 Critics saw Super Mario Land as a " smaller " and shorter version of Super Mario Bros. IGN 's Lucas Thomas wrote that the protagonist , enemies , and overall game were shorter , and noted that Mario himself was just 12 <unk> in height on the Game Boy 's small screen . With this in mind , Thomas was concerned about player " <unk> " in <unk> of the game . Still , IGN 's Levi Buchanan thought the game made no compromises in its size reduction . At the time of its release in 1989 , reviewers were excited to have a portable Mario game . Paul Rand of Computer and Video Games called the game " an arcade machine in your pocket " and the graphics " remarkable " for their size . French games magazine Player One felt that Super Mario Land adequately compromised where necessary to bring Mario to a portable device . Electronic Gaming Monthly 's Steve Harris considered the game " fantastic " and " very fun to play " , albeit short . Ed <unk> and Donn <unk> of the same outlet both declared Super Mario Land " easily the best Game Boy cart " of the time . Complex 's Gus Turner wrote that the graphics were " simple " , and Official Nintendo Magazine said the game was " ridiculously short " . Eurogamer reported that the game could be finished in under an hour . 
