Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun

Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun
MS-DOS version SNES version For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	The Software Toolworks (Mindscape)
Publisher	The Software Toolworks
Platform(s)	MS-DOS, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Release date	MS-DOS: 1993 1993 SNES: November 1994
Language(s)	English (United States) French (France) German
Genre	Educational
Mode(s)	Single-player
Format	Super NES: Game Pak Home computer system: Optical disc
Input	Super NES: Super NES Mouse Home computer system: Mouse
Serial code(s)	Super NES: SNS-AMEE-USA

Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun, released in Europe as Mario's Playschool, is an educational game released for the MS-DOS in 1993 and SNES in 1994 with a demographic of children under six years of age. The game is set around a group of islands, where each island teaches a different subject to the players. The overall design of the game is based of Super Mario World, where the character graphics are taken from it while the music features rearrangements of various tracks.

This was the last of three educational games to be released in the Mario's Early Years! series, the others being Mario's Early Years! Fun with Letters and Mario's Early Years! Fun with Numbers; as such, the game is very similar to the first two games of the series. The main difference between this entry is that the subjects in the islands cover a more general learning, such as learning opposites, colors, and animals. The game, alongside the other two Mario's Early Years! titles was re-released under Mario's Early Years! CD-ROM Collection in 1994.

Gameplay

The main menu in the CD-ROM Collection version

Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun is a point-and-click game, similar to other edutainment titles and the first two games of the Mario's Early Years! series. Players control the mouse cursor with the mouse in the MS-DOS version of the game, and the SNES version uses the controller that imitates mouse functions; the SNES Mouse is compatible with this game. In each of game's worlds, when the worlds are clicked, the Fun Friends instruct players how to proceed, and remind players to wake Luigi up before playing a game. In worlds where players need to pick objects to proceed, the character moves and jumps according to a clicked location. If an item is clicked on, the character runs and jumps, hitting the item as if it were a block. Clicking on the various Exit Pipes takes players to further parts of the level, while clicking on Warp Pipes with an arrow pointing at them (yellow in the MS-DOS version, green in the SNES version) takes player back to the main menu.

Characters

Playable characters

The playable characters are the same across all three Mario's Early Years! titles. Players can pick their character by clicking on them in the main menu screen. In the MS-DOS version of the game, Mario and Princess Toadstool are the playable characters. In the SNES version of the game, Yoshi is added as a playable character.

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  Mario (MS-DOS)

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  Mario (SNES)

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  Princess Toadstool (MS-DOS)

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  Princess Toadstool (SNES)

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  Yoshi (SNES exclusive)

Supporting characters

Image	Name	Description
	Luigi	Luigi is found sleeping in most worlds. Players need to click on him to wake him up to start playing the games. He additionally shows up in the title screen, helping to assemble the letters.

Fun Friends

These characters instruct players and congratulate them if they made the correct choices in the stages. Subtitles are present in the SNES version of the game.

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  Bowser (MS-DOS)

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  Goomba (MS-DOS)

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  Goomba (SNES)

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  Goomba (SNES)

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  Koopa Troopa (SNES)

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  A Koopa Troopa dressed like Ludwig von Koopa (MS-DOS)

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  Monkey (striped) (MS-DOS)

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  Monkey (purple) (MS-DOS)

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  Piranha Plant (MS-DOS)

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  Piranha Plant (SNES)

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  Lakitu (MS-DOS)

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  Lakitu (SNES)

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  Yoshi (SNES)

Worlds

Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun contains seven worlds in the DOS version of the game, six worlds in the SNES version of the game, and eight worlds in the CD-ROM collection version of the game. When the worlds are completed, players are automatically taken back to the main menu, which also acts as the world selection.

Image		World	Description
MS-DOS	SNES
		Body World	Represented by a person with colored body parts, this world contains a grassy area with mountains in the background. Here, the player can click on some of Mario's body parts, and the amount of body parts the player can click on depends on the version of the game. The player can also click the monkeys in the background, causing them to wave. The sun in the background can be clicked, causing it to raise its eyebrows.
		Color World	Represented by colorful balloons, in this world, the player must wake Luigi up first. Then the game indicate some pictures and their color. The player must click on the indicated object.
		Counting World	Represented by numbers on a chalkboard, this world is similar to a child playroom. Here, the player can count objects. When a group is tapped, the objects will be counted while the children in the room show the number with their fingers. In the CD-ROM collection version of the game, Mario's Kitchen from the Mario's Early Years! Fun with Numbers Counting World version is included.
		Listening World	Represented by a radio, whistle, and bell, this world is similar to a farm. Here, the player must wake up a sleeping Luigi to start. Three animals are shown and a sound is played. The player must click the animal that makes the indicated sound. In the MS-DOS version of the game, three more stages are added.
		Opposite World	Represented by opera masks, in this world, the player must wake Luigi up first. The player must then click the opposite item to the one that is being indicated at the top of the screen, with three different stages.
		Shape World	Represented by three colored shapes, this world contains many art-related objects, such as pencils and ink jars. Here, the player must click on the indicated forms to make a picture. Players need to click on a sleeping Luigi to start the game. When a form is clicked, the character approaches and strikes it, resulting in the form being transported to the canvas.
		Sing Song World	Exclusive to the MS-DOS version of the game, it is represented by Old MacDonald with cows, a cat, wooden fence, and musical notes. This is a world where nursery rhymes/children songs are reenacted with the Mario cast. The included songs are "I'm a Little Teapot", the English alphabet song, "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", "The Wheels on the Bus", and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".
		Time World	Exclusive to the European CD-ROM release and the Mario's Early Years! CD-ROM Collection version of the game, this world deals with time-related subjects. Players watch through the seasons, life cycles for people, plants, butterflies, and frogs, the months of a calendar, and the day and night.

Console differences

The SNES version of the game is largely the same as the PC edition, but with some differences due to reduced space.

• The main menu of the DOS version of the game uses a rearrangement of the map theme for Donut Plains while the SNES version uses the title screen theme. The icons are also in slightly different places.
• Options to turn off music/sounds/voice clips, randomize the questions, and show text in worlds that have it were removed.
• The help screen with tips on how to continue learning outside of the program was removed.
• Yoshi was added as a third playable character.
• Various background graphic differences.
• Like its predecessors, Sing Song World was removed.

Staff

Main article: List of Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun staff

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario's Early Years! Preschool Fun.

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  Title screen (MS-DOS)

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  Main menu (MS-DOS)

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  Title screen (SNES)

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  Main menu (SNES)

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  Mario (MS-DOS)

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  Mario (SNES)

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  North American MS-DOS alternative box art

Quotes

Some quotes from Fun Friends instructing players are compiled from separate sound bytes.

• That works for me!
• Mario likes you.
• Wow, you did it.
• Good choice.
• You did well.
• I like your choice.
• I know that's right.
• Well done.
• You are good!
• Great!
• Good for you.
• You found it!

Media

It has been requested that more audio and/or video files related to this section be uploaded. Specific(s): SNES and DOS Please upload all related music, sound effects, voice clips, or any videos for this section. See the help page for information on how to get started.

Main Menu (MS-DOS) - A rearrangement of the map theme from Donut Plains, Twin Bridges, and Chocolate Island from Super Mario World heard in the main menu in the MS-DOS version of the game.

File infoMedia:MEY DOS - MainMenu.oga 0:28

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
French	Mario à l'école	Mario at school
German	Marios Vorschule	Mario's preschool