I like Super Mario Land 2. It's not as good as most of the console Mario's but it's one of the better Gameboy games out there. It has great graphics, cool powerups and great level variety. My biggest gripe with the game is the music. It's nowhere near as good as the original and is definitely has one of the weaker soundtracks of the series. The level design isn't as good as some of the other Mario games either, but it's not too bad. I'd give this one an 8/10.

I absolutely LOVE this game! I would give it a 10/10 after playing it on my 3DS now. My only complaint is that (while longer than the original Super Mario Land) it's still kinda short, but way fun! It's one of my favorite GB games right beside Link's Awakening Great stage design, sound, characters, gameplay and most of all, great fun I finished this game in a couple of hours. With the suspend and save modes in the VC menu it's so easy to get through Wario's Castle, but so worth it

^Winks. Winks everywhere.

It's by no means a bad game, but I'm not a fan of the zoomed in perspective, especially in instances when you don't know what's down below you. And the jumping does feel a little more floaty than I am used to. Some of the levels aren't so great either, especially the water levels ( but water levels being bad are just a general rule for video games.).

Throw all that aside and it's another solid platformer, just not up to snuff with the other Mario games. Maybe just a little bit below the Bonk series. ( Love the crap out of Bonk, so definitely don't mistake this for trash talking the game. )

Will say one thing, bosses, visuals, and music, are definitely improved big time over Super Mario Land.

@ Pocket_arsenal
You can hold the D-pad down or up and it will scroll the screen enough to see what's above or below you.
Just thought you might wanna know.

On your file select screen, anyone else that's played through every stage having trouble getting 32 to show up? That's supposed to indicate that you've finished every stage. Yet I've finished each stage, including all the hidden ones, and only get 31. After beating the game, you can't get to the title screen without resetting. Did it let you on the original Game Boy version? Not counting the last stage would explain why I only get 31.

@ FluttershyGuy
The final stage doesn't save. It just sits there on the ending screen until you reset.
All Gameboy games did that. Just the same as most games on a cartridge did.
That's how is was before games on CD's.

Best music in the whole game. Enough said.

@ NintendoPurist
I totally agree! That's my favorite song too!
For some reason it always reminded me of Michael Jackson. Sounds like his style.

I can understand the level design criticisms, for it certainly doesn't follow the tight course-design standards of main series Mario games. However, I cannot understand how anyone would rate SML higher. That game had equally bad level design (repetitive, really), even worse physics and far less creativity. It was fun, don't get me wrong... but SML2 is a much more memorable game all around.

If you forget about the way Mario games usually work and just enjoy this is a quirky and inventive platformer of its own, it actually is quite a wonderful little game. The ability to visit the worlds in any order made it a joy to replay, the designs and areas show a creative joy throughout, and little elements of the presentation are fantastic, like the animation at Wario's Castle, the character of Wario, and... oh, I just love Wario.

Lastly, there's one thing it does better than NSMB, NSMBWii, and Galaxy 2, combined. It's this:

Nintendo once knew how to make the greatest overworld maps. They must have fired everyone with that skill in recent years.

I just wrote a blog post about this game. (It's also my first blog post. So...eventful) I really ended up not liking it, but I think my reasons for not liking it aren't what you'd expect.

why is everyone saying this would be such an easy game. i have some trouble managing the space zone .

This game is kinda on the easy side but no where near as easy as Kirby's dream land.
And what's all this talk about the way Mario jumps being floaty? You're talking about a game with a bunny hat that makes Mario float. Plus this was the first time Mario goes into outer space. Way before Mario Galaxy.
Guess you had to be there fot this game's release to truly appreciate it.
This was Gameboy at it's best!

There were definitely some challenging levels in the game. It was just so short that it never really had a chance to build a steady curve. And Kirby games are supposed to be easy, in my opinion. The difficulty isn't the point--the point is the charm. Over all I must say I vastly prefer Kirby GB to Mario Land 2.

@Kid_A

Your blog post captures exactly what my thoughts were upon first playing this game, way back as a kid with a Game Boy. I felt like it wasn't quite right, and even at that age it bothered me that these elements were in a game featuring Mario. I was never a huge fan of it.

But your last sentence points out exactly why I love it now:
Not long after Super Mario Land 2 was released we would have a term for these Mario Games That Don't Feel Like Mario Games: “Wario Games.”

When I play this game in light of the fantastic Wario series that spawned from it, it suddenly makes sense to me in a strange way and feels like the product of the most bizarre and quirky creative team at Nintendo struggling to free themselves from the Mario vision of platforming and design.

I actually kind of see it less as the last Mario Land game and more as a prequel to the Wario series. In other words, it fits more comfortably as an odd piece of lore within the canon of the latter. I only wish it contained an alternate ending in which Wario wins instead, flipping into the hero / anti-hero for the credits.

I hereby rename it: Wario Land -1

you are not in a position to take these kind of decesions. you are fired

Just beat this game today. Took about 2 hours to get all the coins and beat Wario. I think I died once or twice in whole game until I arrived at the Wario's castle. There I died about 20 times (one which was while fighting Wario) before I managed to complete the level.
A little too easy game but it was still lots of fun to play through.

ha! So glad you liked it. You'll notice I never called it a bad game. It isn't. It's just a little off. But you're right, if you think of it as a precursor to the Wario games, it's kind of an interesting piece of history.

I really like this game. The music is charming with the main theme in particular, and it's much better than the first Super Mario Land. If there was anything I think it missed, it would be the boss battles. I thought they were too basic and easy.

My favorite level is Star Maze not just for the nice music, but for the unique low-gravity jumping that controlled like swimming. My least favorite is the level before the space world with the bubbles. Those things are hard to control.

Hold A and right after you get into a bubble. You just beat the level.

I really thought I played this game way back, but I just realized that it was a bootleg of smb3 for the gameboy. Even if the first game had a gigantic nostalgia factor for me, I still enjoyed the second more even if it is easier. Where the first one was a short version of SMB, this game was a short version of my favorite Mario game SMW. I would have loved to play this as a kid. Thinking about it now, I bet I would be in tears when I start playing the Star level if I were a kid, too bad you can't replay boss levels though. The only thing I'm disappointed with it though is that it is over before you know it, but I don't ind playing it again, its just plain fun. Can't wait for the Wario series to come, I really had a blast playing the 2nd game on my cousin's cartridge.