Video Game / Mario.exe: The Mushroom Kingdom's Doom

Just your normal .exe game. Until it isn't.

Who is a killer...but not a liar? Who is a liar...but not a killer?

Mario.exe: The Mushroom Kingdom's Doom is a Game Maker platformer created by Game Jolt user Zario loosely based on the Super Mario Bros. series, and more specifically the .exe phenomenon popularized by games like Sonic.exe.

The game starts like a normal Mario.exe game, but it becomes known by fans for twisting the formula quite a bit. It is an experimental take on the .exe style that plays with/subverts most of the traditional associated tropes. Notably, it largely demphazizes gore in favor of expanding the mystery psychological horror aspects of the genre (though there are still a few gory moments) and a surprisingly deep gameplay rewarding multiple playthroughs via hidden Easter Eggs and heavy Story Branching including multiple different endings based on a variety of factors.

The game is on version 3.10 as of December 2019, with more updates supposedly planned for the future, though the game's entered a rough Development Hell cycle. It can be downloaded here.

Tropes seen in the game:

• A Chat with Satan: Mario.exe is more than willing to divulge information on his motives to whoever wants it (typically Mario or Luigi).
• A God Am I: The loading screen homages Sonic.exe by using the words "I AM GOD." Subverted in the actual game though, where Mario.exe notably lacks a god complex and is perfectly willing to tak with the heroes as relative equals.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Mario.exe and ??? aren't equal to each other evil-wise. The only question is, which is which, or are neither? Also subverted in that both the players and the heroes never actually learn which is which.
• Acrofatic: Wario.
  Wario: Man, all this platforming is making me exercise.
• Action Girl: It is strongly implied that Peach managed to escape on her own.
• Acid-Trip Dimension: ??? corrupts the Mushroom Kingdom into one of these in the Luigi Solo Ending, complete with a corrupted version of the normal Super Mario bros theme.
• Adaptational Heroism: Mario.exe himself, surprisingly. This version of Mario.exe is still debatably evil, or at least treads a thin line, but he actually has a legitimate motive behind hunting down the Kingdom's residents (namely, using them as an army to fend off the army of ???, who is also trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom).
• Advancing Wall of Doom: Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario are all chased by some form of advancing spike wall at least once. In Wario's case, though, it's an Advancing Boss of Doom.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: Mario.exe makes offers with the playable characters many times. Generally, they're less "offers" and more "do this thing or you die / ??? will kill you."
• And I Must Scream: Multiple endings can be considered in this category. Namely the "Bad Ending" and "Stuck Forever" endings, both of which render the player character (Mario and Luigi, respectively) stuck wandering in Mario.exe's black dimension without their friends for presumably all eternity.
• And Now for Someone Completely Different: While his actions are important to the plot, Mario is only playable during the intro level, a brief mini-level if any of the 3 main playables die, during the bad ending, and in the final boss battle in the Best Ending. The overwhelming majority of the gameplay instead cycles between Luigi, Yoshi and Wario.
• Anti-Frustration Feature: During the final battle against Mario.exe and Bowser.exe and later Yoshi.exe and Wario.exe in the Luigi Solo Ending, you are allowed to Continue with no catch. This is the only time in the entire game you're allowed to freely continue. Granted, if you wait too long, then it will cut straight to the Game Over screen.
• Anyone Can Die: And it's true; you could end up killing any of the survivors, but the point of the game is to try to get them to survive.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Naturally happens in some of the endings, given this is an .exe game. Unlike most .exe games, this trope is potentially averted depending on the ending.
• Bait-and-Switch: The first level is a traditional grassland Mario level, with plenty of Goombas to stomp on. Then on the next screen, Mario meets Mario.exe and things stop being normal.
  • Luigi's final march in the "Luigi Solo Ending" looks like it's gonna be a retread of Mario's suicide in the normal Bad Ending, right down to the music played. This is even reinforced by a line of dialogue from the green plumber... and then you reach the end, where instead of spikes, you find the Warp to the final battle with Mario.EXE and Bowser.EXE.
• Big Bad: Mario.exe, of course.
• The Big Guy: Wario, of course. He's the only character who can actually attack enemies outside of Boss Battles.
