Also known as how to get sick of Mario's voice in no time flat.
So, this game actually has seen footage uploaded of it on a multitude of occasions, but every video I've seen is of the DOS version. There was an enhanced Windows (and presumably Macintosh) port that features a higher resolution and better visual detail, and I decided I would go ahead and fill that void, so here we are! There isn't too much different with the way this plays as opposed to the DOS version, aside from the inclusion of the drop-down menus, but hey, it's something. Plus, this game's very existence is just weird and bizarre, so documenting it is always fun.
Yeah, so this game...it's a collection of five stock tabletop games, except you're playing them with Mario. The games here are Checkers, Go Fish, Backgammon, Dominoes, and Yacht (or better known as Yahtzee). Oh, and it's on a computer, not a Nintendo console. Wait, what!?
Yeah, I don't have any explanation for that. I was at least able to venture a guess that Nintendo only contracted Mario is Missing/Mario's Time Machine under pressure that their games were rotting their kids' brains, but I honest to goodness can't think of a genuine reason for why they would commission this one. Or maybe Interplay just paid Nintendo a lot of money for the license, who knows.
Of course, the most noteworthy thing about this game and the piece of trivia most famously associated with it is that it's the first video game we ever hear Mario's current voice actor, Charles Martinet, provide the voice (though we did hear him in some pinball tables prior). But what's more interesting to me is that Mario isn't a mostly-mute protagonist in this game like he is in virtually all of Nintendo's games; here, he actually talks in complete sentences. And...boy, I think you'll quickly realize why that's not usually the case. His voice is charming in small doses, but it can get grating after extended periods of nonstop talking, and unfortunately he never knows when to keep his mouth shut in this game. But hey, if you ever wanted to hear Mario talk for longer than simple "yahoos", now is your chance.
Funny I should mention that, actually -- I found my copy of this game at TooManyGames 2021 (a yearly retro game convention in the Philadelphia area), which Charles Martinet himself was a special guest at. Yes, seriously. Could that timing of me finding it have been any more coincidental? And yes, I said hi to him while I was there, amusingly he couldn't remember if this or Mario Teaches Typing was his first one but I'm fairly certain this was. I didn't pay for an autograph, but my disc was loose anyway and permanent marker can damage discs over time so it was just as well.
A lot of people like to rip on this game, but to be honest, I really don't think it's that bad. Removed from the Mario branding, it's a perfectly serviceable way to play these famous board games. The AI is fairly competent (though difficulty settings would have been nice), the animations are cute and charming, and the games are quite faithful to how they are meant to be played with a little bit of Mario flavor. I feel like I've played worse board game compilations than this, which should tell you something as someone very familiar with this era of computer gaming.
Comments on each individual game:
Checkers: So this one has an annoying rule where you must jump if you can, with no option to turn it off. I've never played with anyone who considers this is a rule so this is really bizarre to me. This one went pretty well, all things considered.
Go Fish: Oh man I absolutely got steamrolled on this one. No description can do it justice, just watch the slow-motion trainwreck that was the end of this game happen for yourself.
Dominoes: So this one is short enough that I decided to play it several times, and I swear the game really prefers Mario to win. I often get handed a really lousy stack when starting. I basically just kept playing until I won...so get ready to see me lose a lot.
Backgammon: Thanks to my dad being a huge fan of this game, some of his skill has passed down to me. I made a few very risky moves but they ended up paying off. Pardon if I spend a while agonizing over moves; this is a game that requires a lot of strategy and can't always be rushed.
Yacht: I assume "Yahtzee" was trademarked so they just went with the closest sounding word. I'll be honest, I have no experience playing Yahtzee at all, I know the rules and all but I am not familiar with strategies or anything. Just as well, because I lost this one too. Oh well.
I hope you enjoy this video! I know it's been a while since I uploaded, and no this isn't the "special" thing I teased on my channel (that thing is stuck in development limbo again, sadly), but hopefully this shows I'm not completely missing in action.