Mario Goes to ‘Nam
This Mario title is truly an odd one. Released on November 10, 1983, this game was one of the six Game & Watch Panorama titles. The Panorama line worked by using a color LCD screen without an internal back light. This screen projected downward in order to expose the translucent rear to an external light source. What you would see when you played the system was a reflection on a mirror that faced upwards. This incredibly thrown-together system helped preserve battery life as well as prevented glare. Pretty ingenious but it still had to depend on external light sources. Neat!
The gameplay is simple, repetitive, and fun. You play Mario (in military gear) in the jungles of an unnamed forest (‘Nam). You have to avoid lighting the fuse of the bomb as you ferry the bomb from the left of the screen to the right. It is simple but man is it a weird title. This is probably the only time we will see Mario in a war setting (Bob-omb Battlefield doesn’t count) and it is mildly disturbing. This is just one of those strange, crazy Mario games that will NEVER get rereleased. This is an extremely collectible title, just for the novelty alone.
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Man, when you said this game was odd, you weren’t kidding.
Man this comparable to the adult or racist undertones in old Walt Disney flicks. Almost a ‘pre-code’ Mario if you will. Nintendo should release stereotypical game & watch titles. Ie. Help black yoshi eat as many watermelon as possible. Or how about this: Brooklyn Brawl. Wife-beater Mario gets into an argument with his neighbors in the apartment across. Help Mario lob beer bottles while avoiding their volleys.