Lost no more.

Welp, Nintendo's finally done it. After all the begging, pleading and scratching from fans, the company's finally released its first previously Japan-only game for the Virtual Console. Frankly, they probably couldn't have picked a better one, as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is sure to be one of the most downloaded Virtual Console games for sometime. What's that? You're a longtime Mario fan and you've never heard of The Lost Levels? Then it's a good thing this is a teaching videogame website.

In short, Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels is the true sequel to the original Super Mario Bros. for the NES. America's version of Super Mario Bros. 2 was actually a game known as Doki Doki Panic in Japan, localized and re-casted with Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad as the heroes. The reason being Lost Levels was thought to be too difficult and too similiar to the first Super Mario Bros. and thus (other than remakes as part of Super Mario All-Stars for the Super NES and Super Mario Deluxe for the Game Boy Color) was never officially released in the West.

Some fans may beg to differ, but Nintendo of America's decision to hold back Lost Levels in 1986 was probably the right one, as it's virtually just a really hard version of Super Mario Bros. It definitely would've made a lot of kids here cry, and possibly even lose interest in the then-young Mario franchise. Among other nasty surprises, the platforming is much tougher, you can accidentally warp backwards and hidden amongst Super Mushrooms are Poison Mushrooms, which touching will cause damage to Mario or Luigi.

Speaking of the two plumbers, substituting for a two-player mode are a Mario Mode and Luigi Mode. Coincidentally, just like in the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2, the two brothers have differing abilities. Mario is more agile and has good traction, but he can't jump as high as Luigi. Luigi can jump higher and farther than Mario, but it's harder for him to stop while moving, which can prove deadly while navigating narrow platforms.

All in all, if you're a devoted Mario fan then chances are you don't need a review to tell you to download Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. If you're just a platforming fan looking for an old-school challenge though, Lost Levels will still suffice. Especially considering you need to beat the game eight times to access four out of five of the Lost Levels themselves. The game costs 100 more Wii Points than other current NES games but if you think about how much the original Famicom cartridge is probably going for on ebay, 600 Wii Points is a bargain.