689: Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

[JaySevenZero]

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.

[NoMoreSpearows]

Super Mario Land 2 puts all of its eggs in one very long, very challenging basket.

Granted, I can't put too much blame on that final stage for doing what it does. It's a Game Boy game, after all, so even if the other six worlds can be breezed through it makes sense to have the last level up the ante. I would argue it might do so a bit too much, though; no checkpoints is one thing, but making you beat every boss again should you get a game over? There's replay value, and then there's wasting my time.

As a die-hard Wario fan, though, I can't be too upset about it. It's in-character that he'd go out of his way to ruin Mario's day, home, and reputation as much as possible, even if his attempts at being menacing don't amount to much when beating him turns him into a literal baby.

And hey, if it weren't for Super Mario Land 2, we'd never have its sequel. (If you think I'm loquacious now, just wait 'til that episode comes around...)

[Jobobonobo]

This was the first Mario game I even fully owned and completed. Before this, I played the original Mario Land on my cousin’s Gameboy and some All-Stars on my neighbour’s SNES but that was it. When I finally got my own Gameboy, I remember seeing this on sale when we were on summer holidays, so I managed to convince my parents to let me buy it and it worked somehow. I thought this was a huge improvement visually over the first Mario Land as Mario looked more like how he looked on the SNES with big distinctive sprites. I also liked how you could really approach the levels in any order, so you did not have to redo the same sections over and over if you were struggling with certain levels. The levels themselves were also a lot more unique than the typical Mario fare with you going into space, entering a house as a miniature version of yourself and even navigating a giant mechanical Mario. This game does a nice job of combining the most familiar trappings of the Mario games with the weirdness of the original Mario Land. We cannot forget of course this was the debut of Wario who has become a fully fledged character in his own right with a bevy of games under his belt. I admire Super Mario Land 2 a lot for getting me into this legendary series of platformers and for just being a true highlight of the Gameboy library. It represents everything that makes the series so beloved such as goofy locales, absurd enemies and fun powerups. If you have never tried out any of the Gameboy library and are wondering what are some must plays, this would certainly be among the top choices for someone to check out.

TWR: Portable Mario classic

[Belapinka]

GeoGuessr Free
Super Mario Land 2 was the first Mario game I fully owned and completed, and it holds a special place in my heart. Before this, my Mario experience was limited to playing the original Mario Land on my cousin’s Gameboy and occasionally trying out Super Mario All-Stars on my neighbor’s SNES. But when I finally got my own Gameboy, I came across this gem during a summer holiday sale. Somehow, I managed to convince my parents to buy it, and it became one of the most memorable gaming experiences of my childhood.