Among the many big announcements made during the surprise Nintendo Direct in celebration of Super Mario Bros.' 35th Anniversary was a limited-edition Game & Watch with Super Mario Bros. The retro-style handheld will allow players to experience the original 1985 classic on the go and will also include a clock function alongside Game & Watch: Ball with Mario replacing Mr. Game & Watch. Additionally, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels will also be included in the package.

This may come as a bit of a surprise to some North American and European players, since it may seem more fitting to include the original's direct sequel, Super Mario Bros. 2. However, there is a good reason The Lost Levels is included instead, and it has to do with the franchise's long history.

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Super Mario Bros. 2 was released for the Famicom (Japan's version of the Nintendo Entertainment System that used floppy disks instead of cartridges) in 1986. The title was revolutionary, introducing several different elements that would make their way into later games. It was the first title to add distinct gameplay mechanics for Mario and Luigi. Mario was faster, and Luigi could jump noticeably higher but slid more whenever he landed. This meant Luigi required more precision and thought while playing, making Mario a better choice for beginners and Luigi a fun challenge for more skilled players.

Super Mari Bros. 2 with Mario side-scrolling through landscape with various enemies

Besides its playable characters, Super Mario Bros. 2 also added complexity in its items and environments. The Poison Mushroom, a sinister foil to the iconic Super Mushroom that shrunk players rather than powering them up, made its debut in this game. While the item isn't present in every subsequent entry, it is an iconic part of the franchise as a whole, making appearances in a variety of spin-offs from Mario Party to Super Smash Bros. Along with the toxic fungi came wind that redirects players in the air depending on the direction it blow, a mechanic that has reappeared in a number of Mario titles.

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However as innovative as Super Mario Bros. 2 was, it never released for the NES in North America, as Nintendo of America deemed the game too difficult for its audience. Instead, Nintendo opted to reskin the Japanese exclusive Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic and create the game known in the West as Super Mario Bros. 2. Following its success in overseas, the game later released in Japan under the name Super Mario USA. The original Japanese version would also make its way West in the SNES compilation Super Mario All-Stars, under the new name Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.

For all intents and purposes, The Lost Levels is the intended direct sequel to the original Super Mario Bros., hence why it is included in the upcoming Game & Watch. The game is still known as Super Mario Bros. 2 to this day in Japan, so while seeing these titles together may seem peculiar to Western Audiences, it makes perfect sense and stays true to creator Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo's artistic vision for the Mario series.

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