Mario Teaches Typing 2
| Mario Teaches Typing 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Developers | Interplay Productions Brainstorm Entertainment (PC) | ||
| Publisher | Interplay Productions | ||
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS | ||
| Release date |  October 31, 1996[1] | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre | Edutainment | ||
| Rating |
| ||
| Mode | Single player | ||
| Format |
 Optical disc | ||
| Input | |||
- Kids to Adults
Mario Teaches Typing 2 is the sequel to Mario Teaches Typing, an edutainment game produced for personal computers by Interplay Productions under license from Nintendo. This sequel was released for PCs that supported Microsoft Windows and Mac System software computers on October 31, 1996.[1] Though a sequel by name, the game acts as more of a polished re-release of the CD-ROM Windows/Mac version of Mario Teaches Typing, with some key differences; namely, brand-new cutscenes have been added between the levels to tell a more thorough and consequential story, the main menu is altered, with a primarily blue color scheme as opposed to the purple scheme in the first title, and the practice mode has been completely overhauled. In addition to these changes, additional gameplay features have been added, including a customizable certificate of achievement, a keyboard which is color-coded onscreen for the player's reference, and customizable lesson plans.
This is also the last educational game of the Super Mario franchise to be released. As the Super Mario-themed educational titles were regarded as being of lower quality compared to main series titles, Shigeru Miyamoto made it clear to Brian Fargo, the CEO of Interplay Productions, that the company would no longer be permitted to use the Mario character for the edutainment genre; from then on, no further Super Mario games in the genre were produced by Interplay or any other studio.[3]
In addition to the game itself, the CD-ROM of this game also includes the demo versions of Mario's FUNdamentals, Chess Mates, and Drawing Discoveries.
Story[edit]
Mario and Luigi are walking by Bowser's Castle when a mysterious typewriter suddenly appears in front of them. To their amazement, the typewriter starts typing by itself. When it is finished, Mario takes the paper out of the typewriter, causing it to transform into a scroll. The scroll reads:
"The Magical Typewriter is the key to beating Bowser. You must type the magic words onto the scroll to cast the spell which will destroy Bowser's Castle.
"Be forewarned, however, that if the magic words are not typed exactly, the Magical Typewriter will self-destruct into pieces."
The Magical Typewriter then floats in front of Mario. Mario pockets the scroll and types:
- Koooppa tTrupa pparraTroopaa Bbow
Before Mario can go on any further, the Magical Typewriter explodes into three pieces, which land in different places: one into a river, another somewhere on Mario and Luigi's side of the river, and the last one on the other side of the river. Mario and Luigi decide to recover all of the pieces and improve Mario's typing skills in order to type the spell correctly and ensure their victory.
As Mario and Luigi get the first piece from a dim Koopa Troopa, a Red Koopa Troopa detonates the river bridge with TNT and takes one of the pieces back to Bowser's Castle. Mario then dons a snorkel and dives into the river, attempting to get the piece that fell into it. Luigi goes in also after defeating some Cheep Cheeps that are attacking Mario.
Mario and Luigi, in their snorkels, dive to a sunken ship in the river, taking the typewriter piece from a sleeping octopus. However, the octopus awakens and chases the brothers, though they escape through the ship's windows.
Mario and Luigi then walk up to Bowser's Castle and knock on the door. They are surprised when the castle turns out to be alive, and swallows them. Mario and Luigi run into several traps such as falling Thwomps until finally defeating some Koopas playing poker for the final typewriter piece. The brothers then escape from the castle, and Mario types on the restored typewriter:
- Koopa Troopa paratroopa Bowser's Castle go kablooka!
A giant typewriter suddenly falls from the sky and destroys Bowser's Castle. Mario and Luigi celebrate.
Levels[edit]
- Mario's Smash and Dash - for beginners.
- Mario's Wet World Challenge - for the intermediate typers.
- Mario's Tunnel of Doom - for the advanced players.
- Mario's Expert Express - the hardest level.
Mario's Magical Keyboard[edit]
Mario's Magical Keyboard is a game mode that is accessible from clicking the typewriter on the main menu screen. It is color-coded to show which fingers are used to type each keys. Typing a letter shows a unique animation with a character or object.
