The Bizarre World of Super Mario Land

If you were to ask any adult on which old school Nintendo system they identify with being introduced to Super Mario, their most picked answers would likely be the NES, SNES or Nintendo 64, but it's rare to hear mention of the Game Boy, which he also had numerous appearances on.

Much like Super Mario Bros. 2, this game brought Mario into an unfamiliar territory with enemies you wouldn't find in any other Super Mario game. Sarasaland was home to different areas inspired by Egypt, Easter Island and China and those who already recognized Mario from his NES games were likely scratching their heads from all of the differences in this title.

Princess Daisy was introduced in Super Mario Land and was in need of rescue. She later appeared in NES Open Tournament Golf as a cameo, but wouldn't show up again for another several years until Mario Tennis in 2000.

As mentioned before, the enemies you encountered were far different in comparison to the usual Super Mario Bros. ones. Stepping on a Koopa Troopa now has them detonate to explode, and fire breathing snakes, head throwing robots and spear dropping bugs are just a few examples of the weird creatures you'll have Mario go up against.

A Japan-only manga adaption was made for the game, but also included some interesting extras as well, such as mini-guides showing how to get through certain levels in the game, a Tetris crossover story and some Japanese pop culture references that get tossed around throughout. If you want to read the first volume page for page, you can check it out here.

Two new gameplay elements were also introduced for the game as well, having Mario pilot a submarine and a plane making for a couple of 2D shooter segments but only for boss levels. For a launch title made for the Game Boy it was a unique idea for a handheld game at the time. A second flying level was also the final level leading to the game's last boss and villain, the martian Tatanga.

Much like Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2, Tatanga was a short-lived villain in Mario history, however he reappeared as a regular boss in the sequel, Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins.

It's been 30 years, but Super Mario Land still holds up as an interesting, albeit different Mario platformer even if it's a bit on the short side. The new locations helped give a more impressive presentation as a Game Boy Mario title, and I still find myself revisiting the game today.

What are your memories of Super Mario Land? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!

Looking for more from Benjanime?

READ 131387 TIMES

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

When I was a teen, growing up in the '80s, one of my most comforting memories was of the opening credits to the popular TV show Cheers. Although I ...

Washed Up Celebrities: Michael Skupin

Today on washed up celebrities I am covering a washed up celebrity unlike any other that has come before this. Michael Skupin is currently a convicted...

A Talk With Adam F. Goldberg

2017 Introduction: This article was originally published in 2016, but went offline when the site crashed. Thankfully, I still had the corrections back...

My Five All Time Favorite Hanna Barbera Toons

Hanna-Barbera had just as much influence over me as the Looney Tunes and the Simpsons, and over the course of many decades, they've released some of t...

My Top Ten Favorite Berenstain Bear Books

The Berenstain Bears books were a big part of my younger days. Before I could read, my Mom would read these books to me on a regular basis. Then, I cu...

Top Scenes from 80s Movies featuring a Bathtub or Shower

Whether you have realized it or not, throughout the history of cinema, there are many scenes that take place with a shower and/or bathtub as an essent...

Awesome School Assembly Memories

Sometimes the daily grind of elementary school could be tough. Failing a math test, soggy fish sticks in the cafeteria or embarrassing yourself in a t...

My Dream Cast for a 1987 X-Men movie

The X-Men property has been around for decades, and around the nineties, Marvel began developing the ideal “X-Men” movie. It wasn’t un...

Late Night Re-runs (Circa mid-80s)

In the mid-80s, when I was around 13 or 14, I used to love to stay up late on Friday nights and watch the programming of this particular local TV ...

MOST RECENT RETRORATING FEATURED OFFICIAL

Go to page: