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Super Mario Land

 
Games: Super Mario Land

Game Description

Mario's first Game Boy adventure, Super Mario Land looks and plays much like the original, groundbreaking Super Mario Bros.. Mario is out to save Princess Daisy instead of Princess Toadstool, and he can throw superballs instead of fireballs, but the side-scrolling, turtle-trouncing, coin-collecting action is much the same. Super Mario Land owners will notice several additions to the SMB formula, including stone statues (and other new enemies), bonus rounds, and levels where you pilot an airplane or a submarine. The graphics are too small (even for a handheld game), and the game is easy to beat (even though it has no save points), but gameplay is fittingly super.
~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

One of the first games produced for Nintendo's venerable Game Boy system, Super Mario Land is one of many offshoots of Shigeru Miyamoto's Super Mario Bros., which revolutionized the videogame industry on the NES in 1985. The title virtually created the 2D side-scrolling platform genre, which thrived in the late 1980s and early-to-mid 1990s.

Super Mario Bros. has influenced so many games it is impossible to list them all, but here are some of the more prominent examples: Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988), Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990), Sonic the Hedgehog (1991), Donkey Kong Country (1994), Disney's The Lion King (1994) and Super Mario 64 (1996).
~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide
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Super Mario Land
Supermariolandboxart.jpg
North American boxart
Developer(s) Nintendo R&D1[1]
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Designer(s) Satoru Okada
Composer(s) Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka
Series Mario
Engine A variation of the Super Mario Bros. engine
Platform(s) Game Boy
Release date(s) JP April 21, 1989 (1989-04-21)[2]
NA August 1989 (1989-08)[3]
EU September 28, 1990 (1990-09-28)
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s) ESRB: K-A
(Rereleases rated E)
Media 512-kilobit cartridge

Super Mario Land (スーパーマリオランド Sūpā Mario Rando?) is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It and the Game Boy debuted in Japan on February 21, 1989, in the United States in July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990.[4] Super Mario Land marked Mario's first appearance on the Game Boy and is the first Mario game for the system. The game was a launch title for the Game Boy in Japan and North America.

The game drove initial sales of the Game Boy and has sold over 14 million copies in total[5]. Super Mario Land was also the first game of the Mario series produced by Gunpei Yokoi.

Contents

Gameplay

A level in the Easton kingdom of Super Mario Land.

The gameplay of Super Mario Land is similar to that of Super Mario Bros. and its successor for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Like in the previous games, the player takes over the role of Mario. The ultimate objective is to defeat Tatanga the "Mysterious Spaceman" and save Princess Daisy. However, there are some differences from earlier Mario games as well. Many of the previous characters do not make an appearance, such as Bowser, Luigi, or Princess Peach.

Mario's primary attack is to jump on top of his enemies, which normally kills them. However, there are a few antagonists who cannot be undone in this manner or may even cause damage to Mario if he jumps on them. A form of Koopa alternative (called "Nokobon"; "Noko" being the Japanese name for "Koopa" and "Bon" possibly meaning "bomb") makes its debut. Its difference is that when Mario jumps on one, instead of having a kickable shell, its shell explodes a few seconds after. Power-ups like the Super Mushroom work like normal, but the Fire Flower enables Mario to throw "superballs" which fly at a 45-degree angle and ricochet off floors, walls, and ceilings, rather than throwing traditional fireballs. They can also be used to collect coins. Unlike other Mario games, Mario does not stop in midair upon collecting power-ups, nor does he when he takes damage.

In level six and level twelve, Mario does not walk but rides in either a submarine or an airplane, respectively. In these levels, there is no Super Flower because Mario can shoot the entire time. He still can grow by getting a Super Mushroom or become invincible by getting a Starman. During these levels, the screen constantly scrolls forward until it reaches the boss at the end, and it is not possible to speed it down or stop it. Mario can either be killed by an enemy or when he gets stuck and the display overtakes him.

The game consists of twelve levels split across four worlds. At the end of every level, there is a tower with an access at the top and at the bottom. If Mario can reach the upper access, there is a bonus level in which the player can win a power-up by guiding Mario with a ladder to the right level. Mario then either wins one, two, or three 1-ups, or a Super Flower. If he only reaches the lower access, the game continues normally. At the end of every third level, Mario has to fight a boss by either battling them or passing them and reaching a point behind them that will end the battle. After the game is completed, the game returns to the title screen. However, the mushroom cursor next to "Start" switches to an image of Mario's head, meaning that the player can play in Hard Mode. If the game is finished in Hard Mode, the game goes back to the title screen and this time, allows the player to choose which stage who wishes to start in, allowing for replay of any particular stage.

Plot

The story of Super Mario Land is set in the peaceful realm of Sarasaland, which is split into the four kingdoms of Birabuto, Muda, Easton, and Chai. One day, a mysterious alien named Tatanga appears and hypnotizes the inhabitants of Sarasaland. He kidnaps Princess Daisy in order to marry her. Mario then sets out to rescue her from Tatanga, traveling through the four geographical areas of Sarasaland defeating his minions along the way, as well as finding monsters that pretend to be Daisy in order to fool Mario. He finally corners Tatanga in the skies of the Chai kingdom, bringing down his alien warship and rescuing Daisy.[6]

Development

Super Mario Land was initially the planned title to be packaged with the Game Boy, but was changed to Tetris at the insistence of Henk Rogers, who convinced Nintendo of America head Minoru Arakawa that a Mario title would only sell the Game Boy to young boys instead of everyone.[7]

Super Marioland
Soundtrack by Mario Freaks Orchestra
Released September 1, 1989 (1989-09)
Genre Video Game
Length 34:54
Language Japanese
Label Columbia Records
Producer Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka (Composer)
Ikuro Fujiwara (Arranger)

The soundtrack was composed by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, who had composed music for other Nintendo games in the past. The soundtrack was released in Japan on September of that same year.

