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Super Mario 64 DS is an enhanced remake of the 1996 video game Super Mario 64. It was one of the launch titles for the Nintendo DS. This remake features various new characters, levels, modes of play and minigames, much of which takes advantage of the features of the DS system. Certain graphical elements were also updated, most noticeably the character models, which have a higher polygon count and are therefore more detailed; the characters more closely resemble their respective high-detail renders used in promotional material. However, because the DS does not support texture filtering, the graphics look rather pixelated from up close. When the Nintendo DS was first revealed, Super Mario 64 DS was an early production demo. It was later confirmed as a Nintendo DS release game. In its early stages, the game was referred to as Super Mario 64x4. Early screenshots show all four characters playing at the same time, flying around with the Wing Cap.
Gameplay
Secret stars There are 30 secret stars that can be found in the castle. They come from a variety of sources, including speaking with Toads, entering paintings that lead to small extra courses, and small worlds that lead to fights with Bowser. There are also some stars hidden in the castle. Caps Mario, Luigi and Wario Hats are available in some levels. By wearing a character's hat, a character can transform into the character whose hat they are wearing (their physical appearance changes, but their voice doesn't). The hats fall off if the character gets hit physically, but can be reacquired before disappearing. Hats are shown on the touch screen map. Yoshi comes with the ability to start a level wearing the hat of any of the unlocked characters. Luigi and Wario hats don't usually appear until the player unlocks that character. Characters (except Yoshi) cannot wear a hat if they are lacking their own. Types of new Power Stars Switch Star - Upon pressing a star-shaped switch, a Power Star appears in a glass sphere somewhere in the level. The player must run to the star before the timer expires. Switch Stars are featured in Courses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 14, and 15, the Goomboss battle, all three Bowser levels, and The Secret Under the Moat. 5 Silver Stars - The player must collect five Silver Stars scattered around the level for a Power Star to appear. Each time the player is hit by an enemy, he/she loses one silver star and must recollect it. Silver stars are featured in Courses 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 14, as well as Sunshine Isles and Battle Fort. The only course that does not have either of the new types of stars is course 12, and courses 8 and 14 are the only ones which have both. There is a glitch in the European version of the game concerning the Silver Stars in Snowman's Land. If the player enters and exits the igloo, the stars will re-appear, even after he or she has all 5. Collecting a sixth one will freeze everything except the player. The rabbits Talking to the Toad in the Rec Room unlocks the rabbits. These hold keys which unlock minigames for single-player use outside of the game. They are hidden in all areas of Princess Peach's castle. They can also be found in the castle's courtyard and the main outside area, but are never within levels and paintings themselves. If the player captures a rabbit with any character, they will earn the key they have, unlocking a minigame. Rabbits can be captured by Yoshi's tongue or by picking them up by attempting to punch, dashing at them, or other attacks with the other characters. Although the rabbits flee when the player approach them in the game, each rabbit will stay in a specific area and will not leave said area, which has led to certain glitches, one of which allows the player to reach the second Bowser stage with as few as one star with Yoshi, bypassing Dire, Dire Docks, originally a feat which required a minimum of 31 stars. There are seven rabbits for each character to catch, and the color and location of rabbits changes, based on the character that is currently being played. When Mario is being played, the rabbits are purple, when Luigi is played, the rabbits are green. Wario will see brown rabbits, and Yoshi will see yellow rabbits. These colors are based off the characters themselves, but Yoshi is both green and red, so he has another normal color remaining. Any time after unlocking the rabbits, occasionally a sparkling white one appears. These only replace rabbits which the player has already caught in that file, and the chances of seeing them seems to increase with more stars. Once the rabbit is caught, they will not give a key as with other rabbits, but they will give the player a speech and a number out of eight. The number indicates the amount of sparkling rabbits that have been caught so far. When that total reaches 8, the player is given the key to unlock the white door in the character