Super Mario 64

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

Super Mario 64
Super Mario 64 box cover.
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64
Release	June 23, 1996 September 29, 1996 March 1, 1997
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player

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 made available as a launch game for the console. As the Nintendo 64's flagship killer game, it drove initial sales of the console, 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 revolutionized and defined the genre, much as Super Mario Bros. defined the 2D sidescrolling platformer. Indeed, Super Mario 64 was considered so revolutionary that many consider it the benchmark for all later games in the genre.

In going from two to three dimensions, Super Mario 64 replaced the linear obstacle courses of traditional platform games with vast worlds set up with multiple and diverse missions, with an emphasis on exploration. While doing so, it managed nonetheless 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.

Gameplay

File:N64 Super Mario 64 start.jpg

The game begins on the front lawn of Princess Peach's Castle.

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 numerous courses, which are often accessed by jumping into paintings found in the castle. If a player collects all 120 stars, the player would be able to access Yoshi on the roof of the castle, who would grant the player 100 lives and an improved triple jump, so as to make it easier for the player to explore the various levels. A new end-message, viewable when the player defeats Bowser, would also become available.

Basic controls

File:Super Mario 64 jumping.jpg

As illustrated in the instruction manual, Mario can perform a wide range of jumps among other moves.

Mario can perform a large variety of actions. 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 category of moves. In addition to regular jumping, there are multiple 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.

Additionally, Mario has a number of physical attacks other than jumping. Mario's standard attack is the punch, and attacking in the air becomes a kick jump. 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). Mario 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. Mario's 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

File:N64 Super Mario 64 kicking.jpg

Kicking a Goomba

File:N64 Super Mario 64 cool cool mountain.jpg

Carrying a penguin baby

File:N64 Super Mario 64 diving.jpg

Diving underwater

Each course is an enclosed world of its own. The player is free to wander around and discover the environment, 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 find and pass various challenges in each stage. The challenges themselves vary; generally, Mario needs to defeat a boss, overcome obstacles, 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, which must be activated from special cap courses before they can be used.

Slides and races

On several occasions, Mario must race an opponent or against the clock. This includes sprinting by foot against a Koopa Troopa named Koopa the Quick, and riding down long slides loaded with curves, jumps, and endless pits on all sides.

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, the player can aim anywhere in the sky and shoot Mario off 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 gains access to new floors 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.

Some paintings have unique quirks, such as sections of the painting that have different effects on the level when jumped into. The secret courses are largely found by jumping into out-of-the-way paintings, looking at different areas of the castle, or falling into holes. Template:Spoiler-blank The 15 main courses are the following:

File:N64 Super Mario 64 whomp fortress.jpg

Whomp's Fortress requires the player to navigate across vast chasms, a classic Mario element.

First floor

• Bob-omb Battlefield, a bright grassland following the tradition of first courses from earlier Mario games. Here, Mario meets the friendly pink Bob-omb Buddies, who are at war with the black Bob-ombs. The black Bob-ombs are led by 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 meets a Chain Chomp and Koopa the Quick for the first time.
• Whomp's Fortress, 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, an 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, 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.

File:N64 Super Mario 64 shifting sand land.jpg

Shifting Sand Land is somewhat reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. 3's Desert Hill.

Basement and back garden

• Big Boo's Haunt, a haunted house that features various Boos and other frightening enemies like Mr. Is. 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, a complex of caverns, reminiscent of dungeons from earlier Mario games (and using a variation of the same music). There is a friendly sea monster, a mine area filled with poisonous gas, and plenty of Monty Moles and Swoopers, and the odd flying Snifit.
• Lethal Lava Land, consisting 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.
• Shifting Sand Land, 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, 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, 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, a course where 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, which 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 that are similar to those from World 4-3 of Super Mario Bros.
• Tiny-Huge Island, that 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.

File:N64 Super Mario 64 flying.jpg

Flying with the Wing Cap

Third floor

• Tick Tock Clock, 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 - depending on which quarter-hour the hands are passing through, the clockwork will move at normal speed, double speed, be static, or go backwards. This level was reused as a race track in Mario Kart DS.
• Rainbow Ride, taking 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, along with Princess Peach's castle.

