Sure, it's a meh edutainment game, and it could have been done without the Mario franchise, but it still exists. Might as well play it, right?
Unlike the NES game, you'll have three floors with five doors each. When you complete a level, you won't be able to return (thankfully). When you complete a floor, you'll get the easiest boss battle ever. Just defeat the Koopa Kid that runs around three times to beat him.
There are numerous Koopas in the cities now, and the ones with the loot die in funny ways, such as crumbling into pieces or shooting up into the sky like a rocket. Press B to pick the loot up. Yeah, you have to jump to pick up loot. I guess Software Toolworks couldn't make any uses for any of the other buttons...or remember that the X button existed.
The people are in specific spots on the map (which seems to generate at random, maybe it's just me). There are five people in all, and they not only look different from one another, they'll give you clues to where you are and what you've currently highlighted in the Artifacts section (more on that later).
Despite the roads going diagonally on the map, you still go left and right, so don't let that confuse you. Speaking of which, you can use the Select button to toggle an in-game map to see where you're currently at on any given street, as well as any people, pipes, info centers, and Koopas. Pressing L or R while this in-game map is toggled on will let you see the whole city map where everything moves in real time. If you're riding Yoshi, Luigi will be replaced by Yoshi on the map.
All the info booth girls look like Princess Peach now. The questions are exactly the same as the NES version, but you have to answer two questions instead of one to return the artifact. You can also ask for a newspaper for the artifact's location, so you can study up on the questions and learn general information about the landmark it's from. When you return an artifact, you can go into the booth and take a picture of the item so you can see a 16-bit rendition of what it looks like. If you get a question wrong, you'll have to wait for about a minute before you can try again.
To cross the roads, you actually have to cross at the crosswalks. Doing it in the road itself will cause a car horn to sound, probably to deter you from doing it like in the NES game. When you go down, Luigi looks both ways before crossing. Even if you go up, there's still a bit of a wait. It gets slightly annoying over time, and when you do it while riding Yoshi, Yoshi looks like a damn zombie. Seriously, it looks like he has no irises when he looks straight south.
The blue pipe takes you to Bowser's castle and is guarded by a Pokey. Unless you get Yoshi to where you are, you won't be able to scare it away, get on the pipe and return. The green ones warp you around the level, and this is pretty useful if you've just entered it and haven't even come close to killing all of the Koopas yet.
When you beat a level, you'll also get a bonus that depends on how much time you took to complete the level as well as the rewards for the artifacts you returned. Don't know why you'd want to get a high score in this game, but it does prove how good you are. Just like in the NES version, you'll also get a password for when you want to continue your game at a later date.
You actually get the Sistine Chapel picture here, but the nudity is tastefully edited. No genitalia here in an educational Super Nintendo game, thank you so much. At least it doesn't feel forced.
Now for the menu. The Artifacts section lets you choose which artifact you want to ask about. Just select the one you want so the border around it is in red, then continue on with the game. The Computer lets you re-read the clues you've gotten from other people. The Globulator lets you call Yoshi, who will appear if you choose the right location. The City Map gives you a view of the entire city map, but if you press both L and R at the same time, you'll be able to see it with everything moving in real time just like in normal gameplay. The Photo Album lets you see the pictures of all the artifacts you entered the booth for.
When you beat a level, you'll leave Yoshi behind whenever you re-enter Bowser's castle. You'll have to use the Globulator every time you enter a new city.
First Floor
We have five levels to choose from, but this is just the beginning.
Venice, Italy, Europe
Sistine Chapel Ceiling
Q - What does Sistine mean in Latin?
A - Six.
Q - Let's make this picture perfect. Who painted the ceiling?
A - Michelangelo.
Q - Where is the Sistine Chapel located?
A - In the Vatican.
Gladiator Spear
Q - Just how many people could fit in this place?
A - 50,000.
Q - When was the Colosseum built?
A - AD 72.
Q - Who would use that spear?
A - Gladiators.
Trevi Fountain Coins
Q - Add your two cents, Luigi. Why do people throw coins?
A - To return to Rome.
Q - The Trevi is the biggest and oldest _____ in Rome.
A - Fountain.
Q - When was the Trevi built?
A - 1762.
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