Hotel Mario
Encyclopedia
Hotel Mario is a puzzle game developed by Fantasy Factory and published by Philips Interactive Media and Nintendo
for the CD-i
in 1994. The primary character of the game is Mario
, who must find Princess Toadstool
by going through seven Koopa
hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every hotel is divided into multiple stages, and the objective is to close all doors on each stage. Defeating a Koopaling
on the hotel's final stage takes the player to the following building.
After Nintendo
decided not to have Philips create an add-on
for the Super NES
, they gave Philips permission to use five of their characters in games for Philips' CD-i. The games were given little time to be developed and little funding, and Nintendo only gave cursory input.
The games resulting from the license were widely criticized, with Hotel Mario being regarded as one of the worst Mario-centered games, due to the animation of the shutting doors, the unresponsive controls and especially known for the cutscene
s that used full motion video. The CD-i was considered a commercial failure and the games became valuable due to their rarity.
Controlling Mario or his brother Luigi
in two-player mode
, the player has to complete all stages of the seven hotels in the game. The first six hotels contain 10 stages, and the last contains 15 stages. Progressing from one stage to the next requires the player to shut every door without exceeding a time limit. The purpose of closing the doors to progress is not explained. Elevators, which operate differently depending on the hotel, enable the player to go between the five floors of the stage. The faster a stage is cleared, the more points will be given to the player. Every stage has its own title screen via which the game can be saved
. The screens are also used to enter previously played hotel stages and the map of the Mushroom Kingdom, which allows the player to access any visited hotel.
While trying to close the doors, the player must avoid certain hazards. Mario will lose a life if he touches an enemy, runs out of time, runs off the edge of the floor he is on, or if all the doors are open. Enemies in the game are mostly regular Mario series creatures, such as Goombas, Koopas, Boos, and their variations. The opponent on the last stage of each hotel is one of the Koopalings, who use different methods to attack Mario.
In his normal state, Mario can tolerate one hit from an enemy and defeat most of the foes with a stomp. By opening doors the player can find power-up
s which grant different abilities. A Super Mushroom transforms Mario into Super Mario, with glowing overalls and the strength to withstand two enemy hits. If the player finds another mushroom while Mario is in the Super Mario form, the item turns into a Fire Flower. When grabbing it, Mario becomes Fire Mario and can throw fireballs to eliminate enemies. A 1-up
mushroom known as "Extra Mario Mushroom" or "Toad" can only be found by Fire Mario. Another way to earn an extra life is collecting 30 coins. The player can also obtain a Star Man, which makes Mario temporarily able to knock any enemy off the screen by simply touching them.
Having been invited for a picnic by Princess Toadstool, Mario and Luigi enter the Mushroom Kingdom. At the entrance, however, they find a message from Bowser. He reveals that he has taken control over the kingdom and established seven hotels there, at one of which Princess Toadstool is being held as a "permanent guest". As they visit the first six hotels, Mario and Luigi find the Princess several times, but on every occasion she disappears out of their sight, ending up in another hotel. They eventually enter a palace where Bowser himself resides. With the hotel's owner defeated, the brothers flee the building with Princess Toadstool before it collapses. The Princess, now able to rule her kingdom in peace, thanks the Mario brothers, giving them both a kiss.
to develop a CD-ROM
-based add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo signed a deal with Philips to develop the aforementioned add-on. However, witnessing the poor reception of the Sega Mega-CD, Nintendo no longer considered the add-on profitable anymore, and the project was scrapped entirely. As part of dissolving the deal, Nintendo gave Philips the license to use five of their characters, including Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool, to be featured in their games for the CD-i. Philips used the characters to create games for the CD-i, with Nintendo taking no part in their development except to give input on the look of the characters. Apart from Hotel Mario, the Mario characters were intended to be used in Super Mario's Wacky Worlds
, but the game was cancelled with only some prototype versions being programmed. While Wacky Worlds was planned as a CD-i adaptation of the side-scrolling
platformer Super Mario World
, Hotel Mario was made into a puzzle game in which stage areas were restricted to a single screen. Unlike the Legend of Zelda-related games, the game was not developed by a third-party company, but by Philips' development team Fantasy Factory.
Several full motion video cutscenes were animated for Hotel Mario. The cinematics depict Mario and Luigi as they advance to the next hotel, discussing with each other and giving hints to the player such as: "If you need instructions on how to get through the hotels, check out the enclosed instruction book!". The voices of the Mario Brothers were provided by Marc Graue, with Jocelyn Benford doing the voice-over for Princess Toadstool. On top of the full motion video capabilities of the CD-i, Hotel Mario made use of the system’s internal clock by displaying messages that vary by date.
