Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

The Good
The Nintendo Gameboy was not a very good gaming machine. Sure it had good games. But for the most part it just could not compare to the Snes and Genesis. Fortunately, Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, is one of the best games for the Gameboy if not the best.

In Mario Land 2, Mario’s evil twin, aptly named Wario. Has taken over Mario Land! He has barricaded himself in Mario’s Castle( Who would have thought Mario would have a castle?), to gain entry and thrash his nefarious twin Mario must collect 6 Golden Coins. Which just happen to be scattered across 6 areas, all with there own theme and stages, and end boss.

From a house in which Mario has been shrunk down, even more. To the Moon. And my personal favorite, The Pumpkin Zone, which is of course Halloween themed. Each Zone has levels usually 3-4. The end has a boss, that must be trashed to collect the corresponding coin.

The Mario gameplay we have come to know and love is intact here on the small screen. Mario begins the quest tiny, eats a mushroom and becomes Super Mario. Fireflower, and Star Man, also return. New to Mario is the Rabbit power up. Mario eats a magic carrot and sprouts rabbit ears with enable flight.(What no tail?)

Instead of a 1-UP at 100 coins. Mario can spend his coins on a minigame, that can earn him powerups, as well as extra lives. Ending a stage also gives Mario a chance to earn goodies. All of this makes earning 100 or more lives almost too easy. There are also secret stages to be unlocked and conquered.

The Graphics are good for a Gameboy game. Color would have been nice though. Even on a Gameboy Color or Gameboy Advance, the colors are not all that good.

The sound is typical Mario, not that that’s a bad thing.

The Bad
This game is way too easy, and too short. Even with all the secrets, and gaining hundreds of lives!

The only real challenge here is Wario’s Castle.

If you can find this game, it is a a little pricey.

The Bottom Line
This is honestly one of the best Mario games. Seeing a different villain is nice. And not having to save the Princess for once is refreshing.

The Good
Wario has taken over mario's castle during his absence and has locked the door with coins. Then he spread all coins through Mario Land. Now world's most famous plumber must get all six of them and kick Wario of his throne. Gameplay is just as you'd expect from Mario. Going down pipes, jumping on Koopa shells and Goombas and collecting coins. This is always a good formula and remains entertaining over the years. The graphics are much, much better than those of Super Mario Land 1. Compare the NES Super Mario Bros. with its two sequels and you have about the same graphical differences here. Everything is detailed and has a good-looking cartoon style. The blocks now have faces on them and change into angry ones when hit. The enemies and Mario move more fluid and are easier to control. The sound is of a good quality and cheerful.

The Bad
The game was far too easy and I played trough it in just a few hours. Thankfully there are some secret levels too find but there is no other replay than that, which is disappointing. They are also not too difficult to find. The sound, as I said is good, but almost the entire game you will be hearing the same tune, which makes it repetitive. Only the way it sounds (cheerful, suspenseful etc.) differs. In all there are just about three different tunes or so.

The Bottom Line
Fun platform game, but too easy for more experienced platform game players. If you like the Mario series I can really recommend this game. (And who doesn't?)

The Good
This game has much better graphics than the original Mario even though it doesn't have color. With new secret levels, this game has been much improved. There are many new baddies for you to kill and the final few levels are actually a challenge. This is the first Mario game with Wario in it. There's all sorts of new weapons the enemy uses to kill you and you have to stay alive. There are less levels though they make up for it in graphics and characters. This game is by far my favorite game for GameBoy and GameBoy Color. The only Mario game I like better is Super Mario 64. This game challenges you to uncover its secrets and earn the highest score you can. You can also save your game. With newer, harder bosses, this game has exceeded all expectations set for a Mario game.

The Bad
There's really not much to not like in this game. The only things I really don't like are the sound, and no color. The sound is great except in a few levels and those I don't like. Of course, being for Gameboy, it's black and white. That's really not that bad because it's a Mario game but I think they should've waited to put this game on Color or Advance.

The Bottom Line
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is an excellent Mario game. It exceeds all expectation with new characters, bosses, and weapons. There is great sound in most of the levels and expanded gameplay. Unfortunately, there is no color but that's not all bad. There are some excellent new levels for you to play in and secret levels you have to find. This is a game that you could play over and over if only you had the time. You can save your game so you can start right back where you started. You can win prizes and do much, much more. This game is a gem Mario game with so few flaws that it's scary. An excellent Mario game and I hope you will all play it.

The Good
There's much going for Super Mario Land 2. Like its predecessor, it's a "nail you to your seat" game to the extreme, but the beauty of Super Mario Land 2 is that it allows you to save your game and continue from the same point later, unlike the "arcade" nature of the vast majority of Game Boy games.

Take classic Super Mario game play, enhance it with elements such as a "flyer" upgrade, underwater levels, lack of gravity etc. and you've got a game that's even superiour to its prequel, at least in game play. Throw in terrific graphics such as never seen on the Game Boy before, smooth animation, the same terrific music from all Super Mario games, absolutely fantastic level design and a game map not present in any Mario game before and you've got one of the most addictive and fun games ever created!

The Bad
It's slightly on the difficult side when compared to its prequel, but hardly enough to detract from its otherwise perfect grandeur.

Also, because of the onboard battery backed-up ROM, Super Mario Land 2 was extremely expensive when released.

The Bottom Line
A terrific platform game that rivals any I've ever played. Get it, play it, love it.

The Good
The gameplay is the same as most of the Super Mario games, and has been tweaked a little from it's predecessor by adding new enemies and new power-ups such as the bunny ears depicted on the cover which allow you to glide for a short while. It follows the series line in creating games that are solid platforming games with no glitches that are smooth to play.

Though I'm not a fan of the genre I can see that this is well made as it bears none of the annoying factors of platform games, of mistaking hardness for complexity. Super Mario Land 2 instead aims at creating a smooth playing experience that kids will enjoy.

The main advantage this game has of it predecessor is the inclusion of a save game facility which persists after you switch the Game Boy off, making life a lot easier for the player. The games world is not so linear any more as it is divided into separate level zones which can be tackled in any order, allowing a break if you get frustrated with one area.

The Bad
It's still only a platform game and the storyline is obviously going to be rubbish and makes no real apologies for that, which makes me wonder sometimes why it bothers with cut-scene animation.s

The Bottom Line
An enjoyable enough experience for a platformer, though I doubt many people will want to sit through a Game Boy game until its conclusion any more. I would recommend playing this more than the original, as the improvement in graphics makes it easier on the eyes. It does come from the era before 3D technology started to tempt designers to mess with the concept and has a base joy to it, I suppose.