Super Mario Land: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1989 video game}} | {{Short description|1989 video game}} | ||
{{About|the | {{About|the game|the song|Supermarioland}} | ||
{{Distinguish|Super Mario 3D Land{{!}}''Super Mario 3D Land''}} | {{Distinguish|Super Mario 3D Land{{!}}''Super Mario 3D Land''}} | ||
{{Good article}} | {{Good article}} | ||
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| series = ''[[Super Mario]]'' | | series = ''[[Super Mario]]'' | ||
| platforms = [[Game Boy]] | | platforms = [[Game Boy]] | ||
| released = {{Video game release|JP|April 21, 1989|NA| | | released = {{Video game release|JP|April 21, 1989|NA|August 1, 1989|EU|September 1990|AU|1990{{fact|date=August 2025}}}} | ||
| genre = [[Platformer|Platform]] | | genre = [[Platformer|Platform]] | ||
| modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]] | | modes = [[Single-player video game|Single-player]] | ||
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}} | }} | ||
{{nihongo foot|'''''Super Mario Land'''''|スーパーマリオランド|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}}<!-- Per [[WP:JFN]], this Japanese name is placed in a footnote unless it is crucial to understanding the topic --> is a 1989 [[platform game]] developed and published by [[Nintendo]] for the [[Game Boy]], as [[Game Boy#Launch titles|one of four launch titles]] for the console. It was first released in Japan in April 1989, followed by North America in | {{nihongo foot|'''''Super Mario Land'''''|スーパーマリオランド|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}}<!-- Per [[WP:JFN]], this Japanese name is placed in a footnote unless it is crucial to understanding the topic --> is a 1989 [[platform game]] developed and published by [[Nintendo]] for the [[Game Boy]], as [[Game Boy#Launch titles|one of four launch titles]] for the console. It was first released in Japan in April 1989, followed by North America in August of that year, and Europe and Australia in 1990.{{fact|date=August 2025}} It is the first handheld entry in the [[Super Mario (series)|''Super Mario'' series]], as well as the first mainline title not designed by series creator [[Shigeru Miyamoto]]. Modeled after the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' (1985), the game adapts [[Side-scrolling video game|side-scrolling gameplay]] for the Game Boy's smaller screen, with the player guiding [[Mario]] through 12 levels to rescue [[Princess Daisy]] (in her debut appearance) from the alien Tatanga in the new setting of Sarasaland. | ||
The game is notable for its distinctive sound effects, minimalist line-art visuals, inconsistent use of familiar Mario elements, and the inclusion of [[shooter game|shooting stages]] inspired by titles such as ''[[Gradius (video game)|Gradius]]''. Nintendo developed ''Super Mario Land'' under the direction of Game Boy creators [[Gunpei Yokoi]] and [[Satoru Okada]], intending it to be the system's [[pack-in game]]. However, during development, ''[[Tetris (Game Boy video game)|Tetris]]'' captured their attention, and they recognized its potential for a handheld platform. [[Henk Rogers]], who held the rights to ''Tetris'', convinced Nintendo of America that it would appeal to a broader audience than ''Super Mario Land''; as a result, ''Tetris'' was bundled with the Game Boy instead. | The game is notable for its distinctive sound effects, minimalist line-art visuals, inconsistent use of familiar Mario elements, and the inclusion of [[shooter game|shooting stages]] inspired by titles such as ''[[Gradius (video game)|Gradius]]''. Nintendo developed ''Super Mario Land'' under the direction of Game Boy creators [[Gunpei Yokoi]] and [[Satoru Okada]], intending it to be the system's [[pack-in game]]. However, during development, ''[[Tetris (Game Boy video game)|Tetris]]'' captured their attention, and they recognized its potential for a handheld platform. [[Henk Rogers]], who held the rights to ''Tetris'', convinced Nintendo of America that it would appeal to a broader audience than ''Super Mario Land''; as a result, ''Tetris'' was bundled with the Game Boy instead. | ||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
== Gameplay == | == Gameplay == | ||
{{See also|Super Mario#Gameplay|l1=''Super Mario'' § Gameplay}} | |||
