The Super Mario series had a huge rise in gaming culture during the memorable Game Boy era. Nintendo released memorable titles such as Super Mario Land 2 and Super Mario Bros. in this era. As the Game Boy era was coming to its end, PC gaming became ever more popular. As people got more accustomed to using their PCs and software programs, the modding culture and ROM hacking started being more popular. You must have heard about the hundreds of Pokemon ROM hacks made in the last few decades. However, ROM hacking is not limited only to Pokemon games, as there are also ROM hacks made for other games. One of the most popular ones is Super Mario Land DX, the ROM hack of Super Mario Land. We will be reviewing these games and how modding culture expanded the gaming experience.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins release
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is an almost 30-year-old game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy. This is game is a sequel to Super Mario Land. In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, you, of course, play as the Italian plumber Mario to reclaim your Land from his evil rival Wario. However, before defeating Wario, you first have to collect the 6 lost coins, which open the castle to where Wario resides.
A Mario game without Bowser as the main villain was a very refreshing move by Nintendo. By introducing Wario as the anti-protagonist in this game, they eventually created a stand-alone Wario series.
The gameplay has more similarities with the later released Mario World series, rather than with its predecessors. For the first time, the player has the option of choosing which levels to play, removing the linear gameplay the game had. With the introduction of this new feature at the time, the player had a lot more freedom in choosing how to play the game. Aside from this feature, the game also kept a score of how many enemies you defeated on your journey.
Mario Land 2 Reception
The game was a huge hit in Japan, as it topped the Famitsu chart in 1992 by selling over 2 million copies. In the United States, the sales were very similar, reaching an astounding amount of sales. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is the sixth best-selling Game Boy game of all time, with about 11.18 million copies sold worldwide.
Reviewers commended the game for its beginner-friendly gameplay mechanics and overall soothing and enjoyable feel while playing it. They consider it an improvement over the original in every aspect and is overall an amazing game.
Super Mario: Game Boy Color era
The Game Boy Colour, often known as the GBC in the gaming world, was first launched in Japan in October 1998, followed by an international release in November of the same year. It was rushed into production under a lot of pressure due to the poor sales of the Game Boy Pocket, which lacked the playability that was required. Backward compatibility and a bigger list of titles, led by Mario games on the Game Boy Color, were key considerations. The fact that this system was able to incorporate colors into games, giving all Game Boy Colour titles a new dimension, is, of course, its biggest triumph.
Nintendo launched many Mario games on the Game Boy Color in an attempt to maintain its rediscovered portable popularity. “Super Mario Bros. Deluxe” and “Mario Golf” were two of the most popular games, along with Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. While these were some of the original games, the actual popularity stemmed from the fact that Mario games on the Game Boy Color could count previous titles in their game library thanks to the Game Boy Color’s backward compatibility with the early games.
What is Super Mario Land DX?
One thing that has always interested most fans is how Game Boy games would look if developers made them for Game Boy Color. You could insert a Game Boy game into the Game Boy Color and it adds some color to it but it doesn’t look that great. That’s why some fans took it even further. Someone by the name of Torrez created a hack for Super Mario Land titled Super Mario Land DX. This hack isn’t just about adding color to the game, Torrez also changed the sprites which made the game look like an original GBC game. Although, the physics haven’t changed which means that there exist visual incoherencies with the gameplay.
I would love to see more Game Boy games turned into Game Boy Color games in the future, so hopefully, we do see that. A special to Torres for creating such an amazing ROM hack. He also worked on Super Mario Land 2 DX. hopefully, he can create Super Mario Land 3 in the future. I am sure that fans would love to see that too.
Fan-made GBC games & patches
In the last decade, ROM hacks have been swarming Reddit threads and fan pages. They usually serve as an upgrade for an existing game. Creators usually fix glitches and make the game a tad harder. However, some ROM hacks can completely revamp the game making it a brand new experience with no gameplay. The Pokemon franchise has the most ROM hacks out of any franchise by far. Some of the best Pokemon GBC ROM hacks include Pokemon Prism and Pokemon Crystal Kaizo. For a further detailed list, you can check the Pokemon GBC ROM hack here.
The ROM hacks of other games are usually titled “original game name DX”. The DX stands for deluxe, and these modded games usually serve as enhancements without adding too many new features. Aside from Super Mario Land DX, other well-known Nintendo titles have a DX version. Some of these games include Metroid II DX, Kirby’s Dreamland DX, Donkey Kong Land DX, and many more. You can check a more detailed list of GBC ROM hacks here.