One of the first games I've ever played was Super Mario Bros. 2. I would play it for hours on end with my father, who to this day has an incredible obsession with it. My favorite version of that game was on the Game Boy Advance though!

What makes this version of Super Mario Bros. 2/Super Mario USA so fun are the enhancements. Both versions contain the same great platforming experience, but I found Super Mario Advance way more forgiving. Dying does not mean that you will go to the beginning of the game. Instead, you will start right back at the level you failed. This makes touching the Wii U's save stats unneeded as the game flows a lot better now. The only thing is that kind of irked me was that there are almost too many chances to replenish hearts. The developers have put special heart plants in the ground, which you will encounter randomly. If you can do a right combo by throwing turnips at enemies, a slew of hearts will be at your fingertips as well. Similar to other Mario games, you can also get high scores and five big special coins so that you have something more to shoot for. These five coins are put in some sneaky spots and these encourage exploring environments to the fullest.

The game looks much sharper than the original game. Super Mario Advance has a bright and colorful palette and everything in this weird world has more charming attributes to it that translate well on the Wii U. Interestingly, the leading characters all have digitized voice samples in this version. Personally I found them charming, though I am certain some might not be too fuzzed about it. Later on the game, they are bit much since the characters mostly say the same stuff over and over again. If you are trying a boss for a fifth time, you are kind of like: ''Yeah, I get it okay.''

Despite those smaller missteps, Super Mario Advance is a still a blast and I am happy that it has hit the Wii U Virtual Console. The added Mario Bros. game is a nice touch too, but that is certainly not the reason you would be playing this!