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Hotel Mario

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Title Screen

Hotel Mario

Developer: Philips Fantasy Factory[1]
Publisher: Philips Media[2]
Platform: CD-i
Released in US: July 1994[3]
Released in EU: July 1994[4]
Released in FR: 1995[5]


DevMessageIcon.png This game has a hidden developer message.
CopyrightIcon.png This game has hidden developer credits.
DevTextIcon.png This game has hidden development-related text.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
MusicIcon.png This game has unused music.
SoundIcon.png This game has unused sounds.
RegionIcon.png This game has regional differences.


ProtoIcon.png This game has a prototype article

Hotel Mario sees Mario and Luigi go through several Koopa Hotels to rescue Princess Toadstool, who gets kidnapped seven times, and along the way shut all the doors in the Hotels. It's mostly notorious for its cutscenes of questionable quality, which are frequently used in YouTube Poops.

While this wasn't the only Mario game developed for the commercially-foiled CD-i (the others being Super Mario's Wacky Worlds and Mario Takes America), it was the only one that got released. Whether or not that's a good thing depends on who you ask.

Sub-Pages

Read about prototype versions of this game that have been released or dumped.
Prototype Info

Missing Level

The game is missing files for Level 6, as can be seen through the file list:

L0_av.rtf (Demo File)
L0_dat.rtf (Demo File)
L1_am.rtf (Hotel 1 Music file)
L1_av.rtf (Hotel 1 Graphics file)
L1_dat.rtf (Hotel 1 Enemy Data)
L2_am.rtf (Hotel 2 Music file)
L2_av.rtf (Hotel 2 Graphics file)
L2_dat.rtf (Hotel 2 Enemy Data)
L3_am.rtf (Hotel 3 Music file)
L3_av.rtf (Hotel 3 Graphics file)
L3_dat.rtf (Hotel 3 Enemy Data)
L4_am.rtf (Hotel 4 Music file)
L4_av.rtf (Hotel 4 Graphics file)
L4_dat.rtf (Hotel 4 Enemy Data)
L5_am.rtf (Hotel 5 Music file)
L5_av.rtf (Hotel 5 Graphics file)
L5_dat.rtf (Hotel 5 Enemy Data)
L7_am.rtf (Hotel 7 Music file)
L7_av.rtf (Hotel 7 Graphics file)
L7_dat.rtf (Hotel 7 Enemy Data)
L8_am.rtf (Hotel 8 Music file)
L8_av.rtf (Hotel 8 Graphics file)
L8_dat.rtf (Hotel 8 Enemy Data)

The L6_ files are missing, which suggests that Hotel Mario was originally going to follow the Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World formula by having a Hotel for each of the Koopalings and one for Bowser. As a result, Iggy lacks a unique Hotel and is instead fought on the final floor of the game, right before the fight with Bowser. Eight hotels are also mentioned in an early version of the game's opening cutscene, with the final game correctly stating seven instead.

Unused Graphics

Early Final
HotelMarioEarlyStage1Screen.png HotelMarioFinalStage1Screen.png

An early version of the Stage 1 title card that is more simplistic than the final one, stored in L0_av.rtf. One exists for each stage in the file. Other than the font and background, it also says to "press a button" to enter the level, rather than specifying the 1 button.

Unused Audio

Help

An earlier version of the help dialogue, spoken by someone who sounds nothing at all like Mario's voice actor from the final, suggesting that this was a placeholder. This audio was previously used in the v0.09 prototype. Unlike the early intro cutscene from that same prototype, this dialogue correctly mentions seven hotels as opposed to eight, implying that it was recorded after Iggy's hotel was scrapped.

A transcription is as follows:

"The object of the game is to close all the doors. You have to help me explore each hotel stage, by opening and closing doors, looking for hidden treasures and clues to solve the puzzles. Be sure to explore, you'll find all sorts of hidden surprises. Use the thumbstick to move me left or right. Push up on the thumbstick to move me into a door or elevator. When I'm in a door or elevator, I can hide from most of the bad guys. If you move me into an elevator, it'll automatically move to the next floor. If you want me to go back, just hit button 1. Pull down on the thumbstick to move me out of a door or elevator. You can make me jump by pressing button 1 down. Wee. The longer you hold button 1 down, the higher and farther I'll jump. Look at that, I should've gone in the Olympics. Use button 2 to make me open and close the doors. When I've closed all the doors, we'll move on to the next stage. Complete all the stages of a hotel, and you'll see a cartoon of me and my handsome brother Luigi telling you what to expect at the next hotel. That's the basics. If you need more help, check out the enclosed Hotel Mario booklet. You ready to make your way through all 7 Koopaling hotels? Then let's go."

Roy Cutscene

An early version of the cutscene audio that plays when you beat Roy. It also does not use the voice actors from the final, although they seem to be heavily based on Walker Boone and Tony Rosato's takes on the brothers from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World cartoon series.

Unlike all of the cutscenes that are used in-game (with the exception of the cutscene between Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel and Wendy's Blitz Snarlton Hotel), the music heard in the background is not used anywhere else in the game.

Oddly enough, this is stored in the data for the final level, not Roy's. There is no known animation data to go along with the audio.

Unused Music

Stages 2, 3, 4, and 5 have an alternative, longer "stage clear" theme that goes unused.

Stage 2

Used Unused

Stage 3

Used Unused

This music was eventually used at the end of the "Toasters" cutscene accessible in Stage 2.

Stage 4

Used Unused

For some reason, this stage's alternate clear music is the same as the one used in Stage 7, but with an added echo.

Stage 5

Used Unused

Special Days

If the CD-i's clock is set to specific days, the "HERE WE GO" screen will be replaced by a special message.

English

Special events in an American year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Displays on January 1, which is New Year's Day.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Displays on February 14, which is Valentine's Day.

