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For a plumber, Mario leads a remarkably odd life. After waking from a dream in which he climbed a staircase, opened a door and heard a call for help, Mario has climbed a staircase in a cave, opened a door and heard a cry for help! Heroic sanitation technician that he is, Mario leaps through the door and finds himself in Subcon where he has to rescue the population from the curse of a vile, froglike despot called Wart!

Mario's mission is divided into 20 stages, spread over seven worlds, which are packed with 29 breeds of Wart's evil servants. At the far end of each stage is a large mask which hides the door to the next part of the game, but to get through it, Mario has to destroy a boss character who throws either eggs, bombs or rocks, by grabbing the missiles and throwing them straight back.

Each world has its own type of terrain, and Mario can find himself legging it over green hills, sheets of ice, schools of whales, deadly desert quicksand, through caves - sometimes he even takes to the clouds!

When Mario plucks a potion, and throws it to the ground a door appears. Dash through the door and he's in subspace, where pulling up plants produces coins, and mushrooms boost your life points (shown by the red shapes at top left).

There are also secret warps to be found, but you have to know where to look...

Since his last adventure, Mario has acquired a new skill. By standing over an object and pressing the B button, Mario grabs the object and carries it over his head then another press of the B button throws the object forward.

Sometimes there are even hidden objects to pull up, like mushrooms, extra lives and potions!

If you've collected any coins from Subspace, you can play the bonus bandit. Every shot costs a coin, but if you can stop the reels on three similar shapes, or live up a cherry, Mario is awarded an extra life!

Before you start each section of each world you can choose to play one of the four characters shown, each of whom have different characteristics. From left to right:

1. Mario Strong and runs fast, but not so good at jumping.

2. Luigi A slower runner than Mario, but a very high jumper. The best character for most of the early stages.

3. Toad Very strong. Unlike the other characters, Toad can carry objects without slowing down.

4. Princess Toadstool Instead of jumping, the Princess can float in mid-air for about a second. Not very strong or fast though.

Super Mario Brothers can't have been an easy act to follow, so Nintendo really had their work cut out producing a follow-up. But they've done it, and Super Mario Bros II is even better!

Cute and highly detailed characters and colourful backgrounds really make it look cartoony and fun, and the music and sound effects match the graphics for jolliness.

But the gameplay's what's most important, and even in this respect, Super Mario Bros II tops the original!

All the new characters and the new abilities add a further dimension to the original platform fun. At nearly £40, it's one of the most expensive Nintendo carts, but any fan of the original will certainly get his money's worth!

Super Mario Bros II simply oozes playability. The difficulty level is perfectly set so that you always seem to get a little bit further each time you play - or discover yet another secret room or warp!

Consequently, the game is incredibly addictive. The only criticism I've got is that there's no score - it would be nice to be able to go for a high score record as well as beating the game itself.

Other than that, though, Super Mario II is one of the most enjoyable Nintendo games around. Roll on Super Mario III!

Presentation 90%
Very detailed instruction booklet. Choice of player characters, hidden tricks and a nifty bonus game.

Graphics 89%
Great character graphics, nicely animated. Overall, very jolly.

Sound 89%
Excellent music (some remixes of the original Super Mario music) and really cute sound effects.

Playability 94%
Inventive and enjoyable gameplay make this a real pleasure to play.

Lastability 85%
Twenty stages which start off easy but get very challenging in tougher terrains.

Overall 89%
A tremendous sequel to Super Mario Brothers.