Super Mario Land has "Yokoi-team game" written all over it. Creative landscapes, a lot of playfulness in toying with how its character interacts with that world, and fun, but ultimately clumsy and imprecise controls without a lot of forethought. What separates Mario Land from titles like Kid Icarus and Metroid, though, is that it's an incredibly easy game. Twelve levels, bonus areas that throw WAY more coins at you than any other Mario game, a bonus game at the end of every stage that you can't lose that almost guarantees a net swing in lives or power-up when you start the next stage, and at worst you either go neutral in power-up state or gain one life? Fireballs that bounce and shoot UP? Two of the easiest shooter segments you'll find in a game? Mario Land is a game that wants you to complete it, to enjoy it in a little bite sized chunk of about 12 levels, to get as high of a score as possible with your one run as you discover all of its little secrets while still providing just enough of a challenge to get you over that hump. It's the most arcade-like Mario has been since Mario Bros; plus this in an actual cabinet, and I think it translates a lot better than Super Mario Bros itself did as an arcade cab!
As a portable, simplified, wacky version of Super Mario Bros... it certainly feels like another team trying to put their own spin on SMB. Mario's jump is outright off, his momentum dying when he reaches the peak of his arc and letting him pitifully drift to the ground. While running through stages at the high speeds Super Mario Bros allowed for is possible, it's different-feeling, and not quite as good. Mario Land is a game that invites you to take it at a slower pace, and due to that and its general low difficulty, lacks the thrill that mainline Mario platformers and even its sequel can provide. It is probably the dullest, lowest-octane platformer in the entire Mario series, and a clumsy one at that; the moments where it does try to emulate Mario's momentum makes it feel slippery, and can lead to Mario easily tripping off cliffs.
And yet, I begrudge Mario Land less for its failure to be Super Mario Bros than its sequel's failure to be Super Mario World. Mario Land is more of a high-score beginner's game than any other title in the Mario franchise; it keeps everything locked comfortably on screen so players can casually stroll through it in around half an hour at most, and playing it at this more subdued pace, trying to maximize score, I think it's pretty swell! It's got probably the most fun 'end of level goalpost' system of any Mario Land game, and it's fun seeing it translate concepts like Dry Bones to a different location as funny lil' Jiangshi, or riding over pits of spikes on boulders that are revealed to be tossed by a very upset Moai-head king, or the cloud boss that shoots chickens because he's shy and doesn't want to show his face so his projectiles are a representation of himself. Mario Land isn't a great game, but it is nicely representative of the Game Boy's early years as a tiny little time killer to perfect, and that endears me to it more than it reasonably should!
As a portable, simplified, wacky version of Super Mario Bros... it certainly feels like another team trying to put their own spin on SMB. Mario's jump is outright off, his momentum dying when he reaches the peak of his arc and letting him pitifully drift to the ground. While running through stages at the high speeds Super Mario Bros allowed for is possible, it's different-feeling, and not quite as good. Mario Land is a game that invites you to take it at a slower pace, and due to that and its general low difficulty, lacks the thrill that mainline Mario platformers and even its sequel can provide. It is probably the dullest, lowest-octane platformer in the entire Mario series, and a clumsy one at that; the moments where it does try to emulate Mario's momentum makes it feel slippery, and can lead to Mario easily tripping off cliffs.
And yet, I begrudge Mario Land less for its failure to be Super Mario Bros than its sequel's failure to be Super Mario World. Mario Land is more of a high-score beginner's game than any other title in the Mario franchise; it keeps everything locked comfortably on screen so players can casually stroll through it in around half an hour at most, and playing it at this more subdued pace, trying to maximize score, I think it's pretty swell! It's got probably the most fun 'end of level goalpost' system of any Mario Land game, and it's fun seeing it translate concepts like Dry Bones to a different location as funny lil' Jiangshi, or riding over pits of spikes on boulders that are revealed to be tossed by a very upset Moai-head king, or the cloud boss that shoots chickens because he's shy and doesn't want to show his face so his projectiles are a representation of himself. Mario Land isn't a great game, but it is nicely representative of the Game Boy's early years as a tiny little time killer to perfect, and that endears me to it more than it reasonably should!