The backgrounds of the hotel stages were designed by freelance artist Trici Venola. Having seen Hotel Marios initial version—which Venola called "mechanical" and "visually no fun"—she and art director Jeff Zoern decided to use elements from Disney
and J. R. R. Tolkien
to enhance the game's visual style. Illustrations of the stages were composed of several blocks, each of which featured one detail. The first item Venola created for all hotels was the door. Every building took one week to complete and was designed in accordance with a specific theme. For instance, a gothic
design was used for Bowser's hotel.
and GamePro
. The former commented that Hotel Marios gameplay was simple yet addicting. GamePro, while calling the game fun, believed that it would soon bore players, and gave it a fun factor of 2.5 out of 5. When Electronic Gaming Monthly named Mario the greatest video game character in 2005, they considered Hotel Mario his most embarrassing moment. Similarly, it was deemed the worst Mario game of all time by ScrewAttack
, who criticized the game for its audio and controls, as well as for being solely "based on shutting doors." GameDaily
included Hotel Mario in its feature of the worst games starring Nintendo mascots, stating its gameplay lacked identifiable Mario elements. The game was also listed as the worst 2D
platformer in the Mario series by N-Europe. The site found the Koopaling battles
"uniquely bad", calling the game itself a "steaming turd".
IGN
said that Hotel Mario was better than the respective The Legend of Zelda titles, but noted that closing doors was not "a strong enough hook for an entire game." Chris Kohler of Wired
magazine regarded Hotel Mario as "a puzzle game with no puzzles", assuming it was one of the reasons why Nintendo was not impressed by the CD-ROM medium. The game was referred to as "craptastic" by GamesRadar
and "little more than a really rubbish version of Elevator Action
" by Eurogamer
.
In its 1994 review, GamePro rated Hotel Marios graphics at 3.5 and sound at 4 out of 5, citing that "the only intriguing aspects of this game are the well-fashioned animated sequences." Years after the game was released, the cut scenes have become a subject of criticism among video game websites, and were called "outright terrifying" by 1UP.com
. IGN described them as "abysmal" and "a bad flip-book of images printed out of Microsoft Paint. From 1987." The quality of the voice acting was also questioned. Both 1UP.com and IGN thought the voices were unfitting for the characters and did not achieve the same playfulness as those of Mario and Luigi's current voice artist Charles Martinet
. Hotel Mario was listed in the Top 20 Worst Mario Games of all time.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the CD-i
CD-i
CD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V. CD-i also refers to the multimedia Compact Disc standard used by the CD-i console, also known as Green Book, which was developed by Philips and Sony...
in 1994. The primary character of the game is Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
, who must find Princess Toadstool
Princess Peach
is a character in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. She is the Princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the adventure series. In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of...
by going through seven Koopa
Koopalings
The , also called the Koopa Kids, are a group of seven fictional characters in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. Their names are Ludwig von Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr. and Larry Koopa. They first appeared in the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3, and...
hotels in the Mushroom Kingdom. Every hotel is divided into multiple stages, and the objective is to close all doors on each stage. Defeating a Koopaling
Koopalings
The , also called the Koopa Kids, are a group of seven fictional characters in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. Their names are Ludwig von Koopa, Lemmy Koopa, Roy Koopa, Iggy Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr. and Larry Koopa. They first appeared in the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3, and...
on the hotel's final stage takes the player to the following building.
After Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
decided not to have Philips create an add-on
Peripheral
A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer, but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture....
for the Super NES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
, they gave Philips permission to use five of their characters in games for Philips' CD-i. The games were given little time to be developed and little funding, and Nintendo only gave cursory input.
The games resulting from the license were widely criticized, with Hotel Mario being regarded as one of the worst Mario-centered games, due to the animation of the shutting doors, the unresponsive controls and especially known for the cutscene
Cutscene
A cutscene is a sequence in a video game over which the player has no or only limited control, breaking up the gameplay and used to advance the plot, strengthen the main character's development, introduces enemy characters, and provide background information, atmosphere, dialogue, and clues...
s that used full motion video. The CD-i was considered a commercial failure and the games became valuable due to their rarity.
