Super Mario Land brought Mario to the Game Boy and did an excellent job of showing people what the system could do. It also expanded on the Super Mario universe. It is a nice game that is similar to other Super Mario games.
There are some differences. Because of the limitations of the Game Boy, a few of the power-ups were changed. The enemies’ names are different, and some of their behaviors have also changed.
This is another game I missed out on when I was little. It was one of the pack-in games for the Game Boy and, along with Tetris, helped to make the handheld a success.
TLDR: Super Mario Land is a fun game that brought the Super Mario experience to the Game Boy.
History
Nintendo’s R&D1 made the game. This was usually the hardware division and was headed by Gunpei Yokoi.
Super Mario Land was a launch title and a pack-in game for the Game Boy. It was released in Japan and North America in 1989 and in Europe and Australia in 1990.
As a side note, when sources say “European release,” I wonder what that means. Specifically, I wonder if it means all of Europe or specific countries. It’s something that bothers me a little.
Gameplay
This is a side-scrolling action-platformer, like many other Mario games from this time. It does a good job of showing off what the Game Boy can do, and it is a fun experience.
It plays and looks like the first Super Mario Bros games. The power-ups from the first game are here. However, graphical limitations had to change the one-up mushroom. You couldn’t have two mushrooms of different colors.
The enemies are here but have different names because this doesn’t take place in the Mushroom Kingdom. The most significant change that I noticed was the Koopa troopers. When you stomp on them, their shells will explode after a few seconds.
This slight change is a fun one! It is a change that makes the game different and, in this case, more fun. Little changes like this make games like Super Mario World stand out from the rest of the Super Mario games.
The Fire Flower is a little off. First of all, it doesn’t let you shoot fireballs. You shoot out a super ball that bounces around and kills the enemies. It also has a crappy range. It bounces close to you and can be hard to aim at.
The Star is also a little different. It still gives you temporary invincibility, but it is now solid black and doesn’t flash.
There are two side-scrolling shoot-em-up stages which are fun. It breaks up the game a bit, and these levels work well with the Game Boy.
Visuals
This isn’t one of the better-looking games. It looks similar to the other Game Boy games from 1989 but isn’t as good-looking as the other games in the Super Mario Land series.
Your character and the enemies are small. That is my main problem with the game. Everything looks smaller than it needs to be.
It’s not just the Game Boy’s screen. Mario, the blocks, and the enemies are smaller than in other games like this. It was probably fine back in 1989, but now I see it as being a bit of a problem.
8.5/10. It is an enjoyable game. However, the sequels are the better options.
Conclusion
Playing through Super Mario Land was a fun experience. I didn’t have much experience with the game before playing it. I had watched a few videos on the series’ history, but that was about it.
I always enjoy playing a game that I’ve heard about. Sometimes I have a different experience to what people say about it. In this case, I liked the game, but not as much as the videos I saw about it.
I try to remember when I was little as I review retro games. This is a game that I probably would have liked when I was a kid. When I was collecting games, this would have been one that I either passed on or bought and forgot about it.
When I played the game this week, I thought it was a fun game. It isn’t one that I would revisit that often, but I would like to play this again at some point.