[[File:Sml2.png|thumb|Mario standing atop a platform in World 3-1, with four [[moai]] heads in the background]] | [[File:Sml2.png|thumb|Mario standing atop a platform in World 3-1, with four [[moai]] heads in the background]] | ||
As a side-scrolling platform game,<ref name="IGN: building" /> ''Super Mario Land'' is similar in gameplay to the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' (1985).<ref name="IGN: Bad" /> As | As a side-scrolling platform game,<ref name="IGN: building" /> ''Super Mario Land'' is similar in gameplay to the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' (1985).<ref name="IGN: Bad" /> As Mario, the player advances to the end of the level by moving to the right and jumping across platforms to avoid enemies and pitfalls,<ref name="Nintendo Life: SMB" /> the screen only scrolls to the right, as the player advances, but will not scroll back to the left, and sections of a level that have passed off screen cannot be revisited. Mario travels to Sarasaland to save [[Princess Daisy]] from Tatanga, an evil spaceman.<ref name="Game Informer: 25 best GB p5" /> Two of the game's twelve levels are "forced-scrolling" ''[[Gradius]]''-style [[shooter game|shooters]] where Mario helms a submarine or airplane and fires projectiles towards oncoming enemies, destructible blocks and bosses.<ref name="IGN review" /> Levels end with a platforming challenge to reach an alternative exit located above the regular exit, the former leading to a [[bonus stage|bonus]] [[minigame]] styled after a [[Ghost Leg]] lottery that awards 1 to 3 [[Life (gaming)|extra lives]] or a Superball Flower power-up.<ref name="Eurogamer: retrospective" /> | ||
Unlike [[Mario (franchise)|the | Unlike [[Mario (franchise)|other games in the series]], ''Super Mario Land'' features several differences that sets it apart from the traditional ''Super Mario'' premises. Rather than being set in the [[Mushroom Kingdom]], it is set in Sarasaland<ref name="IGN: imposter" /> and drawn in [[line art]].<ref name="IGN: building" /> Mario rescues [[Princess Daisy]] in her debut, rather than the series' standard [[damsel in distress]] [[Princess Peach]].<ref name="IGN review" /> When jumped on, [[Koopa Troopa]] shells explode after a short delay, Mario throws black bouncing balls rather than fireballs (referred to as "Superballs" in the manual),<ref name="Eurogamer: retrospective" /> [[Glossary of video game terms#Extra life|1-Up]] power-ups are depicted as hearts, and the level-end flagpoles are replaced with a platforming challenge.<ref name="IGN: imposter" /> Compared to ''Super Mario Bros.'', which contains 32 levels subdivided into 8 "worlds" with 4 levels each, ''Super Mario Land'' is substantially smaller, with 12 levels subdivided into 4 "worlds" with 3 levels each. There are five unique bosses, one at the end of each of the four worlds, and a fifth and final boss being Tatanga, who appears when the fourth boss is defeated. The first three bosses may be destroyed with projectiles, or the player may move past them to the exit without destroying them first; the last level has no regular exit, and the two bosses at the end of that level must be destroyed with projectiles to complete the level and the game. | ||
Few elements recur from the previous ''Mario'' games, such as blocks suspended in midair, moving platforms that must be used to traverse pitfalls, pipes that lead to other areas, collectible coins that grant an extra life when 100 are collected, and [[Goomba]] enemies.<ref name="IGN review" /> After the player has completed the game they may [[New Game Plus|play through again]] on a harder mode, in which the levels are the same apart from enemies being more numerous; if the player completes the harder mode, the game allows the player to start another play on any level in the game. | |||
== Development == | == Development and release == | ||
[[File:Shigeru Miyamoto 20150610 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Mario creator [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] (pictured 2015) was "famously hands-off" in the development of ''Super Mario Land''.<ref name="IGN review" />]] | [[File:Shigeru Miyamoto 20150610 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Mario creator [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] (pictured 2015) was "famously hands-off" in the development of ''Super Mario Land''.<ref name="IGN review" />]] | ||
