Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Super Mario Land 2 returned to its roots following a bizarre entry on the Game Boy platform which had an Egyptian theme mixed with UFOs… this iteration also filled your screen and looked more like a “Mario” title as opposed to the very basic and tiny graphics found in the original Super Mario Land.
Yet, SML2 carried over some ideas from its predecessor on the handheld rather than its big brothers on the NES. Coins didn’t accumulate for extra lives, rather, hearts were found in the recurring question block containers which now filled massive portions of your screen.
Goombas and Koopa Troopers returned as common enemies, with one main boss making his debut which would spawn a set of other games in his name: Wario.
SML2 also incorporated an overworld map and was a larger game in general than the first in the series, with 32 levels total. The super mushroom, fire flower and starman all make an appearance as well for power-ups, but the oddity in this case is Mario’s outfits don’t really change due to the monochrome colors of the Game Boy: with the fire flower, he instead has a feather in his cap.
Of course, the thing most people will remember about this game is Rabbit Mario… predictably achieved by eating a carrot! Mario then has ears on his cap which allow him to jump higher and slowly float by using his “ears”.
The series also features a midway point “save” when reaching a bell, another step in the right direction of being more like other classic Mario games.
The plot isn’t your usual Mario fare either. While our protagonist was away in the strange Sarasaland of Mario Land 1, Wario puts an evil spell on Mario’s private island, Mario Land. The inhabitants do a 180 and think Mario is the villain and Wario is their leader… and thus, the collection of the six Golden Coins begins to unlock your way into Mario’s castle and face his nemesis.
When it comes to retro games, this one ages decently. I find Mario Land 1 to be a bit jerky with controls, and the side-scrolling vehicles to be outside the norm of Mario games. This one is more grounded, though Wario at first just felt like a cheap imitation slapped on the box to give the game a villain, he too has carved out a niche over time – it’s rather peculiar that the sequel to this game features him as an anti-hero of sorts rather than return to the same formula too.
For the most part, if you can get past the usual Game Boy monochrome graphics of sadness, the actual title holds up to this day as one most Mario fans should play. I enjoyed it much more than the original due to having a kinship with Super Mario Bros. 3 rather than Super Mario Bros. 1.
You don’t have to squint to see what you’re doing either (a huge plus), and the controls are much tighter than the original – even if there’s some occasional screen flicker (something, again, you should be able to work around if you’re used to these handheld games).
Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
I’ve never disliked a sequel so badly in my life. For everything the GameCube’s launch title Luigi’s Mansion was, the 3DS follow-up wasn’t.
I’ll retract on that a bit, but not much. The game begins with all of the same setup, charms, and quirks you’ve come to expect from the original game including the Poltergust 5000, Professor E. Gadd, Toad, and more.
In fact, the controls are simplified for the handheld, and much more refined in this way than the original title.
Rather than explore several floors of a single mansion, the game is split into five different worlds, each with missions. This is different than the original game in every way, and oftentimes frustrating, as dying within a given mission means you have to restart over.
The difficulty of some areas is what sucks the fun out of the game. Among my bugaboos are some stupidly difficult bosses early on, including an area with several sister ghosts that can pretty much kill you at will – restarting the mission makes it even more of a chore to continue going back and redoing mundane tasks, which don’t always lend themselves to being obvious as to what to do next.
You’ll waste plenty of time trying to squint to see details on-screen in figuring out what needs done, with some areas seeing you solve the puzzle and still somehow be unaware if you did or not! (This is clearly an issue with an area where you melt the ice off of an elevator, and it still doesn’t work unless you know to sweep up the extra snow alongside it too!)
After solving a puzzle, you’re finally ready to progress through a level before being sharply interrupted by Professor Gad on the “Dual Scream” device (similar to the GameBoy communication device in the original). The long screens of dialog interrupt the game, sucking even more fun out of it.
The same can be said for cutscenes, which occur all over the place and are included, in my opinion, to mask the shortness of some of the game’s levels.
In all, I finally got too frustrated wasting my time with this game. Even if you love the original, it may be a tad of a chore (and bore) to play through. I got about 2/3 through before packing it up after a shooting gimmick boss level.
Not to be outdone, the game features an area with three staircases that legitimately took nearly an hour to complete as you guess which of the three options to take on what feels like 20-some floors of steps.
It’s moves like these that makes me wonder how this game got through Nintendo’s approval process, as I can’t imagine younger gamers wasting the time to go through this headache over and over.
In all the game gets a thumbs-in-the-middle from me. There’s enough here to like, but not enough to make me want to come back and ever play it again… a shame considering how beloved the original is.
