For once, Bowser got the right idea! He kidnapped Mario! What I remember (since I haven't played this game in a while) is that Mario, Luigi, and Yoshi went to his castle in Antartica and Mario dropped down through a trap door. Luigi went after him while Yoshi was forced to stay behind (though he would go find Luigi anyway). It also says in the manual (at least the one I found online) that Bowser had a plan to melt Antartica and flood Earth. Um, yeah.
The object of this game is that you start off by entering through one of the doors in a hallway that a Koopaling guards (though they won't "attack" until you have completed all the doors). You find yourself in a town with Koopas roaming the streets (but not attacking anyone) and people skipping happily back and forth, ignoring the very fact that there are Koopas around stealing stuff. But anyway, first of all you must beat up some Koopas until you get three artifacts (which the Koopas drop as "gloves"). Then you must find infomation booths that are missing these artifacts and return it to them. You have to answer three questions. If you get them right, the artifact is returned and you get a picture of you (Luigi) by the artifact you returned (which is completely useless). With some clues, you must send Yoshi to go find you so you can make the Pokey disappear from the pipe and return back into the hallway to go through another door.
After you have completed the hallway, the Koopaling that guards it will finally "attack" you... however, all he will do is just run around in the hallway. Even if you run into him, he won't harm you! The little Koopas are fast, though, but after a few jumps on his head, he will flee and you will be able to enter another hallway, owned by another Koopaling.
There are about three hallways to go through, and three Koopalings to battle. However, you don't get to fight big Bowser. If you want details, look at the different ratings for more.
Graphics: 5
About one of the only few good things about this game is that the graphics are okay... mostly. They did an okay job with backgrounds and whatnot, but could they not use the character graphics from Super Mario World? At least make Luigi look more than like a different-colored Mario! Bowser and those flag pictures of the three Koopalings don't look too bad, but the Koopalings themselves look bad enough.
Music: 5
There is some good music, but most of it seems to be repeative and sometimes a pain. Nothing much here.
Size: 4
This is a rather small game, but I guess it is supposed to be that way, though I think they could've added another hallway. Even if you're guessing the answers of the questions, passing through each door seems to be rather quick.
Difficulty: 7
It provides an okay challenge for those out there who wouldn't mind guessing answers, though it is rather easy to find the answers by just asking a passing-by stranger (in the game, silly). But even then it might be a bit easy, but you might learn something.
Characters: 7
Koopalings! You don't see them in most basic Mario games these days, but this was made soon after Super Mario World was released, so I guess it makes sense to add them. But why only three?! I had to knock off a few points for that, but then again, with only three hallways, what would the others do? Luigi being the hero instead of Mario is a plus, but could Bowser and kids not be protrayed as cowards? Yoshi needed a bigger part, too.
Also, for those who are wondering, Ludwig watched over the first hallway, Iggy watched over the second hallway, and Roy watched over the third hallway.
Story: 5
Mario being the victim is a plus in any game, but I felt it was protrayed wrong in this game. In fact, the purpose of the game might as well be to bring back the artifacts that are missing. That's all you really do, anyway. I think they threw in the "Mario being catured" part just to attract Luigi fans.
The plot is rather pradictable and is poorly done, but I will rant about all that below.
Logic: 2
This game has so many problems in this category that it is hilarious. Surely, they probably just threw things together without even thinking about it at least a second time. They were probably trying to make this game so it will appeal to children, and even then they fail to do that. Personally, I think not very many children would actually sit and play past the first minute without switching to a better game.
Here are some problems I remember on the top of my head:
Clever Thieves: It makes me wonder HOW Bowser and kids got around to even touch these artifacts when even tourists cannot be close to some of them. And how in the heck can a Koopa steal the Sistine Chapel ceiling?!
Super Koopas?: I find it odd that those small Koopas can carry HUGE items - even BUILDINGS - and not make it noticable. I guess you could say they shrink them down to size, but how? I don't remember any "super shrinker". This problem goes for Luigi also. He doesn't have this "super shrinker" either, so how can he carry these artifacts?
Poor Authenticity Tests: What I find odd is that they ask you three questions to test if the artifact you are trying to return is authentic. I mean, a person who has a FAKE artifact (god forbid they have the money to make a fake version of a HUGE and almost-impossible-to-build artifact) and knows all the answers to those questions can easily return it and probably get the "reward" without any problem. Oh c'mon, this game was probably made around 1993. I am sure they had much better ways to check the authenticity of items. But then again, I guess this is the "learning" part of the game, and without it this game would be worthless... however, it is pretty much that already.
Weak Koopas: I am pretty sure Bowser and kids can fight a lot better than they did in this game. All they do is run and escape. Wouldn't Ludwig and Roy beat up Luigi with their strength? Wouldn't Iggy... uh... do whatever he does? Wouldn't Bowser just fry Luigi the moment he saw him? It is just WRONG to make them do nothing. It makes you wonder why Mario doesn't break out himself...
Delayed Attacks: It takes the Koopalings a while to go and "attack" Luigi. They appear after you beat the first door, but they don't go and "attack" until Luigi is done with all of them. Or maybe the bar door that is blocking them won't move until then? That'd be funny. The kids can't even control their doors!
There are lot more problems, but I won't go into them now. However, I think you got the point by now that this game lacks a lot of common sense.
Excitement: 4
This game gets really boring really fast. The only thing I found exciting are the Koopalings, but I usually find them exciting anyway.
Ending: 1
The ending is probably the worst I've ever seen in ANY game. For those of you who aren't going to ever play this game (I don't blame you), the ending is that Luigi pulls a switch and a door/wall opens, revealing Mario. However, Bowser finds them and jumps from above. Luigi pushes the same switch that freed Mario, opening a door on the floor and placing Bowser in a cannon. The cannon shoots and Bowser lands in the snow outside. Bowser freezes and crumbles. The credits roll.
It might sound even slightly exciting, but it was poorly done. Sorry for those who felt cheated that I told the ending, but are you really expecting anything better from this game?
Replay Value: 3
The only reason that I would replay this game is to see the Koopalings again, and that's about it.
Fun Factor!: 3
There are more fun fish in the sea of games. This might bring entertainment if you are very bored one day or want to learn a bit about history, but that's about it.
Recommendation:
I don't recommend people buying this game. I only recommend renting it just to see the Koopalings, but only if you are a die-hard Koopaling fan (like me). In other words, don't waste any money on this game. If you must have it, find a SNES emulator and a ROM of this game, or find someone who wouldn't mind getting rid of it.
Final Thought:
This isn't as horrible as Mario's Time Machine
and it has a bit of excitement in it. However, I didn't find it really
that fun, and that's something because I enjoy learning about history.
I suppose Mario and education do not mix.