Super Mario 64 DS (Nintendo DS)

...As of 31st March 2005 Super Mario 64 DS had sold 250,00 copies since European launch alone. Now that isn’t bad going!

>>>>>>>>>>>Cake anyone?

The game begins with Princess Toadstool inviting Mario to her castle to sample the delicious cake she’s made for him. Mama Mia!

Out nowhere the Village People arrive…

What?! Oh Mario, Luigi and Wario? Hmmm, there are ...
...are! You can pick Super Mario 64 DS up for about £25 if you have a look around. The amount of time you will spend playing this game with all its 150 stars, mini game and multi player options, I consider this to be a bargain.

Now if you will excuse me I’ve spent far too long away from my DS, it’s time to don my fake moustache and surrender another few hours to Mario and his relentless game playing!
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In a world where fashion and being good looking have become more important than substance, one man has always stood for all that is good and decent. That man wears a red cap, dungarees and sports a Burt Reynolds moustache, that man is Mario! So many games are released these days on the strength only of their graphics and endless video footage, but what about game play and actually enjoying playing a game?

Thankfully, Mario has always provided entertaining and fun games and this reworking of the N64 classic and father (or mother, whichever you prefer) of all 3D platform games is no exception.

The Nintendo DS has been compared to the N64 a lot and thankfully Nintendo has resisted rehashing a load of old N64 titles to the DS just to makes sales (although Golden Eye and Perfect Dark would be most welcome!).

I’m glad Mario 64 was launched on the DS not only as it is a great game, but because it give the DS a chance to show that it can easily handle one of the best games that the N64 could offer for breakfast, surely we will see much better games for the DS, but this is an excellent start!

As of 31st March 2005 Super Mario 64 DS had sold 250,00 copies since European launch alone. Now that isn’t bad going!

>>>>>>>>>>>Cake anyone?

The game begins with Princess Toadstool inviting Mario to her castle to sample the delicious cake she’s made for him. Mama Mia!

Out nowhere the Village People arrive…

What?! Oh Mario, Luigi and Wario? Hmmm, there are similarities!

After a slight “Chuckle Brothers” slapstick moment they all run to the castle to get some cake (even though only Mario was invited!).

You begin the game as Yoshi (who somehow fell from a castle roof, rolled down a hill and was only woken by a weird cloud surfing freak calling out his name!)

Since going into the castle everyone has gone missing and Bowser has kidnapped the Princess. Hold on though, how many times has the Princess been kidnapped by Bowser? Come on Princess Toadstool, get some security or learn some self defence this is getting silly! Enough is enough, get some self respect!

Bowser has also stolen all the power stars and used their magic to create lands of evil monsters within the castle walls! So just about what you’d expect really!

So its up to Yoshi to resuce his 3 hairy friends, collect 150 power stars and get the Princess rescued from Bowser, all this for some cake!

>>>>>>>>>>>Who are You!?!

I’ve never had a moustache, I’ve never really wanted one as I can’t see how it would improve my face (a bag would but not a moustache). I’ve got nothing against moustaches; they just aren’t for me and thanks to my Gillette M3 Power (blatant plug for another review!) I don’t have to worry about it. Ok, so what has facial hair got to do with anything I can hear you muttering? Well in this game, everything!

There are certain things in the castle that can only be accomplished by someone with facial hair and as you begin the game with Yoshi you will be goaded for not having a single whisker! Thankfully, you can unlock a whole range of moustached characters!

Unlike the original Mario 64 there are 4 playable characters. As with all Mario games each has his own special powers (and weaknesses). You start the game as Yoshi and as you progress you unlock the other characters!

Yoshi – The most useless and lamest dinosaur in history! Yoshi is weak and pretty slow but he can jump ok, even if he does run in the air like an idiot! He can use his tongue to swallow enemies and lay eggs to lob at anyone in his way. SPECIAL POWER – If Yoshi eats a power plant he can breathe fire balls for a limited time.

Luigi – Mario’s cooler brother. Luigi is quite weak but makes up for that with speed and Olympic style jumping oh and the ability to walk on water! SPECIAL POWER – If Luigi gets his hands on a power plant he turns invisible and can walk through bars and fences.

Wario – Mario’s enemy, so why he turned up for a nice picnic is beyond me! Wario is all about the power baby and can do serious damage to objects; unfortunately he waddles along and can jump about as far as an elephant! SPECIAL POWER – If Wario gets his evil mitts on a power plant her turns into metal Wario. Not only does he weight a tonne, but he is also invincible.

Mario – Mario, what else needs to be said! Mario is the king of ok! He is ok at jumping, ok in the speed department and ok at using his strength. Mario has the ability to walk kick and to fly (with the right power up). SPECIAL POWER- If Mario gets a flower he fills up like a balloon and bounces off the walls!

