Super Mario Land
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Super Mario Land | |
|---|---|
 North American boxart |
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| Developer(s) | Nintendo R&D1[1] |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Designer(s) | Gunpei Yokoi |
| Series | Mario |
| Engine | A variation of the Super Mario Bros. engine |
| Platform(s) | Game Boy |
| Release date | JP April 21, 1989[2] US August, 1989[3] EU September 28, 1989 |
| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E (Everyone) |
| Media | 512-kilobit cartridge |
Super Mario Land (スーパーマリオランド Sūpā Mario Rando?) 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, 1989.[4] 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,[5] 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.
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[edit] Gameplay
The gameplay of Super Mario Land is similar to the classic 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 and the Fire Flower work like normal, but unlike other Mario games, Mario doesn't stop in midair upon collecting these items, nor does he when he takes damage. The Fire Flower from previous Mario Bros. games is here, but obtaining it enables Mario to throw "superballs" rather than fireballs. Superballs always fly at a 45-degree angle and ricochet off floors, walls and ceilings. They can also be used to collect coins. Some coins are extremely difficult or even impossible to collect without superballs.
The point where Mario continues from depends on how far he progressed through the level before dying: either from the very beginning or at an invisible "checkpoint" partway through the level. Mario can obtain 1-ups either through finding 1-up hearts or by collecting 100 coins. Furthermore, by killing enemies, Mario gets points. After collecting 100,000 points, he can gain a continue in case he should lose all of his lives.
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, it is not possible to stop. 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 or simply pass by the boss without dying and access the gate switch in order to advance. The latter is necessary if Mario is not armed with a projectile weapon (superball, torpedo, or missile) since bosses can never be harmed by jump attacks. Mario then comes into a room where Princess Daisy is waiting. However, it's not the real Princess, but an enemy who dresses up like her to fool Mario. After the player has defeated the boss of level twelve, Tatanga appears as the final enemy. The game ends after his defeat.
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. This is a harder version of the game which has a number of changes, some examples of which are more monsters in certain levels (some in levels that they weren't previously in) and more falling ceilings and stalactites in the indoor levels. Once this mode is completed, the player can access a level select. Due to the inability of Super Mario Land to save, however, Hard Mode and the level select will be lost as soon as the power to the Game Boy runs out or the player shuts the system off.
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.[6]
[edit] Development
Unlike all previous Mario games, Super Mario Land was not created by Shigeru Miyamoto. As a result, very few elements from this game reappeared in subsequent entries in the Mario series. Most of the characters and worlds are very unusual by Mario standards. The only canon legacy of the game would prove to be Princess Daisy, who makes appearances in subsequent Mario games. Daisy was also the name used for the female lead in the live-action film Super Mario Bros. Other characters in Super Mario Land that are similar or identical to mainstream Mario characters include the Gira missile (similar to Bullet Bill missiles), the Piranha Plant (though it's referenced by the Japanese name Packun Flower in the manual), and a small timid mushroom enemy called Chibibo (somewhat similar to Goomba in terms of appearance and behavior).
The soundtrack was composed by Hirokazu "Hip" Tanaka, a musician widely regarded as a veteran of games. While the world 1-1 theme ("Birabuto Kingdom") is the most popular and widely recognized theme from this game, the underground music was recently featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
The invincibility music is actually the "Can Can" dance by Jacques Offenbach.[citation needed]
[edit] Reception
| Reviews | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Score |
| Allgame |  [7] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 7.75[8] |
| GameSpot | 8.3[9] |
| MobyGames | 3.9/5.0[10] |
| Mean Machines | 90%[11] |
| Compilations of multiple reviews | |
| Compiler | Score |
| Game Rankings | 74.2%[8] |
Super Mario Land sold 18.4 million copies,[5] making it the third highest selling game of the Mario Series and the fourth highest selling game for the Game Boy.[12] 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. In 1992, the World 1-1 theme was sampled by the Ambassadors of Funk for the song Supermarioland. It reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.[13] It was soon followed by a similar song titled Go! Mario! Go, which sampled the Underground and Chai Kingdom themes. Both songs were later included on the album Super Mario Compact Disco.
Receptions of the game were generally positive. It holds an average rating of 8.1/10 and 9.2/10 respectively at IGN,[14] as well as an average rating of 8.3/10 and 7.3/10 respectively at GameSpot.[15] Justin Searls of Nintendojo wrote that Super Mario Land continues the brilliance of its predecessor and gave it a 9 out of 10.[16] 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.[17][18][19]
[edit] References
- ^ Calderon, Anthony. The Nintendo Development Structure N-Sider Retrieved on 2008-03-13
- ^ Nintendo published Game Boy listing Nintendo. Retrieved on 2008-03-15
- ^ Complete Game Boy Games List Nintendo. Retrieved on 2008-03-18
- ^ Super Mario Land Release Info. Moby Games (1999-03-01). Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
- ^ a b Mario Sales Data. Gamecubicle. Retrieved on 2006-02-10.
- ^ Nintendo (1989). Super Mario Land Instruction Booklet (in English). Nintendo of America, Inc..
- ^ allgame ((( Super Mario Land > Overview ))) Retrieved on 2008-04-28
- ^ a b Game Rankings page on Super Mario Land. Retrieved on 2008-03-13
- ^ Gamespot Other Reviews page for Super Mario Land Retrieved on 2008-03-12
- ^ MobyGames page on Alleyway Retrieved on 2008-03-13
- ^ Mean Machines review of Super Mario Land (archive) Retrieved on 2008-03-13
- ^ All Time Top 20 Best Selling Games (2005-05-23). Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
- ^ Top 40 Hits of Early November 1992.
- ^ Super Mario Land. IGN (2002-07-09).
- ^ Super Mario Land. GameSpot (1996-05-01).
- ^ Searls, Justin. Super Mario Land Review. Nintendojo.
- ^ Super Mario Land Review. Game Rankings (2003-12-10).
- ^ Super Mario Land Review. Game Rankings (2006-10-25).
- ^ Vavra, Chris (2002-10-10). Super Mario Land Review. Game Rankings.
[edit] External links
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