Super Mario 64

For the Nintendo DS enhanced remake, see Super Mario 64 DS.

Super Mario 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64. It debuted in Japan on June 23, 1996, in the U.S. on September 29, 1996, and in Europe on March 1, 1997. Along with Pilotwings 64, it was one of the launch titles for the new console. As the flagship killer game, it drove initial sales of the Nintendo 64, and has sold over 11 million copies in total.

Super Mario 64 was the first 3D game in the Mario series, and though it was not the first-ever 3D platformer, it helped to define the genre, much as Super Mario Bros. defined the 2D sidescrolling platformer. Super Mario 64 was considered so revolutionary that many consider it the benchmark for all later 3D platformer games .

In going from two to three dimensions, Super Mario 64 replaced the linear obstacle courses of traditional platform games with vast worlds in which the player must complete multiple and diverse missions, with an emphasis on exploration. While doing so, it managed to preserve the feel of earlier Mario games, including many of their gameplay elements and characters. It is widely acclaimed by critics and players alike as one of the greatest video games of all time.

Storyline

The story of Super Mario 64 begins when Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach asking him to come to her castle to receive a cake that she has baked for him. Upon arrival, Mario learns that King Bowser has invaded the castle and imprisoned the Princess and her servants within it. Bowser has used the power of the castle's 120 power stars to transform many of the castle's paintings into portals to other realms, in which his minions keep watch over the stars. Mario embarks on a quest to recover the stars, rescue the Princess and restore order to the castle. In the end, Mario succeeds in defeating Bowser and rescuing Princess Peach and her servants from their imprisonment and restoring the power of the stars to the castle. The Princess rewards Mario by baking the cake that she had promised him.

Gameplay

Mission

As in the earlier Mario titles for the NES and SNES, Mario has to save Princess Peach from Bowser. To do this, Mario must find power stars scattered throughout Peach's castle, of which there are 120. Collecting 70 stars allows Mario to fight Bowser for the final time, and finish the game, but a secret reward awaits players that collect all 120. The castle itself serves as a central hub; most stars are found in the fifteen worlds, gateways to which are found mostly in paintings scattered throughout the castle.

Basic controls

Mario’s abilities in Super Mario 64 are far more diverse than in any previous Mario game. He can walk, run, crouch, crawl, swim, climb and jump at great heights or distances using the game controller's analog stick and buttons. As jumping was Mario's signature move in earlier games, particular attention was paid to this move. In addition to regular jumping, there are special jumps that can be executed by combining a regular jump with other actions, including the extra high double and triple jumps (jumping two and three times in a row, respectively), the long jump, and somersault. There are also special maneuvers, such as wall jumping, jumping from one wall to another in rapid succession to reach otherwise too high areas.

Mario has a number of physical attacks in addition to jumping. His basic attack is the punch, which becomes a jump kick when performed in mid-air. Attacking while running will cause Mario to lunge forward. Crouching while in the air will execute a power stomp (also called the ground pound). Crouching while running and then immediately attacking will execute a slide kick, while crouching and moving the analog stick will make Mario crawl in the desired direction (usually to get through tight gaps). He is able to pick up certain items and carry them around, an ability which is used to solve various puzzles. Mario can also swim underwater at various speeds. His life slowly diminishes while underwater (representing how long he can hold his breath), and he must either find coins or air bubbles to replenish it, or return to the surface so as not to drown.

Tasks, aids, and obstacles

Each course is an enclosed world of its own. The player is free to wander around and discover the environment without time limits, and may go in all directions within the boundaries of the world. The worlds are filled with enemies that attack Mario as well as friendly creatures that provide assistance or information, or ask him for a favor. In order to gather the stars, Mario must pass various challenges in each stage. The challenges themselves vary; generally, Mario needs to defeat a boss, overcome obstacles, solve puzzles, race an opponent by running or sliding faster than it, or accomplish tasks such as finding a baby penguin for its mother or opening treasure chests in the right order.

Some elements appear in multiple levels:

Caps: Numerous stars throughout the courses can only be obtained by using one of three special caps. The first is the Wing Cap, which enables Mario to fly. The Metal Cap makes him immune to ordinary damage (including drowning and fire, but not falls) and allows him to withstand wind gusts and walk normally underwater. Finally, the Vanish Cap renders Mario partially immaterial, allowing him to walk through some obstacles such as wire mesh. The caps are obtained from cap blocks found around the courses. The caps are only effective for a limited time.

