List of LCD games featuring Mario

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Nintendo has released several Mario and Donkey Kong LCD video games for the Game & Watch series.

Contents

Game & Watch games

Donkey Kong

Nintendo Donkey Kong Game and Watch Nintendo Donkey Kong Game and Watch.png
Nintendo Donkey Kong Game and Watch

Donkey Kong was developed by Nintendo R&D1 as part of the Game & Watch Multi Screen series, featuring two LCD screens. Released in 1982, [1] it is a port of the arcade game, where Mario is a carpenter attempting to rescue his girlfriend from an evil, or at least angry, ape.

Like the arcade Donkey Kong , Mario must climb a building while avoiding barrels, but beating the game is different from the arcade version. The player must trigger a lever on the upper screen, activating a hook, which Mario must then jump and catch. If the player succeeds, a peg will be removed and Mario will return to the starting point, but if the player does not, Mario will fall to the ground and lose a life. Removing all available pegs in this manner will cause Donkey Kong's platform to collapse, and he will fall to the ground.

A remake of the game was later featured in Game & Watch Gallery 2 (1997) and 4 (2002).

Donkey Kong Jr.

In this 1982 game, the player controls Donkey Kong Jr. as he works to save his father, Donkey Kong, while watching out for obstacles like crocodiles, birds, and electric flashes. The game was released as part of the Mini-Classics series in 1998 (a set of four Game & Watch games ported to small keychain-bound handhelds), and was later included in Game & Watch Gallery 3 (2000) and 4 (2002), and as DSiWare game in 2010. [2]

In this game, Mario gives payback to Donkey Kong for stealing his girlfriend, Pauline, by locking him up in a cage.

Donkey Kong II

Donkey Kong II Game&watch-donkey-kong-2.jpg
Donkey Kong II

Donkey Kong II, which is similar to Donkey Kong Jr., was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released as part of the Game & Watch Vertical Multi Screen series, featuring two LCD screens. It was released in 1983. [1] Donkey Kong Jr. must touch a key, which makes it move up to the top screen. He must then climb to the top screen while avoiding things such as electrical wires, crocodiles & birds. When he gets to the top screen, he must touch the key again, which makes it move right next to a keyhole below one of the chains. He must then climb up the rope below the keyhole, while avoiding birds. When he gets to the top of the rope, one of the chains will unlock. He must do this 4 times until he saves Donkey Kong. After that, the game will start over, at a somewhat faster pace. The game was later included in Game & Watch Gallery 3 (2000).

Donkey Kong Circus

Donkey Kong Circus is a Game & Watch Panorama series game released in 1984 as an edit to an earlier Mickey Mouse game. [1] In this game, the player controls Donkey Kong, who is placed on a barrel while juggling pineapples and avoiding flames. This game is very similar to Mario the Juggler, the last Game & Watch game, as they both involve a character juggling while avoiding objects.

Donkey Kong Hockey

Donkey Kong Hockey was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released in 1984 as part of the Game & Watch Micro Vs. series. The game features one LCD screen and two attached control pads. The hockey features Donkey Kong as one of the players and Mario as the other.

Mario Bros.

Mario Bros. is a Game & Watch Multi Screen series game by Nintendo released on March 14, 1983. [3] Despite the title, it is unrelated in gameplay to the Mario Bros. arcade game. It is the first appearance of Luigi, as the Game & Watch version predates the arcade game by almost two weeks.

In this game, Luigi is on the left screen and Mario is on the right screen. The game's clamshell design is unusual in the series; it opens horizontally like a book (in the Japanese right to left reading order) and not vertically (like the Nintendo DS). [4] The brothers are working in a bottling plant, moving packages between the various levels of the bottling machine.

The only controls for the game are up and down buttons for each brother. Mario first gets a pallet out of the machine on the lowest level and puts in on the conveyor belt. Luigi then takes it from the other side and puts it on the belt above it. There are 3 points on each side the brothers must do this. Finally, once the package is filled Luigi tosses it onto the delivery truck. Once the truck is full, the brothers get a short break. If the brothers drop a pallet, they are yelled at by their bosses. If three pallets are dropped, the game will end.

A homebrew port and sequel, titled Mario Bros. II, was also released in 1987 by Thundersoft for the Commodore 64. It replaced the bottle factory with a cake factory. [5] [6]

In the remakes of this game for Game & Watch Gallery 3 and 4 , [2] Mario and Luigi are catching what becomes a cake, which is boxed and wrapped up for delivery (with Wario portraying the delivery man). The remakes add a new twist to the game by having Bowser, who waits at the top middle of the screen, cause the conveyor belt to reverse on occasion, forcing Mario and Luigi to correct it with switches placed at their sides.

