History VideoGame / MarioTheMusicBox

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Played with but exaggerated in the sheer number of ways you can get a game over (all of which obviously result in death). There are some things that look like they may not kill you, some things that look like they are obviously going to kill you, and some things that are (in)active at certain points of the game with certan characters. Justified in that the house is cursed to where several vengeful spirits want the playable cast dead, [[PlayerPunch and the other killers aren't just the NPCs]].

** "[[RetGone Omitted Memory]]": [[spoiler:The ending route you're locked into if you go to the second floor from the former nursery room after Luigi joins the party. Luigi and Mario ''do'' manage to defeat Alice, wiping her out from existence, but as a result her curse is left to spread. Mario, in an effort to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Alice's curse, takes it within himself--resulting in his being completely erased from existence and from everyone's memories (except Luigi's, until Mario wipes his memory too.)]]

** "Sealed": [[spoiler:Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the "Forest of Suicide" and continue into the mines. On this route the player learns from Alice, Serina, and Riba the full truth of how Serina died, as well as the full story of how Riba was responsible for Alice's actions. Luigi ends up battling Alice and wins, but Alice takes Mario's soul with her as she's re-sealed. Luigi leaves the mansion and attempts to bring help, but he and Princess Peach's search party only find Mario's corpse in the mines.]]

%%* TraitorShot: Look for anything out of the ordinary to spot the traitor, including GlamourFailure, hidden eyes, {{psychotic smirk}}s and/or slasher smiles, and ScaryShinyGlasses.

* WalkingSpoiler: Alice and Riba are both tied up with some very big plot twists in the game. Even Mario himself counts, although less for himself as a character and more [[spoiler:who he's possessed by.]]
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Frequently Mario and Luigi will be drawn like this in response to some horrors of the mansion.

* TheCameo: Princess Peach. She only makes a proper appearance near the end of the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and she's the only other Mario Universe character besides Mario and Luigi to make an appearance. Justified in that Luigi's in the Mushroom Kingdom by then. This is especially egregious if you don't take the "Omitted Memory" ending route, because her only appearances would have been illusions [[spoiler:and a spirit impersonating her who tries to inject poison into Mario]]. [[spoiler:You can also hear what appears to be her on the phone with Mario (whether it's her or not is up for grabs, but it's probably not)]].

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: You ''are'' familiar with the games this is inspired from, right?
* DarknessEqualsDeath: Wouldn't be a horror/puzzle/survival game without it.
* DeathTrap: ''Lots'' of them littered across the house.
* DrivenToSuicide: ''Very'' prominent in this game.

* GlamourFailure: Subverted with one mirror in the house as it doesn't reflect ''anything'' at all, but it's implied with the broken mirrors around the house and played straight with one mirror and [[EyesNeverLie whenever someone's possessed]].

* HeartbeatSoundtrack: Practically when something really intense happens, like a death.

* HiddenEyes: A recurring characteristic throughout the entire game.
* InterfaceSpoiler: If you do not want to be spoiled about the more damning parts of the game, avoid Marios-[=Friend9's=] deviantART page like the plague. The spoilers are almost literally everywhere.

* LoveMakesYouEvil: A few characters have fallen into this trap at some point.
* TheManyDeathsOfYou: There's currently ''forty-seven'' different ways to get a game over in this game, very much like the protagonist's home series and the genre he's in.
* MultipleEndings: There's several ending routes that are available depending on what you did. [[spoiler:Going upstairs after Luigi joins the party will lock the player into the first "bad ending", "Omitted Memory". Going to the hallway instead will lock the player into one of the other four endings: "Missing", "Sealed", "Puppet", and "Better off Lost".]]
** "[[RetGone Omitted Memory]]": [[spoiler:Going to the second floor from the former nursery room after Luigi joins the party will lock you into this "bad ending" route. Mario suffers from supernatural causes and becomes catatonic, forcing Luigi to look for help. Rosa gives Luigi holy water to dispel Alice from Mario's body after giving the maid both Alfred's apology letter and the engagement ring he planned to give her. Luigi forces Alice out of Mario, freeing him from her control, and the two head to the rooftop to confront her one last time. Riba is found dead and Luigi is knocked out by Alice. She attempts one last time to take Mario's body from him, but ultimately fails [[DeaderThanDead and is completely wiped out]]. Her curse begins to spread with her gone, however, and Mario is enveloped by it. Mario, in an effort to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Alice's curse, takes it within himself and sends Luigi back home, remarking on how Luigi will no longer be a shadow of him. When Luigi comes to, he learns that Princess Peach found him and has completely forgotten about Mario. Desperate, Luigi finds a photo to prove that Mario's real, only for Mario to disappear from all the photos with him in it. To keep Luigi from angsting over it, Mario's spirit wipes his memory of him, promising to keep watch over him.]]
** "[[SerialKiller Missing]]": [[spoiler:Mario and Luigi decide to leave the house through the front entrance (which was gone after Mario first touched the music box). With the bros outside, Mario vows to never go off into a haunted mansion by himself. Luigi senses that something's up right before Mario starts heading back to the house. The man begins mumbling to himself, with Luigi looking on scared and confused. Mario states that he'd rather return to the mansion alone, much to Luigi's bewilderment (while sporting a SlasherSmile). Not long after, he stabs Luigi, telling him that he's not needed and that he can finally leave the cursed place and live again. Lo and behold, Alice had taken Mario's body so that she could carry out what she started: completing the ritual she began long ago. With that, she leaves Luigi to die near the mansion as she sets out once again to engage in another killing spree. A newspaper details Luigi's death and how Mario had gone [[TitleDrop missing]].]]
** "[[SealedEvilInACan Sea]][[SealedGoodInACan led]]": [[spoiler:Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the forest area, first getting a key to enter the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]". There, they meet Serina's spirit [[CainAndAbel and find out the truth behind her death]]. They enter the mines and journey deeper until Alice hijacks Mario yet again, only to get knocked out by Riba, who's planning something with Alice. With Mario incapacited, [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba reveals how he was the one responsible for Alice's actions]]. Luigi chases after them and finds Mario with Riba, the latter of whom attempts to kill Luigi. Fighting the man off, Luigi witnesses as Alice!Mario off Riba before reaching out for the man, but Luigi knows that it isn't his brother and finds himself transported to another dimension. There, Alice reveals [[DealWithTheDevil her]] [[ImmortalitySeeker involvement]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil with]] [[LouisCypher Riba]], [[TheDogBitesBack her]] [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment]], [[AntiHero how Anna]] [[HorrorHunger is responsible]] [[NecessaryEvil for the]] [[YourSoulIsMine disappeared travelers]], [[KillEmAll and her intentions]]. Luigi battles her and wins, [[PyrrhicVictory but not without a price to pay]]. [[TakingYouWithMe Alice takes Mario's soul with her]], forcing Luigi to leave to get help. [[TearJerker Mario's soul calls out to Luigi, begging him not to go, but Luigi goes anyways in the hopes that he can still save Mario]]. After 2 days of Mario being missing, [[CassandraTruth Peach finally believes Luigi about the incident]] and sends a search party in the mines to look for Mario. They find him, [[KilledOffForReal or rather, what's left of him]].]]
** "[[DemonicPossession Puppet]]": [[spoiler:Before going deeper into the mines, Mario and Luigi find a photo of a happy Alice and Riba. They find a note Alice left on the back detailing her descent into evil, and with this they venture to where Anna was buried, meeting with the entity. She is chewed out by Mario for killing her innocent sister even with all of the abuse she suffered, and Anna attempts to kill Mario until they tell Anna the truth of [[YourDaysAreNumbered Alice's]] [[SanitySlippage circumstances]]. Anna's spirit is finally pacified and she encourages Mario and Luigi to not let Alice take Mario's body. The mine collapse sequence, Riba fight, and Alice's sealing are the same, but Mario wasn't taken with her. Luigi helps Mario out of the mines, and the two head home (with Mario noting that he feels somewhat off). Late in the night, Luigi awakes to find Mario up. He's given silence until Mario utters "Where is my daughter", horrifying Luigi with the knowledge that Alice had won after all.]]
** "[[GoldenEnding Better off Lost]]": [[spoiler:[[HundredPercentCompletion All of the journal entries are required to see this ending]]. Everything's the same as the "Puppet" ending route, but it changes with how Mario leads the two out of the mines instead of Luigi. They make it to an exit and Alice's spirit confronts them again, this time asking them not to leave her and how all she wants is just to live again. Mario, [[EasilyForgiven in a sign of forgiveness]], tells Alice that she no longer has anything to worry about; with her former lover Riba dead, she's no longer bound to his will. He even goes as far as to smash the one thing that served to imprison her: the music box. [[WhatTheHellHero Alice and Luigi are in shock]], but Mario tells Alice that she's free now, [[HonorBeforeReason promising to not tell anyone of the horrible secrets of the house]] and pacifying her spirit. She thanks him in spite of all she's done to him and others, and she finally fades away. Back home, [[IGaveMyWord Mario keeps his word]] by [[DestroyTheEvidence burning his journal in their fireplace]], something that Luigi is none too pleased with. Mario decides that he's had enough of the nightmare and asks Luigi to never speak of it again. Luigi agrees, and the two share a moment of peace before the fireplace.]]

* PermanentlyMissableContent: Certain areas will be blocked off for good after a certain point in the story, meaning you lose out on journal entries associated with the area or things you learn from them. [[spoiler:This becomes problematic in that some rooms are not accessible all of the time and some are even forgotten or passed by because the player needs all journal entries to see the True Ending. If you saved at a certain point, then your only hope of getting the True Ending is to start all over from the beginning.]]

* TraitorShot: Look for anything out of the ordinary to spot the traitor, including GlamourFailure, hidden eyes, {{psychotic smirk}}s and/or slasher smiles, and ScaryShinyGlasses.
* TrialAndErrorGameplay: ''Throughout the entire game''.
* WalkingSpoiler: There's a few things you can't say about anyone without giving away too much of the current plot.
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Very frequent.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: There are some spirits who you never find out about at any point in the story (and some of them are better off left alone for the playable cast's sake). The Mario Bros. come across a family photo with a few unseen (or at least unrecognizable) characters.

* LoveMakesYouEvil: A few characters have fallen into this trap at some point.

Filled to the brim with {{gorn}}, this fangame created by Team Ari (lead by the talented artist Marios-[=Friend9=]) stars Mario as he ventures out to an abandoned home that's been close to the Mushroom Kingdom for over a century. People have gone inside it before, but there have been no returns. Princess Peach was also supposed to come along for the ride to investigate, but Mario left her behind for her own safety. Soon after making it inside, the plumber comes across a quaint little music box that was playing by itself. Little did he know, the "harmless" music box would set off a series of events that would serve to utterly break and terrify him (and the players) every step of the way while also trying to get him killed. As a horror/puzzle/survival game it tests the player(s) in a way where one little thing could lead to a ''pretty nasty GameOver''. HaveANiceDeath.

* LostForever: Certain areas will be blocked off for good after a certain point in the story, meaning you lose out on journal entries associated with the area or things you learn from them. [[spoiler:This becomes problematic in that some rooms are not accessible all of the time and some are even forgotten or passed by because the player needs all journal entries to see the True Ending. If you saved at a certain point, then your only hope of getting the True Ending is to start all over from the beginning.]]
* LoveMakesYouEvil: A few characters have fallen into this trap at some point.

