The castle stage leading up to him is surprisingly intense, too, especially given how easy-breezy Land 2 is otherwise. Indeed, Wario is the final boss of the game, and in an interesting twist he uses Mario’s own power-ups against him in a multi-phase battle. Perhaps the game’s most notable legacy is the introduction of perennial franchise favourite, Wario, here in a unambiguously antagonistic role. The Honey-I-Shrunk-The-Plumber brilliance of the Macro Zone, the yōkai-filled Pumpkin Zone that pits Mario against sentient Jason Voorhees masks, the sheer freewheeling escapism of the hidden Space Zone culminating in a rematch with Tatanga (from Super Mario Land)… it’s all glorious stuff. There’s a rich vein of imagination running through it, with every “Zone” on the map distinct and memorable. A brilliant, beguiling bit of Weird Nintendo, filled with secrets and interesting detours. However, as mentioned, Link’s Awakening got me to boot it up again for another look and it turns out I was right the first time. 3, or even its immediate predecessor Super Mario Land. I found it terribly easy and lacking in the tight play control of Super Mario Bros. I used to love this game as a child, but in my older teenage years I dismissed it for being “un-Mario”, for its unusual feel by comparison to the console games.

In a not-very-roundabout way, this led me back to Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Bill & Ted's Excellent Gameboy Adventure. The recent (excellent) remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening got me ter thinkin’ about the other Game Boy classics I used to enjoy.

Nintendo gameboy super mario land 2