Super Mario 64

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Template:Infobox Super Mario 64 is a 3D action-adventure platformer game released for the Nintendo 64 in 1996. This game was one of two (three in Japan) launch titles for the Nintendo 64, along with Pilotwings 64, which helped drive initial sales of the console. As of January 7, 2017, it has sold over 11 million copies worldwide[1], and is marked as the best selling Nintendo 64 game of all time. It is also the second most popular game on the Wii's Virtual Console, after Super Mario Bros.

Being the first 3D Mario game, Super Mario 64 has introduced many moves that would be used in almost every later Super Mario title: Triple Jumping, Ground Pounding, Long Jumping, Crouching, and Somersaults. Punching and kicking were also introduced, but would not be used in any later main title (besides its DS remake).

Though not the first 3D platforming game, Super Mario 64 codified many of the controls and designs conventions of the genre[2]. It is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest and most important games of all time[3][4][5].

In 2004, a remake of Super Mario 64 was released for the Nintendo DS entitled Super Mario 64 DS. The remake had various differences from the original game such as Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario becoming playable characters. There was also a sequel called Super Mario 64 2 planned for the Nintendo 64DD, but it was canceled due to the 64DD's commercial failure.

Super Mario 64 was rereleased digitally on the Wii's Virtual Console service on November 19, 2006, and again on the Wii U's Virtual Console service on April 1, 2015, making it and Donkey Kong 64 the first two Nintendo 64 games to be released on the Wii U.

Storyline

Intro Princess Toadstool Peach
The Princess' letter.
Mario facing the picture of Bob-omb Battlefield
Mario finds his first painting, an entrance to a level

The following is the story given on pages 4 and 5 of the Super Mario 64 instruction booklet. The colors given in the instruction booklet signify who is talking: Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, and Toad, with black being narration.

"Mario, please come to the castle. I've baked a cake for you. Yours truly, Princess Toadstool."

"Wow, an invitation from Peach! I'll head out right away. I hope she can wait for me!"
Mario is so excited to receive the invitation from the Princess, who lives in the Mushroom Castle, that he quickly dresses in his best and leaves right away.

"Hmmm, something's not quite right here... It's so quiet..."
Shaking off his uneasy premonition, Mario steps into the silent castle, where he is greeted by the gruff words,

"No one's home! Now scram! Bwa, ha, ha."
The sound seems to come from everywhere.

"Who's there?! I've heard that voice somewhere before..."
Mario begins searching all over the castle. Most of the doors are locked, but finding one open, he peeks inside. Hanging on the wall is the largest painting he has ever seen, and from behind the painting comes the strangest sound that he has ever heard...

"I think I hear someone calling. What secrets does this painting hold?"
Without a second thought, Mario jumps at the painting. As he is drawn into it, another world opens before his very eyes.

And so begins the grandest of all adventures!

Once inside the painting, Mario finds himself in the midst of battling Bob-ombs. According to the Bob-omb Buddies, someone...or something...has suddenly attacked the castle and stolen the "Power Stars". These stars protect the castle; with the stars in his control, the beast plans to take over the Mushroom Castle.

To help him accomplish this, he plans to convert the residents of the painting world into monsters as well. If nothing is done, all those monsters will soon begin to overflow from inside the painting.

"A plan this maniacal, this cunning...this must be the work of Bowser!"
Princess Toadstool and Toad are missing, too. Bowser must have taken them and sealed them inside the painting. Unless Mario recovers the Power Stars immediately, the inhabitants of this world will become Bowser's army.

"Well, Bowser's not going to get away with it, not as long as I'm around!"
Stolen Power Stars are hidden throughout the painting world. Use your wisdom and strength to recover the Power Stars and restore peace to the Mushroom Castle.

"Mario! You are the only one we can count on."

Gameplay

The player controls Mario in a variety of open environments of varying size and complexity, ranging from a small cubic room to large self-contained worlds populated by enemies, items, and friendly NPCs who can either provide limited assistance to Mario or are subject of one of the game's tasks.

To progress, the player must collect Power Stars by completing a variety of missions, ranging from tasks such as defeating a specific enemy, completing a puzzle, collecting a set amount of items, or besting a NPC in a friendly competition. There are a total of 120 Power Stars in the game, though only 70 need to be collected in order to complete the game. The Power Stars are split between the fifteen main courses, nine secret courses, and other objectives. The main courses contain six numbered missions each plus an hidden Power Star for collecting 100 coins. Though missions for a level are numbered, most missions can be performed out of order. Other missions, however, can only be completed by selecting a specific scenario from the course selection screen, as to prompt the appearance or disappearance of a character or object needed to complete the task.

