Mario's last name is not Mario, it was a joke in a Nintendo Power letters column, got snuck into that stupid movie, and there you go.

Also, there was more than the game just being "too tough" that kept SMB2 out of the US. It was also essentially the same game, only harder, and the only things added were things that made the game not just harder, but frustrating and counter-intuitive. I heard Miyamoto himself isn't particularly proud of the game.

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Damn, I really thought Mario was called Mario Mario. Seemed a bit stupid, but as a member of the faithful my duty is to hear and believe, never to question. ... So what *IS* Mario and Luigi's last name? Never been revealed?

According to Wikipedia: "Nintendo has never revealed Mario's full name, stating only that it was not "Mario Mario" despite the implication of the Mario Bros. series' title, its use in the film, and information given in the Prima official Guidebook to Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga". Sourced to a TV show, so I can't find any closer than that.

I remember reading this in a book once, however.

TheRoboSleuth wrote:

UsaSatsui wrote: Mario's last name is not Mario, it was a joke in a Nintendo Power letters column, got snuck into that stupid movie, and there you go. Also, there was more than the game just being "too tough" that kept SMB2 out of the US. It was also essentially the same game, only harder, and the only things added were things that made the game not just harder, but frustrating and counter-intuitive. I heard Miyamoto himself isn't particularly proud of the game. SMB 2 is very underrated, it was distinctive and added a great deal to the mario universe. Lost levels was too difficult to be properly enjoyable and too easy to be an insane hack type.

It added poisoned mushrooms, wind effects, playing as Luigi, and very frustrating platform design. Two of those have never been seen again. One is only a feature of the very last levels, or maybe bonus levels. And playing as Luigi, well, SMB2 USA did that too. It's also not very distinctive, it really is just essentially "Super Mario Bros, Worlds 9-16 and more". It does play out a lot like a challenge hack.

I think it's very overrated myself. There's a perceived "Fuck You" about the lack of an original US release. That I think is a part of it.

Syd Lexia wrote:

Every NES Mega Man game after the first one used the same core sprite set and we didn't see any important gameplay twists after Mega Man 3. That didn't stop Mega Man 4, 5, and 6 from coming out. In fact, Nintendo of America had to publish Mega Man 6 themselves because Capcom wasn't interested in doing a U.S. release.

What about Mega Man 4, 5, and 6 was a frustrating game mechanic that tended to piss people off more than add gameplay value?

I'm not saying SMB2 was not released because it was "more of the same", it was because it was "more of the same, except for the really fucking annoying stuff".

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SMB2 wasn't released in the U.S. because important people at NOA didn't like it. That's what it came down to.

Perfectly legitimate reason. Though I understand NoJ didn't particularly like the game either.

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That's why Nintendo had him killed.