Mario's Time Machine

Mario's Time Machine is an educational video game developed by The Software Toolworks and published by Mindscape. It was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), and MS-DOS in 1993. The game is part of the Mario series and is designed to teach players about historical events and figures.

Gameplay

In Mario's Time Machine, players control Mario, who must travel through time to return various artifacts to their correct points in history. The game begins with Bowser stealing artifacts from different time periods and placing them in his museum. Mario uses a time machine to visit different historical periods, where he must solve puzzles and answer questions related to the artifacts and their historical contexts.

The gameplay involves navigating through different time periods, interacting with historical figures, and collecting information to correctly place the artifacts. The game features a variety of historical settings, including Ancient Rome, Renaissance Italy, and Colonial America.

Development

Mario's Time Machine was developed by The Software Toolworks, a company known for creating educational software. The game was designed to combine entertainment with education, aiming to teach players about history in an engaging way. The development team worked closely with historians to ensure the accuracy of the historical information presented in the game.

Reception

Mario's Time Machine received mixed reviews upon release. Critics praised the game's educational value and the use of the popular Mario character to engage players. However, some reviewers felt that the gameplay was too simplistic and that the educational content was not as engaging as it could have been. Despite the mixed reviews, the game has maintained a cult following among fans of the Mario series and educational games.

Legacy

Mario's Time Machine is part of a series of educational games featuring Mario, including Mario Is Missing!. These games are notable for their attempts to use popular video game characters to teach educational content. While not as commercially successful as other games in the Mario series, Mario's Time Machine remains an interesting example of the intersection between entertainment and education in video games.

See also

• Mario (franchise)
• Mario Is Missing!
• Educational video game
• The Software Toolworks
• Mindscape