Like nearly all Game & Watch titles, Mario Bros. features the standard Game A and tougher Game B.

Mario the Juggler

Mario the Juggler is a Game & Watch New Wide Screen series game featuring Mario as the juggler in the very first Game & Watch game, Ball. Released by Nintendo in October 1991, [1] it was the final game to be released in the Game & Watch series.

Mario's Bombs Away

Mario's Bombs Away Mario bombs away.gif
Mario's Bombs Away

Mario's Bombs Away is a Game & Watch Panorama series game released in 1983. [1]

The game consists of a military-clad Mario delivering bombs from left to right, while keeping them away from flaming oil spills and enemy torches. It features a colour LCD screen without an internal back-light, which faces downward in order to expose the translucent rear to an external light source, e.g. daylight. The player views the action in a mirror that reflects the screen.

The game was later included in Game & Watch Gallery 4 (2002).

Mario's Cement Factory

Mario's Cement Factory Mario's Cement Factory (Tabletop) - Game&Watch - Nintendo.jpg
Mario's Cement Factory

Mario's Cement Factory was a game developed by Nintendo R&D1 and first released in 1983 for the Game & Watch Tabletop series. [1] The game was soon after released as part of the Game & Watch New Wide Screen series, and also as part of the Mini-Classics series in 1998 (a set of four Game & Watch games ported to small keychain-bound handhelds). It was also remade as part of Game Boy Gallery and Game & Watch Gallery 4 , and has a DSiWare release. [7]

In this game, the player assumes the role of Mario, working in a cement factory. The player must empty cement from the hoppers into the cement trucks below. A conveyor belt at the top moves cement into hoppers which can only hold three loads at a time. An alarm sounds when one has been filled to capacity. To move Mario around the screen, the player must use elevators located at the center. If the player moves to the center when an elevator is not present, Mario falls to the bottom and loses a life. Losing a life may also occur if the player stays on the elevator too long, in which case Mario will either fall or be crushed.

There are safe zones at the top and bottom of the elevators allowing Mario to hang without danger of being hurt.

The game includes two game modes, Game A and Game B. By selecting Game B, the player begins at a higher difficulty level than Game mode A. It was also the 7th Mario game.

Super Mario Bros.

Super Mario Bros. was released in two different versions: YM-801 (Crystal Screen series, released June 1986) and YM-105 (New Wide Screen series, released March 1988). [1] Later the same game was repackaged into a yellow special edition Disk-Kun character case (YM-901-S), a character used to advertise the Famicom Disk System. This version was limited to 10,000 units, never sold in stores, and given away to winners of the Famicoms F-1 Grand Prix tournament.

The game plays like a scaled down version of the original NES game and features eight levels, which Mario must pass in order to rescue the princess. The game also features 1 Up Mushrooms, Stars, and the enemies Bullet Bill and Lakitu.

Each of the eight worlds feature Mario navigating a scrolling platformer. Mario must avoid getting trapped behind walls as the screen scrolls and navigate successful jumps which can lead to falling into the water below. The level progresses until Mario has moved all of the allotted "distance" points. Distance points are removed for each successful forward movement and added on for each successful backwards movement. Upon beating the eighth level, Mario receives a kiss from the princess, Bowser is thrown out of the castle, and then the game loops with longer distances.

Within the levels, 1-Up Mushrooms and Stars—staples of the Mario series—can be found by hitting the floor above Mario. When the mushroom is collected they will add a life (unless Mario has the maximum 3 reserved lives, in which case only points will be added); when the Star is collected Mario will be invincible for 10 seconds.

Game watches

Super Mario Bros. Game Watch.jpg

From the early mid-1980s to the late mid-1990s, Nelsonic Industries produced a line of multi-purpose wristwatches called Game Watches. These electronic devices employed an LCD to either tell the time or to allow players to play a game. In 1989, Nelsonic obtained licensing from Nintendo to produce a series of Game Watches based on popular Nintendo franchises such as Mario/Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Star Fox. These games would enjoy limited inherited popularity based on the popularities of the original series, and they would periodically be re-released in a variety of colors. Originally retailing at moderate prices, these games have now become collectors items on the secondary market and fetch large prices at places like eBay.

