Super Mario 64 DS

Super Mario 64 DS (working title Super Mario 64x4) is an enhanced remake of 1996's Super Mario 64 and one of the launch titles for the Nintendo DS. This remake features various new characters, levels, modes of play, and minigames, taking advantage of the advanced features of the DS system.

Story

Super Mario 64 DS begins when Mario receives an invitation to a birthday party at Princess Peach's castle, and Luigi and Wario tag along. After a while, they haven't come out of the castle, so Yoshi goes in to look for them. Upon arrival, Yoshi discovers that Bowser has taken the compound -- and more importantly, Mario, Luigi, Wario, and the Princess -- hostage. Mario and friends must defeat Bowser and release Peach from captivity by obtaining "stars" scattered throughout the castle and its surrounding property.

Game play

Characters

Super Mario 64 DS introduces three new characters into Super Mario 64. Players are now able to play as either Mario, Luigi, Wario, or Yoshi. As in Super Mario Bros. 2, each character has unique abilities and move sets. Mario's wall kicks help him retrieve hidden items and access hard-to-reach places, and the feather (which replaces the original SM64's wing cap) gives him the ability to fly; Luigi backflips extra high, runs for short distances over water, and can do the Scuttle Jump, as in SMB2; Wario busts through things other characters cannot and hits enemies harder; Yoshi swallows enemies creating an egg for him to throw, and can perform his patented Flutter Kick, as in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. In addition, the new Fire Flower-inspired power flowers affect each character differently: Mario inflates into a balloon and floats as in Super Mario World; Luigi vanishes allowing him to pass by enemies and through some obstacles, as the Vanish Cap allowed Mario to do in the original Super Mario 64; Wario transforms into metal, as the Metal Cap allowed Mario to do in the original Super Mario 64; Yoshi breathes flames like a dragon.

A summary of the unique character abilities is as follows:

Controls

Because there is no analog joystick on the Nintendo DS, there are three different control schemes that attempt to emulate it: standard, touch, and dual hand.

New Stars/Courses

There are 150 stars in the game — an addition of 30 from the original. Each of the 15 main courses from the original game now has 8 stars to be obtained, and there are now 30 castle secret stars, up from the original's 15. 14 stars are restricted to Luigi, and 11 stars are restricted to Wario.

Types of new stars

Switch Star - Upon pressing a star-shaped switch, a star appears in a glass sphere somewhere in the level. The player must run to the star before the timer expires. Switch stars are featured in Courses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 13, and 15, all three Bowser levels, and "The Secret Under the Moat" (former Vanish Cap level).

5 Silver Stars - The player must collect five silver stars scattered around the level for a yellow star (one which counts toward the 150 total) to appear. Silver stars may be held by enemies. Each time the player is hit by an enemy, he loses one silver star and must recollect it. Silver stars are featured in Courses 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, and 14, as well as Sunshine Isles and Battle Fort.

New courses exclusive to Mario 64 DS

Super Mario 64 DS features five new mini-courses with 1 or 2 stars each. They are as follows:

• Sunshine Isles - In the Rec Room, a painting of a palm tree on an island leads to a small, tropical-themed course. Collecting five silver stars yields a castle secret star.
• Goomboss Battle - Behind the Rec Room, a painting of Mario leads to a toxic maze situated in a forest. The stage boss, Goomboss, a giant Goomba, provides the key to unlocking Mario as a playable character. This mini-course yields two castle secret stars, a red coin star and a wall-jumping switch star.
• The Secret of Battle Fort - In the castle courtyard, smashing a red box (this cannot be done with Yoshi) reveals a hole in the ground. Jumping down the hole leads to a course with bars, sloped platforms, and cannonballs. Collecting five silver stars yields a castle secret star.
• Big Boo's Battle - On the third floor of Big Boo's Haunt, a painting of Luigi leads to a labyrinth of rooms leading up to the stage boss, the Big Boo, which provides the key to unlock Luigi as a playable character. This mini-course yields two castle secret stars, a red coin star and another accessible only as Luigi behind a portrait of a Boo in the final room.
• Chief Chilly's Challenge is accessible via the Mirror Room only as Luigi. The challenging snow-themed mini-course yields two castle secret stars, one of which is a red coin star. Defeating the boss, Chief Chilly, yields a key that can be used to unlock Wario.

Minigames

One of the new features of Super Mario 64 DS is minigaming. It offers 9 minigames for each character, adding up to 36 minigames. These minigames largely take advantage of the touch screen of the Nintendo DS. The player starts with 8 minigames, and the rest are unlocked in the single player adventure by catching various rabbits, similar to the rabbit MIPS in the original game. Each rabbit gives the player one key to the drawer in Princess Peach's rec room, which allows one more minigame to be played.

