14 Video Games You Should Never EVER Play

4. Mario Is Missing

legend of Zelda wand of gamelon
Nintendo

Mario Is Missing begins with Bowser kidnapping the title character and stealing all of Earth's famous landmarks. The Koopa king then prepares to melt the polar ice caps with hairdryers. (Based on the plot alone, you know this game is in trouble).

There's no challenge since you can't get hurt or die. If you stomp on certain Koopa Troopas, they'll drop a landmark like The Sistine Chapel. Before you ask, I have no idea how a Koopa Troopa walks around while holding The Sistine Chapel.

In each city you visit, you must answer multiple-choice questions from the locals to progress. If you get any questions wrong, you can just try again, providing no challenge for the player.

There are only three bosses and none of them can hurt you. You don't even fight Bowser since he is automatically defeated when you encounter him at the end of the game.

Since you can't lose, this isn't really a game. It's a geography test disguised as a Super Mario game (except a real geography test is more fun).

Everything that you associate with the franchise is absent; Fire Flowers, Mushrooms, Starmans, Goombas, etc. Sadly, everything that could make Mario is Missing special... is missing.

Contributor

James Egan has been with Whatculture for five years and prominently works on Horror, Film, and Video Games. He's written over 80 books including 1000 Facts about Horror Movies Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about The Greatest Films Ever Made Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts about Video Games Vol. 1-3 1000 Facts About James Bond 1000 Facts About TV Shows