Super Mario Kart
The trendsetter for all “kart” racing games holds up very oddly when reminiscing for this review.
Let’s start with the basics: no one thought a racing game based on Mario characters was ever going to work. Yet it did, and here’s why.
First and foremost, Super Mario Bros. is a beloved franchise with even more beloved characters. Each of the stages, which in this Super Nintendo title there aren’t many (later stages are extended rehashes of the same level, with added elements or driving through them backwards, which is now known as “mirror mode”.)
Yet, those stages had a sort of charm, that when combined with the same Mario-inspired power-ups, added a new dimension to your traditional racing game. It’s akin to bumper cars but within a video game.
So, what issues could I have with this title? If it were 1992, not many. The audio is crisp, the controls, despite using only a D-pad (there were no analog sticks at that time) were tight, the difficulty adjusted appropriately throughout and more.
In fact, this game shouldn’t have even been possible on a 16-bit platform, but thanks to extra processing chips within the SNES, it was groundbreaking. Yet, it’s not exactly the best to go back to. There are some frustrating areas of the game and I attribute much of that to the dated graphics and controls.
Still, for a Super Nintendo era game to accomplish what Super Mario Kart did, as well as establishing an entire new genre of games (and spawning numerous, award-winning sequels) it’s hard to be so down on this game.
Go back, appreciate this for what it was at that time and then move forward to see how each title built upon the previous: because that’s what I’m going to do!
Super Princess Peach
Mario games have a tendency of creating spinoffs which send the series in a different direction. Several examples of those are Super Mario Kart, Super Mario World 2 (which spun-off into many Yoshi games with the same mechanics) and Luigi’s Mansion.
Even Toad received a game all his own with Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.
Those are some examples of the many Mario series sister titles out there, but none is more of a sister to the series than a game starring the usual damsel in distress: Super Princess Peach.
Despite being one of the best-selling Nintendo DS games of all-time, I often receive blank stares when mentioning this title. I have a feeling it’s because the game was a departure from the main Super Mario Bros. gameplay much more akin to the American version of Super Mario 2, rather than the aforementioned titles, as it is still a platformer at heart which features many changes from your standard Mario gameplay, but not enough to be entirely memorable or groundbreaking.
The game begins with Peach venturing to Vibe Island, in a reversal of roles, to rescue Mario and Luigi. The island consists of your usual worlds (eight of them) featuring six levels and a boss level. For completionists, each level also has three toads to find/rescue which also factors into unlocking further levels/items. Mario fans will recognize many of the games characters, and of course, the usual protagonists: Kamek and Bowser.
Much of the style is also ripped straight from Super Mario World (including the infamous Ghost Houses), giving this game a mixed vibe (pun intended) of a mash-up of Mario games. I feel as if the developers wanted to mix several of these games together to create a new genre, however, I feel as if they failed to do so in the end product.
The game is colorful and fairly faithful to Mario lore. The departure comes from Peach’s use of a parasol (umbrella in laymen’s terms) which harkens back to her ability to “float” in Mario 2. Rather than use super mushrooms or fire flowers, Peach has four “emotions” which are needed to clear certain objectives. Those emotions are joy, gloom, rage and calm, all with different abilities.
For example, rage sets her on fire and allows her to stomp through certain blocks. With gloom, Peach sheds tears that can put out fires.
Those abilities are activated using the bottom screen of the DS, and when used, drain a special meter that must be refilled in order to use the special abilities.
Otherwise, without the powerups found in traditional Mario games, Peach reverts to hearts, a throwback to how Mario 2 operated with life versus death.
But one thing is fairly straightforward: it’s impossible to get a game over in Super Princess Peach. There are no “lives” and you simply restart a level over if you fail. In this way, the game feels setup for younger players, but there’s enough of a challenge in just the quirks of how this platformer operates to give it some gusto for more experienced hands.
Another nod to other games in the series occurs when “Perry” (the parasol – get it?) turns into a sub, can hook on zipless, or is used as a raft: any Yoshi players will recognize these side features while the sub feels like something straight out of the Game Boy’s Super Mario Land.
Overall the game isn’t necessarily great, but it’s not terrible by any means either. I believe most players would approach this game expecting Peach to run and jump as she did in Mario 2: and those who do will be sadly disappointed.
For others, there’s a new adventure in rescuing the Mario Bros. to give this a shot. But fair warning: it’s a game that’s very easy to complete with very little replay value. After you muscle through some of the longer, more boring stages, you will likely see why this game never received a proper follow up.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
I always knew about the true Super Mario Bros. sequel (i.e. “Lost Levels”) having owned it as a kid as part of the Mario All-Stars collection… but I’ll admit, there are a few more surprises that I wasn’t knowledgeable on.
I was going to bypass the All-Stars remakes since the Game Boy Advance series used the same graphical upgrades.
However, the original SMB style wasn’t represented in those, and after having played the Japanese (original graphics) version, I found out that you couldn’t access Worlds A, B, C, and D unless you beat the game something like 8 times and then held down a few buttons at the start screen after! (Yeah, screw that!)
So, I came about playing the revamped version of SMB2 “Japan”, aka the “Lost Levels” as known here in the U.S. I was geared toward playing only the letter worlds, but also found out that after you beat World 8, you bypass World 9. (A “fantasy” world I posted in a previous review for the original Japanese version).
That’s a bummer because it was actually fun… and so are the letter worlds!
The letter worlds, believe it or not, are actually less frustrating (and more fun) than the regular levels – which have some tweaks, but a lot of the same headaches as the original version did.
These letter boards are definitely worth checking out, and along with the revamped graphics, made for a nice trip down memory lane. Even with the ramped-up difficulty, there was a better balance with gameplay in this version of the real Super Mario Bros. 2.
Again, this is a title I highly recommend for any Mario or retro gaming fan.
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
While the Nintendo DS reignited the 2-D platformer style of the original Super Mario Bros. franchise, it was the popularity of the Nintendo Wii which helped catapult its follow-up into record sales.
With a large install base for the Wii console, Nintendo needed a hit to help raise their sagging profits. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, who is always inspired to try new ideas, took the “New” concept from the DS title and added various touches to the Wii version of the game to make it accessible for players of all skill levels while also adding a long-time goal of having multiplayer in a Super Mario Bros. game.
The result is familiar territory, with Princess Peach captured by Bowser – but it comes full circle with nods to Super Mario 3 and Super Mario World, by featuring the Koopa Kids and boss level “airships” reminiscent of those older games on the NES and SNES.
While the Wii wasn’t capable of producing HD graphics, this was the best-looking Mario title to date and still stands strong as well-designed platformer. Returning power-ups include the super mushroom, fire flower, and super star, as well as the DS version’s mini mushroom that makes Mario miniscule on-screen.
Newer additions include the propeller suit which integrates the Wii controller’s motion sensing ability, as well as an ice flower which finally gives players the inverse of the fire flower power, allowing them to throw snowballs instead of fireballs. (Which also has different effects on different items throughout the game.)
Finally, a penguin suit gives Mario the same ice flower capabilities while adding a diving/sliding mechanic and the ability to more safely walk around without slipping on snow and ice stages.
Yoshi also makes his return but is only available in certain levels. Yoshi’s “flutter” jump, first seen in Super Mario World 2 and its spiritual successors, also makes its debut here.
In all, if you enjoy the Mario platforming experience, you won’t be disappointed with this game. As a sequel of sorts to the DS version, it was finally good to have the same “New” Mario experience on the big screen and the success of this game would ensure that sequels in the series would continue to be published.
Luigi’s Mansion
The GameCube was the first Nintendo console to launch without a dedicated “Mario” title opting instead to make his brother Luigi the star of one of the first games available for the new system launched in 2001 in North America.
The game was unlike any other in the Mario series to date. While Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64 brought us into the third dimension, Luigi’s Mansion had another dimension in mind: the paranormal one that is!
Armed with a vacuum cleaner reminiscent of the Ghostbusters “proton pack” Luigi would aide a creepy yet lovable mad scientist type “Professor E. Gadd” in clearing each room of the haunted mansion of ghosts, all in search of his brother, Mario, who had gone missing.
Yes, Mario was missing from the GameCube and this storyline was built into the launch title!
The humor and subtle details of this title made it an instant classic as Luigi goes from room to room, clearing them of spirits (and boos) while turning the lights on in each and gaining keys to access others. He moves from floor to floor to accomplish this, with four “levels” in total, each ending in a main boss.
I had some gripes with the gameplay in some aspects, as I feel the controls in the 3DS sequel are a bit easier/better to use, however, it wasn’t enough to get in my way of enjoying this game, which itself, has fantastic graphics and sound, really showcasing how underrated the GameCube was while competing with Sony’s PlayStation 2 and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles.
The game has a long-lasting charm to it, and the usual “scavenger hunt” schemes often seen in Mario games, where players will want to find every hidden item and make it to 100% completion.
The game also has some great surprises in it, of which I won’t ruin here. It’s a game you’ll definitely want to pickup and play; if you do, you’ll understand why it has spawned sequels and also become a part of the Super Mario culture, inspiring items and appearances throughout other Mario-themed games.
