Mario's Time Machine

"Mario shouldnt do history..."

I remember my Saturday afternoon. It was a fine, sunny day, and I was passing by Funcoland on the way to blockbuster to rent a movie. I stopped in, and had 20 dollars to spare. I looked along the Super Nintendo row, and one game caught my eye, Mario's Time Machine. I asked the cashier, and he told me it was an action packed game with SOME educational parts. Not even pondering the fact that he was lying, I got the game, picked up my movie from blockbuster, and went home. Boy, was that cashier mixed up...

Gameplay 2/10: This game is terrible! It doesn't follow the old Mario plot line. You choose your ''period of history'' that you want to go into, and wait. Now, I was expecting some goomba squashing action, but I came into a poorly animated ''collect the coins while your moving'' mini-game. After, you will be thrown into a random town in a random age. For instance, I could be in the year 1700 in England, or in the B.C. era in Rome. You will then have to read paragraphs upon paragraphs of history on that age and certain artifacts in it. You will then walk around the levels, killing enemies that have clues, and finally finding the artifact from some famous guy, like Leonardo D'vinci. It takes about an hour to beat a level, while cramming useless history facts into your game. Other than jumping on the occasional enemy that CANNOT KILL YOU, there's no action, or even FUN in this game at all!

Graphics 8/10: I have to say, these are good for the super Nintendo. The animation is crisp and clear, and you will often notice the perfectly hand drawn backgrounds. People could use a little work, and Mario still looks pixilated, unlike the background. The graphics stay true to the era, and nothing at all looks out of place. This would seem perfect, but as most of you know, the graphics don't make the game good.

Sounds 6/10: The sound is alright. Its sometimes has that traditional Mario tune, which makes you snap your fingers in rhythm. However, the midis loop a lot, and you will often find yourself becoming aggravated with the music, along with figuring out what school Pablo Picasso attended as a child...

Control 9/10: Nothing really wrong here, seeing as the game is 2d. You can't really go wrong here. The movement is quick and precise. The menus could use a little work, but that's no big hindrance in the game.

Fun factor 0/10: Now I bet your wondering why I gave this a 3, and not more like a 5 or 6. The game has no fun factor. That's just the thing about it, its not an action video game. You are not running around fast paced saving the princess, you cant even die! The game is strictly a history game, and was probably meant to be a Nintendo plan at making a game that parents would buy for the educational value. Unless you are obsessed with history, this is not the game for you.

Buy or rent: If you really want to learn a bit about history, buy it. Its only 5 dollars now, so you really have nothing to lose as opposed to renting.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/03