Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992)

Preliminary: Wow very neat. It has the concepts from Super Mario World, surprisingly well-done with that feeling I talk about in SMW where I love "previewing" future areas and recognizing the unlocks a la a Metroidvania, with the weirdness and absurdity of the first Land. And the first appearance of Wario! Unfortunately it's a bit slippery, even for a GB platformer, and some delay in the jump but I will get used to it I'm sure and will play through this. This may need a guide tho, this world is surprisingly large and complex with lots of unlockable areas!

Day 1

Fun hearing some classic Mario songs, and some new ones. Lots of neat level settings that are new. I like the balloon-y vibe in Mario Zone 2. I was hoping each zone actually led to a new overworld but still neat.

Yesss a Lego themed world, plus a good tune for this level

This game is definitely quite generous with lives. At times I got real annoyed with the sprite overload slowdown and the slippery controls but soon enough each time I'd be fully back into it

Nice, cool door

Yesss I like the unique Star immunity music :-p and I like the fact you can go backward in levels.

Wait I'm confused. I beat a level and I think I went to like a Secret WOrld or something? But that didn't count as completing the original level so I'm back to it. Hm

Lots of the music in Pumpkin Zone was meh. But yesss Macro Zone being where normally small things are bigger, sort of like Giant World in Mario 3, and with a book level no less! I always like book levels :-p

Welp 3 coins down in one night probly time to take a braek

Day 2

Many of the collision masks are very questionable. Oooo I lvoe Space Zone's overworld/vibe/music tho

Space Zone 2 had such a great tune! And yesss the owl that becomes a platform in Tree Zone lol

So this is the great Wario I've heard so much about :-p

Nice sleepy music to start the ending sequence/credits and just all aroudn cute ending. Always like the dream theme of the Lands.

Look: 9/10 For the most part, usual GB vibes, but a) it's Mario and b) love the dreamlike vibes and c) so many particularly neat settings and screens, so separate from the usual Mario worlds yet also so linked to it. You know what, I was giong to do 8.5 but Imma do 9

Sound: 8/10 Some really good tunes in there, not a big fan of the "dungeon-y" one that was in several levels tho.

Play: 8.5/10 Faulty for sure, but usual Mario hook. And neat different power-ups, plus secret levels and lots of replayability.

Feel: 8.5/10 Wario's first apperaance, and I really like these GB Mario Lands, I was expecting tihs to be a 4 star but looking like it does deserve a 5 star despite its flaws in gameplay/collision masks/slipperiness because the fun was still there and the Look is special.

Attachment: 8/10

Overall: 8.4/10

Wow I suppose this did come out as a 4... If this resurfaces in my brain periodically, or I fully fall in love with Wario or something, the Attachment may rise and thus get this to a 5 star. But for now, I suppose it makes sense since I would likely be returning to the actual, cleaner, better-Play Mario games despite the unique and interesting concepts here. If I had this on Gameboy as a kid and could cherish that portability, though...!

Pros

• The two power-ups in this game felt really unique from one another. The fire flower is great for fighting enemies and breaking blocks, while the carrot is geared more platforming.
• I like the level design. There are typically multiple pathways you can take to complete a level. I typically don't like it in games like Sonic, but I enjoyed it in this game for whatever reason.
• This game introduces Wario, a staple Nintendo character for decades in Smash, Wario Land, Warioware, and the various Mario spinoffs.
• Personally, I thought it was a big step-up from Super Mario Land 1. The gameplay feels closer to what you'd expect from the consoles and the Mario sprite is larger, so you can see more detail.
• The zones, aesthetics, and enemies in this game are distinct from any other Mario game. I kinda wish Nintendo would take some of these areas as inspiration in future entries.
• Really enjoyed the freedom of being able to tackle the zones in any order I chose.

• I love the carrot, but it seems a bit too powerful. You can maintain your vertical height by mashing A, making it easy to skip chunks of the levels.
• There isn't any indication for which levels have secret exits like Super Mario World has.
• It took me a little while to get used to the mechanics. Jumping (particularly when reaching the max height) and gaining momentum felt a bit off
• The last level is a bit brutal. It's fairly long and it has no checkpoints, so if you happen to lose at the end, you have to go back to the beginning.
• It's pretty short, only about 32 levels and some of those are optional.
• I'm not sure if this is an issue with the game itself or with Nintendo's Gameboy emulator on Switch, but I experienced some pretty bad slowdown a few times.

