Super Mario Land 2 for Game Boy Color

I have to admit that I can't bring myself to play most of my old 8-bit games. I've become so accustomed to the graphics and sound from the Super NES and Nintendo 64 that I wince at most adventures for the primitive Game Boy.

Super Mario Land 2 is not one of them. I love this game with a passion.

I don't think there's a person alive who's heard of Nintendo who doesn't know who Mario is. In his second adventure for the Game Boy system, everyone's favorite plumber is charged with defeating his evil, twisted brother Wario. To this end, Mario must brave six all-new worlds and defeat each boss in order to retrieve the six golden coins needed to unlock the door to Wario's castle for the final confrontation.

Each world has its own distinctive theme--in the Mario Zone, our hero enters a gigantic doll version of himself in which he must climb rotating gears and avoid electric shocks. In the Pumpkin Zone, Mario must traverse graveyards while dealing with vampire bats and ghosts. Perhaps my favorite is the Space Zone, which is not accessible until you find the hidden path leading to it. For this world, Mario dons a space helmet and find himself able to make gigantic leaps. Every world has a hidden level, which you can only play after you find the secret goal in each of the different zones.

The graphics for this game are light-years ahead of the original Super Mario Land. The game programmers really had a handle on what the Game Boy was capable of at this point, creating characters and backgrounds comparable to those on a 16-bit system like the Super NES. The world map even features some cute animation, like the gigantic turtle's head darting out and swallowing Mario up as he approaches the entrance to that world. The music in the game is somewhat uninspired--variations on only one or two themes, neither of which is particularly catchy.

Mario's power-ups have changed slightly. This game introduces a turnip that will change Mario into a bunny rabbit, giving him the ability to make soft, slow landings following a jump by using his ears like wings. They do not, however, enable him to fly. The characters themselves are also a bit of a departure from previous Mario installments. Beyond the occasional Koopa Troopa or Boo Buddy, none of the older, familiar foes will hassle Mario during his quest. And Luigi is nowhere to be found.

If I had one complaint, it's that this game holds your hand far too much. With the potential to win a new power-up after ever level you finish and bonus games that can win you hundreds of extra lives at a time, any intermediate gamer should have no trouble finishing the game in one sitting. Expert players would probably be bored with most of this game, with the exception of the last few levels. All six of the bosses are extremely easy to defeat, since all you have to do is bop them each on the head three times. Wario poses a somewhat greater challenge at the end of the game (the real trick is getting through his castle).

The game is truly the height of Game Boy adventures; to my mind, it succeeds on all counts where the original Super Mario Land failed miserably. It remains one of my favorite titles, and one of the few that I can replay without a second's hesitation.