''Mario's Game Gallery'' (later re-released as ''Mario's FUNdamentals'') is an American compilation of games published by

Interplay Productions Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...

and developed by Presage Software, Inc. for

DOS DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

and

Macintosh Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...

. It was released in 1995 in the United States. It was later re-released as ''Mario's FUNdamentals'' for Macintosh in 1996, and for Windows in January 1997, though it was published by Mindscape for the DOS and Windows versions and by Stepping Stone for the

version. It was also developed by Brainstorm Entertainment. The game includes five traditional games:

checkers Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), is a group of Abstract strategy game, strategy board games for two players which involve forward movements of uniform game ...

backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back at least 1,600 years. The earliest record of backgammo ...

, Go Fish,

dominoes Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also called ''Pip (counting), pips ...

, and "

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

", a version of Yahtzee. Players play against Mario in these games, which play similarly to their real world counterparts, though with themes based on the ''Mario'' universe. Since their releases, both versions have received mixed reception; while publications such as ''

The State A state is a political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states. A country often has a single state, with various administrat ...

'' and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' found the game to be a good educational game, authors David Wesley and Gloria Barczak blamed it in part for almost destroying the ''Mario'' brand. ''

Official Nintendo Magazine ''Official Nintendo Magazine'', or ''ONM'', was a British Video game journalism, video game magazine that ran from 2006 to 2014 that covered the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii, and Wii U video game consoles released by Nintendo. Originally p ...

'' listed it as one of the rarest ''Mario'' games as well.

Gameplay

''Mario's Game Gallery'' consists of five games:

, Go Fish,

, and "yacht", a version of Yahtzee. In these games, players face off against Mario. The games all play similarly to their real world counterparts, featuring pieces based on the ''Mario'' universe. ''Mario's Game Gallery'' is the first game in the series to feature

Charles Martinet Charles Andre Martinet (born September 17, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for voicing Mario in the ''Super Mario'' franchise, portraying him from 1991 to 2023. He also voiced other characters in the series such as Luigi, Wario, W ...

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

's voice actor; Martinet went on to voice Mario in all speaking appearances in video games until 2023.

Development

''Mario's Game Gallery'' was published by Interplay Entertainment Corp. and developed by Presage Software, Inc. for the PC. It was released in 1995. It was later re-released as ''Mario's FUNdamentals'', though it was published by Mindscape for the PC version and by Stepping Stone for the

version. The game was also developed by Brainstorm Entertainment. It was released for the Macintosh in 1996, and for the PC in January 1997.

Reception

Since their releases, both ''Mario's Game Gallery'' and its revision, ''Mario's FUNdamentals'', have received mixed reception. ''

'' praised it for providing fun for whole family, describing the games included as "excellent". The ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' praised its "sharp" graphics and "fun" animations, as well as the music, which they claim to be based on music from the ''Mario'' series. Like ''The State'', they describe it as "fun for the whole family", though they criticized it for being too difficult at times. However, they recommend it for first-time PC users who want an "easy-to-install product for the new CD-ROM". ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

'' called it a fun game, and praised Martinet for his Mario voice, stating that small children will "giggle with delight". The ''

'' included it in an article of educational video games that would appeal to younger gamers. Authors David Wesley and Gloria Barczak cited ''Mario's Game Gallery'' as one of the games released in a "flood of ill-conceived ''Mario'' spin-offs", stating that it and the others nearly destroyed the series. ''

''s Tom East featured it as part of his "Rare ''Mario'' games" article, commenting that though it featured Martinet as Mario first, most identify ''

Super Mario 64 ''Super Mario 64'' is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and PAL regions in 1997. It is the first ''Super Mario'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combini ...

'' as his first role as Mario. It was deemed the sixth-worst ''Mario'' game of all time by '' ScrewAttack'', who concluded that there was "nothing fun about ''FUNdamentals''".

Notes

References

External links

* (archived) * {{Mario educational games 1995 video games Classic Mac OS games Digital board games Digital card games DOS games Interplay Entertainment games Children's educational video games Mario educational games Mindscape games North America-exclusive video games Presage Software games Single-player video games Tile-based video games Video games developed in the United States Windows games