Line #5 YMMV/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels


1	* AntiClimaxBoss:
2	** As if to throw the player a bone for the game's infuriating difficulty, the Bowser fights are relatively unchanged from the first game. 8-4 adds two Bowsers to the mix (the first one is on a long floor with no ax rather than a bridge, is considered fake, and is a darker color, being the same shade as Koopa Troopas in castle levels), but you can skip the first one, and the game gives you at least two chances to get a secret mushroom or fire flower beforehand (if you can find them and keep them). Just watch out for the warp pipe pit with Invisible blocks prior to the fake Bowser (this pipe will send you back as far as you can go in the level) and the lava pit + Piranha Plant combo (plus a lone Buzzy Beetle) preceding the real Bowser.
3	** In the original FDS version, the Bowsers in Worlds A through D don't throw hammers. ''All-Stars'' would correct this and make them the fearsome hammer throwing kind.
4	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: This game basically being "[[ItsTheSameNowItSucks the original]], [[ItsHardSoItSucks but way harder]]" ended up contributing to why Nintendo of America chose to [[NoExportForYou not release the game in the West]] when it was first developed, only releasing it as part of ''Super Mario All-Stars'' [[LateExportForYou years later]]. Most Western gamers, in hindsight, agree with the sentiment and think Nintendo made the right call in releasing ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' instead. The game has also remained fairly less popular compared to the other mainline ''Mario'' games.
5	* BreatherLevel:
6	** 3-2 and 6-2, the two main underwater levels, are tricky, but relatively easy compared to the rest of the game.
7	** After the insanely grueling 7-2, the game treats you to 7-3, one of the easier levels in the game, which has very few enemies and only consists of super springs and reasonably big platforms, with just enough time for you to figure out where to land. It's tricky, but not hair pulling in difficulty. The same cannot be said for its [[HardModeFiller later equivalent]], C-3, which adds a single [[DemonicSpiders Lakitu]] just to make your life miserable.
8	** 8-2 is much shorter and easier than the levels before and after it, with the only tricky part being a bounce off a Paratroopa to reveal a beanstalk, which leads to the exit. Come to think of it, [[UrExample that might be the first time a secret exit ever made an appearance in a 2D Mario game]].
9	** B-4. Compared to the extremely difficult B-3 (or, really, any other level in the game), this level is a cakewalk. The bulk of the level is a repeating section where you get past an easy to dodge fire bar and pipe. No maze or anything else that's particularly difficult. Probably the easiest castle in the game.
10	** D-4 has a few tricky jumps but is nowhere near as hard as 8-4, especially since there's no maze elements in the level. Heck there's even a bonus level interlude, and you can skip the first Bowser encounter without much trouble.
11	** World 9 only gives you one life to get through, but if you're good enough to get there, that should be all you need.
12	*** 9-1, 9-2, and 9-4 are the easiest underwater levels in either the original or Lost Levels. There are no devilishly-placed coins that try to lure you to your doom and the enemies are mostly overworld enemies that are ground-bound and easy to swim over or move in easy-to-dodge patterns.
13	*** 9-3 is a castle level with no tricky platforming and the only enemy is a single Bowser.
14	* BrokenBase: With the international ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', various opinions revolve on whether which one deserves to be the "real" sequel (similar gameplay with improvements and increased challenge vs. unique yet stylistically-familiar gameplay and innovation). There are also those who do like both games, considering both to be good additions to the franchise and both being worthy sequels in their own different ways.
15	* CondemnedByHistory: Back when the game was developed and released, developers generally focused on making a game as hard as it could be and making a challenging game was seen by and in itself as a notable main feature/selling point. Nowadays however, things have changed, and developers have switched from that to trying appeal to both veteran gamers and newcomers, adding both accessibility and challenging features to a game; and generally neither one is seen as being enough alone to qualify as a notable main feature/selling point anymore.
16	* ContestedSequel: Fans either like this game for being an enhanced version of the original with a number of improvements/differences and more difficult levels providing a good challenge "for super players" that had mastered the original game, or dislike it because it's [[ItsHardSoItSucks extremely difficult]] and [[MissionPackSequel too similar not really changing much overall]].
