Not to be confused withSuper Mario 3D Land.

This article is about theGame Boy game. For other uses, seeSuper Mario Land (disambiguation).

"SML" redirects here. For the unofficial YouTube channel that was acknowledged byNintendo, seeList of unofficial media acknowledged by Nintendo § SuperMarioLogan.

Super Mario Land
North American box art For alternate box art, see therelated gallery.
Developer	Nintendo R&D1
Publisher	Nintendo
Platforms	Game Boy,LodgeNet,Virtual Console (Nintendo 3DS),Game Boy - Nintendo Classics
Release dates	Game Boy: April 21, 1989[1] August 1, 1989[2] September 28, 1990[?] November 21, 1990[3] Player's Choice: October 1996[4] Virtual Console (Nintendo 3DS): June 6, 2011[5] June 6, 2011[6] June 7, 2011[7] June 7, 2011[?] February 3, 2016[8] Game Boy - Nintendo Classics: May 14, 2024[9] May 15, 2024[10] May 15, 2024[?] May 15, 2024[11] May 15, 2024[?] May 15, 2024[12]
Language	English
Genre	2Dplatformer
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone[?] CERO: - All ages[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] USK: - All ages[?] RARS: - All ages[?] GRAC: - All ages[?] ACB: - General[?]
Mode	Single player
Format	Nintendo Switch: Digital download Game Boy: Game Pak GB Memory Cartridge: Cartridge Nintendo 3DS: Digital download
Input	Nintendo Switch: Joy-Con Joy-Con (horizontal) Nintendo Switch Pro Controller Game Boy: Gamepad Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad
Serial codes	DMG-MLA DMG-ML-USA DMG-ML-USA-1 (Player's Choice) DMG-ML-EUR DMG-ML-AUS

“Abeautiful kingdom on ancient ruins, tempestuous waters, and brand new challenges makesSuper Mario Land the best ever!”

—US box blurb

Super Mario Land is a 2D action-adventureplatform game for theGame Boy, first released as alaunch title in1989. It is the firstSuper Mario game released for a handheld console and the fifth entry in the series. In Japan, it is recognized as the fourth.^[13][14] Unlike previous installments, the game was not developed byShigeru Miyamoto andNintendo EAD, but by Nintendo R&D1, withGunpei Yokoi as guiding producer.Super Mario Land takes place inSarasaland rather than theMushroom Kingdom, and introducesPrincess Daisy, a new character serving as the damsel-in-distress in place ofPrincess Peach.Tatanga, a malevolent alien with mesmeric powers, serves as both the main antagonist and final boss.

In addition to being the first of the threeSuper Mario Land games, this game is also the shortest, comprising of only twelve levels spanning four different worlds. It was succeeded bySuper Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, which introducedWario, andWario Land: Super Mario Land 3, which is also the first installment in theWario Land series.Super Mario Land and its sequel were initially excluded from the mainSuper Mario series,^[15] but they were later included alongside the more traditional games in material for theSuper Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary^[16] andSuper Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary, as well as the history pages on the Mario Portal and "The official home for Mario" websites.^[17][18]

This game is notable for its inclusion of different or unrelated enemies and sound effects compared to traditional titles. Additionally, though the game did not receive critical acclaim, mainly due to its graphical capabilities and shortness in length, it sold extremely well, eventually totaling over 18 million copies sold, making it the fourth best-selling game for the Game Boy overall.

The game was re-released for theNintendo 3DS'sVirtual Console in 2011, and forGame Boy - Nintendo Classics for theNintendo Switch in 2024 in celebration of the Game Boy's 35th anniversary.^[9] The Virtual Console release requires 42 blocks (5.3 MB) of memory to be installed.

A board game adaptation of this game was released exclusively in Germany and Spain, titledDas Super Mario Spiel. Although the board game does not explicitly state its theming afterSuper Mario Land, it features the same characters, worlds, and story.

Story[edit]

Mario inSarasaland, surrounded by various enemies in the game

The following text is taken directly from the instruction booklet.

Once upon a time, there was a peaceful world calledSarasaland. In this world there were 4 kingdoms namedBirabuto,Muda,Easton andChai. One day, the skies of Sarasaland were suddenly covered by a huge black cloud. From a crack in this cloud, the unknown space monsterTatanga emerged to try to conquer Sarasaland. Tatanga hypnotized the people of all the kingdoms so that he could control them in any way he liked. In this way he took over Sarasaland. Now, he wants to marryPrincess Daisy of Sarasaland and make her his queen.Mario came to know of these events, and he has started on a journey to theChai Kingdom where Princess Daisy is held captive, in order to restore peace to Sarasaland. Can Mario defeat Tatanga, release people from his interstellar hypnosis, and rescue Princess Daisy? It's all up to you and Mario's skill. Go for it Mario!