Yoshi's minigames

1. Wanted! - Similar to Where's Waldo; you have to find and tap a character on the bottom screen.
2. Loves Me...? - Not a game, since it doesn't have high scores. The object of the game is to pull petals off of a flower. The probability of winning is 50:50. If you win a game, and consecutively win again, it will say "Really Loves Me!"
3. Hide and Boo Seek - Locate ghosts by rubbing them with the stylus while the screen is black.
4. Puzzle Panel - Flip tiles to make the picture on the bottom screen match that of the top screen.
5. Boom Box - A memory game where a pair chests must be matched by the sounds they make when opened.
6. Tox Box Shuffle - There are 3 boxes, with Yoshi under one, locate Yoshi after the boxes shuffle.
7. Which Wiggler? - The top screen shows a wiggler, touch the wiggler with the same pattern that is on the bottom screen.
8. Mix-a-Mug - Make a face by stopping 3 pieces of the face moving like a slot machine. Very similar to the game in Super Mario Bros. 3.
9. Puzzle Panic - A more difficult version of Puzzle Panel.

Mario's minigames

1. Mario's Slides - Mario's head falls down pipes, draw lines between them to guide him to the star.
2. Bounce and Pounce - Three Marios are falling, tap them on the bottom screen to make them jump into shy guys on the top screen.
3. Sort or 'Splode - Red and Black Bob-ombs appear and must be sorted by color with increasing speed and intensity.
4. Trampoline Time - Drawing a line on the bottom screen creates trampolines, to help falling Marios reach the left side of the screen.
5. Shuffle Shell - Use a paddle to push shells across ice onto a target.
6. Bounce and Trounce - Very similar to the Bounce or Pounce minigame. Tap falling Marios to keep them afloat, and bounce on Flyguys.
7. Connect the Characters - Similar to Slides minigame. There is an unlimited amount of time to create correct paths for 4 heads.
8. Shell Smash - Hit shells together and get points for each collision.
9. Trampoline Terror - Draw trampolines, but this time to make Marios go through rings.

Luigi's minigames

1. Memory Match - Match pairs, but all of the cards are face-down.
2. Pair-a-Gone - Cards are delt, and are needed to match pairs that are next to each other to clear the board.
3. Picture Poker - See poker.
4. Mushroom Roulette - See roulette.
5. Mario Slot - A simple game of slots.
6. Lucky Stars - Luigi deals two cards face down, and the player bets on which has more stars.
7. Pair-a-Gone And On - Just like Pair-a-Gone, except the board never clears, so it is endless.
8. Memory Master - Just like Memory Match, but with more cards.
9. Super Mario Slot - Variation of Mario Slot

Wario's minigames

1. Bob-omb Squad - Bob-ombs parachute down, they are attacked by dragging a cannon ball down and sling-shotting it into them.
2. Snowball Slalom - Roll a snowball down to a goal before time is up.
3. Coincentration - Coins fall from the top screen into blocks. After they are done falling, pick which blocks coins fell into.
4. Bingo Ball - 12 balls are launched up into pegs and then they land in a slot with a number on it. Get three numbers that are in a row to get points.
5. Psyche Out! - There is a card face down on the top screen, and there are cards face up on the bottom screen. Pick the card on the bottom that matches the card on the top. One could see the other side of the top card very faintly.
6. Slots Shot - Landing a ball in the Piranha Plant opens the bars above the pipe, and landing a ball in the pipe triggers the slot machine.
7. Lakitu Launch - Pull back a slingshot to launch Spinies into floating platforms.
8. Intense Coincentration - This time, less coins fall.
9. Giant Snowball Slalom - A new course that is longer than Snowball Slalom.

Multiplayer

In Mario's multiplayer mode, up to four people can participate in a capture-the-flag style game. Everyone rushes around collecting stars and coins, and the player with the most stars at the end of the alotted time wins. Only one Super Mario 64 DS cartridge is necessary for multiplayer matches; other players' DS units must download the necessary data. Also, all four characters can fly in multiplayer mode. (In adventure mode, only Mario can fly.)

Multiplayer levels

• Castle Grounds — the area in front of the castle with a Chain Chomp loose.
• Sunshine Isles — consists of six small islands and features music from Super Mario Sunshine.
• Princess's Secret Slide — the same slide that you find when entering Peach's portrait in the character changing gif room.
• Battle Fort — same as the secret area of Boo's courtyard (hidden under an orange brick).

External links

• Super Mario 64 DS official site (http://nintendods.com/sm64ds/final/)
• GameSpot review of SM64DS (http://www.gamespot.com/ds/action/dssupermario4x4/review.html)
• GameFAQs profile (http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/ds/data/920758.html)

Categories: 2004 computer and video games | Mario platform games | Nintendo DS games