Super Mario 64 DS

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Super Mario 64 DS
Developer(s)	Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Shigeru Miyamoto
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date	NA November 21, 2004 JP December 2, 2004 EU March 11, 2005
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Singleplayer, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	CERO: A ESRB: E OFLC: G8+ PEGI: 3+
Media	Nintendo DS Game Card

Super Mario 64 DS, is an enhanced remake of the 1996 video game Super Mario 64, produced by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in the United States on November 21, 2004, in Japan on December 2, 2004, and in Europe on March 11, 2005,^[1] as one of the launch titles for the Nintendo DS handheld game console,^[2] similar to how Super Mario 64 was a launch title for the Nintendo 64. The remake includes various new characters, levels, modes of play and minigames, as well as updated graphics to take advantage of the capabilities of the DS system.

Contents 1 Story 2 Characters 3 Gameplay 3.1 Power Stars 3.2 Power-Ups 3.3 Rabbits 3.4 Multiplayer 3.5 Minigames 4 Production and release 5 Reception 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Story

Princess Peach Toadstool sends an invitation to Mario, revealing that she has baked a lovely cake for his efforts.

Super Mario 64 DS begins when Lakitu flies down to Peach's castle, holding a camcorder on a fishing hook. Mario jumps out of a pipe in the castle grounds, soon followed by Luigi and Wario, who have secretly seen the letter. They rush to the castle, leaving Yoshi dozing on the castle roof (which incidentally was also where he was in the original Super Mario 64). Lakitu wakes Yoshi up (who somehow has ended up in front of the castle, probably taken there by Lakitu) and tells him that Mario, Luigi, and Wario have not returned. Yoshi dashes into the castle only to find the doors locked. After retrieving a key from a yellow rabbit, he enters to find out from a nearby Toad that Bowser has kidnapped the princess and that he has stolen the Power Stars and is using them to create worlds inside the castle paintings for his minions. Yoshi must now rescue Mario, Luigi, and Wario, who have mysteriously disappeared.

Furthermore, Yoshi collects eight Power Stars and jumps into the Mario painting behind the rec room. He defeats Goomboss, who gives Yoshi the key for Mario's door after an embarrassing defeat. Once Mario is freed, he defeats the Boos in the courtyard and jumps into the Luigi painting to fight King Boo and rescues Luigi, who then moves on to the mirror room. Once there, he grabs a power flower (having the ability to turn invisible and run through certain objects) and dashes through the mirror and into Wario's painting. Luigi defeats Chief Chilly, who turns over the key for freeing Wario. After collecting a certain amount of stars Mario is allowed up to the top of the castle to defeat Bowser for the last time. Once he is defeated, peace is restored to the castle once more and Peach suddenly appears in front of the castle and decides to bake a cake for her heroes.

[edit] Characters

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Super Mario 64 DS features Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario. Each character has unique abilities and move sets. Yoshi can swallow enemies and turn them into eggs which he can throw, similar to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. He can also perform a flutter kick which allows him to gain extra height while jumping, another ability in Yoshi's Island. Mario can perform the famous wall kick (as in the original game) and so reach places which others cannot; he is also the only character who can confront Bowser in the final stage. Luigi has strong jumping abilities, such as the scuttle jump which allows him to fall slower than normal, and the special back flip which makes him spin around, allowing him to traverse certain gaps. He can also run on water for a short time. Wario's strength allows him to break large blocks that others cannot. Also as Wario if you punch a sign post from behind anywhere in the game he can pick it up and throw it. There is also a Power Flower, the effect of which depends on the character that uses it, and a Feather which can only be used by Mario. (In the multi-player mode, all can use it). Note that Mario is mandatory to free while Luigi and Wario are optional, but are required to gather all 150 stars (some of them Bowser does not know about).

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] Power Stars

The goal of Super Mario 64 DS is to collect Power Stars hidden throughout the various worlds within the castle, in order to reach Bowser. Each level contains 8 power stars (seven for missions and 1 for collecting 100 coins), but some are hidden throughout the castle in secret locations. The game has a total of 150 Power Stars to collect, 30 more than in Super Mario 64. If a player collects 150 stars, Bowser says a secret message when he is defeated for the final time, and a cannon will be opened in the front of the castle. The player can use the cannon that is opened to launch a character to the top of Peach's castle.