Gameplay
Luigi
is a fictional character, featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by prominent game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the slightly younger fraternal twin brother of Nintendo's mascot Mario, and appears in many games throughout the Mario series,...
in two-player mode
Two-player
A two-player video game is a video game played by just two players. This is distinct from a multiplayer video game which is played by more than two players, and from a single-player video game, in which the player has no human opponents....
, the player has to complete all stages of the seven hotels in the game. The first six hotels contain 10 stages, and the last contains 15 stages. Progressing from one stage to the next requires the player to shut every door without exceeding a time limit. The purpose of closing the doors to progress is not explained. Elevators, which operate differently depending on the hotel, enable the player to go between the five floors of the stage. The faster a stage is cleared, the more points will be given to the player. Every stage has its own title screen via which the game can be saved
Saved game
A saved game is a piece of digitally stored information about the progress of a player in a video game. This saved game can be reloaded later, so the player can continue where he or she had stopped...
. The screens are also used to enter previously played hotel stages and the map of the Mushroom Kingdom, which allows the player to access any visited hotel.
While trying to close the doors, the player must avoid certain hazards. Mario will lose a life if he touches an enemy, runs out of time, runs off the edge of the floor he is on, or if all the doors are open. Enemies in the game are mostly regular Mario series creatures, such as Goombas, Koopas, Boos, and their variations. The opponent on the last stage of each hotel is one of the Koopalings, who use different methods to attack Mario.
In his normal state, Mario can tolerate one hit from an enemy and defeat most of the foes with a stomp. By opening doors the player can find power-up
Power-up
In computer and video games, power-ups are objects that instantly benefit or add extra abilities to the game character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a benefit and can be used at a time chosen by the player...
s which grant different abilities. A Super Mushroom transforms Mario into Super Mario, with glowing overalls and the strength to withstand two enemy hits. If the player finds another mushroom while Mario is in the Super Mario form, the item turns into a Fire Flower. When grabbing it, Mario becomes Fire Mario and can throw fireballs to eliminate enemies. A 1-up
1-up
1-up , pronounced "one up", is a term in console video gaming that commonly refers to an item that gives the player an extra life, to complete the game. In certain games, it is possible to receive multiple extra lives at once...
mushroom known as "Extra Mario Mushroom" or "Toad" can only be found by Fire Mario. Another way to earn an extra life is collecting 30 coins. The player can also obtain a Star Man, which makes Mario temporarily able to knock any enemy off the screen by simply touching them.
Plot and setting
The game takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom, which Bowser has turned into a hotel resort for the use of himself and his children, renaming the land "Klub Koopa Resort". Each hotel in the area is guarded by one of the Koopalings and their henchmen. The hotels represent different building types with various locations, including a tree, a mine and a cloud.Having been invited for a picnic by Princess Toadstool, Mario and Luigi enter the Mushroom Kingdom. At the entrance, however, they find a message from Bowser. He reveals that he has taken control over the kingdom and established seven hotels there, at one of which Princess Toadstool is being held as a "permanent guest". As they visit the first six hotels, Mario and Luigi find the Princess several times, but on every occasion she disappears out of their sight, ending up in another hotel. They eventually enter a palace where Bowser himself resides. With the hotel's owner defeated, the brothers flee the building with Princess Toadstool before it collapses. The Princess, now able to rule her kingdom in peace, thanks the Mario brothers, giving them both a kiss.
Development
In May 1991, following an unsuccessful attempt with SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
to develop a CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
-based add-on for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo signed a deal with Philips to develop the aforementioned add-on. However, witnessing the poor reception of the Sega Mega-CD, Nintendo no longer considered the add-on profitable anymore, and the project was scrapped entirely. As part of dissolving the deal, Nintendo gave Philips the license to use five of their characters, including Mario, Luigi, and Princess Toadstool, to be featured in their games for the CD-i. Philips used the characters to create games for the CD-i, with Nintendo taking no part in their development except to give input on the look of the characters. Apart from Hotel Mario, the Mario characters were intended to be used in Super Mario's Wacky Worlds
Super Mario's Wacky Worlds
Super Mario's Wacky Worlds is a cancelled video game planned for the Philips CD-i, and was in development by NovaLogic.-Gameplay:The game attempted to duplicate the gameplay of Super Mario World for the SNES...
