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Fused King

#09 - N-Europe: Let's Talk Games (Super Mario Land: 6 Golden Coins)

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I actually played through this last summer. My backloggery notes read:

 

"A bit easy, but still a great game. Very refreshing theming for a Mario game, like going inside a whale, into space etc. Would be 5 stars if it were a bit longer. Great music, looks nice and plays like a Mario game should. The bunny hat works well, and the sub-areas are refreshingly different from your typical Mario game. The modern games (NSMB) could surely learn a lesson or two from this title. Pure quality and a joy to play."

 

Bottom line: liked it very much, would recommend! 4/5

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My favourite GameBoy game. I played this when I was 5 or 6. So the following:

 

"A bit easy, but still a great game.

 

...might be true now, but back in the day, I found Super Mario Land 2 very difficult :p

 

Especially

 

 

I remember raging back then. Raging...at the age of 6 :laughing:

And that one moment. When Wario gets the Fire Flower. Oh the memories...I got nervous every time this happened. :bowdown:

6 Golden Coins is also incredibly weird for a Mario game. Weird stages, weird enemies, weird - and fucking awesome - music.

That music :love:

 

Broadcast Yourself
Audio

 

Broadcast Yourself
Audio

 

Broadcast Yourself
Audio

(dat buildup..you keep thinking "damn, shit's about to go down", but then...the horror when it becomes more quiet again. Genius.)

 

Broadcast Yourself
Audio

(fucking bees :laughing: )

 

The graphics are incredible for a Game Boy game. I was very impressed, still am.

 

Do I remember correctly that Miyamoto wasn't the director of this game? This would explain the weirdness :D

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Oh fuck, NOSTALGIA RUSH!

 

Playing this late at night under my blanket with one of those things you could connect to your GameBoy so you'd have light! Great times, Great times!

 

Why hasn't Wario been a core Villian of Mario in any of the 2D/3D games ever again?

Why also not DK or Wart?

 

Why does NINTENDO think that if they were to switch things up a bit regarding story, the fans would go bat-shit crazy?

Super Mario Galaxy was a start, but Bowser seriously needs his back stabbed by Ganondorf once again :laughing:

Imagine a Mario game where Wart is actually pulling the strings behind the scenes, and then it turns out that he was being controlled by Wario and then Wario gets his ass handed to him by Waluigi!

Edited by Fused King

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@drahkon Yeah I played it on the 3DS, the emulator save feature definitely helped me. Still, it didn't feel like a super hard game or anything, just a short ride of awesomeness.

 

@Fused King Yep, more variation please. This game shows how it's done and the result is great. Screw Bowser and his ugly mug, CHANGE IT UP NINTENDOOOOOOO!

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Do I remember correctly that Miyamoto wasn't the director of this game? This would explain the weirdness :D

 

You remember correctly. :p It also ties in with how/why Wario was created.

 

This was one of the games I got with my Gameboy Color (the other been ML1).

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Now this is a strange one. I never played it back in the day (probably because I couldn't afford it), but I always assumed I'd like it as it looked fairly similar to Super Mario World. However, I downloaded it for the 3DS and couldn't be bothered to get very far. I'm not saying it's boring or a bad game - there's obviously something to it that people like - it's just that, as a retro game that I hadn't played before, I just didn't "get" it.

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I played this way back through the gameboy player for the Gamecube. Enjoyed it, don't remember it being spectacular, it was good fun but I don't think I finished it. I think I got to the very end and maybe the last boss or something tripped me up and I just left it.

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The reason there's no Nintendo LEGO?

 

nbblock.png

 

On the final stage of Mario Zone, the entire stage is made up of toy building blocks similar to Lego. Around halfway through the level there is a split path, and along the lower path one of the blocks reads "N&B".

 

N&B Block was Nintendo's own Lego-style building block brand when they were a toy manufacturer in the 1960's and 70's.

 

Also: loved the game back in the 90's. TV ads were even better!

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I absolutely loved this game at the time. Haven't played it in years now though... the best thing about this game is that it introduced Wario which meant we got a fantastic WarioLand game soon after!

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Oh man, a Game Boy game! From the childhood! :hehe:

 

So, let me just say, right off the bat, that I don't like Super Mario World. Can't say why, I just don't. I really like this game, though.

 

It definitely feels different to the usual 2D Mario fare. The levels aren't as linear as they usually are, they feel more...whole, so to speak. Like actual places where stuff exists, instead of elaborate obstacle courses.

 

For example, I remember that one level where you're constantly going up (you go right, climb a few platforms, go left, then a few more platforms, then go right, etc.), and if you fall, you fall into an earlier part of the level. And what about the labyrinthic Submarine level? Can't imagine another "main" 2D Mario doing these.

 

Speaking of that, isn't it awesome how the levels actually seem to connect? Like, the Tree World really feels like you're climbing that tree. Feels pretty immersive.

