Editing Mario's Time Machine

{{Infobox
|title=Mario's Time Machine
|image=[[File:Mario's_Time_Machine_Box_Art.jpg|250px]]
|developer=[[Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development|Nintendo EAD]], The Software Toolworks (Mindscape), [[Radical Entertainment]]
|publisher=[[Nintendo]] and Mindscape group
|designer=
|engine=
|released='''MS-DOS''' 1993, 1996 (re-release)<br>
'''NES''' April 23, 1994<br>
'''SNES''' December 1993
|genre=Educational
|modes=single player
|ratings={{ratings|esrb=K-A}}
|platforms=[[MS-DOS|PC]], [[NES]], [[SNES]]
|media=
|requirments=
|input={{input|nes=1|snes=1|pcmouse=1}}
}}
'''''Mario's Time Machine''''' is an edutainment title developed by [[Radical Entertainment]] that was released for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System|SNES]] and PC in December 1993; it was later released on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] on April 23, 1994<ref>[http://cheats.ign.com/objects/007/007322.html IGN] Retrieved November 14, 2010</ref>. It is meant to teach younger players basic world history and is the last ''Mario Discovery Series'' game before discontinuation. It is worthy to note that this is the only game in the ''Mario'' series in which [[Mario]] as a protagonist has full lines of dialogue.

==Story==
In the year 1993, [[Bowser]] builds a time machine called the ''[[Timulator]]'', which he uses to travel backwards to different points in [[Earth|human history]] and steals significant artifacts to place in his personal museum. Mario must take back the artifacts and return them to their proper places in time before history becomes irreversibly damaged.

In the NES version of the game, [[Yoshi]] joins Mario in his quest to stop Bowser's plot, but instead gets captured. In addition to fixing the timeline Mario must also rescue Yoshi from peril.

==Gameplay==
===SNES===
[[File:MariosTimeMachineMario.png|right|thumb|140px|''Mario'' in his Timulator]]
The central hub of ''Mario's Time Machine'' is the museum within [[Bowser's Castle]]. The museum is three floors high, and on each floor lies five artifacts, giving Mario a total of fifteen periods of time to travel to. Mario must take an artifact from a pedestal, look at the date and location labeled on it, and then program that information into the ''Timulator'' and travel to that point in the timeline.

When the player arrives in the time period, he must explore and converse with the various residents that live there. In doing so, the player learns about the artifact, the time period, and the person associated with it. To get more information, the player must receive items that some residents possess and give them to others in order to satisfy their needs. For example, in Vienna one resident will complain about the heat until Mario retrieves a fan and hands it to the person, who will then continue to give information. After the player has talked to everyone, the player fills out a History answer sheet. The answer sheet consists of a two-page biography about the person associated with the artifact and the time period, with blanks replacing several words. The player must use the information he received to correctly fill in the blanks. If the player fills in the wrong answer more than twice, the player is forced back into the present. If he succeeds, Mario can return the artifact to its owner and return back to 1993.

After all the artifacts of a floor have been returned, Mario moves upward to the next floor.

A timer and a hidden Checklist are used throughout the game. How long the player spends in each time period and the order in which he returns each artifact will total up to one of three different endings. If the player spends too much time returning all the artifacts or returns even ONE artifact in the wrong order, Bowser escapes to "[[Paradise]]" using the ''Timulator''; then the player must start over from the beginning, or use a password to go back to a previous point. However, if they meet the two objective conditions, the ''Timulator'' overloads, self-destructs and sends Bowser to the Jurassic period where he gets stepped-on by a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

==Time Periods==
The time periods that Mario visits in each version varies. Here is a chart of the location and artifact for the NES and SNES versions in chronological order.
===NES===
*80M BC — (Egg)
*776 BC — (Torch)
*31 BC — (Throne)
*1192 — (Sword)
*1520 — (Steering Wheel)
*1602 — (Pen)
*1687 — (Apple)
*1862 — (Stovepipe Hat)
*1879 — (Light bulb)
*1903 — (Propeller)
*1905 — (Physics Equation)
*1947 — (Flag)
*1969 — (Flag [United States])
*1989 — (Sledgehammer)
===SNES===
*369 BC — Athens (''The Republic'' book)
*49 BC — Alexandria (Royal Staff)
*1292 — Gobi Desert (Printing Block)
*1429 — Orleans (Shield)
*1455 — Mainz (Printing Machine)
*1503 — Florence (Chisel)
*1505 — Florence (Papers)
*1521 — Pacific Ocean (Globe)
*1595 — England (Queen Elizabeth the First's Crown)
*1601 — Stratford upon Avon (Skull)
*1776 — Philadelphia (Declaration of Independence)
*1824 — Vienna (Music Sheet)
*1847 — Cambridge (Apple)
*1879 — Menlo Park (Filament)

==Reception==
Since its release, ''Mario's Time Machine'' has received negative reception. It holds an aggregate score of 60.25% on Game Rankings based on two reviews. Nintendo Power gave it a 2.65 out of five, while Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a slightly better rating of 6.75 out of 10. GameSpy's Brian Altano and Brian Miggels criticized its ending (considered to be one of the worst video game endings ever) for its depiction of Bowser crying, while Mike Drucker, also a GameSpy editor, called it "half-assed." Gamesradar commented that fans of the game would be fans of ''Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian'', to which Gamesradar also gave a negative review. Later, they mentioned that ''Mario's Time Machine'' was unpopular, commenting that "five, maybe six people played the NES version of Mario’s Time Machine". ABC Good Game called it "awful," and they considered it to be "way too complicated for any school-aged youngster to understand." In the book ''Video Games: A Guide for Savvy Parents'', author David Sheff praised the educational elements but criticized the gameplay. Andy Slaven, author of the book ''Video Game Bible, 1985-2002'', accused the game of ripping off ''Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?'' He admitted that the game was not bad in and of itself, but he stated that it was a poor educational game.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:MTM Cover.jpg|PC Version Box Art
File:TimeMachineScreen.png|The title screen of the NES version
File:TitleScreenMachine65.jpg|The title screen for the SNES version.
File:Bowsertimemachine.PNG|Bowser and his minions with the [[Timulator]].
File:Ss mtm-snes surf.gif|Mario 'Time Surfing'.
File:TimeMachinePhiladelphia65.jpg|Mario returns the Declaration of Independence.
File:TimeMachineImage65.jpg|Mario in Orleans.
File:BowserTimeMachine65.jpg|Bowser appears.
File:MTM Paradise.png|Paradise, the place where Bowser makes his escape.
File:EndingMachine65.jpg|The end of the game, but the text indicates that it is in a wrong way.
</gallery>

==References==
<references/>
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{{Mariogames}}
{{NES}}
{{SNES}}
[[Category:Mario's Time Machine|*]]
[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:Edutainment Games]]
[[Category:Nintendo Entertainment System Games]]
[[Category:Super Nintendo Entertainment System Games]]
[[Category:1993 games]]
[[Category:1994 games]]