The game is primarily set inside and around Princess Peach's Castle, itself divided in multiple rooms containing portals (most represented as paintings) that lead to the game's courses. Initially, the player can only access one of the paintings and a limited section of the castle, but as the player collects Power Stars, the player will be able to unlock doors leading to the other courses and open up other sections of the castle by collecting a certain number of stars and completing a Bowser level.

Controls

Super Mario 64 uses a majority of the buttons on the Nintendo 64 controller, the only buttons not used are the Control Pad and the L Button Button.

  • Control Stick - Move Mario/cursor, climb poles, angle camera in second-person mode, fly (when wearing the Wing Cap)
  • A Button - Jump, swim, confirm
  • B Button - Punch, Dive, grab, throw, cancel
  • Z Button - Crouch
  • Right C Button, Left C Button - Move Camera
  • Up C Button - Zoom in, enter second-person mode (which allows the player to look around)
  • Down C Button - Zoom out
  • R Button - Toggle camera mode
  • START Button - Pauses the game, activates Star List (when in Peach's Castle) or pause menu (when in courses)

Additional Moves

Mario punching and kicking
Mario punching and kicking.
Mario performing a Sweep Kick in Super Mario 64.
Mario Sweep Kicking.

To get around the courses in the game, Mario has to make use of several moves. Along with the standard moves listed above, there are several additional moves that can be done by using button combinations. A "->" implies combinations where buttons need to be pressed in succession, and a "+" implies combinations where buttons need to be pressed simultaneously.

Characters

Main Characters

Supporting Characters

Courses

Mario running past Koopa the Quick in Bob-omb Battlefield.
Mario in Bob-omb Battlefield, the first stage in the game.

Levels are laid out inside paintings in the castle, or sometimes the walls themselves. They can also be found in holes, portals, oil pits, and inside a clock. Each world has seven Power Stars. Within each, one of which is gained by finding one hundred coins in the level. The other six Power Stars are found by performing "missions", accomplished by fighting bosses, winning races, etc. Every course has boundaries to limit the player from going too far, either as a strict wall or an invisible boundary.

Bob-omb Battlefield 64.png
Bob-omb Battlefield 		Whomp's Fortress 64.png
Whomp's Fortress 		Jolly Roger Bay Star 1
Jolly Roger Bay
Big Bob-omb on the Summit Footrace with Koopa the Quick Chip Off Whomp's Block To the Top of the Fortress Plunder in the Sunken Ship Can the Eel Come Out to Play?
Shoot to the Island in the Sky Find the 8 Red Coins Shoot into the Wild Blue Red Coins on the Floating Isle Treasure of the Ocean Cave Red Coins on the Ship Afloat
Mario Wings to the Sky Behind Chain Chomp's Gate Fall onto the Caged Island Blast Away the Wall Blast to the Stone Pillar Through the Jet Stream
Mario sliding in Cool, Cool Mountain.
Cool, Cool Mountain 		Mario outside the mansion in Big Boo's Haunt.
Big Boo's Haunt 		Hazy Maze Cave start
Hazy Maze Cave
Slip Slidin' Away Li'l Penguin Lost Go on a Ghost Hunt Ride Big Boo's Merry-Go-Round Swimming Beast in the Cavern Elevate for 8 Red Coins
Big Penguin Race Frosty Slide for 8 Red Coins Secret of the Haunted Books Seek the 8 Red Coins Metal-Head Mario Can Move! Navigating the Toxic Maze
Snowman's Lost His Head Wall Kicks Will Work Big Boo's Balcony Eye to Eye in the Secret Room A-Maze-Ing Emergency Exit Watch for Rolling Rocks
Lethal Lava Land Start
Lethal Lava Land 		Shifting Sand Land 64.png
Shifting Sand Land 		Dire, Dire Docks first area.
Dire, Dire Docks
Boil the Big Bully Bully the Bullies In the Talons of the Big Bird Shining Atop the Pyramid Board Bowser's Sub Chests in the Current
8-Coin Puzzle With 15 Pieces Red-Hot Log Rolling Inside the Ancient Pyramid Stand Tall on the Four Pillars Pole-Jumping for Red Coins Through the Jet Stream
Hot-Foot-It into the Volcano Elevator Tour in the Volcano Free Flying for 8 Red Coins Pyramid Puzzle The Manta Ray's Reward Collect the Caps...
Snowman's Land.png
Snowman's Land 		Wet-Dry World 64.png
Wet-Dry World 		Tall, Tall Mountain in the game Super Mario 64.
Tall, Tall Mountain
Snowman's Big Head Chill with the Bully Shocking Arrow Lifts! Top o' the Town Scale the Mountain Mystery of the Monkey Cage
In the Deep Freeze Whirl from the Freezing Pond Secrets in the Shallows & Sky Express Elevator--Hurry Up! Scary 'Shrooms, Red Coins Mysterious Mountainside
Shell Shreddin' for Red Coins Into the Igloo Go to Town for Red Coins Quick Race Through Downtown! Breathtaking View from Bridge Blast to the Lonely Mushroom
Tiny-Huge Island 64.png
Tiny-Huge Island 		Tick Tock Clock
Tick Tock Clock 		Entrance of Rainbow Ride
Rainbow Ride
Pluck the Piranha Flower The Tip Top of the Huge Island Roll into the Cage The Pit and the Pendulums Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow The Big House in the Sky
Rematch with Koopa the Quick Five Itty Bitty Secrets Get a Hand Stomp on the Thwomp Coins Amassed in a Maze Swingin' in the Breeze
Wiggler's Red Coins Make Wiggler Squirm Timed Jumps on Moving Bars Stop Time for Red Coins Tricky Triangles! Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Castle Secret Stars

