Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
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| Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins | |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Gunpei Yokoi |
| Release date(s) |  October 21, 1992 November, 1992 January 28, 1993 |
| Genre(s) | Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: K-A (Kids to Adults) |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy |
| Media | 4-megabit cartridge |
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is a platforming video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. Like its predecessor Super Mario Land, Super Mario Land 2 was not created by Shigeru Miyamoto, but rather by Gunpei Yokoi. Super Mario Land 2 is also the first game to feature Wario.
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[edit] Plot
In Super Mario Land 2, Wario has put an evil spell over Mario Land. The inhabitants are now brainwashed into thinking that Wario is their master, and Mario is their enemy. Wario's motive behind this sudden attack was to take control over Mario's castle in order to have a palace of his own. In order to stop Wario, Mario must find the Six Golden Coins throughout Mario Land to gain access to his castle. However, if the player loses all of their lives, they must redo all the boss stages to get the coins back.
[edit] Gameplay
While its predecessor was similar to the original Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Land 2 has more in common with later games: the player may now scroll the screen to the left, levels are not linear by virtue of a map screen that permits the player to choose a level, and the game has battery backup saves. Hidden levels have been added too, another element that was missing in the first game. In addition, the game keeps track of how many enemies you have killed (by jumping on them, hitting them with a fireball, etc.). After 100 enemies you will receive an invincibility star.
Powerups include the typical Super Mushroom, the Fire Flower (which gives Mario a feather in his cap, as a colour change would not show up on the Gameboy's monochrome screen), the Carrot which give Mario bunny ears and enables him to glide down very slowly from midair, the Starman, and hearts which grant extra lives.
[edit] Zones and Levels
Super Mario Land 2 consists of six themed zones, each culminating with the attainment of a golden coin. There are also four levels which are independent of any zones. The zones are, working clockwise around the map:
- Tree Zone (Levels 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) is set in a tree. Levels are themed to various parts of the tree- the ground around it, the inside, the top and a beehive on it. There are many new enemies, including worms, moles, frogs, and bees. There are six stages, but you only need to do four to get the coin. There is also a bonus stage, leading off from the second stage (Level 3). The boss is a large bird.
- Space Zone (Levels 10, 11, 12) is set in space. Mario wears a special space suit, and has the ability to jump higher and farther than normal. In the final level (Level 12), he can float freely for unlimited time. Enemies include pigs, similar to those in Mario Zone, and flying monsters. There are only two stages, plus a bonus stage. The boss is none other than Tatanga from the first Super Mario Land. He can shoot rockets from his ship.
- Macro Zone (Levels 13, 14, 15, 16, 17) is built around a house. There is a small building on either end of the entrance to the zone, which shrinks Mario down or makes him normal sized again. This enables him to go through levels inside the house. When you enter the levels, you appear as normal sized again, but to give you some sense of scale, enemies include ants and flies, all of which are about the same size as Mario. Macro Zone also features a number of "classic" enemies, including Goombas, Koopa Troopas and Piranha Plants (which, confusingly, are also about the same size as Mario). The theme of the level depends on its placement on the map. The first level resembles a garden, but the later ones are in a house. There are four levels in Macro Zone, plus a secret stage, accessed from the first stage (Level 13) by destroying some burnable blocks. If you do the secret stage, you can skip out stages 2 and 3 (Levels 15 & 16), and get straight to the boss stage. The boss looks like a toy rat, who appears from pipes. It has no attacks, and you just have to jump on it one time, but you can't shoot it with fireballs.
- Pumpkin Zone (Levels 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23) is built around a pumpkin. You walk into the zone, and the map appears as if you were standing on the bottom half of the pumpkin, with the top half suspended above you. Classic enemies include Boo and ghost Goombas, which can't be stomped. New enemies include Jason heads with a knife stuck in them named Walking mask and a vampire who commands bats. There are also ghost enemies based on Japanese folklore like Karakasa, Chochinobake and Hitotsume-kozou. The levels are all in, or in the grounds of, a haunted castle. There are four stages, all of which are compulsory, plus two bonus stages, accessed from the second and third stages. The boss is a witch, who shoots fireballs at you, and at the pots beneath you. Jump on, or shoot, each one for the coin.
