Super Mario 64

aka: Chaoji Maliao 64, SM64, Shindou Super Mario 64
Moby ID: 3533
Nintendo 64 Specs
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Description official descriptions

Mario is invited to Peach's castle, but when he arrives Peach is nowhere to be seen. He soon learns from Toad that Bowser has once again kidnapped her. The Koopa King has also put a spell on her castle, imprisoning her subjects. So it is up to Mario to break the spell and rescue Peach.

Super Mario 64 is the first Mario game done entirely with 3D graphics. The core gameplay is similar to previous platform installments, focusing on jumping, avoiding obstacles, and defeating enemies. Levels can be explored without time limits. Stars must be collected in order to unlock new areas, eventually gaining access to various parts of Bowser's castle. Defeating Bowser on each floor procures keys necessary to unlock big doors and enter other floors, which contain more areas.

Mario has more moves at his disposal in this installment. Besides running and jumping, he can now walk, crouch, crawl, climb, and punch enemies. Double and triple jumps, long jumps, wall jumps, and backflips can be executed as well. Swimming underwater now depletes Mario's oxygen level. Items must be picked up and carried in some instances in order to solve puzzles.

Power-ups include the Wing Cap, which allows Mario to fly; the Metal Cap, which protects him from damage (including environmental hazards such as poisonous gas); and the Vanish Cap, which makes Mario ethereal, allowing him to walk through certain obstacles (such as wire mesh). Mario can also enter cannons and be shot from them; combining this with the flying ability grants access to high areas.

Spellings

  • ă‚čăƒŒăƒ‘ăƒŒăƒžăƒȘă‚Ș - Japanese spelling
  • ç„žæžžé©ŹćŠ›æŹ§ - iQue-Player Simplified Chinese spelling
  • 超çș§é©Źé‡Œć„„64 - Chinese spelling (simplified)
  • ìŠˆíŒë§ˆëŠŹì˜€ 64 - Korean spelling

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Screenshots

Promos

Credits (Nintendo 64 version)

46 People (43 developers, 3 thanks) · View all

Game Director
Assistant Directors
System Programmers
Programmers
Camera Programmer
Mario Face Programmer
Course Directors
Course Designers
Sound Composer
Sound Effects
Sound Programmer
3D Animators
Additional Graphics
Technical Support
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 94% (based on 52 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 333 ratings with 13 reviews)

An historic game

The Good
Great controls and levels

The Bad
The camera is not nice to use.

The Bottom Line
Starting off with a bang, one of the Nintendo 64’s launch titles just happens to be a revolutionary game that’s one of the best games on the system. It didn’t just show the world how platform games could work in 3D, but it set the standard for movement in 3D as well. Despite it’s legendary status, Nintendo have never given us the port that this game deserves. Super Mario 64 doesn’t need a full remake, just a little bit of sprucing, widescreen and an updated camera.

The movement of Mario still feels amazing all these years later. His move set is brilliant with all of his moves (minus the special hats) available form the get-go, it’s just a case of learning it and figuring out the best way do move. Most people will start off ding taller jumps by doing the backflip, but then transition to the quick turn jump to get up to the tall platforms. Even now, it’s an absolute joy to control.

The camera from the original game is the main part of the game that now feels clunky. It was pretty amazing when the game came out, but it’s one aspect of games that has improved over time.

The levels are small, but it’s a style that really suits the game. They’re packed full of secrets, with six stars to find in each one (plus an extra star for collecting 100 coins). Once you collect a star, you’re thrown out of the level, which does mean you have to re-do parts of levels multiple times, but there are sometimes changed to the level depending on which star you collect. There is a mod that lets you remain in levels, but I feel like this alters the game too much, and is itself fiddly as you need to work out when you need to manually leave the level.

Each level has a very distinct feel to it and I enjoyed every level in the game, with the exception of two of the water levels. While some have generic themes (lava, water and ice), the levels are still built in unique ways, and even matching themes (like the two snow levels) don’t feel like a reuse due to the level design.

Other than a couple of stars that include the wing, metal and invisible caps, you can also complete levels before moving on, or just do a couple of stars and try somewhere else. You only need 70 out of 120 stars to complete the game (far fewer if you choose to do glitches), but it’s enjoyable collecting them all.

To unlock different sections of the castle (and access more levels), you need to complete Bowser’s levels. There are three in total (the last one being to save Peach) and these are much more linear platform challenges, which creates a nice change of pace. At the end of these you have to face off against Bowser, grabbing his tail and spinning him to throw him into bombs, and I’m still absolutely dreadful at aiming my throws.

The final section of the game has some outstanding levels.

