Forgotten Videogames: Mario Is Missing
Some games are better than you think. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be taking a look at Nintendo and Software Toolworks all-but forgotten edutainment platformer, “Mario Is Missing” for the NES, SNES and the PC.
That’s right, there was a time when Nintendo was willing to have their mascots appear in educational games, as well as on other gaming platforms. Holding an extra level of rarity, this also marked the first time that Mario’s brother Luigi was featured in the lead role. And as you can guess by the title, this adventure revolved around his quest to find his missing sibling. This took Luigi out of the Mushroom Kingdom and into the real world.
With a visual style borrowed directly from “Super Mario World”, Luigi began his journey at Bowser’s Antarctic castle. As it turns out, Mario was captured while trying to thwart King Koopa’s plan to steal artifacts from around the world in order to sell them, and make enough money to purchase hair driers to melt the ice and flood the planet.
As a result, Luigi must venture through the castle’s warp doors to recover the stolen artifacts from Bowser’s minions. Doing so unlocks more castle doors and leads to finding his brother.
Transported to various cities around the world, players must visit tourist booths and speak with the locals in order to learn about culture and history. This helps Luigi discover what was stolen and where he must go in order to catch the thieves.
Visiting such locales as the Sistine Chapel and Alcatraz Island, the game taught younger gamers about these historical landmarks and the significance of famous relics.
Initially met with confusion for its focus on education over traditional platforming, ‘Mario is Missing!’ has gained a kitsch status over the years as a curiosity piece that is both fascinating and strangely addictive.
