Super Mario Land is a game released on the original Game Boy system way back in 1989. It was a game that I much enjoyed during a long car rides with my friend, who actually owned the Game Boy I played it on. Recently, my brother ordered the game on ebay, so I was able to play it again, much to my excitement.

Super Mario Land is actually a real oddball when when one gets right down to it. It has the basic components of a Mario title (the jumping, the mushrooms, the goombas[I think], and the coins), but everything else comes in from left field. Enemies include, but are not limited to: turtles whose shells explode after you stomp them, bees that throw arrows at you, robots with detachable heads, seahorses that spit fire, a sphinx, and bouncing moai with wings. Some of these enemy choices, like the sphinx and the moai, are likely due to the locations in the game, but they're still weird. Unless I'm mistaken, no one has ever seen these guys after SML ever again.

This brings up another thing about the game. Why is Mario in a place like Egypt, with pyramids plainly in view? Why is he on Easter Island? Why does he pilot a submarine underwater rather than swim, and why does he fly in an airplane towards the end? These questionds are just as valid as they are unanswerable. I suppose any location is as good as another, so long as it stands out, but it's still a little bit of a non-sequitor.

I will mention one thing that was different that ended up being pretty awesome. SML contains none of the classic Mario musical elements, but the music is actually really good. That's saying a lot, considering that this is a Game Boy title.

SML is pretty unusual compared to most Mario games, but it's still fun to play. It holds a lot of memories for me anyway, playing it on those long drives, so I would say that's the important thing. Just for fun, though, gamers should go back every once in a while to look at the games they loved as a kid and think about things have changed.