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.

Three of the Toads in the castle give the player a Power Star when talked to. One of the Toads is in a corner near the entrance to Hazy Maze Cave, another is under the staircase on the second floor, and the third is to the right of Tick Tock Clock.

Enemies

New Enemies

Returning Enemies

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.

Image Description
Mario and King Bob-omb dueling on Bob-omb Battlefield.
Big Bob-omb 		A giant Bob-omb in Bob-omb Battlefield. He appears as the first boss in the game and the first star.
Whomp King in Whomp's Fortress
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 Fire Breathing in Bowser in the Dark World.
Bowser 		Bowser appears in Bowser in the Dark World, Bowser in the Fire Sea (where the arena tlits), and Bowser in the Sky (where he must be thrown three times). 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
Big Bully 		Two of these giant Bullies appear in Lethal Lava Land. On both occasions, they try to knock Mario into the lava.
Eyerok64.png
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 rides the elevator inside.
Mario and Big Boo on the balcony of the mansion in Big Boo's Haunt.
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.
Big Mr. I. in Super Mario 64
Big Mr. I 		A giant Mr. I which only appears in the attic of Big Boo's Haunt.
Chill Bully
Chill Bully 		A large Bully made of ice. He tries to ram Mario onto a lethally frozen pond in Snowman's Land.
Wiggler 64.png
Wiggler 		A giant Wiggler, which becomes angry when his home in Tiny-Huge Island gets flooded.

Items

Throughout the game, the player can make use of several items. Some items are out in the open, whereas others are found by breaking open ! Blocks or completing challenges.

Image Description Image Description
File:SM64 Yellow Coin.png
Coin 		A standard Coin found in the levels. When collected, it restores one point of Mario's Health Meter. Artwork of a yellow block from Super Mario 64
! Block 		A floating block that holds either coins, 1-Up Mushrooms, or Power Stars.
File:Sm64redcoin.png
Red Coin 		A red variant of the Yellow Coin, each worth two coins. Eight are scattered around most courses, and collecting them all will cause a Power Star to appear. They restore two points of Mario's Health Meter when collected. File:Wingcapblock.jpg
Red ! Block 		A red ! Block that holds a Wing Cap. Will become solid once the Red ! Switch is pressed.
Super Mario 64 promotional artwork: A Blue Coin
Blue Coin 		A blue variant of the Yellow Coin, each worth five coins. They usually appear after Ground Pounding Blue Switches or after defeating stronger enemies like a Mr. I. File:Vanishcapblock.jpg
Blue ! Block 		A blue ! Block that holds a Vanish Cap. Will become solid once the Blue ! Switch is pressed.
Artwork of a Spinning Heart from Super Mario 64.
Spinning Heart 		A large heart than spins when Mario walks through it, which will recover his Health. The amount of Health it recovers and how fast it does so is dependent on how quickly Mario moves through it. File:Metalcapblock.jpg
Green ! Block 		A green ! Block that holds a Metal Cap. Will become solid once the Green ! Switch is pressed.
1UP Mushroom
1-Up Mushroom 		A green spotted Mushroom that will give Mario an Extra Life when collected. WingCap SM64.png
Wing Cap 		Once collected from a Red ! Block, the Wing Cap allows Mario to fly for a limited time.
Koopa Shell 64.jpg
Shiny Shell 		A shell from a Koopa Troopa that Mario can ride, defeating enemies he runs over and allows him to move around the course quicker. Pressing Z Button will cause the shell to disappear. If grabbed underwater by using B Button, Mario can hold onto the shell for a short time and move underwater easier. File:SM64 VanishCap.JPG
Vanish Cap 		Once collected from a Blue ! Switch, the Vanish Cap turns Mario invisible, allowing him to pass through wired cages and ignore enemies.
File:Powerstar64.png
Power Star 		The main objective of the game. Collecting enough of them will allow Mario to open up Star Doors. MetalCapSM64.png
Metal Cap 		Once collected from a Green ! Switch, the Metal Cap turns Mario into metal, allowing him to walk underwater and defeat small enemies by simply running into them.

