Review - Super Mario Land Hard Mode - Retro Game Wizards Newsletter - June 05, 2024
I've overlooked you for too long
Today’s another short one. I promise I have big ambitions for things I want to play and share, but it is just going to take a little longer before I can commit the time.
A tough little land
I know that some will say that SUPER MARIO LAND (1989, Game Boy) for the Game Boy is a lesser Super Mario game. I actually really like it. It is short and sweet and pretty good to eat. It is only 12 levels long, but there is a great amount of variety, not just in terms of the types of platforming, but also in terms of what types of environments you see. Even within the set of levels in a world, there are subtle differences that give a sense of place that goes beyond SUPER MARIO BROS. (1985, NES) and even SUPER MARIO BROS. 2. (1988, NES). There are strange blocks and enemies like robots and moving statues all over the place.
Some of you know that when you beat Super Mario Bros. on the NES you unlock a hard mode. In that game there are only a few changes made when you play hard mode. This comes from the Mario Wiki:
All Little Goombas are replaced by Buzzy Beetles
All enemies move faster
The elevator-style lifts all use the short style, even in levels where the long style was used
Worlds 1-3, 1-4, 2-2, 2-3, and 2-4 are exact clones of their harder counterparts.
This isn’t a lot, and compared to today, is really underwhelming. The real hard modes would come with VS. SUPER MARIO BROS. (1986, Arcade) and SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 (1986, Famicom), or in the USA, SUPER MARIO BROS.: THE LOST LEVELS (SNES, 1993). Super Mario Land has a much more ambitious take on the hard mode included in the game itself, which is unlocked the same way as in the original NES game, but this time, a lot has changed, and honestly, it is a whole lot of fun. I wish I had played through it sooner than just this week.
Super Mario Land’s hard mode is a lot like THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME - MASTER QUEST (2003, GameCube). Geographically all the levels are the same, but now the enemy and hazard placements have been greatly remixed. Some enemies appear in levels they didn’t appear in before, and often what was once a pair of enemies is now doubling in the amount, with creatures now working their best to overwhelm the player with sheer numbers. Falling stalactites are way more frequent, and the positioning of various dangers that was once just a navigation chore, now become a timing test on the level of double-dutch jump rope, with you needing to choose the right part of multiple enemies’ movement cycles in which to jump in and attack. If you complained that Super Mario Land is too easy, you really need to not write off hard mode, because while it is still relatively easy for a late-80’s, early-90’s platformer, it definitely demands that you shift into a higher gear to complete the game. You will definitely die more, despite extra lives being super easy to come by. All-in-all, if you have access to Super Mario Land you really need to give its hard mode a try.
This week’s stream - MAX 330 MEGA PRO - GEAR SPEC
This week we are playing Neo Geo games using the beautiful 8BitDo NEOGEO Wireless Controller. I don’t have a lot of experience with these titles except for the amazing BLAZING STAR, which is always good for a couple voice-overed “BONUS!” sound bytes. As we have been, we’ll finish up the last 30 minutes with SHADOWGATE 64: TRIALS OF THE FOUR TOWERS (1999, N64).
Catch it all on Thursday, June 6, at 20:30 CET on https://twitch.tv/rgw_panda
Until then, have a great one Retro Game Wizards!
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