# Super Mario Advance
**Super Mario Advance** is a 2001 [Game Boy Advance](https://www.edgepedia.org/game-boy-advance) game developed by Nintendo R&D2 and published by Nintendo, bundling an enhanced remake of *Super Mario Bros. 2* with a remake of the original *Mario Bros.* arcade game.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) • [2](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396) It was a launch title for the handheld in Japan and North America and became the first entry in a four-game *Super Mario Advance* series.[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer / publisher | Nintendo R&D2 / Nintendo[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) |
| Release dates | Japan March 21, 2001; North America June 10, 2001; Australia June 22, 2001[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance) |
| Contents | Enhanced remake of *Super Mario Bros. 2* plus a remake of the *Mario Bros.* arcade game[2](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396) • [4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-mario-advance-review/1900-2769417/) |
| Playable characters | Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Peach, each with distinct movement[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) |
| Additions over the NES original | A point system, stage collectibles, new enemies, and recorded voice clips[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) • [2](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396) |
| Review scores | Nintendo World Report 6.5/10; Nintendo Life 7/10; VideoGamesCritic 71/100 (critics 84, players 71)[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance) • [1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) • [2](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396) |
## Background: the odd game in the Mario canon
The cartridge's main game has an unusual history. After the Japanese *Super Mario Bros. 2* (later released in the West as *The Lost Levels*) was judged too difficult for Western audiences, Nintendo re-skinned a different game, *Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic*, with Mario characters and released the result as *Super Mario Bros. 2* on the NES in 1988.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) GameSpot's review describes it as a game that "began its life in Japan as something other than a Mario game."[4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-mario-advance-review/1900-2769417/) The Nintendo World Report reviewer called *Super Mario Bros. 2* the "universally regarded black sheep of the Mario family" and noted the controversy over Nintendo choosing it as the handheld's initial Mario offering.[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance)
The game's distinct design followed from that origin. It is a slower, more puzzle-oriented adventure with large levels containing hidden doors, secret areas, and verticality, and it introduced recurring enemies such as Shy Guy and [Birdo](https://www.edgepedia.org/birdo), whose remastered appearances debut on the cartridge.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) Princess Toadstool, her NES name, is renamed [Princess Peach](https://www.edgepedia.org/princess-peach).[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance)
## Contents and changes
**The Super Mario Bros. 2 remake.** Players choose among Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Peach, who share a basic move set of jumping, picking up enemies, and throwing items but control differently: Mario is the easiest to play, Luigi jumps slightly higher, Peach jumps the farthest, and Toad is the most lightweight.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) Nintendo added a point system and several collectibles to find throughout each stage, along with new enemies, improved graphics, and tougher challenges relative to the NES release.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) • [2](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396) The R shoulder button lets the player run without throwing a held item, a control refinement the Nintendo World Report review singled out as showing real care.[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance)
**The Mario Bros. remake.** The second game on the cartridge is a remake of the original *Mario Bros.* arcade and NES title, in which Mario and Luigi clear a vertical stage by striking the platform under an enemy, flipping it onto its back, and running into it.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) The intentionally floaty controls differ from later Mario games, POW blocks knock several enemies over at once, and each stage adds enemy types and hazards such as fireballs.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) VideoGamesCritic describes it as an "action-packed four-player version" of the arcade game.[2](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396) The remake's controls are not fully faithful to the arcade original; Mario skidded more when changing direction there, a change the Nintendo World Report reviewer considered an improvement for most players.[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance) This *Mario Bros.* conversion reappeared in the subsequent *Super Mario Advance* entries.