Super Mario Land

It was 1989, back when Mario still hadn’t gone steady with Princess Peach and was apparently saving other damsels in distress. Long before Daisy became the “other girl” character in the Mario sport/Kart/Party games, she was who Mario was trying to save in his first portable adventure. And now, for your legal pleasure and four dollars, you can revisit this odd duck in the series on the 3DS eShop.

As personality-devoid as Daisy is in her recent appearances, people can finally revisit her kingdom that is anything but. Koopa shells turn into bombs, lands are based around Egypt and Japan, there are submarines and planes to ride, and there are even a few giant fists that come out of pipes instead of Piranha Plants. It’s also where the signature tunes have been scraped and were replaced with a new soundtrack. But it’s amazing how catchy and great it is, even with the ancient sound compressors of the original Game Boy.

But as pleasant of a trek that Daisy’s home turf is, even 22 years later, it doesn’t last long. Although you can save your game at any point now with the nifty save feature of the 3DS Virtual Console series, that wasn’t the case with the original release, and it acted accordingly. It only comprises of four areas with three levels each, so playing the game in just an afternoon won’t place you in the Guinness Book of Records. It’s also worth noting that despite the game still being a timeless piece of platforming bliss, there are constant signs of recycled level designs as you go about the game.

But even with all the shortcuts and the staggeringly low amount of adventure, I couldn’t recommend enough for all 3DS owners to just go to the eShop and spend the four dollars (plus tax) and enjoy Mario’s earliest portable game. It’s still a great deal of fun; and getting to see things like invincible ninjas will make a return to Daisy’s weird-ass kingdom a trip worth requesting to Nintendo.