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 | |
| Special Thanks To |
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Reviews
Critics
Average score: 79% (based on 36 ratings)
Players
Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 141 ratings with 9 reviews)
The Good
This is the brain-child of Legendary Nintendo Innovator Gunpei Yokoi, so you can expect it to be a bit different, such as the SuperBall power, newer and stranger enemies, and the cool shmup-like vehicle stages!
The Bad
Pretty short but that is fine with high replayabilty.
The Bottom Line
Must play for those who want to play one of the very best 2D mario games along with its sequel.
Game Boy · by Christ is White (15) · 2023
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
The perfect game to get you started on the Game Boy.
The Good
As you probably noticed by now, I'm extremely biased towards the kind of games that keep you nailed to your seat for hours at a time. Super Mario Land is one of them, and being one of the first games to ever come out for the Game Boy (not to mention a mandatory game in any Game Boy fan's collection), it does so with extreme perfection.
While the graphics in Super Mario Land aren't stunning, they're at the least pleasing to the eye, and more importantly, they're faithful to the original NES classic. The music is nothing short of wonderful, a testament to true Game Boy programming prowess (limited FM sound hardware producing excellent sound tracks), as it is in every Mario game in history.
Level design is excellent, with the typical Super Mario plethora of tunnels, bizarre secret areas and hidden blocks; still it improves on the old NES classic with some underwater levels and an Egyptian level. Bosses are not overly difficult, which provides for smooth, non-frustrating gameplay. Controls are excellent as usual (though only on the Game Boy itself - they're horrible on an emulator).
In short, Super Mario Land is a good, fun game!
The Bad
No save option (unlike in 6 Golden Coins, it's sequel), so unless you intend to spend a few hours on it, don't even bother to start a game.
The Bottom Line
Extremely well-made platform game. Heartily recommended!
Game Boy · by Tomer Gabel (4538) · 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.