In this game,Mario is tasked with savingPrincess Daisy and the inhabitants ofSarasaland fromTatanga. To do so, he must travel across and conquer all four kingdoms - theBirabuto Kingdom, a desert kingdom based on ancient Egypt, theMuda Kingdom, an aquatic kingdom, theEaston Kingdom, a kingdom partially based on Easter Island, and theChai Kingdom, a kingdom inspired by mythical ancient China.

The first three kingdoms are each guarded by a boss Mario must defeat to rescue an enemy disguised as Princess Daisy. These three kingdoms are led by theGao-likeKing Totomesu,Yurarin Boo-likeDragonzamasu, andTokotoko-likeHiyoihoi. A cloud known asBiokinton is fought in the fourth kingdom. In the end, Mario must board theSky Pop to battle and defeat Tatanga himself in his heavily armed airship,Pagosu. After he is defeated, Mario rescues Daisy and the two ride off together in a spaceship.

It is revealed in the sequel,Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, thatWario took advantage of the events in this game to take overMario's castle. In this game, Tatanga guards aGolden Coin, presumably working under Wario.

Gameplay[edit]

Mario traversing the first level of the game,World 1-1

Super Mario Land is very similar to previousSuper Mario platformer games. allows the player to jump, while serves as the action command, allowingMario to run faster. controls where Mario walks or runs. The player may also pause at anytime with. Jumping on an enemy usually defeats it and earns the player points. When Mario isSuperball Mario, or if he is driving theMarine Pop orSky Pop, fires out projectiles at Mario's enemies.

Most of the bosses can either be beaten via physical attack, or by jumping on a switch behind the boss. Collecting one hundredcoins earns Mario anextra life, and if he manages to earn 100,000 points, he gains an extra continue to use in the event all lives are lost.

Mario is vulnerable asSmall Mario. When he gets aSuper Mushroom, he grows slightly in size and is able to take damage once without losing a life, instead reverting back to his small state. If Mario collects aSuperball Flower, he becomes Superball Mario, and is able to shoot Superballs at his enemies. If Mario happens to find and collect aStar, he becomes invincible, and is able to defeat any enemy just by touching it. These effects are temporary and last a short time.

At the end of every non-boss level, the player reaches agoal tower with two entrances. The lower entrance takes Mario directly to the next stage, while the upper entrance sends him to abonus game for the chance to win a Superball Flower or one, two, or three extra lives.

After the main game is beaten, the Mushroom icon on the title screen changes to an icon of Mario's head. This allows the player to play through the game once more, with additional enemies spread throughout the levels, though no further changes occur to increase the difficulty. Beating this game unlocks a level select option. As the game has no battery backup, the title screen reverts to the standard version upon switching the Game Boy off, resetting the game, or having the batteries run out.

Controls[edit]

Action(s)	Input(s)
	Game Boy	Nintendo 3DS	Dual Joy-Con / Nintendo Switch Pro Controller / Nintendo Switch Lite	Horizontal Joy-Con
Move			/ /
Run, throwSuperball, fire torpedo, fire missile			/	/
Jump
Pause				+

Worlds and levels[edit]

Super Mario Land utilizesSarasaland as the main setting rather than theMushroom Kingdom. The land is divided into four kingdoms serving as the corresponding worlds of the game - theBirabuto Kingdom, theMuda Kingdom, theEaston Kingdom, and theChai Kingdom, respectively. Each world consists of three levels. These levels normally feature music, backgrounds, and enemies relevant to the themes of their respective worlds. Due to the length of the game, as well as the amount of enemies featured in the game, most enemies are indigenous to one world, while some only appear in one level. At the end of the first two levels of each world, Mario reaches agoal allowing him to advance to the next level immediately, or complete abonus game for an item beforehand. At the end of the third and final level of each world, Mario fights and defeats a boss to rescue an enemy disguised as Daisy, with the exception of the Chai Kingdom, where he must defeat two bosses, including Tatanga, to rescue the real Daisy.

