When Mario was in Sarasa Land during Super Mario Land, Mario's greedy and jealous rival, Wario, arrived on Mario's home of Mario Land. He stole Mario's castle and hypnotised all of the residents of the island to obey him. He then locked himself in the castle by removing the six Golden Coins and hiding them around the island.
When Mario returned, he set out to find the Golden Coins and rescue his own island home.
Gameplay
Your aim is to reclaim the six golden coins from the six Zones of Mario Land in order to unlock the castle, and overthrow Wario. Each Zone is broken down into several levels, and you have to make your way through them to the goal. Many of the stages are not linear, allowing you to find secret passages and shortcuts through the stages to reach the Goal at the end. The final level in each Zone ends with a boss battle where your prize is a Golden Coin.
There are several power ups that Mario can collect to help him. As well as the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower and Starman items from earlier games in the series, Mario can also collect Carrots that give him rabbit ears, allowing him to float through the air.
Hitting an enemy as small Mario, falling into a pit, or running out of time will make Mario lose a life, which he can reclaim by collecting 100 coins or a heart. There are also secret stages that can be unlocked by finding hidden doors in certain areas. If you receive a Game Over, all of the Golden Coins you have collected return to the bosses, and they need to be defeated again.