, but the game was cancelled with only some prototype versions being programmed. While Wacky Worlds was planned as a CD-i adaptation of the side-scrolling
Side-scrolling video game
A side-scrolling game or side-scroller is a video game in which the gameplay action is viewed from a side-view camera angle, and the onscreen characters generally move from the left side of the screen to the right. These games make use of scrolling computer display technology...
platformer Super Mario World
Super Mario World
, subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 for its original Japanese release, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fourth game in the Super Mario series...
, Hotel Mario was made into a puzzle game in which stage areas were restricted to a single screen. Unlike the Legend of Zelda-related games, the game was not developed by a third-party company, but by Philips' development team Fantasy Factory.
Several full motion video cutscenes were animated for Hotel Mario. The cinematics depict Mario and Luigi as they advance to the next hotel, discussing with each other and giving hints to the player such as: "If you need instructions on how to get through the hotels, check out the enclosed instruction book!". The voices of the Mario Brothers were provided by Marc Graue, with Jocelyn Benford doing the voice-over for Princess Toadstool. On top of the full motion video capabilities of the CD-i, Hotel Mario made use of the system’s internal clock by displaying messages that vary by date.
The backgrounds of the hotel stages were designed by freelance artist Trici Venola. Having seen Hotel Marios initial version—which Venola called "mechanical" and "visually no fun"—she and art director Jeff Zoern decided to use elements from Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
to enhance the game's visual style. Illustrations of the stages were composed of several blocks, each of which featured one detail. The first item Venola created for all hotels was the door. Every building took one week to complete and was designed in accordance with a specific theme. For instance, a gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
design was used for Bowser's hotel.
Reception
Upon its release, Hotel Mario was widely panned from video game magazines Electronic Gaming MonthlyElectronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
and GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
. The former commented that Hotel Marios gameplay was simple yet addicting. GamePro, while calling the game fun, believed that it would soon bore players, and gave it a fun factor of 2.5 out of 5. When Electronic Gaming Monthly named Mario the greatest video game character in 2005, they considered Hotel Mario his most embarrassing moment. Similarly, it was deemed the worst Mario game of all time by ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack
ScrewAttack . is a video game-related website that showcases original entertainment for an audience of video game enthusiasts. Its content is also shown on GameTrailers and IGN...
, who criticized the game for its audio and controls, as well as for being solely "based on shutting doors." GameDaily
GameDaily
GameDaily was a video game journalism website based in the United States. Launched in 1995 by entrepreneur Mark Friedler under the name Gigex and focused on free game demo downloads, The site changed its business model from a flat fee per download CDN distributed service network to an...
included Hotel Mario in its feature of the worst games starring Nintendo mascots, stating its gameplay lacked identifiable Mario elements. The game was also listed as the worst 2D
2D computer graphics
2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-dimensional models and by techniques specific to them...
platformer in the Mario series by N-Europe. The site found the Koopaling battles
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
"uniquely bad", calling the game itself a "steaming turd".
IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
said that Hotel Mario was better than the respective The Legend of Zelda titles, but noted that closing doors was not "a strong enough hook for an entire game." Chris Kohler of Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
magazine regarded Hotel Mario as "a puzzle game with no puzzles", assuming it was one of the reasons why Nintendo was not impressed by the CD-ROM medium. The game was referred to as "craptastic" by GamesRadar
GamesRadar
GamesRadar is a multi-format video game website featuring regular news, previews, reviews, videos, and guides. It is owned and operated simultaneously in the UK and US by worldwide publisher Future Publishing...
and "little more than a really rubbish version of Elevator Action
Elevator Action
is a 1983 arcade game by Taito. It debuted during the "Golden Age of Arcade Games". Innovative in gameplay, this game was very popular for many years, with game music created by musician Yoshino Imamura...
" by Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
.
In its 1994 review, GamePro rated Hotel Marios graphics at 3.5 and sound at 4 out of 5, citing that "the only intriguing aspects of this game are the well-fashioned animated sequences." Years after the game was released, the cut scenes have become a subject of criticism among video game websites, and were called "outright terrifying" by 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
. IGN described them as "abysmal" and "a bad flip-book of images printed out of Microsoft Paint. From 1987." The quality of the voice acting was also questioned. Both 1UP.com and IGN thought the voices were unfitting for the characters and did not achieve the same playfulness as those of Mario and Luigi's current voice artist Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet
Charles Martinet is an American actor and voice actor, best known for providing the voice of Mario, the titular character in Nintendo's flagship video game franchise. He has held this role since 1994, longer than any other actor. He also voices Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Toadsworth, and a select few...
. Hotel Mario was listed in the Top 20 Worst Mario Games of all time.