Super Mario Land

Moby ID: 4275
Game Boy Specs
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Description official descriptions

Super Mario Land, the plumber's first outing on the Game Boy, is a side-scrolling platformer much in the vein of the previous Super Mario Bros. This time, Mario must save Princess Daisy, rather than Princess Toadstool, from her kidnapper, Tatanga, a mysterious spaceman.

The game follows largely the same formula of its aforementioned predecessor, with Mario defeating enemies by jumping on them and collecting coins and power ups by hitting floating blocks, with each world leading up to a boss fight which is defeated using by collapsing the floor. A unique feature of this instalment is two scrolling shoot-'em-up levels, the first of which Mario pilots a submarine, and the second an aeroplane.

Spellings

  • スーパーマリオランド - Japanese spelling

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Credits (Game Boy version)

13 People (8 developers, 5 thanks)

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 79% (based on 36 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 138 ratings with 9 reviews)

Retro platforming for kids in shades of green

The Good
I have to admit I'm not a fan of platformers, and this is one of the few that I've played until completion when I got it new. Just the sheer mind-numbing series of timed jumps and such just drives me to distraction with no real feeling of completion when it's over.

Mario Land does the what it does well though, and is a solid piece of classic platformer action, complete with annoying tune. The game is obviously very linear, and flows smoothly across as you try and complete the game in one sitting, attempting to gain the graceful arc of jumping in the correct sequence to avoid bumping into the wrong things. It's really something for kids to enjoy, not that that's a negative thing.

The graphics are simple and do the job admirably, you can tell all the characters apart easily and what will happen well enough.

The Bad
Of course the game is repetitive and very long as you have to play in one session, meaning a good few hours of thumb mashing to get it done, the only break you got would be to press pause and walk away without switching the Game Boy off.

The Bottom Line
Not really a game that anyone will play any more, unless you're obsessed by playing every Mario game. This does provide a good example of a solid game from the era when the platformer was the king genre, but nowadays it's an empty enjoyment. Of course when I played it as a child I was amazed that I actually completed a computer game.

Game Boy · by RussS (807) · 2009

Mario's first experience on a handheld system

The Good
This was one of the first games I ever bought for the Gameboy, my first video game system. I've probably beaten the game half a dozen times, and even attempted to beat the challenging secondary mode.

Mario was a little different in this game than in any of his others. Alot of his enemies were based on real life characters, such as monks and statues. Another first for Mario was that he got to pilot two different vehicles: a submarine and a spaceship.

And hands down it has the best Mario boss: a fire breathing lion.

The Bad
Being one of the first games designed on this system, the platforming mechanic is very unforgiving. Mario is really small, and the blocks he needs to jump on do not have any extra room. Pinpoint jumping ability is needed in this game, and much frustration can come out of it.

The Bottom Line
While Mario's first foray in handhelds is not perfect, it is however a classic game. Not as good as it's followup, it nonetheless provides an excellent beginner game on Gameboy, as well as giving you a prime example of just how far video games have come in recent years.

Game Boy · by STU2 (52) · 2006

Mario rescuing Daisy...again.

The Good
Since the general idea has been used, and probably reviewed at MobyGames, many times, I will not comment to much on that. The graphics were very good with no lack in details. The same can be said for the environments. I spent half the time looking at the background instead of looking at Mario. At times the game could get difficult, but the very good controls help you get out of the tricky situations. The levels varied much from each other, extending the durability of the game.

The Bad
As before the story was to rescue Daisy from the bad guys. It would have been great to have a different story. But enough about that... The sound effects was one of the few things that could have been better. Whenever an explosion happened it sounded like someone scraped to cookies against each other.

The Bottom Line
If you have played other games with Mario, then this game will probably not interest you much. But true Mario-lovers will love this game.

Game Boy · by Michael B (303) · 2006

[ View all 9 player reviews ]

Trivia

Ambassadors of Funk

The main music to World 1 was used in a single called Supermarioland and was released by Ambassadors of Funk Featuring MC Mario in 1992, which reached #8 in the UK Singles Chart.

Locations

This is the only Mario game to include real world locations and enemies. Examples include fire breathing sphinxes, Chinese vampires, and the stone heads that appear in island nations. It is also the only Mario game that lets you pilot a submarine and airplane.

Manual

The manual for the U.S. version still lists all the enemies with their original Japanese names.

Information also contributed by STU2

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Tomer Gabel.

Nintendo 3DS added by ResidentHazard.

Additional contributors: Satoshi Kunsai, Alaka, gamewarrior, FatherJack.

Game added June 13, 2001. Last modified March 4, 2024.