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This NES port is not executed very well :(

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 55 / 74
Date: May 01, 2001
Author: Amazon User

_____I remember playing SMB2 on my NES for hours at a time, finding every mushroom, every warp vase, every shortcut, and beating every boss. With every character, of course. So I was really anticipating that I would relive that experience with the GBA.

_____So I got the new GBA (import) and Super Mario Advance, and started playing. Everything was going great; beautiful screen, nice sound. But then I started getting into some problems that really messed up the experience for me.

_____First off, the entire game screen cannot fit onto the game screen. This means two things: 1) you have to vertically toggle the camera view with the L button to see above or below you, and 2) it is extremely difficult to avoid enemies coming at you from the left side. This is because the camera likes to keep your character on the left 25% of the screen or right 25%, which means you are closer to the edge than you would normally be on the NES. And since you are always closer to the edge, you have a much much shorter reaction time to those enemies that charge at you from the left or right.

_____This problem, as well as a slight difference in controlling the characters themselves (they seem to slide a little more than on the NES), can make the game extremely frustrating at times. You can end up spending several lives just to get past one level.

_____Also a bit fristrating was the slot machine game at the end. On the NES version there was a way to get an extra life with every coin, by timing your button pushes a certain way. On the GBA it seems like they fixed this so it is not much much harder to get extra lives. And this is also frustrating. You can go through all your collected coins without earning a single extra life.

_____Mario Bros, on the other hand, was ported flawlessly to the GBA. I have yet to play it with the link, but I'm sure it will be fun. The game stays true to its simple premise: avoid enemies, bump them from underneath and kick them over. Some people might shy away from this game, but to me it is true 1980's gaming nostalgia. :)

_____I really wish I could say some nicer things about this game. The graphics and sound are top-notch, and the designers have added extras to enhance the gameplay (collecting coins, for example). But the camera problems just hurt this game too much for it to be that enjoyable.

Nothing groundbreaking, but still a fun game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: July 03, 2001
Author: Amazon User

There's a lot of griping about how disappointing Super Mario Advance (SMA) is. It's a 32-bit rehash of a 16-bit remake of an 8-bit game, blah blah. But lack of originality aside, is the game FUN? Yes it is.

SMA is classic Mario Bros. 2 and the original Mario Bros. and I can tell you, it's a helluva lot of fun. I always loved MB2, and this update adds a couple of new gameplay elements to make things a bit more interesting. And while it doesn't really push the GBA's technical limits, it does make use of the nice graphics engine in the handheld, for some cute special effects.

The original Mario Bros. that's included is great as well, especially in multiplayer. It gets a bit old in single player mode, but it's still fun nevertheless.

Anyway, it comes down to this - Super Mario Advance is a good game to add to your collection. It's nothing really new, but it doesn't change the fact that the games inside it are just as fun as the day they came out so many years ago, on their original platforms. Ignore the whining complaints about it, and check it out for yourself. I'm sure you'll like it.

A ruined classic but still a good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 25 / 34
Date: October 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This super mario advance is an updated version of the NES classic Super mario bros. 2. While it is still a good game, this updated version is ruined in a couple of ways. 1, They made Mario and the other characters talk which is annoying. 2. there are vegetables that can be picked up to throw at your enemies. They made those veggies Gigantic. they take up too much of the screen. they made Super mario bros. 1 on GBA a "Classic NES series" which left the game unmodified and the same as it was on the NES system near 20 years ago. S.M.B. 2 AND S.M.B. 3 should have been unmodified and "Classic NES Series" as well

Hours of Fun!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 20
Date: May 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

For those of you who still remember the Super NES version, this should be very familiar to you - essentially the same version, but with some additions (I'm still trying to find them), and of course, for the GameBoy Advance! Just got my hand on the Japanese version, and I can't get my hands off it!

This version of Mario is the one that's probably the most unique, in that unlike the other versions of Mario, you don't actually jump on mushrooms to get rid of them, but instead, you pull out radish, bombs, and throw at them at the bad guys. You also get to choose the 4 different characters, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach - all with different abilities..

Sound's great too on the GBA - amazing for such a small machine - and yes, each character has his/her own voice too!

One more thing - SMA comes with a pumped-up version of Mario Classic, but what REALLY rocks is that the multi-player function for Mario Classic. Up to 4 GBAs can be linked to play one single game, and it's amazing that you need only 1 cartridge to play with 3 other people!

This is probably THE game to get with GBA - and no worries, I don't think anybody will regret buying this one!

Super mario Advance is GREAT!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: April 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Super Mario Advance is totally COOL! I played it at Toys R Us, and it was great! You can play the Original Super Mario Bros.the battle mode(hook up to four players for this, only using one game console,you can do this by downloading the game to other linked systems), or the new and improved Super Mario Advance.The new one has added baddies,or baddies in other places.And,to beat bosses(not all bosses are Bowser)and baddies,you don't just bop 'em on their head(as is in Super Nintendo),but throw items at them!This game is definatly a harder version than the original one as we know it on the Super Nintendo. Super Mario Advance is a good launch title for the Game Boy Advance.I give it a 10/10 in rating(ten being the best).If you get a Game Boy Advance,your first game has to be Super Mario Advance.It's GREAT!

