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In the early 1990s, many educational games were released in the Mario series of video games.
I am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater[ | ]
I am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater, or I am a Teacher: Super Mario's Sweater is a Famicom Disk System game released in 1988 only in Japan. It was designed by Royal industries Co., Ltd., a Japanese appliance and sewing machine company. Using the program, players could design the sweater they want and the company would make it for 2900 yen (~$24).
Mario is Missing![ | ]
Mario is Missing! is a geography-based game for the PC, Apple Macintosh, Super NES and NES. It was developed by The Software Toolworks and released in 1992 for PC and SNES. In 1993, the NES version was made and developed by Radical Entertainment. All three versions were published by the Mindscape.
Mario is Missing! is the first Mario game to feature only Luigi as a playable character, which did not occur again until Luigi's Mansion.
Plot[ | ]
Bowser sets up a castle in Antarctica, and plans to use many hair dryers from Hafta Havit, a mail order company, to melt Antarctica's ice and flood Earth. He sends Koopas to cities across Earth to steal artifacts to fund his operation. Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi travel to Bowser's castle to stop him. Luigi is hesitant to go in, so Mario goes by himself and is kidnapped by Bowser, prompting Luigi to rescue him.
Gameplay[ | ]
Luigi progresses through the game by completing levels in Bowser's Castle; each floor is guarded by one Koopaling and contains a number of pipes which transport Luigi to a city containing Koopas. Once a floor is completed, Luigi must defeat the Koopaling guarding that floor to proceed to the next.
The main gameplay consists of moving around a city in side-scrolling manner while jumping on Koopa Troopas to collect stolen artifacts (pieces of famous landmarks). Luigi then must take these artifacts to their respective locations and correctly answer three questions about the landmark. Once an artifact is returned, the landmark is reopened. During the quest to return all three artifacts to their proper landmarks, Luigi must determine his location to receive the assistance of Yoshi by using a device called the Globulator. If Luigi takes Yoshi to the correct location, he can ride him for double the walking and running speed. Once the exit pipe is found, Luigi is returned to the castle as long as he has Yoshi with him to scare the Pokey into the pipe; otherwise he will be unable to return to the castle. He can then proceed to another town to do it again.
In each city, Luigi is able to question the locals to gain clues as to his current location, the general direction of remaining Koopas, and information about the affected landmarks. He is given a map showing where information booths, people and Koopas are in the city.
This game is the first one where the Weegee sprite appears (in the PC version). The developers had trouble creating the Luigi sprite and it looked like him, with his frozen stare, thus creating the Internet phenomenon.
Mario Teaches Typing[ | ]
Mario Teaches Typing is a video game designed to teach typing skills to children. It was published and developed by Interplay and officially licensed by Nintendo. It was released for MS-DOS in 1991, Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh in 1995, and a follow-up named Mario Teaches Typing 2 was released in 1997. Mario is voiced by Ronald B. Ruben in the floppy disc version, and by Charles Martinet in the CD version.
Gameplay[ | ]
Mario Teaches Typing includes three selectable characters: Mario, Luigi and Princess Toadstool. The game displays two pairs of hands which show which finger to use; for example, if the player has to type "A", the leftmost finger is highlighted. If the player makes an error, the cursor does not advance until they enter the correct key. After time ends, the exercise ends and a chalkboard screen appears, displaying statistics on how well the player performed.
Mario Teaches Typing 2[ | ]
Mario Teaches Typing 2 is a computer game developed by Brainstorm and published by Interplay Entertainment. As with the previous game, Mario Teaches Typing 2 was designed to teach children to type. In it, Mario and Luigi must recover the pieces of a magical typewriter that was destroyed when Mario incorrectly typed a magical phrase which would destroy Bowser's Castle on it. When all the pieces are recovered and the typewriter is repaired, Mario is able to type the phrase correctly and destroy Bowser's castle. The game also features a number of CGI sequences featuring a disembodied Mario head who talks to the player. Players can choose to select to take a placement test (which is scored based upon accuracy and speed) or participate in lessons (whether in order or selected individually). Also, the sequel has numerous new features, including a customizable certificate of achievement, color coded on-screen keyboard, and customizable lesson plans. Mario was once again voiced by Charles Martinet.
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters[ | ]
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters is a video game released for SNES on June 1, 1993. It was one of the few educational games for the SNES and had two alternate games with the same gameplay engine, but different things to learn about. The game contains Mario, Princess Peach, and Yoshi on a wooden boat traveling from island to island, learning about grammar and letters.
Mario's Early Years: Fun with Numbers[ | ]
Mario's Early Years! Fun with Numbers was released for SNES on June 15, 1993.
Mario's Early Years: Preschool Fun[ | ]
Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun was released for SNES in 1994.
Mario's Game Gallery[ | ]
Mario's Game Gallery is a computer game developed by Presage Software, Inc. and published by Interplay Entertainment Corp. on February 23, 1995.[1] It was later re-released as Mario's FUNdamentals in 1998. It is notable for being the first Mario game to feature Charles Martinet as Mario's voice actor.
It is distributed by Sierra On-Line.
Gameplay[ | ]
Mario's Game Gallery consists of the player competing against Mario in games of checkers, Go Fish, dominoes, backgammon and yacht (a version of Yahtzee). The game was rated "K-A" (Kids to Adults) by the ESRB.
Most game pieces and cards are represented by characters from the Mario series. For example, in checkers, one player uses baby Yoshis while the other uses Koopa Troopas; when one of these is kinged, it turns into an adult Yoshi or Bowser, respectively.
Mario's Time Machine[ | ]
Mario's Time Machine is a video game released for PC, Super NES, and NES in 1993. In this game, Mario has to travel back in time to restore artifacts which were stolen from their original times, and, in the NES version, save Yoshi from Bowser.
Set in 1993, Bowser is in possession of a time machine. He went back in time to steal many artifacts from the past, and placed them in what he considers "...the greatest museum of all time". If the items are not returned soon, history will be changed permanently.
Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up[ | ]
Super Mario Bros. & Friends: When I Grow Up is a children's computer coloring, featuring Mario and Luigi, released in 1991 for the PC Software. Players can paint Mario and other Nintendo characters.
References[ | ]
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