Super Mario Bros. 2, which started out as Doki Doki Panic, received a much-needed update in Super Mario All-Stars.

The All-Star treatment

The solid-color backgrounds of Super Mario Bros. 2 were filled in with detailed background designs.

Easily seen in the screenshot above, the dark red hexagons making up the energy meter were changed to hearts outlined in white.

NESAll-Stars

In light areas, all holes in the walls were replaced with doors. However, the dark areas on the other side still have holes with light shining in.

The boss rooms were brightened up with red, green, and blue blocks.

Mushroom Blocks can no longer sit on light beams. Enemies can now pass through the light as well, so be careful!

Enemy updates

When Albatoss is hit, his upside-down sprite that falls off-screen isn't animated in All-Stars.

The Birdos boldly hold their Crystal Balls while battling the Mario crew on the NES. In All-Stars, the same Birdos hide the Crystal Balls in their bellies, spitting them out when defeated. The same goes for the Birdo with a Key in World 7-2.

Sprite redesigns

Many of the character and item sprites underwent slight redesigns, and some color variations were replaced. The NES version has lighter-colored sprites for dark areas, but only Pidgit has a similar variation in All-Stars.

Items
NameNESAll-Stars
1-Up Mushroom
Bomb
Cherries
Coin
Crystal Ball
Key
Magic Carpet
Magic Potion
Mushroom
Mushroom Block
Mushroom Block
Mushroom Block
Mushroom Block
Mushroom Block
POW
Rocket
Shell
Small Heart
Starman
Stopwatch
Unripened Vegetable
Unripened Vegetable
Unripened Vegetable
Unripened Vegetable
Vegetable
Vegetable
Vegetable
Vegetable
Vegetable
Vegetable
  • Bombs were changed from red to purple.
  • Crystal Balls are slightly bigger in All-Stars.
  • Pidgit's Magic Carpet was changed to orange with white highlights.
  • Mushroom Blocks were changed from red to pink. Only found in World 5, the spotted Mushroom Blocks are plain in All-Stars.
  • Since the Stopwatch's hands are asymmetrical in All-Stars, the "time" changes depending on which way your character is facing.
  • In All-Stars, vegetables have green grass, but they still don't match the red grass that you pull up to get them.
  • The smallest red unripe vegetable was changed to white.
  • The largest white vegetable is mostly pink in All-Stars.
  • The vegetable resembling a pumpkin was changed from red to green.
  • The red ripe vegetable from Wart's room was replaced with the green pumpkin.
Enemies
NameNESAll-Stars
Albatoss
Autobomb
Beezo
Beezo
Beezo
Birdo
Birdo
Birdo
Birdo
Bob-omb
Clawgrip
Cobrat
Flurry
Fryguy
Hawkmouth
Hoopster
Mouser
Ninji
Ostro
Panser
Panser
Panser
Panser
Phanto
Pidgit
Pokey
Porcupo
Shy Guy
Shy Guy
Snifit
Snifit
Snifit
Snifit
Spark
Trouter
Tryclyde
Tweeter
Wart
  • Autobombs were changed from black to teal.
  • Red Beezos were changed to tan.
  • The gray and green Beezos were changed to red.
  • Birdo wears a much bigger bow in All-Stars, but she lost her eyelashes.
  • The gray Birdos were replaced with green Birdos.
  • In All-Stars, Bob-ombs are gray and have decorative fuses.
  • The two different Mouser designs were merged into one.
  • Ninjis are purple in All-Stars.
  • Ostros are pink in All-Stars.
  • Pink Pansers were changed to blue.
  • Gray Pansers were replaced with the green ones.
  • Phanto's right side was changed from red to gold.
  • All Pidgits were changed to blue. While the lighter Pidgit was originally only found in World 5-3, All-Stars has the light blue Pidgit in 3-1 and 5-3.
  • Porcupos are purple in All-Stars.
  • Pink Shyguys were changed to blue.
  • Pink Snifits were changed to blue.
  • Green Snifits were replaced with the gray ones.
  • Tryclyde was changed from red to teal.
  • Tweeters were changed from white to light purple.
  • Wart's accessories were colored for All-Stars.
The good guys
NameNESAll-Stars
Luigi
Mario
Princess Toadstool
Toad
Subcon
  • Luigi's overalls were changed from blue to purple.
  • Luigi and Mario have white gloves in All-Stars.
  • Princess was changed from a brunette to a blonde, and her freakishly long arms were shortened.
  • The dots on Toad's hat were changed from blue to red.
  • The Subcons have a different face design.

