Only Connect "Mario" Trivia Quiz

Answer: They do not feature Mario as the main playable protagonist

Yes, these are "Mario" games (speaking very broadly - they're all off-shoots of the main series even if they don't explicitly feature him) that don't have Mario as the central playable character.

"Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island", seemingly a sequel to "Super Mario World", actually takes place before it, with a gang of Yoshis helping Baby Mario reunite with Baby Luigi, who was captured by Kamek at the orders of Baby Bowser.

"Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker", based on a series of minigames from "Super Mario 3D World" sees the eponymous Captain Toad on a heroic quest to rescue Toadette.

"Super Princess Peach", in a twist on the regular format, sees our heroine rescuing Mario for a change, along with Luigi and Toad, who find themselves captured by Bowser in a surprise attack on Peach's Castle.

"Luigi's Mansion", which is quite possibly his finest hour outside the shadow of his more prominent brother, is a GameCube game that arms Luigi with a ghost-sucking vacuum cleaner, shoves him into a haunted mansion full of spookies, and tells him to rescue Mario. And he does so magnificently.

Answer: These are characters that were first playable in their respective "Mario Party" games

While not all are actually playable in the main party board mode, they have each been introduced in some capacity and made playable in their respective numbered "Mario Party" game.

Toadette joined the gang in "Mario Party 6" for the GameCube. She is unlocked by giving 30 stars to the Star Bank.

Birdo's fist playable appearance was in "Mario Party 7". Like Toadette, Birdo is an unlockable character - simply accumulate 1000 Cruise Mileage Points (obtained from normal playing of the game) and head down to the Duty-Free Shop to add her to the roster.

In "Mario Party 8", we have Hammer Bro making his playable debut. You'll find him at the Star Battle Arena, along with Blooper. Simply beat all the Arena challenges (including Bowser at the end) and you'll unlock whichever of these two you faced before Bowser. To unlock the other, you'll need to play the Arena again with the character you unlocked.

Kamek jumped aboard the fun train in the Wii U's "Mario Party 9". Completing Solo Mode will unlock Kamek for play (as well as Shy Guy), but you'll only be able to use him in Party Mode.

Answer: Role-playing

Taking a look at the pictures, we've got a paper jam, a splash of colour, a picture of a door and the word "millennium", and seven stars. Worked it out? These are all "Mario" role-playing games.

"Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam" (or "Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros." in some regions) first hit the 3DS in 2015 as a cross between the "Paper Mario" and the "Mario & Luigi" games. As you'd expect, a double Bowser menace is at large (one of which is papery) with our moustachioed heroes teaming up with Paper Mario to stop them.

"Paper Mario: Colour Splash" was the Wii U's entry in the "Paper Mario" series, released in 2016. The game uses a card-based battle system with the ability to "paint" cards imbuing new effects on the battle. Bowser is, of course, the big baddie once again.

Did you work out the door clue? A millennium is one thousand years. Therefore, we're looking at a thousand-year door... "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door" was the second game in the series, released on the GameCube in 2004. The eponymous door requires seven Crystal Stars to open, behind which is the Palace of Shadow and the game's antagonist, the Shadow Queen.

"Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars" was the franchise's first spin-off into RPG territory, releasing in 1996 for the SNES. Notably, Bowser joins Mario's side as they fight back against the Smithy Gang. Even more notably, the sainted Squaresoft were behind the development of this game, with Nintendo's blessing, of course.

Answer: red and blue

Of course, red and blue (or blue and red, if you prefer) is the common factor in these four clues.

Perhaps the least obvious of the four of them, the first clue refers to the colours of the letters in the "Super Mario" logo from 2011 (ie, introduced with "Super Mario 3D Land". The "S" and the "P" in "Super" are blue and red, respectively, while the "M" and "I" in "Mario" are red and blue. I specifically mentioned from 2011 as the letter colouring has differed across the years.

In "Super Mario Galaxy 2", the platforms that make up much of the Flip-Swap Galaxy are coloured blue and red, and flip to their opposite coloured side every time you shake the controller for Mario to perform a spin. This concept was revisited in "Super Mario 3D Land", except the platforms flip every time you jump.

The two types of coloured shell that home in on enemies in the "Mario Kart" games are the red and blue (though the latter isn't actually called a Blue Shell; it goes by the name of Spiny Shell). Red Shells (in most cases) home in on the nearest racer ahead of you, while the dreaded Spiny Shell is typically obtained by someone towards the back of the race and seeks out the player currently in first.

Of course, anyone familiar with Mario will recognise the colours of his outfit - a red shirt underneath a pair of blue overalls. The colours change on occasion, particularly when Mario gets a new power-up (eg, the Fire Flower makes his overalls white, as well as his cap).

Answer: Kalimari Desert

Fans of the seminal "Mario Kart 64" will recognise these as the final tracks in each of the Grand Prix cups, going in reverse order.

Rainbow Road, a series stalwart, caps off the Special Cup. The longest track in the game by a mile (no pun intended), this iteration of Rainbow Road arguably has the most iconic music, parts of which have been incorporated into future Rainbow Road themes (like "Mario Kart: Double Dash!!" and "Mario Kart 7").

