YMMV / Mario's Time Machine

• Anti-Climax Boss: Bowser in the NES version functions as a boss, but just like every other enemy in the game, he can't hurt you.
• Broken Base: Over whether the NES or SNES version is better. The NES version feels and plays much more like an actual game, but its educational content is a lot shallower, and it can be difficult to work out where exactly you're supposed to return the objects to, leading to a lot of Trial-and-Error Gameplay. The SNES version by contrast is a lot more straightforward and its educational content more informative, but also duller as a result. And then there are those who simply think that the entire concept of a Mario-based educational game is a terrible idea, and both games are similarly poor.
• It's Easy, So It Sucks!: A common complaint is that you can't take any damage at all and are invincible, which eliminates the challenge.
• It's Short, So It Sucks!: All versions of the game can be played through in an hour or two. The NES version can be beaten in minutes if you know what time period every artifact belongs in.
• Porting Disaster: The SNES version is basically just a sub-par port of the PC version. The PC version includes a recorder function that lets players re-read previous conversations when filling in their fact sheet, something the SNES version left out (instead forcing you to quit and return to the time zone, which resets all the conversations), and it has 25 artifacts to return while the SNES version has 15. The PC version also has better graphics and an easier-to-navigate user interface.
• Scrappy Mechanic:
  • In the NES version, if you try to place an object in the wrong location, a bird appears and takes it away, costing you progress as you have to obtain the item all over again.
  • "Time Surfing" in the SNES version, which forces you to charge up your surfboard by collecting mushrooms and then enter a whirlpool. What could have been a bit of sorely-needed bit of actual gameplay instead ends up being probably the worst part of this version, thanks to the unforgiving time limit and incredibly stiff controls for your surfboard.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: The idea of Mario traveling through time is a very interesting concept. Unfortunately, it got wasted on an educational spin-off game with no real challenge, a short run time, and numerous historical inaccuracies. Thankfully, one official RPG spin-off and one official Yoshi game executed this premise in a much better fashion.

---