A guide to completing World 2-2 in Super Mario Bros 2 for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Exit the Cave

Go to the right and jump up the ledges. Then go through the door at the end.

Cross the Desert

Go to the right and you find a Cobrat hiding in the quicksand. Approach it to make it come out, then you can jump on it to pick it up and throw it. As you go to the right, a Beezo will fly toward you. Be sure to dodge it or throw the Cobrat at it.

Jump over the cactus and get the two Cherries, then go to the right and you find a vase with a Cobrat in it. You can optionally go down the vase, but you only find a Shyguy and a tuft of grass with a Turtle Shell that you can throw at the Shyguy. This is only useful if you want to increase your enemy count to make a small heart appear sooner. If you went into the vase, exit it now.

To the right, pick the tuft of grass but don't get the Cherries or pull the other grass yet. Go to the right and drop the Potion to the right of the next tuft of grass, then go through the door. Pull the grass, get the Mushroom, and get the cherries.

After you exit Subspace, go to the right and get the cherries and pull the grass. These are large veggies (but there aren't enough large veggies in this level to give you a stopwatch). You can throw them at the two Cobrats in the vases up ahead. The vases have the same room as the first vase in the level.

To the right of the tall vase, there are some cacti, a Beezo that swoops down from the air, and another vase with a Cobrat in it. As before, the vase contains the same room as the first vase in the level.

To the right is some faster quicksand, with rolling bones coming down from the top. You can still jump out of the faster quicksand if you land on it, but you have to press the Jump button more quickly to escape. You can try to jump onto the rolling bones to reach the solid ground on the other side.

Get Items in the Cave

After the fast quicksand, there is a cave entrance. Go in, then go to the right, and if you have a cherry count of four, don't take the Cherries yet. Go to the right and pick the rightmost grass to get a 1UP. Then jump up one ledge and take a grass to get a bomb, and as soon as you have it, crouch until you flash, then jump to reach the ledge above. Throw the bomb next to the broken blocks. After that, take the Cherries if you didn't already, and if there is a Starman, get it. Do another Power Squat Jump to reach the ledge above, then go to the left through the hole you made, and defeat all the Shyguys. If you didn't get a Starman, just throw all the Shyguys into the pit. Then pick the middle of the five grasses to get a Potion, drop it to the left of where you pulled it, and go through the door. Get the Mushroom and the four grasses, then exit Subspace.

If there are still any Shyguys here, you can pick the upper left grass to get a POW block and drop it to defeat the Shyguys. Then go to the right and exit the cave.

Cross the Desert, Part 2

To the right, there are a bunch of Cobrats in vases (all of which lead to the same room as before), and a Pokey (cactus) that moves toward you. You can throw a Cobrat at the Pokey to get rid of it in one go, or you can jump on top of the Pokey and pick up its head, then throw it. The segment beneath will turn into its head. Keep throwing its head until it's gone. Or throw its head at its body to instantly defeat it.

When you're ready to move on, go to the right, past a cactus, then a stone structure with two Pansers on top. To the right of that, there is a vine leading down into a cave.

Dig through the Cave

After you climb down the vine, go to the right and dig down to get the Cherries and go to the next screen. Go to the right and dig down to get the Cherries and go to the next screen. A Ninji is jumping up the levels of sand one by one. Get the cherries on the left, then the cherries on the right and go down to the next area. Get the cherries from the empty space on the left, but go to the right side and carefully dig down there, avoiding the Snifit and Shyguys. You can try to throw them at each other, but you should dig the sand above them before you do so. At the bottom, you find a door. Go through.

Red Birdo

Go to the right and you find a Red Birdo spitting eggs. Pick up a Mushroom Block (but don't let an egg hit you even if it's falling, because it will hurt you) then drop it just before the pit on the right. Before you stand on the Mushroom, hold the run button, then jump onto the Mushroom Block and run to the right to reach the ledge. Do a Power Squat Jump (crouch until flashing, then jump) to reach the ledge above. Then jump onto the platform on the left, and go to where Birdo is. Red Birdo spits several eggs in a row, and sometimes spits a fireball instead, so pick up an egg, but before you throw it, wait for Birdo to stop spitting eggs for a moment. Throw eggs at Birdo until the Crystal Ball comes out. Take it and go to the right, go through the mask gate, play Bonus Chance if you got coins, and you continue to World 2-3.