ITS HOLLIES BIRTHDAY

Displays on February 17. Likely refers to Hollie S. Lohff, daughter of one of the game's engineers, Thomas Lohff. She was brought in to playtest the game and commented that Mario should be able to jump, something which wasn't originally planned for the game, as she felt it was weird to play a Mario game without that mechanic. The developers took her advice, retooling the game to feature jumping and adding her to the game's credits as "Play Consultant."

(Source: Grumpmeister)
(Source: Gamesreviews.com)
DO NOT FORGET MOTHERS DAY

Displays on the second Sunday of May, which is Mother's Day.

SCHOOLS ALMOST OUT

Displays on May 31, when most schools began Summer vacation at the time.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

Displays on the third Sunday of June, which is Father's Day.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Displays on July 4, which is America's Independence Day (often referred to as the "Fourth of July").

READY TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL

Displays on August 31, when most schools went back into session at the time.

BOOOOOOOOO

Displays on October 31, which is Halloween.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY GOBBLE GOBBLE

Displays on the fourth Thursday of November, which is Thanksgiving (often referred to as "Turkey Day" since turkey is commonly served at Thanksgiving dinners).

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Displays throughout December, the month of the Winter holidays.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Possibly a duplicate of the first string, but December 31 is New Year's Eve.

French

A little different from the English one, with events special to France.

BONNE ANNEE

"Happy New Year." Displays on January 1, with the same context as the English equivalent.

ALLONS CHERCHER LA FEVE

"Let's find the charm." Displays in late January, a time of year when people in France eat "Galette des Rois" (King's Pie), where a charm is hidden inside the pie.

C'EST LA SAINT VALENTIN

"It's Valentine's Day." Displays on February 14.

ON SE DEGUISERA POUR LE MARDI GRAS

"We'll be dressing up for Mardi Gras." Carnival celebration in France.

OU SONT CACHES LES OEUFS

"Where are the eggs hidden?" Likely referring to Easter.

BONNE FETE MAMAN

"Happy Mother's Day, Mom!" Displays on the last Sunday of May, which is Mother's Day in France.

L'ECOLE EST BIENTOT FINIE

"School is almost over." Displays on May 31, with the same context as the English equivalent.

BONNE FETE PAPA

"Happy Father's Day, Dad!" Displays on the third Sunday of June, which is Father's Day in France.

ALLONS ENFANT DE LA PATRIIIIEEE

"Arise, children of the Fatherland." (Taken from the French national anthem "La Marseillaise", although "ENFANT" should be "ENFANTS" due to the plural grammar rule.) Displays on July 14, which is France's national celebration.

PREPAREZ VOS CARTABLES

"Prepare your schoolbags." Displays on August 31, with the same context as the English equivalent.

JOYEUX NOEL

"Merry Christmas." Appears on December 25, as you could probably guess. Kind of odd how the English version didn't have a dedicated Christmas message, but at least they added one here.

BONNE ANNEE

"Happy New Year," with the same context as the English equivalent.

Biblio

FPD on December 6, 1993

Stored in the file "biblio," "FPD" likely means "Finished Project Date," so this file probably just exists to mark the date the game was finished.

The French version has completely different text:

The PHILIPS Interactive Media Centre Development Team in Hasselt - Belgium,
made a FRENCH conversion of " HOTEL MARIO ".

Engineering		Bob Deblier
			Eddy Paulissen

Production Coordinator	Annet Daems
			Hugo Paulissen

**************************************

Oddities

Unique Cutscene Theme

The cutscene that takes place between Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel and Wendy's Blitz Snarlton Hotel is the only cutscene in the game (other than the unused one) which uses music that cannot be heard elsewhere in the game. While the first few seconds of the cutscene use music from Ludwig's Thump Castle, the remainder of the cutscene uses a unique theme. Since the scrapped eighth hotel would have taken place inbetween Ludwig's Thump Castle Hotel and Wendy's Blitz Snarlton Hotel, it has been theorised that this may be a remnant of a scrapped level theme for the scrapped hotel.

Peace Symbol

HotelMarioHitSprite.png

The stomp effect sprite has what appears to be a peace symbol inside. Since this sprite is shown for only a split second in-game, it is not easily seen.

Regional Differences

The cutscenes in the French version are poorly dubbed and has many errors, such as Bowser being called "Boswor". However, this page will only cover the differences relating to the audio changes between region.

Bowser's Laugh

French International

In the French version of the intro cutscene, Bowser's laugh has no reverb. This audio is also heard in the v0.09 prototype.

Hotel 2 Intro

French International

Both Mario and Luigi are heard saying, "Hey, Princess!" in the French version. Only Mario says this line in the English version.

Hotel 3 Intro

French International

The hammer sound only plays three times in the French version. In the very same cutscene, when Mario and Luigi are about to enter the cave, it lacks reverb, as with the intro cutscene. An English version of this was used in the v0.09 prototype.

Hotel 4 Intro

French International

Princess Toadstool crying out Mario's name doesn't have reverb in the French version, much like Bowser's laugh. The original English version of this was used in the v0.09 prototype.

Ghost Cologne

French International

The reverb is not present in the French version. No English version of this cutscene was used in the v0.09 prototype, as it instead uses a placeholder audio of a woman saying, "Left. Right."

Wendy's Piggy Bank

French International

Although somewhat hard to hear due to being drowned out by the voice clip, the music's reverb cuts off too early as it fades after Mario speaks in the French version.

References

  1. MobyGames
  2. GameFAQs
  3. Likely had the same release month as the European version; both builds are nearly identical and were last modified on April 7, 1994.
  4. Pg. 20 - CD-i (UK) #6, June 1994.
  5. Latest dates on French disc's files are December 8, 1994, indicating an early 1995 release.