SEARCH

Mario Simulator review

Check out our review of Mario Simulator - a fun Android app that brings all the iconic sounds of the Italian plumber to your phone

Published on Mar 16, 2010

Out of all the numerous video game mascots that have come and gone over the past few decades, Nintendo’s portly plumber Mario is arguably the most enduring.

He’s sold millions upon millions of games, starred in his own cartoon television show and even been the subject of a Hollywood movie (although we’ll conveniently forget that it was a complete pile of cobblers).

With that in mind, we can imagine there are quite a few individuals out there who, having spent a lifetime controlling this mustache-sporting icon, want nothing more than to emulate his inimitable style out in the real world.

For those people, Mario Simulator is here to make your twisted and quite disturbing dreams come true. This app is essentially a very limited Super Mario soundboard, but it requires a little more imagination to truly reach its potential.

For example, to produce that famous “jump” sound you have to actually leap in the air (or at least jerk your phone in any direction). To play the coin collection tune you have to hold down your finger on the screen and shake the phone, and finally to trigger the fireball sound you simply have to tap the display.

Of course this kind of deranged activity wouldn’t be complete without the signature Mario tune, and fans will be pleased to learn that two renditions of the popular ditty are included; the first is the opening song from the 8-bit NES original and the second is a more recent variation, although it ironically sounds far worse because it appears to have been recorded directly from someone’s television set.

And that, Mario fans, is about it. Aside from the completely pointless ability to track how many coins you’ve “collected” during your insane trip, the app offers nothing else other than troublesome Google adverts, which are permanently displayed at the bottom of the screen.

As you can imagine the novelty of this app wears off quicker than a bottle of cheap aftershave but there is one saving grace – a similar program was released recently for the iPhone but was quickly removed when Apple realized it could result in legal proceedings.

That fact alone makes this worth a download; it may not be the best item currently available on the Android Market but you can at least tease your iPhone-owning friends with it.