Without a doubt, calling any Super Mario platformer game underrated would be idiotic, but there are some that stand out and other that just aren’t are popular. While most people would be quick to say Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario 64 or similar games are their favorite, you don’t meet many people who say either of the Super Mario Land games is theirs (not counting the third, which was really a Wario game). And I don’t know why that is because they can definatly stand their own. So today I’m going to talk about my favorite Mario platformer, Super Mario Land 2 for the Game Boy.
The game play is pretty much the standard Mario platformer game play. And if you don’t know what I mean by “standard Mario platformer game play”, please stop listening to random video game based podcasts and go actually PLAY a video game. Most of you should know what I’m talking about though: the jumping, the coins, the pipes, the power ups, etc… But, also like every Mario game, this has its differences. The most noticeable one this time around is the map. Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World did have maps, but still kept things pretty much linear in their levels. In this game, you have access to all 6 levels right from the start, and you can tackle them in any order. This is really cool, though something has to be said about this messing up the difficulty curve, but this means if you’re having trouble with a certain level, you can go someplace else and come back later, while in the others, you weren’t given as much of an option.
The other most noticeable difference is the carrot upgrade, which gives Mario rabbit ears. This is the equivalent of the raccoon leaf or cape feather for the game, but you don’t get to fly, it just slows you’re decent. Though both of the other items could do the same, this one does it at an even slower pace, which I honestly like a lot more then flying.
Other than this, differences become pretty much cosmetic, like hearts instead of green mushrooms for extra lives, and standard changes between games, ending level bonuses and new enemies that do the same things the old ones do. The only other thing I feel like mentioning is that enemies and coins do something different. The amount of enemies you kill are kept on a counter, and once you get 100, you get a star. The coins never go away and are saved to use in a roulette type game to get lives. Otherwise, like I said, pretty much standard Mario gaming, so if you like that, you should still enjoy this game at the very least.
The story starts up right after the first Super Mario Land. Without giving away any spoilers from that game, we learn that all the events were just a distraction so that the mastermind could come in, take over Mario Land and put all its inhabitants under a spell to hate Mario. Who could this evil genius, who made an entire game just to distract our hero and is making his grand debut in this game possibly be? (WARIO! HAHAHAH!) Yes, this game is the grand debut of the future iconic Wario, who did all this out of jealousy of Mario’s fame and fortune. To stop him, Mario has to collect 6 golden coins across the land to unlock his castle and face Wario mano a mano. The places you go through are as follow; a forest level, the inside of a turtle, a horror zone, a giant clock-work Mario figure, THE MOON and a regular house where Mario is shrunk to the size of a mouse. I’m sorry, I think this is the most creative variety of places Mario has visited until Super Mario 64, and that’s saying a lot with only 6 zones. As I’ve said before, once you have all 6 coins, you can face Wario, but you better not lose, because once its game over, you lose all your coins and need to face all the bosses again. You don’t have to do the entire worlds, but you will need to do the level the boss is in. This may seem inconvenient to some, but I really like it: it’s a serious punishment for letting your life counter reach zero. Besides, it’s not hard to keep collecting lives, so don’t let it keep you from getting this game.
This game is Mario at his prime! I’m sorry for saying that about a game that wasn’t created or even directed by Mario’s creator Miyamoto, but it’s really how I feel. It took everything I like about Mario, improved on it, gave me options on it and made the game feel more organic in a way. I also think it should be placed right by Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3 in the great Mario game category. It should also be noted for being the first game to feature Wario, who is now a staple in the series. It was also the second Mario game to save (first one being Mario World), the second game in the Mario Land series and now the second game I give a perfect score to. I give Super Mario Land 2 for the Game Boy 10 out of 10 levels.
No comments:
Post a Comment