The earliest of the Nintendo-licensed watches was Super Mario Bros., which was released in June 1989. [8] [9] The Super Mario Bros. 2 Game Watch was released shortly after. [10] Subsequent to this Nelsonic released Game Watch versions of Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990), [11] [12] Super Mario Bros. 4 (1991, based on Super Mario World ), [11] [12] and Super Mario Race (1992). [13] Additionally, Donkey Kong (1994) was released as a wristwatch, featuring Mario. [14]

Critics were generally pleased with the game watches and praised their stylishness as articles of clothing. Gameplay was roundly criticized as oversimplified, however, and the watches were considered to have been largely unsuccessful in evoking their original NES title namesakes. Super Mario Brothers 3 was described as "nothing like the NES game" and its single-screen layout resulted in play dynamics that were described as "boring". [15]

List of games in the Mario series for the
Nelsonic Game Watch line
TitleDate of releaseBased on
Super Mario Bros.June 1989 Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. 21989 Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Mario Bros. 31990
1992 (UK) [15]
Super Mario Bros. 3
Super Mario Bros. 41991 Super Mario World
Super Mario Race1992 Super Mario Kart
Donkey Kong1994 Donkey Kong

Barcode Battler II game

In 1992, Epoch Co. was licensed to print a series of Nintendo-themed cards for their Barcode Battler II platform. Card sets were printed with both Mario and Zelda themes. [16] [17] Functioning similarly to an LCD e-Reader, the Barcode Battler II required players to swipe barcodes printed on cards across a visual input in order to enter characters, enemies, items, and spells into the console. The Super Mario World: Super Mario Bros. 4 set features 30 software-only cards and is based on the SNES's original Super Mario World . [18] [19] [20]

See also


Related Research Articles

<i>Mario Bros.</i> 1983 video game

Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo as an arcade video game in 1983. It was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, Nintendo's chief engineer. Italian twin brother plumbers Mario and Luigi exterminate creatures, like turtles (Koopas) and crabs emerging from the sewers by knocking them upside-down and kicking them away. The Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System version is the first game produced by Intelligent Systems. It is part of the Mario franchise, but originally began as a spin-off from the Donkey Kong series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario</span> Video game character

Mario is a character created by the Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the Mario franchise and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario is an Italian plumber who resides in the Mushroom Kingdom with his younger twin brother, Luigi. Their adventures generally center on rescuing Princess Peach from the villain Bowser while using power-ups that give them different abilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donkey Kong (character)</span> Video game character

Donkey Kong, also shortened to DK, is a fictional gorilla in the Donkey Kong and Mario video game series, created by Shigeru Miyamoto. The original Donkey Kong first appeared as the title character and antagonist of the eponymous 1981 game, a platformer by Nintendo, which would lead to the Donkey Kong series. The Donkey Kong Country series was launched in 1994 with a new Donkey Kong as the protagonist. This version of the character persists as the main one up to today. While the 1980s games' Donkey Kong and the modern Donkey Kong share the same name, the manual for Donkey Kong Country and subsequent games portray the former as Cranky Kong, the latter's grandfather, with the exception of Donkey Kong 64 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie, in which Cranky is depicted as his father, alternatively portraying the modern Donkey Kong as the original Donkey Kong from the arcade games. Donkey Kong is considered one of the most popular and iconic characters in video game history.

<i>Yoshis Island</i> 1995 video game

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is a 1995 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It is the sequel follow-up to Super Mario World. The player controls Yoshi, a friendly dinosaur, on a quest to reunite baby Mario with his brother Luigi, who has been kidnapped by Kamek. As a Super Mario series platformer, Yoshi runs and jumps to reach the end of the level while solving puzzles and collecting items with Mario's help. The game has a hand-drawn aesthetic and was the first in the franchise to have Yoshi as its main character, where it introduces his signature flutter jump and egg spawning abilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Game & Watch</span> Fictional character and representation of the Game & Watch

Mr. Game & Watch is a 2D generic stick figure-styled silhouette character, created by Nintendo as an amalgamation of the Game & Watch handheld consoles. He was created by Gunpei Yokoi, with an intention of representing the Game & Watch collection, as the consoles had no main mascot, rather characters designed for the minigames. He debuted in Ball from Game & Watch. Mr. Game & Watch has appeared as a cameo in several other Nintendo games, such as Donkey Kong Country Returns, WarioWare: Touched!, Rhythm Heaven Fever and Super Mario Odyssey.

<i>Donkey Kong Jr.</i> 1982 arcade game

Donkey Kong Jr. is a 1982 arcade platform game that was released by Nintendo. It is the sequel to Donkey Kong, but with the roles reversed compared to its predecessor: Mario is now the villain and Donkey Kong Jr. is trying to save his kidnapped father. It first released in arcades and, over the course of the decade, was released for a variety of home platforms. The game's title is written out as Donkey Kong Junior in the North American arcade version and various conversions to non-Nintendo systems.