Notable mistakes and errors

  • At the end of the game, when speaking to Yoshi on the castle roof, Yoshi says "Mario!!! It that really you???" instead of "Mario!!! Is that really you???".
  • If Mario is one star short of opening a door, it will still refer to the word needed in the plural: "You need 1 more stars" instead of "You need 1 more star."

Those errors remained in the Virtual Console version. However, they were fixed in the remake, as Yoshi is a playable character, and the message that appears when Mario doesn't have enough stars to open a door is "You need (number) more."

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 opening theme in this game.
  • Super Mario World - The idea of Switch Palaces is in a way brought back. Also, when Yoshi is met, he says to Mario "It has been so long since our last adventure!", referring to this game. Also, the soundtrack follows the same composition technique used in Super Mario World in a similar way where there's a signature melody in the game that's heard across different levels in several variations (Bob-omb Battlefield, Snow Mountain, Slider).
  • 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. The idea of collecting red coins first appeared in this title as well.

References in later games

Media

For a complete list of media for this subject, see List of Super Mario 64 media.
Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Reissues

Main article: Super Mario 64 DS

Super Mario 64 DS is the remake of the game for the Nintendo DS, bearing some new features on its storyline, gameplay and graphics. Unlike Super Mario 64, Mario is not the only playable character (nor is he even available at the start, the only character available at the start of the game is Yoshi); Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario also join the adventure in order to rescue Princess Toadstool from the hands of Bowser. Other new features within the game include a multi-player mode, in which up to four players can play simultaneously on each Nintendo DS connected together locally; minigames to play with each character, and new additions to the story mode such as new missions and levels.

A version of the original game was released in Japan on July 18, 1997, that included Rumble Pak support. This game is 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 the "So long-eh Bowser" voice clip, which was changed to "buh-bye"). The only differences other than one voice clip are the language being changed back to Japanese, a new title screen easter egg, fixing of the "backwards long jump" glitch and the Rumble Pak support.

Official soundtrack

Main article: Super Mario 64 Original Soundtrack

An original soundtrack that is based on the game is released. It has thirty-six tracks from the game.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Super Mario 64.
  • Mario

    Mario

  • Bowsersm64.gif

    Bowser

  • Sm64 the big boo.png

    Boo

  • Powerstar64.png

    Power Star

Version differences

There are a total of four Nintendo 64 releases of Super Mario 64: The original Japanese version, the North American release, the European and Australian release, and the Japanese Super Mario 64: Shindō Pack Taiō Version re-release.

Changes to the North American release

Text changes

  • The script is exclusively in English.
  • Princess Peach signs her letter with a large, pink "Peach". In the Japanese release she signs her letter in normal sized black text.

