Super Mario Land 2 was released near the end of 1992. The game introduced a very memorable Nintendo character called Wario who would go on to have his own series of games. In this game, Wario is the villain who has hypnotized the people of Mario Land and taken over Mario's castle. Super Mario Land 2 also features an overworld map similar in layout to that of Super Mario World. It is patterned very much after Super Mario World in terms of gameplay and level design. Although, I played Super Mario Land 2 before I got to play Super Mario World. I remember watching the SMW cartoons that summer but didn't play the game until the end of that year when I got it for Christmas.

With Super Mario Land 2, I got it for my 10th birthday in mid June of 1993. I played it regularly throughout that summer, and this game became a big part of my childhood. It was at a time when I was really into video games mainly Mario games, but I was also starting to get interested in the Sonic trilogy as well. I hated how there were never any cartoons based off the Mario games for the Gameboy. Wario would have been a really cool character if he had been animated. He was Mario's evil counterpart, so would Tatanga, Princess Daisy, and Captain Syrup. Sadly, the Super Mario Land/Wario Land series never got its own cartoon. However, Super Mario Land 2 is still an awesome game. 

Graphics 9/10: The backgrounds and sprites of Super Mario Land 2 have a lot of detail to them. The only thing this game lacks is color. If it weren't for that, this game would be a perfect 10. SML2 looks a lot like SMW, and this is especially true for Mario. He basically has the same sprite. Kirby's Dreamland started a revolution with its impressive sprites and graphics. Super Mario Land 2 borrows a lot from that game, so it isn't the best looking game on the Gameboy. I do consider both games to be equal in quality, and they look amazing when you consider the hardware Nintendo had to work with.

Music 9/10: Most of the songs in Super Mario Land 2 sound amazing, but there are one or two exceptions. The game contains a lot of tracks, but this variety is what hurts it more than it helps it. Anytime you have a large selection of tracks, some of them aren't going to be that good. For the most part SML2 delivers, but there are a couple of songs that sound flat. The theme for Wario's castle is my favorite, and I also like the theme for the boss level in the Space Zone. The first level has great music, and just like with the first SML, the music is still very upbeat and catchy.

Gameplay 10/10: The second Super Mario Land game has lots of playability and challenge to it that make it a very great game to play. Just like with any other Mario game, the goal is to get to the end without running out of time. In this game, there are items like the Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Carrot that helps Mario get through these levels. The Carrot gives Mario bunny ears, and he can use the bunny ears to float over areas in the levels by repeatedly pressing the A button. This comes in useful on parts where large gaps have to be crossed. Bunny Mario is similar to what Raccoon Mario and Cape Mario were in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. There isn't that much of an item selection in this game either, but there is some emphasis put on exploration with the level design. 

Super Mario Land 2 contains 6 different areas called zones that can be played in any order. At the end of each zone is a boss, and after Mario defeats one of the bosses, he gets a golden coin. After collecting all 6, he unlocks his castle which has been taken over by his evil doppelganger named Wario. I like how every area of this game has their own theme, boss, and overworld map. I liked how Nintendo put Mario into outer space in this game. There is no gravity on this section!

Not only that, there are several secret exits to explore in this game as well. Although, SML2 doesn't contain as many as it did in SMW. There is exploration with the levels in this game but not much. For the most part, it's the variety and creativity of the game that players will enjoy. There is no Special World or Star World in this game. Super Mario Land 2 only contains about one secret exit per zone, and some zones don't have any secret exits at all.

The bosses are all fun to fight, and you have to figure out their pattern in order to defeat them. The overworld maps are also a nice addition to the 6 areas of Mario Land. Each map is part of the bigger picture which is Mario Land, and it has been taken over by Wario. "He has transformed it into his own private playground" to quote what was written about this game in the instruction manual. Just like with all the Mario and Sonic games, it is mostly the creativity of the level design that makes me want to play it, and there is some exploration to the game as well.       

Story 10/10: While Mario was away in Sarasaland saving Princess Daisy from the mysterious spaceman Tatanga, his childhood rival Wario has taken over Mario Land and placed its inhabitants under his spell. Wario has also transformed Mario's castle into his own, and Mario must collect the 6 Golden Coins needed to unlock the castle gate so he can fight Wario. The character of Wario was well thought out by Nintendo. He was an antagonist in this game who was jealous of Mario's fame and fortune. Wario wanted a castle of his own and stole Mario's. It was up to Mario to boot him out of his home and restore peace to his kingdom called Mario Land.

The storyline of SML2 introduced a new character who would go on to have his own game series, but this is where he got his start. Mario has to restore peace to his kingdom and kick Wario out of his castle. If it weren't for this game, there would be no Wario Land games. Wario would become the anti-hero in that series, and it is interesting to see how he got to that point. He just wanted a castle of his own and was tired of Mario getting all the fame and fortune. All Wario wanted was some for himself, but unfortunately, he fails in this game.        

Content 9/10: Super Mario Land 2 is divided up into 6 different zones: the Tree Zone, Space Zone, Macro Zone, Pumpkin Zone, Mario Zone, and Turtle Zone. The overworld map is similar to that of Super Mario World. To start with, you have a map of Mario Land that shows all the 6 zones of the game along with Mario's castle in the center. This was similar to Dinosaur Land with Bowser's world also in the center. Mario travels along a path that leads to each of the 6 areas, and when he enters one of these areas the map changes to another map of the zone in which he entered. Each zone has its own theme. The Space Zone was something totally different from any other Mario game at that time. Mario put on a spacesuit and floated through the air by pressing the A button. In all, the game takes between 1 and 1/2 to 2 hours to finish, so it is kind of a lengthy game.  

Difficulty 5/10: Overall, the difficulty of Super Mario Land 2 isn't that bad. I don't think it is a hard game until you get to the castle, but you can go back to levels you have already played (like in SMW), grab the carrot, and fly over the lava pits of this level. The Carrot power-up makes it easier and is what takes some of the difficulty. Again, you can use it to float over entire levels without having to get a running start like with the Super Leaf of SMB3 and Cape of SMW. If you Game Over you can continue, but you have to fight the bosses again in order to get back the Golden Coins. Like before, as in SMW, you can go back to levels and power-up infinitely for the more difficult ones.

There are a few parts of the game that are hard, but with the infinite power-up system, it doesn't become too hard. The bosses do take some time to get used to especially the 3 pigs in the Mario Zone. Mario's castle is the hardest stage and did give me some trouble until I figured out you could go back to stages and get items. Players can earn a lot of extra lives, so this is a game with a difficulty that is pretty well balanced. It is by no means easy and took me almost all summer to beat when I was a kid. Although, it is not hard either.  

Overall 9.4/10: Super Mario Land 2 is a very good game for the Gameboy. The graphics and soundtrack are fantastic. The level design and gameplay does leave a little to be desired but very little. For the most part, the stages and zones are very creative with their themes and bosses. I didn't like how there wasn't that much exploration or item selection, but it still gets the job done. The storyline was really what stood out to me and went along with the game's design which made sense and made up for some of the design flaws. It also offers plenty of content for players and has the right amount of difficulty. Super Mario Land 2 would be the last Gameboy title with Mario as the main protagonist. Enter the anti-hero of Nintendo, Wario!!