{"id":2537,"date":"2010-08-01T10:31:21","date_gmt":"2010-08-01T10:31:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danielprimed.com\/?p=2537"},"modified":"2012-03-16T05:46:50","modified_gmt":"2012-03-16T05:46:50","slug":"rd1-deconstructing-the-mario-franchise-on-the-game-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielprimed.com\/2010\/08\/rd1-deconstructing-the-mario-franchise-on-the-game-boy\/","title":{"rendered":"R&D1: Deconstructing the Mario franchise on the Game Boy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Portable game development has always acted as a test bed for experimental ideas. The handheld platforms are inexpensive to develop for and widely regarded as second-tier products to their console counterparts, making them the ideal haven for experimentation. Knowing this, R&D1, a technically-minded internal studio at Nintendo (now absorbed into Nintendo Software Planning & Development), used the newly released Game Boy as a way to expand the company’s most famous property: Mario. The design sensibilities and the innovations which evolved from the early Game Boy games\u00a0Super Mario Land<\/em> and\u00a0Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins<\/em> would find themselves not only canonized into franchise lore, but also playing a wide-reaching role in further developments of the series.<\/p>\n

Super Mario Land
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\nPrior to, and even since\u00a0Super Mario Land<\/em>‘s release in 1990, no other Mario title has modeled itself on real world cultures. Perhaps in a move to justify the “land” part of its title,\u00a0Super Mario Land<\/em>was no longer set in the Mushroom Kingdom, but Sarasaland. Sarasaland was divided into 4 parts: an Egyptian-themed environment, an alien water world, ancient Aztec ruins and a Japanese oriental garden whose final act was set amongst the clouds. This was\u00a0Super Mario Land<\/em>‘s core conceit, and although no game in the series has since replicated world culture,\u00a0Super Mario Land<\/em>paved the way for environments far removed from the realm and influence of the Mushroom Kingdom. Chocolate Island in\u00a0Super Mario World<\/em>, Yoshi’s Island in\u00a0Super Mario World 2<\/em> and Isle Delfino in\u00a0Super Mario Sunshine<\/em> are good examples.<\/p>\n