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Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt
Returnable Yes
Resolutions Eligible for refund or replacement
Return Window 30 days from delivery
Refund Timelines Typically, an advance refund will be issued within 24 hours of a drop-off or pick-up. For returns that require physical verification, refund issuance may take up to 30 days after drop-off or pick up. Where an advance refund is issued, we will re-charge your payment method if we do not receive the correct item in original condition. See details here.
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Super Mario Bros. 2 (Boss Fight Books) Paperback – October 6, 2014

by Jon Irwin (Author)
See all formats and editions
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In perhaps the most famous switcheroo in all of game history, the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was declared “too hard” by Nintendo of America and replaced with a Mario-ified port of the Famicom hit, Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic. The new game (dubbed Super Mario USA in Japan) was a huge success for its four playable characters, improved graphics, immersive levels, and catchy music, and eventually became the 3rd bestselling game for the NES. And yet. Because of its strange new villains, its wild gameplay, and its mysterious touches, SMB2 has for years been regarded as the Odd Mario Out, even as it has seen popular updates on the Super NES and Game Boy Advance. Irwin's Mario is not a simple retelling of a 25-year-old story, but instead an examination of the game with fresh eyes: both as a product of its time and as a welcome change from the larger Super Mario franchise. Along the way he searches for clues, pulling up a few vegetables of his own. What he finds is not at all what he expected.
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  1. Book 6 of 31
    Boss Fight Books
  2. Print length
    52 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    National Book Network
  5. Publication date
    October 6, 2014
  6. Dimensions
    5.04 x 0.53 x 7.1 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1940535050
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1940535050
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jon Irwin has published essays in Alimentum, Billboard Magazine, Down East, GamePro, Lumina, and Kill Screen, where he is a contributing writer. In 2009 he received the PEN New England Discovery Award in Nonfiction. He lives near Atlanta but roots for Detroit.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ National Book Network; Reprint edition (October 6, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 52 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1940535050
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1940535050
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.04 x 0.53 x 7.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:

Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
64 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kieff
5.0 out of 5 stars He's gonna take you back to the past......!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2015
Verified Purchase
Great book! Does not slow down at all. everything super sweet about super Mario bros. 2 American and Japan versions! If you played the game as a kid or if you want to know all the juicy details and hard work that went into these two classic games, THIS IS FOR YOU!
One person found this helpful
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pinsnpushers
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2014
Verified Purchase
Great book!
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Kittens Mittens
3.0 out of 5 stars (I knew that SMB2 USA was a Mario game before it wasn't - originally apparently something similar to Super Mario Bros
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
there's really not a whole lot in the book I didn't already know from reading other things online. (I knew that SMB2 USA was a Mario game before it wasn't - originally apparently something similar to Super Mario Bros. Wii where you pick players up and throw them). I was hoping for potentially exclusive interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto or something that haven't already been publicly shown considering how secretive he tends to be.

I'll admit, reading about the American reaction to what would become The Lost Levels was hilarious.
One person found this helpful
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Latharial
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2016
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Fun read for anyone of a certain age that will remember this title from their youth.
One person found this helpful
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Jamie Magee
2.0 out of 5 stars Too much irrelevant content (padding)
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2018
Verified Purchase
If you dislike Super Mario Bros. 2, then this book won't likely change your mind.

If you like Super Mario Bros. 2 and know a bit about its history, then there is likely very little new information in the book for you.

If you've never played Super Mario Bros. 2, be warned it does contain spoilers.

The majority of the book is a single person's (the author) recounting of their personal history around the game. And even this appears to be mostly information based on their recent interactions with the game (which possibly is only the result of the decision to write the book itself).

I think the book would have been better served with this personalization removed, even if the result is a book 1/3 the length. I feel no connection with the author and see no reason to take interest in his personal history with this game over any other person who has played the game (.
4 people found this helpful
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Joe D.
1.0 out of 5 stars Just want to echo the bad writing/editing remarks; the book is entirely unfocused.
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2021
Verified Purchase
The way the book starts you'd think it was about the author; the way it continues, you'd think it was about SMB1. Written with very little regard for fact and mostly trying to invoke a feeling of nostalgia. I wanted history, and instead got the type of rant you might overhear at convention or something.

Skip it and go watch the Gaming Historian video instead.
3 people found this helpful
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Matt Lewis
5.0 out of 5 stars so I knew that the book around it (especially with a writer like Ken Baumann) would be awesome
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2014
When I contributed to the kickstarter for these books, the two titles that initally caught my eye were 'Earthbound' and 'Chrono Trigger'. I had played Earthbound a little bit when I was younger, and even then thought it was too weird to be alive, so I knew that the book around it (especially with a writer like Ken Baumann) would be awesome. I also knew the other one, 'Chrono Trigger', a bizarre semi-biblical time-traveling RPG, would also be great. But truth be told, I never actually played Chrono Trigger. I wanted to pick the books of the video games I knew well, since I knew they would be much more relevent to my past experiences. The next obvious choice was 'Super Mario Bros. 2'.

It's pretty obvious to anyone whose played it that SMB2 is a departure from the first and third editions of the game. The villians are different, the setting is different, and even the music is replaced by either the jazzy, Django-Rheinhart sounding main theme, or an anxiety-inducing boss theme. The books helps lay out the details about how yes, this WAS a re-skinned Japanese game of completely different origin, used when the 'real' SMB2 was deemed too punishing for American kids. This is the point where the book takes off.

To put it simply, the 'Earthbound' book is a tough act to follow. That game is still a mystery to many people, and that author practically fused himself with the book and put out a living, breathing thing. This book goes into many interesting details around the development of the game, the quirks of its gameplay, but stays on that level the entire time. Sometimes there are callbacks that you think are going to grow into something larger, but instead stay even-keel or the subject is changed. Even when the author does reach, these connections still seem loose at best. The choice of including the speedrunner interview at the end, particularly, seemed way off base. Appropriately, I speed-read through that section. Overall, the author does a good job laying out why this game was so weird compared to other Marios and exposing a few unknown backstories. But when it does shine, it shines brightly.
2 people found this helpful
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JDW
2.0 out of 5 stars Great Premise, Weak Execution
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2014
Verified Purchase
This is the second book from Boss Fight that I've read, and I'm definitely noticing a trend. Much like the book on Earthbound, this reads like an English Major's "Let's Play" narrative, interspersed with some light research. However, unlike the Earthbound book, which ultimately redeemed itself by intertwining with personal memoir, this one lacks real substance. And that's in spite of an intro from Howard Philips and an interview with Gail Tilden.

The writing's not bad, but I can't help but think of how much better it could have been with the help of a strong editor. It's a shame, because this is the Boss Fight Book that I was the most excited for, even when the release date of Summer 2014 crept into early October. Yes, the book touches on how SMB 2's history - the original Japanese sequel and the repurposing of Doki Doki Panic! - but they feel more like Wikipedia facts thrown in with articles on the history of Nintendo and creation of Nintendo power.
9 people found this helpful
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