History VideoGame / MariosTimeMachine

''Mario's Time Machine'' is an [[EdutainmentGame educational game]] released for the PC in 1993 and UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo|EntertainmentSystem}} [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo consoles]] later that year.

* DanBrowned: The game's educational value is dubious [[https://www.mariowiki.com/Mario%27s_Time_Machine#Historical_inaccuracies_and_other_errors on account of numerous historical errors]]. In general, a lot of characters are not the proper ages for the year Mario travels to, they make [[AnachronismStew anachronistic references]] to things that don't exist yet, and so forth.

* DanBrowned: The game's educational value is dubious [[https://www.mariowiki.com/Mario%27s_Time_Machine#Historical_inaccuracies_and_other_errors on account of numerous historical errors]]. In general, a lot of characters are not the proper ages for the year Mario travels to, they make anachronistic references to things that don't exist yet, and so forth.

* GuideDangIt: You have to return the artifacts on each floor in the same order as they are displayed; if you don't, you get a BadEnding.
* InNameOnly: ''Mario is Missing'' at least included ''Mario'' enemies, had a couple boss fights, and its graphics were taken from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' for the characters and the maps. The SNES version reuses Mario's ''Super Mario World'' sprite but otherwise the SNES and PC versions has nothing to do with Mario in any way. You could replace Mario and Bowser's sprites with [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link and Ganon]] and you'd have to change nothing but the names in the opening text crawl. Curiously, the NES version ''does'' use many more Mario assets and enemies; it's the Super NES and PC versions that skimps.

** If Mario takes too long to return the artifacts, Bowser escapes to a tropical island.
** If Mario returns the artifacts in the wrong order, the time machine overloads and sends Bowser to prehistory.
** If Mario returns the artifacts in time and in the right order, Bowser is sent to prehistory and gets stomped on by a ''T. rex''.

The premise is that [[BigBad Bowser]] has stolen valuable artifacts from throughout human history to display in a museum, and Mario infiltrates Bowser's castle to reclaim the artifacts and return them to their owners.

The game opens with players in Bowser's castle, and they can pick up one of five artifacts to return. After figuring out the time and place it was stolen from, players play a surfing minigame to time travel -- assuming they set their coordinates properly, they will arrive at their destination, otherwise they return to Bowser's castle. The player must then fill out a fact sheet detailing the importance of the item and its owner, by filling in blanks in the document with dates, names, locations, etc. They can learn these facts by going around town and talking to people. Once the fact sheet is filled out, they can return it to its proper owner.

This game was reviewed by ''WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd'' in Episode 73 of his series.

* InNameOnly: ''Mario is Missing'' at least included from Mario enemies, had a couple boss fights, and its graphics were taken from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' for the characters and the maps. This game reuses Mario's ''Super Mario World'' sprite but otherwise has nothing to do with Mario in any way. You could replace Mario and Bowser's sprites with [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Link and Ganon]] and you'd have to change nothing but the names in the opening text crawl. Curiously, the NES version ''does'' use many more Mario assets and enemies; it's the Super NES version that skimps.

* PlotHole: In the NES version, you arrive at Bowser's museum riding Yoshi, yet the end of the game has you rescuing Yoshi from a cell, even though he should still be outside waiting for you.

* ZeroEffortBoss: Bowser in the NES version. He is unable to damage you.

* SquashedFlat: In the good endings to the SNES and PC versions, Bowser gets [[GiantFootOfStomping stepped on]] by a TyrannosaurusRex, leaving him like this. The latter case has a velociraptor tossing him into the horizon like a frisbee.

* BadEnding: Two, depending on if you returned the artifacts in the wrong order and another if you took too long to return them.

* EdutainmentGame: One that teaches kids about history.

* InNameOnly: ''Mario is Missing'' at least included from Mario enemies, had a couple boss fights, and its graphics were taken from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' for the characters and the maps. This game reuses Mario's ''Super Mario World'' sprite but otherwise has nothing to do with Mario in any way. You could replace Mario and Bowser's sprites with [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda Link and Ganon]] and you'd have to change nothing but the names in the opening text crawl. Curiously, the NES version ''does'' use many more Mario assets and enemies; it's the Super NES version that skimps.
* NonindicativeName: Not that it affects anything, but the time machine is actually Bowser's, Mario uses it when he sneaks into Bowser's castle.

* AWinnerIsYou: The NES version ends with Mario freeing Yoshi, and the two posing on a "YOU WIN" screen while Bowser cries to the side.

** Un the SNES version, you can't just return the artifacts to their owners once you arrive in the past, you have to complete the fact sheet first. There is no given reason for why the player must do this, but somehow once they do, ''now'' Mario can return the artifact. While one could HandWave this as Mario using the fact sheet to be absolutely sure he is returning the artifact to the right person, often showing the artifact to others in the past will have them directly tell you who it belongs to and where they are, but you still need to fill out the fact sheet.

* GuideDangIt:
** There's no way to know when and where each artifact needs to be returned to without looking it up or knowing beforehand.
** You have to return the artifacts on each floor in the same order as they are displayed; if you don't, you get a BadEnding.

* LogicalFallacies: Getting to the proper time periods requires the player to set the exact date and location their current artifact was taken from. There is no way to learn this information ''before'' traveling back in time, so it seems the developers either intended players to know this already, or to research it... when the game is otherwise all about educating players on the artifacts.

->''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT9Nu9qe3J0 "You won't find adobe here in Nairobi..."]]''
-->-- '''Policewoman''', ''Mario Is Missing!''