Development

File:Super Mario 64 beta.jpg

Princess Peach's castle in a pre-release version of Super Mario 64

The development of Super Mario 64 took less than two years, but the game had actually been in the planning for about five years. Producer Shigeru Miyamoto developed most of the concepts during the era of the SNES, in fact considering making it an SNES game (see Super Mario FX), but was driven to develop it for the Nintendo 64 due to the earlier system's technical limitations.

Development started by creating the characters and the camera. 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 thereafter 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 who shrinks when Mario looks at it, but when Mario turns away, it will grow large and menacing." Super Mario 64 is also characterized by featuring more puzzles than earlier Mario games. It was developed simultaneously with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, but as Zelda got a later release, some puzzles were taken from that game.

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 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, 'King' Bowser!" (although there is some disagreement among fans to what he actually says at this point - Many fans think that instead of 'King Bowser' he says 'dear Bowser'). There are other differences, some of which remained in the English release of Super Mario 64 DS.

Impact

File:N64 Super Mario 64 bowser tail.jpg

Mario can defeat Bowser by grabbing him by the tail and flinging him into mines.

Super Mario 64 is often counted as the first among games such as The Legend of Zelda: 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 when released, 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 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 which is necessary since the camera programming occasionally makes the view get stuck behind walls or at odd angles. The C buttons on the Nintendo 64 controller proved to be extremely useful in this way; 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 into mines placed around the arenas.

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:

"When I first played Mario 64, I was very turned off. There were too many places to run around and too much stuff to do, and I didn't really see the point or the spirit of the game. I tried it again later, though, hearing from everyone how fun it was, and ended up playing it all the way through to the end. I was highly pleased. Each level brought some new unique cool gameplay element and I was never bored."

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

"It's not possible to squeeze this much gameplay into a single game. Mario has, like, ten things he can do and yet there's never a moment where you feel constrained in any way. No game has done a better job of showing goals before they can be attained, allowing players to make a plan and execute on it. And the way the game allows players to explore the same spaces several times while revealing something new each time is a revelation. Any developer who wouldn't kill to have made this game is nuts."

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, but 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, King Bowser!, he just says Bye, bye!). This is because the name "Bowser" is rarely used in Japan.
• 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 for it, 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 couple minor multiplayer modes.
• Super Mario 128 (tentative title) 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 actual 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 the Nintendo Revolution.

Rumors

File:L is Real 2041.png

Mario swims next to the mysterious "L is Real 2401" or "Eternal Star" texture

Because of Super Mario 64's great popularity, rumors 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 texture on the pedestal of a statue in the castle courtyard that possibly reads "L is Real 2401" (or 2041), which caused rampant fan speculation. 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.

Luigi is a fully playable character in the enhanced remake, Super Mario 64 DS.

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. Nintendo has consistently denied Luigi's playability, and never commented on the meaning of "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 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a game based on a heavily modified version of the Super Mario 64 engine. The artists may simply have reused the texture as a joke, knowing the fuss it would create amongst keen-eyed fans.

It is possible that the texture is meant to say "Eternal Star", however the blurry compression used on the texture may be the cause of this myth.

Voices

• Charles Martinet as Mario
• Leslie Swan as Princess Peach

Notes and references

• "The Best Video Games in the History of Humanity". filibustercartoons.com. Retrieved 2006-02-11.

External links

Coverage

• Template:GameFAQs
• Super Mario 64 at MobyGames
• IGN's coverage of Super Mario 64
• The Making of Mario 64 by Andy Robinson
• Super Mario 64 at IMDb

Reviews

• Everything2
• Super Mario 128 Central
• Armchair Empire
• IGN

Interviews

• GameSpot - Tim Schafer (LucasArts) comments - 1999

Videos

• Speed runs at Speed Demos Archive
• Beat Super Mario 64 in 21 Minutes

Glitches

• Super Mario 64 - Beyond 120 Stars

Other

• Super Mario Wiki