...''[[DarkerAndEdgier This]]'' game, however, [[SubvertedTrope is none of those things mentioned above]]. This game is what happens when you take Mario out of the happy-go-lucky Mario Universe and throw him into a game the likes of ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'', ''VideoGame/TheCrookedMan'', ''VideoGame/MadFather'', and ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse''. This is the game called... ''(Mario) The Music Box''.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Back in early development of the game, Marios-Friend was going through some therapy and battled her own inner demons; this is where the vast majority of the elements and themes in the game stem from. Once life got much better for her, production of the game came to a stop. It was through encouragement of new friends and her husband that she finally finished the game and released it to the public.

...''[[DarkerAndEdgier This]]'' game, however, [[SubvertedTrope is none of those things mentioned above]]. This game is what happens when you take Mario out of the happy-go-lucky Mario Universe and throw him into a game the likes of ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'', ''VideoGame/TheCrookedMan'', ''VideoGame/MadFather'', and ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse''. This is the game called...''(Mario) The Music Box''.

Filled to the brim with {{gorn}}, this fangame created by Team Ari (lead by the talented artist Marios-Friend9) stars Mario as he ventures out to an abandoned home that's been close to the Mushroom Kingdom for over a century. People have gone inside it before but there has been no returns. Princess Peach was also supposed to come along for the ride to investigate, but Mario left her behind for her own safety. Soon after making it inside the plumber comes across a quaint little music box that was playing by itself. Little did he know, the "harmless" music box would set off a series of events that would serve to utterly break and terrify him (and the players) every step of the way while also trying to get him killed. As a horror/puzzle/survival game it tests the player(s) in a way where one little thing could lead to a ''pretty nasty GameOver''. HaveANiceDeath.

* HundredPercentCompletion: [[spoiler: Getting all of the journal entries and taking the "Puppet" ending route will instead give you the true ending.]]
* ArtifactOfDoom: [[InterfaceSpoiler As spoiled by the website to download the game itself]], the titular music box is this but not necessarily on its own. We don't find out why until much later in the game. [[spoiler: [[SealedEvilInACan It's what kept Alice sealed inside of it]] until Mario broke the seal by touching it. It becomes Mario's prison during the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and it seals Alice away for good ([[TakingYouWithMe and Mario whom she dragged with her]]) during the "Sealed" ending route. It apparently fails to seal Alice away during the "Puppet" ending route (which leads to Mario getting taken over) and the True Ending route "Better off Lost" (it's smashed by Mario to completely free Alice so that her pacified soul can finally pass on).]]
* BattleInTheRain: This gets mixed with RooftopConfrontation when [[TheHero Mario]] faces [[spoiler: [[BigBad Alice]]]] for the last time in the "[[spoiler:Omitted Memory]]" ending route. Somewhat enforced/justified in that Mario mentioned that it always rains in the area.

* TheCameo: Princess Peach. She only makes a proper appearance near the end of the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and she's the only other Mario Universe character besides Mario and Luigi to make an appearance. Justified in that Luigi's in the Mushroom Kingdom by then. This is especially egregious if you don't take the "Omitted Memory" ending route because her only appearances would have been illusions[[spoiler: and a spirit impersonating her who tries to inject poison into Mario]]. [[spoiler: You can also hear what appears to be her on the phone with Mario (whether it's her or not is up for grabs, but it's probably not)]].

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: You ''are'' familiar with the games this is inspired from right?

* HauntedHouse: A house were people are said to never return from with many horrible secrets to it. It's also cursed up to its rooftop to add to the haunted factor.

* InterfaceSpoiler: If you do not want to be spoiled about the more damning parts of the game, avoid Marios-Friend9's deviantART page like the plague. The spoilers are almost literally everywhere.

* LostForever: Certain areas will be blocked off for good after a certain point in the story, meaning you lose out on journal entries associated with the area or things you learn from them.[[spoiler: This becomes problematic in that some rooms are not accessable all of the time and some are even forgotten or passed by because the player needs all journal entries to see the True Ending. If you saved at a certain point, then your only hope of getting the True Ending is to start all over from the beginning.]]

* MultipleEndings: There's several ending routes that are available depending on what you did. [[spoiler: Going upstairs after Luigi joins the party will lock the player into the first "bad ending" "Omitted Memory". Going to the hallway instead will lock the player into one of the other four endings: "Missing", "Sealed", "Puppet", and "Better off Lost".]]
** "[[RetGone Omitted Memory]]": [[spoiler: Going to the second floor from the formerly nurery room after Luigi joins the party will lock you into this "bad ending" route. Mario suffers from supernatural causes and becomes catatonic, forcing Luigi to look for help. Rosa gives Luigi holy water to dispel Alice from Mario's body after giving the maid both Alfred's apology letter and the engagement ring he planned to give her. Luigi forces Alice out of Mario, freeing him from her control, and the two head to the rooftop to confront her one last time. Riba is found dead and Luigi is knocked out by Alice. She attempts one last time to take Mario's body from him but ultimately fails [[DeaderThanDead and is completely wiped out]]. Her curse begins to spread with her gone however, and Mario is enveloped by it. Mario, in an effort to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Alice's curse, takes it within himself and sends Luigi back home, remarking on how Luigi will no longer be a shadow of him. When Luigi comes to he learns that Princess Peach found him and has completely forgotten about Mario. Desperate, Luigi finds a photo to prove that Mario's real, only for Mario to disappear from all the photos with him in it. To keep Luigi from angsting over it, Mario's spirit wipes his memory of him, promising to keep watch over him.]]
** "[[SerialKiller Missing]]": [[spoiler: Mario and Luigi decide to leave the house through the front entrance (which was gone after Mario first touched the music box). With the bros outside Mario vows to never go off into a haunted mansion by himself. Luigi senses that something's up right before Mario starts heading back to the house. The man begins mumbling to himself with Luigi looking on scared and confused. Mario states that he'd rather return to the mansion alone much to Luigi's bewilderment (while sporting a SlasherSmile). Not long after, he stabs Luigi, telling him that he's not needed and that he can finally leave the cursed place and live again. Lo and behold, Alice had taken Mario's body so that she could carry out what she started: completing the ritual she began long ago. With that she leaves Luigi to die near the mansion as she sets out once again to engage in another killing spree. A newspaper details Luigi's death and how Mario had gone [[TitleDrop missing]].]]
** "[[SealedEvilInACan Sea]][[SealedGoodInACan led]]": [[spoiler: Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the forest area, first getting a key to enter the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]". There they meet Serina's spirit [[CainAndAbel and find out the truth behind her death]]. They enter the mines and journey deeper until Alice hijacks Mario yet again, only to get knocked out by Riba who's planning something with Alice. With Mario incapacited, [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba reveals how he was the one responsible for Alice's actions]]. Luigi chases after them and finds Mario with Riba, the latter of whom attempts to kill Luigi. Fighting the man off, Luigi witnesses as Alice!Mario off Riba before reaching out for the man, but Luigi knows that it isn't his brother and finds himself transported to another dimension. There, Alice reveals [[DealWithTheDevil her]] [[ImmortalitySeeker involvement]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil with]] [[LouisCypher Riba]], [[TheDogBitesBack her]] [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment]], [[AntiHero how Anna]] [[HorrorHunger is responsible]] [[NecessaryEvil for the]] [[YourSoulIsMine disappeared travelers]], [[KillEmAll and her intentions]]. Luigi battles her and wins, [[PyrrhicVictory but not without a price to pay]]. [[TakingYouWithMe Alice takes Mario's soul with her]], forcing Luigi to leave to get help. [[TearJerker Mario's soul calls out to Luigi, begging him not to go, but Luigi goes anyways in the hopes that he can still save Mario]]. After 2 days of Mario being missing, [[CassandraTruth Peach finally believes Luigi about the incident]] and sends a search party in the mines to look for Mario. They find him, [[KilledOffForReal or rather what's left of him]].]]
** "[[DemonicPossession Puppet]]":[[spoiler: Before going deeper into the mines, Mario and Luigi find a photo of a happy Alice and Riba. They find a note Alice left on the back detailing her descent into evil and with this they venture to where Anna was buried, meeting with the entity. She is chewed out by Mario for killing her innocent sister even with all of the abuse she suffered, and Anna attempts to kill Mario until they tell Anna the truth of [[YourDaysAreNumbered Alice's]] [[SanitySlippage circumstances]]. Anna's spirit is finally pacified and she encourages Mario and Luigi to not let Alice take Mario's body. The mine collapse sequence, Riba fight, and Alice's sealing are the same, but Mario wasn't taken with her. Luigi helps Mario out of the mines and the two head home (with Mario noting that he feels somewhat off). Late in the night Luigi awakes to find Mario up. He's given silence until Mario utters "Where is my daughter", horrifying Luigi with the knowledge that Alice had won after all.]]
** "[[GoldenEnding Better off Lost]]":[[spoiler: [[HundredPercentCompletion All of the journal entries are required to see this ending]]. Everything's the same as the "Puppet" ending route but it changes with how Mario leads the two out of the mines instead of Luigi. They make it to an exit and Alice's spirit confronts them again, this time asking them not to leave her and how all she wants is just to live again. Mario, [[EasilyForgiven in a sign of forgiveness]], tells Alice that she no longer has anything to worry about; with her former lover Riba dead she's no longer bound to his will. He even goes as far as to smash the one thing that served to imprison her: the music box. [[WhatTheHellHero Alice and Luigi are in shock]], but Mario tells Alice that she's free now, [[HonorBeforeReason promising to not tell anyone of the horrible secrets of the house]] and pacifying her spirit. She thanks him in spite of all she's done to him and others, and she finally fades away. Back home, [[IGaveMyWord Mario keeps his word]] by [[DestroyTheEvidence burning his journal in their fireplace]], something that Luigi is none too pleased with. Mario decides that he's had enough of the nightmare and asks Luigi to never speak of it again. Luigi agrees, and the two share a moment of peace before the fireplace.]]

* PointOfNoReturn: The game gives you two informed instances of this after [[spoiler: Luigi is reunited with Mario]]. Another less obvious one is when [[spoiler: Mario and Luigi pull a lever and have to make it into the deeper parts of the mines before the time limit is up]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Have some [[BringMeMyBrownPants brown overalls]] and some handkerchiefs (or I'm not crying excuses) on standby. You ''really'' might need them.]]

...''[[DarkerAndEdgier This]]'' game, however, [[SubvertedTrope is none of those things mentioned above]]. This game is what happens when you take Mario out of the happy-go-lucky Mario Universe and throw him into a game the likes of ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'', ''VideoGame/MadFather'', and ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse''. This is the game called...''(Mario) The Music Box''.

->''"Ever heard of '[[CuriosityIsACrapshoot Curiosity Killed the Cat]]'?"''

* ArtifactOfDoom: [[InterfaceSpoiler As spoiled by the website to download the game itself]], the titular music box is this but not necessarily on its own. We don't find out why until much later in the game.[[spoiler: [[SealedEvilInACan It's what kept Alice sealed inside of it]] until Mario broke the seal by touching it. It becomes Mario's prison during the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and it seals Alice away for good ([[TakingYouWithMe and Mario whom she dragged with her]]) during the "Sealed" ending route. It apparently fails to seal Alice away during the "Puppet" ending route (which leads to Mario getting taken over) and the True Ending route "Better off Lost" (it's smashed by Mario to completely free Alice so that her pacified soul can finally pass on).]]

* HundredPercentCompletion:[[spoiler: Getting all of the journal entries and taking the "Puppet" ending route will instead give you the true ending.]]