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance)
## Reception
Critics judged the package solid but conservative. The Nintendo World Report review, published at the North American launch, scored it 6.5 out of 10, praising crisp controls (9/10) and the difficulty, which it called a welcome challenge compared with the easier modern platformers, while faulting distracting vertical scrolling in places and a limited shelf life once both games were finished.[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance) GameSpot criticized Nintendo for not creating a new Mario game for the Game Boy Advance's launch and for including "only token enhancements" in the upgraded *Super Mario Bros. 2*.[4](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-mario-advance-review/1900-2769417/) A GameFAQs review framed the value simply: worth the money for players who did not already own *Super Mario Bros. 2*, since the cartridge is essentially a port of it with relatively limited controls.[5](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gba/457772-super-mario-advance/reviews/21324)
The voice clips became the port's defining criticism. The Nintendo World Report review scored sound 7/10, calling the music excellent but the added speech "horribly over-used."[3](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance) The POCG retrospective wrote that the port "adds nothing meaningful and actively detracts with awful voice work," while also noting that the game was a commercial success benefiting from the Game Boy Advance's strong launch.[6](https://pocg.net/vault/super-mario-advance/) Retrospective takes diverge on the presentation itself: Nintendo Life's 2014 review scored it 7/10, finding the brightly colored remakes and remixed tunes attractive and calling the cartridge "a decent way to experience two intriguing entries," while a commenter on the same review called the graphics washed out.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance) VideoGamesCritic aggregates a score of 71/100, with critics at 84 and players at 71.[2](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396)
## The Advance series and later releases
*Super Mario Advance* began a line of four Game Boy Advance cartridges that ported the classic 2D Mario games to the handheld. *Super Mario World* was officially available on the Game Boy Advance as *Super Mario Advance 2*,[7](https://hpl.ca/sites/default/files/SWP_2021_Works_V3.pdf) and *Super Mario Advance 3* was a port of *Yoshi's Island*.[8](https://riunet.upv.es/bitstream/10251/173255/1/Fernandez%20-%20Super%20Coffee%20Shop%20Adventure%20Baristas%20Journey%20II%20Diseno%20de%20interaccion%20narrativa%20y%20pro....pdf) The fourth entry went further than a straight port, modifying every level of its source game, altering or shrinking blocks, to fit the Game Boy Advance's screen resolution.[9](https://www.resetera.com/threads/revisiting-snes-gba-ports-that-are-superior-or-at-least-worth-playing.1239753/)
The series illustrates a broader pattern in SNES-to-GBA conversions. On a technical level, forum assessment holds that each of these ports played worse than its SNES counterpart because of hardware limits in sound, color, and aspect ratio, though fan-made color restoration and voice removal mods can make the Advance versions preferable to the originals.[9](https://www.resetera.com/threads/revisiting-snes-gba-ports-that-are-superior-or-at-least-worth-playing.1239753/) *Super Mario Advance* itself was later offered on the [Wii U](https://www.edgepedia.org/wii-u) eShop, listed alongside the original Game Boy Advance release on Nintendo Life's game page.[1](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance)
## References
1. [Super Mario Advance Review (GBA), Nintendo Life (Lee Meyer, 2014)](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/gba/super_mario_advance)
2. [Super Mario Advance review score, VideoGamesCritic](https://videogamescritic.com/game/super-mario-advance-1000002396)
3. [Super Mario Advance Review, Nintendo World Report (Justin Nation, June 19, 2001)](https://nintendoworldreport.com/review/3779/super-mario-advance-game-boy-advance)
4. [Super Mario Advance Review, GameSpot (2001)](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/super-mario-advance-review/1900-2769417/)
5. [Super Mario Advance Review for Game Boy Advance, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/gba/457772-super-mario-advance/reviews/21324)
6. [Super Mario Advance, The Vault, POCG](https://pocg.net/vault/super-mario-advance/)
7. [SWP 2021 Works, Hamilton Public Library (personal essay mentioning Super Mario Advance 2)](https://hpl.ca/sites/default/files/SWP_2021_Works_V3.pdf)
8. [Fernandez, Super Coffee Shop Adventure: Barista's Journey II, Universitat Politècnica de València (mentioning Super Mario Advance 3)](https://riunet.upv.es/bitstream/10251/173255/1/Fernandez%20-%20Super%20Coffee%20Shop%20Adventure%20Baristas%20Journey%20II%20Diseno%20de%20interaccion%20narrativa%20y%20pro....pdf)
9. [Revisiting: SNES -> GBA ports that are superior (or at least worth playing), ResetEra](https://www.resetera.com/threads/revisiting-snes-gba-ports-that-are-superior-or-at-least-worth-playing.1239753/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual Nintendo-platform game titles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license