Archway, $3.50, ISBN 0-671-74112-8
Fantasy, 1991

In Leaping Lizards, you get to be Luigi instead of Mario, one half of the famous pair of Brooklyn plumber brothers who constantly save Princess Toadstool from various kinds of reptilian kidnappers. In this one, you are late for a picnic with your brother and the Princess, but then again, the picnic is ruined when Morton Koopa takes advantage of the Princess’s absence to wreck her Palace and transform the King into a rabbit. Can you save the day and show the Princess that you are superior in every way to your brother Mario?

This one isn’t just cute, it is unexpectedly fun. The puzzles are tad more challenging this time around, and the various twists and turns are most amusing indeed. There is also plenty of humor that works this time around, and as a plus, Princess Toadstool isn’t that useless and annoying here. While this campaign isn’t too difficult – this is, after all, a gamebook aimed at younger kids – failing is as entertaining as winning, heh.

While Leaping Lizards may not be coherent and the plot may not be the strongest, it manages to be an entertaining romp all the same.