A Guide to Super Mario Bros. 2/Characters



Mario, Luigi, the Princess, and Toad have teamed up to face a challenging adventure. You have your choice of four characters in Super Mario Bros. 2, each with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Get to know them well. You'll need all of their skills to get you through the challenges.

At the start of every level and whenever you die, you must select which character to play as. If you have trouble with an area, try using a different character.

Stats
Each character has three stats: jump (height), speed, and strength. Stats are rated on a five point scale:
 * Jump: how high a character can jump if standing still and the A button is held until they reach the peak of the jump. Note that Princess Peach's jump ability has the best utility of the group, with the added ability of temporarily floating after a jump.
 * Strength: the speed at which a character can pick up a heavy item. Small items such as sprouts are picked up quickly by everybody.
 * Speed: how fast a character can run while holding an item. All characters have the same running speed without an item.

SMB2 portrait mario.png Mario
Strength: ◆◆◆◆◇ - Speed: ◆◆◆◆◇ - Jump: ◆◆◆◆◇ Mario, Imajin in Doki Doki Panic, is the most well-rounded of the bunch, possessing above-average Strength, Jumping and Speed ratings. He loses a little of his jumping ability when he carries an item. He is a good choice for beginners, although some may prefer the Princess instead.

SMB2 portrait luigi.png Luigi
Strength: ◆◆◆◇◇ - Speed: ◆◆◆◇◇ - Jump: ◆◆◆◆◆ You'll really get a jump on the action when you play with Luigi (or Mama in Doki Doki Panic). Mario's tall, slim brother has springs for legs and a few tricks of his own.

Luigi can jump higher and farther than any other character, but watch out because he can make you jumpy too. Sometimes he gets out of control and jumps too high or too far! Some items are reachable only with Luigi. However, his jump greatly weakens if he has to carry an item. His running ability is mediocre.

SMB2 portrait toad.png Toad
Strength: ◆◆◆◆◆ - Speed: ◆◆◆◆◆ - Jump: ◆◆◇◇◇

Toad (Papa in Doki Doki Panic), the Princess' retainer, has the highest strength and running speed, but the worst jumping ability. With the highest strength, he can pick up and throw enemies to protect himself from nearby danger. As the fastest character, he is the best at evading Phanto. Unfortunately, he jumps like a broken pogo stick and will have difficulty reaching secrets and platforms up high, heavily relying on the charged jump.

SMB2 portrait princess.png The Princess
Strength: ◆◆◇◇◇ - Speed: ◆◆◇◇◇ - Jump: ◆◆◆◇◇ For the first time, Princess Toadstool (Peach in the GBA version and Lina in Doki Doki Panic) is playing more than a waiting game. The fair Princess Toadstool has come back strong as a major partner in this adventure.

She is the weakest of the bunch in all general stats. However, the pink-clad princess has the unique ability of being able to float in the air for a short period of time if you hold the jump button. This allows her to bypass some of the more risky jumps in the game that require you to stand on moving platforms over treacherous gaps. It also allows her to correct jumps that would normally be fatal.