GameSpot editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Excellent
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 11/19/2004
- Released on: 11/20/2004
- Originally published on GameSpot: Super Mario 64 (DS) Review
Today, polygonal gaming is a given. We've advanced through a few generations of 3D gaming hardware, and generally speaking, 3D graphics are in a pretty good spot right now. But when polygonal games were first delivered to the masses, it was a huge paradigm shift that not only affected the way we looked at games, but also the way we played them. Systems that could portray large, more realistic 3D environments used to cost thousands of dollars, but were now on sale for $299 or less in the form of the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64, among others. In 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario 64, the game that rewrote the book for the platforming genre, and in many ways, console gaming in general. It's one of the greatest games of all time...and now you can fit an updated version of that game into your hip pocket with the release of Super Mario 64 DS. Though the game's controls will take some getting used to, the addition of some new areas and new playable characters make the adventure feel fresh, and some inventive minigames give you a pretty great reason to use the system's stylus.
The game that created the modern platformer holds up pretty well in its transition to a handheld platform.
Nintendo has been rereleasing its Mario games for its handheld systems for years, most recently via the Super Mario Advance series on the Game Boy Advance. Now that trend has carried over to the DS. Super Mario 64 DS is, essentially, the same game that was released back in 1996, though a few new twists and turns have been added. Though the game still opens with Peach inviting Mario to her castle (where she subsequently is kidnapped), you don't actually play as Mario right off the bat. Mario now shows up for the party with Wario and Luigi in tow, and the three of them enter the castle and promptly vanish. Yoshi, who has been sleeping on top of the castle (which is actually where he was hidden in the original game), wakes up, notices that everything seems just a little too quiet, and sets off to find the missing characters.
At this point, the game sets off as you'd expect if you've played the original, with Yoshi hopping around, jumping into paintings, and collecting power stars. Yoshi controls almost identically to Mario, though instead of Mario's three-hit combo attack, Yoshi can stick out his tongue and swallow enemies whole, turning them into eggs that you can toss at other enemies. Eventually, you'll find Mario, Luigi, and Wario, and you'll be able to switch between them whenever you like. Aside from Yoshi's tongue attack, the characters control almost identically. Luigi and Yoshi can jump a bit higher; Wario's punch is powerful enough to break bricks that the others can't dent; and Mario is the only character that can triangle-jump off of walls. Also, the game's flower power-up has a different effect on each of the four characters, and this sort of replaces the switch blocks from the original game, which gave Mario access to different hats with different effects. When you collect a flower with Mario, he inflates like a balloon and you can float around for a brief period of time; Yoshi gains the ability to breathe fire; Wario turns into metal when he grabs the flower, making him invincible, but also giving him the occasionally required ability to walk underwater on the floors of lakes and other bodies of water; and Luigi turns invisible for a brief period, which also gives him the ability to walk through some obstacles. Since some stars require specific power-ups, you'll occasionally have to swap in another character to get the job done.
The original Mario 64 relied heavily on the N64's analog joystick, so Mario 64 DS gives you a few different control options that attempt to emulate the control in different ways. By default, the game is configured to let you play without using the system's touch screen. The D pad is used for movement, and the buttons are used for jumping, ducking, attacking, and running. While you can also use the touch screen for running, the other two control modes are somewhat better suited for use with the touch screen, letting you shuffle the buttons around a bit to give you more control over your character. Although the three options do a decent job of letting you control your character, none of them are quite as refined as the analog joystick that was used to control Mario back in the original game. The D pad's digital nature makes moving with it rather imprecise. It attempts to make up for the lack of refinement by being a little more momentum-based, but you'll still find yourself running off of ledges more often than you'd like. Using the touch screen really isn't much better. You'll have full analog control over your movement, but changing directions isn't as fluid as it should be. The control issues aren't insurmountable, but it's a bummer that the game doesn't control as well as the original. Super Mario 64 is a game that requires a lot of precision movements, and it's unfortunate that none of the available control options are quite up to the task.
Mario 64 DS puts on a great show from a graphical standpoint. This time around, the character models have an increased poly count that makes them look much, much better than the eight-year-old N64 game after which it is modeled. You'll still run across an ugly texture or two, but the game runs at a great, smooth frame rate and looks bright and colorful. The rough spots are also smoothed out a bit by the fact that you're playing it on a small, sharp screen instead of a television. The map on the lower screen is a little fuzzy in spots and isn't quite as easy to read as it should be, but it works. The graphics used in the minigames are also quite strong.
Super Mario 64 was an amazing game back when it was originally released. For the most part, the game holds up pretty well, though there are a few head-scratchers that may have players wondering how we ever got by back then. The camera in the game isn't so hot. While you have the option to rotate the camera manually or center it behind your character, you still have to spend quite a lot of time controlling it to make sure you're getting a proper view of the action. Also, some of the stars you're trying to collect are devilishly difficult to find, to the point that unless you remember the original game very well (or throw up your hands and read a FAQ from the original game), you'll have to run around levels like a maniac, hoping that you stumble upon the solution. One level in particular has you launch yourself out of a cannon at a specific, unmarked section of a specific, unmarked wall, which will then break apart and reveal a star. The only clue you're given is the objective's title, "blast away the wall." The section of wall is pretty small, so even if you had the bright idea of getting in the cannon and firing yourself at the two or three walls that are in direct view of the cannon, you still might not hit the right spot, and then you'll just give up. This can make for some extremely frustrating moments if you still aren't familiar with the original game.
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