* BattleInTheRain: This gets mixed with RooftopConfrontation when [[TheHero Mario]] faces[[spoiler: [[BigBad Alice]]]] for the last time in the "[[spoiler:Omitted Memory]]" ending route. Somewhat enforced/justified in that Mario mentioned that it always rains in the area.

* TheCameo: Princess Peach. She only makes a proper appearance near the end of the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and she's the only other Mario Universe character besides Mario and Luigi to make an appearance. Justified in that Luigi's in the Mushroom Kingdom by then. This is especially egregious if you don't take the "Omitted Memory" ending route because her only appearances would have been illusions[[spoiler: and a spirit impersonating her who tries to inject poison into Mario]].[[spoiler: You can also hear what appears to be her on the phone with Mario (whether it's her or not is up for grabs, but it's probably not)]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Have some [[BringMeMyBrownPants brown overalls]] and some handkerchiefs (or I'm not crying excuses) on standby. You ''might'' need them.]]

* MultipleEndings: There's several ending routes that are available depending on what you did.[[spoiler: Going upstairs after Luigi joins the party will lock the player into the first "bad ending" "Omitted Memory". Going to the hallway instead will lock the player into one of the other four endings: "Missing", "Sealed", "Puppet", and "Better off Lost".]]

* PointOfNoReturn: The game gives you two informed instances of this after[[spoiler: Luigi is reunited with Mario]]. Another less obvious one is when[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi pull a lever and have to make it into the deeper parts of the mines before the time limit is up]].

* {{Letimotif}}: Several remixed variations of the song Ensei (Yuki Kajiura being the original composer) make appearances throughout the game as the main theme. The title screen itself even has three different remixes of the song.

* Letimotif: Several remixed variations of the song Ensei (Yuki Kajiura being the original composer) make appearances throughout the game as the main theme. The title screen itself even has three different remixes of the song.

* BilingualBonus: "Jisatsu no Mori" translates into the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]".

* HundredPercentCompletion:[[spoiler: Getting all of the journal entries and reenacting the "Puppet" ending route will instead give you the true ending.]]
* ArtifactOfDoom: [[InterfaceSpoiler As spoiled by the website to download the game itself]], the titular music box is this, but not necessarily on its own. We don't find out why until much later in the game.[[spoiler: [[SealedEvilInACan It's what kept Alice sealed inside of it]] until Mario broke the seal by touching it. It becomes Mario's prison during the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and it seals Alice away for good ([[TakingYouWithMe and Mario whom she dragged with her]]) during the "Sealed" ending route. It apparently fails to seal Alice away during the "Puppet" ending route (which leads to Mario getting taken over) and the True Ending route "Better off Lost" (it's smashed by Mario to completely free Alice so that her pacified soul can finally pass on).]]
* BattleInTheRain: This gets mixed with RooftopConfrontation when [[TheHero Mario]] faces [[spoiler:[[BigBad Alice]]]] for the last time in the "[[spoiler:Omitted Memory]]" ending route. Somewhat enforced/justified in that Mario mentioned that it always rains in the area.

* TheCameo: Princess Peach. She only makes a proper appearance near the end of the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and she's the only other Mario Universe character besides Mario and Luigi to make an appearance. Justified in that Luigi's in the Mushroom Kingdom now. This is especially egregious if you don't take the "Omitted Memory" ending route because her only appearances would have been illusions[[spoiler: and a spirit impersonating her who tries to inject poison into Mario]].[[spoiler: You can also hear what appears to be her on the phone with Mario (whether it's her or not is up for grabs, but it's probably not)]].

* HiddenEyes: A recurring characteristic that persists throughout the entire game.
* LostForever: Certain areas will be blocked off for good after a certain point in the story, meaning you lose out on journal entries associated with the area or things you learn from them.[[spoiler: This becomes problematic in that some rooms are not accessable all of the time and some are even forgotten or passed by because the player needs all journal entries to see the True Ending.]]
* LoveMakesYouEvil: A few charactres seem to have fallen into this trap at some point.

** "[[RetGone Omitted Memory]]": [[spoiler: Going to the second floor from the formerly nurery room after Luigi joins the party will lock you into this "bad ending" route. Mario suffers from supernatural causes and becomes catatonic, forcing Luigi to look for help. Rosa gives Luigi holy water to dispel Alice from Mario's body after giving her both Alfred's apology letter and the engagement ring he planned to give her. Luigi forces Alice out of Mario, freeing him from her control, and the two head to the rooftop to confront her one last time. Riba is dead and Luigi is knocked out by Alice. She attempts one last time to take Mario's body from him but ultimately fails [[DeaderThanDead and is completely wiped out]]. Her curse begins to spread however with her gone, and Mario is enveloped by it. Mario, in an effort to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Alice's curse, takes it upon him and sends Luigi back home, noting how Luigi will no longer be a shadow of him. When Luigi comes to, he learns that Princess Peach found him and has completely forgotten about Mario. Desperate, Luigi finds a photo to prove that Mario's real, only for Mario to disappear from all the photos with him in it. To keep Luigi from angsting over it, Mario's spirit wipes his memory of him, promising to keep watch over him.]]

** "[[SealedEvilInACan Sea]][[SealedGoodInACan led]]": [[spoiler: Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the forest area, first getting a key to enter the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]". There they meet Serina's spirit [[CainAndAbel and find out the truth behind her death]]. They enter the mines and journey deeper until Alice hijacks Mario yet again, only to get knocked out by Riba who's planning something with Alice. With Mario incapacited, [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba reveals how he was the one responsible for Alice's actions]]. Luigi chases after them and finds Mario with Riba, the latter of whom attempts to kill Luigi. Fighting the man off, Luigi witnesses as Alice!Mario off Riba before reaching out for the man. Luigi knows that it isn't his brother doing this and finds himself transported to another dimension. There, Alice reveals [[DealWithTheDevil her]] [[ImmortalitySeeker involvement]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil with]] [[LouisCypher Riba]], [[TheDogBitesBack her]] [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment]], [[AntiHero how Anna]] [[HorrorHunger is responsible]] [[NecessaryEvil for the]] [[YourSoulIsMine disappeared travelers]], [[KillEmAll and her intentions]]. Luigi battles her and wins, [[PyrrhicVictory but not without a price to pay]]. [[TakingYouWithMe Alice takes Mario's soul with her]], forcing Luigi to leave to get help. [[TearJerker Mario's soul calls out to Luigi, begging him not to go, but Luigi goes anyways in the hopes that he can still save Mario]]. After 2 days of Mario being missing, [[CassandraTruth Peach finally believes Luigi about the incident]] and sends a search party in the mines to look for Mario. They find him, [[KilledOffForReal or rather what's left of him]].]]
** "[[DemonicPossession Puppet]]":[[spoiler: Before going deeper into the mines, Mario and Luigi find a photo of a happy Alice and Riba. They find a note Alice left on the back detailing her descent into evil, and with this they venture to where Anna was buried. The entity is chewed out by Mario for killing her innocent sister even with all of the abuse she suffered. Anna attempts to kill Mario before they tell Anna the truth of [[YourDaysAreNumbered Alice's]] [[SanitySlippage circumstances]]. Anna's spirit is finally pacified and she encourages Mario and Luigi to not let Alice take Mario's body. The mine collapse sequence, Riba fight, and Alice's sealing are the same, but Mario wasn't taken with her. Luigi helps Mario out of the mines and the two head home (with Mario noting that he feels somewhat off). Late in the night Luigi awakes to find Mario up. He's given silence until Mario utters "Where is my daughter", horrifying Luigi with the knowledge that Alice had won after all.]]

* OminouslyOpenDoor: Downplayed in that ''whatever'' is behind any open door in the house you find is dead. The open doors you ''can'' enter will both result in game overs.
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Spirits are said to mostly lack corporeal forms (even though most if not all spirits in the haunted house have a physical body), and angels are even mentioned once. Spirits that do have corporeal forms also tend to be hostile with few exceptions. Entities are mentioned (though they aren't given much explanation) and only two of them exist:[[spoiler: Alice and Anna]]. The circumstances that allowed said characters to become entities are different.
* PointOfNoReturn: The game gives you two informed instances of this after[[spoiler: Luigi is reunited with Mario.]] Another less obvious one is when [[spoiler: Mario and Luigi pull a lever and have to make it into the deeper parts of the mines before the time limit is up]].

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Back in early development of the game, the creator was going through some therapy and battled their own inner demons; this is where the vast majority of the elements and themes in the game stem from. Once life got much better for them, production of the game came to a stop. It was through encouragement of new friends and the creators husband that the creator finally finished the game and released it to the public.

[[caption-width-right:350:Have some [[BringMeMyBrownPants brown overalls]] and some [[TearJerker handkerchiefs (or I'm not crying excuses)]] on standby. You ''might'' need them.]]

We all know SuperMarioBros right? The colorful world of Mario and co. as they venture off to engage in [[LighterAndSofter light-hearted and wacky shenangans]] with friends [[GoKartingWithBowser and foes alike]]? Of course you do. You'd have to have lived under a rock (or be really old) to have never heard of Mario at all.

…''[[DarkerAndEdgier This]]'' game, however, [[SubvertedTrope is none of those things mentioned above]]. This game is what happens when you take Mario out of the happy-go-lucky Mario Universe and throw him into a game the likes of CorpseParty, MadFather, and TheWitchsHouse. This is the game called…(Mario) The Music Box.

Filled to the brim with {{gorn}}, {{high octane nightmare fuel}}, and {{tear jerker}}s, this fangame created by Team Ari (lead by the talented artist Marios-Friend9) with the engine RPG Maker XP stars Mario as he ventures out to an abandoned home that's been close to the Mushroom Kingdom for over a century. People have gone inside it before but there has been no returns. Princess Peach was also supposed to come along for the ride to investigate, but Mario left her behind for her own safety. Soon after making it inside the plumber comes across a quaint little music box that was playing by itself. Little did he know, the "harmless" music box would set off a series of events that would serve to utterly break and terrify him (and the players) every step of the way while also trying to get him killed. As a horror/puzzle/survival game it tests the player(s) in a way where one little thing could lead to a ''pretty nasty {{game over}}''. HaveANiceDeath.