''Super Mario Land'' was developed by [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|Nintendo R&D1]] and published by | ''Super Mario Land'' was developed by [[Nintendo Research & Development 1|Nintendo R&D1]] and published by Nintendo in 1989 as a launch game for its Game Boy handheld console.<ref name="IGN review" /> Nintendo CEO [[Hiroshi Yamauchi]] believed that fun games promote console sales,<ref name="IGN: history1" /> so when the company created the Game Boy, he wanted a fun game featuring Nintendo's mascot, Mario.<ref name="IGN: history3" /> The task came to Nintendo R&D1, a development team led by Game Boy inventor [[Gunpei Yokoi]].<ref name="IGN: history3" /> Yokoi had previously created the [[Game & Watch]] series and worked with his protégé, [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], on the game that introduced Mario, ''[[Donkey Kong (arcade game)|Donkey Kong]]''.<ref name="IGN: history1" /> ''Super Mario Land'' is the fourth ''Super Mario'' game,<ref name="IGN: building" /> the first portable Mario game, and the first in the series to be made without Miyamoto.<ref name="IGN: history3" /> | ||
Absent Miyamoto's direction, the development team used elements new and inconsistent with the series as ''Super Mario Land'' shrunk elements of the series to fit the portable device's small screen.<ref name="IGN review" /> Yokoi, the head of R&D1, served as producer,<ref name="IGN: imposter" /> and [[Satoru Okada]] served as director. They had previously developed ''[[Metroid (video game)|Metroid]]'' (1986) and ''[[Kid Icarus (video game)|Kid Icarus]]'' (1986) together, and the two subsequently designed the Game Boy—Yokoi on its industrial design, and Okada on its engineering.<ref name="IGN: GB history" /> Their ''Super Mario Land'' was planned as the portable console's showcase title until [[Henk Rogers]] brought ''[[Tetris (Game Boy video game)|Tetris]]'' to [[Nintendo of America]] and convinced [[Minoru Arakawa]] that the addictive computer game would help Nintendo reach the largest audience. The company subsequently chose to bundle ''Tetris'' with every Game Boy purchase.<ref name="IGN: GB history" /> | Absent Miyamoto's direction, the development team used elements new and inconsistent with the series as ''Super Mario Land'' shrunk elements of the series to fit the portable device's small screen.<ref name="IGN review" /> Yokoi, the head of R&D1, served as producer,<ref name="IGN: imposter" /> and [[Satoru Okada]] served as director. They had previously developed ''[[Metroid (video game)|Metroid]]'' (1986) and ''[[Kid Icarus (video game)|Kid Icarus]]'' (1986) together, and the two subsequently designed the Game Boy—Yokoi on its industrial design, and Okada on its engineering.<ref name="IGN: GB history" /> Their ''Super Mario Land'' was planned as the portable console's showcase title until [[Henk Rogers]] brought ''[[Tetris (Game Boy video game)|Tetris]]'' to [[Nintendo of America]] and convinced [[Minoru Arakawa]] that the addictive computer game would help Nintendo reach the largest audience. The company subsequently chose to bundle ''Tetris'' with every Game Boy purchase.<ref name="IGN: GB history" /> | ||
The Game Boy was released in Japan in April 1989, North America in July, and Europe in September 1990,<ref name="Game Informer: 25 best GB p1" /> and ''Super Mario Land'' became a launch game.<ref name="IGN: GB history" /> Its official first release was on April 21, 1989, in Japan, and its North American release followed | The Game Boy was released in Japan in April 1989, North America in July, and Europe in September 1990,<ref name="Game Informer: 25 best GB p1" /> and ''Super Mario Land'' became a launch game.<ref name="IGN: GB history" /> Its official first release was on April 21, 1989, in Japan,<ref>{{cite web |title=GAMEBOY Software List 1989-1990 |url=http://tk-nz.game.coocan.jp/gamedatabase/software/DB_NTM1_GB1989-1990.html |website=GAME Data Room |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827211253/http://tk-nz.game.coocan.jp/gamedatabase/software/DB_NTM1_GB1989-1990.html |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |language=ja}}</ref> and its North American release followed on August 1.<ref name="EGM review" /> On June 6, 2011, ''Super Mario Land'' was released for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] [[Virtual Console]] as one of the first titles for the service.<ref name="IGN: eShop" /> Its new features include an increased size (about 60 percent zoom) and an optional "shades of green" color palette to match the effect of the original Game Boy's monochrome.<ref name="IGN review" /> The game was re-released on the [[Nintendo Classics]] service for [[Nintendo Switch]] on May 15, 2024.<ref name="NSO" /> | ||