New Super Mario Bros.
We didn’t start the fire… It was always burning… Since the world’s been turning…
That’s the way I feel about “New” Super Mario Bros. Such an emphasis had gone toward turning everything into three dimensions that the classic 2-D side-scrolling platformer appeared to be lost in the shuffle.
Then, in 2006, Nintendo unleashed this behemoth upon us which has, in itself, spawned numerous sequels and also pushed other franchises to return to their roots (such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Spyro).
The best-selling DS game of all-time, NSMB picks up where Super Mario World left off, giving us a side-scrolling Mario adventure spanning multiple levels through multiple worlds with a slew of new features or freshly recycled ideas borrowed from a number of Mario games.
You’re back to collecting coins, breaking bricks, and stomping Koopa shells to save Princess Peach. Yet, this game nor the Mario concept doesn’t feel the least bit tired. Triple jumps, ground pounds, wall jumps… all of the 3-D goodies are here and while sprites have been ditched for 3-D graphics, it’s all set in a “flat” environment that feels every bit as genuine as the original NES Mario games but with a fresh paint job.
Some of the newer power-ups introduced make Mario huge, or incredibly tiny: or he can wear a blue Koopa shell.
This makes for some strategy and hidden areas only accessible with certain power-ups. Add collecting three of the star coins per level and the game has some incredibly sick replay value, where the Mario purist can’t put the game down until it’s 100% complete.
Honestly, if you’ve never played this and you’re a Mario aficionado, you should probably leave my website right now and track this down, because it’s one of the best titles I’ve ever played. (It’s literally that good!)
Super Mario Advance
Holy-cowza Batman! Anyone who knows me knows how much I loved Super Mario Bros. 2. It was the second game I ever owned as a kid, and first-ever purchase, aside from the pack-in Super Mario Bros. that came with the NES.
Little did I know that this launch title for the Game Boy Advance built upon (and bastardized) the Super Mario All-Stars version of SMB2! (And that’s not a bad thing!)
A synopsis of changes made in this edition of the game include larger enemies and plants, added platforms and hearts (that you can even pluck like a plant) plus more potions, and a better “super jump”, all to make a somewhat challenging game much easier.
But the biggest alteration of all was the addition of a completely brand-new boss that only appears in this game: Robirdo! (Who is the only “in your face” full contact of the main bosses.) She spits larger eggs and charges at you, and within this version of the game, it flat-out works.
I’ve had trouble panning any of the reissues of several beloved titles from my mouth and this is another that totally blindsided me with how good it is even in comparison of the original. It’s crazy how much they changed in this game, but I found the not-so-subtle changes to be fun! So much fun, I wish I could give this two thumbs up.
Note: My wife claims to always have a guilt trip as a child that they finished the original NES title without using Luigi, as the game will show you how many times you used each of the four characters after completing it. So I made sure Luigi got used at least once, because he’s still a terrible character outside of accessing one warp pipe in World 5!
Super Mario 64 DS
Take a groundbreaking game which basically launched three-dimensional, free-roaming, open-space worlds in the video game genre and then up the ante.
That’s what Super Mario 64 DS is – not just a remake of Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64 but a launch title for the fledgling “dual screen” Nintendo DS console, showing off its own graphic capabilities when compared with its predecessor the Game Boy Advance.
All of the usual suspects are here: the game plays 90% like it’s N64 groundwork, but the few subtle changes are where the game really shines.
Rather than begin the game as Mario (the only playable character in the N64 version) players find themselves navigating Yoshi outside of Peach’s castle. Of course, the narrative is the same: Bowser did something bad to the Mushroom Kingdom and now you’re tasked with saving the princess.
Except, this time, you can control Mario, Yoshi, Luigi and Wario: each with their own special powers. As you progress through the castle, you must acquire stars – earned by defeating each level’s task. Each of those tasks is dependent, in this version, on which character you choose at times. As I mentioned, only about 10% of base game differs from the N64, but it’s this 10% where you’re forced to use Luigi or Wario in certain situations that makes this game stand out on its own.
Add in better, but still not quite sharp 3D graphics (hey, it’s still the DS) and the usual crisp audio, and the game is a pleasure to play – except for when certain cramped DS controls spoil the fun. (I already strongly disliked some of the precise jumps or mistaken back flips to my doom in the N64 original.)
Overall if you’re going to play (or replay) Mario 64 for nostalgia purposes, this is the title I’d recommend… yes, even over the WiiWare rerelease of the N64 source material. It’s just really cool to have some of the added perks with additional stars, minigames, multiplayer, and more.
Pick this one up if you’re a Mario fan for sure!