select room, which will contain a star, necessary when playing to gain all 150. Attempts to visit that room afterwards lead to ghost sounds and the character exiting the room without any effect. There are rumours that a certain amount of stars are needed to first activate the glowing rabbits (normally 50 or 80 is the rumour), or having to collect every normal rabbit(except for Luigi's on the roof), but these are entirely false. If a player collects 150 stars, a cannon will be opened in the front of the castle. The player can use the cannon that is opened to launch a character to the top of Peach's castle. If Luigi is used, a green rabbit can be found which will unlock one of Luigi's minigames. Minigames One of the new features of Super Mario 64 DS are the minigames. It offers nine minigames for each character, adding up to 36 minigames. These minigames largely take advantage of the touch screen of the Nintendo DS. The player starts with eight minigames, and the rest are unlocked in the single player adventure by catching various rabbits, similar to the rabbit MIPS in the original game (the one the player needed to chase around in the castle basement). Each rabbit gives the player one key to the drawer in Princess Peach's rec room, which allows one more minigame to be played. Some minigames have the same way to play but have different gameplay. Most of the minigames have been put on to New Super Mario Bros for the DS with some new additions. Multiplayer In Mario Story Super Mario 64 DS begins when Mario receives an invitation to eat a cake at Princess Peach's castle, with Luigi and Wario tagging along. Yoshi is sleeping on the castle as they enter, and awakes later on to realize they still have not left. He uses a key acquired from MIPS the rabbit, and enters the castle. Once inside, however, Yoshi discovers that Bowser has taken over, and has kidnapped Mario, Luigi, Wario, Princess Peach and all of the Toads in the castle. Mario and friends must defeat King Bowser and release Princess Peach from captivity by obtaining Power Stars scattered throughout the different levels, along with secret stars that Bowser himself was unaware of. Characters Super Mario 64 DS features Mario, Yoshi, Luigi and Wario as playable characters. Each character has unique abilities and move sets. A box containing a flower has different effects on different characters; Yoshi breathes flames which scorch enemies and melt ice; Mario inflates into a balloon and floats as in Super Mario World; Luigi vanishes allowing him to pass by enemies and through some obstacles, as the Vanish Cap allowed Mario to do in the original Super Mario 64; Wario transforms into metal, making him invulnerable to water, lava, and strong winds, as the Metal Cap allowed Mario to do in the original Super Mario 64. A summary of the unique character abilities is as follows: Bundle During June and July of 2005, Super Mario 64 DS was included free with the purchase of an "Electric Blue" Nintendo DS system in North America. Many retailers also honored the deal with the original "Titanium" DS . Waluigi Just as Luigi was rumored (but never found) to be in Super Mario 64, similar rumors about Waluigi have been spread about in Super Mario 64 DS. A source behind a number of rumors is a black box (or possibly a small aperture) visible on the castle wall on the adventure select screen, but these are only rumors. Secret level Rumors have arisen surrounding an alleged secret level. It seems that the "secret level" is no more then a beta test room that can only be accessed by using Action Replay or or other hacking applications. Reception Reviews were almost universally positive, and it quickly became one of the top-selling games for the Nintendo DS. However, there has been criticism regarding such issues as the absence of a reward for collecting all 150 Stars, the D-Pad not being as easy to use as the N64 control stick, and Luigi's backflip move (which allows him to descend slowly while spinning like a helicopter) giving him an unfair advantage over the other characters and making some segments of the game too easy. Similary, a lot of criticism goes to the fact that Wario is near useless in most segments of games (as his speed is slow and he can't jump high), and that being able to break open black bricks was a "cheap gimmick." Also, many have been rather irritated that Nintendo had removed many of the parts in the game that challenged players. For instance, in the Top o' the Town mission in Wet-Dry World, normally there would be a revolving platform before the platform with the star on it. Nintendo had in fact removed this platform in the DS verison, allowing players to easily reach the power star. It has been in much controversy among fans whether or not the color pallette in the game was brighter or more dull than the game it is based on. Trivia Awards Voice credits | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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