[edit] Power-Ups

Power-ups in this game are in the form of special hats. Mario, Luigi, and Wario all have unique hats that are available in some levels. Wearing another character's hat will change the character into the corresponding character (although their voice stays the same). The hats fall off if the character is hit physically, but can be reacquired before disappearing. Hats are shown on the touch screen map. Yoshi comes with the ability to start a level wearing the hat of any of the unlocked characters. Luigi and Wario hats do not usually appear until the player unlocks that character. The Power Flowers are also a form of power-ups, giving Mario floating abilities, making Luigi invisible and transparent, making Wario made of metal to make him stronger, and Yoshi gains fire breathing abilities. Also available is a Super Mushroom, which causes a player to grow to enormous size and plow through enemies. Mega Yoshi can punch and kick, which is impossible in his normal form. There is also a feather power-up that Mario can acquire that allows him to fly in the same fashion as the original Super Mario 64.

[edit] Rabbits

At the beginning of the game, Yoshi cannot go into the castle as the doors are locked. A Lakitu then points out a rabbit hiding in the hedge maze outside of the castle. Catching this rabbit will give Yoshi the key to the castle. More rabbits are found inside the castle or in the castle grounds. There are seven rabbits for each character to catch, and their color and location changes based on the character that is being used. When a rabbit is caught, a key is earned which unlocks a minigame. There are also eight glowing white rabbits which will provide the player with a Power Star when they are all caught.

[edit] Multiplayer

In the game's multiplayer mode, up to four people can participate in a capture-the-flag style game. Everyone runs around the level collecting stars and coins, and the player with the most stars at the end of the allotted time wins. All players start off as Yoshi (all four are different colours so each player can recognize his or her Yoshi), but Mario, Luigi, and Wario caps can be found in the stages, allowing players to switch. Only one game card is necessary for multiplayer matches; other players' DS units must download the necessary data. Also, it is possible for all four characters to fly in multiplayer mode. The colors of Yoshi are green, red, blue, yellow, and pink.

[edit] Minigames

One of the new features of Super Mario 64 DS are the mini-games. It offers nine mini-games for each character. These mini-games largely take advantage of the touch screen of the Nintendo DS. The player starts with eight mini-games in total (two for each character), and the rest are unlocked in the single player adventure by catching various rabbits. Each rabbit gives the player one key to the drawer in the castle's Rec Room, which allows one more mini-game to be played. The tune played when selecting a mini-game is the Grass Land tune from Super Mario Bros. 3. Some of these mini-games also appeared in New Super Mario Bros., with some new games added.

• Mario's and Wario's minigames are action packed
• Luigi hosts casino minigames (one involves memory while the rest are purely based on luck and/or strategy)
• Yoshi's minigames are logical (with the exception of one, which is luck based)

[edit] Production and release

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When the Nintendo DS was first revealed, Super Mario 64 DS was an early production demo. It was later confirmed as a Nintendo DS release game. In its early stages, the game was referred to as Super Mario 64x4. Early screenshots show all four characters playing at the same time, flying around with the wing cap. There is also an early screenshot of all the characters fighting Bowser in an empty room. This isn't in the final version as there is no way of fighting Bowser using all the characters at the same time.

Voice acting was used throughout the game. Charles Martinet returned as Mario, Luigi, and Wario, along with Kazumi Totaka as Yoshi, Leslie Swan as Princess Peach, and Scott Burns as Bowser. Although Jen Taylor is in the credits for voicing Toad, her voice only appears in one of the minigames.

During June and July 2005, Super Mario 64 DS was included free with the purchase of an Electric Blue Nintendo DS system in North America. Many retailers also honored the deal with the original Titanium Nintendo DS.

[edit] Reception

Reviews
Publication	Score
1UP.com	B[3]
Electronic Gaming Monthly	8.33 of 10[4]
Game Informer	8.5 of 10[4]
GamePro	4 of 5[4]
GameSpot	8.4 of 10[5]
GameSpy	5 of 5[6]
IGN	8.9 of 10[7]
Nintendo Power	4.4 of 5[4]
X-Play	4 of 5[8]
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler	Score
Metacritic	85 of 100[9]
Game Rankings	86%[4]
MobyRank	85 of 100[10]
Awards
IGN: Editors' Choice Award[11]

Reviews were universally positive, with About.com calling it "a faithful recreation of the classic Nintendo game"^[12]. However, there have been criticisms regarding the D-Pad and touch screen not being as easy to use as the N64's control stick, and Luigi's backflip move (which allows him to descend slowly while spinning like a helicopter, similar to the spring platform in New Super Mario Bros.) giving him an unfair advantage over the other characters and making some segments of the game too easy. Also, criticism has been leveled at the removal of some of the more challenging segments of the original game. The Star and Red Coin locations can be viewed on the map. Plus, many platforms have been added or removed, and as a result, the player's objectives become substantially easier. As of December 31, 2007, Super Mario 64 DS has sold 5.78 million copies worldwide.^[13]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Super Mario 64 DS at Nintendo.com
• Super Mario 64 DS at iQue.com

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