Super Mario 64 DS

The Good
First, I'd like to say that I got the Nintendo DS. Finally! It's nice, it's small, it's slick and portable, what more can a gamer ask for? I reckoned I was going to remember this dual-screened thing through long road-trips and lazy winter nights, but it was not until I got to the playing that my smile really crossed boarders. It's Mario!

I'm going to talk about the game for the DS to begin with, before I move on to comparing it with the Nintendo 64 version.

It's beautiful to see a game that is so basic while at the same time able to compel one by the colorful and diverse graphics and scenery it has to offer. You touch the screen a couple of times and hear the well-known selecting sound as you touch an empty file name on top of the water. Soon, you find yourself standing in front of the castle, while the camera stays put beneath you, making the castle look huge. You'll hear the sounds of birds singing and the wind blowing while the sun shines at you from above. It's the ultimate Mario-moment - still it's Yoshi standing there.
What I love about the game is the levels based on pictures that you jump into through the wall. It makes the game magic and gives you a lot more freedom. For example, you can try to retrieve another star from the painting you just came from, or perhaps you might want to try a new door you've just unlocked, or maybe you'll give another shot at Bowser? You can even access a good selection of minigames or switch between characters to try different levels or access new areas using the variety of Wario, Luigi, Mario and Yoshi. In other words, the levels, and most important - what surrounds the levels - the castle is what you will think is different and exciting about this game, the rate depending on what kind of games you've played before. The whole jumping and accessing type of playing is bound to spellbind you.

Now I'll give you the three features/points about the game that I think is the best.

The Good
Well, it's a Mario game so there's lots of things to like here. First of all please note that Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64 was one of the greatest and most notable games ever since it introduced us to the 3D platform genre. This game is the same but has much more to offer than the original, making it fun for veterans, too. You can now play as one of four characters: Yoshi, Mario, Luigi and even Wario, each with unique powers. This was one of the few flaws of the original. The story has been altered because of that. Now you start with Yoshi: Mario is invited to eat cake at princess Peach Toadstool's castle. Luigi and Wario join him. Yoshi, who was sleeping on the roof of the castle learns that they have been locked up by Bowser, who kidnapped Peach and stole the power stars from the castle. Now Yoshi must release the others and together they must retrieve the power stars and finish of with Bowser a few times along the way and finally save Peach. The graphics are better than the original since there's a lot more polygon's. Mario looks much, much better. Textures are a bit inferior to the N64 version, but overall this version is better on the graphics area. The gameplay is OK and you can steer with both the touch screen and the directional pad in different gameplay modes. Not all of them work well and none of them work as well as the joystick of the N64, but it's good gameplay nonetheless. The sound is great in the DS surround sound and you'll recognize some tunes from earlier games in the series, the same goes for the sound effects. The little shrieks of the characters are a bit worse but that's not much of a problem. This version is bigger because there are new areas, they are not very as spectacular as the original levels but it's a nice touch. There are 30 new stars to collect bringing the total up to 150. There are a lot of fun stylus mini-games that can be unlocked too, which are really worth the look. As mentioned before there are three more playable characters which are all needed to collect all stars. Al these new extra's make the longevity of this game a lot bigger. For the rest it's basically the same, which is a good thing because Super Mario 64 was such a brilliant game. The level design is great as always, just perfect. Another cool new feature is a map on the lower screen showing items.

The Bad
As mentioned before, some sounds don't sound very well and some textures are not so good on the small screen as on the TV screen. Gameplay is good, but not as good as on the N64 analog stick, either.

The Bottom Line
A great remake of a classic that is one of the few in a long line Nintendo remakes that manages to please both veterans and newbies. This is just the Mario game that is required in your collection for the DS, as with all Nintendo's systems. Buy it with a DS!

The Good
What isn't there to like about Mario. This game is full of great platforming, huge worlds to explore, quirky enemies, and the inclusion of Wario, Luigi, and Yoshi "The Tank". Everything about this game is pretty much the same as it's N64 counterpart, but there are still many differences. One difference is the fact that there are new characters, so there has to be new goals. You also don't start the game as Mario, rather, you start as the Tank, which totally changes the first levels of the game. The first boss is really quite fun because you can't pick up the Bob-omb King with Yoshi, so you have to eat his bomb minions, turn them into eggs, and throw them back at him, it's was so cool. And of course, seeing as how this is a DS game, there is a butt load of mini games for you to play. The mini games are a great addition to this already great game, you will be sitting down for a long time trying to beat your best score. My personal favorite mini game was the slingshot launcher, but there are so many mini games to choose from, so everybody can have a favorite mini game.

The Bad
The controls at times really sucked, sometimes they blowed, but luckily, never at the same time. You have a choice of using the D pad to control your character, or, the touch screen, both of which aren't really that great. Out of the two control types, I found myself mostly using the D pad, but at least the touch controls work well with the mini games. Another gripe I have with the game, while a minimal complaint, is the fact you don't get that cool jump after you beat the game with all the stars, I mean, I know Yoshi is a playable character, but I want that super cool jump, put Donkey Kong or Waluigi or Daisy or someone on the roof, just give me my cool jump.

The Bottom Line
If you own a DS, this is a game you want to add to your library, seeing as how there aren't to many good games out on the DS. Even if you don't like Mario( although who doesn't?) you really should pick up this game.