They were tired of fighting for someone else's hero — so they built a villain, and he became his own.
Hiroji Kiyotake's team at Nintendo R&D1 did not set out to make history. They set out to make something of their own. The Super Mario Land 2 project came to them already named, already assigned — a sequel to someone else's game featuring someone else's hero. Kiyotake later said they felt 'restless making a game around a character that belonged to another team.' So they invented Wario. The name came first: Wario, from warui — bad — with the M of Mario flipped upside down. A character who wanted everything Mario had. The Bluto to Mario's Popeye. What happened next surprised everyone: Wario was too compelling to be left as a villain. He got his own game in 1994, then a whole franchise. The act of making something by hand, under someone else's brief, led to the creation of something that lived for decades on its own terms. Kiyotake once said he loved characters who 'do nothing useful in a game.' Wario became the most useful character Nintendo never planned.
— inspired by Hiroji Kiyotake
About this game
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is the 1992 Game Boy sequel that introduced Wario to the world. While Mario was away on a distant adventure, his jealous rival Wario seized Mario's castle — and Mario must now recover six golden coins spread across six themed worlds to reclaim his home. A significant technical leap over the original Super Mario Land, it features enlarged sprite art, four-directional scrolling, and a mid-game save feature. Composer Kazumi Totaka hid his signature melody on the Game Over screen, audible after two minutes and thirty seconds of waiting. The game sold over 11.18 million copies worldwide.
Key Features
Six distinct themed worlds — Mario Zone, Space Zone, Macro Zone, Pumpkin Zone, Turtle Zone, Tree Zone — with a non-linear map allowing players to choose stage order. The Carrot power-up, exclusive to this game, gives Mario bunny ears that enable floating jumps and wall-crawling. A mid-game save feature unusual for a 1992 Game Boy title. Four-directional scrolling throughout. Wario as both plot catalyst and final boss.
Gallery
The Story Behind
Super Mario Land 2 was designed by Hiroji Kiyotake and produced by Gunpei Yokoi — not Shigeru Miyamoto — placing it outside the main Mario development lineage. Kiyotake's team, restless at adapting someone else's character, used the project to invent their own: Wario. His name was built from Mario and the Japanese word 悪い (warui, meaning bad), with the W on his cap being an inverted M. The character would go on to headline Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 in 1994 and later the WarioWare series. Development took approximately ten months. Composer Kazumi Totaka — who scored the game — went on to embed his nineteen-note signature melody in over a dozen Nintendo titles across multiple decades; it has since been found in Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, and Yoshi's Story, among others.
Tricks & Tales
Kazumi Totaka hid his nineteen-note signature melody — known as Totaka's Song — on the Game Over screen. Leave the screen idle without pressing any button for exactly two minutes and thirty seconds, and the melody plays. It has since been discovered in over a dozen Nintendo games. Wario's name was devised by the design team before his appearance or personality: the name came first, and everything else followed. Designer Hiroji Kiyotake described wanting a villain who was 'the Bluto to Mario's Popeye' — physically imposing, jealous, and motivated by wanting what Mario had. The cartridge uses a CR1616 coin battery to hold save data; after more than thirty years, many original batteries have reached the end of their service life.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
The Game Boy is region-free: a Japanese Super Mario Land 2 cartridge plays on any Game Boy or Game Boy Advance bought anywhere in the world. The game text appears in the language of the cartridge's region of origin — Japanese on Japanese copies, English on North American ones — but the gameplay is otherwise identical. On a Game Boy Advance, the image may appear stretched horizontally; hold Select and press Start to restore the original proportions. No North American or European version exists that plays differently from the Japanese release.
Maintenance Tips
Super Mario Land 2 carries its save data in a CR1616 coin battery soldered inside the cartridge. After more than thirty years, many original batteries have exhausted their charge — if the game plays normally but forgets progress on power-off, the battery is the likely cause. Replacement requires a 3.8mm Game Bit screwdriver to open the shell and a soldering iron to swap the cell; replacing it erases the saved file, so note anything you want to keep before starting. For the contacts, clean the gold pins gently with a cotton swab dampened in 90%-or-higher isopropyl alcohol, wiping lengthwise and letting them dry before play. Never blow into the cartridge — the moisture corrodes the very pins you are trying to restore. Store away from direct sunlight: the grey plastic discolours from UV exposure over time, and that change cannot be undone.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins copies regularly.
Will a Super Mario Land 2 cartridge still save my game?
Super Mario Land 2 was one of the first Mario handheld games with a true save feature — and it keeps that save alive with a CR1616 coin battery inside the cartridge. That battery was built to last fifteen or twenty years; every original copy is now past thirty. If a cartridge starts a game normally but forgets progress the moment you power off, the battery is almost certainly the cause rather than the cartridge itself. Replacement is possible, but removing the old battery erases the saved file, so back up anything you care about before opening it. When buying, it is worth asking whether the battery has already been replaced.
Is Super Mario Land 2 region-free?
Yes. The Game Boy has no region lock, so a Japanese copy of Super Mario Land 2 plays on any Game Boy or Game Boy Advance purchased anywhere in the world, and vice versa. The game text is in the language of the region it was sold in — Japanese on Japanese cartridges, English on North American ones — but the gameplay is identical. Only the box and manual language changes by region.
My Super Mario Land 2 cartridge won't start — should I blow into it?
Please do not. Blowing into a cartridge only ever seemed to work because you also removed and reseated it in the process — the moisture in your breath does real damage to the gold contacts over time. Instead, wipe the pins gently with a cotton swab dampened in 90%-or-higher isopropyl alcohol, moving along the length of the pins rather than side to side. Let them dry fully before trying again. That alone resolves most startup failures in cartridges this age.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
A short checklist for buying a used Game Boy cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
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Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
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Good news — Game Boy is region-free
Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges are not region-locked, so a Japanese copy plays on any Game Boy worldwide.
Just confirm the hardware family — original GB, Color, or Advance — matches the cartridge.
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If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
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Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
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Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
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