• Big "NO!": Wario lets one out after finding Waluigi's corpse.
• Bittersweet Ending/Pyrrhic Victory: These are what the best endings are like. Almost every ending has some cost for the survivors; even the best ending ends on a rather somber note; while Mario has defeated Mario.exe and all the playable characters are alive, Mario is still separated from his friends, none of them have any idea what is going on, and the kingdom isn't any closer to being saved.
• Body Horror: Luigi.exe's body looks grotesque and hideously deformed and his body parts look like they're about to fall off.
• Boss Rush: In the Best Ending, you face, in order, Bowser.exe in a harder rematch, Corrupted Waluigi, and finally, Mario.exe himself, and it's a two-part battle.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Compared to the official Mario games. Explicit gore is actually pretty rare; the game relies much more on supernatural/psychological horror, but it does have its gory moments.
• Bullet Hell: Most of the game's boss battles take a weird combination between Bullet Hell and a Space Invaders type shooter. The final boss battle in the Best Ending is a more traditional version of this trope.
• Cliffhanger: Most of the endings end with a "to be continued" note. For example, the Yoshi Solo Ending and the Yoshi and Wario Duo Ending end with the survivors setting refuge in a desolated area to come up with a new plan. One ending is literally called "To Be Continued."
• Came Back Wrong: Everybody that Mario.exe and ??? kills comes back evil, horribly mutilated, or both.
• Camera Lock-On: When Wario presses Z, he gains the ability to kill Mario ghosts on impact, but the camera will not follow him until he unpresses the button.
• Characterization Marches On: The heroes and especially Mario.exe are notably fleshed out as characters throughout the game, more than the characters in many other .exe games.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Mario.exe makes Luigi kill all the Toads, scarring the plumber, and still won't let him go afterwards, even mocking Luigi for thinking otherwise.
• Corpse Land: Yoshi's Island becomes a corpse-ridden wasteland in the Yoshi Solo Ending.
• Cosmic Horror Story: As is standard for an .exe game, though this one focuses more on the "cosmic horror" aspect than most.
• Crouch and Prone: The characters can all crouch, but it serves no practical purpose in-game.
• Cruelty Is the Only Option: The best ending requires the heroes to do some morally sketchy things, though not usually of their own free will.
• Cryptic Conversation: Almost everything out of Mario.exe/Exmeller's mouth qualifies.
• Curse Cut Short: In the To Be Continued ending, Luigi says "What the-" right before reality is presumably wiped out.
• Dead Animal Warning: There are several dead Goomba corpses strewn across Mario.exe's home dimension. Touching one will prompt an unholy demon abomination to chase after the current player character, that being Luigi.
• Deadly Gas: Depending on the choices made, Yoshi can end up in a maze filled with poisonous clouds, which he is given 33 seconds to escape from.
• Despair Event Horizon/Driven to Suicide: If no remaining player characters are left, Mario breaks down past the point of no repair and tries to kill himself by jumping into a spiked pit.
  • I Cannot Self-Terminate: Mario.exe doesn't let him. Though it actually isn't .exe's doing, it's just "a thing where you can't die until I kill all of your friends."
  • Luigi also tries to do this in the Luigi Solo Ending. He instead gets warped to battle with Mario.exe.
• Diabolus ex Nihilo: It's never quite made clear what ???'s deal is. Doesn't help that he has only one appearance in-game.
• Disappointed by the Motive: When Mario.exe explains his motives for tormenting the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario is less than impressed.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Luigi, Wario, and Yoshi can all potentially avoid death at Mario.exe's hands, a rarity in any .exe type game. It's not going to be easy, though.
• Easter Egg: At least twice, you can backtrack to find hidden yellow dots that allow you to see conversations not seen anywhere else. If you go back to the very start of the first level, a new yellow dot will spawn. Collecting it transports you to a brief conversation between Mario.exe and an unknown creature. They discuss a "Demon Party", the full moon, and agree to work together.
  • Some of the game endings also qualify. The "Stuck Forever" ending can only be obtained by entering the demonic red Mario coin in Luigi's first level before killing all the Toads.