 

Even the map itself is different, allowing you to tackle each level in the order you damn well want to. Finding different exits isn't just a matter of finding a secret-straight-to-the-exit, either, it might end up being an entirely different half of the level.

 

The game also has plenty of charm. The Space World where Mario jumps higher, the Hippo Bubble level, the whale, the Mecha Mario World with the 3 piggies... This is why other teams should take a stab at these licenses once in a while. Fresh perspectives.

 

Music was a tad repetitive, but the graphics were quite good. I liked the unusual enemy design, too. In gameplay, it was the usual and fluid Mario we know, except the drill jump was made simpler (though not easier) to use, and the Fire Flower is actually useful beyond killing enemies (tying into the more explorable levels).

 

And dat Wario, huh? I really like the way they made him as a boss/villain. He can actually use the power-ups that Mario uses, and turns into a child when defeated, he really is a "Nega-Mario" of sorts.

(This is the team that went on to create the Wario Land series, by the way)

 

You know, I think I might like this better than Super Mario Bros. 3, too. It's just a really good game that pushes the right buttons.

 

Oh right, I usually give scores:

8/10

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Loved this game when I had a GBC. Thought it was amazing and a little tough back in the day. I did download it on the 3DS a while back and played it again.

 

I like the fact that it is not like other Mario games and an example that to be a decent Mario game the usual characters are not necessary needed.

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This one is a real odd ball. It isn't really a mainline Mario game and that's not a bad thing at all. It was made by a completely different team within Nintendo (R&D1 AKA SPD1 - the Kid Icarus/Metroid/Wario Land/Wario Ware/Rhythm Heaven etc team) as opposed to EAD and it really shows.

 

With SML1, you get the feeling that the developers weren't really happy about being asked to make a "companion" game of sorts to the original SMB on NES. It follows a very similar gameplay structure and tries to emulate the original gameplay while adding in as many different surface elements (that stray as far away from the NES game as possible) as they could; almost a reluctant existence.

 

With SML2 though, R&D1 take an entirely different approach and were clearly let off the leash to make the game they wanted to make. It's slower, more methodological and much more exploration focused than the mainline Mario series; not unlike R&D1's other games, (like Kid Icarus, Metroid and Wario Land) actually!

 

Thematically, it's also really... strange... Again, it strays as far away from the "safe" themes of the mainline series and is best compared to the Wario Land series. I really like the interconnected feel of all of the different levels and the way they all seem to fit together to make up each world - the secret exits were also really well designed, with some utterly genius ways they were hidden - never forget the Hippo Zone and the secret exit in the Mario Toy world!

 

It's not really an acrobatic and athletic platformer like the mainline Mario games, but rather the platforming is slow and functional. Unlike its predecessor (which was built to try and squash down the NES SMB experience onto a device that wasn't really well equipped to handle that fast paced platforming), SML2 is a game that was clearly built from the ground up for the Gameboy alone. Large sprites, slow movement and level design that is designed around the small field of view; it's a game that takes advantage of all of these limitations and focuses on exploration and milder platforming to deliver a very different kind of platformer.

 

This is a game that clearly had a lot more love and care put into it than SML. It's a game that wasn't made out of frustration and reluctance, but of a desire to go in a completely different direction; even when using existing characters and IP. It's basically Wario Land 0 in all but name (In that respect, the name "Super Mario Land 3" was actually a very fitting subtitle for the original Wario Land; much moreso than "Super Mario World 2" was for Yoshi's Island) and is a much better game than its predecessor for it!

Edited by Dcubed

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An abosulute classic Gameboy game, i only recently replayed it on the 3DS Virtual Console over the Christmas period. This was one of the many games i had with my original Gameboy (R.I.P) back in the 80's/90's

 

What i loved about this over SML was the fact that the levels were somewhat different. As it's been said, Miyamoto wasn't behind this game and it shows. Give a team a chance to create something they want from the franchise, and they do it. This game is an example of that very thing. Ok, the music was re-used in some worlds. And the lack of saves vs Wario is somewhat annoying, but that just adds to this.

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Sorry, I'm exceptionally late with this week's Let's talk Games, but I'm experiencing some internet difficulties.

 

Anyway, I'll post a new thread in a minute or two.

 

As always, thanks for the input guys, and don't forget to check out the Archive in the General Gaming Discussion Board if something pops into your head regarding a game we've discussed.

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There were a whole host of new ideas introduced with this game and a lot of original levels, even for a Mario game. I don't know whether it was because of the zoomed in perspective, slower speed, or because it was a GameBoy title, but for me it's always been too much on the easy side. I enjoyed finding all the secret exits and it was good that Nintendo brought over some of the newer concepts from the console games such as being able to carry turtle shells.

 

A short & easy game that's still fun to play. Plus as many others have said - it introduced the world to the great anti-hero that is Wario!

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