Audiovisual changes

Original Japanese Jolly Roger Bay Painting in the game Super Mario 64.
Japan
All versions beside the original Japanese version Jolly Roger Bay Painting in the game Super Mario 64.
North America
  • The entrance to Jolly Roger Bay is changed. In the original release, it is a painting of bubbles in a blue frame. In the North American release, it is a painting of a sunken ship in a gold frame.
  • In the Japanese version, the animation that plays when Mario collects a key after defeating Bowser depicts him dancing with a Power Star, as he does after completing a Power Star mission in all versions of the game. In the North American release, this is changed to a new animation in which Mario dances with the key itself.
  • The unused "key" HUD icon is removed from this version. It is replaced with a corrupted graphic.
  • The J, Q, V, Z, %, &, !, and ‼ characters are removed from the game's multicolored font, and replaced with corrupted graphics similar to the key. None of these symbols are actually used anywhere in the game.
  • The Chain Chomp's bark has been changed to a completely different sound.
  • The Red Coin sound effect increases in pitch with each coin collected. In the Japanese release, all red coins make the same sound.
  • The intro cutscene has several additional sound effects not present in the original release:
    • The blowing of wind when Lakitu is flying.
    • The click of the camera shutter when the in-game camera moves to Lakitu's perspective.
    • The spring sound and voice line "Ha ha!" when Mario jumps out of the pipe.
  • A sound effect not present in the Japanese game plays when mario exits a course through the pause menu.
  • When entering certain substages, such as Tower of the Wing Cap, the Power Star collection sound effect plays.
  • When Lakitu appears to explain things to Mario, a short tune entitled "Lakitu's Message" plays. Since this tune is not in the original Japanese release, it isn't found on the official soundtrack.
  • The North American release adds more voice acting for Mario:
    • "Hello!" when Mario's face greets the player on the title screen.
    • "Okey-dokey!" when the player chooses a save file.
    • "Let's-a go!" when the player chooses a star before entering a course.
    • "Game over!" when the player runs out of lives.
    • "Press START to play!" during the title screen demo.
    • "Boing!" when the player jumps off a Spindrift.
    • "I'm-a tired!" and the names of various pastas when Mario is sleeping.
    • "Mamma mia!" when falling out of a non-painting course after the player loses a life.
    • In the original Japanese version, Mario says "Here we go!" when he throws Bowser. In the North American version, he only says "Here we go!" when throwing Bowser a short distance. When he throws Bowser a long distance, he instead says "So long-a Bowser!".
    • Similarly, when Mario hits a wall in the Japanese version, he grunts. In the North American version, Mario grunts if he hits a wall at a low speed, but says "D'oh!" if he Long Jumps or dives into a wall.
    • When Mario Triple Jumps in the Japanese release, he says "Yahoo!". In the North American release, he randomly says any of "Yahoo!", "Wha-ha!", or "Yipee!".
  • All of Princess Peach's voice acting is new in this version of the game.

Fixed glitches

  • When Mario steps on one of the Cap Switches, a text box is triggered that explains the function of the switch. In the Japanese release, this text box causes the action in-game to pause until the text box is closed. If a Power Star is collected before this text box appears, the star will not vanish as it is supposed to do upon collection. In the American release, the text box does not cause the action to pause, which fixes this glitch.
  • If 1000 coins are collected, the coin counter is intended to immediately set itself back to 999 coins. In the Japanese release, it instead sets the life counter to 999. Because the life counter is stored in memory as a one byte wide signed field, this causes an overflow, and Mario's life total becomes -25. The North American release correctly sets the coin counter to 999, rather than the life counter.
  • The first two times Bowser is defeated, he leaves behind a key. If Mario is standing where the key will land and the player presses Up C Button to activate the first person camera, Mario will keep looking that way during the key collection cutscene.
  • In Shifting Sand Land's pyramid, collecting the fifth secret may cause the audio to stop playing. If this happens, attempting to leave the course in any way will trigger a game crash.
  • If Mario exits a course while standing on a moving platform, he will retain his momentum when Peach's Castle loads. This will cause Mario to spawn in an abnormal location.

Level design changes

  • In the mission Blast to the Stone Pillar, the Power Star is in an ! Block, rather than in the open as it was in the Japanese release.
  • In the mission Li'l Penguin Lost, the Power Star's spawn location has been moved from directly above the Mother Penguin to an empty area adjacent to her. This was apparently done because the penguin's hit box made it difficult to collect the star in its original location.

Changes to the European and Australian release

These releases feature all the changes of the North American release, plus the following additional changes:

Text changes

  • The script can be switched between English, German, and French.
  • The North American version's "Sound" menu has been renamed to "Options", reflecting the fact that the in-game language can be changed from this menu.
  • The characters Ä, Ö, and Ü have been added to the multicolored font, to allow proper representation of the German language. The Ü character is not actually used anywhere in the game. V and Z, which are present in the Japanese release but changed to corrupted characters in the North American release, are restored in this edition of the game

Audiovisual changes

The title screen
The North American version.
The European Title screen in the game Super Mario 64.
The European and Australian versions.
The title screen with Mario's face in Super Mario 64.
The North American version.
The PAL Intro Screen in the game Super Mario 64.
The European and Australian versions.
  • The copyright date on the title screen is changed to reflect the release year of the European and Australian editions. The trademark symbol was changed for unknown reasons. The Logo is slightly narrower.
  • The intro screen says "PRESS START" in the NTSC versions, but just "START" in the PAL version. The text was also moved slightly to the left in the PAL version.
  • The NTSC versions have slight letterboxing while the PAL version does not. This is most noticeable with the gap between the edge of the HUD elements and the edge of the screen.
  • In the intro, Mario jumps out of a pipe and a variation on the classic Mario pipe sound effect plays. In this edition of the game, the sound effect plays at a much quieter volume.
  • The sound of a Star Door closing is now more similar to the sound of the door opening.
  • The yellow coin collecting sound is slightly slowed down.
  • The sound effect of grabbing and then releasing Mario's face on the title screen is changed.
  • Mario's Double Jump sound is different.