• Easy Levels, Hard Bosses: Most of the platforming challenges are relatively easy, with one or two major exceptions. The bosses, though…
• Enemy Mine: Mario.exe uses the reanimated corpses of the Kingdom residents to fight the survivors, including Bowser, Toad, and even Yoshi and Wario in the Luigi Solo Ending.
  • ??? also does this with Waluigi.
• Eternal Recurrence: Never explicity confirmed, but a few offhanded lines of dialouge call the idea of this into question, namely [[spoiler:Luigi saying in the Best Ending he has a vague feeling all this has happened before, Wario.exe accidentally referring to the game as "this timeline".
• Evil Is Bigger: Mario.exe increases his size to fight Luigi in the "Luigi Solo Ending".
• Fake Difficulty: In the form of bugs. Since the game is incomplete, though, this is excusable.
• Genocide Backfire: Implied in the Yoshi Solo Ending, where Yoshi swears revenge after seeing the rest of his kind slaughtered.
• Golden Super Mode: Mario enters one right before his showdown with Mario.exe in the best ending.
• Goomba Stomp: Played straight in the first level, which is meant to play like a typical Mario level and has plenty of Goombas for Mario to stomp. Averted everywhere else, as stomping on any of the other enemies results in death.
• Guide Dang It!: Nowhere in the game are you told that to damage Mario.exe in the "Luigi Solo Ending", Luigi has to press space to shoot fireballs.
• Instant-Win Condition: Touching the Mario coin at the end of most platforming segments. For example, If Luigi steps on a walking Goomba in Mario.exe's pet dimension, as long as he touches the Mario coin before the demonic Yoshi reaches him, he will still get transported to the next level.
• Invincible Minor Mook: Most of the basic enemies cannot be harmed in any way, and are meant to simply be avoided. Only Wario has any means of harming the standard enemies.
• Half the Man He Used to Be: Waluigi's corpse is found cut in half.
  • If Luigi chooses to "Help Mario" in the Luigi and Yoshi duo ending, he will also suffer this fate.
• Hero Killer: Mario.exe; nearly every ending ends with at least one of the heroes dead.
• Heroic Breakdown: Luigi goes through one in the Luigi solo ending. He snaps out of it, though.
• Hologram: Mario uses one to talk to Luigi and try to break him out of his rut in the Luigi Solo Ending.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Mario.exe's justification for his actions. This is actually true to an extent.
• Last of His Kind: Yoshi becomes this in the "Yoshi Solo Ending" and most likely every other ending where he survives.
• Late to the Tragedy: Wario doesn't return to his house until after Waluigi dies.
• Level Goal: Most platforming segments end with a giant yellow Mario coin.
• Merging the Branches: Invoked, as Toad.exe's puzzle in the best ending is composed of questions that you would only know the answer to if you played the other endings.
  • Also subtly invoked in the Best Ending, where Luigi offhandedly mentions how it feels like this has all happened over and over.
• Left Hanging: The game heavily operates on this trope, and the amount of information that's left unknown being the primary motivator behind the horror. It would be easier to list what actually is resolved at the end than go into everything that isn't.
• Multiple Endings: One of the defining features of the game is just how many alternate endings there are, especially for a game of its length. And this won't even be every ending; the final version will include at least a Wario Solo Ending. Many are based on who does and doesn't survive, and there are even some secret endings obtainable by digging a bit in certain areas. No real attempt is made to establish a definitive canon ending, though, and it is likely there isn't one.
  • "Bad Ending": The default ending, it happens if all three of the main playable characters die. Mario breaks into grief and tries to kill himself by jumping into a spike pit, since everything he's had to live for is gone. He is unable to do so, and is stuck with Mario.exe in his home dimension. Mario.exe gives him some cryptic details on his motives, revealing that there is a greater threat he is trying to combat.
  • Luigi Solo Ending: After returning to a corrupted Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi loses hope and tries to commit suicide by leaping into a bottomless pit. He gets transported to a alternate dimension castle where he is ambushed by Mario.exe, and later Yoshi.exe, Wario.exe and even a reanimated version of Bowletta. After Luigi defeats all of them, Bowletta tries to chase down Luigi with a final platforming segment, but Luigi escapes through a Mario coin back to the Kingdom. Luigi is free, and Mario.exe is dead, but his friends are still dead. Luigi decides to try and rescue "the girls".
