Super Mario Land

"That´s not the Mario we all know and love..."

When Nintendo released the Game Boy back in the late 80s and was about to reign the handheld market for years to come (and seemingly, they will forever do...), one of the launch games was of course a new Mario game, in this case, Super Mario Land. Mario was already an icon and Nintendo´s mascot, having starred in masterpieces like Super Mario Bros. and even Super Mario Bros. 2 already, so it seemed only natural that Nintendo would exploit his popularity in order to push the sales for their new system forward - a tactic that has not really changed until today.

But unfortunately, Mario´s first adventure on the Nintendo Game Boy does not even remotely live up to the reputation of the franchise, and unlike most other Super Mario launch titles, this one neither changed the gaming world, nor was it even a fun game. Surely, this could be blamed on the limited technical capabilities of the Game Boy that prevent the game from having a huge world with dozens of levels or a solid graphical presentation, and of course it´s one of the early launch titles, but other early Mario games on other consoles have shown that even early in a console´s life cycle, it is very well possible to push the hardware not to its limits, but at least forward.

It´s not the technical aspect that makes Super Mario Land such a disappointing experience that does not live up to the high expectations, though, it´s the gameplay that ultimately brings Mario down to the level of mediocrity. At heart, the game plays like any other 2D Super Mario game, with Mario having the same abilities as in his other adventures. There are only a few innovative aspects like the submarine level, which is a nice idea per say, but unfortunately a level that annoys with some sluggish controls, which is a problem of Super Mario Land in general: the controls don´t really feel as intuitive and pitch perfect as in most other Mario Jump & Runs. Don´t get me wrong, they are far from horrible or bad, but it sometimes feels like you do not have the perfect control over your character. The level design is another aspect that is far below the usual Mario standards. Nearly all of the stages found in this game lack the usual creativity you know from games like Super Mario Bros., they´re all pretty basic and simplistic, and there are no hard-to-find bonus rooms or bonus worlds like in Super Mario World that was released one year after this game on the Super Nintendo. The difficulty level here is also not as polished as usual; even though the game may have a rather easy beginning, there are some passages later that can be quite frustrating not because of the challenge, but sometimes because of the unfair enemy A.I. or the controls. All this is quite saddening, since a Mario game without proper gameplay always feels like a waste.

The visuals in this game are quite difficult to judge, since there are two important facts one has to consider. First of all, this is a Game Boy game, a system with limited hardware capabilities. And secondly, Super Mario Land was actually the first title for the system, so you cannot expect some solid visuals that early in the console´s cycle. Despite that, the visuals are okay for a first generation GB game. Of course Mario does not look as likable as usually, and you can hardly see any details about the character sprites in general, even though some of the boss enemies look rather nicely. But it is obvious that the lack of colors somehow harm the Mario experience, and you´ll instantly miss the typical Nintendo charm. Still, for an early Game Boy game, the graphics are not too bad, but you have to wonder whether the Game Boy really is the right system for a Super Mario Jump & Run.

At first, the music seems to be quite alright, once again in view of the system this game has been released for, and some of the pieces even sound acceptable coming from the weak GB sound chip. But after only a short while, most of the musical pieces will start getting on your nerves because of their repetitiveness and the low sound quality.

Super Mario Land is not a bad game by any means, but for a Mario adventure, it´s an extremely disappointing affair, lacking everything that has made the series to what it is today. It really is obvious that Shigeru Miyamoto was not involved in the development of this game, and his supervision and ideas are missing simply everywhere. Perhaps he could have created a great Super Mario launch title even with the weak Game Boy hardware, but in view of the facts, Super Mario Land is a mediocre game only die hard Mario fans as well as collectors should give a try. It´s one of the few big let-downs in the glorious Super Mario hall of fame, and if you really want a Mario game for the Game Boy, then pick up its sequel Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins instead. It´s infinitely better than this game, as well as the Wario Land sequels, or in case you have a Game Boy Color, Super Mario Bros. DX. They´re all a better choice than this disappointing Game Boy launch title. Without a doubt one of the black sheeps in the Mario family.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/06