Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Over the years, I had built up quite a reputation for Super Mario Land 2 in my head. It seemed like everyone who had played it felt like it was incredible, or even on par with the console releases. Relative to its status as a Gameboy game, I would certainly agree. However, taken on its own merits, I'd say that Super Mario Land 2 is a bit overhyped. That doesn't mean I dislike it or think it's a bad game, it just means that I don't think it's fair to stand this up to Super Mario Bros. 3 or Super Mario World without considering its context.

The first Super Mario Land game was released as a launch title for the Gameboy, so everyone was still trying to figure out how to make games for it. This led to some unique design choices and technical quirks that I don't think we would have seen if the game came out later in the system's lifespan, yet they became integral to the Super Mario Land identity. Super Mario Land 2 may have had the extra development time needed to iron out the technical issues, but it maintained the reputation of the previous game through its readiness to break away from the established Mario canon. We may not have ninjas or superball flowers anymore, but we do have Jason Voorhees/goomba fusions, carrot powerups that let you float, and a hippo that sends you to space. Frankly, because of how much closer this game feels to the rest of the Mario series, its peculiarities stand out even more. I don't want you to think I didn't like that though. The degree of freedom that the developers had in design choices is what made Gameboy games like Link's Awakening into the phenomenons that they are, and I think it's really neat. My problem instead comes down to the level design.

Super Mario Land 2 recognizes its inherent screen crunch and structures its levels with that in mind. In contrast to the Gameboy Color's Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, this feels excellent! While the first Super Mario Land also handled the screen crunch well, its physics left something to be desired. Unfortunately, thanks to the effort put into making this Mario feel as close to his console iterations as possible, it often felt to me like he needed a little more room to stretch his legs. Mario brought over his jumping and running capabilities from the NES and SNES, and all of the sprites are scaled up compared to the previous Gameboy entry, but everything important at any given moment is squeezed into the same tiny screen. With Mario covering more ground and everything taking up more screen real estate, it's impossible not to feel a bit cramped.

With how much it strives to feel like its console counterparts mechanically, it's hard not to compare Super Mario Land 2 with the likes of Super Mario Bros. 3. Unfortunately, on that scale, this game really can't stand up. The cramped levels often left me feeling like I was running into things more than I was running, detracting from how nice the platforming physics actually was. However, taken at face value, Super Mario Land 2 is a technical marvel, and still a fun game, especially when you look at its predecessor and see how far Gameboy development had progressed. While I wasn't as thrilled by this game as I was originally expecting, I did still have a good time, and it's hard to argue with a full Mario adventure in a unique setting. My recommendation to people hoping to play this is to reign in your expectations more than I did. If you go in expecting good old Mario fun and not the Gameboy's biggest gem, you'll definitely walk away satisfied.

The game is available for Switch here (as of 5/10/23): https://www.nintendo.com/store/products/game-boy-nintendo-switch-online-switch/

Popular posts from this blog

Meow Tower: Nonogram Pictogram

Image
I seem to have a thing for mobile games about cats, and I am a huge fan of Nintendo 's Picross series. Normally those two interests don't overlap, but Meow Tower changed that. Combining the fun of befriending cute cartoon cats and solving intricate number puzzles hooked me immediately. While it's technically not a Picross game, seeing as that is a Nintendo trademark, the nonogram puzzles are still the same, and I loved being able to play them on my phone. Granted, there have been plenty of options to play these kinds of puzzles on the phone for years, but Meow Tower  sets itself apart from the rabble thanks to its stellar aesthetic. The developers behind this game are true artists. While it's a solid, straightforward nonogram game at its core, Meow Tower just looks so much better to play than any of the numerous generic options that crowd the app stores. The bubbly sticker-book style used for the art and menus gives Meow Tower a lot of charm and personality from t
Read more

Space Lich Omega

Image
Inspired by the ever popular Candy Box and Candy Box 2 , Space Lich Omega is an browser-based RPG adventure with an almost entirely ASCII display. However, it chose to step away from the established fantasy style of it's inspiration for a more science-fantasy theme. I ended up having a fun time with this game, despite its need for a little polish, thanks to the unique story and hilarious pop-culture Easter eggs that can be discovered throughout the different explorable locations. Despite the crude-ish interface, I never had any trouble navigating throughout the game. I actually ended up beating it in a relatively short time, especially when I had my gunk production going all out, allowing me to jump my health up enormously. Although I did need to do a little grinding every now and then for an item that I missed, that didn't interfere with my enjoyment too much. Ultimately, this is no Candy Box , but it still has its merits and is worth playing if you ever find yourself in
Read more

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Image
Reusing game engines has proven to be pretty popular in the Zelda series. It offers developers a chance to craft more experimental and risky games, as the initial investment on the engine was covered by the previous, more traditional release. As a huge fan of A Link Between Worlds , I was ecstatic to learn it was getting a pseudo-follow-up. My excitement only grew when Nintendo sent me an early-access demo, and I somehow had no concerns that this was another multiplayer-focused game, despite my preference for solo play. Since the previous multiplayer Zelda games had pretty functional single-player modes, I anticipated that I could expect the same here. Unfortunately, that wasn't an entirely accurate assumption. Like its predecessors , Tri Force Heroes is level-based in order to accommodate its multiplayer focus. All of the stages are designed like dungeons, so they hold up really well for puzzle-solving challenges, but they lack a lot of the same charm you can find in Four Swor
Read more