Super Mario Land 4
| Super Mario Land 4 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Publisher | Kodansha |
| Label | KC Deluxe |
| Artist(s) | Kazuki Motoyama |
| Release date |  July 17, 1990[?] |
| << List of volumes >> | |
Super Mario Land 4 is the fourth volume of Kodansha's Super Mario manga published under the KC Deluxe label. It is the final part of the miniseries started by the Super Mario Land manga, based off the Game Boy games, but this title retains, at least in the first story arc, some elements from the Super Mario Land game.
The volume centers around Qix and Solar Striker.
Contents[edit]
Walkthrough[edit]
Qix[edit]
クイックス
Rules
Strategies
Strategies
Solar Striker[edit]
ソーラーストライカー
Epikhan, Destructor, Ultra Crusher, Omniquad
Xenocrypt, Quasi Obliterator
Chapters[edit]
Chapter 1[edit]
Mario and Luigi are watching TV at their house, which is broadcasting the arrival of Princess Daisy, invited by Princess Peach. Daisy then asks Peach if Mario will join them, to Peach storms off, angry that she only came to meet him. Daisy takes offense to this, but a person behind her tells her that he can make Mario come: it is Qix Daiō, who traps the princess inside the screen of the Game Boy he is wearing like an armor. He then locks it and breaks the key, while challenging Mario to save her by beating his minions at Qix, to whom he gave the pieces of the key: a Suu in Mexico, a Gao in Africa, and a Pionpi in China. Mario and Luigi accept the challenge and, after reaching the airport and jumping into the Sky Pop, Peach also arrives to join them.
One flight to Mexico later, the Suu explains the rules: inside a square area, they will need to conquer at least 75% of it by using a rope to delimit the area they took, starting from the non-conquered perimeter and using some stakes to angle their rope, all the while avoiding a giant vulture inside the area (the Qix) and the multiple Sparx around the rope perimeter. Luigi is the first to go, conquering 38% of the area while avoiding the Qix with agility and wile, but is eliminated once he gets surrounded by the Sparxs. Luigi is blown out of the area, gets eliminated and an areola appears on him. Peach goes next and she initially tires to use her femininity to tame the vulture, but it does not work. Additionally, by running inside the non-conquered area too much, a Fuse appears on her rope, reaches her, and eliminates her, blowing her out of the area and giving her an areola as well, with Mario remaining in the game. After conquering a couple of spaces, Mario trips on a pebble and his stakes fall into the ground. Initially angry, Mario gets an idea: after the Qix is lured into diving against him, crashing onto the ground, Mario ties the rope to the pebbles and skillfully swings it against the arranged stakes, covering so much area to score a 78% on the score, winning the match.
While the Suu despairs, a disappointed Qix Daiō appears on the Game Boy-like scoreboard display and blows the Suu up, leaving behind the stem of the key. As Mario takes it, he and his friends are warped to Africa, where the Gao is waiting. The rules are the same as before, but the Qix of the area is an elephant. The Gao, also, explains that if Mario takes 99% of the area, he will earn 50.000 points, which he can use to "revive" Luigi or Peach. Mario's teammates, worried that he might get squashed by the Qix, ask him to reconsider it, but since the challenge is still getting broadcasted worldwide, he cannot back down, so he quickly comes up with a plan. After skill fully avoiding the elephant and the Sparx, Mario starts to conquer just a small amount of areas, but he eventually traps the elephant in a narrow passage between his areas and traps it inside. Seeing as the area in which the Qix is located is the non-conquered area that a player cannot take while delimiting, Mario has captured the remaining area, up to a 99%. Luigi is revived and Qix Daiō punishes the Gao by blowing him up, making it drop the bow of the key. The next stop is China, where Pionpi awaits.
