Super Mario Land is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy video game console in 1989. Super Mario Land is the first true Mario game for the Game Boy. In it, Mario has to save Princess Daisy from Tatanga, a mysterious space man.
Super Mario Land was a launch title for the Game Boy both in Japan and North America. Unlike preceding Mario games, the game takes place in Sarasaland and not in the Mushroom Kingdom. Super Mario Land also introduced the player and Mario to Daisy, this game's damsel in distress. An evil alien named Tatanga is the main villain, and the enemy names (even of familiar Goomba-looking creatures) are different (it should be noted that most of them are simply given their original Japanese names as opposed to the English ones). The most probable reason for the vast amount of changes is that the game wasn't made by Shigeru Miyamoto, but rather his mentor, Gunpei Yokoi.
Development[]
Unlike all previous Mario games, Super Mario Land was not created by Shigeru Miyamoto, but rather by his mentor Gunpei Yokoi. As a result, very few elements from this game reappeared in subsequent entries in the Mario Bros. games.
The game's music score was composed by Hirokazu 'Hip' Tanaka.
Story[]
Once upon a time, there was a peaceful world called Sarasaland. In this world there were 4 kingdoms named Birabuto, Muda, Easton and Chai. One day, the skies of Sarasaland were suddenly covered by a huge black cloud. From a crack in this cloud, the unknown space monster Tatanga emerged to try to conquer Sarasaland. Tatanga hypnotized the people of all the kingdoms so that he could control them in any way he liked. In this way he took over Sarasaland. Now, he wants to marry Princess Daisy of Sarasaland and make her his queen. Mario came to know of these events, and he has started on a journey to the Chai Kingdom where Princess Daisy is held captive, in order to restore peace to Sarasaland. Can Mario defeat Tatanga, release people from his interstellar hypnosis, and rescue Princess Daisy? It's all up to you and Mario's skill. Go for it Mario!
In order to save Daisy, Mario made his way through all of the four worlds, defeating the enemies that lurked there. The journey was difficult, as Mario had never seen these creatures before, but he eventually managed to defeat Tatanga's four lieutenants, King Totomesu, Dragonzamasu, Hiyoihoi, and Biokinton. However, after beating Biokinton, Mario had to battle Tatanga in his heavily armed ship, the Pagosu. After a tough battle, Mario defeated Tatanga, and rescued Daisy. Tatanga managed to escape with his life, but Daisy still rewards Mario with a kiss, and takes him back to her castle.
Gameplay[]
The game is very much similar to previous Mario Platforming games. The A Button allows the player to jump, while the B Button will make Mario run faster. The Directional Pad controls where Mario walks or runs. Jumping on an enemy will defeat it, and the player will earn points for doing so. When Mario is Superball Mario, or if he is driving the Marine Pop or Sky Pop, the B Button will fire out projectiles at Mario's enemies. All the Bosses, except for Biokinton and Tatanga, can either be beaten by physical attack, or by jumping on a switch behind the Boss. Collecting 100 coins will gain Mario an Extra Life, and if he manages to earn 100,000 points (Done by defeating enemies, as mentioned above), he will gain an extra continue. This is in case he loses all of his lives. Mario is vulnerable in his small size, but when he gets a Mushroom, he will grow slightly in size, and is now able to take damage without losing a life. However, if he does get hit in this state, he will turn back into normal Mario. If Mario collects a Flower, he will become Superball Mario, and will be able to shoot Superballs at his enemies. If Mario happens to find the rare item, the Starman, he will become invincible, and be able to defeat any enemy just by touching it. The effects wear off over time, however. At the end of every level, the player has a choice of two exits. The bottom exit, which takes Mario to the next stage, or the top exit, which takes him to a Bonus Stage first. When Mario reaches the top exit (which is usually a difficult task), the Bonus Stage will allow him to earn a Flower, one extra life, two extra lives, or three extra lives.
Characters[]
- Mario (Playable)
- Chibibo (Enemy)
- Nokobon (Enemy)
- Bunbun (Enemy)
- Fighter Fly (Enemy)
- Gao (Enemy)
- Piranha Plant (Enemy)
- King Totomesu (Boss)
- Princess Daisy (Non-Playable)
- Honen (Enemy)
- Mekabon (Enemy)
- Yurarin Boo (Enemy)
- Torion (Enemy)
- Gunion (Enemy)
- Dragonzamasu (Boss)
- Tamao (Boss)
- Tokotoko (Enemy)
- Batadon (Enemy)
- Ganchan (Enemy)
- Suu (Enemy)
- Kumo (Enemy)
- Hiyoihoi (Boss)
- Pionpi (Enemy)
- Pompon Flower (Enemy)
- Roto-Disc (Enemy)
- Nyololin (Enemy)
- Chicken (Enemy)
- Chikako (Enemy)
- Bullet Bill (Enemy)
- Biokinton (Boss)
- Tatanga (Boss)
Worlds[]
Sarasaland, where Super Mario Land takes place, consists of four worlds, with three levels each. Each world has a different theme:
- World 1, Birabuto, is Egyptian themed and has pyramids in the background. It is relatively easy and used to introduce new players to the game. The boss of this area is King Totomesu, a sphinx/lion creature who breathes fire.
- World 2, Muda, is ocean-themed. The final level has Mario riding his submarine, the Marine Pop. The boss here is Dragonzamasu, a strange seahorse creature with powerful bubble attacks.
- World 3, Easton, has an Easter Island theme and has Moai in the background. Hiyoholi is the boss here. He's a strong rock creature who attacks Mario with bouncing rocks called Ganchans.
- World 4, Chai, is Asian-themed, with Asian music and bamboo in the background. The last level of Chai includes a level played in Mario's airplane, the Sky Pop. Mario engages Biokinton and Tatanga's powerful spaceship Pagosu in the final stage.
Reception from Players[]
- This game sold 18.14 million copies.
- In 1992, the World 1-1 theme was sampled by the Ambassadors of Funk for the song Supermarioland. It reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart. It was soon followed by a similar song titled Go! Mario! Go, which sampled the Underground and Chai Kingdom themes. Both songs were later included on the album Super Mario Compact Disco.
- In 1996, the game was re-released as part of the Game Boy 'Player's Choice' series of games that have sold over one million units.
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