Its not what we expected
Story 7/10: Mario is off on another adventure, but this time he has left the mushroom kingdom. He enters the land of Sarasaland to rescue Princess daisy. Traveling in all new kingdoms on land, sea, and even takes the sky. Bowser nor peach make an appearance in this game which can lead to 2 different reactions. You can consider this a turn in the wrong direction, or possibly a breath of fresh air to the mario series.
Gameplay 7.5/10: Mario's gameplay hasnt been tempered with to much but it has a few changes. While its still a classic style platformer, several new abilities are introduced. The fireflower has been replaced with a powerup that throws superballs. It bounces off all the walls helping you gain more coins but aiming it at an enemy requires a little to much precision. Its interesting to see a larger variety of enemies to jump on such as bugs, skelotonfish and mini sphynxs. Its a bit disappointing to see that koppa shells explode rather getting sent towards more enemies but the way the game is handled its not a big loss. The biggest change in gameplay appears in 2 levels when your in a submarine or plane. You wouldnt normally see mario in a vehicle but blasting enemies in the face is rather satisfying. While the game adds new twist,Its still entertianing to play but it falls short because of the fact that the game can be beaten in an afternoon.
Graphics 8/10: For a gameboy game it looks impressive, considering that it was title that launched with the system. The environments are nicly detailed but certian enemies and areas could use a little more touch up. The further you get into the game, the better it looks.
Sound 7/10: Like many mario games , theres at least one song that will remain lodged in your head even after you turn off the game. The 8 bit music is light hearted and catchy and the sound effects are decent. It does however lack many classic mario sounds such as the mushroom powerup and comes with a different invincibility music. Like with graphics, the games music gets better as you go with nice rushing music for vehicle levels and a good dark theme for one of endworld levels. You enjoy some of the new music, but miss some of the old.
It wasnt the mario we expected to see, but the games flow generally proves that this isnt a bad thing. If you want something on the go, to fill in the afternoon, and a bit different than the other mario titles, this game is for you.