  • Yoshi Solo Ending: Yoshi returns to Yoshi's Island, and finds every last Yoshi dead. He walks to a giant hole, and leaps into it without any other choice. He survives a spike fall and as both the Last of His Kind and the only surviving playable character, Yoshi decided to just use the island as a hangout.
  • Luigi and Yoshi Duo Ending: Luigi and Yoshi traverse through Mario.exe's black home dimension, dodging bad guys and platforming. Eventually, they reach Mario.exe, who is disguised as Mario and tries to convince Luigi to help him. If Luigi chooses to decline, he and Yoshi will leave the dimension alive. They regroup and start to celebrate, but are interrupted by Mario.exe's voice.
  • To Be Continued: Luigi and Wario both individually find and explore Bowser's abandoned castle, with Wario kicking his fair share of ghost Mario ass. Eventually, Wario encounters a corrupted virus version of Luigi, and being too exhausted to fight back, he flees until he loses him. He meets up with the real Luigi, tries to warn him to get out, but then the screen turns chrome and everything explodes, leaving nothing but a "To be continued" (though if the Worst Ending is any indication, there's not much left to continue.
  • Yoshi and Wario Duo Ending: Yoshi reappears on Yoshi's Island, stuck in a maze of poisonous gas that he has 33 seconds to escape from. Meanwhile, Wario has a much more straightforward platforming segment in the same general area. Once both of them escape to a safe spot, they meet each other and decide to just use the island as a hideout.
  • Best Ending: All three of the heroes decide to storm Mario.exe's home dimension. They split up and go on rampages of their own. Luigi is separated from the crew and has to go through a hellish game show from hell by Toad.exe, Yoshi has to fight Bowser.exe again in a harder rematch, and Wario has to face a corrupted Waluigi. Once they finish their battles, Mario gets the strength to transform into a Final Form and challenges Mario.exe and Bowser.exe to a final battle. Once that is done with, Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario are all freed. Though the Kingdom is still devastated beyond repair, they are safe for now.
  • Stuck Forever Ending: Secret ending only obtainable by entering the Mario Coin before killing all the Toads. Luigi becomes stuck with an unresponsive Mario.exe for all eternity.
  • True Worst Ending: The other secret ending. Luigi jumps into the first pit he sees, swerves right to hit a glitched blue block, and ends up corrupting the entire Mushroom Kingdom, horribly derailing Mario.exe's plan and making ??? stronger beyond comprehension. Mario.exe, with no other options left, uses his mind to destroy the entire multiverse and everything in it, including himself.
  • A weird non-example happens along the pathway to the Yoshi and Luigi Duo Ending. If you choose Yoshi at the beginning of the final segment instead of Luigi, Yoshi will encounter Wario.exe. They exchange taunts, and then Wario.exe yells it's time to kill Yoshi. Then the game just closes.
• Murder Is the Best Solution: At least, murder at Mario.exe's hands. Murder to the virus people will supposedly result in a much worse fate. Indeed, Corrupted Waluigi seems much more of a mindless killing machine compared to anybody Mario.exe killed.
• Musical Spoiler: The game often switches from a peaceful theme to a more sinister theme right before a chase segment or confrontation.
• My Name Is ???: A literal example. ???, the leader of the viruses, is always referred to as ??? and is never properly named.
  • Toad.exe also briefly goes by ??? until he reveals his name.
• Never Hurt an Innocent: Luigi staunchly argues against killing off the entire Toad species and senseless violence in general. Unfortunately, the universe (or more accurately, Mario.exe) conspires against him there.
• No Ending: At the end of Yoshi and Wario.exe's conversation, Wario.exe tells Yoshi that he won't get past him, and the game abruptly closes.
  • According to the game log, this is actually because the game tries to load a sound effect that doesn't exist. This suggests there was most likely meant to be something past that, but what it is, we won't know.
• One-Hit-Point Wonder: One hit from anything and you're done. The only exceptions are during boss battles.
• Pop Quiz: Toad.exe's boss battle is composed solely of trivia questions from across the game. The player must run into the letters containing the correct answer to advance. The catch? As Toad.exe says, "You get a question wrong, you die!"
