Proper Old School Cool (Super Mario Land (GB))

Member Name: RayWhitney

Product:	Super Mario Land (GB)
Date:	18/08/08 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unique gameplay, excellent soundtrack, sheer fun

Disadvantages: A little too short for today's standards

Mario is ice cream. Sometimes people like cake (Halo), and some people prefer cheese and crackers (Gran Turismo), but everybody always loves ice cream. The question is though, as infamously asked by Craig David - what's your flava?

I'm more than willing to admit that Super Mario Bros 3 and Super Mario World are fantastic games and I love them to bits, and technically they're so much better than Super Mario Land, but this Game Boy classic is incredible. I loved it when it was all I played on the Game Boy, I loved it when I bought a second copy ten years later and played it on my Game Boy Advance.

Why do I love it so? Let me count the ways. Super Ball weapons that bounce off the environment, requiring an extra twist of strategy from the player. Koopa shells that don't bounce, but explode. Bouncing Easter Island heads as enemies. My favourite video game villain of all-time, the freaky-looking Tatanga the Mysterious Spaceman. Mario can fly a 'plane and drive a submarine. Plus, you get to bop along to the best Mario soundtrack ever composed.

So, it might lack the ingenious touches of Shigeru Miyamoto, and it may take a mere half hour to complete, but no other Mario game offers you any of the above elements. Despite their undoubted quality, the recent Mario games have lacked real creative energy. In a series that has grown repetitious and samey - the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom are so used to each other that all they seem to do is go go-karting, rather than actually fighting - it was great, and remains great, to see Mario in a different world. A more exotic world, where he lacks the same old supporting characters, weapons and conventions. Super Mario Land is just a little bit stranger, a little bit kookier, a little bit darker, and just a little bit better.

(A version of this review has also been posted on Ciao)

Summary: Definitely worth a play!