Chapter 2[edit]
One warp later, Mario, Luigi, and Peach, find themselves in front of the Shaolin Monastery. Being distracted by a bicycle infantry summoned by the Pionpi, Peach is bitten by the enemies and turned into a hopping zombie, so that she can fight against the Mario Brothers in the challenge. The arena is filled with spikes, with one mistake resulting in their doom. To make matters more difficult, both the Pionpi and the zombified Peach will play the role of two Qixs and, since they will be fighting in the birthplace of martial arts, Qix Daiō gave the Pionpi the body and the knowledge of a karate expert. Luigi is the first to go, but his rope is immediately broken by the Pionpi and, about to fall face-first into a spike, Peach kicks him off the arena, accidentally saving him as Daisy notices (via the scoreboard display screen), although the returning areola confirms his elimination. Mario goes next and tries to go for a 99%, but the Pionpi laughs, considering that with two Qixs it will be difficult for him to do it again. However, as Peach gets distracted by arguing with Daisy, Mario tries to trap her, but trips and accidentally touches the border. Seeing as the two Qixs got separated by a line, the game ends in a Split Qix. The Pionpi disappears, freeing Peach from its control and dropping the pin: the key is completed.
Mario takes it to the display and turns the key in the Game Boy keyhole, but instead of Daisy, a wormhole awaits that takes them to the rooftop pool of the Qix Building in New York City. There, Qix Daiō is awaiting them for the final challenge: a 2-player game of Qix, using the pool as the area, and Marker motorboats to delimit the conquered zones; the Qix will be a floating sharp shard that will target both of them, and the first to conquer 50% of the area wins. Mario accepts the challenge and he and his friends hop into their Marker. As the game begins, the Qix targets Qix Daiō's Marker, but Hiyoihoi tosses a Ganchan at it to stop the Qix from attacking them. Qix Daiō scores a 40% of conquered area, while Mario only gets a 20% while avoiding the Qix. Eventually, the Qix cuts his Marker in half and the motorboat crashes into the railing, stopping precariously on the edge of the building. As Qix Daiō tries to shove them down with its motorboat, Daisy (still trapped inside the Game Boy screen on Qix Daiō's chest piece) starts crying in desperation on a bump, causing Qix Daiō to spasm. Realizing the bump is his ticklish belly button, Daisy starts tickling it and while spasming, Qix Daiō's horned helmet damages his Marker to the point of breaking it. As he realizes that, Qix Daiō takes control over the Qix to dive bomb into Mario's Marker.
The Marker is once again cut in half and Luigi lands on the Qix, getting electrocuted. Desperate, Mario grabs the rope attached to the boat and quickly swims towards the pool border, conquering the 30% of the area and winning the match. This causes Qix Daiō to explode into pieces, leaving behind the Game Boy chest piece. The trio approaches it, and when Mario asks Peach to pass him the key, she reveals she thought they did not need it anymore and mailed it to Sarasaland: the celery delivery service just took it a few minutes ago. As such, the Game Boy chest piece is mailed to Sarasaland as well, meaning her visit has come to an end, much to Peach's joy and Daisy's anger, who curses her friend out for not letting her spend any time with Mario.
Chapter 3[edit]
The year is 2159. The Earth is attacked by the forces of the dark planet Reticulon. The president calls support from the Federation Army base on the Moon led by Captain Āreku, who send his two best pilots, Marīo and Pichi-hime, to jump into the SolarStriker ship and use a floppy disk he entrusts them with to execute "Operation Power Pod". As the two run towards the hangar, Reticulon's king, Torino Daiō, armed with his giant chicken armor, stops them and then goes to stomp them.
In the present (20th century), Princess Peach and Mario are enjoying a Saint Valentine date at Mario's. As Peach is about to offer her homemade heart-shaped chocolate, a wormhole appears from which Marīo, Pichi, and Torino Daiō's chicken leg falls from. Noticing their resemblance, Marīo and Pichi quickly realize to be in front of their ancestors, present themselves to them and greet them with their time's salute: a slap on the bottom. Dr. Areku arrives at the scene with his latest creation: a Time Machine Robo that is able to open time portals, like the one where Marīo and Pichi came from. As they quickly put together that Areku is an ancestor of their captain, Torino Daiō grabs Mario and Peach and drags them back into the portal, which closes behind them. Marīo and Pichi asks Areku to open it back, but he reveals that he created that time hole by pure luck; it is going to take time to replicate the setting to open it back.
