Why was Super Mario 2 so different than 1 or 3?

This is actually pretty cut and dry. The "real" Super Mario Bros. 2 was deemed too hard for Western audiences, but the timing was right for releasing a sequel. Instead, Nintendo took an existing game called Doki Doki Panic and reskinned it with Mario characters. read more

So: it feels totally different because it was never intended to be a Mario game at all. As for the original Super Mario Bros. 2, that was later released as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. read more

Super Mario Brothers 3 was about to be released in Japan, Nintendo of America singled out a different game to take the place of Super Mario Brothers 2": i thought your timeline had to be off, since SMB2 USA was released in 1988 and SMB3 wasn't released until 1990. read more