While Super Mario Land mostly ends up feeling like a relic of a bygone era today (albeit still fun to play), I feel the sequel still holds up much better on its own merits today. This entry still feels dated in some aspects as well as coming from a time in which Nintendo was far more willing to add all sorts of stuff into a Mario game. I mean, just look at all the oddball bosses and enemies that don’t feel like they fit within the established Mario cannon. A stock standard witch? The three little pigs? Kasa-obake? Ants and mice? Looking at the enemies in this game in retrospect is totally odd given how many of them are almost directly taken from the real world or other fantasy tales. Other oddities found here are things such as Mario having a mansion(???), coins not giving 1ups unless you use them in a slot machine, a bizarre invincibility music track, and an entire area that’s just a giant Mario mech which goes entirely unexplained. While Mario Land 2 still feels good to play today, despite being a little floaty, it suffers from a steep difficulty spike right at the end. Wario’s castle is far longer and more difficult that any other level in the game, capped off by a three stage boss fight. It’s by all means doable, but I always find myself taken off guard considering how easy the rest of the game is. It’s also unfortunate that every time you game over, you lose any collected boss coins. This means it’s very likely that a player will get to Wario’s castle, get drained of their lives, and have to go through 6 levels and bosses before even starting to attempt the final level again. Despite some minor flaws, Super Mario Land 2 is still very much worth playing, especially if you’re looking for a short yet enjoyable Mario experience. Side note, the bunny power up is so unbelievably busted. Having it basically allows you to skip huge portions of entire levels without any challenge. Super fun to use, but I get why they never brought it back.