Hotel Mario
Released April 5, 1994 · consists of 2 releases.
A puzzle-platforming spin-off of Nintendo's Mario series. Guide Mario and Luigi through the seven hotels of Bowser's Klub Koopa Resort to rescue the Princess.
Overview
Hotel Mario is a fantasy puzzle-platformer developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media for the CD-i on April 5, 1994.
A spin-off of Nintendo's Mario series of platformers, Hotel Mario tasks the titular mascot Mario (as well as his brother Luigi) with navigating the Klub Koopa Resort (seven hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom owned by Bowser and his Koopalings) to find and rescue the Princess. Along with combining certain aspects of the main series' platformers with new slower-paced puzzle elements, the game is known for its animated cartoon cutscenes, whose low quality and humor have created numerous memes in the 2000's and 2010's. It is one of the few games where Mario and Luigi are not voiced by Charles Martinet, instead being voiced by voice actor Marc Graue.
In each of the game's 75 stages, players guide Mario or Luigi through a section of the game's seven hotels as they try to close all of the open doors while moving between each floor using elevators, avoiding enemies by jumping on them (or by hiding in doors and elevators), and collecting coins and power-ups.
Similar to Link: The Faces of Evil, Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, Zelda's Adventure, and the failed Super Mario's Wacky Worlds, the game was born out of a licensing deal between Nintendo and Philips after a planned CD-ROM add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System fell through. As such, the game is not acknowledged by Nintendo and none of it is referenced in any official Mario-related media.
Gameplay
Items
- Super Mushroom - Only appears when Mario is in his regular form. It transforms him into his Super form.
- Fire Flower - Only appears when Mario is in his Super form. It transform him into his Fire form.
- 1-Up Mushroom - Only appears when Mario is in his Fire form. Despite looking exactly like the regular Mushroom, it moves faster and grants him an extra life.
- Starman - A rare power-up that grants temporary invincibility.
Stages
The game includes 75 stages, split into 7 "hotels":
- Morton's WoodDoor-Hysteria Hotel - Set in a treehouse hotel, these stages have no gimmicks. Its name is a play on Waldorf-Astoria.
- Roy's HardBrick Hotel - Set in a bricked hotel, these stages' gimmick is that the power flickers off-and-on, hiding most of the screen from the player. The gimmick can be fixed by opening a certain door, which reveals a clump of toasters overloading an outlet. It also introduces elevators that, at certain times, switch their locations around. Its name is a play on Heartbreak Hotel.
- Larry's Chillton Hotel - Set in a cavern hotel, these stages' gimmick is that the darkness hinders visibility on all floors except the one Mario or Luigi is currently in. The gimmick can be fixed by collecting a lantern dropped from a certain Koopa Troopa enemy. Its name is a play on Hilton.
- Lemmy's High-ate Regency Hotel - Set in a skyward hotel, these stages' gimmick is that a cloud moves around Mario/Luigi, distracting the player. This gimmick can be fixed by opening a certain door, which reveals an electric fan used to blow the cloud away. Its name is a play on Hyatt Regency.
- Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel - Set in a spooky castle hotel, these stages' gimmick is that certain doors can vanish, only to reappear later. The gimmick can be fixed by opening a secret door, which reveals special "ghost cologne". It is the first stage to hide which elevators go up and down. Its name is a play on Trump Castle.
- Wendy's Blitz Snarlton Hotel - Set in a luxorious hotel, these stages' gimmick is that there are few coins to collect, and they become enemies soon after they appear. The gimmick can be fixed by opening a certain door, which reveals a large piggy bank. It also introduces multi-layered stages, where players must complete one sub-stage before moving up to the next, moving back down if the player loses a life. Its name is a play on Ritz-Carlton.
- Bowser's Seizures Palace Hotel - Set in a large gothic castle, this hotel includes 15 stages with various enemies from previous hotels and multi-layered stages. The final stage puts players against Iggy in a Bowser mask, followed by Bowser himself. Its name is a play on Caesars Palace.
