Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - Game Boy (1992)

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Platform: Game Boy
Published: 1992


REVIEW BY RICHARD FOX (Admin)

Back in my youth, Super Mario Land 2 and Donkey Kong Country 2 were my 'go to' games of choice. They were both great games and while DKC 2 was amazing, for some reason I hold more nostalgia for SML 2. I managed to pick it up this past weekend at Ripon to bring those fond memories back.

The Game
SML 2 is a sequel to Super Mario Land which was a release title on the Game Boy in 1989. The original was the standard side-scroller we all know Mario games to be and while SML 2 had the fundamentals of that style, it followed suit of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World in that it had a map the player could move around and offer replayability on levels.

It also is the first time Wario came on the scene. The story is that Mario's castle was taken over by Wario and a spell was put on the door. Mario has to collect 6 golden coins to unlock the door and defeat Wario to get his castle back. Each coin is claimed by going through a themed zone (Tree Zone, Mario Zone, Macro Zone, Pumpkin Zone, Space Zone and Turtle Zone), they can be completed in any order.

The Zone map is very reminiscent 

of Super Mario World.

The design is reminiscent of the Mario games we all know but there is something a little different about it. While some of the enemies are the same (i.e. the Goomba's and the Koopa Troopa's), there are several new enemies that I had never seen before and I don't think they were brought into a Mario game again after. The enemy variation is fine and makes sense as they went in with the theme's of each world, but there is something odd about jumping on a walking hockey mask with a knife sticking out the top in a Mario game (after a little revision this particular enemy is named "J Son" in tribute to Friday The 13th villain Jason Voorhees... let that sink in, Mario references a serial killer).

I still can't get over 

a serial killer representation 

in a Mario game.

The Experience
The charm was still there, no question about it. I am pleased to have bought it again and gave it another run through. I still love the soundtrack and the graphics are (considering it was for the original Game Boy) are fantastic. The game is as responsive, detailed and well-designed as you would expect from a better Mario game but something seems different.

It is Mario, no question about it, but maybe I am now used to playing Super Mario Bro's 3 and see that as "The Mario" or even Super Mario World. The soundtrack of SML 2 is great but is perhaps a little too different, the enemies are great and well thought but maybe aren't classic Mario enemies. It is a really though one to explain because it feels just like a Mario game but it doesn't feel 100% like the Mario games I remember. It might be just because it was for the Game Boy and it went in a slightly different direction.

It is Mario, it's just got a bit of a twist.

The main gripe I have is that it is just too easy. The game was done in about just over an hour and I think even that was when I made silly mistakes in a couple of levels. My younger self would have loved it as it was a game I did actually complete but now it is just really simple. This could well be nostalgia kicking in and me subliminal remembering certain parts, I must admit after I jumped a certain distance or fell down a certain hole, there would have been no way I would have just 'known' to do it.

The bosses were just too easy too beat.

The bosses in particular are pretty shocking in terms of ease, 3 hits and they're gone. Yes, this is the case on a lot of Mario games but these boys are too easy to hit, they have a simple, repetitive animation and they are way too vulnerable.


Overall
I still have fond memories and, even now, I know why I had them. The game is charming and definitely lovable. The graphics and sound are fantastic, the levels are well designed and, most importantly, it is fun to play. That, I suppose, is the whole point of playing a game and it meets the criteria. For the child version of myself had every right to treasure this game.

My memories are probably fonder back then but my appreciation of the game is a lot higher now. It is still probably my favourite Game Boy game.

Regardless of ease, still a great feeling to see this again!

7.5/10