Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 is a 3D platformer game for the Nintendo 64. It was first released in Japan on June 23, 1996; in the U.S. on September 29, 1996; in Europe on March 1, 1997; and in Australia on March 1, 1997. This game was one of two launch titles for the Nintendo 64, along with Pilotwings 64, which helped drive initial sales of the console. To this day, it has sold over 11 million copies, the best selling Nintendo 64 game ever. It is also the second most popular game on the Virtual Console.

Super Mario 64 was originally in development for the Super Famicom, or SNES outside of Japan, but was moved to the Nintendo 64 after limitations proved very hassling. Though it was not the first 3-D platforming game, it revolutionized the genre, with many games soon following its formula using it as a sort of benchmark. It is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest games of all time.

A version of the game was released in Japan on July 18, 1997, that included Rumble Pak support. This is actually the same as the International release of the game, as it retains all of the glitch fixes as well as graphical and sound changes (except Mario calling Bowser by his name in a voice clip, which was "buh-bye" in all Japanese versions as he tosses him by the tail - this is because he is not known as Bowser in Japan). The only differences other than one voice clip are the language being changed back to Japanese and the Rumble Pak support.

A remake of Super Mario 64 was released for the Nintendo DS entitled Super Mario 64 DS in 2004. The remake had various differences from the original game. There was also a sequel planned called Super Mario 64 2, though it was canceled.

Storyline
Princess Peach sent a letter to Mario to come and have some cake with her in the castle. When he arrives, he finds one of the Lakitu Bros. who follows him around dangling a camera. Together, they go inside and hear a familiar voice telling them to get out of the castle. Toad informs them that Bowser has kidnapped the princess again and is holding everyone hostage inside the castle walls. He has also stolen the Power Stars and given them to his minions who are hiding in paintings. Mario hops in the magical paintings and retrieves the Power Stars in order to defeat Bowser and save the Princess.

After a long journey, Mario counts his stars and discovers he has enough of them to go into Bowser's final maze, and goes through another one of the Koopa King's obstacle courses. Once getting through, Mario finds Bowser waiting for him. The two engage in battle. Bowser ends up defeated, and is surprised when Mario tells him there were some power stars he missed. Bowser gives up, and hands Mario the final Giant Power Star before he explodes. When Mario grabs the last power star, wings appear on his cap, allowing him to fly. He circles the star-shaped arena, and flies away. Eventually, he lands in front of the castle. As his wings fade away, Mario uses the power of the Giant Power Star, to make Princess Peach appear in front of the castle. The star goes into the glass painting, the painting flashes, and Peach slowly descends to the ground. Mario rushes up to her as she wakes up. Thanking him, Peach kisses Mario and says she will make a cake for him. Peach and two nearby Mushroom Retainers walk into the castle. Mario starts to do so himself, but then pauses and turns around to look at the sky, and watch the birds flying. Peach calls his name and Mario runs in after her and the Mushroom Retainers. After the credits scroll, the cake, with Peach and Mario figures, is shown at the very end.

Courses
Levels are laid out inside paintings in the castle, or sometimes the walls themselves. They can also be found in holes, gaps, oil pits, and inside a clock. Each world has 7 Power Stars. Within each, one of which is gained by finding 100 coins in the level. The other six Stars are found by performing "missions", fighting bosses, winning races, and etc. Every course has boundaries to limit the player from going too far, either as a strict wall or an invisible boundary. If Mario hits either, he falls down (quite often to his death). Otherwise, Mario is free to roam the large expansive levels at his leisure.

Levels often feature pink Bob-ombs called Bob-omb Buddies. They open cannons littered around the levels for Mario to fly with. When the cannon is open, Mario simply falls into the pit where it is, and it raises. The player targets the cannon with a cross hair shot, and fires. This helps Mario reach high or far away areas. It is often a good idea to use the Wing Cap (see below) with cannons.