== Reception == | == Reception == | ||
| Line 53: | Line 53: | ||
| title = Contemporary reception | | title = Contemporary reception | ||
| CVG = 93%<ref name=CVG /> | | CVG = 93%<ref name=CVG /> | ||
| EGM = | | EGM = 8/10, 8/10, 7/10, 8/10<ref name="EGM review" /> | ||
| Fam = 6/10, 7/10, 7/10, 6/10<ref name="fam-rev">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Famitsu|Biweekly Famicom Tsūshin]]|title=新作ゲームクロスレビュー|trans-title=New Games Cross Review |last1=Famibo|first1=Tofuya|last2=Mizuno|first2=Bucho|last3=Morishita|first3=Mariko|author4=TACO•X|date=June 9, 1989|publisher=[[ASCII Corporation]]|language=Japanese|issue=76|p=12}}</ref> | |||
| PO = 98%<ref name="Player One" /> | | PO = 98%<ref name="Player One" /> | ||
| TGM = 94%<ref name="Games Machine" /> | | TGM = 94%<ref name="Games Machine" /> | ||
| Line 60: | Line 61: | ||
}} | }} | ||
Many critics saw ''Super Mario Land'' as a "smaller" and shorter version of ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''<ref name="IGN review" /><ref name=CVG /><ref name="EGM review" /><ref name="Eurogamer: eStore" /><ref name=MM /> At the time of its release in 1989, reviewers were excited to have a portable ''Mario'' game.<ref name="Eurogamer: eStore" /> Paul Rand of ''[[Computer and Video Games]]'' called the game "an [[arcade machine]] in your pocket" and the graphics "remarkable" for their size.<ref name=CVG /> French games magazine | Many critics saw ''Super Mario Land'' as a "smaller" and shorter version of ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''<ref name="IGN review" /><ref name=CVG /><ref name="EGM review" /><ref name="Eurogamer: eStore" /><ref name=MM /> At the time of its release in 1989, reviewers were excited to have a portable ''Mario'' game.<ref name="Eurogamer: eStore" /> Paul Rand of ''[[Computer and Video Games]]'' called the game "an [[arcade machine]] in your pocket" and the graphics "remarkable" for their size.<ref name=CVG /> French games magazine {{ill|Player One (magazine)|lt=Player One|fr|Player One|italics=yes}} said that ''Super Mario Land'' adequately compromised where necessary to bring Mario to a portable device.<ref name="Player One" /> [[Electronic Gaming Monthly|''Electronic Gaming Monthly''{{'}}s]] Steve Harris considered the game "fantastic" and "very fun to play", though short.<ref name="EGM review" /> Ed Semrad and Donn Nauert of the same outlet both declared ''Super Mario Land'' "easily the best Game Boy cart" of the time.<ref name="EGM review" /> One reviewer in ''[[Famitsu]]'' wrote that it as the best of the first games released for the Game Boy.<ref name="fam-rev" /> | ||
Tony Mott of ''Superplay'' said the game proved that Nintendo's Game Boy "had playability to match" its competitors.<ref name=Superplay /> Matt Regan of ''Mean Machines'' agreed: "Playability to the nth degree!".<ref name=MM /> British magazines ''Mean Machines'' and ''[[The Games Machine]]'' both commented on the many secrets to find.<ref name=MM /><ref name="Games Machine" /> ''Player One'' too complimented the music.<ref name="Player One" /> ''Player One'' further pronounced ''Super Mario Land'' a "masterpiece", "the pinnacle of portable video gaming".<ref name="Player One" /> | Tony Mott of ''Superplay'' said the game proved that Nintendo's Game Boy "had playability to match" its competitors.<ref name=Superplay /> Matt Regan of ''Mean Machines'' agreed: "Playability to the nth degree!".<ref name=MM /> British magazines ''Mean Machines'' and ''[[The Games Machine]]'' both commented on the many secrets to find.<ref name=MM /><ref name="Games Machine" /> ''Player One'' too complimented the music.<ref name="Player One" /> ''Player One'' further pronounced ''Super Mario Land'' a "masterpiece", "the pinnacle of portable video gaming".<ref name="Player One" /> Three reviewers in ''Famitsu'' were not enthusiastic about the graphics, describing them as blurry, less appealing than the Famicom ''Mario'' games as it was monochrome.<ref name="fam-rev" /> One reviewer felt that although the game was short, it was probably better that way due to the nature of the Game Boy.<ref name="fam-rev" /> | ||