[[index]]
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:0-C]]

* BattleInTheRain:This gets mixed with RooftopConfrontation when [[TheHero Mario]] faces [[spoiler:[[BigBad Alice]]]] for the last time in the "[[spoiler:Omitted Memory]]" ending route. Somewhat enforced/justified in that Mario mentioned that it always rains in the area.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:D-F]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:G-J]]

* JumpScare: Several.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:K-N]]

** "[[RetGone Omitted Memory]]":[[spoiler: Going to the second floor from the formerly nurery room after Luigi joins the party will lock you into this "bad ending" route. Mario suffers from supernatural causes and becomes catatonic, forcing Luigi to look for help. Rosa gives Luigi holy water to dispel Alice from Mario's body after giving her both Alfred's apology letter and the engagement ring he planned to give her. Luigi forces Alice out of Mario, freeing him from her control, and the two head to the rooftop to confront her one last time. Riba is dead and Luigi is knocked out by Alice. She attempts one last time to take Mario's body from him but ultimately fails [[DeaderThanDead and is completely wiped out]]. Her curse begins to spread however with her gone, and Mario is enveloped by it. Mario, in an effort to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Alice's curse, takes it upon him and sends Luigi back home, noting how Luigi will no longer be a shadow of him. When Luigi comes to, he learns that Princess Peach found him and has completely forgotten about Mario. Desperate, Luigi finds a photo to prove that Mario's real, only for Mario to disappear from all the photos with him in it. To keep Luigi from angsting over it, Mario's spirit wipes his memory of him, promising to keep watch over him.]]
** "[[SerialKiller Missing]]":[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi decide to leave the house through the front entrance (which was gone after Mario first touched the music box). With the bros outside Mario vows to never go off into a haunted mansion by himself. Luigi senses that something's up right before Mario starts heading back to the house. The man begins mumbling to himself with Luigi looking on scared and confused. Mario states that he'd rather return to the mansion alone much to Luigi's bewilderment (while sporting a {{slasher smile}}). Not long after, he stabs Luigi, telling him that he's not needed and that he can finally leave the cursed place and live again. Lo and behold, Alice had taken Mario's body so that she could carry out what she started: completing the ritual she began long ago. With that she leaves Luigi to die near the mansion as she sets out once again to engage in another killing spree. A newspaper details Luigi's death and how Mario had gone [[TitleDrop missing]].]]
** "[[SealedEvilInACan Sea]][[SealedGoodInACan led]]":[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the forest area, first getting a key to enter the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]". There they meet Serina's spirit [[CainAndAbel and find out the truth behind her death]]. They enter the mines and journey deeper until Alice hijacks Mario yet again, only to get knocked out by Riba who's planning something with Alice. With Mario incapacited, [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba reveals how he was the one responsible for Alice's actions]]. Luigi chases after them and finds Mario with Riba, the latter of whom attempts to kill Luigi. Fighting the man off, Luigi witnesses as Alice!Mario off Riba before reaching out for the man. Luigi knows that it isn't his brother doing this and finds himself transported to another dimension. There, Alice reveals [[DealWithTheDevil her]] [[ImmortalitySeeker involvement]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil with]] [[LouisCypher Riba]], [[TheDogBitesBack her]] [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment]], [[AntiHero how Anna]] [[HorrorHunger is responsible]] [[NecessaryEvil for the]] [[YourSoulIsMine disappeared travelers]], [[KillEmAll and her intentions]]. Luigi battles her and wins, [[PyrrhicVictory but not without a price to pay]]. [[TakingYouWithMe Alice takes Mario's soul with her]], forcing Luigi to leave to get help. [[TearJerker Mario's soul calls out to Luigi, begging him not to go, but Luigi goes anyways in the hopes that he can still save Mario]]. After 2 days of Mario being missing, [[CassandraTruth Peach finally believes Luigi about the incident]] and sends a search party in the mines to look for Mario. They find him, [[KilledOffForReal or rather what's left of him]].]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:O-R]]

* PointOfNoReturn: The game gives you two informed instances of this after[[spoiler: Luigi is reunited with Mario.]] Another less obvious one is when[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi pull a lever and have to make it into the deeper parts of the mines before the time limit is up]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:S-T]]

* TraitorShot: Look for anything out of the ordinary to spot the traitor, including {{glamour failure}}, hidden eyes, {{psychotic smirk}}s and/or slasher smiles, and {{scary shiny glasses}}.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:U-Z]]

[[/folder]]
[[/index]]

** "[[DemonicPossession Puppet]]":[[spoiler: Before going deeper into the mines, Mario and Luigi find a photo of a happy Alice and Riba. They find a note Alice left on the back detailing her descent into evil, and with this they venture to where Anna was buried. The entity is chewed out by Mario for killing her innocent sister even with all of the abuse she suffered. Anna attempts to kill Mario before they tell Anna the truth of [[YourDaysAreNumbered Alice's]] [[SanitySlippage circumstances]]. Anna's spirit is finally pacified and she encourages Mario and Luigi to not let Alice take Mario's body. The mine collapse sequence, Riba fight, and ALice's sealing are the same, but Mario wasn't taken with her. Luigi helps Mario out of the mines and the two head home (with Mario noting that he feels somewhat off). Late in the night Luigi awakes to find Mario up. He's given silence until Mario utters "Where is my daughter", horrifying Luigi with the knowledge that Alice had won after all.]]

Filled to the brim with {{gorn}}, {{high octane nightmare fuel}}, and {{tear jerker}}s, this fangame created by Team Ari (lead by the talented artist Marios-Friend9) stars Mario as he ventures out to an abandoned home that's been close to the Mushroom Kingdom for over a century. People have gone inside it before but there has been no returns. Princess Peach was also supposed to come along for the ride to investigate, but Mario left her behind for her own safety. Soon after making it inside the plumber comes across a quaint little music box that was playing by itself. Little did he know, the "harmless" music box would set off a series of events that would serve to utterly break and terrify him (and the players) every step of the way while also trying to get him killed. As a horror/puzzle/survival game it tests the player(s) in a way where one little thing could lead to a ''pretty nasty {{game over}}''. HaveANiceDeath.

* TheCameo:Princess Peach.[[spoiler: She only makes a proper appearance near the end of the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and she's the only other Mario Universe character besides Mario and Luigi to make an appearance. Justified in that Luigi's in the Mushroom Kingdom now. This is especially egregious if you don't take the "Omitted Memory" ending route because her only appearances would have been illusions and a spirit impersonating her who tries to inject poison into Mario. You can also hear what appears to be her on the phone with Mario (whether it's her or not is up for grabs, but it's probably not).]]

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Played with but exaggerated in the sheer number of ways you can get a game over (all of which obviously result in death). There are some things that look like they may not kill you, some things that are obviously going to kill you, and some things that are (in)active at certain points of the game with certan characters. Justified in that the house is cursed to where several evngeful spirits want the playable cast dead.
* FirstPersonPerspective: A lot of the game overs in the game tret the viewer to a lovely shot of the killer.

* GlamourFailure: Subverted with one mirror in the house as it doesn't reflect ''anything'' at all, but it's implied with the broken mirrors around the house and played straight with one mirror and [[EyesNeverLie whenever someone's possessed]].[[spoiler: [[GreenEyes Anytime Mario's eyes go ''green'']] it's either Alice trying to take over or gaining complete control over him. A mirror that Mario can look into earlier won't show anything special, but once Luigi's in the party it shows Mario standing next to him with {{red and black and evil all over}} colors. This is from Mario's point of view, showing the player how much control Alice has over him. Luigi's eyes also go orange twice in the story, once where he's about to take a key from a mutilated corpse and later when a spirit is trying to drag Mario into the fireplace (he snaps out of it though).]]
* HauntedHouse: A house were people are said to never return from with many horrible secrets to it. It's also cursed to add to the haunted factor.
* HellIsThatNoise: A few spirits make some pretty nightmarish sounds. The music also counts for most of the time.

* LoveMakesYouEvil: A few charactrs seem to have fallen into this trap.

* MultipleEndings: There's several ending routes that depend on what you did.[[spoiler: Going upstairs after Luigi joins the party will lock the player into the first "bad ending" "Omitted Memory". Going to the hallway instead will lock the player into one of the other four endings; "Missing", "Sealed", "Puppet", and "GoldenEnding Better off Lost".]]

** "[[SealedGoodInACan Sea]][[SealedGoodInACan led]]":[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the forest area, first getting a key to enter the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]". There they meet Serina's spirit [[CainAndAbel and find out the truth behind her death]]. They enter the mines and journey deeper until Alice hijacks Mario yet again, only to get knocked out by Riba who's planning something with Alice. With Mario incapacited, [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba reveals how he was the one responsible for Alice's actions]]. Luigi chases after them and finds Mario with Riba, the latter of whom attempts to kill Luigi. Fighting the man off, Luigi witnesses as Alice!Mario off Riba before reaching out for the man. Luigi knows that it isn't his brother doing this and finds himself transported to another dimension. There, Alice reveals [[DealWithTheDevil her]] [[ImmortalitySeeker involvement]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil with]] [[LouisCypher Riba]], [[TheDogBitesBack her]] [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment]], [[AntiHero how Anna]] [[HorrorHunger is responsible]] [[NecessaryEvil for the]] [[YourSoulIsMine disappeared travelers]], [[KillEmAll and her intentions]]. Luigi battles her and wins, [[PyrrhicVictory but not without a price to pay]]. [[TakingYouWithMe Alice takes Mario's soul with her]], forcing Luigi to leave to get help. [[TearJerker Mario's soul calls out to Luigi, begging him not to go, but Luigi goes anyways in the hopes that he can still save Mario]]. After 2 days of Mario being missing, [[CassandraTruth Peach finally believes Luigi about the incident]] and sends a search party in the mines to look for Mario. They find him, [[KilledOffForReal or rather what's left of him]].]]

** "[[GoldenEnding Better off Lost]]":[[spoiler: [[HundredPercentCompletion All of the journal entries are required to see this ending]]. Everything's the same as the "Puppet" ending route but it changes with how Mario leads the two out of the mines instead of Luigi. They make it to an exit and Alice's spirit confronts them again, this time asking them not to leave her and how all she wants is just to live again. Mario, [[EasilyForgiven in a sign of forgiveness]], tells Alice that she no longer has anything to worry about; with her former lover Riba dead she's no longer bound to his will. He even goes as far as to smash the one thing that served to imprison her: the music box. [[WhatTheHellHero Alice and Luigi are in shock]], but Mario tells Alice that she's free now, [[HonorBeforeReason promising to not tell anyone of the horrible secrets of the house]] and pacifying her spirit. She thanks him in spite of all she's done to him and others, and she finally fades away. Back home, [[IGaveMyWord Mario keeps his word]]by [[DestroyTheEvidence burning his journal in their fireplace]], something that Luigi is none too pleased with. Mario decides that he's had enough of the nightmare and asks Luigi to never speak of it again. Luigi agrees, and the two share a moment of peace before the fireplace.]]
* NintendoHard: Before the SmashingSurvival was put in place, players used to have to press a specific button in a long string before time ran out. This is still available for players who want the challenge, though it was noted to be notoriously difficult.

* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Spirits are said to mostly lack corporeal forms (even though most if not all spirits in the haunted house have a physical body), and angels are even mentioned. Spirits that do have cororeal forms also tend to be hostile with few exceptions. Entities are mentioned (though they aren't given much explanation) and only two of them in the game exist:[[spoiler: Alice and Anna]].
* PointOfNoReturn: The game gives you two informed instances of this after[[spoiler: Luigi is reunited with Mario.]] Another less obvious one is when[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi pull a lever and have to make it into the deeper parts of the mines before the time limit is up.]]

* TimedMission: This constitutes about three game overs should you fail them.[[spoiler: Riba will be killed by Alice!Mario if he doesn't find a hiding spot within the time limit, Mario and Luigi will both be buried under rubble if they don't get out of the "endless hallway", and Mario will die in the mines of the duo don't make it to the lower parts of the cave after activating the switch.]]
* TraitorShot: Look for anything out of the ordinary to spot the traitor, including {{glamour failure}}, hidden eyes {{psychotic smirk}}s and/or slasher smiles, and {{scary shiny glasses}}.

[[caption-width-right:350:Have some [[BringMeMyBrownPants brown overalls]] and some handkerchiefs (or I'm not crying excuses) on standby. You ''might'' need them.]]

We all know ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' right? The colorful world of Mario and co. as they venture off to engage in [[LighterAndSofter light-hearted and wacky shenangans]] with friends [[GoKartingWithBowser and foes alike]]? Of course you do. You'd have to have lived under a rock (or be really old) to have never heard of Mario at all.

...''[[DarkerAndEdgier This]]'' game, however, [[SubvertedTrope is none of those things mentioned above]]. This game is what happens when you take Mario out of the happy-go-lucky Mario Universe and throw him into a game the likes of CorpseParty, MadFather, and TheWitchsHouse. This is the game called...''(Mario) The Music Box''.

