Mario Is Missing!
a game by | The Software Toolworks |
Genres: | Educational/Kids, Platformer |
Platforms: | SNES, NES |
Editor Rating: | 6.2/10, based on 6 reviews, 9 reviews are shown |
User Rating: | 8.0/10 - 8 votes |
Rate this game: | |
See also: | High Score Games, Mario Games, Speedrun Games, Super Mario Games |
Everybody knows Mario, Luigi, and the test of the Mario Brother regulars. Nobody's gonna be surprised to hear they've got a new game for the SNES, but everyone's gonna be surprised when they see just what kind of a game it is! Can you spell, E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N-A-L! OK, so education's a dirty word to most gamers. Educational=Boring. Right? Well, in this case the answer is yes... and no!
Mario's missing! Bowser sent an army of Koopas across a side-scrolling world to snatch priceless artifacts. Even worse, he kidnapped Mario. In this one-player, educational adventure, you're Luigi. With Yoshi in tow, you crisscross the world in search of Mario and the missing artifacts. As you search, you get to learn a thing or two about history and geography.
Plumbing the Portals
Where do you begin? You start your search by sneaking into the portals of Bowser's lair, which zap you to various cities across the world. You then roam the city streets looking for renegade Koopas. When you hop on a Koopa, it sometimes coughs up an artifact. You can also talk to people you meet in the streets to figure out where in the world you are. Then use your Globulator to call Yoshi and guide him to that locale on a world map. Once on board Yoshi, you ride on, returning the missing artifacts to their rightful places throughout the city.
ProTips:
- To travel faster, take a shortcut through the city's sewer pipes. Just remember to backtrack through the areas you skipped, or you'll miss out on some important city sightseeing.
- Call Yoshi as soon as possible. You can travel faster on Yoshi than on foot.
To replace each artifact to its proper place, you must answer a question about it. Then, if you are correct, leave the portal and seal it up. As for points, you earn them based on how long it took you to clean up the problems in each city. A password enables you to continue from the last portal you've cleared. The game ends when all the portals are sealed, and Mario is rescued.
- Every action you take costs you some time. Avoid randomly going back and forth into the Plumber's Toolbox.
Mario Misses the Mark: Graphics & Sound
The graphics and sounds in Mario Is Missing! are primitive by Mario standards. The sprites are small and simple with minimal animation, and the backgrounds have nowhere near the graphic complexity of those found in Super Mario World. The soundtrack is merely the same tune played over and over with slight ethnic touches for each locale.
Mario Is Missing! is geared for gamers ages eight and up. None of the Koopas you encounter along the way will do you any damage, so the game is totally won or lost on brain power. The answers to the questions about the various artifacts are present in the brochures you find. Anyone who can read can easily find the answers to the questions. Although the interface is a simple two-button job with different menu options, it's complicated enough to require a good read of the manual.
Mario Earns a C+
Successful educational games sneak the learning in with the fun. Mario Is Missing! teaches factual information, but isn't as effective as simulation-style, educational products, like Sim-City, where you learn by doing. Similarly, it's not as sophisticated as Carmen Sandiego, which is gonna earn this game a poor grade on most gamers' report cards. However, if you've gotta learn your history and geography, doin' it with Mario is more fun than reading a textbook. Try it, you might like it.
Download Mario Is Missing!
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
- Pentium II (or equivalent) 266MHz (500MHz recommended), RAM: 64MB (128MB recommended), DirectX v8.0a or later must be installed
System requirements:
- PC compatible
- Operating systems: Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/2000/Vista/WinXP
- P-200, 32 MB RAM
Game Reviews
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Available: June
- Levels: 15
- Theme: Edutainment
Now Luigi Gets to Save the Day!
The hope of all hedgehogs has actually happened! Mario has been kidnapped while he, Luigi, and Yoshi were about to enter Bowser's castle! So now you have to play out the part of Luigi and try to defeat all the Koopas that are roaming the world, return stolen artifacts, and slowly work your way into the place where Mario is held captive! Let us hope that you can make a difference!
You have to enter doors that will teleport you to different cities that are dotted about the world. And, in order to clear the stages, you must defeat Koopa Troopas, and return stolen artifacts to their rightful places. You will need to learn about where you are and the artifacts you have in your possession in order to proceed. A unique game that is fun for all ages!
Young NES gamers who think they've taught Mario a few tricks can now learn something from the plumber. Mario Is Missing! is a geography game aimed at kids. The tradeoff is mind over muscle: This game's low on adrenaline, but high on brain power.
Lost and Found
The story line is a simple plumber's affair. Bowser has kidnapped Mario. Ten thousand terrible turtles (Koopas, of course) are set to liquidate him, and, to make matters worse, they've stolen priceless artifacts from the most famous cities in the world. It's up to Luigi to save Mario, save the artifacts, and save your geography grade. Your quest for knowledge begins inside Bowser's castle, where you find seven doors that lead to 25 international cities, such as Paris, Tokyo, San Francisco, and Nairobi.
Mario's game play is simple, but the geography questions will challenge any eighth grader. Once you land in a city, you query the local inhabitants. Their cryptic replies hide clues to the identity of their town. Here's an example: "This city was built on 7 hills in 753 B.C. It was the home to Caesar, the original Italian Stallion." If you identify that location, you use an overhead-view world map to guide your dinosaur pal, Yoshi, to the correct continent, country, and city.
ProTip: If the overhead map indicates a Koopa roaming on a particular street and you fail to find him, turn around and walk back up the block.
Upon his arrival, you can hop on Yoshi and go for a ride, bopping Koopas on your way to retrieve three missing artifacts from that city. Once you retrieve an artifact, though, you must determine what it is and where it belongs in the city. For example, one famous city is missing the Sis- tine Chapel Ceiling, a Gladiator's Spear, and theTrevi Fountain. Return all the artifacts, and you'll take another sightseeing trip.
- Riding Yoshi is faster than walking.
- To move through town faster, jump into the Pipes.
- People at Information Centers can help you identify cities.
The game's controls are a no-brainer for players of any age. You can easily cycle through the three key displays, a map screen, a dialogue screen, and a computer screen that assists your memory by replaying all conversations.
Mario may be here, but energetic graphics and sounds are missing. Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser, and the Koopas appear in good form, but if picturesque locales are what you're looking for, get a good geography book. Fortunately, the pix don't play a crucial role in the game. The sounds are best left unheard! They'll distract your thought processes for sure.
That's Edutainment
Mario Is Missing! can be a good way to learn geography, but gamesters shouldn't expect a rousing video game. Software Toolworks is aiming this game toward kids aged 3 to 12, but youngsters will need someone to help them read the text and figure out the artifacts. Hopefully, twelve-year-olds will find this game easy.
Young NES gamers, who think they've taught Mario a few tricks can now learn something from the plumber. Mario Is Missing! is a geography game aimed at kids. The tradeoff is mind over muscle: This game's low on adrenalins, but high on brain power.
Lost and Found
The story line is a simple plumber's affair. Bowser has kidnapped Mario. Ten thousand terrible turtles (Koopas, of course) are set to liquidate him, and, to make matters worse, they've stolen priceless artifacts from the most famous cities in the world. It's up to Luigi to save Mario, save the artifacts, and save your geography grade.
Your quest for knowledge begins inside Bowser's castle, where you find seven doors that lead to 25 international cities, such as Paris, Tokyo, San Francisco and Nairobi.
Mario's game play is simple, but the geography questions will challenge any eighth grader. Once you land in a city, you query the local inhabitants. Their cryptic replies hide clues to the identity of their town. Here's an example: 'This city was built on 7 hills in 753 B.C. It was the home to Caesar, the original Italian Stallion. If you identify that location, you use an overhead-view world map to guide your dinosaur pal Yoshi to the correct continent, country and city.
ProTip: If the overhead map indicates a Koopa roaming on a particular street and you fail to find him, turn around and walk back up the block.
Upon his arrival, you can hop on Yoshi and go for a ride, bopping Koopas on your way to retrieve three missing artifacts from that city. Once you retrieve an artifact, though, you must determine what it is and where it belongs in the city. For example, one famous city is missing the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, a Gladiator's Spear, and the Trevi Fountain. Return all the artifacts, and you'll take another sightseeing trip.
- Riding Yoshi is faster than walking.
- To move through town faster, jump into the Pipes.
- People at Information Centers can help you identify
The game's controls are a no-brainer for players of any age. You can easily cycle through the three key displays, a map screen, a dialogue screen, and a computer screen that assists your memory by replaying all conversations.
Mario may be here, but energetic graphics and sounds are missing. Luigi, Yoshi, Bowser and the Koopas appear in good form, but if picturesque locales are what you're looking for, get a good geography book. Fortunately, the pix don't play a crucial role in the game. The sounds are best left unheard! They'll distract your thought processes for sure.
Once you hop aboard Yoshi, study the map screen. Small icons are clues to where the missing artifacts belong.
That's Edutainment
Mario Is Missing! can be a good way to learn geography, but gamesters shouldn't expect a rousing video game. Software Toolworks is aiming this game toward kids aged 3 to 12, but youngsters will need someone to help them read the text and figure out the artifacts. Hopefully, twelve-year-olds will find this game easy.
Mario is missing! Is a video game developed for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), NES and MS-DOS. The version for PC was released in 1992, while the ones for the other platforms came one year later. Mario’s Time Machine is a sequel that came few years after the first and original installment, but was not very successful.
The story centers on Bowser, who decides to flood the Earth by melting Antarctica. He plans to do this by using hairdryers, so in order to put his plan into action he starts to travel around the world in order to buy various hairdryers.
Mario, Luigi and Yoshi, the three main characters of the game, follow Bowser to Antarctica to stop him from his evil plan, but the first one, as the title stays, gets captured by the villain and misses the action. In the Super Nintendo Entertainment System a pit opens beneath Mario when the whole group reaches the castle, while in the NES version a Koopa throws a bag over him as he walks through ice and snow, so the way Mario disappears is different in the versions. However, the most elaborate version is the PC one, and the story is longer as well. Luigi is scared to go inside the castle, so Mario goes all by himself. Although he was warned not to take candy from strangers, Mario eats some offered by Bowser, who was disguised as a butler, and is then scooped up in a net.
Regardless of the version, saving the Earth falls into the hand of Luigi after Mario disappears, because Luigi leaves Yoshi outside to go and try saving the world.
There are more levels in the game, all of them which Luigi has to collect several artifacts in. In the NES version there are seven levels, while in the SNES there are three – each one with several cities. In the PC version there are no levels, just 25 different cities. He also has to return them to the right places, because they’ve been stolen by KoopaTroopas. Luigi can defeat the enemies by jumping on them. He must also answer trivia questions before the curators will take the stolen artifacts back.
Luigi must also deduce what city he is in, otherwise he can’t use the Globulator to call Yoshi to help him. The main problem is that Luigi has to call Yoshi in order to finish the level, so this is an important deal of the whole game.
Although the plot seems interesting, the game was criticized a lot and was not very popular. No less than 595 users on GameSpot rated the game with a disappointing 4.8, while three critics reviewed it and rated the installment with an even less impressive 4.4 out of 10, making this game one of the poorest Mario game ever.
Published and developed by Software Toolworks, Inc., this video game was released in 1992.
The token bad guy Bowser from the Mario Bros. series has got nothing good on his mind again in this learning game made to teach children geography. Now he has built up his headquarters in Antarctica, created portals to 25 well-known cities over the world, so now his Koopas can cause destruction in our own world. He has kidnapped Mario as well. The player takes control of Luigi who has to ruin Bowser's plans entering each portal, following the Koopas who have stolen some legendary artifacts, and also looking for signs about your setting. As soon as you have done everything all right and found out your location, you need to call Yoshi on your Globulator so he can track you down. Yoshi will help you to eat the cactus-like creature Pokey that is protecting the return portal. When Luigi comes back he can close the portal forever.
There are 25 cities for children to explore and get to know the landmarks and artifacts each city has. When Luigi gets back the stolen artifacts to their places he can also take pictures of them.
a discrase to the mario name and mario early years is for 3 year olds BOOOOOOOOOOOO
Mario is Missing! Yes, the world famous plumber has been captured by Bowser and his Koopa army. Luckily, his brother Luigi is here to save him. Mario is Missing is an educational action game. Like the Super NES version, Luigi may span the globe, and return stolen artifacts from Koopa Troopas. It's a wonderful educational quest.
Put the Koopa Troopas in a stupa! Mario is Missing from Mindscape is a real catch on the Super NES. Mario has been kidnapped by the Koopas and it's up to Luigi and Yoshi to rescue him. The Koopas have stolen several items. You must return the lifted artifacts and defeat the Koopas to recover Mario. Grab your passport because you'll be teleported all over the world in your search. Make some turtle soup!
People say:
I truly enjoyed the purpose behind this game and I think the design team should be commended on creating a game that's sure to get plenty of younger players involved with the idea of problem-solving. Still, this title did very little for me personally, and as much as this is not a bad game, I didn't get much enjoyment from it.
Contrary to what everyone else says, let's see what market this game is aimed for. The younger audience will like the Mario characters and theme music, while the parents enjoy the Geography their kids will learn. If you want all-out action in a Mario game, look elsewhere. Otherwise, Mario is Missing is a great idea!
Older, more experienced gamers should not bother with this cart. The idea behind it is cute, and younger kids will identify with Mario better than Carmen Sandiego. This game doesn't promise real action, but is very educational and kids may actually learn something. Even the bosses offer little or no challenge.
Mario is Missing, all right, and he can stay that way! "Ho Hum" is exactly what comes to mind while playing this slow-moving educational/adventure game. It plays like a slow Mario game, and needs more spice. The whimsical backgrounds weren't lively enough to keep my interest but it should be fun for the kids.