=== Retrospective reviews === | === Retrospective reviews === | ||
| Line 111: | Line 112: | ||
<ref name=CVG>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/cvg-magazine-096/CVG_096_Nov_1989#page/n118/mode/1up |access-date=April 11, 2015 |title=Marioland |last1=Rand |first1=Paul |date=November 1989 |work=[[Computer and Video Games]] |issue=96 |page=119}}</ref> | <ref name=CVG>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/cvg-magazine-096/CVG_096_Nov_1989#page/n118/mode/1up |access-date=April 11, 2015 |title=Marioland |last1=Rand |first1=Paul |date=November 1989 |work=[[Computer and Video Games]] |issue=96 |page=119}}</ref> | ||
<ref name="EGM review">{{cite magazine |title=Electronic Gaming Review Crew |last1=Harris |first1=Steve |last2=Semrad |first2=Ed |last3=Nauert |first3=Donn |last4=Allee |first4=Jim | | <ref name="EGM review">{{cite magazine |title=Electronic Gaming Review Crew |last1=Harris |first1=Steve |last2=Semrad |first2=Ed |last3=Nauert |first3=Donn |last4=Allee |first4=Jim |year=1989 |magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]] |issue=3 |page=15|url=https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/7186e2fe-dfbb-405f-afe4-1d8c7e593451|accessdate=August 20, 2025|via=[[Video Game History Foundation]]}}</ref> | ||
<ref name="Eurogamer: eStore">{{cite web |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-13-3ds-estore-games-roundup-review?page=2 |access-date=April 12, 2015 |work=[[Eurogamer]] |title=3DS eStore Games Roundup |page=2 |last1=Reed |first1=Kristan |date=June 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128223717/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-13-3ds-estore-games-roundup-review?page=2 |archive-date=January 28, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref> | <ref name="Eurogamer: eStore">{{cite web |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-13-3ds-estore-games-roundup-review?page=2 |access-date=April 12, 2015 |work=[[Eurogamer]] |title=3DS eStore Games Roundup |page=2 |last1=Reed |first1=Kristan |date=June 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128223717/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-13-3ds-estore-games-roundup-review?page=2 |archive-date=January 28, 2015 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all}}</ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 08:35, 28 October 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Good article Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Main otherScript error: No such module "infobox".Template:Main otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".Template:Main other
Template:Nihongo foot is a 1989 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy, as one of four launch titles for the console. It was first released in Japan in April 1989, followed by North America in August of that year, and Europe and Australia in 1990.Template:Fact It is the first handheld entry in the Super Mario series, as well as the first mainline title not designed by series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Modeled after the original Super Mario Bros. (1985), the game adapts side-scrolling gameplay for the Game Boy's smaller screen, with the player guiding Mario through 12 levels to rescue Princess Daisy (in her debut appearance) from the alien Tatanga in the new setting of Sarasaland.
The game is notable for its distinctive sound effects, minimalist line-art visuals, inconsistent use of familiar Mario elements, and the inclusion of shooting stages inspired by titles such as Gradius. Nintendo developed Super Mario Land under the direction of Game Boy creators Gunpei Yokoi and Satoru Okada, intending it to be the system's pack-in game. However, during development, Tetris captured their attention, and they recognized its potential for a handheld platform. Henk Rogers, who held the rights to Tetris, convinced Nintendo of America that it would appeal to a broader audience than Super Mario Land; as a result, Tetris was bundled with the Game Boy instead.