Wet-Dry World is the third water level of the game, but this one stands out much more due to the mechanic of raising and lowering the water levels. There are different ways to move upwards depending on the water level, and you’ll need to make use of these to collect all the stars.

Tiny-Huge Island has you using pipes to swap between a giant Mario and a mini Mario. You get to see cute tiny goombas or have to fight ones that are much larger than Mario. It’s not Mario’s size that actually changes, but the level itself. It’s an absolutely adorable level full of joy.

Tick Tock Clock is actually a lot smaller than I remember, but is focused on well timed jumps. The unique aspect of this level is that the level entrance is itself a clockface, and where the minute hand points alters the speed of the objects in the level, or even stops them completely. I have quite strong memories of trying to figure out what was happening when this happened as a kid.

The final main level, Rainbow Ride, is more linear than most levels, with different segments connected via magic carpets. You’ll need to jump off the carpets to avoid obstacles, but if you take too long, the carpets will vanish. This level requires you to have learnt how to master Mario’s moveset.

Super Mario 64 is still an absolute joy to play, especially so with an updated camera. I think a full remake would alter the game too much, as the level design and movement is integral to its identity. It just needs a bit of sprucing up, and I really hope we get an official version that does this at some point.

This was an amazing start for the Nintendo 64. Not only was this game integral to the development of 3D games as a whole, but the gameplay and levels still hold up today. Games keep trying to be bigger and better, but smaller and varies levels are also a great approach.

Nintendo 64 · by Cube1701 (1) · 2024

Every ardent gaming boy in the 90s grew up with this classic!

The Good
It's Super Mario in 3D and as open-ended as gaming can be. IT brought the character into the modern era of polygonal gaming adventures. It came right off the success of Tomb Raider and Resident Evil in 1996 and soon became the best-selling game of the fifth generation: selling 11.62 million copies, beating the Playstation's best-sellers Gran Turismo (10.85 million) and Final Fantasy VII (9.72 million). The game's still impressive on a technical level: here was an open-world game where no loading screens were present jumping from painting to painting, world to world, and still Mario's an absolute blast to control.

The Bad
The speed of the PAL version of the game can mess up the timing of certain 'glitches' in the game which is a little annoying for speed-running purposes. Oh: and of course the camera is still a bit clunky, even for the standards of the time, but it doesn't cripple the experience of the platforming.

The Bottom Line
I'd call this game Super Mario's Greatest Leap: they took a 2D side-scrolling character and made him a seamlessly playable character on a then-brand-new 3D system. Super Mario 64 is a slice of the gaming pie you must try out as soon as possible.

Nintendo 64 · by John H. (52) · 2019

Did we really need a ‘Mario Raider’ game?

The Good
Sony’s Playstation and the now-infamous “Tomb Raider” franchise made 1996 the year that 3D gaming came of age. Well, maybe or maybe not, but that’s how gaming history is usually written, at least. Nintendo jumped back into the fray with its Nintendo 64 system in the fall of that year, and it surprised no one that the marvelous Mario was to appear in the new system’s flagship title. The hype and the hope were both there. But did Nintendo actually come through with a great game?

There is no question, the 3D graphics of Super Mario 64 (SM64) are good, especially considering the technological limitations of the time. They are still very polygonal-looking, suggesting that 3D art wasn’t (isn’t?) yet ready for primetime. While not as smooth or charming as the sprites of the 8- and 16-bit Mario titles, the 3D characters are impressive. The environments, however, are a little less impressive. Sometimes you feel like you are walking on a bunch of colored, inclined planes slapped together at somewhat random angles, rather than on earth covered with grass, snow, sand, etc. Oh well, I guess 3D terrain had to start somewhere. The music/sound is good overall, although it’s curious that it doesn’t sound much different in quality from what the Super Nintendo would put out.

I give the endlessly resourceful designers at Nintendo credit for squeezing some new gimmicks in to complement the standard Mario conventions of running, jumping, coin-collecting, yadda-yadda. Shooting yourself out of a cannon takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a real blast (so to speak). I imagine some gamers will fault the designers of SM64 for not innovating enough, “settling” for the human cannonball and other tricks like that. I respectfully disagree. Mario is an established character from an established milieu. The real danger was that they would try to change too much – a danger that they did not entirely escape, as it happens.

The Bad
I’ll admit to being a child of the 80s who grew up on 2D side-scrollers. Perhaps this colors my judgment a bit. Nevertheless, I don’t think anyone can plausibly deny that the 3D camera system in SM64 is aggravating almost to the point of being broken. You are severely limited in terms of the different angles you can use, and the camera has the very annoying habit of shifting back to the angle of its choice when the action resumes. There may be some kind of underlying logic to it, but I sure haven’t figured it out yet.