Slides and races: On several occasions, Mario must race an opponent or the clock. This includes sprinting by foot against a Koopa Troopa named Koopa the Quick and sliding down long, curvy slides surrounded by bottomless pits.

Bosses: Many courses contain a star guarded by a boss.

Cannons: In some of the courses, Mario can unlock cannons by speaking to the pink Bob-omb Buddies that operate them. After Mario crawls down into a cannon, he can be shot out to reach far-away places. Combined with the Wing Cap, cannons can be used to reach extremely high altitudes or fly across most of a level quickly.

Coins: In each course, one star is obtained by gathering at least 100 coins. Another is obtained by collecting eight special red coins.

Courses

The castle consists of three floors and a basement, a moat, and a back garden, which all contain entrances to main or special courses. As Mario collects more stars, he gains access to new levels of the castle, where the courses increase in difficulty. To go farther than the first floor, Mario must obtain keys by defeating Bowser in special courses called Bowser in the Dark World and Bowser in the Fire Sea. The third encounter with Bowser, Bowser in the Sky, ends the game.

The fifteen main courses are the following:

First floor

Bob-omb Battlefield is a bright grassland following the tradition of first courses from earlier Mario games. Here, Mario meets Big Bob-omb, who waits at the summit of a mountain as a boss character, guarding the first star in the game. In this course, Mario also meets a Chain Chomp and Koopa the Quick for the first time.
Whomp's Fortress is a fortress floating in the sky. Here, Mario encounters Piranha Plants and the Thwomps as well as their larger, walking Whomp variations. One of the stars requires Mario to grab the talons of an owl (called a Hoot), ride it into the air, and drop off onto a platform high above the fortress (or use the cannon).
Jolly Roger Bay is a mostly-underwater course centered around a sunken pirate ship and the treasure within and about it. A monstrously large eel named Unagi also lives here.
Cool Cool Mountain is the first of two snow-themed courses in the game, featuring some Penguins in need and various snowy enemies. Additionally, there is a Penguin that will race Mario down a slide for a star. After collecting all 120 stars, Mario is able to race a tougher version of this Penguin, though he does not receive anything for his efforts.

Basement and back garden

Big Boo's Haunt is a haunted house that features various Boos and other frightening enemies. Among the many haunted things in the house, there is an evil piano that grows teeth and attacks Mario if he gets too close, a library whose books hurl themselves at him, a haunted carousel, and a room filled with coffins that stand upright when Mario gets near, and then fall back down, squishing anything beneath them.
Hazy Maze Cave is a complex of caverns, reminiscent of dungeons from earlier Mario games (and using a remix of the same music). There is a friendly creature that looks like the Loch Ness monster, a mine area filled with poisonous gas, and plenty of Monty Moles and Swoopers, and the odd flying Snifit.
Lethal Lava Land consists of platforms above a sea of lava, as well as a volcano that Mario can enter. The sea of lava makes this area difficult to traverse, along with the mean bullies that push you into the lava and the fearsome Big Bully.
Shifting Sand Land is a desert that is home to a labyrinthine pyramid as well as a cap-stealing vulture named Klepto and the fearsome Eyerok. It is reminiscent of the desert courses in Super Mario Bros. 2 (also featuring Shy Guys and Pokeys) and Super Mario Bros. 3.
Dire Dire Docks is another underwater course. This one involves two main areas separated by a tunnel and a submarine that belongs to Bowser.

Second floor

Snowman's Land, the second of two snow-themed courses, is centered around a giant climbable snowman mountain. The mountain, bizarrely enough, can talk, and if Mario walks in front of its face (without the protection of a very large Penguin, at least), he will be blown off.
Wet-Dry World is a course in which Mario can raise and lower the water level (depending on the vertical position at which he enters the painting) to better accomplish his goals and gain stars. It also features an abandoned town area.
Tall Tall Mountain takes place on an extremely steep mountain. It plays host to a cap-stealing monkey called Ukkiki as well as many precariously placed mushroom platforms.
Tiny-Huge Island can be played either as a small Mario in a world where everything is larger than normal, or as a large Mario in a world where everything is smaller than normal (also similar to a Super Mario Bros. 3 level). Its two differently sized paintings allow Mario to start the course either way, and warp pipes within the level allow him to switch. It also features a rematch with Koopa the Quick and an angry boss, Wiggler.

