Super Mario Land (Japanese: スーパーマリオランド) is a 1989 platform game developed by Nintendo R&D1, the same team that designed the Game Boy. It was published by Nintendo as one of the first four games released for the console. It is the first handheld entry in the Super Mario series and the first mainline title not designed by series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Modeled after Super Mario Bros. (1985), the game adapts side-scrolling gameplay for the Game Boy’s smaller screen, with players guiding Mario through 12 levels to rescue Princess Daisy—in her debut appearance—from the alien Tatanga in the new setting of Sarasaland.
Nintendo developed Super Mario Land under the direction of Game Boy creators Gunpei Yokoi and Satoru Okada, intending it to be the system’s pack-in game. However, during development, Tetris captured their attention, and they recognized its potential for a handheld platform. Henk Rogers, who held the rights to the game, convinced Nintendo of America that Tetris would appeal to a broader audience than Mario. As a result, Tetris was bundled with the Game Boy instead.
