Topic: Super Mario Land 2 vs. Wario Land

Since we just went live with the Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins review and I'm not far from writing up the Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 review, I thought it would be a good time to find out what everyone thinks about these two games. There's long been a debate as to which of these games is the best Super Mario Land experience on the Game Boy, but if you prefer the original Super Mario Land, feel free to chime in.

I'm not taking part as I still have a Wario Land review to put together. But I'd love to hear what you guys have to say on the subject.

Never played the 3rd one, but Super Mario Land 2 is one of the best marios ever created. I wish they'd make another game like it, it just felt way different than any of the similar Marios, and better in my opinion, until Super Mario World came along. SML2 and Tetris were the only two games I had for my brick back in the day and they got many many many many... hours of play time.

EDIT: Looked at the dates and Super Mario World came before this did, but I didn't have a SNES til after SML2 for whats its worth

I've certainly weighed in enough on this one before, but I find Wario Land to be by far the best of the Game Boy trilogy, even though it's really the start of an entirely new series rather than a continuation. Super Mario Land 2 is just... sort of awkward, if you ask me. It has some nice levels here and there and plenty of variety, but it doesn't seem to have any stylistic integrity; at times it seems to want to imitate the Mario platformers of the NES, but then it just throws in every kind of enemy and setting imaginable with no clear direction, making it like a mixup of ideas left on the cutting floor from other games. Even Mario's physics never felt all that well thought out in SML2, having some basic Mario elements but strangely floaty and, again, awkward.

Wario Land has all the style, vision, originality, and polish that the previous two games were lacking. It feels well planned and designed from one end to the other, and never has that feeling of randomness found in the level design and enemy design in SML2.

I never liked the Wario Land games, including SMLand3 (i am one who considers it WarioLand 1, not SML3). Not that they're bad, but for some reason i just never liked them. Heh, so obviously i fall in favor of SML2.

I do have to say though, with all the love showered on the WL games, i'll probably have to check them out again (yay GBA flashcarts), as i recently did with Yoshi's Island, another game i never really got into, but am enjoying now (though still not as much as other "proper" Mario games).

After a few days of playing it, Super Mario Land 2 has already become one of my favorite Mario games. I've played some of the Wario Land games (including Wario Land 1), but I don't really like the way they play. Classic Mario platforming > any other platforming.

If you ask me, SML2 isn't "classic Mario platforming" by any stretch of the imagination. The physics for Mario are way off, and I've played fan-made Mario clones that capture the level design of a real Mario game far better than the lazy mismatch of ideas you get in SML2.

Never played the 3rd one, but Super Mario Land 2 is one of the best marios ever created. I wish they'd make another game like it,

Do yourself a favour and play Wario Land. Skip Wario Land 2 & 3 because they're mediocre platformers but Wario Land 4 is good. Wario LandL Shake!! too.

I will probably get Wario Land 4. The backlighting has spoiled me and I have no GBA SP to play regular game boy games with a backlight on.

Wario Land.

Also, Wario Land 2&3 are not mediocre, they're just different. I consider these games as platform/puzzler soooo you can hate this formula, but they're not that bad (wario land classic platformers are also my favorites, especially the fourth with some arcade element like the scoring research, 2&3 still have their good points, even if I'm not really fan of them).

I find it very hard to decide between the two. Both were great platformers and still stand as some of the better ones of the genre on handheld consoles.

I'd say Wario land if I really have to decide because Wario has serious attitude. It was a fun diversion being able to play as the greedy bad guy for a change and still feels fun in newer entries in the series such as Shake Dimension.

It has to Wario Land, one of my favourite games ever. It just felt great being the evil guy for once, acquiring the treasure to determine what the Genie gave you at the end was just great.

I gotta say Super Mario Land 2. Never played Wario Land. (The first one anyway.)

Wario Land is better because the only motive Wario had was to get treasure and that's what made him famous

Honestly and shamefully i never have played the mario titles on gameboy. I really didn't know they were that good until i read your reviews. I did play wario land, and i loved it.

I have only played Super Mario Land 1 and Wario Land. I have played those games only a little bit. This topic has inspired me to play Super Mario Land and Wario Land soon. I need to buy Super Mario Land 2 eventually.

@Jericholic Josh-You NEED to buy a GBA SP. It is much superior to the original GBA.

@zss_shadow LOVE the new avatar!

Super Mario Land 2 by Far just a Great game i used to have it when i was younger but someone stole it from me when i was out bowling with family to make a long story short i had a jacket on and my original gray gameboy was in it and when we were leaving i must have somehow lost it or dropped it i cried for like the whole night cause i played that thing constantly like say when i fell asleep playing it my folks would try to grab it from me i'd wake up and say NO Give it Back! and stuff Ahh Nostalgic memorys ALSO thanks to corbie i get to replay this game thanks alot CORBIE!!!!!!! your the absolute BEST!

Hey hey HEY! Take that back! Just cuz you can't die in them doesn't mean they're mediocre platformers!

It's hard to pick one over the other, since they're both 2 of the greatest Game Boy games ever. But despite my nostalgia, I'll have to go with Wario Land. The gameplay feels better than that of SML2, started the Wario Land series, and it has a ton of replay value due to the multiple endings.

Well as you can see from today's Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 review, I think Wario Land is the better of the two games. Both are outstanding platformers, but I like the direction Nintendo took with Wario Land and I think it was about as well done a Game Boy title as you can get. There's really only one other Game Boy title that I place above Wario Land and you'll get to see that review in a few days.

Link's Awakening?