This was the first game I ever played. My mom won a magazine contest, and got a Gameboy and this game for free.* I just have so many memories of diving into this world. This music lived in my prepubescent mind. I would draw my own levels in chalk on the sidewalk. I wondered about the lore of the bull fish enemy. This game developed my young brain.

Coming back to it is wonderful. It's everything I remember it being. Truly a beloved experience. Is the game design actually great? I can feel that I am overcome with nostalgia that I can't fairly judge.

Sometimes people dunk on the opinion I hold that DKC and its sequels have spectacular game design. "Clouded by nostalgia." I always take it cheerily because like maybe I am.

But with Super Mario Land 2, I know I am clouded by nostalgia. There is no attempt at objectivity. This was the only playable video game I had for like 8 months of my life. Super Mario Land 2 was my father mother sister brother and I love them.

I always thought it was cheesy in media when you'd see a dad just having the time of their life playing Frogger or some Atari game, but I get it now. I'm having the time of my life playing Super Mario Land 2. Life I beautiful. God loves us.

This art style is gorgeous. Tattoo it on my chest!

*My mom in her early 30s is a very different woman from who she is today

Reached Credits

Thoughts: Not exactly a stand-out Mario game to me, but not as bland as New Super Mario Bros. 2 either. At least the level themes are creative, especially with Tiny-Huge house world and the giant Mario Robot world. I did find the Rabbit ears powerup to be overpowered as you could just glide through entire levels.

If Super Mario Land was a Game Boy attempt at a handheld Super Mario (NES), then Super Mario Land 2 feels like a Game Boy attempt at a handheld Super Mario World (SNES) -- which makes sense, since Land 2 released a couple years after World.

And what do you know? Land 2 does a surprisingly good job of it. Mario controls better here than he did in the first Land, and the levels are more interesting to play through. The graphics are a big step up too, with bigger and more-detailed sprites. I'd still say the gameplay is very simple, but I think that's all right. Other than being pretty easy and short, the only other issue is the Game Boy does struggle whenever there are multiple enemies and other stuff moving about on-screen all at once, so expect some bad lag at times.

The weirdness of the first Land is here in Land 2 though, which I'm all for. To be honest, this is probably my favorite 2D Mario game as far as theming goes, and in some ways actually reminds me of Mario Odyssey, released 25 years later. In Land 2 you visit all sorts of interesting locales, such as an underwater submarine or the inside of a whale. You go into space, and your jumps on the moon are low gravity (and Mario even wears a space suit). There's a set of levels that take place in a giant Mario robot. At one point you're shrunk and make your way through a house. And there's some haunted levels too, including a Japanese graveyard full of yokai (I was very surprised). Other interesting gimmicks include a carrot item that gives Mario bunny ears that allow him to hover downward slowly (like Rayman), and the ability to save up all the coins you collect to gamble for power-ups and extra lives. Hidden levels can be found too, similar to World, and these are generally chances to get lots more coins.

Oh, and there's no princess to save in this one. IDK the story exactly, but as far as I can tell the story is Mario finds this guy named Wario and decides he's gotta kill him. It's great. You also get to choose the order of levels you wish to tackle, kind of Mega Man-style, which is certainly a change of pace. With the exception of Super Mario 2 (which wasn't originally a Mario game), I'd have to say Land 2 is easily the least formulaic of the 2D Marios, and for that alone is worth a playthrough.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is basically what I wanted the first Super Mario Land to be. It's fun, unique, replayable, and consistent.

My biggest gripe with Super Mario Land was the fact that the game felt like it should've had more. It was a very bland, generic, and unforgettable experience. I appreciated the story but that was really it. The only thing I can definitely remember down the line was that Daisy made her first appearance in it. Super Mario Land 2 isn't that kind of game.

The story is very cool. Mario's private island (Yes he has that) and his castle is taken over by an evil spell. The residents of the private island are possessed into believing that Mario is evil. The perpetrator is Mario's greedy cousin, Wario. Mario must collect the 6 Golden Coins to unlock his castle and put a stop to Wario. This is obviously the debut of Wario and I'm happy how his debut goes. Great introduction.

