Super Mario Land Game Boy Manual: 4 Worlds, Power-Ups, Shooting Areas, and Boss Rules

Worlds and Areas: The Four Kingdoms

Sarasaland contains four worlds, each with three areas. You progress by reaching the goal at the end of each area. The third area of every world has a boss; defeating it lets you advance to the next world. After defeating the boss of the fourth world, the game is cleared. The worlds are Piraputo, Muda, Easton, and Chai Kingdoms. Areas must be completed within a time limit. In boss areas, stepping on a switch clears the area and triggers a bonus game. Otherwise, the goal has an upper and lower exit; the upper goal starts a bonus game, while the lower one does not. The bonus game determines Mario's position and he moves right to collect a bonus: 1UP, 2UP, 3UP, or a flower. If Superball Mario takes the flower, nothing happens.

Super Mario Land is a right-scrolling action game. You control Mario and travel through the four worlds, jumping and riding submarines or airplanes while aiming for the Chai Kingdom, where Princess Daisy is held. While progressing, you fight over twenty distinct enemy types with specific defeat mechanics. For example, Chibibo is a mushroom that walks on the ground. Black Piyon is a spider-like creature that attacks by hopping. Tokotoko is a stone statue that runs while waving its arms. Nyorolin blows poison balls when it spots Mario. Patadon is a winged stone statue that tries to crush Mario by flying at him. Mekapon is a robot that attacks by launching its head; stomping the flying head does not defeat it. Sue lives in caves and silently drops from above when Mario approaches. Gaoo stays still but breathes fireballs aimed at Mario.

Controls: Jumping, Dashing, and Crouching

Movement in Super Mario Land uses the left and right directions for walking. Dashing is performed by holding a direction and pressing A, while crouching is done by pressing Z, but only when playing as Super Mario or Super Ball Mario. Jumping is controlled with A: a quick press yields a short jump, and holding A produces a higher jump. During a dash, pressing A results in an even higher jump. The direction of the jump can be adjusted with left or right. These actions cover the basic controls for normal areas.

Breaking blocks is a core mechanic: it awards 50 points and can reveal items or coins. Coins collected contribute 100 points each to the score, and gathering 100 coins adds one extra life to the player's remaining count. When an area is started, a timer counts down, and upon reaching the goal, the remaining time multiplied by 10 is added to the score. These scoring and reward rules interact with the basic actions of jumping and dashing to shape moment-to-moment play.

Power-Ups: Mushrooms, Flowers, and Stars

Three power-up items appear in Super Mario Land: the Super Mushroom, Flower, and Star. Taking a Super Mushroom makes Mario grow into Super Mario; in this form, jumping from below breaks blocks. The Flower turns Mario into Super Ball Mario, who throws Super Balls to attack enemies. However, if Mario is not already large when he takes a Flower, he becomes Super Mario instead—except during bonus games. Each item thus changes Mario's size or attack method: the Mushroom enables block-breaking, the Flower enables projectile attacks, and the Star grants temporary invincibility, allowing Mario to defeat enemies by direct contact.

In the shooting areas of World 2-3 and World 4-3, Mario rides a submarine or airplane and fires torpedoes or missiles, one shot at a time or in rapid succession. While piloting these vehicles, any enemy contact causes a miss, and if the auto-scrolling screen moves so Mario is no longer visible, that also results in a miss. Outside shooting areas, when Super Mario or Super Ball Mario is hit by an enemy, he simply reverts to original Mario instead of losing a life.

Shooting Areas: Submarines and Airplanes

In World 2 Area 3 and World 4 Area 3, the screen scrolls automatically, creating what the manual calls "shooting areas." Mario travels while riding a vehicle: a submersible underwater or an aircraft in the air. The controls differ from normal areas. The A button fires torpedoes from the submersible while underwater, and the B button fires missiles from the aircraft while in the air. Shots can be fired one at a time or in continuous succession. During these areas, any contact with an enemy from any direction counts as a miss, and Mario also loses a life if the scrolling screen carries him out of view.

Outside the shooting areas, enemies fall to different methods. Ground enemies are defeated by jumping and stomping from above, though hitting them from the side or below causes a miss. Enemies standing on blocks or question blocks are defeated by jumping into those blocks from underneath. As Superball Mario, throwing a super ball that hits an enemy also defeats it; some enemies require two hits. The shooting areas count as another defeat method: direct hits there destroy enemies. Some enemies cannot be defeated at all.

Taking Down Enemies and Bosses

In standard side-scrolling areas, defeat enemies by jumping on them from above, but touching them from the side or below causes a miss. For enemies perched on Blocks or ? Blocks, jump from underneath to hit the block and strike them. As Superball Mario, throw superballs to hit enemies; some enemies require two hits. In shooting areas, use torpedoes or missiles to strike enemies, and certain foes may need several hits. Invincible Mario can defeat enemies by running into them. More than 20 distinct enemy types appear across the game, each with specific defeat mechanics.

Each of the four worlds concludes with a boss battle. To defeat a boss, either step on a switch located behind the boss or hit it multiple times with superballs (or with torpedoes/missiles in shooting areas). Stepping on the switch immediately advances you to the next world. The boss of World 4 is an exception: no switch is present, and it can only be defeated by hitting it with missiles. These rules apply to all bosses except the final one, which requires a different approach.

Lives, Coins, and Bonus Games

In Super Mario Land, you begin with 3 lives. A miss occurs in three cases: touching enemies or flames, falling into holes on the ground or underground, or running out of remaining time. Each miss subtracts one from your remaining lives. However, if you are Super Mario or Super Ball Mario, touching an enemy or flame only reverts you to original Mario instead of causing a miss. After reverting, Mario flashes and becomes semi-transparent for a short period, during which enemy or flame contact does not cause a miss.

Coins serve dual purposes. Each coin adds 100 points to your score, and collecting 100 coins increases your remaining lives by one. After completing an area, reaching the upper goal starts a bonus game. In this bonus game, you determine Mario's position, and Mario moves right to collect a bonus at the right edge. Bonuses include 1UP (adds one to remaining lives), 2UP, 3UP, or a Flower. If you are Super Ball Mario and collect a Flower, nothing happens. In boss areas, stepping on a switch clears the area and starts the bonus game.

First published Oct 16, 2026.