Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

Super Mario Bros. 2 is of course the sequel to what was at the time the most popular video game ever, Super Mario Bros. However, Super Mario Bros. 2 in North America and most of the rest of the world was not the same sequel that was released in Japan. Nintendo of America deemed the Japanese sequel to be too difficult and too much like its predecessor to be successful. Instead, an unrelated game called Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic was improved upon and retrofitted with Mario Bros. related graphics, characters, etc. and released as Super Mario Bros. 2.

Despite being derived from a non-Super Mario Bros. game, SMB 2 was still a huge success. In fact, it was so successful that it was later also released in Japan as Super Mario Bros. USA. The original Japanese sequel was also later released to the rest of the world as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels as part of Super Mario All-Stars on the Super Nintendo.

Super Mario Bros. 2 as a whole is very similar to the original. It is the epitome of the side-scrolling platform adventure game. However, gone is the two-player mode of the original and you now have four protagonists to chose from instead of just two. In addition, each one has slightly different abilities as opposed to all playing identically. One key new feature was the ability to lift and throw enemies and objects. This ability, along with a several new characters, have been included in a number of sequels and spin-offs since.

Super Mario Bros. 2 was hugely successful, selling in the neighborhood of 10 million copies and becoming the third highest selling video game for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. Because of its success, it has seen several re-releases. In 2001 it was released as Super Mario Bros. Advance for the Game Boy Advance. It was also included as part of Super Mario Bros. All-Stars for the Super Nintendo which was itself expanded and re-released multiple times for the Super Nintendo and Wii. It has also seen various Virtual Console releases for multiple subsequent Nintendo systems. This is one of those games that every gamer should at least try and it's pretty easy to come by in one form or another so what are you waiting for?

Personal Computer Games (January 1985)

Personal Computer Games was a U.K. based magazine that was published in the 1980s. It covered games on popular computers of the time. The January 1985 issue includes:

Personal Computer Games (January 1985)

Vintage Photos - Lot 6 (365-368)

All of the photos in this set were processed in October 1980 and were probably taken around that time.

At least three out of the four look like they were taken at the same time and place. This was likely in Michigan, probably on the shore of one of the Great Lakes.

Vintage Photos - Lot 6 (365-368)/a>

Exile (TurboGrafx-CD)

Exile was released by for both the Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx-CD in 1992. It was a remake of a game originally released in Japan in 1988 for various computers mostly unknown to those of us in North America, including the NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-9801, MSX2 and the X1 turbo. The game is an action RPG and features both a top down perspective like the original Zelda and other similar games, as well as a side-scrolling action perspective depending on what you are doing.

While the the Genesis and TurboGrafx-CD versions are very close, the TurboGrafx version has a slight edge in some areas. Because it is CD based, there are more cinematics and better music (though this might be a matter of personal preference to some degree). The graphics are very close but the TurboGrafx-CD version has slightly more colors. The translation also seems to be a little better and the story more coherent on the TurboGrafx version. However, these are all mostly minor differences. One interesting difference is the fact that the Genesis localization (done by Renovation) censored certain aspects of the game (e.g. naked girls in one scene) while the TurboGrafx-CD localization (done by Working Designs) did not.

Overall this is a very good game even if it is not as well known as some others. While I wouldn't say it is as good as Ys I and II, it's still quite good and fans of those games will likely enjoy this one. I am not aware of any remakes or re-releases so you will have to resort to emulation or track down and original Genesis or TurboGrafx-CD versions if you want to play.

Exile was followed up by Exile: Wicked Phenomenon the following year for the Turbo Duo or TurboGrafx-CD with the Super System Card.