8. Wart’s only other appearance is in a Zelda game?!

Outside of a Smash Bros. trophy here and there, Super Mario 2’s Boss hasn’t shown anywhere near the longevity of a Mario villain like Bowser.

Above: The most notable enemy with an open-mouthed weakness since King Hippo!

Although his name is dropped in Super Paper Mario and Mario Superstars Baseball, as well as an alleged son appearing in Animal Crossing, Wart has never physically appeared again in a single Mario game for more than two decades. However, a very recognizable Wart appeared in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening under his original Japanese moniker, Mamu, and actually teaches Link his last song on the Ocarina!

9. Super Mario 2 is the third bestselling NES game of all time

Yep, right underneath Mario 1 and 3, and just above the Legend of Zelda, with 10 million copies sold.

Above: SMB2 kicked Mario Madness into high gear, and helped launch the first issue of Nintendo Power

Say what you will of Super Mario 2’s legacy, that’s still more copies moved than Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy. AND, if you factor in the GBA rerelease and its inclusion on the SNES compilation Super Mario All-Stars, there are more copies of SMB2 floating around than Halo 3 and Grand Theft Auto IV.

10. Super Mario 2 never happened

The only “Super Mario 2 isn’t a real Mario game” argument I’ll even entertain is the one the designers put in place intentionally. After all, every other Mario game features sewage pipes, fine brick masonry, and other various design aspects that adhere with 20th century civilization, whereas SMB2’s overgrown forests and ancient temples suggest a far more primitive setting.

Above: The manual is telling you something.“Subcon?” hmmm…

With Super Mario 3 in the works, there was a general outline being established on what is and isn’t thematically “Mario.” Thus the point had to be made was: This IS NOT the Mushroom Kingdom. So how can you can you explain the inclusion of New York plumbers, a princess and a fungal humanoid? WARNING: 20 YEAR OLD SPOILER…

Above: LOOK AWAY! This may be more than you can handle!

It was all just a dream. Yes, the ending reveals that the entirety of SMB2 was concocted in a sleeping Mario’s subconscious, but I move that this SHOULD NOT strip it of canonical status! Based on that criteria, allow me to point you towards this recent Super Mario 3 revelation: Super Mario 3… was just a stage play!

Above: Courtesy of the internet!

May 25, 2010

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