As The Super Mario Galaxy Movie storms the box office, we look back at the best forgotten games inspired by Tetris, Lemmings and … vitamins?
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t should be no surprise that the latest Super Mario movie is smashing box office records – despite the, let’s say mixed, reviews. Nintendo’s iconic plumber has been a pop culture staple for 45 years, starring in some of the bestselling video games ever made, from the original Donkey Kong through to the joyous Super Mario Bros Wonder and the chaotic Mario Kart World.
But as with any storied showbiz career, there have been some lesser works. Who can forget – or actually remember – Hotel Mario, a door-shutting puzzle game for the doomed Philips CD-i console? Or what about Mario Teaches Typing, a 1992 educational game for the PC in which players navigate the Mushroom Kingdom by … correctly inputting words. Yet there have also been genuine treasures lost along the way. Here, then, are six of our favourite much-overlooked Mario odysseys.
Originally released in arcades and later on the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), this early title, produced by GameBoy creator Gunpei Yokoi, had Mario and Luigi briefly abandoning their plumbing careers to become demolition experts. Players must smash down the walls of 100 fiendishly designed buildings, avoiding enemies and unlocking bonuses by demolishing things in the right order. It’s an interesting puzzle game and the home console version came with an excellent map editor allowing you to make your own levels. It’s available on the Nintendo Classics service if you want a bash.