• Precision F-Strike: Downplayed example. Mario.exe delivers the line "That does not matter, what does matter is that you and your damn people will die!" to ??? right before destroying all of reality. This is the only time any profanity is used in-game.
• Proj-egg-tile: Used by Yoshi (who else) in his fights against Bowser.exe.
• Psychic Powers: Mario.exe has these, and uses them to destroy all of reality in one ending.
• Schmuck Bait: Jumping into the awkwardly placed bottomless pit in the beginning of Luigi's first level. It is the only pit in the level and it is basically impossible to fall into by accident. So of course, jumping into it is necessary to obtain the True Worst Ending.
• Shout-Out:
  • At one point, Mario.exe does Sonic.exe's signature laugh (which is actually Kefka's laugh).
  • In the Yoshi and Luigi duo ending, Wario.exe makes a few parallels to Sonic.exe. He tells Yoshi that in this timeline, he is supposed to "be like Knuckles", but he is actually just the Tails. Yoshi has no idea what he's talking about.
  • The Golden Super Mode Mario takes on right before challenging Mario.exe in the best ending seems to be a reference to Super Mario Bros. Z, especially in the visuals department.
  • It is also worth nothing that the four playable characters mimic the character roster in Super Mario 64 DS.
• Sidetrack Bonus: The True Worst Ending.
• Story Branching: The events of the game change quite dramatically based on who survives each level, who wins what boss fight, etc.
• Super-Empowering: Mario.exe temporarily makes Luigi invulnerable to all harm and able to destroy anything on touch. Then it takes a dark turn as he makes Luigi use this power to kill off the entire Toad species.
• The Big Bad Shuffle: It's not quite clear whether Mario.exe or ??? is the bigger threat, or even what their plans really are, let alone why they are doing this, and the heroes and player spend the whole game running around and coming no closer to the truth.
• The Dragon: Bowser.exe is the most frequently fought boss in the game.
• The Ghost: Princess Peach is never seen in-game. The only references to her are a handwritten note early in the game warning Luigi of Mario.exe's "pets" and a few offhanded mentions.
• The Maze: As mentioned above, Yoshi can potentially get transported to one depending on the choices made.
• The Power of Friendship: Mario gets the power to transform into a Super Saiyan-like form during the final boss battle of the best ending and attributes it to his friends.
• The Stinger: At the end of the Luigi and Yoshi Duo Ending.
  Mario.exe: Not for long.
• The Unfought: While several people that seem to be part of ???'s army appear as obstacles and his Waluigi corruption appears as a boss, ??? himself is never fought, nor do the heroes even meet him. In fact, ??? only makes one physical appearance in the game, and it's in a cutscene no less.
• The Virus: This appears to be what ??? and his people are. They corrupt individuals and potentially the entire world. In fact, Mario.exe even describes him as a virus.
• The Voice: While Toad.exe has a lengthy conversation with Luigi in the main story path, we never actually see what he looks like.
• Timed Mission: If Luigi, Yoshi, or Wario dies in most areas of the game, Mario has 40-50 seconds to locate a Yellow Orb in the middle of nowhere to give them an extra chance. Later, during the Yoshi and Wario ending, Yoshi is dumped into a poison gas chamber, where he is given 33 seconds (Real Time) to find the exit.
• Unending End Card: Most of the endings stay on one of these until you exit out of the game.
• Unexpected Shmup Level: Yoshi's battle with Bowser.exe, where the game will switch from a platformer to a old school Space Invaders type space shooter. Most of the game's other boss battles follow a similar format.
• Unexpected Gameplay Change: Toad.exe's boss battle is completely unlike any other in the game in that it's not even a fight, it's a quiz show where you have to answer questions correctly, lest you be crushed by a spike pit.
• Unreliable Expositor: ??? tries to accuse Mario.exe of being one on the title screen. How accurate this is is never cleanly answered.
• Unusual Pets for Unusual People: Mario.exe's pet "Yoshis" are... nearly as interesting as their owner. Let's just say that.
• Walking Spoiler: ???'s existence cannot be discussed without giving away the major plot twist of the game.
• What the Hell, Hero?: If Luigi chooses to help what is very obviously Mario.exe in disguise, Yoshi will call him out on his stupidity. Right before Mario.exe kills him.

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