17	* CultClassic: Due to its insane difficulty and similarity to the original ''Super Mario Bros.'', it doesn't get as much universal love as the other games in the series. Those who do love it, however, love it for exactly the reasons listed prior.
18	* DemonicSpiders:
19	** The Hammer Brothers in the original game were hard enough, but this one adds a variant that continually marches up towards the player. This version is even more difficult to pass without taking damage.
20	** Bowser's flames have an annoying tendency to appear at the wrong moment during a long jump.
21	* FanNickname:
22	** People on Website/YouTube have taken to referring this game as "The first ROM hack".
23	** For whatever reason, Website/{{Twitch}} streamers have taken to referring to "Bowser's brother" (the blue Bowser reskin who appears in 8-4, 9-3, and D-4) as "Bruce".
24	** Those who are more keen on using the original Japanese title but not confusing it with the international ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' refer the game as ''Super Mario Bros. 2 Japan'' or simply ''[=SMB2J=]''. The former was even the proposed name for the game's article on Wikipedia back in 2007, but it was declined.
25	* HilariousInHindsight:
26	** The reason the game wasn't released internationally was due to the game simply being the first game again, only more difficult, which had Nintendo worried that the game would not sell and cause people to not buy video games again (this was part of the reason why the [[MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 video game crash]] occurred). Fast forward 20 years later, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' is released and it's basically the first ''Galaxy'' game again with more gimmicks (some that were cut from the first game) and harder difficulty. While the game did get some criticism for it (principally for removing the beloved story elements from the first game in favor of a much simplified ExcusePlot), most people enjoyed the game and it sold fairly well.
27	** Considering how the game ended up being ''by far'' the biggest example in the ''NSMB''/2D ''Mario'' series and ''Mario'' games as a whole of a MissionPackSequel alongside this game, the name for ''New'' ''[[VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels Super Mario Bros. 2]]'' ended up being just as fitting as its originally intended name ''New Super Mario Bros. Gold''.
28	* ItsHardSoItSucks: A major reason of why the game wasn't exported. Then-Nintendo of America spokesman Howard Philips recalled that, while they certainly had exported NintendoHard games before, this one cranked it up just a little too high, paying note to the game frequently asking the player to take leaps of faith that almost always brought about death. Even [[CreatorBacklash Miyamoto himself disliked the]] SequelDifficultySpike. The other reason is that...
29	* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: Wasn't just a fan reaction. Another reason Nintendo decided not to export the Famicom version to the US was that they didn't think such an obvious MissionPackSequel would sell well in the States (note that simply being NintendoHard didn't stop them from exporting any other games back then).
30	* NewerThanTheyThink: While ''The Lost Levels'' is the sequel to the original in Japan, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosSpecial'' came out a few months earlier for the same region (made by Hudson Soft for [=PCs=], not acknowledged by Nintendo).
31	* NintendoHard: This is definitely '''''THE''''' hardest 2D ''Mario'' game to date.
32	** Notably, every updated version of the game has done something to make it slightly easier. Even the ''All-Stars'' and ''Deluxe'' ports save the game on a per level basis, rather than a per world basis as is the case with every other game it includes. It also removed a number of {{Invisible Block}}s specifically designed to cause unintended player deaths (although many were still left in), particularly in later stages, then added invisible blocks containing power-ups elsewhere. It ''also'' makes Worlds 9 and A-D much easier to get to.
33	** Playing the game in ''Deluxe'' makes it ''even harder'' via ScreenCrunch; since the Game Boy Color has a smaller screen, you can hardly see what's ahead. Sometimes you can't even tell if there's a pit or solid ground below you. This version also removes the wind and GoombaSpringboard mechanics, making some jumps extremely difficult. On the flipside, the wind jumps have their platforms re-arranged to be closer than the original, and since there are several levels where the wind isn't required to make jumps and is just there to mess with you as you attempt to keep your footing on small platforms and avoid hazards, these levels tend to be a lot simpler on ''Deluxe'', somewhat making up for the small screen.
