[via]

Shigeru Miyamoto has worked on the Mario franchise for a very long time and had a very tough time picking a favorite game out of the dozens of releases. After a recent interview with IGN, Miyamoto reveal that he had narrowed it down to just two favorites: the classic Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, the infamous re-skin of Doki Doki Panic.

More after the break.

——

It isn’t that surprising that Super Mario Bros. on NES would be named as one of Miyamoto’s favorite games since it literally saved gaming and is continuously named one of the best games ever. But Super Mario Bros. 2…

“I guess as a developer that might have to be the very first Super Mario game, for me, because I have so many memories tied up in it. Perhaps as a player, I might go for what was, at least in Japan, we referred to it as Super Mario USA, which was a game that just had a very different sort of feel. I think we had such a loose approach to it, we really came up with something interesting,” said Miyamoto.

Apparently the original title, Doki Doki Panic, wasn’t the most inspired effort, drawing on some Arabian Nights themes, and was a just a prototype title in a deal for a Fuji corporation event called Dream Factory.

Once Miyamoto got his hands on the prototype, he worked out some of the polish issues and added the Mario universe characters, creating an overall better and more interesting title, which eventually released as Super Mario Bros. 2 in North America and Super Mario USA in Japan.

It’s funny how a game like Super Mario Bros. 2, a title almost completed disregarded in the main series by fans, could have such a strong place in the heart of one of the world’s greatest video game designers.

[IGN]