Mario is Missing!

Mario is Missing! is an edutainment game created for the NES, Super NES, and for DOS. The gameplay was widely panned by critics, although its Super Mario World music remixes are recognized. Mario is Missing! was released on MS-DOS in 1992, and the console versions came out the following year. A sequel called Mario's Time Machine was eventually produced.

Story
Bowser decides to flood the Earth using hairdryers from Hafta Havit Mail-Order to melt Antarctica. In order to buy the hairdryers, Bowser has his Koopa Troopas travel all over the world and steal various important landmarks that he plans to sell.

Mario, Luigi and Yoshi follow Bowser to Antarctica to stop him, but when Mario goes on ahead he is captured by Bowser. In the SNES version, a pit opens up beneath him when the group reach the castle, while in the NES version, a Koopa throws a bag over him as he walks through the snow and ice. The PC version is more elaborate: Luigi is too scared to go inside the castle, so Mario enters alone. Despite Luigi's warnings against taking candy from strangers, Mario eats some candy offered to him by Bowser (disguised as a butler), and is then scooped up in a net.

With Mario captured, the task of returning all the stolen artifacts and saving both his brother and Earth falls to Luigi, who bravely enters the castle, leaving Yoshi outside.

Bowser's Plot
"Oh no! Bowser and his bad boys are back to a life of crime. This time, it's not Mario World — it's your world! From his Antartic castle, Bowser hustles his cold-blooded crew of cantankerous Koopas into his powerful Passcode Operated Remote Transport And Larceny System (PORTALS). The twisted turtles transport themselves throughout the globe, where celebrated cities suffer shell-shocking crime waves, as turtles trash landmarks and loot ancient artifacts. With dough through his slimy scales, Bowser hoards hair dryers from the Hafta-Havit Hotline. His plot? Melt Antartica and flood the world! Whoa!"

Mario's Fate
"Will the brave brothers from Brooklyn permit this abominable snow plan? The boys say 'Not!' Mario, Luigi and Yoshi trek across ice and snow to stop the shelled ones' schemes. But Bowser's slick; in one last trick, he takes the dearest thing of all, Mario. Now Mario is Missing!"

Luigi's Mission
Luigi must stop the Koopas, foil Bowser's plan, and find Mario. Sneaking into each Portal, Luigi is transported to a city in trouble. There, Luigi needs to nab each Koopa, grab its loot. and return the artifact to its proper landmark. Along the way, Luigi explores the city, chats with the locals, reads maps, and solves puzzles. Help him do this before time runs out! Once he figures out where he is on the globe, Luigi must use the Globulator to call Yoshi. Only after Yoshi scares Pokey away can Luigi return to Bowser's castle and lock the Portal for that city.

Ending
In the SNES version of the ending, Luigi pulls a lever to reveal Mario behind a wall. Bowser then jumps down from a distant ledge, but Luigi pulls the same lever, causing Bowser to fall down into a cannon. He is then launched out of the castle and into the snow, where he freezes instantly and then shatters.

In the NES version, Luigi and Bowser have a boss battle and "Bowser" turns out to be a normal Koopa Troopa in disguise, who is then flung away in Beach Koopa form before exploding, revealing the key to Mario's cage. Luigi frees his brother and they are later seen back outside with Yoshi and Bowser, who is crying over his defeat.

There is yet another different ending in the DOS version. In it, Luigi takes Bowser's shell (which is also his tail in this depiction) off, causing Bowser to run off screen, embarrassed about his polka-dot boxers. This is the only time Bowser's been seen in his Beach Koopa form. Luigi shakes the shell to retrieve the key to Mario's cell, and then throws the carapace away. Bowser returns and Luigi lies, saying he threw the shell off the balcony; then, when Bowser leans over the railing to look for it, Luigi kicks him off and he lands in the snow. Luigi then opens Mario's cell and the two dance around in joy. They then go outside and shake Yoshi's hand, before walking off into the distance together. Bowser then pokes his head out of the now and throws a nasty look toward the player.

Gameplay
In each level, Luigi must retrieve several artifacts which were stolen by several Koopa Troopas within the city and return them to their rightful places. Luigi must jump on the Koopa Troopas to defeat them and reclaim the artifacts, which he then takes back to the landmarks they were stolen from. He must answer trivia questions about the landmarks before the curators will take the wares back. In the SNES version, all the information kiosks are manned by women resembling Princess Peach, and while it is not confirmed that they are her in this version, she, a Toad and Donkey Kong all appear in the DOS version.

The DOS version adds a videophone aspect to gameplay, and Luigi must call the help number provided at the landmarks to get in touch with his friends, answer the questions, return the artifact, and receive a monetary reward. The mayor of the city also phones Luigi when he arrives, asking for his help in stopping the Koopas; he later phones when Luigi secures the city, thanking him and wishing him luck in finding Mario. The red plumber himself even manages to phone Luigi, giving him advice on his journey. The DOS version also adds a Taxi feature, in which Luigi collects little Taxi tokens around the city and then exchanges them for rides across town. The SNES version uses Warp Pipes to fascilitate speedy travel.

As well as returning the artifacts, Luigi must also deduce what city he's in so that Yoshi can come to his aid for double the walking and running speed. Without Yoshi, Luigi cannot finish the level, as the exit pipe is occupied by a large Pokey. In the SNES version, the Pokey is merely scared away by Yoshi's presence, while in the DOS version, Yoshi actually eats the Pokey.

Once Luigi has secured all the cities whose doors are located on a floor of the castle, the Koopaling attacks. Like the Koopa Troopas, the bosses cannot hurt Luigi, and must be stomped on a certain number ot times to be defeated in the NES and SNES versions. The DOS version replaces stomping them with using Fire Flowers collected in the cities to defeat them with their only weakness - Fire. The DOS version also differs in that the Koopa Troopas are not killed when they are stepped on, but are merely knocked about and forced to leave in undignified defeat.

Quotes
For a full list of quotes, see here.

Trivia

 * Mario's voice is inconsistent in this game (the DOS version is the only one with voice acting). Sometimes he has an Italian accent, sometimes he has a New York accent with a slight hint of Italian. Luigi, however has a consistent New York accent.
 * In the DOS version, Luigi repeatedly addresses Mario as "M".
 * The Koopa Troopas look more like real life turtles in the DOS version, and instead of merely walking around, they employ extravagant modes of transportation, such as parachuting or skateboarding.