History VideoGame / SuperMarioLand

* The game does not freeze when Mario shrinks upon taking damage.

** The names of the game's locations suffered as well, albeit slightly less so as the puns on real world locations (Muda Kingdom for Ber''muda'', Easton Kingdom for ''East''er Island, Chai Kingdom for ''China'') are mostly still comprehensible in translation. The exception is world one, Birabuto Kingdom, which was ''completely misread'' from the original Japanese by virtue of the translator confusing a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakuten handakuten for a dakuten]]. The intended name is ''Piraputo'' kingdom, a portmanteau of "pyramid" (''piramido'') and "Egypt" (''Ejiputo''). "Piraputo" or even "Pyrypt" would have been acceptable translations, but "Birabuto" is completely wrong.

* {{Checkpoint}}: Most levels have an invisible checkpoint where Mario can resume his quest upon losing a life, much like the original ''Super Mario Bros'' as well as ''The Lost Levels''.

* KingKoopaCopy:
** Tatanga the [[MarsNeedsWomen extra-terrestrial]] is another Mario BigBad who takes inspiration from the series' main antagonist. However, his "Bowser expy" side was mostly used in the ''Game Boy'' comics.
** More literal with King Totomesu, the sphinx-like boss of Birabuto Kingdom. He breathes fire and jumps around on a destructible bridge, like Bowser from the original Super Mario Bros.

* FourElementEnsemble: The variety of locations gives the game an exotic feel that most Mario games don't have. Each of the kingdoms, and the bosses associated with them, can also be associated with one of the classical elements. The Fire kingdom of Birabuto is based on the deserts of Egypt and ruled by the fire-breathing King Totomesu; the Water kingdom of Muda is a series of tropical islands and an underwater stage ruled by the seahorse Dragonzamasu; the Earth kingdom of Easton is a mountainous place filled with rocklike Ganchans and ruled by the Ganchan-throwing Hiyoihoi; and the Air kingdom of Chai is a series of highlands and a flying stage ruled by the mysterious Biokinton, who hides within a large cloud and attacks by hurling flying Chickens at Mario.

The game is also notable for being the FirstAppearance of Princess Daisy. While she has yet to properly appear in another mainline ''Mario'' title[[note]]Unless one counts ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRun'' as a mainline title, as she is a playable character in that game[[/note]], she would later go on to become a staple of the franchise's many [[SpinOff spin-offs]], where she would develop a distinctive TomboyPrincess characterization, a friendship with Princess Peach, and an [[ImpliedLoveInterest implied relationship]] with Mario's brother Luigi.

* BonusStage: In true Super Mario fashion, there are several hidden areas inside pipes where the player can find lots of coins. Interestingly, some of them have SpikesOfDoom, making for a rare chance to actually ''die in a bonus stage.''

* {{Antepiece}}: The game has great level design involving interesting yet accessible setpieces. One tool it'll use is to build up to a complicated setpiece with an "antepiece". One example is the third boss, who tries to crush Mario by throwing bouncing stones. A little before you will encounter him, you can see one of those bouncing stones. That anticipatory stone doesn't present much danger, because it only bounces beneath the question boxes, which you can jump onto. The purpose of the stone is to warn you about what is ahead and maybe give you the opportunity to practice dodging and jumping on them in an enclosed environment.

* SuperDrowningSkills: Mario sinks like a rock if he falls into water. As with the ground levels in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'', this is because they're actually {{Bottomless Pit|s}}.

The game is also notable for being the FirstAppearance of Princess Daisy. While she has yet to properly appear in another mainline ''Mario'' title, she would later go on to become a staple of the franchise's many [[SpinOff spin-offs]], where she would develop a distinctive TomboyPrincess characterization, a friendship with Princess Peach, and an [[ImpliedLoveInterest implied relationship]] with Mario's brother Luigi.

* AncientAstronauts: InvokedTrope, given that Sarasaland is made up of four areas with connections to alien or myths of paranormal phenomenon (AncientEgypt, TheBermudaTriangle, [[EenieMeenieMinyMoai Easter Island]], and China).

* EenieMeenieMinyMoai: World 3, the Easter Island-themed Easton Kingdom. It even has living moai head enemies called Tokotoko.

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: In contrast to the usual ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' settings, every level is directly inspired by a real-world setting. Birabuto is based on AncientEgypt, Muda is based on Bermuda, Easton is based on Easter Island, and Chai is based on highland China.

-->-- "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2nF92mu8X0 Super Mario Land]]", '''Ambassadors of Funk'''

But I've got to rescue Daisy'' (Let's go!)
-->-- '''Ambassadors of Funk''', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2nF92mu8X0 Super Mario Land]]"

* GreaterScopeVillain: As revealed in [[VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2SixGoldenCoins the sequel]], Wario was the mastermind behind Tatanga's invasion so that he could distract Mario and take over his castle. However, he does not appear in this game.

* TheManBehindTheMan: The sequel reveals that [[spoiler:Tatanga is an underling of Wario's. While he may or may not have been hired to create a diversion in this game, he still reappears in the sequel guarding one of the Golden Coins for Wario]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Join Mario in a world of strange creatures!]][[note]]And Nintendo wasn't kidding when they said [[OddballInTheSeries strange]][[/note]].]]

->''Welcome, and enter the center\\\
Of my Super Mario adventure\\\
My girl is trapped on the other side of town\\\
So I'm movin' in leaps and bounds\\\
Folks around my way think I'm strange\\\
But there's a villain to blame\\\
Even my ma, she thinks I'm crazy\\\

[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Join Mario in a world of strange creatures!]][[note]]And Nintendo wasn't kidding when they said [[OddballInTheSeries strange]].]]

** The English manual is more or less a direct translation of the Japanese, with enemy names transliterated rather than being [[DubNameChange renamed in localization]], as is the norm for this series. Even when a localization convention exists, it is ignored: thus, Piranha Plants go by "Pakkun Flower" (their Japanese name) in this game, and enemies that are obviously intended to be subspecies of normal ''Mario'' enemies (i.e. ''Gira'' for ''Kira'' or Bullet Bill, or ''Nokobon'' for ''Nokonoko'' or Koopa Troopa) wind up with names that are completely incomprehensible to English-speaking fans. Granted, none of this comes up in the game itself, but the manual ''is'' meant to be a companion piece to the game.

** The 2011 Virtual Console re-release fixed some of this by renaming some of the common enemies, like "Goombo" (Chibibo[[note]]A cross between "chibi", and Kuribo, Goomba's Japanese name.[[/note]]) and "Bullet Biff" (Gira).

* UnwinnableByDesign: In 1-3, there's a triangular arrangement of blocks only Small Mario can get inside [[note]]Unless as Super Mario you repeatedly crouch while moving forward[[/note]]. There's a mushroom within you can collect to break two of the blocks open to get out, but if you let it fall down an abyss, you'll have to either fall down the abyss yourself or wait for the timer to run out.