Good, but the original was much better.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: January 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I enjoyed this game a lot. it felt good to play Super Mario Brothers 2 again, in a much harder in enviroment. I liked how there were more enemies and that it started off differently... but after a while I began to miss the original Super Mario Bros. 2 (not the Super Mario All Stars Version, I'm talking completelely 8 bit mario world.), and I was also beginnig to dislike the change in music and sound.

I was quite impressed when it was re-released on the Super Nintendo, only change in graphics and sound. But when it came to the GBA... I was a little disappointed. The new Heart Radishes and Yoshi eggs and sound remix was rather disappointing to me.

The new voices of the characters were VERY VERY ANNOYING, and you couldn't shut the voices off either. In fact, you can't customize anything in this game.

The Classic Super Mario Bros. game was pretty good and was something that I actually liked. But once you been through that once you don't want to do it again.

Overall, it was a good game and it was impressive, but the changes made to the game were just too much.

Fun filled action

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: June 07, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Whooooaaaaaaaa! I just got back from Electronics Boutique and played Super Mario Advance, wow! I could not believe that such a small system(weighs less than the Game Boy Color)could be so powerful. The whole idea of this game is based on Super Mario Bros. 2. You pull up radishes, bombs, and throw them at enemies, the same old thing. Although new improvements have been added to this game, like the characters talk and just other really small details that make it better then the older version. Maybe it's because the Game Boy Advance features 32 bits of processing power! The old Super Nintendo only had 16 bits, and here we are having double the power in a fraction of the size! ... 2. Maybe the second one will have Super Mario Bros 3! That's my favorite. Anyway, On ... when you buy your Game Boy Advance, Super Mario Advance should definatly be your first buy, because you can also link up with a friend to battle in the old multiplayer stage from the first mario bros! This game is truly one of the best games for the GBA at launch, so if your like me and going on a roadtrip this summer, this will keep you busy(and try Krazy Racers and Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2 as well, they both look great.)

SUPER MARIO ADVANCE IS AWESOME!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: May 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Not long ago I got to take Super Mario Advance on a test run. (they had it hooked up at ...) And let me say it is great!! You may be saying to yourself "I wish they would have taken better advantage of the 32 bit graphics available on game boy advance instead of copying Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros 2". But several things have been added to enchance the game.First of all there is a 4 player mode based on Mario Bros which you can play with just 1 game pak.Plus Mario, Luigi, Toad and peach talk at certain points in the game.This game takes advantage of the systems L trigger to shift your view from normal to over your head to under your feet.The method for beating enemies varies by which game you play.In Mario Bros you jump on the platform over your head as an enemy walks on it to flip him then go up and sock it to him.In Super Mario Bros 2 you jump on the enemies head and pick them up and throw them into another enemy or throw veggies (yes veggies) at them. To beat the bosses however you normally pick up the eggs (or whatever else they throw at you) and throw them back.GET THIS GAME!!

Mario Luigi Toad Peach, OH MY!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: February 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
this game rocks! I never like jumping on enimies that much but picking them up is the best, and throwing them away like throwing away trash. The vegies are really funny, It made me laugh when I picked one up. And I could be as Toad he's my all time favorite thats how i found out mario by Toad! And no more goombas! I never liked those little brown guys, always in the way they are. And now more koopa troopas! NO more shells that will knock you out! Since this game was redone they also kept the old charm like Birdo. She has a womens voice and talks! So does Toad, Luigi, Mario, and Peach, they say so many different things like "thank-you" "peice of cake" and many others. This game i would put as the BEST SUPER MARIO BROS GAME EVER! Everythings great about this game you will love it the minute you flip the on switch.

:D Yahoo, Mama-mia, Piece of cake, thankyou, owowowowowo, :D

Video Games Reviewer

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: November 08, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Super Mario Advance for the GBA is an excellent port of the NES classic Super Mario Brothers 2 game. In Super Mario Advance, gamers get to choose from four characters: Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Toad. Each of the characters has their own special strengths and weaknesses. Players get to battle it out through 7 levels and 20 screens in an attempt to get rid of Wart at the end of the game. What makes this game shine are the additions that Nintendo has added to the game. Five special coins have been added to each of the levels that players have to find in order to get a red star for that level. Once all the coins are collected a new challenge of finding two yoshi eggs on each level becomes an option and only then can a player ultimately master the game. Another added feature to this cartridge is a second game, the original Mario Brothers for the Arcade. This is really an added bonus where a single player for up to 4 people can hack it out on the arcade style classic. The added features to each level and the ability to play this game with up to 3 friends is what makes this game a must have in everyone's GBA library.

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