Filled to the brim with {{gorn}}, this fangame created by Team Ari (lead by the talented artist Marios-Friend9) stars Mario as he ventures out to an abandoned home that's been close to the Mushroom Kingdom for over a century. People have gone inside it before but there has been no returns. Princess Peach was also supposed to come along for the ride to investigate, but Mario left her behind for her own safety. Soon after making it inside the plumber comes across a quaint little music box that was playing by itself. Little did he know, the "harmless" music box would set off a series of events that would serve to utterly break and terrify him (and the players) every step of the way while also trying to get him killed. As a horror/puzzle/survival game it tests the player(s) in a way where one little thing could lead to a ''pretty nasty GameOver''. HaveANiceDeath.

!!This game contains examples of the following:
* AntiHero: [[spoiler:Spirit!Anna becomes a variation of this after death. As an entity she was able to seal her adopted mother Alice into the music box to keep her from doing any more harm, yet to continue living she must feed on the souls of the living that come into the cursed house and she's far from heroic in character (just read what she did to her sister Serina). She also spared Mario's life when he first came into the house for some reason but immediately set out to kill him once he became Alice's vessel.]]

* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler: Two out of the five ending routes have Alice successfully overtake Mario while two others have her invoke a PyrrhicVictory on the good guys (she corrupts Mario to the point that he becomes the new host of the music box after her complete demise in the "Omitted Memory" ending route and [[TakingYouWithMe she drags Mario's soul into the music box as she's getting sealed back in]]. unless you get the True Ending, Alice severly screws Mario and Luigi over in any case.]]
* BattleInTheRain: This gets mixed with RooftopConfrontation when [[TheHero Mario]] faces [[spoiler:[[BigBad Alice]]]] for the last time in the "[[spoiler:Omitted Memory]]" ending route. Somewhat enforced/justified in that Mario mentioned that it always rains in the area.
* BigBad: [[spoiler: The mistress of the house, Alice, serves as this throughout the game. While [[BiggerBad Riba]] was looking to take the title from her near the end of the game much like [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds Hilda was going to do in regards to Yuga-Ganon]], [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Alice!Mario takes him out]].]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Riba.]]
* BlackEyesOfCrazy: Only one spirit consistently has this trait[[spoiler: and you don't see much of them for long anyways]].[[spoiler: Mario briefly displays this when he looks into a mirror when Luigi is in his party. [[FridgeHorror They weren't there if he looked at a few mirrors earlier]].]]
* BlackEyesOfEvil: Three spirits have this trait.
* TheCameo: Princess Peach. [[spoiler: She only makes a proper appearance near the end of the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and she's the only other Mario Universe character besides Mario and Luigi to make an appearance. Justified in that Luigi's in the Mushroom Kingdom now. This is especially egregious if you don't take the "Omitted Memory" ending route because her only appearances would have been illusions and a spirit impersonating her who tries to inject poison into Mario. You can also hear what appears to be her on the phone with Mario (whether it's her or not is up for grabs, but it's probably not).]]

* TheCorrupter: Spirits do this through possession.[[spoiler: Alice is the one who cursed the house and all the people in it as per Riba's instruction (though he's the one who created it). [[UpToEleven Alice one-ups the other spirits in the "Omitted Memory"]] route by supposedly corrupting Mario into becoming the music box's new host as her spirit disintegrated.]]

* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler: Alice describes her involvment with Riba as this. This might explain her acquired bloodlust and sociopathy. Alice herself invokes this with Luigi saying that this was Mario's price for wanting to find out the truth behind the house. [[ShutUpHannibal Luigi isn't buying it for a second]].]]

* DrivenToSuicide: ''Very'' prominent in this game.[[spoiler: A backstory example is Rosa taking her life because she can't reveal the horrible secrets being kept by the family.]]
* EmptyEyes: Reserved for characters who have either crossed the DespairEventHorizon, have been possessed (while changing eye colors), or just died, and some spirits have this too.

* EvilLaugh: One of the spirits indulges in this.[[spoiler: [[BigBad Alice]] gets an impressive one after killing Alfred and [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba]] gets one when threatening to kill Luigi. The impostor Mario's laugh itself isn't actually evil or scary once you find the actual sound clip, but that's not here or there.]]
* EvilPhone: After [[spoiler:Mario reunites with Luigi]], the [[spoiler:left wing that used to take you to the garden]] has a stand with a ringing phone on it. Do not answer it: doing so triggers a game over as Mario picks up the phone with Princess Peach supposedly on the other line. She's screaming about something getting closer before going silent, signifying something bad happening to her. Mario [[HeroicBSOD bluescreens]][[spoiler: before Alice capitalizes on it, takes over, and kills Luigi who's comforting Mario.]]
* FaceMonsterTurn: Possession by a hostile spirit can do this to someone.[[spoiler: This happened to the other spirits present in the house, causing them to become hostile towards Mario, Luigi, and Riba. Mario does this in two ending routes under Alice's complete control.]]
* FightingFromTheInside: [[spoiler: Mario is implied to be fighting against Alice's control whenever she's the one in control.]]

* FloorboardFailure: A crack[[spoiler: to the right of the foyer's second floor]] is pure schmuck bait. Obviously, if Mario chooses to jump on it he'll fall through. This kills him as [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice he lands on what looks like four huge spikes]] (typical ''VideoGame/MortalKombat''-style). This is also the area in[[spoiler: the first floor's bathroom that you can't access.]]
* GlamourFailure: Subverted with one mirror in the house as it doesn't reflect ''anything'' at all, but it's implied with the broken mirrors around the house and played straight with one mirror and [[EyesNeverLie whenever someone's possessed]].[[spoiler: [[GreenEyes Anytime Mario's eyes go ''green'']] it's either Alice trying to take over or gaining complete control over him. A mirror that Mario can look into earlier won't show anything special, but once Luigi's in the party it shows Mario standing next to him with RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver colors. This is from Mario's point of view, showing the player how much control Alice has over him. Luigi's eyes also go orange twice in the story, once where he's about to take a key from a mutilated corpse and later when a spirit is trying to drag Mario into the fireplace (he snaps out of it though).]]
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Six spirits possess this trait (for all but one it's the only part of their eyes you can see and all of them can be seen from a first person view). [[spoiler: [[FallenHero Mario has this during the "Omitted Memory" ending route when he becomes the new host for the music box]]]].
* GoodIsDumb: A very mild case of this, but Mario's curiosity and lack of caution gets him into a boatload of trouble that could have been avoided if he had just strayed from touching some random music box playing on its own.
* GoodIsNotNice: Downplayed. Mario is a nice guy, but he will not hesitate to tell off a spirit if he thinks they're in the wrong.[[spoiler: This almost gets him killed once, but thankfully for Luigi they show Anna the photo of a happy Alice and Riba as well as Alice's note on the back, getting her to stop.]]
* GoodIsNotSoft: Neither Mario or Luigi will hesitate to outright fight their attackers (provided that the game gives them the chance to do so). This overlaps with DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu considering that they go up against some powerful spirits.
* GrimyWater: Out in the [[spoiler:forest]] area, the water is said to be still and lost its natural color. Naturally, it will kill you if you try to swim through it as Mario.

* HeelFaceTurn: Some spirits can be pacified and thus be able to pass on to the next life[[spoiler:, freed of the curse]]. This includes [[spoiler:[[BigBad Alice]] in the True Ending]].