 * 1) Bob-omb Battlefield
 * 2) Whomp's Fortress
 * 3) Jolly Roger Bay
 * 4) Cool, Cool Mountain
 * 5) Big Boo's Haunt
 * 6) Hazy Maze Cave
 * 7) Lethal Lava Land
 * 8) Shifting Sand Land
 * 9) Dire, Dire Docks
 * 10) Snowman's Land
 * 11) Wet-Dry World
 * 12) Tall, Tall Mountain
 * 13) Tiny-Huge Island
 * 14) Tick Tock Clock
 * 15) Rainbow Ride

Secret Courses
In addition to the main courses of the game and the Bowser Courses, there are also a few hidden courses that house several of the Castle's Secret Stars, as well as the three ! Switches.
 * The Princess's Secret Slide
 * The Secret Aquarium
 * Tower of the Wing Cap
 * Vanish Cap Under the Moat
 * Cavern of the Metal Cap
 * Wing Mario Over the Rainbow

Abilities
In addition to Mario's signature jumping, a whole new host of abilities is given to the player as the game progresses. Mario can punch, kick, kick jump, hip drop (Yoshi and Wario could do this previously), triple jump, long jump, back flip, somersault, and perform the wall kick (bouncing from wall to wall with timed jumps to reach higher areas). The usual Super Mushroom and Fire Flower are absent in this game. Instead Mario gains the power to wear new hats, in the form of colored Caps. The Power Gauge is also introduced, which became standard for future three dimensional Mario games.

The Caps are found inside special '!' blocks littered around the every level. Initially empty, they can be filled by finding '!' switches (similar to the Switch Palaces of Super Mario World). There are three colors to the caps, and each cap lets Mario perform different abilities. It should also be noted that only one form of colored cap can be found in each level. Normally, each cap is worn separately, but Mario can sometimes don two caps at once and combine the abilities of both.


 * The Wing Cap (red) allows Mario to transform into Wing Mario and fly around if he performs a triple jump or blasts out of a cannon. This is useful for reaching high or far areas, and finding secrets in the sky.
 * The Vanish Cap (blue) makes Mario transform into Vanish Mario which makes him invulnerable to attacks. He can also walk through some walls to reach new areas, where he can find hidden items or Power Stars. Also, all enemies' attacks travel through him.
 * The Metal Cap (green) causes Mario to transform into Metal Mario, which makes him metallic and heavy. This lets Mario defeat enemies by walking into them, walk through streams of fire without taking damage, avoid water currents, and walk under water. Because he is heavy, all Mario can do is walk and jump.

Bosses
There are various mini bosses in some stages, but the primary boss is Bowser. He appears three times in three different levels. This is a list of the bosses in the game.


 * Big Bob-omb – A giant Bob-omb in Bob-omb Battlefield. He appears as the first star.
 * Whomp King – A giant Whomp on top of Whomp's Fortress. He appears as the first star, and after he is defeated, there is a tower on top of the fortress.
 * Bowser in the Dark World – Bowser appears at the end of this level. The player needs to swing him by the tail clockwise or counterclockwise and hurl him at bombs on the outside of his circular arena.
 * Big Bully – Two of these giant Bullies appear in Lethal Lava Land. On both occasions they try to knock Mario into the lava.
 * Eyerok – Two stone hands with eyes on their palms. They appear when the player blasts open the top of the Pyramid in Shifting Sand Land and ride the elevator inside.
 * Big Boo – A giant Boo which appears three times in Big Boo's Haunt. He initially appears once all the Boos in the mansion have been removed, again in the underground Merry-Go-Round, and lastly on the top balcony of the mansion (possibly what inspired Boolossus).
 * Big Mr. I – A giant Mr. I which only appears in the attic of Big Boo's Haunt.
 * Bowser in the Fire Sea – Bowser appears at the end of the level. Game play is the same as the first Bowser, except now his jumps make the arena tilt, causing Mario to need to run up the arena to avoid falling off. Bowser also gains a new move where he vanishes and reappears a short distance away.
 * Chill Bully – A large Bully made of ice. He tries to ram Mario onto a lethally frozen pond in Snowman's Land.
 * Wiggler – A giant Wiggler, which becomes angry when his home in Tiny-Huge Island gets flooded.
 * Bowser in the Sky – Bowser appears at the end of this level. He must be thrown into the bombs three times. Each time he falls off the arena, his jump back makes a piece of the arena fall off. After being hit twice, he stomps the ground and the entire arena begins collapsing until it becomes the shape of a star.

Notable Mistakes and Errors

 * When speaking to Yoshi on the castle roof, Yoshi says "Mario!!! It that really you???". However, this may have been done on purpose to show that Yoshi could/can not speak English well.
 * If Mario is one star short of opening a door, it will still refer to the number of stars needed in the plural: "You need 1 stars"
 * If the player has less than 4 HP and is squished by a Thwomp, Mario will be squished and disappear into thin air.

References to Other Games

 * Super Mario Bros. - A carving of Mario from this game appears on a pillar in Bowser in the Sky. There is also a small jingle used at the Power Star select screen which sounds identical to the first few notes of the overworld theme in this game.
 * Super Mario World - Yoshi says to Mario that they haven't shared an adventure in ages, and the last adventure they went through together was in this game. Also the idea of Switch Palaces is in a way brought back.
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - The theme used for invincibility in this game, specifically the string instruments playing in the background, is reworked into Wing/Vanish Mario's theme for Super Mario 64.