Track List

  1. "Mario Adventures I"
  2. "Mario Adventures II"
  3. "Underground"
  4. "Shooting"
  5. "Chinese"
  6. "Muteki"
  7. "Fight"
  8. "Oh! Daisy"
  9. "Ending"
  10. "Super Mario Land Original BGM Medley"

Reception and legacy

 Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 74.2%[8]
Review scores
Publication Score
Allgame 4/5 stars[9]
Electronic Gaming Monthly 7.75[8]
GameSpot 8.3[10]
Mean Machines 90%[11]

Super Mario Land sold 18.06 million copies,[5] making it the seventh highest selling game of the Mario Series and the fourth highest selling game for the Game Boy.[12] As a result of its success, it was re-released in 1996 as part of the Game Boy Player's Choice series of games that have sold over one million units. Official Nintendo Magazine later named the game one of the best Nintendo games of all time, ranking it 73rd on their list of the top 100.[13]

Receptions of the game were generally positive. It holds an average rating of 8.1/10 and 9.2/10 respectively at IGN,[14] as well as an average rating of 8.3/10 and 7.3/10 respectively at GameSpot.[15] Justin Searls of Nintendojo wrote that Super Mario Land continues the brilliance of its predecessor and gave it a 9 out of 10.[16] However, he remarked that the game was "very similar to the original Mario Brothers. It seems that the Mario sprites are almost identical to its predecessor." Also, some reviewers criticized the control, finding it too imprecise compared to the other Mario games.[17][18][19]

ScrewAttack declared Super Mario Land the ninth best Mario Game.[20]

Valiant Comics released a series of comics featuring Mario, Tatanga, and Daisy. In them Tatanga is released from the Game Boy by a human, and attempt to cause havoc on earth with his minions only to be defeated by Mario each time.

Sequels

The game launched one main sequel that shares the Mario Land title as well as the first Wario Land game, which later launched a franchise of its own.

References

  1. ^ Calderon, Anthony. The Nintendo Development Structure N-Sider Retrieved on 2008-03-13
  2. ^ Nintendo published Game Boy listing Nintendo. Retrieved on 2008-03-15
  3. ^ White, Dave (July 1989). "Gameboy Club". Electronic Gaming Monthly (3): 68. 
  4. ^ "Super Mario Land Release Info". Moby Games. 1 March 1999. http://www.mobygames.com/game/gameboy/super-mario-land/release-info. Retrieved 21 April 2008. 
  5. ^ a b "Mario Sales Data". Gamecubicle. http://www.gamecubicle.com/features-mario-units_sold_sales.htm. Retrieved 10 February 2006. 
  6. ^ Nintendo (1989). Super Mario Land Instruction Booklet. Nintendo of America, Inc.. 
  7. ^ Staff (13 June 2009). "Alexey Pajitnov Stars Interview - Video Interview: Alexey Pajitnov Pt. 1". IGN. http://stars.ign.com/dor/objects/919431/Alexey-Pajitnov/videos/tetris_spc_e3_01.html. Retrieved 13 June 2009. 
  8. ^ a b Game Rankings page on Super Mario Land. Retrieved on 2008-03-13
  9. ^ allgame ((( Super Mario Land > Overview ))) Retrieved on 2008-04-28
  10. ^ Gamespot Other Reviews page for Super Mario Land Retrieved on 2008-03-12
  11. ^ Mean Machines review of Super Mario Land (archive) Retrieved on 2008-03-13
  12. ^ "All Time Top 20 Best Selling Games". 23 May 2005. http://www.ownt.com/qtakes/2003/gamestats/gamestats.shtm. Retrieved 1 December 2006. 
  13. ^ East, Tom (19 February 2009). "Feature: 100 Best Nintendo Games". ONM. http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=7206. Retrieved 18 March 2009. 
  14. ^ "Super Mario Land". IGN. 9 July 2002. http://gameboy.ign.com/objects/008/008816.html. 
  15. ^ "Super Mario Land". GameSpot. 1 May 1996. http://www.gamespot.com/gameboy/action/supermarioland/index.html?q=super%20mario%20land. 
  16. ^ Searls, Justin. "Super Mario Land Review". Nintendojo. http://www.nintendojo.com/reviews/GB/view_item.php?961948800. 
  17. ^ "Super Mario Land Review". Game Rankings. 10 December 2003. http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=486405. 
  18. ^ "Super Mario Land Review". Game Rankings. 25 October 2006. http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=656137. 
  19. ^ Vavra, Chris (10 October 2002). "Super Mario Land Review". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=268191. 
  20. ^ Gametrailers.com: Top Ten Mario Games

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Games. Copyright © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Game Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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