Kingdoms
Birabuto Kingdom	Areas
	World 1-1
	World 1-2
	World 1-3
The first world in the game – a desert kingdom based on ancient Egypt. Pyramids occur in the background of the first two areas, while the third one takes place within one. This world introduces a number of recurring enemies such asGoombos,Bombshell Koopas, andPiranha Plants.King Totomesu, a largeGao, is fought at the end of the third area. Defeating him leads to aFly disguised as Princess Daisy.
Muda Kingdom	Areas
	World 2-1
	World 2-2
	World 2-3
Muda Kingdom is a water-themed world. Its name is invocative ofBermuda and the mythicalMu. Muda is the only kingdom to feature theMarine Pop submarine. The first two areas are beaches, while the third is entirely underwater. Most of the local enemies are based off of seahorses, carnivorous fish, and other marine animals.Dragonzamasu, a largeYurarin Boo, is fought at the end of the third area. The Daisy found here is aGunion in disguise.
Easton Kingdom	Areas
	World 3-1
	World 3-2
	World 3-3
This world is invocative ofEaster Island. Largemoai occur in the background, and a few of the local enemies resemble the statues.Hiyoihoi, a largeTokotoko who attacks by hurlingGanchan, is fought at the end of the final area. The Daisy lookalike here is aKumo.
Chai Kingdom	Areas
	World 4-1
	World 4-2
	World 4-3
The final world – a land based on China. The first area is a dense bamboo forest. The third one takes place above the clouds, and is the only one to include theSky Pop. A few of the local enemies seem to be derived from Chinese folklore, while others are affiliates of the local bosses and only occur in the sky. In addition to the cloud bossBiokinton, the final bossTatanga occurs in the third area. Defeating him rescues the true Princess Daisy.

Characters[edit]

Image	Name	Description
	Mario	The game's protagonist and the only playable character. Mario ventures toSarasaland to rescue Daisy from the space alienTatanga.
	Princess Daisy	The ruler of Sarasaland, who was kidnapped by Tatanga with the intent to marry her.[19] Defeating a boss leads to a minion disguised as Daisy: the real princess is only rescued when the alien himself is defeated.

Enemies and obstacles[edit]

Enemies[edit]

There are ~25 enemies inSuper Mario Land, most of which appear within only one kingdom. These enemies are of designs culturally tied to their native kingdoms and are wholly new to theSuper Mario series. Examples include Gao, which resembles anEgyptian sphinx, and Pionpi, which resembles thejiangshi of Chinese folklore. Piranha Plants are the only enemies in the game to have previously appeared in thefranchise. Like the home consoleSuper Mario games, defeating an enemy awards Mario with a certain number ofpoints. The amount of points is dependent on the type of enemy and the means of attack, likeSuper Mario Bros. andThe Lost Levels.

When localized for English-speaking territories in 1989, most enemies were given names that were loose romanizations of their Japanese ones. This included the returning Piranha Plants, which are referred to as "Pakkun Flowers" in the instruction booklet forSuper Mario Land. The only major exception are Kumos, whose English name derives from a Japanese word for spiders (蜘蛛,kumo) but go by a moredistinct name in the original Japanese release of the game. When rereleased in 2011 for theNintendo 3DSVirtual Console, the accompanying eGuide introduced new English names for the enemies that are related to more recurring species in theSuper Mario series. Namely: Chibibo were renamed Goombos; Nokobon were renamed Bombshell Koopas; Pakkun Flowers were clarified to be Piranha Plants; and Gira were renamed Bullet Biffs. These are the names acknowledged below. With the exception of the Piranha Plants, none of these names were incorporated into the Mario Portal Game Archive forSuper Mario Land in 2022, which instead uses the names from the original 1989 instruction booklet.

Enemies are generally listed in the order they are encountered in-game. They are otherwise clustered near their most immediate relatives.

