario Bros.'' sequel for release outside Japan.<ref name="History of SMB at IGN" />

=== ''Doki Doki Panic'' ===
An early prototype with vertical scrolling was developed by [[Kensuke Tanabe]],<ref name="director">{{cite interview |url=http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/2181 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105143103/http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/interview/2181 |archive-date=November 5, 2013 | interviewer1=Jonathan Metts |interviewer2=Daniel Bloodworth |interviewer3=Matt Cassamassina | first=Kensuke | last=Tanabe | subject-link=Kensuke Tanabe | title=Interview – Kensuke Tanabe Talks Metroid Prime 2: Echoes |date=May 18, 2004 |publisher=Nintendo World Report |access-date=January 11, 2014}}</ref><ref name="gpara">{{cite web |url=http://www.gpara.com/contents/creator/bn_101.htm |title=クリエイターズファイル 第101回 |date=February 10, 2003 |publisher=Gpara.com |access-date=January 11, 2011 |archive-date=September 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930045013/http://www.gpara.com/contents/creator/bn_101.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> designed by a team led by [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], and programmed by Nintendo's frequent partner, SRD, shortly after Tanabe was hired in April 1986.<ref name="Secret History of SMB2" /> The first prototype's gameplay emphasizes vertically scrolling levels with two-player cooperative action: lifting, carrying, and throwing each other; lifting, carrying, throwing, stacking, and climbing objects; and incrementally scrolling the screen upward when reaching the top. Dissatisfied so far, Miyamoto then added the traditional horizontal scrolling, saying to "make something a little bit more Mario-like",<ref>{{Cite magazine|url = https://www.wired.com/2011/04/super-mario-bros-2/|title = The Secret History of Super Mario Bros. 2|magazine = Wired|last1 = Kohler|first1 = Chris|access-date = July 2, 2021|archive-date = December 28, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161228000622/https://www.wired.com/2011/04/super-mario-bros-2/|url-status = live}}</ref> and saying "Maybe we need to change this up ... As long as it's fun, anything goes". However, the prototype software was too complex for Famicom hardware at the time, and the gameplay was still considered lacking, especially in single-player mode.<ref name="Secret History of SMB2" />

Unwilling to compromise on gameplay, Tanabe suspended development of the prototype until eventually receiving instruction to use the Yume Kōjō festival mascots in a game. He recalls, "I remember being pulled over to Fuji Television one day, being handed a sheet with game characters on it and being told, 'I want you to make a game with this'." Tanabe re-implemented that prototype's elements in his new game, and released the [[advergame]]-themed ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' for the [[Family Computer Disk System]]<ref name="Secret History of SMB2">{{cite magazine | url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/04/the-secret-history-of-super-mario-bros-2.ars | title=The Secret History of Super Mario Bros. 2 | date=April 3, 2011 | first=Chris | last=Kohler | via=[[Ars Technica]] | magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | access-date=May 6, 2019 | archive-date=April 5, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405175127/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/04/the-secret-history-of-super-mario-bros-2.ars | url-status=live }}</ref> in Japan on July 10, 1987.<ref>{{cite web |title=夢工場ドキドキパニック |trans-title=Dream Factory Pounding Panic |url=https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M727630 |website=Media Arts Database |publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]] |access-date=17 June 2021 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200103/https://mediaarts-db.bunka.go.jp/id/M727630 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The title {{nihongo foot|''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic''|夢工場ドキドキパニック|Yume Kōjō Doki Doki Panikku|lit. ''Dream Machine: Heartbeat Panic''|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} is derived from "doki doki", a Japanese [[onomatopoeia]] for the sound of a quickly beating heart. The title and character concept were inspired by a license cooperation between Nintendo and [[Fuji Television]] to promote the broadcaster's Yume Kōjō '87 event, which showcased several of its latest TV shows and consumer products.<ref name="Secret History of SMB2" /> The Yume Kōjō festival's mascots became the game's protagonists: a family consisting of the boy Imajin, his girlfriend Lina, and his parents Mama and Papa. The rest of the game's characters, including the main villain named Mamu, were created by Nintendo for the project. ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' takes place within a book with an [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabian]] setting. All four characters are optionally playable, though the game is not fully completed until the player clears all levels using each protagonist.