- A: Apple
- B: Bowser
- C: Coin
- D: Dolphin
- E: Eeries
- F: Fire
- G: Goomba
- H: Hat
- I: Igloo
- J: Jam
- K: Koopa
- L: Luigi
- M: Mario
- N: Nail
- O: Ostrich
- P: Princess
- Q: Quilt
- R: Rip Van Fish
- S: Star
- T: Toad
- U: Urchin
- V: Vegetables
- W: Wiggler
- X: Xylophone
- Y: Yoshi
- Z: Zebra
Punctuation and numbers can also be pressed. The following show unique animations:
- Comma
- Period
- Slash
- Semicolon
- Apostrophe
- Left Bracket
- Right Bracket
- Equal Sign
- Minus Sign
- 0
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Compatibility[edit]
This article needs Super Mario franchise improvement. Specifically:
- Verify compatibility with Classic on Mac OS 10.0-10.4
The game is officially supported on IBM PC compatible computers running Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 or Macintosh systems running at least System 7.1 that meets the following minimum system requirements as listed in the instruction manual and the README.TXT file:[4]
- Windows
- Intel 486DX CPU running at 66 MHz
- 8 megabytes of RAM, with 16 megabytes being recommended
- Microsoft Mouse or compatible mouse
- 2x speed CD-ROM drive
- VGA-compatible video card and monitor
- Sound Blaster sound card or compatible
- At least 2 megabytes of available hard disk drive space
- On Windows 3.1, Video for Windows must be installed; an installer is provided on the disc
- Macintosh
- PowerPC or Motorola 68040 CPU
- 8 megabytes of RAM
- At least 2 megabytes of available hard disk drive space
- 2x speed CD-ROM drive
The Windows version will also work natively on the Windows NT counterparts (versions 3.1 through 4.0 at the time of the game's release), as well as the later 32-bit x86 versions of Windows up to XP without workarounds; the 64-bit x86, Intel Itanium (IA-64), and ARM (introduced in Windows 8 via Windows RT, 64-bit ARM added later in 10) versions of Windows lack both the NTVDM and the WOW subsystem required for the game to work. Later versions of Windows starting with Windows Vista requires the setup program to run as administrator or the installation will fail to complete as User Account Control prevents the setup program from modifying system files. On Windows 8 and 8.1, the game will crash with a general protection fault upon starting. Due to Microsoft making Windows 11 a 64-bit only release of Windows for both 64-bit x86 processors and 64-bit ARM processors, the game is unplayable without the use of workarounds.
Likewise, the Macintosh version will work natively on later versions of System 7, as well as Mac OS 8 and 9. Compatibility is not guaranteed under the Classic environment of PowerPC versions of Mac OS X 10.0 up until Mac OS X Tiger; Classic was later removed in Mac OS X Leopard and is not included in non-PowerPC versions of Mac OS X/macOS which run on Intel x86-based Macs and the current ARM64-based Apple silicon Macs, therefore the game cannot be run natively on those operating systems and modern Macs without the use of emulation solutions like Basilisk II, SheepShaver, or UTM (on Apple silicon Macs) that emulate older Mac models that use Motorola 68040 or PowerPC processors.
Multimedia[edit]
 Mario thanks the player for choosing the game. | File info |
| Mario sings "That's Amore" for the player. His second line, "When an eel lunges out, and he takes a bite of your snout, that's a moray!" more resembles a parody of the song featured in Spider Robinson's book The Callahan Touch. | File info |
| Mario references a particular LifeCall commercial. | File info |
| Mario flies for the player, then crashes and hits his nose. | File info |
| Mario admires the player's computer, and asks them if he can have it. | File info |
| Mario says bye to the player. | File info |
Gallery[edit]
Artwork[edit]
Mario on a computer
Mario in a train
Luigi with a report card
Mario Luigi and the Princess with a key
Screenshots[edit]
Menus[edit]
Title screen
Windows main screen
Main menu
Lesson select screen
Character select screen
Results screen
Cutscenes[edit]
Koopas playing poker
A Koopa placing a bomb on a bridge
A Koopa about to destroy a bridge
Mario swimming in the river
A Koopa about to be stomped
The Koopa after being stomped
A Thwomp
A sunken ship
An octopus sleeping
Gameplay[edit]
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay
Staff[edit]
- Main article: List of Mario Teaches Typing 2 staff
Notes[edit]
- Mario's "I'm a videogame!" routine involves bouncing across the screen and making simplistic noises when hitting the sides, imitating Pong, an early arcade game by Atari.
- The Koopa Troopas playing poker in Bowser's Castle is based on the painting Dogs Playing Poker.
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Date of Recordation: October 31, 1996" – Mario teaches typing 2 (teacher)-DOS. Copyright Encyclopedia (English). Archived January 20, 2021, 13:40:32 UTC from the original via Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 30, 2024.
- ^ Front cover
- ^ Osborn, Alex (June 20, 2017). Interplay Founder on Working With Nintendo on Mario Teaches Typing. IGN. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
- ^ 1996. Mario Teaches Typing 2 Instruction Manual. Brainstorm Entertainment. Page 2.