Super Mario Land played a key role in the Game Boy's commercial success, selling over 25 million copies worldwide and becoming the fourth best-selling title for the system. Despite its short length, critics praised the game for successfully adapting the Mario formula to portable hardware. Since its release, Super Mario Land has been widely recognized as one of the most influential Game Boy titles, and introduced Princess Daisy as a recurring character in the Mario franchise. The game received two sequels: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992) and Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994), the latter of which spawned the Wario Land sub-series. Super Mario Land was later re-released via the Virtual Console for the Nintendo 3DS in 2011 and on Nintendo Switch Online in 2024.
Gameplay
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As a side-scrolling platform game,[1] Super Mario Land is similar in gameplay to the original Super Mario Bros. (1985).[2] As Mario, the player advances to the end of the level by moving to the right and jumping across platforms to avoid enemies and pitfalls,[3] the screen only scrolls to the right, as the player advances, but will not scroll back to the left, and sections of a level that have passed off screen cannot be revisited. Mario travels to Sarasaland to save Princess Daisy from Tatanga, an evil spaceman.[4] Two of the game's twelve levels are "forced-scrolling" Gradius-style shooters where Mario helms a submarine or airplane and fires projectiles towards oncoming enemies, destructible blocks and bosses.[5] Levels end with a platforming challenge to reach an alternative exit located above the regular exit, the former leading to a bonus minigame styled after a Ghost Leg lottery that awards 1 to 3 extra lives or a Superball Flower power-up.[6]
Unlike other games in the series, Super Mario Land features several differences that sets it apart from the traditional Super Mario premises. Rather than being set in the Mushroom Kingdom, it is set in Sarasaland[7] and drawn in line art.[1] Mario rescues Princess Daisy in her debut, rather than the series' standard damsel in distress Princess Peach.[5] When jumped on, Koopa Troopa shells explode after a short delay, Mario throws black bouncing balls rather than fireballs (referred to as "Superballs" in the manual),[6] 1-Up power-ups are depicted as hearts, and the level-end flagpoles are replaced with a platforming challenge.[7] Compared to Super Mario Bros., which contains 32 levels subdivided into 8 "worlds" with 4 levels each, Super Mario Land is substantially smaller, with 12 levels subdivided into 4 "worlds" with 3 levels each. There are five unique bosses, one at the end of each of the four worlds, and a fifth and final boss being Tatanga, who appears when the fourth boss is defeated. The first three bosses may be destroyed with projectiles, or the player may move past them to the exit without destroying them first; the last level has no regular exit, and the two bosses at the end of that level must be destroyed with projectiles to complete the level and the game.
Few elements recur from the previous Mario games, such as blocks suspended in midair, moving platforms that must be used to traverse pitfalls, pipes that lead to other areas, collectible coins that grant an extra life when 100 are collected, and Goomba enemies.[5] After the player has completed the game they may play through again on a harder mode, in which the levels are the same apart from enemies being more numerous; if the player completes the harder mode, the game allows the player to start another play on any level in the game.
