This month marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most glorious Mario spin-offs to ever exist, and that game is none other than the masterpiece that is Mario Paint. Most people think of platforming when they hear the name Mario, but this iconic hero has found himself in dozens of different spin-off games over the years.
Some of these spin-offs aren’t too out of the ordinary, such as racing in Mario Kart or sports like Mario Golf. But in Mario Paint, however, he plays the role of an art teacher. This isn’t the only odd role that the mustachioed plumber has found himself in over the years. Here are 10 of the weirdest Mario spin-off games to celebrate Mario Paint’s 30th anniversary.
Mario’s Time Machine
10 Weirdest Mario Spin-Offs to Celebrate Mario Paint’s 30th Anniversary
When Mario wasn’t busy being a plumber or hero to princesses, he spent his time in the 90s teaching kids through educational games. Mario’s Time Machine was one of the earliest examples of this; it was first released for MS-DOS, then later for the NES and SNES.
Mario’s Time Machine was designed to teach kids all about history. In the game, Mario used a time machine called the Timulator to visit different eras in time to return ancient artifacts that were stolen by Bowser.
The player’s job was to answer questions about these different time periods in history in order to progress through the game.
Mario Is Missing!
10 Weirdest Mario Spin-Offs to Celebrate Mario Paint’s 30th Anniversary
Mario Is Missing! was another educational game that was released for MS-DOS, NES, and SNES around the same time as Mario’s Time Machine. This time, players assume the role of Luigi and must travel the world looking for Mario, who, as I’m sure you can guess by the title, is missing.
This game was actually the first time that Luigi would be the main playable protagonist, predating Luigi’s Mansion by nearly a decade.
In Mario Is Missing!, players learn about important cities in the world, such as New York City, Mexico City, London, Paris, Cairo, and more as Luigi travels to each of them looking for Mario. As Luigi arrives at each location, he must explore and talk to other characters to gather clues and figure out where he is.
Mario’s Early Years! Trilogy
10 Weirdest Mario Spin-Offs to Celebrate Mario Paint’s 30th Anniversary
If the above two games were too advanced for children, Mario’s Early Years! trilogy of educational games had the younger kids covered. This trilogy consisted of three games: Fun with Letters, Fun with Numbers, and Preschool Fun.
The first two titles are pretty self-explanatory; the point-and-click games were meant to teach toddler-age children letters and numbers. Preschool Fun had similar concepts but included learning games involving shapes, colors, animal sounds, and more.
My own personal claim to fame is that I had a copy of Mario’s Early Years! Preschool Fun when I was a toddler, so that means I can officially say that Mario was my teacher, right?
Mario & Wario
10 Weirdest Mario Spin-Offs to Celebrate Mario Paint’s 30th Anniversary
Before Game Freak struck gold with Pokemon, the company was busy with other experimental titles, one of which was called Mario & Wario and was released exclusively in Japan. In order to play the game, players needed the Super Famicom Mouse accessory.
In Mario & Wario, players controlled Mario through levels as he held objects over his head. These objects obstructed his view, so players had to use the mouse accessory to lead him safely through various obstacles.
Impressively, the game featured 100 different levels, and for some reason, it was entirely in English despite never being localized outside of Japan.
I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater
10 Weirdest Mario Spin-Offs to Celebrate Mario Paint’s 30th Anniversary
If you were a kid in the 80s and wanted to learn how to design sweaters, there was no better program to learn how than through the game I Am a Teacher: Super Mario Sweater.