* HereWeGoAgain: [[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi lampshades having to come to said haunted house to look for Mario a second time as soon as he enters]].
* HiddenEyes: Several characters have this characteristic [[BlindingBangs if their eyes aren't already covered by their hair instead]]. One of Alice's eyes is sometimes seen while the other one is hidden instead of having both of them hidden.[[spoiler: [[AvertedTrope She ditches this trait later on]] during the "Omitted Memory" ending route where her EmptyEyes are seen briefly before turning into BlackEyesOfCrazy and GlowingEyesOfDoom.]]
* IAmAHumanitarian: A spirit is lurking in the [[spoiler:dark left wing]] as Riba goes alone to retrieve the plank from the nursery. If Mario [[spoiler:gave Riba the lantern]] prior to him going to get the plank to cross the gap, it's a gameover. Mario waits for a while before going after then man feeling guilty, only to run into his corpse getting literally eaten out by the spirit (complete with realistic munching sounds too) before said spirit turns on him next. If Riba [[spoiler:wasn't given the lantern]], then he needs to get the hell out of the [[spoiler:left wing]] before the spirit (who's moving slowly in a room where it's hard to see her) catches him. If it does, he can't fight back and gets eaten alive before Mario shows up. Mario is eaten and then the spirit returns to the still-alive Riba to finish her meal.
* IJustWantToBeFree: Mario progressively wants nothing more than to get the hell out of the house and forget about it after [[BreakTheBadass multiple rounds]] [[BreakTheCutie of soul crushing]].[[spoiler: This is also why Alice is so desperate to keep Mario's body. She can't escape the house so long as the music box is intact and she needs a body to be able to leave.[[{{Forgiveness}} Mario gives her that chance in the True Ending]].]]
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: [[spoiler: Riba was particularly pleased with Alice's developing insanity and bloodlust during the killing spree for their ritual, describing it as making her perfect to be his angel ([[LouisCypher ironic considering who he's said to actually be]]).]]
* LaughingMad: [[spoiler:Alice and Riba indulge in this trope. Luigi also does this after going crazy when he's trying to off what he believes is an impostor of Mario (it's the real deal who goes to find him if Riba tells Mario about Luigi).]]
* LostForever: Certain areas will be blocked off for good after a certain point in the story, meaning you lose out on journal entries associated with the area or things you learn from them. The endless hall will not be endless by the time Riba goes to fetch the plank. After Mario reunites with Luigi, the garden area[[spoiler: in which you see an apparition of the living Anna]] will be inaccessable for the rest of the game.[[spoiler: [[PointOfNoReturn After Mario and Luigi make it out the collapsing parts of the mines they can only go forward from then on]]. This becomes problematic in that some rooms are not accessable all of the time and some are even forgotten or passed by because the player needs all journal entries to see the True Ending.]]
* LoveMakesYouEvil: Alice killed damn-near everyone else in the house so that she could be granted eternal life and live as an entity with her beloved (who turns out to be [[spoiler:Riba]]). The result is a maniacal witch who will stop at no boundaries to get what she wants and will run through anyone in her way.
* LouisCypher: [[spoiler:Alice implies that Riba is the devil himself which could explain how he's still looking young in the present.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Riba was behind Alice's killing spree in the first place.]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Riba appeared to be a pleasant guy throughout most of his appearances, but once Mario reads the letter concerning a sacrifice, Riba drops all pleasantries and remains as a villain from then on (provided that you see him alive again depending on the ending).]]
* MultipleEndings: There's several ending routes that depend on what you did. [[spoiler: Going upstairs after Luigi joins the party will lock the player into the first "bad ending" "Omitted Memory". Going to the hallway instead will lock the player into one of the other four endings; "Missing", "Sealed", "Puppet", and "GoldenEnding Better off Lost".]]
** "[[RetGone Omitted Memory]]": [[spoiler: Going to the second floor from the formerly nurery room after Luigi joins the party will lock you into this "bad ending" route. Mario suffers from supernatural causes and becomes catatonic, forcing Luigi to look for help. Rosa gives Luigi holy water to dispel Alice from Mario's body after giving her both Alfred's apology letter and the engagement ring he planned to give her. Luigi forces Alice out of Mario, freeing him from her control, and the two head to the rooftop to confront her one last time. Riba is dead and Luigi is knocked out by Alice. She attempts one last time to take Mario's body from him but ultimately fails [[DeaderThanDead and is completely wiped out]]. Her curse begins to spread however with her gone, and Mario is enveloped by it. Mario, in an effort to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Alice's curse, takes it upon him and sends Luigi back home, noting how Luigi will no longer be a shadow of him. When Luigi comes to, he learns that Princess Peach found him and has completely forgotten about Mario. Desperate, Luigi finds a photo to prove that Mario's real, only for Mario to disappear from all the photos with him in it. To keep Luigi from angsting over it, Mario's spirit wipes his memory of him, promising to keep watch over him.]]
** "[[SerialKiller Missing]]": [[spoiler: Mario and Luigi decide to leave the house through the front entrance (which was gone after Mario first touched the music box). With the bros outside Mario vows to never go off into a haunted mansion by himself. Luigi senses that something's up right before Mario starts heading back to the house. The man begins mumbling to himself with Luigi looking on scared and confused. Mario states that he'd rather return to the mansion alone much to Luigi's bewilderment (while sporting a SlasherSmile). Not long after, he stabs Luigi, telling him that he's not needed and that he can finally leave the cursed place and live again. Lo and behold, Alice had taken Mario's body so that she could carry out what she started: completing the ritual she began long ago. With that she leaves Luigi to die near the mansion as she sets out once again to engage in another killing spree. A newspaper details Luigi's death and how Mario had gone [[TitleDrop missing]].]]
** "[[SealedGoodInACan Sea]][[SealedGoodInACan led]]": [[spoiler: Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the forest area, first getting a key to enter the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]". There they meet Serina's spirit [[CainAndAbel and find out the truth behind her death]]. They enter the mines and journey deeper until Alice hijacks Mario yet again, only to get knocked out by Riba who's planning something with Alice. With Mario incapacited, [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba reveals how he was the one responsible for Alice's actions]]. Luigi chases after them and finds Mario with Riba, the latter of whom attempts to kill Luigi. Fighting the man off, Luigi witnesses as Alice!Mario off Riba before reaching out for the man. Luigi knows that it isn't his brother doing this and finds himself transported to another dimension. There, Alice reveals [[DealWithTheDevil her]] [[ImmortalitySeeker involvement]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil with]] [[LouisCypher Riba]], [[TheDogBitesBack her]] [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment]], [[AntiHero how Anna]] [[HorrorHunger is responsible]] [[NecessaryEvil for the]] [[YourSoulIsMine disappeared travelers]], [[KillEmAll and her intentions]]. Luigi battles her and wins, [[PyrrhicVictory but not without a price to pay]]. [[TakingYouWithMe Alice takes Mario's soul with her]], forcing Luigi to leave to get help. [[TearJerker Mario's soul calls out to Luigi, begging him not to go, but Luigi goes anyways in the hopes that he can still save Mario]]. After two days of Mario being missing, [[CassandraTruth Peach finally believes Luigi about the incident]] and sends a search party in the mines to look for Mario. They find him, [[KilledOffForReal or rather what's left of him]].]]
** "[[DemonicPossession Puppet]]": [[spoiler: Before going deeper into the mines, Mario and Luigi find a photo of a happy Alice and Riba. They find a note Alice left on the back detailing her descent into evil, and with this they venture to where Anna was buried. The entity is chewed out by Mario for killing her innocent sister even with all of the abuse she suffered. Anna attempts to kill Mario before they tell Anna the truth of [[YourDaysAreNumbered Alice's]] [[SanitySlippage circumstances]]. Anna's spirit is finally pacified and she encourages Mario and Luigi to not let Alice take Mario's body. The mine collapse sequence, Riba fight, and ALice's sealing are the same, but Mario wasn't taken with her. Luigi helps Mario out of the mines and the two head home (with Mario noting that he feels somewhat off). Late in the night Luigi awakes to find Mario up. He's given silence until Mario utters "Where is my daughter", horrifying Luigi with the knowledge that Alice had won after all.]]
** "[[GoldenEnding Better off Lost]]": [[spoiler: [[HundredPercentCompletion All of the journal entries are required to see this ending]]. Everything's the same as the "Puppet" ending route but it changes with how Mario leads the two out of the mines instead of Luigi. They make it to an exit and Alice's spirit confronts them again, this time asking them not to leave her and how all she wants is just to live again. Mario, [[EasilyForgiven in a sign of forgiveness]], tells Alice that she no longer has anything to worry about; with her former lover Riba dead she's no longer bound to his will. He even goes as far as to smash the one thing that served to imprison her: the music box. [[WhatTheHellHero Alice and Luigi are in shock]], but Mario tells Alice that she's free now, [[HonorBeforeReason promising to not tell anyone of the horrible secrets of the house]] and pacifying her spirit. She thanks him in spite of all she's done to him and others, and she finally fades away. Back home, [[IGaveMyWord Mario keeps his word]] by [[DestroyTheEvidence burning his journal in their fireplace]], something that Luigi is none too pleased with. Mario decides that he's had enough of the nightmare and asks Luigi to never speak of it again. Luigi agrees, and the two share a moment of peace before the fireplace.]]
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Only two spirits you meet in the entire game aren't malevolent at any point in the plot. The rest are all out to kill you or possess you.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Long story short for those who don't want to go into the spoiler tags, Mario ''really'' shouldn't have touched that music box.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler: Alice is not so subtle when it comes to possessing Mario. Aside from the GlamourFailure involved, she acts like the crazy sadist she is and tries to kill anyone she can, leading to her numerous defeats because Luigi and Riba caught on to her. This doesn't stick in some endings however.]]
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[spoiler: Implied to be how Alice killed Anna judging from the sounds made. Luigi (possibly under possession by a spirit) does this to Mario if he only gives Rosa Alfred's apology letter. If Luigi only gives her the engagement ring Alfred had for her instead, she flies into a rage and does this to the helpless Mario instead.]]

* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler: If Mario doesn't fails to get the survival guage up a second time in a row against Alice in the "Omitted Memory" route, this will happen to him.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: All of the spirits in the home naturally apply considering that it has been decades since their passing.[[spoiler: Riba also counts too after Mario and Luigi find an old family photo with him in it, looking exactly the same then as he does now.]]
* OminouslyOpenDoor: Downplayed in that ''whatever'' is behind any open door in the house you find is dead. The open doors you ''can'' enter will both result in game overs. When you[[spoiler: first take control of Luigi, the second floor's right hallway has "[[CaptainObvious It's Evil]]" written in blood on the wall with two blood arrows pointing toward a single open door]]. The camera doesn't follow Luigi inside however, staying put as the door closes behind the plumber. [[SoundOnlyDeath The next thing you know there's a loud sound heard and a screen shake before blood is seen on the glass and leaking out from the bottom of the door]]. The other example is when[[spoiler: Mario is stuck in another vision and when the open door with blood coming from it first shows up]]. Going in the door will result in someone killing him.
* OmnicidalManiac: Alice became this in her life and several spirits encountered are this.[[spoiler: She's still like this years after her initial demise. Riba also turned out to be this near the end of the game.]]
* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Spirits are said to mostly lack corporeal forms (even though most if not all spirits in the haunted house have a physical body), and angels are even mentioned. Spirits that do have cororeal forms also tend to be hostile with few exceptions. Entities are mentioned (though they aren't given much explanation) and only two of them in the game exist: [[spoiler: Alice and Anna]].

* PleaseDontLeaveMe: [[spoiler: Mario's spirit says this to Luigi as the latter is leaving the mines in the "Sealed" ending route. Alice says this to Mario and Luigi in the True Ending route after they had beaten her out of the former, revealing that [[HiddenDepths she's not just a crazed killer after all]].]]
* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler: Alice inflicts this trope on Mario and Luigi in the "Omitted Memory" ending route and the "Sealed" ending route.]]
* TheReveal: As Mario (and Luigi) progress through the plot, several disturbing things are found out.[[spoiler: Alice possessed Mario through him touching the music box (in which her adopted daughter sealed her in after becoming an entity), and Riba is directly responsible for Alice's killing spree and her subsequent cursing of the house and everyone in it, effectively serving as her StartOfDarkness. Riba is also possibly the devil himself.]]
* {{Sadist}}: Alice made no attempt to hide this facet of her personality at all after she grew into it, though she wasn't always like this.[[spoiler: Riba is revealed to be this and this is partially why he made Alice do the killings.]]
* ScaryShinyGlasses: [[spoiler: Riba sports this when he's greeting a Mario he knocked out in the mines before revealing so much information about him.]]

* ShadowArchetype: Anna counts as this to Luigi. Both were [[TheUnfavorite the lesser loved siblings of their respective pairs]], effectively being a shadow to their other sibling who loved them very much ([[LampshadeHanging Luigi lampshades this]] [[TearJerker to heartbreaking effect]]). There are some significant differences however: Anna is the older sibling however while Luigi is the younger sibling, Luigi is blood-related to Mario while Anna was adopted months prior to Serina's birth, and Luigi geniunely loves Mario enough to want to give up his own life for him (he can end up not dying in most cases) while Anna[[spoiler: killed her own sister out of hate and to improve her own life ([[DidntThinkThisThrough which ended up getting her murdered instead]]).]] Mario and Luigi can both live to the end of the story if the conditions are met while Anna and Serina are both dead before the story even starts.
* ShearMenace: A little [[BlackEyesOfEvil black-eyed-girl]] in a room past the [[spoiler:right wing]] will attempt to kill you with scissors. Unlike most SmashingSurvival scenes in the game in which you have to barge a door open, there is no gauge for this one, meaning there is a certain number of times the spacebar must be mashed to escape (it's a guarantee that she'll get really close to killing you). She shows up again as Mario's taking a pair of scissors from a trunk ''loaded'' with them (him thinking it was him imagination that time) and will not come back[[spoiler: until much later when Luigi's with you]]. If you[[spoiler: go into the room with Luigi with you]], it's game over. Again, the door is closed and not budging, and the girl closes in on Mario, attacking him several times until he goes quiet. The door finally opens to a dead Mario with a pair of scissors in his eye[[spoiler:, and the girl turns on Luigi next]].
* SlasherSmile: Several characters display one of these or a psychotic smirk.
* SlipperySkid: One of the two methods of death in the [[spoiler:first floor's bathroom]]. Investigating the puddle of blood coming from the wall will cause Mario to slip on it and slide into the wall (either by being dragged into it by a spirit or sliding into some shaft or hole). [[NothingIsScarier A gurgling/roaring sound could be heard afterwards]].
* SoreLoser: [[spoiler: Alice does not go down quietly in the "Sealed" ending route.]]
* SpookyPainting: There's a picture frame of a black headed Mario and another one of [[TheCameo Princess Peach]].[[spoiler: The black headed Mario impostor comes out of the portrait and pursues Luigi throughout the house while Princess Peach's [[UhOhEyes face]] [[SlasherSmile changes]] before a spirit impersonating her attacks Mario.]]
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Alice, having been defeated by Luigi in the "Sealed" ending route, decides to drag Mario's soul along with her out of spite.]]

