Mario Teaches Typing

The Good
I got this game back in 1995, when I was only 9 to help me learn how to type, mostly because I loved Super Mario Bros. for the Gameboy back then. Anyway, you can chose to be either Mario, Luigi, or Princess Toadstool (nice for any girls that are playing) in the game. There are three four three mini games, which you basically have to play in order. The first is outside world, which you jump to break the blocks, and stomp and the turtles to kill them. The second in underwater (must type at least 10 WPM) where you have to swim away from either an octopus or a fish. The Final level, is The Castle, for the first half you have to type full sentences to get past those falling spiked blocks, one for each. Then you go through some pipes, and have to type two full sentences to get out of the sand trap. The fourth game, just works on your problem keys. A very nice feature for young kids is that you can choose which rows of the keyboard to use, so you don't get overtired searching for keys. You also get to set how many WPM your goal is, and how long to play each level at. Once you reach the required WPM for the next level, you'll be able to print a certificate with your name on it, and a bad ASCII rendition of your character. There is also a menu which shows you with which hands and fingers to press each key with. The graphics were pretty good, and the audio basically sounded like any other earlier Mario game.

The Bad
This game, while nice looking, and seeming never did actually help me learn how to type. Perhaps I was too young, or the game was too simplistic for me, but it just never worked. One thing I hated was that there was no way to die in the games, you can be pushed all the way to the left, with turtles coming at you, but they'll never catch you. The fish will never catch you no matter how slow you swim, and you'll never drown in the sand pit. Also, the sentences that you type on the underground level , are educational, but they're also pretty hard for younger gamers.

The Bottom Line
It's a nice game for Mario lovers, however, it's probably not a very helpful tool for younger kids, because much of it will be too confusing for them. If you see one of these lying around, you should buy it, it's worth a couple dollars and will lead to some fun.