Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #361: Super Mario Land

Super Mario Land

Game Boy

Nostalgia Factor:

When scrolling through a Wikipedia list of games that came out in 1989, one of the titles on that list to jump out at me was Super Mario Land. I never owned a Game Boy growing up as a kid, so I’ve never been able to check this game out, despite hearing good things about it. Now that I’ve got a RetroPie, there is nothing keeping me from playing this game. To the top of my list it went, and before you could say “spaghetti” I was giving it a shot. How would it stand up 33 years after its initial release? That’s what I am here to find out!

Story:

Does this game have a story? You basically make your way through a series of stages, looking to save Daisy (in her first video game appearance!) from the forces of evil – similar to when you saved Princess Peach in the original Super Mario Bros. game. Look at Mario with all these lady friends. He’s a playa!

Gameplay:

This game bears many similarities to the original Super Mario Bros. You play through a series of four worlds, each one consisting of three stages. The first two stages tend to be your standard Mario platforming stages, while the third one ends in a boss fight. There are side-scrolling shoot ‘em up types of levels as well.

The controls are pretty much the same as in Super Mario Bros. You have a jump button and a run button. You start out small and grow in size when you collect a mushroom. You run, smash blocks, jump on enemies, avoid piranha plants, and leap across platforms. You can descend certain pipes, which take you to underground areas where you can collect coins. The controls are a little stiffer than Super Mario Bros. Your character's momentum (or lack thereof) also seems to work a little bit differently this time around. This led to several untimely deaths on what seemed like routine jumps, but grappling with the controls was just something I had to learn to deal with.

You’ll occasionally get fire flower upgrades or star power ups, just like the original Mario. The fire flower works a little different here, as you can only fire one shot at a time. When the shot hits the ground, it ricochets into the air and off the screen. If you’re in an enclosed area, your shot will bounce around from wall to wall until it eventually hits an enemy or dies out. Oh yeah! The most exciting thing about the fire flower is how your fireball will collect a coin if it comes into contact with one of them. That comes in handy when trying to nab hard-to-reach coins that you may struggle to collect otherwise.

The shoot ‘em up levels are completely new to this game. Neither of them are very challenging. Basically, you fly around in the air, moving up, down, left, or right, as the screen scrolls to the right. You shoot enemies as they appear. You can also shoot and destroy block obstacles. Both of the shoot ‘em up levels end with pretty easy boss fights that require little strategy.

Other than that, Super Mario Land doesn’t do a whole lot that’s new. You’ll notice a few small tweaks as you play, like hearts taking the place of green one-up mushrooms. When you jump on a turtle, you can’t kick its shell around. Instead it turns into a bomb and blows up after a few seconds. You can jump on boulders and ride them around in a couple levels. That’s pretty fun. Stages can also end with a “roulette” type bonus stages that award you with either extra lives or a fire flower power up for the next level.

Graphics:

Game Boy games always look pretty primitive to me, and this game is no exception. The shapes of Mario and his enemies seem smaller than you’d see on the NES. Just look at some of these screenshots. The koopa troopas and the goombas are noticeably smaller in comparison to their appearance in older games. Especially the koopa troopas. They just look flat out weird, like baby turtles. I felt like I had to check if the game was working alright the first time I played it. Other things are really small, too, like the blocks you smash with your head.

I do have to give this game props for introducing some new enemy types, like jumping seahorses that shoot fireballs, or insects that fly above you and try to drop lances on your head. I also have to give this game credit for some of its stage design, particularly as you get deeper into the game. The first couple worlds have a generic Mario 1 feel to them, but some of the latter stages have special themes like an Egyptian and a Japanese theme that really make it unique in comparison to other Mario games.

Sound:

I’m a big fan of this game’s music. Don’t expect to hear very many classic Mario tunes, as I believe this game’s entire soundtrack is original. The first world’s music is so fun and upbeat. The Egyptian area has music that reminds me of the Oil Ocean Zone in Sonic 2. The Japanese area has a nice, classy tune that plays through its stages. There’s a weird rendition of a classical music piece (can’t think of its name) that plays when you collect a star. I love it. I love all the music in this game.

My only complaint in the audio department would be the sound effects. I prefer the classic Mario sound effects to the generic crap we hear in this game. Collecting coins, jumping, shooting a fireball… it just doesn’t sound the same.

Overall:

I feel like I say this every single time I review a Game Boy game, but I thought this was a pleasant surprise. I'm always so quick to write off Game Boy games. This was good, though.

One thing I have to complain about is this game's length. With only four worlds and three stages in each world, you can make your way through this pretty quickly. The game isn't much of a challenge either, especially if you manage to earn extra lives through the little minigame after each level. I had double figure extra lives going into the last stage of the game.

Most of the time I died, I was able to chalk it up to the game's stiff controls. Very rarely did I actually feel like a death was deserved. That means this game is very easy. In fact I'd say it is one of the easiest 2D Mario games I have played to date.

That didn't stop me from loving this game, however. Okay, maybe "loving" is too strong. I really liked this game. It's fun. It brings a lot of new Mario ideas to the table. It's got clever level design. A wonderful soundtrack. Definitely worth checking out!

Where does this game rank on my all-time list of greatest Mario games? I can't say for certain, but I think in terms of overall enjoyment I'd put this somewhere in the area of Super Mario World. The only NES classic it comes close to touching is the original Super Mario Bros.

In fact, I've played the original Mario game SO FREAKING MANY times in my life, I don't really have much of a desire to come back and play it anymore. Maybe if I ever get the itch to play it, I'll come check out this instead. A fresh, fun Mario experience that scratches nearly every one of those itches, while still carving out its own unique identity in the process.

That says all you need to know about this game.

THE GRADE:

B+

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