34	** In ''VideoGame/NESRemix 2'', most of the challenges either involve the easiest levels in the game, or are very short.
35	* OlderThanTheyThink:
36	** A few of the levels in this game and Peach's poem were present in the arcade game ''VS. Super Mario Bros.''
37	** Also, ''Lost Levels'' is where Luigi gains his distinctive higher jumping and worse traction, before the US ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2''.
38	* PortingDisaster: The GBC port on ''Super Mario Bros. Deluxe'' isn't necessarily unplayable, but it strips several features from the original, which is not brought up in-game or in the manual. Luigi as presented in the original is not available (you can switch between him and Mario on the world map, but he's merely a PaletteSwap in this version), Worlds 9 through D are absent, the game uses Super Mario Bros. 1's physics (no [[GoombaSpringboard high bounce out of enemies]]) and graphics, the wind mechanic is removed, and [[EventObscuringCamera the smaller screen introduces some serious]] FakeDifficulty.
39	* ScrappyMechanic:
40	** If you use a Warp Zone before hitting World 9, [[PermanentlyMissableContent World 9 is gone for good]]. Fair enough, the point is that World 9 is a reward for determined players. But if you play the ''All-Stars'' version, which has saving, reach World 9, then later use a Warp Zone (including the ones that go backwards), you will lose the World 9 privileges that you were previously rewarded with for your current save file. Forgetful players may then choose Save & Continue or Save & Quit rather than resetting or powering off the console and then find themselves having to unlock World 9 ''again from scratch.''
41	** Do you want the four extra worlds and the true ending in the original version? You have to beat the game ''[[FakeLongevity eight times]]''! The ''All-Stars'' remake loosens the condition to "just beat the game once", and thanks to save files, once you get to the special worlds you can quickly return to to them whenever you want.
42	** The particularly dickish placement of some secret blocks, which are highly likely to cause your death until you've memorized their locations.
43	** This game introduced the concept of Luigi being more slippery to control than Mario, but takes it to such an extreme that you will be guaranteed to slide into enemies and fall off of platforms at least a few times. It is strongly recommended to play as Mario on your first playthrough and only use Luigi once you've gotten familiar with the level design.
44	* SequelDifficultySpike: ''The Lost Levels'' is regarded as the hardest ''Mario'' game in the franchise, and is often a contender for one of the hardest games ''of all time''. This is attributed to the game being under the impression that you've played and mastered the first ''Mario'' game. As such, ''The Lost Levels'' features more enemies to deal with at once, introduces new obstacles such as the poison mushrooms, and has overall more deceptive level designs that either require ''extremely'' precise jumps or just flat-out border on trial and error.
45	* SophomoreSlump: Sitting between the well-regarded [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 first]] entry and the cult classic American ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'', ''The Lost Levels'' is received less positively due to is difficulty spike and not adding many new elements to the ''Mario'' franchise. And in Japan (where the Western ''Super Mario Bros. 2'' wasn't released until 1992 as ''Super Mario USA''), it was pushed further by the wayside with the release of its next follow-up, ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', which was acclaimed for its wide array of improvements and additions to the first game's template, while also having a more forgiving difficulty curve.
46	* ThatOneLevel: Everyone probably has their own opinion of which levels are the most difficult.
47	** Special mention goes to 8-3. When Creator/MikeMatei did a playthrough of the game, it took him ''hours'' to beat this level. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck He knew that whatever the final level had...was gonna suck.]]
48	** World C-4, a [[HardModeFiller harder version]] of 7-4. Remember when you could crouch in the corners to get past the firebars? Well, now you can't for the very last one! It's almost impossible to get past it without getting hit; hope you somehow managed to keep a Super Mushroom up until this point!
49	** World D-1 ''opens'' with a pair of Hammer Bros, and due to the aforementioned "No corner crouching bar" making it practically impossible to have fireballs here...

Context YMMV / SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels