Doki Doki Panic

When Super Mario Bros. 2 was released in North America, it was pretty easy to notice that— hey— this isn't like the original. Most people know that the "Lost Levels" was Super Mario Bros. 2 in Japan. If you know this, you also know that the "Lost Levels" was never released (legally) in North America, for the NES anyway. What most people don't know was that our Super Mario Bros. 2 game was based on the Japanese cart "Doki Doki Panic". Doki Doki Panic was a big hit in Asia. Bigger than Super Mario Bros. 2. That's why Nintendo assumed that if they slapped Mario into Doki Doki Panic, it would be a smash. Although many fans love our Super Mario Bros. 2, (it's most of my friends favorite game) it was a little too different as far as Mario goes for the North American market. When I played Doki Doki Panic, I noticed a few differences, including the characters being different and a few of the items having been changed. For example, in level 6-3, when you can go left underneath the sand, the part in the clouds is shorter. Many of the masks are in different locations around the keys, if they are there at all, and they don't chase you until after you leave the key room. Another big difference is the bonus chance game. In level one, it's rather simple... and as you get further in the game it becomes more difficult. In Super Mario Bros. 2, however, it's the same throughout the game. Also, when you choose your character, you can't change it until you get a game over, or until you beat a boss (Like Mouser, Triclyde, etc). And each hero takes their own path. If you make it to 6-3, and beat Triclyde, and then chose another character, they start at 1-1. If you get a game over with that character, and pick the first character you used, you can start off where you left. 7-1. Get it? Another difference I spotted was the fact that you couldn't run by holding the B button. You always go at the same speed. Fortunately, the speed isn't slow. As for the characters, they all seem to behave the same as they do in Super Mario Bros. 2, except for the "Luigi" character. He doesn't jump as insanely high. Small differences include the mushrooms are hearts, the mushroom capsules are masks, the potions are lamps, and the turtle shells are... I don't know what that thing is (look at the second picture from the top). The eagle head is an african mask. The masks that chase you after you get the key look a little different. Another thing is the fact that you don't "shrink" when you're down to one hit. The extra lives that you can find throughout the levels look like the face of the character you're using. If you happen to have Doki Doki panic, I salute you. This game is fractionally better than Super Mario Bros. 2.

If you have anything to add to this, or you just want to sell me your copy of Doki Doki Panic (heh) tell me!