Mario Marathon Part 6: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

I have to say, Mario way back in the early days of gaming used to be so creative, and this game is no exception. I mean, just like its predecessor, it's very weird, but that's what makes it so charming and fun to play.

As with the first Mario Land title, this game was released on the Game Boy, but for being a game on such a simple console, they did quite a lot with the visuals and world designs. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that this game makes the first Super Mario Land look like a tech demo by comparison.

The story is the usual flavor of weird that the first game had as well. Mario's castle that he just...has for some reason, has been taken over by the evil Wario and the door to the castle can only be unlocked by going to six zones and finding the golden coins that reside in each. Yeah, this game has a weird story.

The six zones are really where the game shines, in my opinion. There is the tree zone, which is a grassland type area that takes place in a giant tree, the space zone, which is literally just space, the macro zone, which is a giant house, the pumpkin zone, which is more of a horror themed area, the Mario zone, which is a...giant mechanical replica of Mario, and the turtle zone, which is basically a water area. As can be seen by my brief descriptions, the zones are very unique, even by Mario standards, and each level is fun to explore, if only to see what wild mechanics and visuals await you next.

The gameplay overall is also a lot smoother and tighter than the previous Mario Land game, which felt very weird and precise in terms of collision detection specifically. This game plays basically like an NES Mario game but in black and white, and that is very impressive, all things considered.

In conclusion, I'd say that this game is a very fun followup to a game that was okay at best. The fact that this game blew its predecessor out of the water is a testament to how Nintendo was always trying to improve its products, even the less powerful portable ones. This is a fun playthrough that I suggest every Mario fan should play at least once.

Next time, Mario gets bigger, bolder, and more exciting with a new gameplay style and a deeper story. Get prepared for Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

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