Image	Name	Description	Levels		Pts.	New
			First	Last
	Goombo	TheGoomba relatives ofSarasaland. Goombos walk forward and walk off the edge of platforms. They only turn around when they hit opposing walls. Goombos are defeated when stomped.	World 1-1	World 4-2	100
	Bombshell Koopa	Koopa Troopas withbombs for shells. Stomping one makes it recede into its shell, which subsequently explodes. The blast damages Mario. Bombshell Koopas are safely defeated when hit by Superballs or struck from below. They do not detonate in either case.	World 1-1	World 4-2	100
	Fly	Flies bounce along the ground. They are defeated when stomped or struck by two Superballs.	World 1-1		400
	Bunbun	Flyingbees that carry arrows. They fly horizontally and periodically pause to drop arrows that phase through terrain. Bunbun are defeated when stomped or struck by a Superball.	World 1-2		800
	Piranha Plant	Carnivorous plants that pop out ofpipes. Attempting tostomp Piranha Plants damages Mario. They are defeated only withSuperballs. Standing next to or directly on their pipes keeps them from emerging.	World 1-3	World 4-2	100	—
	Upside-down Piranha Plant	These Piranha Plants extend from overhead pipes and cannot be inhibited.	World 4-1	World 4-2	400	—
	Gao	Sphinxes that breathe fire. The balls are directed at Mario and phase through terrain. Gao are defeated when stomped or struck by Superballs. InHard Mode, one appears in World 1-1.	World 1-3		800
	Honen	Undead Torion. Honen leap vertically from water. They can be defeated with any attack.	World 2-1	World 2-3	100
	Torion	Man-eating fish that swim in schools of three. They make a u-turn when they reach the left edge of the screen. Torion are defeated when struck by one of theMarine Pop's torpedoes.	World 2-3		100
	Yurarin Boo	Fire-breathing Yurarin. They move vertically and spit fireballs in Mario's direction. Yurarin Boos are defeated when stomped or struck by two torpedoes.	World 2-1	World 2-3	400
	Yurarin	Seahorse enemies that either swim right to left or in diagonal patterns. They are defeated when struck by two torpedoes.	World 2-3		400
	Mekabon	Squat robots. Mekabon throw their heads at Mario. Stomping on them the heads break them, but they regenerate after a few seconds. Striking the headless bodies with any attack defeats them. Striking an intact Mekabon asInvincible Mario defeats it. Like Bombshell Koopas, Mekabon turn around when they reach the edge of platforms.	World 2-2		400 100
	Gunion	Octopus enemies. Gunion are defeated when struck by three torpedoes, but doing so splits them into two targeting fireballs.	World 2-3		800
	Tamao	An egglike creature that occurs aroundDragonzamasu. Tamao bounces against walls and ceilings. It damages Mario on contact.	World 2-3
	Tokotoko	Moai enemies that quickly shuffle across the ground. They are defeated when stomped or struck by a Superball.	World 3-1	World 3-3	400
	Batadon	Winged Tokotokos that bounce across terrain. Batadons directly chase after Mario. They are defeated when stomped or struck by three Superballs.	World 3-1	World 3-3	800
	Ganchan	Livingboulders that bound around. Ganchan cannot be defeated, but they can be stood on and used as platforms to reach distant areas. The bossHiyoihoi tosses Ganchan.	World 3-1	World 3-3
	Bullet Biff	Bullet Bill relatives launched from Pipe Cannons and Roketon. Bullet Biffs fly across the screen horizontally. They are defeated when stomped.	World 3-1	World 4-3	400
	Suu	Striped spiders. Suu descend from the ceiling on silk to strike Mario. They are defeated when stomped or struck by two Superballs.	World 3-2		400
	Kumo	Hairy spiders that bounce across terrain. They are defeated when stomped or struck by two Superballs.	World 3-2	World 3-3	400
	Pionpi	Undead beings that hop along the ground.Jumping on Pionpi briefly stuns them. They are defeated only when struck by two Superballs.	World 4-1		800
	Pompon Flower	Walking flowers that release toxic pollen. They are defeated when stomped or struck by two Superballs.	World 4-2		800
	Nyololin	Snakes that sit still and spit fire, like Gao. Nyololins are defeated when stumped or struck by a Superball.	World 4-2		800
	Chicken	Helmeted birds that fly through the sky and are released byBiokinton. Contact damages Mario. They are defeated when struck by one of theSky Pop's missiles.	World 4-3		400
	Roketon	Tatanga's attack pilots. Roketon fire Bullet Biffs backwards as Mario flies past them. They are defeated when struck by a missile.	World 4-3		400
	Chikako	Mid-air, electrical enemies. A Chikako is defeated only when struck by ten missiles, or when touched by Mario in his Invincible form.	World 4-3		800

Obstacles[edit]

Image	Name	Description	Levels
			First	Last
	Falling block	Slabs that fall from the ceiling when approached.	World 1-3	World 4-1
	Falling spike	Spikes that fall from the ceiling when approached.	World 3-2
	Pipe Cannon	Cannons that fireBullet Biffs. Pipe Cannons periodically rise frompipes and recede afterward firing. They do this regardless of Mario's proximity to the pipes. Mario can safely stand on top of a Pipe Cannon.	World 3-1	World 4-2
	Pipe Fist	These fists emerge from pipes likePiranha Plants, though slightly faster. They occur in pairs that alternate their punches. A third Pipe Fist occurs in Hard Mode.	World 4-3
	Poison needles[20]	Spikes laid across the ground. Contact makes Mario lose a life. Long stretches of poison needles can be avoided by hopping across bouncingGanchan.	World 3-1	World 3-3
	Roto Disc	Spinning flames that encircle blocks. The flame damages Mario on contact.	World 4-2	World 4-3

Bosses[edit]

Bosses are listed in the order that they are first encountered. All bosses reward Mario with 5000 points when defeated.