Gameplay Changes

  • This version of the game outputs a signal compatible with the PAL television standard, rather than the NTSC standard used by the North American and Japanese releases. Therefore, it outputs 25 frames per second instead of 30. This causes everything in the game to happen at 5/6ths of the speed that it happens in the North American release.

Changes in Super Mario 64: Shindō Pack Taiō Version

This release features all the changes of the North American release, plus the following additional changes:

Text changes

  • The original Japanese script is restored.

Audiovisual Changes

The title screen
The North American version.
The Shindou Edition re-release Title screen in the game Super Mario 64.
Super Mario 64: Shindō Pack Taiō Version
An exclusive Easter egg
The easter egg and compatibility notice.
  • The copyright date on the title screen is updated to reflect the release date of Super Mario 64: Shindō Pack Taiō Version. The trademark symbol is changed.
  • A notice in the lower right corner of the intro screen informs players that this release is compatible with the Rumble Pak.
  • If the player presses Z Button on the intro screen, the background will be filled with images of Mario's face. These faces are copied from the frame buffer, so they move in synchronisation with the the modeled Mario face.
  • The voice line "So long-a Bowser" is changed to "Buh-bye!", since Bowser's name is Kuppa in Japan.
  • Mario's Double Jump sound a higher pitched version of the same sound from the European and Australian version.
  • One of Mario's single Jump sounds is higher-pitched.

Gameplay Changes

  • The game is compatible with the Rumble Pak

Pre-release and unused content

Main article: List of Super Mario 64 pre-release and unused content

One unused asset is the Blargg, which is still in the game's data, that would've appeared in the Lethal Lava Land, Bowser in the Fire Sea, and Wing Mario over the Rainbow stages. Also, Big Boo held a key instead of a Star inside of him. The purpose of the keys was to unlock a variety of the various doors in Big Boo's Haunt - there was even a "key counter". 32 levels were planned for the game, but only fifteen of them made it into the final product.

Reception

It has been requested that this section be rewritten and expanded to include more information. Reason: needs a table

Super Mario 64 received critical acclaim, garnering a score of 9.8 from IGN, 9.4 from GameSpot, and 9.75 from Game Informer. Although it was criticized for its camera system and difficulty, it was praised for its graphics, level design, soundtrack, and the Mario series shift from 2D to 3D.

Sometime after the game's release, rumors about secret glitches, stars, and hidden characters circulated. Among the most famous is the widely publicized hoax that Luigi was hidden and fully playable, causing bogus rumors to circulate on how to unlock him.

Super Mario 64 is the best selling game for the Nintendo 64, selling 11.62 million copies worldwide, as of December 31, 2009.

Glitches

Main article: List of Super Mario 64 glitches

A famous glitch is the Backwards Long Jump, which will let the player slide upward on any staircase, including the Endless Stairs. Another famous glitch is the Black Room of Death, which traps the player behind the boundaries of the castle walls. It could be achieved using several ways, including using the Backwards Long Jump glitch. Another rather known glitch is the cloning glitch, often used to collect more coins than the actual number of coins in the game.

As in many other N64 titles, the cartridge can be tilted in the console to achieve messed up results, for example Mario's body will flip horizontally, but he can still be controlled. Also, the music will be heavily corrupted.

In the Japanese in multiple areas of the game, there are unintended invisible walls that the player can bump into. An example is the one in Tall, Tall Mountain just above the wooden log.

Frozen Head Glitch
The frozen head glitch.

While collecting one of Bowser's keys, if the player can press Up C Button and looks somewhere, Mario will keep looking that way during the key collection cutscene.

Using a good timed Triple Jump on the slope near the castle, the player can climb the castle without the cannon. Also, when Mario reaches a corner, he can fall down slightly and grab onto a ledge. The player can then pull themselves back up onto the roof, at which point Mario will lose a life. For unknown reasons, he also loses his hat.

