I love it when Nintendo makes Super Mario weird. Send Mario into a world where it’s just a giant mechanical robot of himself. Send Mario on a Toy Story style adventure through someone’s house. Let Mario get eaten by a turtle and then fight an octopus inside of a giant whale. Super Mario Land 2 blends that perfect amount of weird with the perfect amount of quality Mario gaming and somehow crams it all in an OG Game Boy. Well I guess it isn’t a secret how it’s all crammed in a Game Boy; each area has like 3 to 4 levels and the whole game can be beat in an hour but it’s an hour that you won’t regret having spent.

The game does its best to replicate the style of Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo while adding so much more of its own charm to it. Nothing like seeing Mario stomp some Jason Vorhees masked Goombas with butcher knives sticking out of their heads. Not to mention this game has one of the best Mario soundtracks ever. The amount they pump out of the Game Boy’s hardware is no joke especially compared to the relatively less technical Super Mario Land 1.

Also this game introduces Wario, so I mean, you really can’t get any better than that. Without this game, there would be no WarioWario and thus no Rhythm Heaven. It’s all a cruel domino effect. Super Mario Land 2 is an absolute top ten Mario Game and deserves its accolades.