=== Conversion to ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' ===
[[File:SMB-USA-logo.png|thumb|right|Japanese logo, released as ''Super Mario USA'']]

Nintendo of America's [[Gail Tilden]] recalls that president [[Minoru Arakawa]]'s request to convert the thematically unrelated ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' into a ''Mario'' sequel was "odd" at first but not unusual for Nintendo, which had already converted a canceled ''[[Popeye]]'' prototype into ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]'' and reconceived that into ''[[Donkey Kong Jr.]]'' and ''[[Donkey Kong 3]]''.<ref name="SMB2 Boss Fight">{{cite book | title=Super Mario Bros. 2 | first1=Jon | last1=Irwin | others=[[Howard Phillips (consultant)|Howard Phillips]], foreword | series=Boss Fight Books | issue=6 | location=Los Angeles | publisher=Boss Fight Books | date=2014 | isbn=978-1-940535-05-0 | oclc=992145732 }}</ref> Summarizing Tanabe's recollections within a 2011 interview, ''Wired'' said "Although the initial concept for the game had been scrapped, the development of that original two-player cooperative prototype inspired all the innovative gameplay of ''Super Mario Bros. 2''".<ref name="Secret History of SMB2" />

For the international conversion into ''Super Mario Bros. 2'', many graphical changes were made to the scenery and characters' look, animation, and identity.<ref name="The strange truth">{{cite web | title=Doki Doki Panic: The strange truth behind Super Mario Bros. 2 | author=Mike | website=Progressive Boink | date=January 24, 2003 | url=http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/dokidokipanic.html | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070622094121/http://www.progressiveboink.com/archive/dokidokipanic.html | archive-date=June 22, 2007 | access-date=February 8, 2015}}</ref><ref name="SMB2 to DDP at TMK">{{cite web | title=From Doki Doki Panic to Super Mario Bros. 2 | publisher=The Mushroom Kingdom | url=http://themushroomkingdom.net/smb2_ddp.shtml | access-date=August 1, 2014 | archive-date=July 25, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725023959/http://themushroomkingdom.net/smb2_ddp.shtml | url-status=live }}</ref> The R&D4 staff modified the character likenesses of Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad, building them over their respective counterpart models of Imajin, Mama, Lina, and Papa. This marked the first time that Mario and Luigi had noticeably different heights,<ref name="History of SMB at IGN" /> and Miyamoto originated the scuttling animation of Luigi's legs, to justify the enhanced jumping ability seen in the corresponding Mama character.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=205582|title=Konno discusses how Luigi got his infamous leg flutter jump|work=GoNintendo|date=June 18, 2013|access-date=June 18, 2013|archive-date=October 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013142903/http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=205582|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'' needed only a few alterations for its conversion into the ''Mario'' series because its gameplay elements were already so heavily rooted in it: [[Starman (Mario)|Starman]] for invincibility, the sound effects of coins and jumps, POW blocks, warp zones, and a soundtrack by ''Super Mario Bros.'' composer [[Koji Kondo]].<ref>{{Cite video game |developer=[[Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development]] |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |title=Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic |date=July 10, 1987 |scene=staff credits}}</ref><ref name="composer">{{cite AV media notes |url=http://vgmdb.net/album/4341 |title=Nintendo Sound Selection vol.3 Luigi: B-Side Music |year=2005 |publisher=Scitron Digital Contents Inc. |access-date=September 11, 2010 |archive-date=June 20, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620225807/http://vgmdb.net/album/4341 |url-status=live }}</ref> To reduce the game's overall difficulty, the designers made minor technical changes. They opted not to retain ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic''{{'}}s ultimate requirement to complete each level using each protagonist; therefore, this new ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' can be completed in only one pass by any combination of characters. A late prototype of the game covering these changes was exhibited in the first issue of [[Nintendo Power]], dated July/August 1988.<ref name="1NP6">{{cite magazine |title=Nintendo Power Issue #1 |date=July–August 1988 |url=https://archive.org/details/nintendo_power_issue1/page/n5/mode/2up |page=6 |magazine=[[Nintendo Power]] |publisher=[[Nintendo of America]] |via= the Internet Archive}}</ref> In the tradition of the ''Mario'' series, they added the ability to run by holding the B button.

''Super Mario Bros. 2'' was first released in North America in September 1988.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://nparchive.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/nintendo-power-5/#jp-carousel-725|title=The Complete NES Game Pak Directory (special edition)|magazine=[[Nintendo Power]]|publisher=Nintendo of America|date=March–April 1989|page=A5|access-date=March 31, 2023|archive-date=March 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331230229/https://nparchive.wordpress.com/2015/07/31/nintendo-power-5/#jp-carousel-725|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Availability Update |magazine=[[Computer Entertainer]]|volume=7 |issue=7 |date=October 15, 1988 |page=8 |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/a/a3/ComputerEntertainer_US_Vol.7_07.pdf#page=8}}</ref> In [[PAL region]]s, the game released the following year.<ref name="Nintendo Power 2010 calendar">{{cite magazine|title=Nintendo Power 2010 calendar |magazine=[[Nintendo Power]] |publisher=[[Future plc]]|year=2009}}</ref> It was such a commercial success and its contributions so substantial over ''Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic'', that it was eventually re-released in Japan in 1992 with the title ''Super Mario USA''.<ref name="Secret History of SMB2" /> Likewise, Nintendo later re-released the Japanese ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' in America in the form of ''Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels'', a part of the 1993 re-release compilation ''[[Super Mario All-Stars]]'' on the Super NES. Nintendo has continued to re-release both games, each with the official sequel title of ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' in their respective regions.