Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins/Tree Zone

Tree Zone takes place in a humongous tree, which you will need to scale to reach the boss at the top, a nasty crow called Kurosu. You'll have to face a bunch of enemies just to reach the entrance to the tree, wade through the sticky sap in the tree's interior, scale tree branches that are crawling with ants and even trespass through a beehive just to get to the top. Climbing Tree Zone won't be an easy task, and this zone will prepare you for the challenges you will have to face later.

Traversing the roots
This level is primarily divided into two sections, the surface and the interior of the roots. You will face four new types of enemies in this stage, the toad-like Bopping Toadies, the drill-nosed Ragumo, the giant insectoid Kyotonbos and the peculiar Spikey. All three of them can be defeated with stomps or fireballs, even the spikey, despite its spiked back.

On the first single tile of platform, you can jump into the air to reveal a hidden block. Continue jumping to reveal more hidden blocks until you reach a 1-Up. You can do the same thing at the first raised section of root near the spikey. After the checkpoint bell, you can go beneath the root to get coins and a power-up, but you must return to the surface in order to proceed.

After the highest section of the root around the area with the spikey, you can reveal another series of hidden blocks which lead to a path lined with coins, which also lets you bypass a bit of the level, though you'll need to dash over the blocks to avoid falling off. Go right a bit more and you should reach the end of the level. The bell can be reached by jumping off the block formation.

The sap-filled interior
The main mechanic throughout this level will be the sticky tree sap that drips off the ceilings and hang from the walls of the tree. Enemies are scarce here, as there is a bigger focus on platforming. You will run into cow-fish hybrids called Mogyos that swim in sap and can be stomped like every other enemy. You will also encounter a deadlier cousin of the Buzzy Beetle, the Noko Bombette. These ordinary-looking creatures will actually turn into a bomb after you stomp them, attempting to harm you with a suicidal explosion. Be sure to steer clear of it after stomping it, or just ignore it completely.

You will be wading through sap very often throughout this whole level. The sap is a bit similar to water, in that your movement is slightly restricted when inside. Your speed will be halved and your jumps cover almost no height, though you can hold the button to keep moving upward. The sap can act as pseudo-platforms to let you jump off or even as a way to bypass spike pits, a feature you must exploit in order to make it to the end of the level.

After the checkpoint bell, the level will split into two, but will ultimately reconverge near the exit. The top path focuses on more sap platforming, but the bottom path will introduce you to a new power-up, the carrot! Similar to the leaf from Super Mario Bros. 3, you can use it to fly or slow your fall. In fact, the bottom path has a huge valley of spikes without sap to help you bypass it, which means that you need the carrot's gliding abilities to make it across. Both paths contain a 1-Up, but the 1-Up in the bottom path is easier to get while the 1-Up in the top path needs you to precariously drop down from some sap on to a short platform above a spike bed. To reach the bell at the end of the level, you need to use the sap to get to it, but its wierd properties may mean that you will miss it for a few tries.

This level also contains a secret only available to keen adventurers. There is actually a alternate exit in the level that leads to the other side of the tree, unlocking a hidden bonus level. Read the spoiler below to find out where it is.

The hidden mushroom path
A hidden exit from inside the tree leads to an unseen side of Tree Zone, a path lined with huge mushrooms. There are only koopa troopas on this level and no challenging platforming sections, so think of this as a breather level where you can get more coins and power-ups. Completing the level will unlock a new background for the Tree Zone map, featuring blooming flowers.

Branches with ants
On the treacherous leaves and branches of the Tree Zone high above the ground, you must watch your step to avoid falling to your death. This level is infested with bugs and plants, primarily the Antotto, which are basically a reskin of a goomba. You will also encounter Battle Beetles that can move across ground and fly, but a single stomp will take them out. There's also the cowardly Be that will fly away when you approach them. They pose no harm to you, but can bait an overeager player into making a bad jump while trying to kill them. Other than pirahna plants, you will also meet another species of dangerous plant, the Venus Fire Trap, which will spit fireballs at you.

There are a couple of hidden blocks in this level. At the rightmost area of the lowest level, you can jump while huggging the wall to discover a hidden block containing a 1-Up. On top of the area where you had to race a 1-Up after bumping it out from a block, there is another hidden block that you can reveal from standing on the highest part of the platform. Also from this position, if you have a carrot power-up you can reach a ledge at the right which has a question mark block containing a money bag full of coins! Finally, at the two dropping platforms near the goal, jumping at the right side of the first platform will reveal a hidden block containing another 1-Up, but the falling platforms make it difficult to catch.

To reach the bell at the end of the level, use the two falling platforms to get to the top layer of leaves. Jump across these platforms on to a moving platform to get to the bell.