<i>Marios Cement Factory</i> 1983 LCD game

Mario's Cement Factory is a 1983 LCD game developed and published by Nintendo under their Game & Watch series. It follows earlier Mario games, like the arcade and Game & Watch versions of Donkey Kong. Players control Mario as he navigates elevators and funnels cement through a factory, while trying to prevent the cement from crushing his fellow workers. Two versions of the game were released — a Table Top unit and a handheld game akin to most other Game & Watch titles. Development was headed by Nintendo R&D1, led by engineer Gunpei Yokoi.

<i>Donkey Kong</i> (1994 video game) 1994 puzzle video game

Donkey Kong is a 1994 puzzle-platform game developed by Nintendo and Pax Softnica and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. Donkey Kong is loosely based on the 1981 arcade game of the same name and its sequel Donkey Kong Jr.

LCD games are electronic games played on an LCD screen. Since the release of the Zelda Game & Watch game in August 1989, several LCD games based upon the theme of The Legend of Zelda have been licensed by Nintendo to be released for both Japanese and foreign markets. While Zelda was both developed and manufactured by Nintendo, later LCD games would only be licensed by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda game watch is an LCD wristwatch game produced by Nelsonic as part of their Nelsonic Game Watch series, and Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce is an LCD fighting video game licensed by Nintendo and produced by Epoch Co. for the Barcode Battler II platform, and released only in Japan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Research & Development 1</span> Japanese video game developer

Nintendo Research & Development No. 1 Department, was a division of Nintendo, and is its oldest development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video game industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi. The developer has created several notable Nintendo series such as Metroid, Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong.

Game & Watchgames have had many different re-releases.

<i>Game & Watch Gallery 3</i> 1999 video game

Game & Watch Gallery 3 is a video game developed by Tose and released by Nintendo for the Game Boy Color in 1999. It is the fourth game in the Game & Watch Gallery series, containing five remastered games from the Game & Watch line of Nintendo handheld games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo Mini Classics</span> Series of LCD games licensed by Nintendo

Nintendo Mini Classics are a series of small LCD games licensed by Nintendo since 1998. Most games in the series are reissues of Game & Watch titles, but the series does include titles that were not from the original Game & Watch line, like Spider-Man, Carrera and Yu-Gi-Oh!.

<i>Mario</i> (franchise) Video game franchise

Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for video game company Nintendo which produces and publishes its installments. Starring the titular Italian plumber Mario, it is primarily a video game franchise, but has extended to other forms of media, including television series, comic books, a 1993 feature film, a 2023 animated film and theme park attractions. The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros., although Mario had made his first appearance in 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong, and had already been featured in several games of the Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers including Nintendo, Hudson Soft, and AlphaDream. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward.

Nelsonic Industries is an American electronics manufacturing and development company that operated from Long Island City, Queens, New York City in the early 1980s and throughout the 1990s when it was acquired by the watch-manufacturer, M.Z. Berger. Nelsonic produced numerous toy-themed wristwatches, often targeting younger audiences with likenesses of characters from popular franchises such as Barbie, the Ghostbusters, and Mario. Nelsonic became notable during the early mid-1980s for being the first electronics company in the United States to produce game-watches. For a period subsequent to its purchase by M.Z. Berger, Nelsonic operated as a subsidiary division of its parent company and game-watches were produced that bore the Nelsonic mark. This practice ended as M.Z. Berger shifted focus to more traditional and higher-end timepieces. Today the original Nelsonic Game Watch line has entered the secondary market and individual Game Watches have become highly sought-after collectibles that often fetch high prices on eBay and other online auction websites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game & Watch</span> Series of handheld electronic games by Nintendo

The Game & Watch brand is a series of handheld electronic games developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, the product derived its name from its featuring a single game as well as a clock on an LCD screen. The models from 1981 onwards featured an alarm in addition.

Ball is a Game & Watch game released as a part of the Silver series on April 28, 1980. It was the first Game & Watch game released, and has been released a number of times over the years in a number of ways. Multiple games and accessories feature Ball as an Easter egg, including the Game Boy Camera and Kanji Sonomama DS Rakubiki Jiten. It also frequently appeared in the Game & Watch Gallery series, which both compiles Game & Watch games and remakes them with Mario characters. It was also released for the DSi on the DSi Shop as an individual game along with several other Game & Watch games.

<i>Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros.</i> 2020 Game & Watch game

Game & Watch: Super Mario Bros. is a limited-edition Game & Watch system developed and published by Nintendo, released on November 13, 2020. The system features three Nintendo games: Super Mario Bros. (1985), Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels (1986), and a Mario-themed version of Ball (1980). The system was released for the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario series and the 40th anniversary of the Game & Watch line.

References

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