Honestly, most people forget how weird the Game Boy actually was. We think of it as this little gray brick that played Tetris, but for a few years in the early 90s, it was the Wild West of Nintendo’s design philosophy. Nowhere is that more obvious than in Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. It’s a game that feels like it was made by people who had seen a picture of Mario once but decided to ignore all the rules anyway. It’s strange. It’s ambitious. It’s arguably better than the NES games it was trying to imitate.
You’ve got a Mario who can wear a carrot to grow rabbit ears and fly. You’ve got a level where you swim inside a giant mechanical Mario. And, of course, this is the game that gave us Wario. Before this, Mario was just fighting Bowser over and over. Then, suddenly, Hiroji Kiyotake and the team at Nintendo R&D1 decided Mario needed a rival who was basically just a gross, buff version of himself. It changed the trajectory of the franchise forever.
The Portable Powerhouse That Outran the NES
When the first Super Mario Land hit shelves, it was... tiny. Mario looked like a pixelated ant. By the time Super Mario Land 2 arrived in 1992, the developers had figured out how to push the Sharp LR35902 processor to its absolute limit. They blew the sprites up. Suddenly, Mario looked like he did on the Super Nintendo, even if the screen was monochrome. This wasn't just a technical flex; it changed how the game played. The physics felt weightier. The jumps felt more deliberate.
The structure was also surprisingly non-linear. You could tackle the six different zones in almost any order you wanted. This was "open world" before that was a buzzword people used to sell $70 pre-orders. You could go from the Macro Zone—where you’re the size of an insect in a massive house—straight to the Space Zone. It gave players a sense of agency that the linear paths of Super Mario Bros. 3 didn't quite match.
The zones themselves are fever dreams. Take the Pumpkin Zone. It’s full of ghosts, graveyards, and Boos. It feels more like a prototype for Luigi’s Mansion than a standard Mario world. Then there’s the Turtle Zone, which is literally inside a giant turtle. Why? Because they could. There’s a creative fearlessness here that feels missing from the "New" Super Mario Bros. series we saw a decade ago. Those games are polished, sure, but they don't have a level where you're dodging giant ants in a tree.
💡 You might also like: The Combat Hatchet Helldivers 2 Dilemma: Is It Actually Better Than the G-50?
Wario: The Greatest Antagonist Pivot in History
We have to talk about the castle. In most games, Mario is saving a castle. In Super Mario Land 2, he’s trying to buy his own back. Wario has moved in while Mario was away in Sarasaland, and he’s locked the door. It’s a personal grudge match.
Wario wasn't just a boss; he was a reflection of the era's greed. He wanted the coins. He wanted the status. While Bowser was a literal monster, Wario was a jerk. That was relatable. It’s also why he transitioned so easily into his own series, Wario Land, which eventually eclipsed the Mario Land brand entirely. The final battle in the castle is notoriously difficult, too. After a game that is generally pretty breezy, the spike in difficulty when you reach Wario’s front door is a shock to the system. No mid-level checkpoints. No safety nets. Just you, a bunch of fireballs, and a guy who really wants to kick you off his property.
Why the Physics Feel "Off" (In a Good Way)
If you go back and play it today on a Switch or an original DMG-01, you’ll notice something immediately. Mario doesn't move like he does in Super Mario World. He’s floatier. There’s a slight delay in his acceleration. For purists, this is sometimes a dealbreaker, but it actually serves the hardware.
The Game Boy screen had terrible motion blur. If Mario moved too fast, he’d turn into a gray smear. By slowing down the horizontal movement and emphasizing verticality through the Bunny Hood, R&D1 made a game that was actually playable on a screen with no backlight. It’s a masterclass in designing around limitations. They didn't just try to port a console experience; they built a portable experience from the ground up.
📖 Related: What Can You Get From Fishing Minecraft: Why It Is More Than Just Cod
Gunpei Yokoi, the creator of the Game Boy, famously believed in "Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology." This game is the embodiment of that. They used old tech to do something new. The music, composed by Kazumi Totaka, is also a huge part of this. It’s catchy, but it’s also slightly dissonant and weird. It’s got that "Totaka’s Song" hidden inside it, and it fits the slightly off-kilter vibe of the whole adventure.
The Zones You Probably Forgot
- The Macro Zone: Everything is huge. You’re fighting ants that are bigger than you. It’s a classic trope, but seeing it on a 2-inch screen felt massive.
- The Space Zone: Low gravity physics changed the game entirely. It turned Mario into a slow-motion platformer where your trajectory mattered more than your twitch reflexes.
- The Mario Zone: A giant mechanical Mario. You’re platforming inside a clockwork version of yourself. It’s meta, it’s weird, and it’s arguably the most creative level design in the 8-bit era.
Most people remember the Golden Coins themselves—the keys to the castle—but the journey to get them is what sticks. Each zone feels like its own mini-game. They don't reuse assets. Each one has unique enemies that never appear anywhere else. That’s a level of detail you just didn't see in handheld gaming back then. Most Game Boy games were stripped-down versions of NES titles. This was its own beast.
The Legacy of the 6 Golden Coins
Is it the best Mario game? Maybe not. Super Mario World usually takes that crown. But Super Mario Land 2 is the most interesting. It’s the bridge between the experimental 80s and the refined 90s. It showed that the Game Boy wasn't just a toy for kids in the back of a minivan; it was a legitimate platform for AAA-quality experiences.
If you’re looking to revisit it, don't just rush to the end. Look at the sprites. Look at how they handled the background layers to create a sense of depth without color. Notice how the map screen evolves as you beat bosses. These were tiny innovations that paved the way for every handheld game that followed.
👉 See also: Free games free online: Why we're still obsessed with browser gaming in 2026
The game also marks the end of an era. After this, Mario stayed on home consoles for his "main" adventures for a long time, while the handhelds became the home of spin-offs and the Wario series. It was the last time a 2D Mario felt truly experimental until maybe Mario Wonder.
How to Play It Today
- Nintendo Switch Online: This is the easiest way. You get the rewind feature, which makes that final Wario fight much less frustrating.
- Original Hardware: If you can find a Game Boy Color or a Game Boy Advance, play it there. The slight colorization adds a nice touch, but there’s nothing like the original pea-soup green screen for the full nostalgia trip.
- Analogue Pocket: If you want the absolute best visual experience, this is the way to go. It scales the pixels perfectly.
Don't ignore the "Space Zone" secret levels. There’s a hidden path after the moon level that most players missed back in the day. It’s tough, but it’s the purest expression of the game’s unique physics.
Super Mario Land 2 isn't just a sequel; it’s a weird, wonderful anomaly in Nintendo's history. It’s the moment Mario got a little bit messy, a little bit greedy, and a lot more interesting. It’s worth your time, even if it’s just to see where Wario came from.
Actionable Steps for Retrogaming Enthusiasts
- Check your save battery: If you have an original cartridge, the internal battery is likely dead. You'll need a CR2025 battery and a 3.8mm security bit screwdriver to replace it if you want to save your progress.
- Toggle the "Display Mode": On the Switch version, try playing with the "Game Boy Color" filter. It adds a subtle palette that makes the sprites pop more than the original grayscale.
- Master the spin jump: Unlike the NES games, the spin jump here (mapped to Down + A in mid-air) can break certain blocks and is essential for speedrunning the Macro Zone.
- Hunt for the 999 coins: You can gamble your coins in the hub world to get extra lives. It’s the fastest way to stock up before hitting Wario’s castle.