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Brief History of Super Mario Bros. 2

Justin McElroy and Russ Frushtick team up to share the insane history of a classic game.

Russ Frushtick is the director of special projects, and he has been covering the world of video games and technology for over 15 years. He co-founded Polygon in 2012.

Have you ever wondered why Super Mario Bros. 2 was so bizarre compared to the first game? Justin McElroy and Russ Frushtick have teamed up to make you an expert on the origins of this strange sequel. What began as a prototype that would never see the light of day became one of the most impactful installments in the Mario franchise. We wouldn’t have Shy Guys, Birdo and, incredibly, running, without Mario 2. Toss in trips to Brazil’s Carnival and a perplexingly placed carrot and things start to get interesting! Learning the history of Super Mario Bros. 2 will make you a better human being.

Special shout-out to YouTube’s Gaijillionare, who helped to fill in some of the trickier bits of this story with some awesome footage!

And hey, if you dug that, perhaps you’d enjoy a video all about the history of the board game, Clue? If that sounds boring, clearly you aren’t shocked by MURDER.

The next level of puzzles.

Take a break from your day by playing a puzzle or two! We’ve got SpellTower, Typeshift, crosswords, and more.