Image	Name	Description	Level
	King Totomesu	ThisGao breathes fireballs horizontally and periodically jumps. He is defeated when struck by five Superballs or when the switch behind him is struck.	World 1-3
	Dragonzamasu	A giantYurarin Boo that swims up and down, shooting fireballs. It is defeated when struck by twenty torpedoes or by striking the switch behind it.Tamao surround the boss.	World 2-3
	Hiyoihoi	ThrowsGanchan at Mario. Hiyoihoi is defeated by ten Superballs or by leaping over it on Ganchan to reach the switch.	World 3-3
	Biokinton	A cloud boss the bounces all around the area, releasingChickens at Mario. To defeat Biokinton, he must be hit with twenty missiles.	World 4-3
	Tatanga	The mysterious alien that kidnappedPrincess Daisy. Tatanga hovers around the right-side of the arena in his spaceshipPagosu, firing round projectiles that split into three smaller ones. It takes multiple missiles to destroy the projectiles, making it harder to shoot the ship. Once the Pagosu is destroyed, Tatanga and the boss room vanish.	World 4-3

Items and objects[edit]

Items[edit]

These are collectibles, pickups, and crafts.

Image	Name	Description
	1UP heart	1UP hearts are found in Mystery Blocks and bricks. Collecting one grants Mario anextra life, though it must be collected before it falls through the ground.
	Coin	Coins may be found in Mystery Blocks as well as in groups. They may also be collected with Superballs. Each coin Mario collects earns him one hundred points, while collecting one hundred coins earns him an extra life.
	Marine Pop	A submarine found and used only in 2-3. Allows Mario to shoot torpedoes at a number of aquatic enemies, including the boss Dragonzamasu. Super Mushrooms and Stars affect the Marine Pop as well.
	Sky Pop	An airplane appearing only in the final level, 4-3. It fires missiles, used to defeat both Biokinton and Tatanga. After the real Daisy is rescued, she and Mario ride off in the Sky Pop.

Power-ups[edit]

Items that transform Mario's appearance and give him unique abilities.

Power-up	Form	Description
N/A	Mario	Mario is in this small-sized form when the player starts a new game. Regular Mario is incapable of breaking bricks and loses a life when he makes contact with an enemy or obstacle. However, he can run across narrow passageways without having tocrouch. Regardless of the form he was in before losing a life, Mario reappears in the level in his regular form. If Mario touches a Super Mushroom or Flower in this small form, he is turned into Super Mario.
Super Mushroom	Super Mario	The Super Mushroom powers Mario up into Super Mario, allowing him to release Superball Flowers from blocks, break bricks, and take damage once before reverting to his Small form.
Flower	Superball Mario	A new item, the Flower can only be found in blocks or thebonus game. It allows Mario to shoot Superballs, which bounce off surfaces such as floors, walls, and ceilings to collect coins and defeat enemies, similarly to how theFire Flower allows him to shootfireballs. Mario's Superball form looks the same as his Super form.
Star	Invincible Mario	Stars are rare items granting Mario brief invincibility from enemies. Rather than the usual arrangement of "Invincibility BGM", two loops of an excerpt from the famous "Galop infernal" fromOrpheus in the Underworld byJacques Offenbach, a tune most commonly associated with thecan-can, play while Mario is invincible.

Objects[edit]

Objects are interactable elements of the environment that cannot be picked up or collected.

Image	Name	Description
	Brick	Blocks that break when struck. Some bricks contain rarer items, while some can produce a number of coins.
	Dropping lift	Footholds that fall when stood on for a short time, similarly toDonut Blocks.
	Elevator	Platforms that appear only in Worlds 1-3 and 3-2 inHidden Blocks. Mario can ride Elevators up to find coins or a pipe to a secret room.
	Island	Terrain of varying heights and widths that occur inWorld 1-2. Their pillars are made of earth.
	Lift	Thin, moving platforms. They can carry Mario across distant areas.
	Mystery Block	Blocks that produce items or coins when struck.Some blocks release up to ten coins when hit in rapid succession. A few areinvisible.
	Pipe	Mario can enter most pipes to reach hidden or secret areas, as well as exit them.
	Switch	Switches found in most boss rooms. Touching one defeats the resident boss. The switches provide an alternative way to defeat bosses without directly attacking them.