Angled Dive

When Mario enters the water, the angle Mario was facing before entering is preserved in a datum, therefore, when the player jumps and lands on dry land, the next dive Mario performs will start with this angle. A few frames afterward, the angle will fix itself and the dive will be completed correctly. Several things "reset" the angle, including grabbing a ledge, shooting from a cannon, changing areas and jumping while facing a slope. This glitch does not affect the dive itself, just the animation.

Staff

Main article: List of Super Mario 64 staff

Game director

  • Shigeru Miyamoto

Assistant directors

  • Yoshiaki Koizumi
  • Takashi Tezuka

Mario face programmer

  • Giles Goddard

Course designers

  • Kenta Usui
  • Naoki Mori
  • Yoshiki Haruhana
  • Makoto Miyanaga
  • Katsuhiko Kanno

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese スーパーマリオ64
Sūpā Mario 64
 Super Mario 64

Chinese 超级马里奥64
Chāojí Mǎlǐ'ào 64
神游马力欧
Shényóu Mǎlì'ōu

 Super Mario 64 (unofficial in China)

iQue Mario (name of iQue's localization of Super Mario 64 in mainland China)


Trivia

  • Super Mario 64 was one of the games featured at The Art of Video Games exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2012.[6] The game won voting in the "action" category for the Nintendo 64, beating out Banjo-Kazooie and Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire.
  • Like most Nintendo 64 games at the time, Super Mario 64 does not use the full 64-bit capabilities of the console, but actually runs in 32-bit.
  • The music which plays while climbing the endless staircase is a Shepard tone, a sequence of notes which are made to sound as if they are infinitely ascending in tone when in fact they are looping.
  • Super Mario 64 is one of the few mainstream Mario games, along with Super Mario Sunshine, to not have a single reference to Luigi.

References

  1. ^ http://www.vgchartz.com/game/2278/super-mario-64/
  2. ^ GameSpot - 15 Most Influential Games of All Time
  3. ^ GameFaqs - The top 10 games Ever
  4. ^ Edge Online - The 100 Best Games to Play Today
  5. ^ Official Nintendo Magazine - 100 Best Nintendo Games
  6. ^ http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2012/games/#games