Third floor

Tick Tock Clock is the inside of a gigantic clock where Mario must navigate between moving parts such as pendulums and gears. The speed and direction of the moving parts in this stage are affected by the positions of the hands of the clock when Mario jumps into it. This level was reused as a race track in Mario Kart DS.
Rainbow Ride takes place in the sky, with various platforms and floating buildings that can be reached by riding a magic carpet. The course's name, difficulty level and high altitude are reminiscent of the Rainbow Road courses from the Mario Kart games. This level was reused as an arena in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Development

The development of Super Mario 64 took less than two years, but the game had actually been in the planning stage for about five years.(January 1996). "The Game Guys - (Spaceworld 1995)". Nintendo Power, vol 80. transcript Producer Shigeru Miyamoto developed most of the concepts during the era of the SNES, and considered making it an SNES game (see Super Mario FX), but decided to develop it for the Nintendo 64 due to the earlier system's technical limitations .

Development started by creating the characters and the camera. Months were spent selecting a camera view and layout that would be appropriate; the original concept involved the game having fixed path much like an isometric type game, before the choice was made to settle on a free-roaming 3D design. The first test scenario used to try out controls and physics involved Mario and the rabbit Mips, named for the MIPS processor in the Nintendo 64 (This scene remains as a minigame in the final game). Reliable information about Nintendo's new 3D Mario first leaked out in November 1995, and a playable version of Super Mario 64 was presented days later as part of the world premier for the Nintendo 64 (then known as Ultra 64) at Nintendo SpaceWorld. The basic controls had at this point been implemented, and the game was reportedly 50% finished, although most course design remained. At least 32 courses were planned, but the number turned out lower in the final game, as only 15 could fit. Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that the guiding design philosophy behind Super Mario 64 was to include more details. Many were inspired from real life; for example, one character is based on director Takashi Tezuka's wife who "is very quiet normally, but one day she exploded, maddened by all the time he spent at work. In the game, there is now a character which shrinks when Mario looks at it, but when Mario turns away, it will grow large and menacing."(August 1995). "Miyamoto Interview". Nintendo Power, vol 75. transcript Super Mario 64 is also characterized by featuring more puzzles than earlier Mario games. It was developed simultaneously with Ocarina of Time, but as Zelda was released years later, some puzzles were taken from that game for Super Mario 64.(October 1996). "Miyamoto Interview". Nintendo Power, vol 89. transcript

The music was composed by Koji Kondo, who used new interpretations of the familiar melodies from earlier games as well as entirely new material. Sound-wise, Super Mario 64 was also one of the first in the series to feature the voice acting of Charles Martinet.

A main difference between the Japanese and English versions, except the language, is that the characters speak more in the English version. Sometimes different things are said, like Mario's "Bye bye" became "So long-a Bowser!" There are other differences, some of which remained in the English release of Super Mario 64 DS."Super Mario 64: From Japanese to English". The Mushroom Kingdom. ^*

Impact

Super Mario 64 is often counted as the first among games such as Ocarina of Time, Metroid Prime, Sonic Adventure, and Final Fantasy VII to have brought a series of 2D games into full 3D while maintaining their signature feel. The game was designed with the earlier Mario titles' maneuvers, power-up blocks, level themes (such as grassland, lava, desert, and so on), enemies, and other characters in mind. Super Mario 64's translation of traditional 2D platforming action into 3D was hailed as a great success by many players, and the game itself went on to effectively drive sales of the N64 console.

Reviews

Super Mario 64 was praised in the gaming press, and is still highly acclaimed. It has collected numerous awards, including various "Game of the Year" honors by members of the gaming media, as well as Nintendo's own bestseller Player's Choice selection. It has placed high on many "greatest games of all time" lists, ranked #1 by Next Generation Magazine, #1 by Nintendo Power, #1 by Super PLAY, #5 by IGN, and #5 by Electronic Gaming Monthly. EGM awarded Super Mario 64 a Gold award in its initial review, and in Edge, the game was the first of only five games to ever score a perfect 10/10. GameSpot called Super Mario 64 one of the 15 most influential games of all time.