References in Later Games

 * Paper Mario - This game starts the same way, with a letter being sent from Peach. Peach's Castle returns and the main room is near identical (however the doors do lead to different rooms).
 * Super Mario 64 DS - This game is a remake of Super Mario 64. Also, at the start, Yoshi is on the roof and jumps down, a reference to the fact that he is there at the start of Super Mario 64.
 * Mario Kart 64 - Peach's Castle is hidden in the Royal Raceway.
 * Super Smash Bros. - When Mario's shield breaks in this game he acts the same as he does when he has low health here. Two levels based on places here are also accessible, such as Metal Mario's Stage and Peach's Castle.
 * Mario Kart Super Circuit - Peach's castle reappears in the background of Peach Circuit, Mario Circuit 1, and Mario Circuit 4.
 * Mario Kart DS - Tick Tock Clock appears as a race track in this game. Several bosses found here also reappear in this game.
 * New Super Mario Bros. - This game uses many things found here, such as Dorrie, and a Bowser head closes in on the screen when the player dies. Some enemies like Moneybags and Scuttle Bugs make their platforming debut
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - The game starts in the same way, Peach sends Mario another letter.
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - In Woohoo Hooniversity, a room with four blocks can be seen in it. One of them is a block from Super Mario 64. The name of the game is even mentioned in the description of the blocks, and the professors are trying to figure out why it vanishes when struck.
 * Super Mario Galaxy - The game starts in the same way, Peach sends Mario another letter, while the Bowser levels resemble the ones in "Super Mario 64" and use the same theme.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee - Two levels based on areas from Super Mario 64 appear. Princess Peach's Castle and Metal Mario is a trophy. Additionally, a green ! box is an item, and using it makes the character metal.
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Music from Bob-omb Battlefield is unlockable and the Metal Box returns.
 * Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! - Wrinkly Kong plays this game sometimes in her Save Caves.
 * Super Mario Sunshine - A brief clip of Mario's fight with Bowser is seen when F.L.U.D.D. scans Mario.
 * Mario Power Tennis - The music that plays in the minigame, Artist On the Court has the Peach Castle theme remixed.
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2 - In Tall Trunk Galaxy, The Princess's Secret Slide music plays at a moment. Also, the Whomp's Fortress reappears as the Throwback Galaxy, alongside Bob-omb Buddies and the Whomp King. Both games start with Peach sending a letter to Mario.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Peach's Castle reappears in the game, along with its trademark music remixed.
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - The theme that plays in Peach's Castle is a remix version of this game's castle theme.
 * Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - The music for when the Mario Bros first enter Peach's Castle and when everyone is removed from Bowser's Belly is a remix of the Peach's Castle theme from 64. Also, both games end in a view of a cake with Mario and Peach figures on it.

Trivia

 * This game was not the debut of Charles Martinet as Mario's voice; he gave his first voices to Mario's FUNdamentals.
 * Mario's method of defeating Bowser in this game is identical to the one he used in The Great Mission to Save Princess Peach. He also used this technique during their battle in the Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episode Mario Meets Koop-zilla.
 * The title screen of the game features the ability to grab Mario's face with the hand cursor and distort it in various bizarre ways.
 * When Super Mario 64 was being localized for the English speaking countries, many small changes were made. For example, Princess Toadstool never reads her letter aloud in the Japanese version of Super Mario 64. In 1997, Super Mario 64 was re-released in Japan as "Shindou edition." It featured all the changes from the English game, plus Rumble Pak support.
 * In the original (non-Rumble) Japanese version of the game, the portrait for Jolly Roger Bay depicts several bubbles, while the international and Shindou versions show the sunken ship at the bottom of the level. Super Mario 64 DS reverts to the original painting for all regions.
 * As a little Easter egg, sometimes when Mario jumps out of water a fish flies out with him. As shown by the picture above, this is much easier to do when jumping out of shallow water.
 * If a second Nintendo 64 controller is connected to the Nintendo 64, the second player can control the camera while Peach congratulates Mario, as well as during the credits.
 * In the castle garden, there is a statue that appears to read "L IS REAL 2401". This led to a rumor that Luigi was an unlockable character in the game. This has since been debunked, but Luigi was made playable in the remake.
 * This sign later makes and appearance in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in the Dodongo Cavern.