Development and release
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Super Mario Land was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and published by Nintendo in 1989 as a launch game for its Game Boy handheld console.[5] Nintendo CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi believed that fun games promote console sales,[8] so when the company created the Game Boy, he wanted a fun game featuring Nintendo's mascot, Mario.[9] The task came to Nintendo R&D1, a development team led by Game Boy inventor Gunpei Yokoi.[9] Yokoi had previously created the Game & Watch series and worked with his protégé, Shigeru Miyamoto, on the game that introduced Mario, Donkey Kong.[8] Super Mario Land is the fourth Super Mario game,[1] the first portable Mario game, and the first in the series to be made without Miyamoto.[9]
Absent Miyamoto's direction, the development team used elements new and inconsistent with the series as Super Mario Land shrunk elements of the series to fit the portable device's small screen.[5] Yokoi, the head of R&D1, served as producer,[7] and Satoru Okada served as director. They had previously developed Metroid (1986) and Kid Icarus (1986) together, and the two subsequently designed the Game Boy—Yokoi on its industrial design, and Okada on its engineering.[10] Their Super Mario Land was planned as the portable console's showcase title until Henk Rogers brought Tetris to Nintendo of America and convinced Minoru Arakawa that the addictive computer game would help Nintendo reach the largest audience. The company subsequently chose to bundle Tetris with every Game Boy purchase.[10]
The Game Boy was released in Japan in April 1989, North America in July, and Europe in September 1990,[11] and Super Mario Land became a launch game.[10] Its official first release was on April 21, 1989, in Japan,[12] and its North American release followed on August 1.[13] On June 6, 2011, Super Mario Land was released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console as one of the first titles for the service.[14] Its new features include an increased size (about 60 percent zoom) and an optional "shades of green" color palette to match the effect of the original Game Boy's monochrome.[5] The game was re-released on the Nintendo Classics service for Nintendo Switch on May 15, 2024.[15]
Reception
Contemporary reviews
Many critics saw Super Mario Land as a "smaller" and shorter version of Super Mario Bros.[5][16][13][17][18] At the time of its release in 1989, reviewers were excited to have a portable Mario game.[17] Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games called the game "an arcade machine in your pocket" and the graphics "remarkable" for their size.[16] French games magazine Template:Ill said that Super Mario Land adequately compromised where necessary to bring Mario to a portable device.[19] [[Electronic Gaming Monthly|Electronic Gaming MonthlyTemplate:'s]] Steve Harris considered the game "fantastic" and "very fun to play", though short.[13] Ed Semrad and Donn Nauert of the same outlet both declared Super Mario Land "easily the best Game Boy cart" of the time.[13] One reviewer in Famitsu wrote that it as the best of the first games released for the Game Boy.[20]
Tony Mott of Superplay said the game proved that Nintendo's Game Boy "had playability to match" its competitors.[21] Matt Regan of Mean Machines agreed: "Playability to the nth degree!".[18] British magazines Mean Machines and The Games Machine both commented on the many secrets to find.[18][22] Player One too complimented the music.[19] Player One further pronounced Super Mario Land a "masterpiece", "the pinnacle of portable video gaming".[19] Three reviewers in Famitsu were not enthusiastic about the graphics, describing them as blurry, less appealing than the Famicom Mario games as it was monochrome.[20] One reviewer felt that although the game was short, it was probably better that way due to the nature of the Game Boy.[20]
Retrospective reviews
IGNTemplate:'s Lucas Thomas wrote that the protagonist, enemies, and overall game were shorter, and noted that Mario himself was just 12 pixels in height on the Game Boy's small screen. With this in mind, Thomas was concerned about player "eyestrain" in rereleases of the game.[5] Still, IGNTemplate:'s Levi Buchanan thought the game made no compromises in its size reduction.[2] ComplexTemplate:'s Gus Turner wrote that the graphics were "simple",[23] and Official Nintendo Magazine said the game was "ridiculously short".[24] Eurogamer reported that the game could be finished in under an hour.[17]
ComplexTemplate:'s Gus Turner wrote that the game had the fun, intuitiveness, and difficulty associated with the series.[23] [[Eurogamer|EurogamerTemplate:'s]] Chris Schilling called Hirokazu Tanaka's soundtrack "surely one of the all-time greats",[6] and Official Nintendo Magazine said it was among the "greatest videogame music ever composed".[24] Eurogamer and Complex too complimented the music.[17][23]
Sales
Following the Game Boy's "overnight success",[10] Super Mario Land became the second best-selling 1989 release in North America (behind the bundled Tetris).[25] In the United States, the game topped Babbage's Game Boy sales charts for two months in 1992, from August to September.[26][27]
Super Mario Land went on to sell more than 25 million copies, making it the fourth best-selling game on the console.[28] The game also outsold Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988), the best-selling stand-alone (non-bundled) game on the NES home console.[9]
Legacy
The game began a Super Mario Land series of portable Mario games. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins added a non-linear overworld and introduced villain Wario, an evil version of Mario. The subsequent Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 began the Wario franchise. After 19 years, the 2011 game Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS became Mario's first game in stereoscopic 3D. Audrey Drake of IGN argued that both Wario Land and Super Mario 3D Land are not "legitimate sequels", and wrote that the latter seems more like "Super Mario Bros. 3 with Mario Galaxy influences" than a successor to Super Mario Land 2.[7] The Superball Flower appears in Super Mario Maker 2 as an unlockable power-up item, usable only in the Super Mario Bros. style.
