Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is for the Game Boy and sequel to the first Super Mario Land. Upon starting the game, it is immediately apparent at the massive improvement in graphics compared to the first game. Mario is now bigger and more detailed, as are the environments. The downside to being bigger is that due to the larger size required for the detail, it is "zoomed" in more but you soon get used to it. This is a bigger and longer game. You start off in the world map where you can select levels. All the worlds are available at the start and you can decide on completing each one in any order you like. There are size worlds with 32 levels in total. The longer length also means that the game saves your progress whenever you finish a stage which is great.
The levels have more verticality to their design which makes it interesting when you have to decide whether to go on the higher or lower routes. Unlike the first game, you're able to move back and forth in levels again. While it is a bigger game, the levels are still very quick to blast through. Each one takes around one to three minutes without dying. However, each one will have various secrets including areas with additional coins and pathways to secret levels by finding alternative exits. If you die in a level, you will have to restart from the beginning or a checkpoint midway through if you managed to get it. Lose all of Mario's lives and you effectively restart the whole game. The game takes around 1-2 hours to complete.
The story is paper thin as expected of Mario games. Mario starts on the world map with no explanation on what's going on or what you are to do. That said, it's pretty easy to figure out. In front of Mario is an ominous castle with the gates shut and six empty slots surrounding it. This game introduces Wario who has taken over Mario's castle and is laughing evilly upon the top of the tower. The aim of the game is to collect all six golden coins to unlock the gate and face Wario as the final boss. Naturally, six worlds means one golden coin in each world and one boss will protect each coin. These bosses are simple affairs; you just need a simple stomp on top of them three times to defeat them. It's still quite fun though.
Enemies are recognizable as ones from the Mario franchise and Mario has access to two power ups. The first is the fire flower where can fire projectiles. The second is bunny Mario where he can soften his fall rate, effectively allowing him to glide. This is a useful ability and makes the game trivial in places as you can just jump and glide over the top of all the obstacles and enemies. Invincibility and Super Mario makes a return since they're staples. Most of the game is pretty easy but the final level right before the final boss is quite a bit of a difficulty spike. There are plenty of traps and projectiles, moving platforms and spikes. If you die, you have to restart from the beginning since there are no checkpoints. Nevertheless, once you make it through, it is satisfying, even more so when the final boss carries a few of his own surprises. Overall, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is a massively improved sequel upon the first. Its graphics are impressive, especially for the Game Boy (although still unfortunately only in grayscale). The game play is classic Mario, complete with a world map and a fairly sizable amount of levels for a handheld installment.
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