1up discusses Mario's many makeovers (and more)

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last decade--or simply didn't grow up playing games on the NES--you've already heard how Nintendo took an obscure Famicom Disc System game called Doki Doki Panic! and transformed it into the game known and loved (in the U.S. at least) as Super Mario Bros. 2.

Well, that wasn't the first time a company swapped out a few graphics before bringing a Japanese game to the U.S., nor was it the last. One of the latest examples can be found in Nintendo's quirky rhythm-based DS game, Elite Beat Agents. The game began life in Japan as Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and was massively overhauled--new characters, new storylines and new music--before being offered up to American gamers.

For more on that story, as well as many other games that were given a face lift (or more) before making the trip across the pond, make a visit 1up.com.