LCD games from the Mario series

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

Gameplay

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong for Game & Watch is a port of the arcade game, where Mario is a carpenter trying to rescue his girlfriend from an evil ape. It was developed by Nintendo R&D1.

Like the arcade Donkey Kong, Mario must climb a building avoiding barrels. But beating the game is different from the original game. Mario must also trigger the lever on the upper screen, activating a hook. Then, Mario needs to jump and catch the hook; If he doesn't catch the hook, he'll fall on the ground and lose a life, and if he does, a peg will be removed and Mario will return to the starting point. Removing all pegs cause the Donkey Kong's platform to collapse, making him fall on the ground.

Donkey Kong 2

"Donkey Kong II" was developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released as a Game & Watch.

In this game, Donkey Kong Jr. is in trouble by trying to save Donkey Kong. He must watch out for things like crocodiles, birds and electric flashes. It is a "Multi Screen" game, with two LCD display screens. This game was later included in Game Boy Color's "Game & Watch Gallery 3" in 2000.

Donkey Kong Circus

Donkey Kong Circus is a Game and Watch game released in September 1984. In this game, the user controls Donkey Kong on a barrel, juggling pineapples and avoiding flames.

Donkey Kong Hockey

Donkey Kong Hockey (Micro vs) is a Game and Watch game developed by Nintendo R&D1.

Mario's Bombs Away

Mario's Bombs Away is a game released as a Game & Watch.The game consisted of a military-clad Mario delivering bombs from left to right, while keeping them away from flaming oil spills and enemy torches. It featured a colour LCD screen without an internal back-light, which faced downward in order to expose the translucent rear to an external light source, e.g. daylight. The player viewed the action in a mirror that reflected the screen.

Mario Bros.

"Mario Bros." is a "Game & Watch" game by Nintendo released in 1983. Despite the title, it is unrelated in gameplay to the "Mario Bros." arcade game. The game had also been ported to the Commodore 64 as "Mario Bros. II".

The game is a multi-screen game, with Luigi on the left screen and Mario on the right screen. The brothers are working in a bottling plant, moving packages between the various levels of the bottling machine. The game's clamshell design is unusual in the series: it is one of only three Multi Screen games which open horizontally like a book (in the Japanese right to left reading order) and not vertically (like the Nintendo DS does).

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 should drop a pallet they will be yelled at by their bosses. Drop 3 pallets and it is game over. Repeat "ad infinitum".

In the remakes of this game for "Game & Watch Gallery 3" and "4", Mario and Luigi are catching what becomes a cake, and then 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, forcing Mario and Luigi to correct it with switches placed at their sides.

Like nearly all "Game & Watch" titles there is the standard Game A and harder Game B, plus the clock and alarm shared with all "Game & Watch" titles.

Mario's Cement Factory

Mario's Cement Factory was a game developed by Nintendo R&D1 and released in the 1980's for the Game and Watch handheld series. The game was released in the Game & Watch widescreen and tabletop versions, as well as the Mini-Classics series in 1998 (a set of four Game & Watch games ported to small keychain-bound handhelds). It was also released as part of the "Game & Watch Gallery" series for the Game Boy.

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 is full. To get around one uses elevators in the center of the screen. If the player moves to the center when an elevator isn't there Mario falls to the bottom and loses a life. Losing a life can also occur if one stays on the elevator too long, in which case Mario will either fall or get smashed.

uper Mario Bros

"Super Mario Bros" is a Game & Watch 8 level game where Mario is rescuing the princess. After the 8 levels Mario gets a kiss from the princess and Bowser_(Nintendo) is thrown out from the castle and the game loops onto the next world adding enemies (turtles throwing axes in the clouds & bullet bills to the mix). At very random power ups in form of a green mushroom or starman appear. The game was released by Nintendo in 1988 on Crystal Screen, and later ported down with different graphics and buggy physics to (widescreen) and in 1998 miniclassics.

Mario the Juggler

"Mario the Juggler" is a Game & Watch (widescreen) game featuring Mario (as the title implies) playing the role as a juggler. The game was released by Nintendo in 16 October,1991, and is noted for being the last game released in the Game & Watch series. As a sort of tribute to the Game & Watch series, the game is essentially a Mario-ized version of the very first Game & Watch, Ball. This is also one of his first debuts outside of plumbing.

Development

Reception

References

ee also

*LCD games from The Legend of Zelda series

External links