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Super Mario Land
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is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It debuted in Japan on April 21, 1989, in the United States in August of 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990. Super Mario Land marked Mario's first appearance on the Game Boy and is the first true 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 18 million copies in total, which makes it the third highest selling game of the Mario series.
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Encyclopedia
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It debuted in Japan on April 21, 1989, in the United States in August of 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990. Super Mario Land marked Mario's first appearance on the Game Boy and is the first true 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 18 million copies in total, which makes it the third highest selling game of the Mario series. Only Super Mario Bros., at 40 million, and Super Mario World, at 20 million, sold more copies. Super Mario Land was also the first game of the Mario series created by Gunpei Yokoi.
Gameplay
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 defeated 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 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 up 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 slow 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" changes 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 he 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.
Development
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
- "Mario Adventures I"
- "Mario Adventures II"
- "Underground"
- "Shooting"
- "Chinese"
- "Muteki"
- "Fight"
- "Oh! Daisy"
- "Ending"
- "Super Marioland Original BGM Medley"
The most memorable music from the game is "Mario Adventures I" which serves as overworld theme for World 1. In 1992, "Mario Adventures I" 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 both "Underground" and "Chinese". Both songs were later included on the album Super Mario Compact Disco.
Reception
Super Mario Land sold 18.4 million copies, making it the third highest selling game of the Mario Series and the fourth highest selling game for the Game Boy. 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.
Receptions of the game were generally positive. It holds an average rating of 8.1/10 and 9.2/10 respectively at IGN, as well as an average rating of 8.3/10 and 7.3/10 respectively at GameSpot. Justin Searls of Nintendojo wrote that Super Mario Land continues the brilliance of its predecessor and gave it a 9 out of 10. 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.
ScrewAttack declared Super Mario Land the ninth best 'Mario' Game. The game placed 73rd in Official Nintendo Magazine's 100 greatest Nintendo games of all 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.
External links
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