Revision[edit]

The title screen seen on Game Boy Color

When playingSuper Mario Land on aGame Boy Color, the game will display colors using a unique hardware-coded color palette.

Later printings of the game featured alterations to the soundtrack^[21] and fixed thescreen wraparound glitch of the original release.^[21]

Development[edit]

See also:List of Super Mario Land staff

Super Mario Land was initially set to be the pack-in game for theGame Boy. However,Henk Rogers ofBullet-Proof Software managed to convince NOA presidentMinoru Arakawa thatTetris would have wider appeal.^[22]

The game was developed byNintendo R&D 1 rather than byNintendo EAD, making it the firstSuper Mario platformer to not be developed by EAD.Gunpei Yokoi acted as the producer and future R&D managerSatoru Okada was the director.Hirokazu Tanaka handled the sound effects and soundtrack.

Glitches[edit]

Main article:List of Super Mario Land glitches

Ganchan Coin glitch[edit]

During the battle againstHiyoihoi, Mario must be on the left edge of the boss's platform. If done correctly, every time the boss throws a Ganchan, Mario collects it as a coin.

Simultaneous sound glitch[edit]

InWorld 2-1, Mario must get hit by aHonen at the same time he falls from the bottom side of the screen, causing a glitched sound to play instead of the regular sound effects. This also happens in Muda Kingdom-3 if Mario auto-fires a wall while turning intoSuper Mario.

Pre-release and unused content[edit]

The reserved, though unused, tile for a Hidden Block

The theme that played when climbingladders lasted much longer, over five seconds longer than necessary.

A tile reserved for aHidden Block existed in 3-3, though was ultimately unused, rendering it futile.

Various jingles, including the death and goal themes, originally had less detailed audio, with no background tracks.

Several enemies and platforms were misplaced in certain levels, indicating developmental oversight. For instance, a Bombshell Koopa is placed right above a pit in 3-2, and can only be spotted if quick enough.

Reception[edit]

Super Mario Land received mostly positive reviews. The difficulty, the length of the game, the price, and the overall gameplay experience were among the most discussed aspects of the game. The game has received a 77.94% based on 8 reviews.^[23]

Corbie Dillard of Nintendo Life noted the successors of the game as superior in both length and quality, praising the sequel,Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, as the better game, despite the price. However, he recommended playing the game in commemoration of Mario's first portable experience. Adam Riley of Cubed3 scored the game well, also acknowledging the standards achieved by later games, while also recommending the game as a short and sweet adventure.

Additionally, Lucas M. Thomas of IGN, noted the differences between the game and standard titles as odd, focusing on the graphical and other visual capabilities. Nevertheless, he gave the game a good 7.5/10 rating, calling it a "small, singular oddball", though worth the small purchase.^[24]

Ryan Lambie of Den of Geek reviewed the game on a much more positive note, referring to it as both an "underrated classic" and "weird but deeply lovable handheld classic", complimenting the difficulty, music, and simplified graphics, among various other aspects of the game.^[25]

On GameSpot, the game received an average rating of 8.1 out of over 2,000 reviews, with almost half of the ratings being 8/10.^[26] The more positive reviews praised the simple though memorable elements of gameplay. The neutral or mixed reviews noted the short length of the game and the graphical capabilities, while acknowledging some of the aforementioned positive traits the game had to offer. Various negative or critical reviews heavily or harshly criticized the graphics and length in addition to other aspects such as the controls and inexplicable differences from main games in the series.

Sales[edit]

The game sold very well. It became the fourth best-selling Game Boy game, with over 18 million copies sold.^[27] Additionally, it is currently the tenthSuper Mario game with the most sales overall, as well as the sixth best-selling portableSuper Mario game, being surpassed byNew Super Mario Bros. andMario Kart DS, both for theNintendo DS, andMario Kart 7 for theNintendo 3DS, as well asSuper Mario Odyssey andMario Kart 8 Deluxe, both for theNintendo Switch.

Nintendo eShop description[edit]

North American version

Ancient ruins, giant crabs, Koopa Troopas, flying stone heads, and hungry sharks await you in this rerelease of the 1989 Game Boy™ game. In the beautiful kingdom of Sarasaland, a mysterious alien has appeared and hypnotized the inhabitants while kidnapping Princess Daisy™ for himself! Travel over land, in the air, and underwater as Mario™ runs, jumps, and bounces his way to fortune and glory on his mission to save Princess Daisy and restore peace! Ancient ruins, tempestuous waters, and brand new challenges await!