* TooDumbToLive: A few game overs are in part due to this, but one in particular stands out. For a man as smart as he is, Riba can hide with just a lampshade on his head in plain sight while [[spoiler:Alice!Mario is pursuing him in the nursery.]] The dialogue is what sells it.
-->'''[[spoiler:Alice!Mario]]:''' You can't hide from - ''(sees Riba)''
-->''([[{{beat}} long awkward silence]])''
-->'''[[spoiler:Alice!Mario]]:''' [[BlatantLies Oh where, oh where could he be? I can't see him anywhere.~]]
-->''(walks up to Riba holding the light switch)''
-->'''[[spoiler:Alice!Mario]]:''' Hmmm... Let me turn on the light to see better.
-->'''Riba:''' [[OhCrap Uhh...]]
-->''([[{{beat}} more awkward silence]])''
-->'''Riba:''' ...[[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud Click]].
-->'''[[spoiler:Alice!Mario]]:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Nice try Riba]].
* TragicMonster: Everyone in the house qualifies with the possible exception of [[spoiler:Riba]].
* TraitorShot: Look for anything out of the ordinary to spot the traitor, including GlamourFailure, hidden eyes, {{psychotic smirk}}s and/or slasher smiles, and ScaryShinyGlasses.
* UhOhEyes: There's quite the gallery of unusual eye colors or details that let you know what type of character you're dealing with.
* UndeathlyPallor: A few spirits display this given that they're, well, dead.[[spoiler: Alice averts this trope until the end of the "Omitted Memory" route, where her skin turns into a ghastly white rather than gray like others.]]
* VocalDissonance: The possessers can have their voices heard instead of the possessees, making them sound off.[[spoiler: Granted, Mario is the only victim of this and Alice is a frequent offender of this. Hearing her shreiking in Mario's body may constitute for {{narm}}.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: There are some spirits who you never find out about at any point in the story (and some of them are better off left alone for the playable cast's sake). The Mario Bros. come across a family photo with a few unseen (or at least unrecognizable) characters.[[spoiler: Riba's ultimate fate is also unknown in the "Missing" ending route.]]
* YouCantFightFate: A recurring motif that some spirits will gladly remind you of. This comes into effect with the many game overs and certain endings.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Several spirits say this to Mario and Luigi, telling them that they're doomed to die in the cursed house.[[spoiler: [[StartOfDarkness This trope combined with LoveMakesYouEvil is what ultimately drove Alice to commit the many murders she did to gain eternal life and live with her beloved after she found out she was diagnosed with developing schizophrenia and hysteria]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Have some [[BringMeMyBrownPants brown overalls]] and some [[TearJerker handkerchiefs (or I'm not crying excuses)]] on standby. You ''might'' need them.]]

We all know SuperMarioBros right? The colorful world of Mario and co. as they venture off to engage in [[LighterAndSofter light-hearted and wacky shenangans]] with friends [[GoKartingWithBowser and foes alike]]? Of course you do. You'd have to have lived under a rock (or be really old) to have never heard of Mario at all.

…''[[DarkerAndEdgier This]]'' game, however, [[SubvertedTrope is none of those things mentioned above]]. This game is what happens when you take Mario out of the happy-go-lucky Mario Universe and throw him into a game the likes of CorpseParty, MadFather, and TheWitchsHouse. This is the game called…(Mario) The Music Box.

Filled to the brim with {{gorn}}, {{high octane nightmare fuel}}, and {{tear jerker}}s, this fangame created by Team Ari (lead by the talented artist Marios-Friend9) stars Mario as he ventures out to an abandoned home that's been close to the Mushroom Kingdom for over a century. People have gone inside it before but there has been no returns. Princess Peach was also supposed to come along for the ride to investigate, but Mario left her behind for her own safety. Soon after making it inside the plumber comes across a quaint little music box that was playing by itself. Little did he know, the "harmless" music box would set off a series of events that would serve to utterly break and terrify him (and the players) every step of the way while also trying to get him killed. As a horror/puzzle/survival game it tests the player(s) in a way where one little thing could lead to a ''pretty nasty {{game over}}''. HaveANiceDeath.

!!'''This game contains examples of the following:'''
[[index]]
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:0-C]]
* AntiHero:[[spoiler:Spirit!Anna becomes a variation of this after death. As an entity she was able to seal her adopted mother Alice into the music box to keep her from doing any more harm, yet to continue living she must feed on the souls of the living that come into the cursed house and she's far from heroic in character (just read what she did to her sister Serina). She also spared Mario's life when he first came into the house for some reason but immediately set out to kill him once he became Alice's vessel.]]

* TheBadGuyWins:[[spoiler: Two out of the five ending routes have Alice successfully overtake Mario while two others have her invoke a PyrrhicVictory on the good guys (she corrupts Mario to the point that he becomes the new host of the music box after her complete demise in the "Omitted Memory" ending route and [[TakingYouWithMe she drags Mario's soul into the music box as she's getting sealed back in]]. unless you get the True Ending, Alice severly screws Mario and Luigi over in any case.]]
* BattleInTheRain:This gets mixed with RooftopConfrontation when [[TheHero Mario]] faces [[spoiler:[[BigBad Alice]]]] for the last time in the "[[spoiler:Omitted Memory]]" ending route. Somewhat enforced/justified in that Mario mentioned that it always rains in the area.
* BigBad:[[spoiler: The mistress of the house, Alice, serves as this throughout the game. While [[BiggerBad Riba]] was looking to take the title from her near the end of the game much like [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds Hilda was going to do in regards to Yuga-Ganon]], [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Alice!Mario takes him out]].]]
* BitchInSheepsClothing:[[spoiler: Riba.]]
* TheCameo:Princess Peach.[[spoiler: She only makes a proper appearance near the end of the "Omitted Memory" ending route, and she's the only other Mario Universe character besides Mario and Luigi to make an appearance. Justified in that Luigi's in the Mushroom Kingdom now. This is especially egregious if you don't take the "Omitted Memory" ending route because her only appearances would have been illusions and a spirit impersonating her who tries to inject poison into Mario. You can also hear what appears to be her on the phone with Mario (whether it's her or not is up for grabs, but it's probably not).]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:D-F]]

* DealWithTheDevil:[[spoiler: Alice describes her involvment with Riba as this. This might explain her acquired bloodlust and sociopathy. Alice herself invokes this with Luigi saying that this was Mario's price for wanting to find out the truth behind the house. [[ShutUpHannibal Luigi isn't buying it for a second]].]]

** LaughingMad:[[spoiler: Again, Alice and Riba indulge in this trope. Luigi also does this after going crazy when he's trying to off what he believes is an impostor of Mario (it's the real deal who goes to find him if Riba tells Mario about Luigi).]]

* FightingFromTheInside:[[spoiler: Mario is implied to be fighting against Alice's control whenever she's the one in control.]]

* FloorboardFailure: A crack[[spoiler: to the right of the foyer's second floor]] is pure schmuck bait. Obviously, if Mario chooses to jump on it he'll fall through. This kills him as [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice he lands on what looks like four huge spikes]] (typical {{Mortal Kombat}}-style). This is also the area in[[spoiler: the first floor's bathroom that you can't access.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:G-J]]
* GlamourFailure: Subverted with one mirror in the house as it doesn't reflect ''anything'' at all, but it's implied with the broken mirrors around the house and played straight with one mirror and [[EyesNeverLie whenever someone's possessed]].[[spoiler: [[GreenEyes Anytime Mario's eyes go ''green'']] it's either Alice trying to take over or gaining complete control over him. A mirror that Mario can look into earlier won't show anything special, but once Luigi's in the party it shows Mario standing next to him with {{red and black and evil all over}} colors. This is from Mario's point of view, showing the player how much control Alice has over him. Luigi's eyes also go orange twice in the story, once where he's about to take a key from a mutilated corpse and later when a spirit is trying to drag Mario into the fireplace (he snaps out of it though).]]

** HereWeGoAgain: [[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi lampshades having to come to said haunted house to look for Mario a second time as soon as he enters]].

* HiddenEyes: Several characters have this characteristic [[BlindingBangs if their eyes aren't already covered by their hair instead]]. One of Alice's eyes is sometimes seen while the other one is hidden instead of having both of them hidden.[[spoiler: [[AvertedTrope She ditches this trait later on]] during the "Omitted Memory" ending route where her {{empty eyes}} are seen briefly before turning into {{black eyes of crazy}} and {{glowing eyes of doom}}.]]

* InLoveWithYourCarnage:[[spoiler: Riba was particularly pleased with Alice's developing insanity and bloodlust during the killing spree for their ritual, describing it as making her perfect to be his angel ([[LouisCypher ironic considering who he's said to actually be]]).]]
* JumpScare: Several.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:K-N]]

* LouisCypher:[[spoiler:Alice implies that Riba is the devil himself which could explain how he's still looking young in the present.]]
* TheManBehindTheMan:[[spoiler: Riba was behind Alice's killing spree in the first place.]]

