Which did you like more?

I found the US version of Mario 2 actually pretty awesome. I do realize it wasn't originally a Mario game, and it's pretty funny how the Japanese had to baby up Mario for us because they thought the Lost Levels were a bit too hard... but I actually enjoyed Mario 2 a lot more than the Lost Levels. Maybe it was the difference in scenery.

I mean besides the next gen Mario games it was the only Mario game to have things like flying carpets. Plus it introduced the Shy Guys which have stuck around for other Mario games.

Not to mention it seems to me that Yoshi/Birdo type characters were a byproduct of Super Mario Bros. 2. Not to mention Toad.

My vote goes to the US version, a.k.a. Super Mario Bros. 2, because I think it really helped to shape the Mario series. I also think it was a lot more fun than the other Mario titles for NES.

Did you place the lost levels, though?

US Mario 2 set a lot of standards for the series in terms of characters, but the other Mario 2 was much more difficult and played similar to the first title.

Mario 2 (the US version) was actually my favorite game in the Mario series. So even though I haven't played the "lost levels", I'm sure I'd prefer the US version.

Yes I've played both. Both are quite fun, don't get me wrong, and I enjoyed the Lost Levels quite a bit more than SMB1, but when it comes to overall feel I enjoyed the US Mario 2 better. I liked how it stood out from SMB1 instead of more of the same. Lost Levels felt like a true sequel to SMB1 but SMB2 (US) felt like a whole new game (a new game that I liked quite a bit). I liked what SMB2 paved the way for.

Can you imagine Mario without half of the things introduced in the US SMB2? Now, interestingly enough there are a lot of things from SMB2 that never made it into future Mario games. Like the potion doors.

I'm giving my vote to the US version because even though it was the **** child of the series, it stuck around and helped build the Mario world.

That's true Cons. Ideally they would have just had SMB2 and another called SMB3, before the actual SMB3, and then release SMB3 as SMB4.

Of course it's way too late to consider that alternative. I'm happy with the way things have turned out though.

Super Mario World for SNES is still my favorite though. I'm definitely going to go play some Lost Levels first though.

I like both games, and I favor The Lost Levels more because I still have not beaten it yet. That game is so frickin' hard, but fun. The US version introduced a whole revolutionized the word of Mario, but the game it self was pretty easy.

I play Lost Levels because it's fun and challenging.
I'm glad Shigeru Miyamoto made a come back on Super Mario All Stars with the game as a 16-bit improvement.

SMB2JP

Really. The American SMB2 wasn't even intended to be a Mario title. It's actually just Doki Doki Panic. And on top of that, it's far to easy.