Wednesday, May 22, 2013

kuposan3 plays a hack of Super Mario Land - Part 1 of 8

Well, it's not the first time I've covered the Game Boy (anyone remember that TMNT game?), but it's about time I covered the system again.

And how else to do it than with the first Mario game for the system?

Actually, this is a color hack you can get via the Internet. Color = good. Unfortunately, quite a few things have changed in this version (the most notorious being everything turning into a squished Goomba when it dies, enemy sprites being edited to look better and the rocks turning into Goombas in bubbles), so if you're wondering why you're seeing the words "a hack" in the title, there you go.

I'll definitely cover the real version of the game if I ever find a decent LP of it, or if I get the resources to make my own (whichever happens first).

This is a pretty short game. There's four worlds with three levels each. Yeah, it's not very long.

World 1-1


This is a pretty easy world.

After the first tall pipe in the level, one of the blocks after it has a heart. Collecting these hearts give you a one-up. (Game Boy being in color was obviously unheard of way back in 1989, when we had other handhelds on the way such as the Atari Lynx and the Game Gear, which did it at the expense of battery life.)

The only power-ups you have are Super Mushrooms, Fire Flowers and Starmen, just like Super Mario Bros. When you shoot a fireball, it acts a little different. When you throw one down, it bounces off the ground and goes into the air, bouncing off any walls or obstacles in its path. You'll have to be closer than in SMB to do any damage with them, but it's still a good power-up to have, as there's a new advantage to it: if you shoot a fireball and it touches any coins before it goes off-screen or disappears, the fireball collects them for you! When you pick up the Starman, the Can-Can plays while you're invincible. Yes. The Can-Can.

Also worth mentioning is that if you stomp on a Koopa in this game, it turns into a bomb. Stay away from this bomb, as it will explode. Goombas are here, too, as well as the little fly enemies from the original Mario Bros. At least you can stomp on the flies this time.

If you see a brick with a line going down from the center to the lower-right corner, it has something inside. Sometimes it's coins, sometimes it's a power-up. If you're playing in color, it's much easier to notice.

There is a pipe somewhere in the middle of the level that you can go through. Not only is there a lot of bricks and coins in here, leaving the room takes you close to the end.

When you reach the end, there are two doors: one on the upper-right and one on the lower-right. If you can make it to the one on the upper-right, you'll be able to play the bonus game. Press A to stop Mario, and you'll pick up either extra lives or a Fire flower. If the ladder happens to be in your way, you'll automatically take it on your way to the other side of the screen. The bonus game will definitely help you survive if you're not very good at the game, so get into it at all costs! It's easy to do now, but as you progress through the game...not so much.

World 1-2


Gee, I guess World 1-3 happens a little early this game. I'm guessing the game expects anyone who plays this to have played through a good amount of Super Mario Bros. prior to playing this.

New enemy here: the bees that drop spears from above. You'll have to clear a pretty good height to get to them without getting hit in the process.

Yet another 1-up lies in one of the ? blocks near the end. It's in a set of three seperated by bricks and it's in the middle one.

World 1-3


The first boss level. Here you'll be in what looks like some sort of dimly-lit pyramid, even though you can see everything. It's the original monochrome Game Boy, use your imagination.

Shortly after the start, there's a short pipe next to a tall pipe. Go down the tall pipe and you'll skip a little bit after the level. When you see a sphinx spitting fireballs after that, break the blocks between the ? blocks and jump into those spaces. You'll hit a hidden block that contains a platform. Jump on the platform and stay on it. You'll be raised to the ceiling. Walk on the ceiling and go down the pipe you see there. Hard-to-reach bonus pipe!

At the end of the level is a giant sphinx. Wait for it to stay on the ground, then make a running jump over it and land on the switch. Level complete! Also, if you have the fireballs, you can shoot fireballs at it and take it down yourself to make stuff easier.

You'll rescue Daisy (why they named the princess Daisy I'll never know), only to find out it's a monster in disguise.

World 2-1


Lots of platforms and fish jumping in and out of the water. Joy.

If you go down the first pipe you see, you'll find a big cluster of coins. This is really useful if you're farming on lives, since you'll need all you can get!

After skipping a bit of the level, you'll come across bridges and seahorses shooting fireballs as they jump in and out of the water. You'll also see what look like fish bouncing up and down afterwards. Shortly after this, you'll find another pipe that you can go down, find coins in and skip more of the level with.

At this point, you'll be at the end of the level. You'll find a robot you can stomp on. At the end, use the rock to get up to the platform and jump to the top door. (It's a Goomba in a bubble in this stupid hack, and guess what? Getting into the top exit here is virtually impossible now.)

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