European version

Mario’s acclaimed Game Boy debut brings the plucky plumber to new territory: Sarasaland, where the evil space monster Tatanga has hypnotised the people and kidnapped Princess Daisy!

While the gameplay will be at first familiar, with the winning blend of platforming and power-ups, Super Mario Land is unique for introducing vehicles for Mario to ride: the Sky Pop aeroplane and Marine Pop submarine.

You'll need all your skills on land, in the sea and through the air, to traverse the four diverse kingdoms of Sarasaland in your quest to defeat the dastardly Tatanga and rescue Daisy.

References to other games[edit]

Mario Bros.

• Flies are similar toFighter Flies.

Donkey Kong 3

• Bunbuns are similar toBuzzbees.

Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic /Super Mario Bros. 2

• Pompon Flowers behave similarly toPansers and are of similar designs.

Super Mario Bros.

• World 1-3 is similar to theone of the same name, and the battle against King Totomesu is analogous to the ones againstBowser.
• The revelation that Princess Daisy is an enemy in disguise at the end of the first three worlds is invocative offake Bowsers.
• The music that plays in the Sky Pop and Marine Pop levels is similar to "Ground BGM", which can also be heard in the game's credits.

Super Mario Bros. 3

• Pionpi behave similarly toDry Bones.
• Suu behave similarly toThwomps.

References in later media[edit]

Batadons inMario Kart World

Tetris

• The font^[28] and some sound effects such as the pause sound effect are reused in theGame Boy version of this game.

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe

• In the Calendar feature,Super Mario Land's Japanese release date - April 21, 1989 - is marked by default with the message "A Peaceful Day".

Super Smash Bros. Melee

• One ofPeach's alternate costumes is based on Daisy's classic design.

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!

• ThemicrogameGrow Wario Grow featuresMario's sprite and background graphics fromSuper Mario Land.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

• An arrangement of "Easton Kingdom BGM" appears as one of the randomly-collectible music CDs for theWorld 1-2 version ofMushroomy Kingdom, as well as The Subspace Emissary'sThe Path to the Ruins (underground segment),The Ruins, and the parts ofThe Great Maze which are based on those two stages.

Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games

• A medley arrangement of "Birabuto Kingdom BGM", "Princess Daisy Rescued", and the "Ending" theme is featured as one of the selectable songs forFigure Skating Pairs.

Mario Kart 8

• In theWater Park'ssubmarine building, there is a sign which says that submarines were first used in 1989, which references theMarine Pop sections and the release year ofSuper Mario Land.

Yoshi's Woolly World

• One ofYoshi's transformations in this game is based on the Sky Pop.

Super Mario Maker

• The Sky Pop appears as aCostume Mario costume, unlocked by completing the "Southwest Air Adventure" Event Course. All of the costume's sound effects and fanfares are taken fromSuper Mario Land. Pressing up plays the sound for collecting a coin.

Paper Mario: Color Splash

• A rearrangement of the credits theme is present in this game in theRoshambo Temples.

Super Mario Run

• The Remix 10 song contains a portion of the Dungeon theme.

WarioWare Gold

• This game containsa microgame based off ofSuper Mario Land, which involves Mario throwing Superballs at enemies.

Super Mario Maker 2

• TheSuperball Flower is an obtainable power-up for theSuper Mario Bros. style. Using it replaces the stage music with a rearrangement of "Birabuto Kingdom BGM", and the "Course Clear" and "Player Down" themes with theirSuper Mario Land counterparts.

WarioWare: Get It Together!

• There isa microgame based on the game where the player must hit a ? Block.

Super Nintendo World

• To coincide with the Donkey Kong Country expansion to Super Nintendo World, theSuper Mario section of the park was renamedSuper Mario Land, thus making it share its name with this game.

Mario Kart World

• Batadons andTokotokos reappear, and the former is the base of a sponsor, "Batadon Aero Parts".^[29]
• Shy Guy Bazaar includes multiple references to this game, includingDaisy's emblem on the palace, what appear to be statues resemblingGao,^[30] and tapestry with aTokotoko pattern on it.^[31]
• The pattern of the pants of Daisy's Oasis outfit is reminiscent of the pattern of her dress in this game's official artwork.

Adaptations[edit]

Game Boy comic[edit]

The cover of the firstGame Boy issue

Super Mario Land was the focus of theGame Boy comic series, a four-issue miniseries published byValiant Comics as part of itsNintendo Comics System brand. The series depicts Tatanga and his minions invading theReal World after being summoned by disgruntled electronic store workerHerman Smirch, while Mario fights to foil their efforts.