Innovation

Super Mario 64 set many precedents for 3D platformers to follow.

Unlike 2D games, 3D games must emulate a real perspective of characters and events. Most existing 3D games at the time used a first person or fixed perspective, but the platform gameplay of Super Mario 64 required the use of a free camera. The game world is therefore viewed through an in-game video camera operated by Lakitu (who, in the storyline, is filming Mario's adventure for the local press but in the game is mostly an invisible observer but can be seen at the beginning and end of the game and whenever the camera focuses on a mirror). Lakitu handles the camera automatically, but the player can change the perspective manually when necessary, since the camera programming occasionally makes the view get stuck behind walls or at odd angles. This was a useful innovation, as other games were sometimes unplayable due to an unfixable bad camera.

The Nintendo 64's analog control stick allowed for more realistic and wide-ranging character movements than the digital D-pads of previous consoles, and Super Mario 64 exploits this feature extensively. For example, Mario's speed varies depending on the degree of tilt of the control stick. The range and direction of many other movements can be controlled as well. The Bowser battles exhibit this by forcing the player to rotate the control stick in circles in order to swing Bowser around and throw him into mines placed around the arena.

Super Mario 64 was also notable for its sense of freedom and non-linearity. This was initially unfamiliar to many people, among them voice actor Michael Grayford of Liquid Entertainment: }}

Warren Spector, former lead designer at Ion Storm Inc., gives the following explanation for the game's influence:

A central hub, where controls can be learned before entering levels themselves, has been used in many 3D platformers since. In addition, the game's mission-based level design was an inspiration for other game designers. For one example, Martin Hollis who produced and directed GoldenEye 007 says that "the idea for the huge variety of missions within a level came from Mario 64."

Remakes and sequels

Super Mario 64 was re-released in Japan in 1997. This version is compatible with the Rumble Pak and the voice speeches in the American version have been added, with the only difference of Mario's speech when he throws Bowser (instead of So long-a Bowser!, he just says Bye, bye!). This is because the name "Bowser" is not used in Japan (Bowser is known there as Koopa).
Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo GameCube built on Super Mario 64's core gameplay by adding a water pump device and add-on nozzles, similar to the Caps.
Super Mario 64 DS for the Nintendo DS is a remake of Super Mario 64 that features Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario as additional playable characters, additional stars and courses, touch screen mini-games, and a few minor multiplayer modes.
Super Mario Galaxy is said to be the true sequel to Super Mario 64: a game that will be innovative in the same respect. Originally planned for the Nintendo 64, in which Miyamoto actually constructed a "Demo" for, it was then slated as a next-generation title for the GameCube, and then moved back again to be released on Wii.
Super Mario 64 has been confirmed to be downloadable for the Virtual Console service for the Wii
Super Mario 64 was rereleased in America as a Player's Choice title in 1998.

Rumors

Because of Super Mario 64's great popularity, rumors about glitches and secrets spread like wildfire after its release. The most infamous rumor is that Mario's brother Luigi is an unlockable character in the game. This rumor was fueled by a blurry text on the pedestal of a statue in the castle courtyard that supposedly read "L is Real 2401" (or 2041), which caused rampant fan speculation. (Upon closer inspection, the blurry texture does not actually contain any words or letters.) Many methods were suggested for unlocking Luigi. A recuring theme in these fabricated methods is Mario finding a green hat and, upon collecting it, exclaiming "It's-a Luigi time!" before continuing with the task to unlock Luigi. IGN received so many questions and supposed methods to unlock Luigi that the staff offered a bounty to anyone who could prove that Luigi was in the game. The number of false codes submitted to IGN dropped dramatically; no successful method was uncovered.

Photoshopped pictures of Mario with a green tint have been presented as evidence of Luigi being playable, but no one has been able to accomplish this feat in the game except by using a GameShark to make Mario green. Nintendo has consistently denied Luigi's playability, and never commented on the meaning of the supposed "L is Real 2401" except for an April Fool's issue of Nintendo Power. In this issue, the table of contents says that the cryptic phrase will be discussed, but the page number of the supposed article does not exist.

Among other Mario references, the suspicious texture reappears in Ocarina of Time, a game based on a heavily modified version of the Super Mario 64 engine.