Mario land 2 is really neat! It keeps a lot of the really weird and unique enemy types and design quirks from the first Mario land while providing a more polished and fun experience (as far as I know, this is the only Mario game where finding a 1-up in a item box has a chance to spawn a tiny witch that tries to steal it from you).
The world and level themes are all super cool and I can see why some of them were revisited in future Mario games. All the levels are really well designed too. I don't think there were any themes or set pieces that I found particularly annoying like in the original Mario land. It was really cool to play a non-linear 2D Mario game as well.
The controls also feel pretty unique compared to the other 2D Mario games. Mario requires a bit of build up to reach top speed which can be a little annoying at times when you have to make precise jumps on small platforms. However, when Mario gets going he really moves. He's really fast and slippery and floaty to the point where he controls sort of similar to Luigi in the modern Mario games and it can be really fun zooming through levels. The only other time the controls didn't really work for me were in the underwater levels. For the most part the underwater controls are fine, but there are a few instances in the turtle world where you have to walk underneath enemies to avoid them and Mario just moves way too slow for me when walking underwater.
The new power ups are super cool as well and I'm surprised they haven't shown up in something like the Mario maker games. I really appreciate the game uses the tiered power up system from future games. It was a little annoying learning that collecting a mushroom while having a tier 3 power up downgrades you back to super Mario, but it's ultimately not a big deal and easily avoidable once you know about it. The final boss is also really cool and a unique use of the power ups.
Mario Land 2 is just pretty solid. The controls still haven't reached that perfect spot for me yet, but they were never overly frustrating to deal with and the levels account for them very well for the most part.
The world and level themes are all super cool and I can see why some of them were revisited in future Mario games. All the levels are really well designed too. I don't think there were any themes or set pieces that I found particularly annoying like in the original Mario land. It was really cool to play a non-linear 2D Mario game as well.
The controls also feel pretty unique compared to the other 2D Mario games. Mario requires a bit of build up to reach top speed which can be a little annoying at times when you have to make precise jumps on small platforms. However, when Mario gets going he really moves. He's really fast and slippery and floaty to the point where he controls sort of similar to Luigi in the modern Mario games and it can be really fun zooming through levels. The only other time the controls didn't really work for me were in the underwater levels. For the most part the underwater controls are fine, but there are a few instances in the turtle world where you have to walk underneath enemies to avoid them and Mario just moves way too slow for me when walking underwater.
The new power ups are super cool as well and I'm surprised they haven't shown up in something like the Mario maker games. I really appreciate the game uses the tiered power up system from future games. It was a little annoying learning that collecting a mushroom while having a tier 3 power up downgrades you back to super Mario, but it's ultimately not a big deal and easily avoidable once you know about it. The final boss is also really cool and a unique use of the power ups.
Mario Land 2 is just pretty solid. The controls still haven't reached that perfect spot for me yet, but they were never overly frustrating to deal with and the levels account for them very well for the most part.