Meanwhile, Mario and Peach (mistaken for their descendants), are in the claws of Torino Daiō, but due to the time portal effects, Peach's chocolate evolves into a shapeshifting creature similar to an anthropomorphic foot called Viokun. Disgusted by its transformations and noticing the Lunar forces attacking Reticulon, Torino Daiō lets Mario and Peach go. As the two and Viokun try to find an exit, Āreku orders them (mistaken again for their descendants), via the intercom, to get into the SolarStriker and proceed with the mission. Confused, Mario follows the orders and the three hop into the spaceship and take off while the Lunar base releases a bunch of satellites towards Reticulon.
On the SolarStriker, Mario discover of the mission via the ship's artificial intelligence and quickly takes the control to avoid the Reticulon Army. As a Power Pod appears, the ship asks Mario to insert the floppy disk, but they do not have it. Right then, Epikhan attacks them and the SolarStriker is shot down, making an emergency landing back on the Moon. To their shock, they find the Federation Army base destroyed by Torino Daiō, but they also find a stone with a message addressed to him: Areku left it in the present and stored the floppy disk inside. After inserting the floppy disk in the ship's slot, the weapon system is now ready to be used.
After shooting at the Power Pods, they transform into Power up items that upgrade the ship's missiles, with which Mario is able to destroy the enemies and Epikhan, entering Reticulon's atmosphere. Once reaching Ultra Crusher, the area boss, he surrenders, offering the tied up Āreku to them. Sensing a trap, Peach tells Mario to be careful. He then gets off the SolarStriker to take the captain, only to realize he is a puppet. Exposed and outside the ship, Ultra Crusher shoots him with his tank, blowing him up into pieces. As he rejoices, Mario (alive and well) speaks from his ship that he got the wrong one: they sent Viokun after it transformed into Mario. With a couple of Turbo Missiles, Ultra Crusher is destroyed. Mario and Peach then mourn the loss of Viokun, but its pieces regroup together, and Viokun is alive as well. As the trio rejoice, Torino Daiō approaches, angry at the loss of his bosses.
Meanwhile, in the present, Areku suggests trying to open a time portal from a different position, locating himself to the Moon, where he leaves the floppy disk in the stony message.
Chapter 4[edit]
Mario drives the SolarStriker away from Torino Daiō, fleeing inside the Reticulon's Death Valley canyon, where more Reticulon Army forces attack them. Meanwhile, in the present, Areku finally has managed to set a connection with Mario's position in the future. As he prepares to activate the Time Machine Robo, Pichi notices that his partner has been snacking non-stop with the delicious 20th century food to the point of becoming obese. Areku successfully opens a time portal, gives Marīo a sack of snacks, and the two Federation soldiers jumps inside. Pichi successfully passes through, landing on top of Mario, while Marīo gets stuck due to his gained weight and, when the portal closes, he is (non-lethally) cut in half, with his legs still running around in the present.
After Mario takes down Omniquad, Torino Daiō and the Reticulon Army decide to deploy Blazers to take down the SolarStriker. While Mario dodges the Blazer, Pichi hold on to his arm in fear, causing Peach to grow jealous, starting an argument that causes Mario to turn around to shout them to be quiet. Right then, a Blazer hits the ship, causing a breach that, due to the pressure force, pulls out into space Peach, Bichi, and Marīo. Viokun uses his body to plug the breach, saving Mario. He immediately intends on going back and rescuing them, but the ship states that, due to the vastness of space, it is going to take too much time and the mission of taking down Torino Daiō will be compromised. Heavyhearted, Mario continues with the mission and takes down Xenocrypt and Quasi Obliterator, the last two bosses. Only Torino Daiō remains.
