If Super Mario Bros. was the culmination of the Famicom's early history in Japan, Super Mario Bros. 2 for NES served the same role here in the U.S. Debuting as the console hit critical mass in time for its first major holiday season in America, SMB2 sent players into a huge, imaginative game world that they could tackle with their choice of four different characters, not just Mario. Despite its complicated history, SMB2 became one of the system's greatest hits and did a great deal to define Mario in the West. Nintendo took no chances with this one, and this episode also looks at one of the keys to SMB2's staggering success: Nintendo Power magazine.