Super Mario Land
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)
Producer | |
Director | |
Programmer | |
Design |
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Sound | |
Amida | |
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 79% (based on 36 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 143 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
The earliest attempt on Game Boy isn't too shabby ...
The Good
Being one of the first games released on the 'Brick' as I like to call it, Super Mario Land isn't a bad shot by Nintendo to re-create Super Mario Bros. At least here they've added a new story line and some updated characters to the mix.
The game plays fairly neat, although compared to nearly every modern platform game it doesn't fair well, so I won't start with that. Controlling Mario is a breeze, and some of the later levels include a few things the rest of the Mario series has never really gone into since, vehicles. Underwater or in space, it's all here, which is a nice diversion from the same old platform environment.
The Bad
The graphics are the real down side here. Everything seems so small, which can at times make it difficult to see what's going on. The only character that seems well done is Bowser, who you only see every once in a while.
And, as is usually the case with a majority of the original Game Boy titles, the music doesn't hold much either. There are a few harkbacks to the original Mario Bros score, but it's all just beeps and a little noise here and there, nothing much to shout home about.
The Bottom Line
Even to this day, I get this out for a quick game or two. It's a nice, simple and addictive little platformer, and although the graphics and sound are far from brilliant, it doesn't really matter.
Game Boy · by Kartanym (12418) · 2003
Nintendo's average superhero/plumber strikes again!
The Good
The all time favorite NES classic comes to the gameboy with even more wonderful surprises. The sound is platform game traditional. Like most Super Mario games the gameplay comes to us in the best form. You can't exactly say that the graphics are good, but for some reason I like them very much. The game provides endless hours of entertainment ( that is if you can survive that long :-) ), everything about this game is classical, I think that this kind of platform is way better than apogee style platformers (I have nothing against apogee.)
The Bad
You can't save the game.
The Bottom Line
Mario, our favorite superhero/plumber has again delivered the best of action, and platform gaming with an adventurous storyline. 5 out of 5 and 3 cheers for Nintendo.
Game Boy · by Jim Fun (207) · 2001
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.