The gameplay is the same in the sense that you must get to the end of the level by avoiding obstacles and tricky platforming. But this game has a unique system. There are 6 Worlds that you can pick freely. This game is actually quite nonlinear. YOU pick the worlds you wanna do in whatever order you please. I appreciate the less linear structure of this game because it's something I haven't seen yet in this retrospective. That said, the levels are pretty good. You got the mushroom and the Fire Flower as usual. But now you got the Carrot power-up which turns you into the insanely overpowered Bunny Mario. Which essentially lets you hover for as long as you want. It also increases your jump height. It's my favorite power-up in this game and I loved using it. There is also the Bubble and Space Suit which allows you to basically float.

The Bosses are a lot better this time around and though they kind of end too quickly at certain times, I never hated them and had fun with it.

The music isn't anything remarkable but I don't dislike it. It just feels repetitive sometimes.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is a great game that surpasses the first game in every way. This is by far one of my favorite experiences with a Mario game. Loved It

4/5

Would Recommend

This is a great platformer for the Game Boy, and is probably one of the best games in the Game Boy library. I played the DX romhack that colors the game on my backlit Gameboy Color and really enjoyed it. The difficulty curve from the main levels to the boss is a but much though.

I really like how the Mario Land series feels like it's in a different world than the main games.

Definitely give the DX version a try if you can.

Just like the first, it's a really unique yet short game. The game overall was pretty easy but that last level was suprisingly difficult, kicking Wario's sorry ass out of Mario's castle (because yes, he has a castle now) never felt more gratifying !... However, i don't think this is the last we see of him, to be continued in Super Mario Land 3 A.K.A Wario land !

3.5 out of 5, would go to pumpkin zone again (I love this setting).

(Ps : Good thing i hit the jackpot just before going to Wario's lair, or else i migh've been in trouble.)

Awesome game, even when it doesn't feel quite like a Mario it delivers on many platforming fronts. The stages are imaginative and the enemies too. Almost every stage introduces novelty and the game just plays so well. I liked the OP'd power-ups, it really opened the doors for speeding through the game. The variety and tight Gameplay alone makes this game for me.

NOTE: I always recommend that people try games themselves, nobody likes like YOU like. ;-)

History:

The first Mario Land game from earlier in this list was my first exposure to this series, so it should go without saying that I've never played this one either.

Expectations:

I actually liked Super Mario Land, and this one looks to be even more traditional Mario, which is a good thing. I'm looking forward to playing through this one.

Day 1:

Yep, this looks and plays more like Super Mario World than it does Super Mario Land, and that's obviously a good thing! The controls are much more precise and lend themselves well to speeding through levels and navigating tricky routes. Going into this game I had thought it was going to be a more linear experience, and was surprised ot see a world map to explore.

The world was split into six zones, each zone having two to four stages, and none of the stages felt particularly long.

Pumpkin World was the best, I mean, just look at that guy! Every world was actually very unique, even if stage design stuck mostly to tradition. In terms of difficulty, if Super Mario World was a 1, being the easiest, and Super Mario Bros was a 10, being the hardest, this game would probably rank a solid 4. This is good for a handheld game I think. Additionally, this is another one of those games where the stages are considerably more difficult than the actual bosses at the end of them!

Really love the level themes, from the Boo infested graveyards of Pumpkin World to navigating a whale's belly in Turtle World. You even go into space!

Once you've completed all six worlds, it's off to the single stage zone of Wario's Castle...

I said the game was pretty easy all in all, and that's true... until you reach this point. Wario's Castle cost me 15 in game lives, and almost a controller. There's no checkpoint here and every section of the castle is out for blood. I actually had to get up and walk away from it for a few minutes to cool off!

But, like with the rest of the game, Wario himself was fairly easy. A three stage fight that had you dodging clearly choreographed attacks while landing three jumps on his head.

Conclusion:

If for some reason the only handheld you had was an original Game Boy and you wanted a Mario game to play on the go, this recommendation comes easily. As far as controls and gameplay goes, it's Mario through and through. Maybe not as refined as Super Mario 3 or Super Mario World, but on a Game Boy it gets the job done nicely. I was able to tear through this one in about an hour and a half, which means it should take more than a few play sessions if you choose to take this one with you while you're out, especially since it has a save system.

Liked:

- Classic Mario gameplay! This is what the first Super Mario Land should have been.
- Fun and unique worlds to play through that never felt tedious.
- Not too short and not too long, with a save system in place if you need it.

Disliked:

- While the controls in this game were better than in the first, they wree still on the floaty side compared to console Mario games.
- Difficulty spike between the first six world and the final stage is insane and frustrating.
- Bosses can be anticlimactic.

Personal Score: