Mario Is Missing!
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| Mario Is Missing! | |
| Missing image Mario_Is_Missing_logo.jpg Game logo | |
| Developer(s) | The Software Toolworks Radical Entertainment (NES) |
| Publisher(s) | Mindscape |
| Release date(s) | 1992 (DOS) June 1993 (SNES) July 1993 (NES) |
| Genre | Educational game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Not Rated (NR) |
| Platform(s) | DOS, NES, Super NES |
Mario Is Missing! is a geography edutainment video game for the Super NES, NES, and PC. It was developed by The Software Toolworks and was released in 1992 (PC) and 1993 (SNES). An NES version was developed by Radical Entertainment in 1993. All three versions were published by the Mindscape Group.
The game is notable for being the first game to feature only Luigi as a playable character, prior to Luigi's Mansion. Since this game was not actually developed by Nintendo or Shigeru Miyamoto, it bears little resemblance to earlier Mario titles, and was widely criticized, along with fellow edutainment title Mario's Time Machine.
The gameplay consists of moving around a town in side-scrolling manner while jumping on koopas to collect artifacts (pieces of famous landmarks). Luigi then must take artifacts to their respective locations and correctly answer three questions about the landmark. Once all three artifacts have been replaced, Luigi must determine what town he is in to get Yoshi. He then can then proceed to another town to do it all over again. The game was greatly influenced by the Carmen Sandiego series.
In the introductory sequence, Mario falls through a hole and Luigi must find him. There is no further plot.
The PC version has a bit more plot: Bowser has set up a castle in Antarctica, and plans to use many hair dryers to melt all the snow and flood the world. He sends his koopas to different cities all over the world to steal artifacts in order to fund his operation. Mario, Luigi and Yoshi journey to Bowser's castle in an attempt to stop him. Luigi is hesitant to go in though, so Mario goes by himself and ends up captured by Bowser. Luigi must now rescue Mario by going through Bowser's castle. Each floor is guarded by one of the koopa kids and contains a number of pipes which will transport Luigi to one of the cities with the koopas. Once there he is able to question the locals which will give him clues as to the cite that he is in, the general direction of koopas, and info about the affected landmarks. He is given a map and a cellphone with which he can make and receive phone calls as well as read the newspaper. He will also receive several phone calls from Mario throughout the game, which become increasingly urgent. Powerups such as koopa finders and taxi tokens can be picked up in each city. Once the artifact is returned, the landmark is reopened, and Luigi can enter to view it and take a snapshot which can be viewed later. Once Yoshi is sent to the correct location and the exit pipe is found, Luigi is returned to the castle where he will procede to the next pipe. Once a floor is completed, Luigi destroys the koopa kid guarding that floor and proceeds to the next.
Screenshots
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