was released in North America in October 1985. The game's director, designer, and composer pictured together in 2015: Takashi Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Koji Kondo Bonus worlds A through D are accessible when the player plays through the game eight times, for a total of 52 levels. A hidden World 9 is accessible if the player does not use a warp zone. The main game has 32 levels across eight worlds and five bonus worlds. After each boss fight, Toad tells Mario that "our princess is in another castle". There were also some graphical changes from its predecessor, though their soundtracks are identical. Some of the game's levels require "split-second" precision and others require the player to jump on invisible blocks. The poison mushroom, in particular, works as an anti-mushroom, shrinking or killing the player-character. The Lost Levels introduces irritants including poison mushrooms, level warps that set the player farther back in the game, and wind gusts that redirect the player's course mid-air. The game continues the difficulty progression from the end of its predecessor. Their abilities are differentiated for the first time: Luigi, designed for skilled players, has less ground friction and higher jump height, while Mario is faster. Unlike the original, there is no two-player mode but at the title screen, the player chooses between the twin plumber characters. The player jumps between platforms, avoids enemy and inanimate obstacles, finds hidden secrets (such as warp zones and vertical vines), and collects power-ups like the mushroom (which makes Mario grow), the Fire Flower (which lets Mario throw fireballs), and the Invincibility Star. As in the original, Mario (or Luigi) ventures to rescue the Princess from Bowser. The Lost Levels is a side-scrolling platform game similar in style and gameplay to the original 1985 Super Mario Bros., save for an increase in difficulty. Screenshot of gameplay from the 1986 Japanese release, showing a poison mushroom It is remembered among the most difficult games by Nintendo and in the video game medium, and among the least important games in the Mario series. The Lost Levels was the most popular game on the Disk System, for which it sold about 2.5 million copies. This sequel gave Luigi his first character traits and introduced the poison mushroom item, which has since been used throughout the Mario franchise. Journalists appreciated the game's challenge when spectating speedruns, and recognized the game as a precursor to the franchise's subculture in which fans create and share ROM hacks featuring nearly impossible levels. Reviewers viewed The Lost Levels as an extension of the original release, especially its difficulty progression. The title is known for its intense difficulty, which contributes to its reputation as a black sheep in the franchise. It was later ported to the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Console ( Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U), and Nintendo Switch. North America first experienced The Lost Levels, as the Japanese sequel became known, in the 1993 Super Nintendo Entertainment System compilation Super Mario All-Stars. 2: a retrofitted version of the Japanese Doki Doki Panic. Nintendo of America deemed the title too difficult for its North American audience and instead chose another game as the region's Super Mario Bros. It was developed by Nintendo R&D4-the team led by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto-and designed for players who had mastered the original. 2 on June 3, 1986, following the success of its predecessor. The Lost Levels was first released in Japan for the Famicom Disk System as Super Mario Bros. The game has 32 levels across eight worlds, and five bonus worlds, each of which also has four levels. The Lost Levels also introduces setbacks such as poison mushroom power-ups, counterproductive level warps, and mid-air wind gusts. Unlike the original, the game has no two-player option and Luigi is differentiated from his twin plumber brother with reduced ground friction and increased jump height. Like the original, Mario or Luigi venture to rescue the Princess from Bowser.
The games are similar in style and gameplay, apart from a steep increase in difficulty. Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is a 1986 side-scrolling platform game developed and published by Nintendo as the first sequel to their 1985 bestseller Super Mario Bros.