Mario is Missing Download (1992 Educational Game)

Bowser, the token bad guy from the Mario Bros. series, is up to no good again in this educational game designed to teach children geography. This time he's set up his headquarters in Antarctica and created portals to 25 famous cities around the world, so that his Koopas can wreak havoc in our own world. He's also kidnapped Mario, hence the title of this game. You play as Luigi who must foil Bowser's plans by entering through each of the portals, tracking down the Koopas who have stolen famous artifacts, and looking for clues about your location. Once you've set everything right and determined where you are, you call Yoshi on your Globulator so he can track you down. You need Yoshi's help to eat the Pokey (a cactus-like creature) that's guarding the return portal, and when Luigi returns he can close the portal forever.

By exploring these 25 cities, children can familiarize themselves with the landmarks and artifacts that each city has. When Luigi returns the stolen artifacts to the proper places he can even take photographs of them. There is also an add-on disk you can purchase that adds ten additional cities to the game (it originally retailed for $24.95).

One of the best Carmen Sandiego clones, Mario is Missing is a fun edutainment title that is aimed at educating kids ages 8-12 about the world's geography and history. As the title suggests, it stars Mario, Nintendo's most famous character whose reputation went far beyond the console. The plot will be familiar to any Mario fan: Bowser, the arch-nemisis of brothers Luigi and Mario, plans on kidnapping all the wold's most famous artifacts. So Mario, as usual, goes off to Bowser's castle in Antarctica to confront this villain, only to get captured himself. Now it's up to Luigi to find his bro and, while he's at it, recover all the world's treasures.

While there are some jumping and platform-style maneuvers similar to the Nintendo games, this is no arcade adventure. Mario is Missing is actually a cleverly disguised voyage of discovery around the world, learning about various cultures, geography, and history. There are dozens of cities to visit around the world, and in each one you have to ask the locals to find out where you are so that you can direct your pal Yoshi to come to your assiatance (he's still waiting in Antarctica). You've also got to find three evil koopas who are prowling the streets, having stolen three famous artifacts from the city's tourist attractions. Whenever you learn some interesting facts about the objects you're carrying, take note, because the girl in the tourist office will be asking you questions to make sure that you deserve the reward. The controls are a bit more complex than your average arcade games: you can talk to people, swap artifacts around, check out the city map, recall past conversations and call up a world map for summoning Yoshi. Overall, Mario is Missing won't give Carmen a run for her money, but it's still a very entertaining game for anyone who is not joystick-shy. The streets are a bit too repetitive, though, so a lot of patience is required.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

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Mario's Time Machine, Mario Teaches Typing, Mario Teaches Typing 2, Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun, Oregon Trail Deluxe, Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System, Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body, Mario's Game Gallery