The Bizarre World of Super Mario Land

By: Benjanime

If you were to ask any adult on which old school Nintendo system they identify with being introduced to Super Mario, their most picked answers would likely be the NES, SNES or Nintendo 64, but it's rare to hear mention of the Game Boy, which he also had numerous appearances on.

Much like Super Mario Bros. 2, this game brought Mario into an unfamiliar territory with enemies you wouldn't find in any other Super Mario game. Sarasaland was home to different areas inspired by Egypt, Easter Island and China and those who already recognized Mario from his NES games were likely scratching their heads from all of the differences in this title.

Princess Daisy was introduced in Super Mario Land and was in need of rescue. She later appeared in NES Open Tournament Golf as a cameo, but wouldn't show up again for another several years until Mario Tennis in 2000.

As mentioned before, the enemies you encountered were far different in comparison to the usual Super Mario Bros. ones. Stepping on a Koopa Troopa now has them detonate to explode, and fire breathing snakes, head throwing robots and spear dropping bugs are just a few examples of the weird creatures you'll have Mario go up against.

A Japan-only manga adaption was made for the game, but also included some interesting extras as well, such as mini-guides showing how to get through certain levels in the game, a Tetris crossover story and some Japanese pop culture references that get tossed around throughout. If you want to read the first volume page for page, you can check it out here.

Two new gameplay elements were also introduced for the game as well, having Mario pilot a submarine and a plane making for a couple of 2D shooter segments but only for boss levels. For a launch title made for the Game Boy it was a unique idea for a handheld game at the time. A second flying level was also the final level leading to the game's last boss and villain, the martian Tatanga.

Much like Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2, Tatanga was a short-lived villain in Mario history, however he reappeared as a regular boss in the sequel, Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins.

It's been 30 years, but Super Mario Land still holds up as an interesting, albeit different Mario platformer even if it's a bit on the short side. The new locations helped give a more impressive presentation as a Game Boy Mario title, and I still find myself revisiting the game today.

What are your memories of Super Mario Land? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!

Looking for more from Benjanime?

READ 66474 TIMES

Vaporman87 Posted on Jul 19, 2019 at 02:19 AM

Man... that anniversary flew right under the radar didn't it. At least it gave you the opportunity to dig into the finer points of a piece of it's library. Well done.

Benjanime Posted on Jul 18, 2019 at 08:17 PM

i just thought i'd preface the main reason why i wrote this article, nintendo didn't seem to do anything to celebrate the game boy's 30th anniversary, so i thought i'd talk about one of its first games that released with the handheld. thanks for reading!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Terribles

In just a few weeks, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie will open in theaters everywhere. Since we have gone more than 3 weeks without a reboo...

I Double Dare You to Be Physically Active

This may come as a shock to most of my fellow Americans--not to mention 11-year-old me--but I have gone without cable for almost a decade now.The main...

How My Dad Corrupted Me With Comedy

Despite my various eccentricities, I consider myself to be a fairly well-adjusted person. This is a sentiment that many others in my life can verify. ...

Pee-wee's Big Adventure... and my Big Obsession

Like many people my age, one of my childhood staples was Pee-wee Herman, the manchild persona of the very talented Paul Reubens.Pee-wee was an always-...

Super Soaking Your Victims

We're quickly approaching the midpoint of summer 2014 and I sadly have yet to blast anyone in the face with a gun.Now, now, now, hear me out. Yes, it ...

MOST RECENT RETRORATING FEATURED OFFICIAL

Go to page: