Since the moment the Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, fans have been asking for some form of Virtual Console on the handheld. While the Virtual Console is still nowhere to be seen, fans are at least getting a little of what they've been desperately asking for, with Nintendo Switch Online gradually adding a selection of NES, SNES, N64, and Sega games to the service. As of just a few weeks ago, Nintendo Switch Online has a collection of Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, including Super Mario Land 2. However, the inclusion of the sequel shouldn't mean that Nintendo just skips over the first Super Mario Land.
The original Super Mario Land is one of the most important handheld games of all time, and while its sequel is arguably a much better game, it still deserves a spot on Nintendo Switch Online's roster. With other pioneering Nintendo titles like the original Metroid, the first Legend of Zelda, and of course the first Super Mario Bros., it seems only fair that the very first Mario handheld game gets a place alongside them.
Nintendo Switch Online Should Still Release The Original Super Mario Land
The Game Boy was a revolutionary piece of gaming technology, one which was massively ahead of its time. Launching in 1989, the Game Boy came just three years after the Nintendo Entertainment System, a piece of tech that itself revolutionized the home console market. The notion of playing fully-fledged console games on the go seemed like a pipe dream. Nintendo had to do a lot to prove that the Game Boy could manage it, and its launch line-up quickly cemented the handheld's capabilities.
Despite having just six launch titles in North America, the Game Boy quickly proved itself to be a formidable device. While Tetris proved that simple, addictive arcade-like games had a natural place on a handheld console, it was Super Mario Land that truly showed the potential of the Game Boy. The first Mario handheld title, Super Mario Land may look a little rough around the edges now, with no color, oddly-shaped sprites, and barebones level design, but it proved that the Game Boy could deliver experiences akin to home console gaming. It paved the way not only for every other Game Boy game and model that came after it, but also the rest of Nintendo's handheld systems.
On paper, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is a better game than its predecessor in practically every regard. While it retains the black-and-white limitations of the handheld console, Super Mario Land 2 has a much more vibrant art style, with highly detailed character models and environments that ooze charm. Super Mario Land 2 also features vastly improved gameplay, with an overworld map and level select screen, a ton of hidden levels, and much tighter platforming controls. Overall, Super Mario Land 2 is a better game than Super Mario Land, and for most fans, it's a lot more fun to play, but that doesn't mean Nintendo should just forget about the original.
For years now, fans have been pleading with Nintendo to bring the Virtual Console to the Switch, primarily as a means to preserve Nintendo's vast history of games. While Nintendo Switch Online certainly gives fans some of the company's biggest highlights of the last few decades, there are some notable omissions from the roster still, and Super Mario Land is now one of those. With the original set of Super Mario Bros. games, Super Mario World, Wii U Mario entries, and Super Mario Odyssey all being playable on the Switch, it seems only right that the original Super Mario Land gets to join the party.