* TheMole:[[spoiler: Riba appeared to be a pleasant guy throughout most of his appearances, but once Mario reads the letter concerning a sacrifice, Riba drops all pleasantries and remains as a villain from then on (provided that you see him alive again depending on the ending).]]
* MultipleEndings: There's several ending routes that depend on what you did.[[spoiler: Going upstairs after Luigi joins the party will lock the player into the first "bad ending" "Omitted Memory". Going to the hallway instead will lock the player into one of the other four endings; "Missing", "Sealed", "Puppet", and "GoldenEnding Better off Lost".]]
** "[[RetGone Omitted Memory]]":[[spoiler: Going to the second floor from the formerly nurery room after Luigi joins the party will lock you into this "bad ending" route. Mario suffers from supernatural causes and becomes catatonic, forcing Luigi to look for help. Rosa gives Luigi holy water to dispel Alice from Mario's body after giving her both Alfred's apology letter and the engagement ring he planned to give her. Luigi forces Alice out of Mario, freeing him from her control, and the two head to the rooftop to confront her one last time. Riba is dead and Luigi is knocked out by Alice. She attempts one last time to take Mario's body from him but ultimately fails [[DeaderThanDead and is completely wiped out]]. Her curse begins to spread however with her gone, and Mario is enveloped by it. Mario, in an effort to save the Mushroom Kingdom from Alice's curse, takes it upon him and sends Luigi back home, noting how Luigi will no longer be a shadow of him. When Luigi comes to, he learns that Princess Peach found him and has completely forgotten about Mario. Desperate, Luigi finds a photo to prove that Mario's real, only for Mario to disappear from all the photos with him in it. To keep Luigi from angsting over it, Mario's spirit wipes his memory of him, promising to keep watch over him.]]
** "[[SerialKiller Missing]]":[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi decide to leave the house through the front entrance (which was gone after Mario first touched the music box). With the bros outside Mario vows to never go off into a haunted mansion by himself. Luigi senses that something's up right before Mario starts heading back to the house. The man begins mumbling to himself with Luigi looking on scared and confused. Mario states that he'd rather return to the mansion alone much to Luigi's bewilderment (while sporting a {{slasher smile}}). Not long after, he stabs Luigi, telling him that he's not needed and that he can finally leave the cursed place and live again. Lo and behold, Alice had taken Mario's body so that she could carry out what she started: completing the ritual she began long ago. With that she leaves Luigi to die near the mansion as she sets out once again to engage in another killing spree. A newspaper details Luigi's death and how Mario had gone [[TitleDrop missing]].]]
** "[[SealedGoodInACan Sea]][[SealedGoodInACan led]]":[[spoiler: Mario and Luigi attempt to leave through the forest area, first getting a key to enter the "[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Forest of Suicide]]". There they meet Serina's spirit [[CainAndAbel and find out the truth behind her death]]. They enter the mines and journey deeper until Alice hijacks Mario yet again, only to get knocked out by Riba who's planning something with Alice. With Mario incapacited, [[TheManBehindTheMan Riba reveals how he was the one responsible for Alice's actions]]. Luigi chases after them and finds Mario with Riba, the latter of whom attempts to kill Luigi. Fighting the man off, Luigi witnesses as Alice!Mario off Riba before reaching out for the man. Luigi knows that it isn't his brother doing this and finds himself transported to another dimension. There, Alice reveals [[DealWithTheDevil her]] [[ImmortalitySeeker involvement]] [[LoveMakesYouEvil with]] [[LouisCypher Riba]], [[TheDogBitesBack her]] [[SealedEvilInACan imprisonment]], [[AntiHero how Anna]] [[HorrorHunger is responsible]] [[NecessaryEvil for the]] [[YourSoulIsMine disappeared travelers]], [[KillEmAll and her intentions]]. Luigi battles her and wins, [[PyrrhicVictory but not without a price to pay]]. [[TakingYouWithMe Alice takes Mario's soul with her]], forcing Luigi to leave to get help. [[TearJerker Mario's soul calls out to Luigi, begging him not to go, but Luigi goes anyways in the hopes that he can still save Mario]]. After 2 days of Mario being missing, [[CassandraTruth Peach finally believes Luigi about the incident]] and sends a search party in the mines to look for Mario. They find him, [[KilledOffForReal or rather what's left of him]].]]
** "[[DemonicPossession Puppet]]":[[spoiler: Before going deeper into the mines, Mario and Luigi find a photo of a happy Alice and Riba. They find a note Alice left on the back detailing her descent into evil, and with this they venture to where Anna was buried. The entity is chewed out by Mario for killing her innocent sister even with all of the abuse she suffered. Anna attempts to kill Mario before they tell Anna the truth of [[YourDaysAreNumbered Alice's]] [[SanitySlippage circumstances]]. Anna's spirit is finally pacified and she encourages Mario and Luigi to not let Alice take Mario's body. The mine collapse sequence, Riba fight, and ALice's sealing are the same, but Mario wasn't taken with her. Luigi helps Mario out of the mines and the two head home (with Mario noting that he feels somewhat off). Late in the night Luigi awakes to find Mario up. He's given silence until Mario utters "Where is my daughter", horrifying Luigi with the knowledge that Alice had won after all.]]
** "[[GoldenEnding Better off Lost]]":[[spoiler: [[HundredPercentCompletion All of the journal entries are required to see this ending]]. Everything's the same as the "Puppet" ending route but it changes with how Mario leads the two out of the mines instead of Luigi. They make it to an exit and Alice's spirit confronts them again, this time asking them not to leave her and how all she wants is just to live again. Mario, [[EasilyForgiven in a sign of forgiveness]], tells Alice that she no longer has anything to worry about; with her former lover Riba dead she's no longer bound to his will. He even goes as far as to smash the one thing that served to imprison her: the music box. [[WhatTheHellHero Alice and Luigi are in shock]], but Mario tells Alice that she's free now, [[HonorBeforeReason promising to not tell anyone of the horrible secrets of the house]] and pacifying her spirit. She thanks him in spite of all she's done to him and others, and she finally fades away. Back home, [[IGaveMyWord Mario keeps his word]]by [[DestroyTheEvidence burning his journal in their fireplace]], something that Luigi is none too pleased with. Mario decides that he's had enough of the nightmare and asks Luigi to never speak of it again. Luigi agrees, and the two share a moment of peace before the fireplace.]]

* NiceJobFixingItVillain:[[spoiler: Alice is not so subtle when it comes to possessing Mario. Aside of the {{glamour failure}} involved, she acts like the crazy sadist she is and tries to kill anyone she can, leading to her numerous defeats because Luigi and Riba caught on to her. This doesn't stick in some endings however.]]
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown:[[spoiler: Implied to be how Alice killed Anna judging from the sounds made. Luigi (possibly under possession by a spirit) does this to Mario if he only gives Rosa Alfred's apology letter. If Luigi only gives her the engagement ring Alfred had for her instead, she flies into a rage and does this to the helpless Mario instead.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:O-R]]
* OffWithHisHead:[[spoiler: If Mario doesn't fails to get the survival guage up a second time in a row against Alice in the "Omitted Memory" route, this will happen to him.]]

* OurSoulsAreDifferent: Spirits are said to mostly lack corporeal forms (even though most if not all spirits in the haunted house have a physical body), and angels are even mentioned. Spirits that do have cororeal forms also tend to be hostile with few exceptions. Entities are mentioned (though they aren't given much explanation) and only two of them in the game exist:[[spoiler: Alice and Anna]].

* PleaseDontLeaveMe:[[spoiler: Mario's spirit says this to Luigi as the latter is leaving the mines in the "Sealed" ending route. Alice says this to Mario and Luigi in the True Ending route after they had beaten her out of the former, revealing that [[HiddenDepths she's not just a crazed killer after all]].]]
* PyrrhicVictory:[[spoiler: Alice inflicts this trope on Mario and Luigi in the "Omitted Memory" ending route and the "Sealed" ending route.]]
* TheReveal: As Mario (and Luigi) progress through the plot, several disturbing things are found out.[[spoiler: Alice possessed Mario through him touching the music box (in which her adopted daughter sealed her in after becoming an entity), and Riba is directly responsible for Alice's killing spree and her subsequent cursing of the house and everyone in it, effectively serving as her {{start of darkness}}. Riba is also possibly the devil himself.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:S-T]]

* ScaryShinyGlasses:[[spoiler: Riba sports this when he's greeting a Mario he knocked out in the mines before revealing so much information about him.]]

* ShearMenace: A little [[BlackEyesOfEvil black-eyed-girl]] in a room past the [[spoiler:right wing]] will attempt to kill you with scissors. Unlike most {{smashing survival}} scenes in the game in which you have to barge a door open, there is no gauge for this one, meaning there is a certain number of times the spacebar must be mashed to escape (it's a guarantee that she'll get really close to killing you). She shows up again as Mario's taking a pair of scissors from a trunk ''loaded'' with them (him thinking it was him imagination that time) and will not come back[[spoiler: until much later when Luigi's with you]]. If you[[spoiler: go into the room with Luigi with you]], it's game over. Again, the door is closed and not budging, and the girl closes in on Mario, attacking him several times until he goes quiet. The door finally opens to a dead Mario with a pair of scissors in his eye[[spoiler:, and the girl turns on Luigi next]].

* SoreLoser:[[spoiler: Alice does not go down quietly in the "Sealed" ending route, resulting in...]]
** TakingYouWithMe:[[spoiler: Alice, having been defeated by Luigi in the "Sealed" ending route, decides to drag Mario's soul along with her out of spite.]]

* TooDumbToLive: A few game overs are in part due to this, but one in particular stands out. For a man as smart as he is, Riba can hide with just a lampshade on his head in plain sight while [[spoiler:Alice!Mario is pursuing him in the nursery.]] [[CrowningMomentOfFunny The dialogue is what sells it]].
-->'''[[spoiler:Alice!Mario]]:''' You can't hide from - *sees Riba*
-->[[{{beat}} long awkward silence]]

-->*walks up to Riba holding the light switch*

-->[[{{beat}} more awkward silence]]

* TraitorShot: Look for anything out of the ordinary to spot the traitor, including {{glamour failure}}, hidden eyes {{psychotic smirk}}s and/or slasher smiles, and {{scary shiny glasses}}.
* TrialAndErrorGameplay: ''Throughout the entire game''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:U-Z]]

** BlackEyesOfCrazy: Only one spirit consistently has this trait[[spoiler: and you don't see much of them for long anyways]].[[spoiler: Mario briefly displays this when he looks into a mirror when Luigi is in his party. [[FridgeHorror They weren't there if he looked at a few mirrors earlier]].]]
** BlackEyesOfEvil: Three spirits have this trait.
** EmptyEyes: Reserved for characters who have either crossed the {{despair event horizon}}, have been possessed (while changing eye colors), or just died, and some spirits have this too.
** GlowingEyesOfDoom: Six spirits possess this trait (for all but one it's the only part of their eyes you can see and all of them can be seen from a first person view).[[spoiler: [[FallenHero Mario has this during the "Omitted Memory" ending route when he becomes the new host for the music box]]]].

[[/folder]]
[[/index]]

* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:Alice was this toward her adopted child Anna after Serina was born (Riba was implied to be this toward her as well). [[YankTheDogsChain It would have been reversed had Anna not kill Serina in response to all of the abuse inflicted on her, worsening to the point that Alice completely disowned and killed Anna in retaliation]].]]

* AxCrazy: Alice and several spirits in the house, natch.[[spoiler: Riba also looks to be this as well.]]

* CuriosityIsACrapshoot: A recurring theme that is hammered into the heads of Mario and the player(s). Mario learns just how much trouble his curiosity has gotten him into, and the player(s) is/are going to end up dying a lot in this game by virtue of investigating just about everything they can. The game itself encourages the player to inspect everything they can and warns against it at the same time.

* DemonicPossession: Spirits can possess the weak-minded, and the ones who do are guaranteed to be the hostile ones.[[spoiler: This happens to Mario as soon as he touched the music box (Alice's prison) in the beginning of the game but Alice doesn't have much control over him until later, and it happens to Luigi in one minor instance. All but two ending routes see Alice!Mario become the final boss ([[DoubleSubversion and one of the two endings where this doesn't happen doesn't have a boss fight either but still has Mario possessed by the end anyways]]).]]
* DespairEventHorizon: Several characters cross this line [[DrivenToSuicide and it almost always ends in suicide]].
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Fending off a spirit has to qualify for this.[[spoiler: This can happen to [[BigBad Alice]] and [[LouisCypher Riba]] depending on the ending route chosen.]]
** BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu:[[spoiler: The ultimate fate of Mario in the "Omitted Memory" ending route. He may have defeated Alice for good but now he's become the new host for the music box.]]
* DisneyVillainDeath: The [[spoiler:garden]] area has a large gap that Mario can try to jump over (and absolutely shouldn't) until Riba joins the party, [[PosthumousCharacter and a nonvillainous character was implied to have died falling through the gap]]. After Riba joins the party he decides to go off alone insinde the house to fetch a plank to help the two cross the gap.[[spoiler: [[ViolationOfCommonSense As much of a violation of common sense it is]], letting him go by himself will not result in Mario persisting to go with him and accidentally getting pushed off the garden to his death when he grabs onto Riba.]]
* DoorSlamsYou: Just like in LuigisMansion, this can happen to Mario when[[spoiler: he's investigating the "[[BlatantLies painted on door]]" near the middle of the foyer's second floor]]. Unlike LuigisMansion, only one door does this and it's the earliest way to get a game over (available after[[spoiler: getting the music box]]) as it [[KilledMidSentence slams Mario to the floor]]. Luigi's immune to this however (likely familiar with this trope) and Mario is too after Luigi joins the party.

* HighOctaneNightmareFuel: Thrown at you from every corner of the game up until the end.[[spoiler: Only the True Ending out of the five endings total is completely exempt from this.]]

* JerkassWoobie[=/=]WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: All but a few spirits qualify. They try to kill you in undeniably horrible ways, but they're all[[spoiler: effectively cursed into doing so]].

* ParanoiaFuel: This game is absolutely ''rife'' with it. Sometimes you won't know whether something will result in a game over or not until it's already happened, or for things that do kill you, you don't see how you die. There's also a few figures that come to kill you out of nowhere (especially when it's really hard to see them or when they're right next to you when they attack), and the sheer implications of a few game overs and endings will give the player enough shivers to last for a while.

* TearJerker: There is absolutely no shortage of it from this game.