Like day and night

Several levels were changed from nighttime to daytime, or vice versa. No doubt the change to the first section of World 1-1 shocked many SMB2 veterans:

World 2-3:

World 5-1:

World 5-3:

World 6-3:

Key rooms

The new background for the Key rooms features a huge, metallic Phanto.

When you grab the Key inside these rooms, a humming noise accompanies the big Phanto's glowing eyes.

Saving

Like the other three games included in All-Stars, you have four save slots, where only the world is saved. For example, if you save and quit in World 6-3, you will start up again in World 6-1.

You can save at any time via the pause screen.

Title screen

The All-Stars version has an updated copyright, colorized characters, and centered frame decorations on the bottom and sides. The Shy Guy was moved to the left along with the bottom frame decoration. Even though they now have color, the grass and vegetable are colored differently from how they look in the game.

Story

On the second story screen, the word "button" was removed.

Character select

In the All-Stars version, you start with five lives instead of three (the NES version lets you play with zero lives in reserve). Interestingly, an ellipsis now comes after the words "Extra Life," reminiscent of the character select screen in the SMB2 NES prototype. Whereas the NES version only lets you select a character before starting each stage, the All-Stars version takes you to back the character select screen when you lose a life.

Lives

Though you start out with more lives in All-Stars (see above), you max out at 99 lives, well short of the 255 allowed by the NES version. For extra lives over 99, the NES version replaces the tens digit with letters. For example, A0 = 100, A1 = 101, B0 = 110, and P4 = 254 extra lives.

Level intro

The level intro screens now have colorized scenes with animated grass. All of the scenes have small changes to platform size and grass placement. World 1's intro is reused for Worlds 3 and 5.

When restarting a level after losing a life, All-Stars doesn't show the lives remaining because it's shown on the character select screen, which appears before this screen.

The desert scenes of Worlds 2 and 6 have a pyramid instead of a platform.

The World 4 scene has changes similar to the World 1 scene.

World 7's scene has a much bigger platform.

Game over

The original SMB2 shows two screens when you lose all your lives, and you are limited to two continues. The two screens were combined into one for the All-Stars version, which lets you continue (and save) as many times as you want. The newer Game Over screen reuses the title screen border design and has a picture of Birdo.

Bonus Chance

The Bonus Chance in All-Stars has larger slot machine graphics with new art. The instructions changed from "Push (A) Button" to "Push Button"—in the NES version, you press the A button to stop the spinning panels, but the All-Stars version lets you press either Y, X, B, or A. If you match the first two panels in All-Stars, a drumroll will play.

In All-Stars, the prize for matching three non-cherries was increased from 1UP to 2UP.

Matching three cherries rewards you with 5UP in the original, but only 3UP in All-Stars.

The All-Stars version gives you a chance for 10UP with new "7" panels.

In All-Stars, the coin counter doesn't have to use letters for totals greater than nine. Also, the weird grass under Mario was fixed.

Warping

After going down a warp vase in the All-Stars version, the screen becomes distorted and new music plays as it transitions to the Warp announcement screen. Similar to the Game Over screen's new look, the title screen border design and another picture of Birdo decorate the new Warp screen.

World 5-2

In the NES version, the spike section of World 5-2 has the underground theme for its background music. In All-Stars, the overworld theme continues playing when you enter this section.

World 6-1

Platforms were added inside the sand vases in World 6-1 so that you're not trapped at the bottom if you dig up too much sand.

Inside Phanto's vase, the sand was removed behind Phanto and the Key.

World 6-2

At the end of World 6-2, the wall goes to the top of the screen in the All-Stars version.

World 6-3

In World 6-3, the cave entrance was changed from a creepy face to a metal Bob-omb door. When you stand in front of the door and press Up, it will rise and then close in front of you.

World 7-1

These four ladders in World 7-1 were extended to overlap the cloud platform, which makes it a bit easier to grab onto them. It also makes it possible to drop back down to this section if you're not careful.

Ending

With its new background that includes stained-glass windows, the room where you release the Subcons looks a lot fancier in All-Stars.

The heroes stand on a larger platform with columns that are now visible behind the Subcons, and the background has slightly smaller windows. Perhaps a bit tired from all the grass-pulling, Toad waves with only one hand in the All-Stars version. Wart's white belly and the jewel in his crown, which mysteriously were missing in this scene, were added for All-Stars.

In the All-Stars version, a colorized Mario dreams about two fewer Subcons. Although Toad was waving one hand on the previous screen, he is back to waving with both hands as he did in the NES version.

When Mario's dream (nightmare?) ends, All-Stars lets you save your game after pushing Start.