SUPER MARIO LAND 2: 6 GOLDEN COINS
Today, let's talk about Super Mario Land's sequel and overall superior successor, Super Mario Land 2. This game is famous for being the introduction to Mario's iconic nemesis Wario, and for featuring Mario's own castle that no one knew he had. The plot involves Mario returning from his adventure to save Daisy from Tatanga only to discover that Wario has moved in and taken over his castle, meaning Mario must collect six golden coins that apparently act as an unnecessarily complicated security system for said castle.
Obviously, our main characters here are Mario and Wario. Mario functions more or less the same as he always does in these games, running and jumping being his basic movements, along with a spin that let's him take out blocks beneath him. He can use a mushroom to get bigger, a flower to throw fireballs (though with a Native American-style feather in his hat this time), and a carrot? that lets him fly with Bunny Ears.
Wario very much acts as a "dark" Mario throughout his final boss battle with Mario in this game. His fight comes in phases, one with bunny ears allowing him to fly, one with a feather to throw fireballs, and when defeated, he reverts to a smaller version, showing he was using a mushroom. Other than that, he can also pound the ground hard enough to knock some kind of globe from the ceiling, and the castle is filled with all kinds of booby traps, including a couple of rooms full of bouncy balls with Wario's face on them and several punching fists triggered by trick steps. All of it could give us something to work with.
A number of bosses appear in this game, obviously the most important to note being Tatanga, returning once again as the boss of the Space Zone. In this battle, he will bounce a bit, firing off a crescent that will fire straight forward, as well as an orb that will shoot down and then along the floor, before bursting and sending a projectile upward. He'll then swoop from one side of the stage to the other, much as the rest of the bosses in this game do. On the subject of bosses, we also have Big Bird, who mostly just swoops; Sewer Rat, who runs really fast between pipes; a Witch, who teleports and casts fiery spells that heat up her cauldrons and blows their lids off; The Three Little Pigs, who fight one by one, the first rolling, the second bouncing, and the third bouncing and stretching; and an Octopus, who floats around and pops out little baby Octopi. None of them offer up much but my own personal nostalgia.
A few returning enemies include Koopas, who don't explode this time thankfully; Goombas, alongside Paragoombas and the new ghostly Terekuribo; Piranha Plants, complete with fireballs; Boos; Cheep Cheeps, alongside Blurps that do pretty much the same thing and Spiny Cheep Cheeps who inflate; Bullet Bills; and Noko Bombettes, which seem to be Buzzy Beetles, except they inherited the Koopas' exploding tendencies from the last game.
All other enemies are more or less unique to this game, and are loosely specific to each zone, though there is some overlap. Perhaps the most common are the Antotto ants and their cousins, the spiky Chikunto, the pellet-shooting Dokanto, and the rock-shoveling Goronto. Tree Zone also features a race of Bees, including skeletal versions that act the same, heavyset Buichi that act like Thwomps, and their larva, the smooth Unera and spiky Grubby. Others that appear in Tree Zone include the Battle Beetle, who flies up; the Bopping Toady, who jumps and sticks out his tongue; Dondon, a bird that flies forward; Kyotonbo, a firefly that flies toward you; Mogyo, a . . . cow fish; Ragumo, a mole with a drill nose; and Spikey, a hedgehog that rolls up into a ball.
The Space Zone plays home to a bubble-blowing Hippo, cannonball-blowing pigs called Bomubomu, living stars, and a pair of spaceships called Poro and No. 48. In the Macro Zone, one can find Be's, butterflies who simply fly away. The Pumpkin Zone plays host to a vast number of unique enemies, most of whom are based on Japanese Yokai or movie monsters. These include: Bero, a living paper lantern sticking out its tongue; F Boy (ahem), a living ball of ghostly fire; Karakara, a living paper umbrella; Kurokyura, a vampire that sends bats after you; Kyororo, a fast-moving cyclops; Masked Ghoul, a Jason Voorhees mask with feet; Pikku, a . . . flopping eyeball and optic nerve? (man, this game was weird); and Rerere, a living broomstick.
The Mario Zone features a number of mechanical or toy based enemies, including: a Bear riding on a ball; Kiddokatto, a shades-wearing duck, I think; a Jack-in-the-Box that bounces around; and Neiji, living screws. Finally, the Turtle Zone features a Shark, skeletal fish called Honebon, Gordos (cough, excuse me, I mean Unibo), and what might be a Goomba in a scuba helmet called an Aqua Kuribo.
We've mentioned them quite a bit already, but now let's talk about the stages. All levels in this game are separated into six unique zones each with a theme. The Tree Zone is based around a giant tree. The Space Zone is, well, a space-themed series of levels. The Macro Zone suggests that Mario has been shrunk and must traverse a giant (or regular-sized) house. The Pumpkin Zone is a series of haunted-themed levels. The Mario Zone takes place inside a giant Mario robot, and most levels have a mechanical theme to them. Finally, the Turtle Zone is a series of water levels. After all of this is done, you storm the castle at the center of the island. Stages based on any of these would work perfectly fine (and would honestly make me fanboy a little if one ever appeared in an official Smash game).
As for items, of course we have mushrooms, fire flowers, the carrots that give Mario bunny ears, and hearts that act as 1 Ups.
Let's see what we've got:
Characters:
Mario: run, jump, super balls, submarine, plane, downward spin, grow, fireballs, fly with bunny ears
Wario: get bigger, bunny ears, fireballs, slam down, knock down globes, booby traps, Wario balls, throw shoe
Tatanga: fly ship, three energy balls, swoop, crescent, ball
Daisy: not much, unless reference character
Koopa: explode, walk forward
Goomba: walk forward, ghost, Paragoomba, scuba helmet
Piranha Plant: bite
Boo: hide, float
Bosses:
King Totomesu
Dragonzamasu
Hiyoihoi
Biokinton
Big Bird
Sewer Rat
Witch
Three Little Pigs
Octopus
Stages:
Birabuto Kingdom
Muda Kingdom
Easton Kingdom
Chai Kingdom
Tree Zone
Space Zone
Macro Zone
Pumpkin Zone
Mario Zone
Turtle Zone
Mario Castle
Items:
Super Ball Flower
Mushroom
Fire Flower
Carrot
Heart
Thanks for reading! Next time, let's edge just a little into the Wario series with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3.