Bowser's Castle, nowadays the penultimate track in the Special Cup, brings the Star Cup of "Mario Kart 64" to a close. A twisting track around the halls of our perennial nemesis's home, Bowser's Castle features Thwomps, lava and sharp turns.

Mario Raceway is the fourth and final track of the Flower Cup. Quite a plain track in comparison to others in its cup, Mario Raceway's most notable feature is the giant warp pipe through which racers will drive as they head into the track's final turn.

Thus, the last track in the Mushroom Cup, the first cup of the game, is Kalimari Desert, with plenty of hazards to slow you down. Aside from the abundance of sand, the course features a circuitous train line that intersects the track at two points. A train also chugs along this line, activating level crossings when it crosses in front of racers. Thus, it can actually bring proceedings to a complete standstill for a short time, potentially hampering first-place racers and allowing trailing drivers to gain a bit of ground.

Answer: 11: World

In the first picture, we're looking at a clock and the number 14. In the second, we've got an island and 13. The third picture is of a mountain and 12. Worked out the connection? We're looking at final words in the names of "Super Mario 64" courses (going in reverse order from 14).

Tick Tock Clock is the fourteenth course and features a rather unique mechanic. The entrance to the course is the face of a large grandfather clock, into which you need to jump. The hands turn in the usual fashion (though decidedly faster than the usual passage of time) and the position of the big hand when you jump into the clock determines the speed of all the moving objects inside the course. If the hand is closest to 12, all the objects will be immobilised; nearest 3, and the course's objects will move slowly; nearest 6, and the movements will be erratic and change speed at will; nearest 9, and you'll find everything moving quite quickly.

Tiny-Huge Island features another mechanic, at which its name might hint. The entrance to the course is spread across 2 separate paintings - one which makes the island huge and one which makes the island tiny. Once inside, Mario can switch between the two by entering pipes.

Just as the layout of Cool, Cool Mountain spirals up and down a blue/white landscape, Tall, Tall Mountain spirals up and down a brown/black landscape and is fairly featureless, really (aside from all the stars to collect).

The fourth in the sequence would therefore be World, for Wet-Dry World, the eleventh course of the game. Wet-Dry's gimmick is based on how far up or down the entrance painting Mario gets flung. High up towards the top and the water level will be quite high; conversely, jumping in towards the bottom will make the waters much shallower.

Answer: 4: Iggy

Fans of "Super Mario Bros. 3" will recognise these as the Koopaling bosses of each world's airship level.

Larry commands World 1-Airship, Morton is in charge of World 2-Airship, Wendy is waiting inside World 3-Airship, so the fourth is Iggy in World 4. Airship levels in "Super Mario Bros. 3" feature at end of each of the first seven worlds, commanded by each of the Koopalings (after getting through a small army of Bullet Bills, Cannons and Rocky Wrenches).

Answer: Bedroom

If the Comet Observatory sprang to mind when you saw these, then you've got the right connection. These are successive domes on the Observatory in "Super Mario Galaxy", starting from the first, Terrace, and moving through to the fourth, Bedroom.

The game's adventures properly begin through the Terrace, blasting off to the Good Egg Galaxy and others. A Grand Star later and the Fountain opens up, with a new bunch of galaxies and the first fight against Bowser. The Kitchen follows with its aquatic-themed galaxies. With those challenges conquered and another Grand Star under your belt, you'll enter the Bedroom. Basically, successive Grand Stars open successive domes on the Comet Observatory, opening up access to more and more galaxies, until the observatory can fly again and reach the Centre of the Universe, where Bowser awaits.

Answer: Queen Bee Mushroom

Appropriately, both Queen Bee and the Bee Mushroom are introduced in the Honeyhive Galaxy in "Super Mario Galaxy". Queen Bee has five sections of a star stuck on her body, with no means of getting them off other than employing the help of Mario (go figure).

In order to do this, you need to get Mario suited up with the Bee Mushroom, which transforms him into a cute little bumblebee. He can then clamber on to honey-laden surfaces (and apian abdomina) as well as hover through the air for a brief amount of time. Upon relieving the good Queen of these pesky star pieces and giving her a good old itch, you'll be rewarded with another Power Star.

Answer: Mother Penguin Suit

Mother Penguin is first met in Cool, Cool Mountain in "Super Mario 64", desperately flapping about having lost her son, Tuxie. You can, of course, find Tuxie hiding somewhere in the level and be rewarded generously for returning him (or, at least, you'll get a Star out of it).

The Penguin Suit is a power-up introduced in "New Super Mario Bros. Wii", allowing Mario (or any of the other three playable characters that have scooped it up) to don this outfit and use the slippery terrain of the snow levels to their advantage. The most immediate benefit is gaining better traction on the icy platforms, with the added ability to slide along on the stomach once you've built up enough running speed. You can also chuck ice balls (like the Ice Flower) and swim better underwater, all key characteristics of real-life penguins (more or less).