External links

Super Mario 64 coverage on other NIWA wikis:
[Edit]
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
Playable characters Mario • Yoshib • Luigic • Warioc • Red Yoshic • Blue Yoshic • Yellow Yoshic
Forms Wing Mario • Metal Mario/Metal Wario • Vanish Mario/Vanish Luigi • Fire Powerc • Balloon Marioc • Mega Marioc
Non-playable characters Lakitu Bros. • Princess Peach • Toad • Toads • Bob-omb Buddies • Koopa the Quick • Hoot • Penguins • Baby Penguins • Mother Penguin • Big Penguin • Snowman • Rabbits • MIPSa • Glowing rabbitsc • Dorrie • Ukkikis
Enemies Amp • Beach Koopa • Bob-omb • Boo • Bookend • Bub • Bubba • Bullet Bill • Bully • Chain Chomp • Chair • Chuckya • Clam shell • Flame thrower • Fly Guy • Fwoosh • Goomba • Goombette • Grand Goomba • Grindel • Heave-Ho • Klepto • Koopa Troopa • Lakitu • Mad Piano • Manta Ray • Money Bags • Monty Mole • Moving Bar • Mr. Blizzard • Mr. I. • Piranha Flower • Piranha Plant • Pokey • Scuttle Bug • Skeeter • Small Koopa Troopa • Small Piranha • Snufit • Sparky • Spindel • Spindrift • Spiny • Spiny bomb • Sushi • Swoop • Thwomp • Tox Box • Unagi • Whomp
Obstacles Casket • Cold water • Current • Endless stairs • Falling pillar • Fire bar • Fireball • Flamethrower • Hidden smasher • Ice block • Iron ball • Lava • Moving sand • Pendulum • Pit • Quicksand • Rolling rock • Slide Box • Spiked orb • Strange toxic cloud • Tornado • Turtle Cannon • Water bomb • Water tide • Whirlpool • Wind
Bosses Big Bob-omb • Whomp King • Bowser • Big Boo • Big Mr. I. • Big Bully • Eyerok • Chill Bully • Wiggler • Goombossc • King Booc • Chief Chillyc
Items and power-ups 1-UP Mushroom • Blue Coin • Bubble • Crate • Crazed Crate • Jumbo Star • Key • Koopa Shell • Luigi Keyc • Luigi's capc • Mario's cap • Mario's Keyc • Metal Capa • Mushroomc • Power Flowerc • Power Star • Red Coin • Silver Starc • Spinning Heart • Vanish Capa • Wario Keyc • Wario's capc • Wing Capa • Wingsc • Yellow Coin • Yoshi Eggc
Objects ★ door • Arrow Lift • Arrow Sign • Big Star Door • Block • Blue Coin Block • Brick pillar • Bubble ring • Butterfly • Cannon • Cap Block • Cap Switch • Cloud House • Conveyor belt • Crystal Tap • Falling Block • Gondola • Key Door • Lift • Log • Magic carpet • Mushroom • Paddle wheel • Painting • Pole • Post • Purple Switch • Pyramid platform • Rainbow Cruiser • Rotating bar • Secret • Seesaw • Semi-visible block • Shrinker Pipe • Square • Star Marker • Star Spherec • Star Switchc • Swing • Tapering platform • Track • Treasure Chest • Tree • Warp pipe • Warp Point • Wire net • Wire platform • Work Elevator • Yellow block
Locations First floor and mezzanine Bob-omb Battlefield • Whomp's Fortress • Jolly Roger Bay • Cool, Cool Mountain • Bowser in the Dark World • The Princess's Secret Slide • The Secret Aquarium • Tower of the Wing Cap • Sunshine Islesc • Goomboss Battlec
Basement and courtyard Big Boo's Haunt • Hazy Maze Cave • Lethal Lava Land • Shifting Sand Land • Dire, Dire Docks • Bowser in the Fire Sea • Cavern of the Metal Cap/Behind the Waterfall • Vanish Cap Under the Moat/The Secret Under the Moat • Big Boo Battlec • Battle Fortc
Upper floors and tower Snowman's Land • Wet-Dry World • Tall, Tall Mountain • Tiny-Huge Island • Tick Tock Clock • Rainbow Ride • Bowser in the Sky • Wing Mario Over the Rainbow/Over the Rainbows • Chief Chilly Challengec
Other Castle Grounds • Mushroom Castle • Princess's room • Courtyard • Rec Roomc
Moves Backward Somersault • Crawl • Crouch • Dive • Double Jump • Egg Throwc • Flutter Jumpc • Fly • Jump • Kick • Long Jump • Pound the Ground • Punch • Scuttlec • Side Somersault • Slide • Slide Kick • Spin Jump • Stomp • Swallowc • Sweep Kick • Swim • Triple Jump • Wall Kick • Wild Swing-Dingc
Gameplay elements Completion • Letter • Mario's face • Missions • Power Meter
Minigamesc Luigi Lucky Stars • Mario Slot • Memory Master • Memory Match • Mushroom Roulette • Pair-a-Gone • Pair-a-Gone and On • Picture Poker • Super Mario Slot
Mario Bounce and Pounce • Bounce and Trounce • Connect the Characters • Mario's Slides • Shell Smash • Shuffle Shell • Sort or 'Splode • Trampoline Terror • Trampoline Time
Wario Bingo Ball • Bob-omb Squad • Coincentration • Giant Snowball Slalom • Intense Coincentration • Lakitu Launch • Psyche Out! • Slots Shot • Snowball Slalom
Yoshi Boom Box • Hide and Boo Seek • Loves Me...? • Mix-a-Mug • Puzzle Panel • Puzzle Panic • Tox Box Shuffle • Wanted! • Which Wiggler?
Musical compositions "Super Mario 64 Main Theme" • "Slider" • "Inside the Castle Walls" • "Koopa's Road" • "Koopa's Theme"
Further info Gallery (DS) • Glitches (DS) • Media (DS) • Original soundtrack • Pre-release and unused content (DS) • Quotes • Staff (DS)
a Exclusive to Super Mario 64
b Present in both games, but has different roles in each
c Exclusive to Super Mario 64 DS

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[Edit]
Nintendo 64 games
Super Mario franchise Super Mario 64 (1996) • Mario Kart 64 (1996) • Mario no Photopi (1998) • Mario Party (1998) • Mario Golf (1999) • Mario Artist: Paint Studio* (1999) • Mario Party 2 (1999) • Mario Artist: Talent Studio* (2000) • Mario Artist: Communication Kit* (2000) • Mario Tennis (2000) • Paper Mario (2000) • Mario Artist: Polygon Studio* (2000) • Mario Party 3 (2000) • Dr. Mario 64 (2001)
Donkey Kong franchise Diddy Kong Racing (1997) • Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
Yoshi franchise Yoshi's Story (1997)
Crossovers Super Smash Bros. (1999)

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