Mario is Missing!

Mario Is Missing! is a geography edutainment video game for the PC, Super NES, and NES. It was developed by The Software Toolworks and was released in 1992 for the PC. In 1993, two different versions were made for the SNES and NES, the latter being developed by Radical Entertainment. All three versions were published by the Mindscape Group.

The game is notable for being the first game to feature only Luigi as a playable character, prior to Luigi's Mansion. Since this game was not actually developed by Nintendo or Shigeru Miyamoto (they sublicensed the characters), it bears little resemblance to earlier Mario titles. The SNES version does contain nearly identical graphical representations of Mario and Luigi to those in Super Mario World.

Story
Bowser has set up a castle in Antarctica, and plans to use many hair driers from the Hafta Havit mail-order company to melt the Antarctic ice and flood the Earth. He sends his Koopas to different cities across the Earth to steal artifacts in order to fund his operation. Mario, Luigi and Yoshi journey to Bowser's Castle in an attempt to stop him. Luigi is hesitant to go in, so Mario goes by himself and is captured by Bowser. Luigi must now rescue Mario from Bowser and save the day.

Gameplay
Luigi progresses through the game by completing levels in Bowser's castle; each floor is guarded by one Koopaling and contains a number of pipes which transport Luigi to a city containing Koopas. Once a floor is completed, Luigi must defeat the Koopaling guarding that floor to proceed to the next.

The main gameplay consists of moving around a city in side-scrolling manner while jumping on Koopas to collect stolen artifacts (pieces of famous landmarks). Luigi then must take these artifacts to their respective locations and correctly answer three questions about the landmark. Once an artifact is returned, the landmark is reopened. During the quest to return all three artifacts to their proper landmarks, Luigi must determine his location in order to receive the assistance of Yoshi by using a device called the Globulator. If Luigi takes Yoshi to the correct location, he can ride him for double the walking and running speed. Once the exit pipe is found, Luigi is returned to the castle as long as he has Yoshi with him; otherwise he will be unable to return to the castle. He can then proceed to another town to do it all over again.

In each city, Luigi is able to question the locals to gain clues as to his current location, the general direction of remaining Koopas, and information about the affected landmarks. He is given a map detailing where the information booths, people and Koopas are in the city where Luigi is.

Version differences

 * The introduction sequence is different in each version of the game. The PC version is the only version to have the entire storyline outlined in the beginning.  Also, Mario enters the castle first, but could not resist taking a piece of candy offered by Bowser and ends up getting captured.  The SNES version starts out in a grassy field similar to various areas in Super Mario World.  The title for the game is then written except for "Missing!" Just then, a giant hole opens up under Mario, the rest of the title is revealed, and Mario falls down. The hole closes up, only to open again to suck up the title.  Mario then lands in front of Bowser's castle in Antartica, where Luigi and Yoshi are waiting. Luigi tells Mario to come with him into the castle, though Mario doesn't even take a step toward the castle before a trap door opens beneath him.  In the introductory sequence of the NES version, Mario is in Antartica (here looking like the level "Awesome" from Super Mario World).  He makes a double take at the game's title, turns red, and starts thrashing about in anger before he is captured by an unidentified green Koopa-like creature, which is thought to be a poor depiction of Bowser.  This pseudo-Bowser then carries Mario offscreen, while Luigi and Yoshi give chase.
 * The SNES version contains three Koopalings (Ludwig, Roy, and Iggy), while the PC version has all of them actively guarding Mario except for two; Lemmy was absent because he wanted to play in the snow, and Morton simply didn't want to get involved. The Koopalings do not make any appearance whatsoever in the NES version, though the Bowser-esque creature somewhat resembles how Lemmy looked in Super Mario World.
 * Princess Peach makes a cameo in the SNES version of the game. She is the person at the information booth. She appears similarly to how she appeared in Super Mario World, except with a blue dress. In the other versions of the game, generic people appear in her place.
 * In the PC version, Luigi has a cellphone, with which he can make and receive phone calls. Throughout the game he receives several phone calls from Mario, which become increasingly urgent. Luigi also receives calls from the mayor of the city he is in as soon as enters that city, and calls up again once Luigi returns all the artifacts in the city. Each mayor is identified with a unique name. In the NES version, Luigi just receives faxes from the mayors, and they all have the same message.
 * In the PC version, Luigi can read newspapers that develop the game's story, as well as what was going on in the city he is in. A recurring theme involves penguins being washed away from Antartica. In the other versions of the game, Luigi can only read news articles about the stolen artifacts.
 * The PC version has 25 cities to visit, while the SNES version has only 15, and the NES version has 14.
 * The way Luigi defeats the Koopalings in the PC and SNES versions is different. In the PC version, Luigi uses a Fire Flower to throw fire at the Koopalings, reducing them to ashes. In the SNES version, the Koopalings run around the room they are in, and Luigi must jump on their heads six times to defeat them.
 * In the PC version, Powerups such as 'Koopa finders' and 'taxi tokens' can be picked up in each city.
 * In the PC and SNES versions, when a landmark is reopened, Luigi can then enter this landmark to view it and to take a snapshot which can be viewed later.
 * In the PC and SNES versions of the game, each city's musical score was an adaptation of Koji Kondo's Super Mario World overworld theme, based on where the city was located. For example, Latin American countries played a salsa remix "Starman invincibility" music, while New York has muzak playing.
 * The SNES version heavily borrows graphics from Super Mario World, as well as having original artwork. The NES version, while also inspired from the graphical style of Super Mario World, does not have the same graphic quality as the PC and SNES versions.
 * The ending is different in each version of the game. In the PC version, Luigi rips Bowser's shell off of him, gets the key to Mario's prison, and tricks Bowser into getting knocked over the edge the castle. Luigi then frees Mario, and they, along with Yoshi, walk off into the distance, while Bowser watches from afar. In the SNES version, Luigi activates a switch, which frees Mario from his prison. Bowser then enters, but Luigi pulls the same switch, causing a cannon to appear under Bowser. It fires him out of the castle, and he lands in the snow, where he comically freezes and shatters to peices. In the NES version, there's an actual boss battle between Luigi and the ersatz Bowser from the introduction sequence, except now it is more orange in color and has horns on its head. Upon defeat, it is revealed to be a mere Koopa Troopa. It runs away, and Luigi uses the key he won from the fight to free Mario from his prison.