It's common knowledge that the game that Nintendo released for the NES in 1988 as Super Mario Brothers 2 did not start life as a 'real' Mario game. For whatever reason Nintendo decided to adopt another game and morph it into SMB 2.

Japan DID get a real SMB 2 -- just a updated and harder version of the original Super Mario Brothers. That's one reason I've read over the years as to why Nintendo decided (at first) not to release the game -- they felt it was too hard for American gamers, that the public wanted a totally 'new' Mario game, and that it was'nt as fun as the original game.

So a Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic, staring a Arbian guy, was converted into SMB 2. The game did well enough in the States, despite not being the smash hit the original was.

Nintendo did eventuly release the 'real' SMB 2 in the States, called Super Mario Brothers: The Lost Levels, one of the games included on the SMB All Stars game for the SNES (in 1994, I think). And it WAS damn hard, much harder then either SMB 1 or 2 was.

If you've played both games and are a Mario fan, ESPECILY if you (like me) remember getting SMB 2 when it was new and playing it a lot, what's your opinion?

Did Nintendo make the right decision in releasing Doki Doki Panic as a Mario game or should they have released Lost Levels over here instead? Which game SHOULD have been SMB 2 and why?