Mario is Missing!
Reviewed by Danielle L.
This seems to be the most infamous of the Mario games, a lot of people
think that its really stupid. Well... its not! It is a bit different from other
Mario games: You are Luigi, and Mario has been kidnapped by the evil Bowser.
It is your job to rescue him. This is more of an educational puzzler than a
platformer. You must warp to different cities and kill all the Koopa
Troopas, figure out what city it is, and find all of the items. It is
surprisingly fun.
Graphics: 9 out of 10
Not as good as say, Super Mario RPG, but still pretty good. The graphics
designers did an excellent job designing each city. From the onion-domed
churches of Moscow to the little huts of Nairobi, the buildings and
landscapes in the game are perfectly matched to the locations. The
character detail is also well-done with smooth animation. I especially
like the graphical effects when you stomp on a Koopa.
Music and Sound: 7 out of 10
Not bad, but not great. This music is pretty average. There isn't really
any music that will get on your nerves a whole lot, but I didn't get any
catchy tunes stuck in my head. The sound effects are typical, they could
have been a little better.
Game Challenge: 5 out of 10
This game is really easy. Its basically just a question of scouting out
places for the items you need. The hard part is figuring out where the
items are, not how to get them. There's also another thing that makes
this really easy: Luigi can't die! Even after he completes a few cities
and has to face against a Koopaling... they can't kill him! There really
isn't any way to lose. It would have been better if Luigi could get hurt.
Game Play-Fun: 7 out of 10
Its pretty fun for the first hour that you play it, but after awhile it
tends to get monotonous. The constant searching, stomping, and
answering trivia questions gets a little dull. A lot of people get scared
away by the educational aspect of the game, and it really does kill the
fun. Give me a Mario platformer any day.
Frustration
Really, the only frustrating thing is needing to kill one more Koopa and
not knowing where he is, or needing to find a certain item, but you can't.
Its way too easy to be frustrating in any other respect.
Replayability: 5 out of 10
Once you beat it, you might want to play it again, you might not. There
aren't any collectibles to go back and get, so there really isn't much point.
Overall: 5.5 out of 10
For a Mario game, this game is surprisingly average. It has good graphics,
but its just not much fun. If you have an hour to kill, or if you're a Mario
fanatic and simply must own every game, then go ahead and buy it. It's
not a good game, but its not a bad game either. It depends on personal taste.
Who knows? It might just turn out to be your new favorite game.