Manga[edit]

Super Mario Land was the first game adapted byKazuki Motoyama inSuper Mario manga series published by Kodansha to be distributed by KC Deluxe.Super Mario Land follows the game events fairly faithfully, even showing events that were briefly mentioned in the manual (like Tatanga creating the Honen by eating the Torion). One major difference is the inclusion ofPrincess Peach: having started a love rivalry with Daisy over Mario, she follows him under the guise of a robotGoomba,Mecha Kuribō.

Super Mario Land is also the title of the four-volume miniseries dedicated to Game Boy games:Super Mario Land 2 aboutTetris,Super Mario Land 3 about the sports games, andSuper Mario Land 4 aboutQiX andSolarStriker. Despite the name,Super Mario Land enemies only appear in the chapters aboutTennis andQiX.

Tatanga is also later revealed to be forced to be Daisy's servant, returning to villainy afterWario convinces him to join him in theSuper Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins adaptation. References to the game's adaptation include aYurarin Boo who is reformed and opens his own takoyaki shop, later seen again inSuper Mario Bros. 4: Super Mario World 6 and a humanizedSuu calledSue (the very first original character of the manga series), who inspired the design of theAmazons inSuper Mario Kart 3. The Sky Pop is also utilized often during the series to cover major distances that theMonster cannot.

• 

  Super Mario Land

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  Tatanga and Bowser competing together inTennis fromSuper Mario Land 3

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  AGao,Suu, andPionpi as rivals inQiX fromSuper Mario Land 4

Yukio Sawada's first adaptation ofSuper Mario Land was in the form of a puzzle chapter forGakushū Yōchien,Super Mario Land Kessen Meiro.

In thelast chapter of volume 2 of Sawada'sSuper Mario-kun, Mario recalls the ending of the game (which the puzzle manga did not show), in which he went to rescue Daisy, only for Peach to stop him in a fit of jealousy. In thelast chapter of volume 3 (also republished inSuper Mario-kun Special Selection),Bowser hires Tatanga's army to guard one ofhis castle's rooms. In the chapter, beside almost all of the enemies, Mario also faces the first three bosses: after defeatingTamao andDragonzamasu and escapingHiyoihoi, Mario rescues Peach with a flying Marine Pop sent by Daisy. After escaping theValley of Bowser, Peach is revealed to beKing Totomesu in disguise, but before he can defeat Mario, he is stopped by Hiyoihoi, who wants to have the privilege of doing that, letting Mario escape from them.

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  Super Mario Land Kessen Meiro

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  Volume 2 stage 14

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  Volume 3 stage 11

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  Super Mario-kun Special Selection stage 4

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:Super Mario Land.

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  Mario

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  Mario in theSky Pop

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  Goombo

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  King Totomesu

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  Tatanga inPagosu

Soundtrack[edit]

Super Mario Land was the firstSuper Mario title to support stereo sound, a native feature of the Game Boy via the included 3.5mm headphone jack (previous Nintendo hardware exclusively outputted mono sound). To fit in with this, the game's music features heavy use of both the left and right channels in addition to the center of the soundstage. The Revision 1 reissue would remix the game's soundtrack to adjust the use of stereo sound, centering the percussion in theMarine Pop/Sky Pop theme and moving the first percussion hit in the Sarasaland, cave, and credits themes from the center to the right channel.^[32]

To tie in with the game's Japanese release, anoriginal soundtrack for the game was published in that region by Nippon Columbia, featuring arrangements of ten of Tanaka's compositions by Ikuro Fugiwara, and performed by the "Mario Freaks Orchestra."

On December 15, 2025,the soundtrack was made available in its entirety on theNintendo Music app.

Multimedia[edit]

For the complete list of media files for this subject, seeMultimedia:Super Mario Land.

Birabuto Kingdom

File info 0:30

Easton Kingdom

File info 0:30

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

• Both the back of the package and theNintendo eShop description for the game state thatKoopa Troopas appear, when in fact, only Bombshell Koopas appear.
  • "Giant crabs" are also mentioned despite no crabs appearing in the game.
• Super Mario Land is the firstSuper Mario game to be released during theHeisei era in Japan, following the death of emperorHirohito and ascension of princeAkihito the previous January.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Super Mario Land coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

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StrategyWiki

The Cutting Room Floor has an article onSuper Mario Land.

Wikipedia has an article onSuper Mario Land.

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