SUPER MARIO LAND - Review

Retro Games Reviewer #3; Super Mario Land Review


I always asked myself this question: Why the hell didn't Nintendo produce another version of this game, in order to include it, for example, in Super Mario All-Stars, for the Super NES? I mean, no one loves the Super Mario Bros. series more than me, but how many versions and re-editions of the SMB trilogy Nintendo made? Specially the original Super Mario Bros., it's omnipresent. It's in Super Mario All-Stars and in Game Boy Color.  Why, I repeat, WHY not Super Mario Land on the SNES, or, at least, in one of the Game Boy successors? Well, Super Mario Land was, and is, definitely a star. And it's a true, and pretty original Mario Game. I can think of an argument. The morals. Since in Super Mario Land our favorite plumber has to save princess Daisy, instead of Toadstool - they now call her Peach, right? - it would probably be a bad influence on the kids.

"Hey, cool! Mario gets to be kissed both by Peach, AND Daisy!"

I don't know. But, frankly, this is the only reason I can think about.

Now that I remember, didn't Mario save ANOTHER woman, in the game Donkey Kong? Yes, he did! Pauline was her name. What the hell happened to her? Anyway, it seems Mario is a true player. I guess in the en d he stayed with Princess Toadstool. Good move, she has a Kingdom of her own.

So, anyway, Super Mario Land is freaking great game. Nintendo did not have the temptation of making a clone of Super Mario Bros. SMLand has its own essence.

First two levels indicate that you are close to the desert. Fun scenarios, great gameplay. In this game, your fireballs, as Fiery Mario, can collect coins. The same fireballs run free through the screen, like a pinball. Pretty cool, and original. The turtles become bombs, when you jump on them, so, you need to run. There are lots of different enemies. Some of them need more than one fireball, in order to be beaten.

The first world - there are four of them - ends in a pyramid. Great scenarios, it really looks like you're in an Egyptian Pyramid. You can see the hierogliphs, the music is great. Iced Earth, a metal band, ripped off this music, and played it in one of their songs, Desert Song. Just type "Iced Earth Super Mario Land" on YouTube, and pick your poison.


There are hidden elevators, that can take you to the rooftop. There are lots of different bonus/coin rooms in the game. Very original, and fun to explore.

In the end of the pyramid, you have to beat a sort of sphynx. SMB style. You can shoot them, or you can jump over it, - or under - and destroy the bridge. Except for the final level, the bosses don't have any sort of "intelligence." Meaning, they will not follow, or scan you. If you jump over them, they will not turn around. They are like statues who make the same moves. That's one of the downsides of the game.

In world 2, you are now close to water. Each world has 3 levels, but they are bigger than in SMB or SMB3. Each world has also a very different environment, which is great. In the boss level of world 2, you get to use a submarine. The game becomes like a typical shoot'em up. You can see Mario inside the thing. You are under water, lots of enemies to beat, and bricks to destroy, in order to progress. There's the word "Mario" written in coins, and you can do your best to try to collect them all. In the end, you have to beat a creature that looks like the Loch Ness Monster. So, as you can see, there's a lot going on in this game.

World 3, it's Easter Island! You could call it the statue world. Lots of rocks, and statues trying to get you. The levels are long, and the scenarios are, as always, very well done.

World 4, and final. You are in China. Well, probably not in China, but in a Chinese inspired environment, definitely. This is valid for the first two levels. In the final level of this world, - which is also the final level of the game, - you are taken to the sky. It's the same logic and shoot'em up style as world 2-3. But now, you fly an aircraft, and you have birds as enemies. In the end of the level, you have to beat two bosses. The mini-boss, is a cloud, that sends birds to kick your ass. Not too difficult, but it can still be a small challenge. And finally, the nemesis in Super Mario Land: The alien Tatanka. He is flying a pretty cool mini space ship, and throwing missiles and shooting everything that he as against you. You have too take him down first.

And, at last, Mario saves Daisy, and the ending screen is the happy couple, inside a spaceship, flying towards their love nest.

Fucking beautiful. Even the song fits.

Princess Toadstool can never know about this.

So, great game, think again we are talking about portable 8-bit. And, I say it again: It's a damn shame Nintendo did not allow us to play this game, re-edited, renewed, in Super NES. It's stupid. We have to play the exact same Super Mario Bros. 3, - the original game was so good, they could hardly change a thing - instead of Super Mario Land 16 bit style.

Oh well. Play it on the Game Boy. It's a hell of a game as it is.

Retro Games Reviewer; Super Mario Land Review , 22/07/13

Categories: Super Mario Land Review