- Mario Zone (Levels 24, 25, 26, 27) looks like a large clockwork figure of Mario. There are fewer enemies in Mario Zone than other zones, with the emphasis being more on jumping between platforms, but there are a lot of random spikes, as well as Paragoombas, Koopas, and pigs. Levels are themed to (somewhat tenuously) resemble parts of Mario, e.g. the clock mechanics, bricks. Mario Zone features four levels, but no bonus stage. The bosses are the Three Little Pigheads, who need to be disposed of one by one for your coin.
- Turtle Zone (Levels 28, 29, 30, 31) gets its name from how one enters the zone. To enter, you move to a certain point on the map, and a giant Koopa swallows you. The whole zone is underwater, and all of the levels feature water predominantly. Consequently, there are a lot of new water enemies, e.g. sharks and mines. There are only three stages, plus a bonus stage. The boss is an octopus.
There are 32 levels in total.
In addition to these zones, there are four external stages.
- The first (Level 1) is an introductory stage. You have to play it before you may start the game, and once you complete it, you can't play it again unless you start a new game in a different file.
- The second (Level 8) is situated between Tree Zone and Space Zone. There is speculation as to the exact purpose of this level. The level itself is a relatively straight shot, with three blocks which yield power-ups. Because of the ease in which one can get through the level, it is possible the level's solitary purpose is simply to provide power ups and allow the player to acquire additional lives. Another possibility is that it was an abandoned level originally intended as the introductory stage.
- The third (Level 9) is the Hippo. This is the entrance to Space Zone. You can ride in bubbles that the hippos blow, and float across the stage. There are two exits. If you take the low one, you get returned by a pipe to Pumpkin Zone. If you take the higher one, you go to Space Zone.
- The fourth (Level 32) external stage is Mario's Castle, which is taken over by Wario. You need the six golden coins to get in, and confront Wario. The castle has very few enemies in it, consisting mostly of obstacles such as swinging balls and lava pits. There is no halfway point, so Mario must start at the beginning if he loses a life. At the end, Mario fights Wario in the throne room, a battle which consists of three stages. First, Wario charges at Mario and occasionally jumps to shake a chandelier loose from the ceiling; second, Wario collects a carrot powerup to gain bunny ears like Mario, and tries to fly over Mario's head before landing on him; finally, Wario collects a fire flower, and attacks by shooting fireballs and occasionally jumping. Defeat Wario to reclaim your castle and win the game.
There is also a stage, where you can bet your coins that you have won to gain lives, power ups, and coins. The player can bet 30, 50, 200, or 999 coins. The more you bet, the better the chance of getting a good prize.
There is no bonus for finishing the game. That means, if the player completes all the stages except the last stage (Level 32) then the player defeats Wario (Completes level 32), after the game's credits, when Mario regains his castle, the player then turns the game off, then back on, then selects the same file, the player starts back at Mario's castle which is still taken over by Wario.
[edit] Easy Mode
The game actually has two levels of difficulty. The default is normal mode, though pressing Select at the file select screen displays the words "EASY MODE" at the top of the screen, which reduces the number of enemies encountered in the game.
[edit] Visuals
The visuals are greatly enhanced from those of Super Mario Land, approaching the style seen in Super Mario World. Due to the advanced graphics, the game is susceptible to slow down in many places. In the Mario tradition, worlds from many different themes are featured.
[edit] Music
Just like in Super Mario World, most of the music in Super Mario Land 2 is a variation on the same theme.
[edit] Reception
Super Mario Land 2 sold over 7 million units. [1]