Suddenly, Mario finds himself back to stage 1: apparently, defeating the bosses will result in resetting the progress. While in the stage 2 (Reticulon's Ozone), Mario sees his missing friends on a Power Pod. Mario stops the ship and to go and hug them but, following the traditions of these times, their reunion is greeted with a kick in the butt and Pichi and Peach (the latter taking Marīo's place to accommodate his lack of legs), kicks Mario and Viokun down the Pod. Landing on the planet surface, Mario notices something strange and invites the others to follow him: the Reticulon's Army in the sky is not going for them, and the group discovers Torino Daiō operating a holographic machine that gives the impression that his destroyed Army is still alive.
Pichi and Marīo grab their guns and order Torino Daiō to surrender, but he upgrades his armor with a superalloy, making their weapons useless. As he approaches them, he stomps Marīo, apparently killing him. Viokun takes the shape of a Lightsaber and jumps in Mario's hand, but he notices that it is not flaming: being made out of chocolate, Viokun cannot actually burst in flames by itself. To solve this, Pichi starts hugging Mario, to which Peach bursts into literal flames of jealousy rage. Using those, Mario pokes her with Viokun, making him flammable. Now with a proper Lightsaber, Mario slices Torino Daiō's armor in half, defeating him. From the armor pieces, an old and decrepit Bowser emerges and, accepting the defeat, gives Captain Āreku back, then he proceeds to walk away with a cane.
Peach is surprised by Bowser's old age, but Mario reminds her that he is a turtle, and they tend to live for more than 100 years at best. From under the feet of Torino Daiō's armor, Pichi finds Marīo, alive and well and simply buried in the ground. He is unstuck when Dr. Areku pops from a time portal he created under him, reuniting him with his legs. Using the legs incident as a starting point, Areku created a stick that is able to keep the time portal open indefinitely, so they can all enjoy a celebratory picnic together before going home in present. Meanwhile, Captain Āreku is trying to understand what is going on and why are they conversing with their lookalikes.
Extras[edit]
とくべつ
Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, and Bowser are all playing Qix at the former's house. A Goomba and an anthropomorphic Game Boy pass all of them, using the former's screen to check on their games and then analyze their character using their playstyles. Luigi is playing steadily and diligently, more focused on how he takes the area than the score he gets, being compared to a guy that would build a beautiful house out of logs. Princess Daisy is trying to use the division strategy to get a 99% on the score, thus getting the response of being a patient person, a perfect wise, the kind that would love to sew. Mario's playstyle consists in dangerously trapping the Qix in an enclose space and get a 99%, granting him the description of a guy that would gamble everything for the "big win". Bowser, in his attempt of creating a spiral, is killed by a Fuse, and the Goomba describes him as "someone who would imitate Tarzan, only to get entangled in the vines". Lastly, Peach is casually playing without understanding the rules because she did not read the instructions, considering it a hassle: "a stupid person".
Annoyed by his comments, the players argue that he is disturbing them and criticizing their playstyles for no reason, to which the Goomba cries that he wanted to be included in their game. As they forgive him, Mario recommends the reader to never leave out anyone from anything just because of being too focused on a game.
Pages 1-2
Pages 3-4
Gallery[edit]
Full cover
Mario in Mexican outfit
Story arc cover
Table of contents
Qix Daiō's minions
The first Qix
The second Qix
Mario's Qix costumes
The last Qix
Fan sent art
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | スーパーマリオランド 4[1] Sūpā Mario Rando 4 |
Super Mario Land 4 |
Trivia[edit]
- The "celery delivery service" Peach gives the key to at the end of the second chapter is Kiki and her cat Jiji from Kiki's Delivery Service.
- The pose Mario, Peach, and Viokun are making in the first cover of the Solar Striker storyline, is a reference to Marty McFly's pose in the Back to the Future poster.