Mario’s movement repertoire has been expanded considerably, but somehow it doesn’t add up to much. The design of the game doesn’t lend itself to the kind of fun that previous Mario titles did. One problem is that there just isn’t much combat (if that’s the right word to use in discussing a Mario game). It’s actually easier for Mario to punch or kick – yeah, you heard me right, Mario actually does some kung-fu fighting in this title! – his enemies than it is for him to run-jump-stomp on them. Call me a traditionalist, but that just doesn’t seem right. The classic enemy-stomping action seems to have been replaced by Tomb Raider-style platform-jumping-for-its-own-sake, making this the most puzzle-ish Mario game to date. As for the ramp-sliding sequences, they are simply not that much fun, and there are too many of them.

Overall, the game world feels surprisingly sterile and empty. Previous Mario titles crammed so much stuff into those 2D levels, you never had time to get lost or bored. It’s not too hard to get lost and bored in SM64. The game tries to help the player out, since there is a lot of in-game advice about how to play and where to go, and the countdown timer has also been eliminated to further decrease the pressure. This, of course, is a double-edged sword. By encouraging a slower, easier, more exploration-oriented game style, Nintendo has further distanced this Mario title from the beloved SMBs of the past. Which leads to my final complaint: SM64 takes advantage of the gamer goodwill built up from previous Super Mario titles. I don’t care how many of the people who made SM64 also worked on Super Mario Bros. 1-3 and Super Mario World. SM64 is in many ways inferior to its predecessors, but Nintendo knew we would buy it anyway simply because it was a Mario game. You can certainly argue that Nintendo earned that capital with its earlier titles, fair and square, and was entitled to spend it later. Still, I can’t help feeling a little bit
exploited.

The Bottom Line
SM64 was by most accounts innovative, attractive, and well-designed. But if that’s the case, then why does playing it make me want to cry? SM64 took platforming where it had never gone before. Maybe I’m just a nostalgic old man, but I’m not sure Mario really needed to make the move to 3D. It made for good marketing, but it failed to deliver the same level of classic gaming experience that the NES and SNES Mario games did.

Nintendo 64 · by PCGamer77 (3158) · 2005

[ View all 13 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

The N64 version of Super Mario 64 appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cancelled sequel

There was going to be a sequel done, for either the N64 or 64DD, that would have Luigi as a playable character too, but it was never completed. It is possible that this game later became Luigi's Mansion.

Collecting all stars

After collecting every star in the castle, Bowser will say a different message upon his defeat in the sky. Also, a cannon opens outside the castle to launch you onto the roof for a surprise.

First N64 game

Super Mario 64 was the very first game for the N64.

"L is real 2041"

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding this game is that of an inscription on the star statue in the castle courtyard (near the entrance to World 5). The inscription reads, "L is Real 2041" or "Eternal Star". However, a sign in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time also says this when you look at it (but reads something else when you read it). This sign is located in the Dodongo Dungeon, near the Gorons' home. Whether this was a gag by Nintendo or if they just decided to recycle textures is unknown.

Awards

  • EGM

    • September 1996 (Issue 86) - Game of the Month
    • March 1997 (Issue 92) - Game of the Year (All Systems) + N64 Game of the Year + Adventure Game of the Year + Best Graphics and also Game of the Year (All Systems) (Readers' Choice) + N64 Game of the Year (Readers' Choice) + Adventure Game of the Year + (Readers' Choice) + Best Graphics (Readers' Choice)

    +November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #10 (Titles That Revolutionized Console Gaming)

    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #2 (Readers' Top 10 Games of All Time)
    • November 1997 (Issue 100) - ranked #4 (Best 100 Games of All Time)

      +February 2006 - #6 out of 200 of the "Greatest Games of Their Time"

  • Game Informer Magazine

    • Issue 100, August 2001 - #12 in the Top 100 Games of All Time (poll)
    • Issue 138 - October 2004 - one of the "Top 25 Most Influential Games of All Time"
  • GameSpy
    • 2001 – #11 Top Game of All Time
  • Retro Gamer
    • October 2004 (Issue #9) – #17 Best Game Of All Time (Readers' Vote)
    • Issue 37 - #4 in the "Top 25 Platformers of All Time" (poll)

Information also contributed by Big John WV, Brolin Empey, PCGamer77 and Tiago Jacques.

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Chris Martin.

Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Wii added by Guy Chapman. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Sciere, Alaka, Opipeuter, gamewarrior, the_penguin, Luchsen, Big John WV, DreinIX, Patrick Bregger, Thomas Thompson, Deleted, Rik Hideto, FatherJack, lightlands.

Game added March 29, 2001. Last modified February 17, 2024.