Super Mario Land

"Not all Mario games are good..."

It seems that whenever Mario is in a game, it’s bound to be great. Unfortunately, this statement is not true, and for proof, look at Super Mario Land for Game Boy. Sure, that’s Mario I see, but this game doesn’t stack up to the other great platformers from the beloved plumber. With only four worlds, this game’s variety and replay value is severely limited, even with the four levels in each world. SML sports poor graphics, and mediocre levels, and doesn’t really feel like a Mario game. This game pales in comparison to the Wario Land series, Mario Land 2, and Super Mario Brothers deluxe, which all are clearly better platform games that best SML in nearly every category.

Graphics: 30/100
The graphics in Super Mario Land almost hurt your eyes! Even when compared to other early Game Boy games, they just aren’t any good. Mario himself is way too small (a problem fixed in Mario Land 2), the detail in the levels is absent, and graphical variety is nonexistent. Of course, these graphics aren’t the worst I’ve ever seen, but they definitely earn the description, “way below average.”

Control: 60/100
One area where SML doesn’t fail is in play control. Not much was lost from the original in this category. Granted, SML doesn’t feel nearly as good as the incredible Super Mario Brothers 3, but for Game Boy, it’s definitely above average. You won’t accidentally run into bad guys because of the control, unlike some other games, so this game gets the job done in the play control department.

Music/Sound: 40/100
Okay, so it isn’t THAT bad. But the sounds are the very definition of basic, and the music can get very irritating at times. But at least it prevents you from turning down the sound at the very beginning unlike some other GB and GBC games with absolutely pathetic music. Too bad the classic Mario theme wasn’t included.

Gameplay: 25/100
I’ll describe the gameplay as repetitious, boring, and not enjoyable. Definitely not the things you want to hear. Anyway, in the 16 levels, the number of enemies is pretty good. At least there’s some variety here. But the level design isn’t very good at all. The levels are overall too short and there aren’t enough of them. 16 is half as many as the original Super Mario Brothers, and it isn’t even close to the vast amount of levels in SMB 3. The only power-ups you can get are the Mushroom which makes you “big”, giving you two hits to die, not one, and fireballs, which annoyingly bounce all over the screen and miss enemies often. Not enough variety is present here already. But what’s worse is that all the levels (with the notable exception of 2-4 and 4-4) look and feel the same. Many of the levels just have too few differences from each other. The look of them is extremely similar, and the enemies repeat over and over. However, in 2-4 and 4-4, you get a submarine and a plane respectively, and now you’ve got some fun! Shooting stuff down from underwater and in the sky is just plain cool. Other than that, the levels are poor. Enjoyment is pretty bad too, because the levels aren’t good enough, the enemies aren’t challenging enough, and there isn’t enough variety anywhere. The bosses are easy, and they aren’t fun to fight, except for maybe the final boss, who unfortunately, isn’t Bowser. If the graphics were much better, Mario, and the enemies were bigger, the levels were longer, there were more levels, and if they didn’t all look the same, this game might have been good. There is an extra mode, after you beat the game, so that immediately after, you can go through again, with more enemies, but that’s about the only addition.

Replay Value: Below Average
When a game is repetitious, normally it doesn’t have good replay value. This is no exception. The only possible things that add replay value are the submarine level, the plane level, and the extra mode after you beat the game.

Challenge: Medium
Meanwhile, the challenge is average. Some levels may challenge you for a little while, and the extra mode is a little harder, but it won’t make you slam your Game Boy down in frustration.

Good Points:
Submarine and plane levels are really cool and fun.
Solid play control.
Plenty of enemies.

Bad Points:
Lack of variety.
Pathetic graphics and sound.
Overall, not really fun to play.

Overall: 33/100
This game just isn’t very fun at all, and instead, I recommend you check out Super Mario Bros. Deluxe or try the Wario Land series. With superior graphics, levels, and everything else, these games might satisfy your platforming crave. In fact, Mario Brothers Deluxe, once you unlock everything, has more than 64 normal levels, more than four times as many as this game. Pick that one up if you have a Game Boy Color.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 02/24/01, Updated 02/24/01