Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels was first released in Japan for the Famicom as
Super Mario Bros. 2. It was designed for players who had mastered the original. Nintendo of America deemed the title "too difficult" for North American audiences, so they instead chose another game as the western region's
Super Mario Bros. 2, which was a re-skin of Doki Doki Panic.
Later, in 1993, North America got to experience The Lost Levels in the 5-in-1 compilation Super Mario All-Stars for SNES. It was later ported to the Game Boy Color (in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe), Game Boy Advance (in Japan only), and Virtual Console.
Reviewers viewed Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels as an extension of the original release, especially its difficulty progression. Journalists appreciated the game's challenge when spectating speedruns, and recognized the game as a precursor to the franchise's subculture in which fans create and share nearly impossible levels.