Super Mario Land is remembered for its miniaturized Super Mario elements[1] and "twist on just about every Mario mainstay imaginable".[7] Many of its new elements do not recur later in the series, making Super Mario Land strange compared to the rest of the series, or what IGNTemplate:'s Thomas described as a "singular oddball".[5] IGNTemplate:'s Marc Nix said retrospectively that Super Mario Land was the only uninspired Mario game, with "funky voids of white" and UFOs instead of the "strikingly original" Mushroom Kingdom.[2] Mean Machines was also put off by the alien theme, easy difficulty, and dot matrix screen blur.[18] IGNTemplate:'s Travis Fahs wrote that the game was comparatively not as "ambitious" as Super Mario Bros. 3.[10] Mean Machines said it was not "a true Mario game", not worth its originally high review score, and "in retrospect, not really a classic".[18] Glen Fox of Nintendo Life agreed, writing that it was an impressive achievement at the time but did not age as well as other Mario games.[29]
EurogamerTemplate:'s Schilling wrote that Mario felt different—lighter, with more friction—and that the game felt "radical and distinctive" for the risks it took.[6] IGNTemplate:'s Thomas cited "out of place" gameplay elements like the shooter levels, exploding Koopa shells, non-extinguishing fireballs, and non-Princess Peach plot as departures from the series.[5] Thomas attributed this to Mario creator Miyamoto's lack of involvement in the game's development, which he described as "famously hands-off".[5] Schilling of Eurogamer instead blamed the Game Boy's technical limitations. But he too was perplexed by the new sphinx, seahorse, and Moai head enemies, and considered the exploding Koopa shells a "cruel trick" disdainful of the series' core gameplay.[6] Super Mario LandTemplate:'s shooter levels, new to the series, were not revisited in subsequent Super Mario games except the Maker games. Subsequent series games such as Super Mario Land 2 both dropped the original's tiny scale and chose the classic fire flower fireballs over the first installment's bouncing balls.[5]
The game was included in multiple rankings of top Game Boy games,[4][23][30] and Official Nintendo Magazine listed it at 73 in its top 100 Nintendo games.[24] After her debut in Super Mario Land, Princess Daisy appears in later Mario series sports and racing games.[5]
Popular music
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The song "Supermarioland" (1992) by British group Ambassadors of Funk was inspired by the game and became a novelty hit, appearing in the UK top ten charts. Simon Harris, the mastermind behind Ambassadors of Funk, said that he initially had no intention to create Super Mario-themed compositions, but after his friend introduced him to Nintendo's Game Boy console, he became fond of the theme music from Super Mario Land, composed by Hirokazu Tanaka. He realised that the songs on the game's score had a similar tempo to house music, so he was able to incorporate the samples into "Supermarioland" easily, recruiting Einstein to provide the rap vocals. After Harris created the track, he contacted Nintendo to clear the music samples, and the company, liking what Harris had done, also requested that he and Einstein record an album of Super Mario material. Nintendo UK quickly began to promote and market "Supermarioland", even providing an actor for the music video, but Nintendo of America was difficult to contact, and the track was never released in the United States. Mario's designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, approved the project, and the album, titled Super Mario Compact Disco, was released in Japan in August 1993, featuring tracks from other Mario games such as Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Kart.[31][32]
New Super Mario Land
A homebrew for Super Nintendo Entertainment System called New Super Mario Land came to light in 2019 after a series of posts on Twitter by a user named ChronoMoogle. The remake features enhanced visuals, music and a multiplayer mode for up to 4 players.[33] According to its creator, who gave an interview to Nintendo Life while asking to remain anonymous, the remake was built totally from scratch (hence, no ROM hacking was performed) using Assembly language, a few tools for graphics and sound and a Super Nintendo emulator for testing. After developing the game, the creator flashed the game in thirty Nintendo Power cartridges and distributed them to his "Nintendo-loving friends" as a Christmas gift to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the original game. The creator no longer has involvement with the game, stating that "the project is terminated already" after sending the gift cartridges.[34]
Notes
References
External links
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