In all Mario games you get a mushroom and you get bigger, this game is no different. Only thing is get a mushroom now and you grow into a giant and can do some real damage, a 20 foot Mario. Come on King Kong, you want some?

>>>>>>>>>>>Look at me!

The graphics on this game aren’t amazing. But then again how realistic can you make a dinosaur in a fantasy castle with a guy with a mushroom for a head look!?! The graphics on the DS are an improvement on the N64 and with this game it is easy to see why. A look at screen shoots from the DS and N64 versions will show that the DS is clearer, Crisper and has more colourful than the N64 original! Mario 64 DS is not all about the graphics though, yes they are decent and no they are not amazing, but that’s not the point!

The music is also ok. The Surround Sound mode provides a decent level of sound for the game, but is a lot better if you decide to use headphones! The music is no better or worse than the N64 version, it’s not like Kanye West signed up to produce the games soundtrack or anything! The music and sound is adequate for the game, but you can tell that with the right development DS games will be able to deal with real quality in game music.

>>>>>>>>>>>Touch it, go on!

The N64 version was designed for the analogue control but with the DS you can control it how you like! You can use the DS’s d-pad or the Touch screen.

Option 1 – A bit of everything!
You can use the D-pad or the Touch screen to control movement. When using the Touch screen you can run by pushing the cursor further, when using the D-pad you need to use the Y button as well.

Option 2 – “N64 a-like”
The D-pad is useless and all movement is controlled by the Touch screen.

Option 3 – "Anyway up"
The Touch screen controls movement and the D-pad and A,B,X,Y buttons provide the other controls. If you are left handed you can use Up on the D-pad to jump or Right to attack.

Whichever option you choose to use the controls are easy and straightforward. The Touch screen can take a little while to get used to, but it is well worth trying! It makes the game so much more fun to be able to glide around using the Touch screen as the D-pad can be a little stop and start at times.

The controls are really good and as soon as you pick it up you’ll be able to wall kick and back flip as if it were second nature. I’ll admit that the Touch screen could be easier to control, but if you stick with it you will get the benefits.

>>>>>>>>>>>More games than you can shake a massive stick at

The Mini games in the Recreation room and a nice addition to the DS version. You can enter the Rec. room from the main menu and it contains hours of touch screen fun! When you start you will have 2 mini games per character to get to grips with.

However, every time you grab a rabbit in the main game you will get a key that unlocks a new mini game. There are 9 mini games for each character and you can easily spend hours just playing these! Each character has a unique set of games that are all controlled with the touch screen, from a “Where’s Wally” type game to snowball racing and Roulette there is a great choice of games, as good as Warioware: Touched in my opinion.

>>>>>>>>>>>You and who’s army?

Another new addition is the multiplayer option. There are 4 courses to play and you can link up with 4 other DS’s from 1 game card. The aim of the game is to get the most stars in the time limit, the one with the most stars win. Punch, bump and jump on the others heads, anything to get more stars. The multi player option is really good fun, but after a while you will get bored of it, until the next time!

>>>>>>>>>>>SUPER MARIO

The DS version is not a straight copy of the N64 version. Some of the most notable changes are:

4 times as many characters
Multiplayer
Mini games
150 power stars to find (30 more than in the orginal)

The main aim of the game, apart from giving Bowser a good hiding so you can get some cake (and free the Princess too I guess), is to collect the Power stars. 150 sounds like a lot of stars, but don’t worry because collecting all 150 won’t be at all repetitive or boring. There are 15 levels to find in the game, each level has a number of stars to find as well as a whole host of hidden stars to search out. The levels are all different and each has its own set of challenges to complete in order to get the stars. Once you have enough stars to open all the levels in the castle you can run around to your hearts content collecting the stars in whatever order you want. The castle and the levels are all 3D so you can really explore them, its not just a case of running from one end of the screen to the other like in the olden days!

To help you collect the stars, the DS uses the bottom screen as a map as well as the menu screen and control pad! The map is really helpful and adds a new dimension to the game. You can see the star on the map, but how are you going to get it?

In each level you will find a 3 caps Red for Mario, Green for Luigi and Yellow for Wario, just pick up the cap you want and you become that character. This allows you to perform tasks that your current character can’t manage without having to leave the level and swap characters. This is really handy as to swap characters you need to head to a special room in the castle and then all the way back to where you were.

Like in all Mario games you collect coins, you get extra lives. It’s that simple, only in Mario 64 DS you have an energy gauge as well. If you get battered you are going to have to get some coins to get your energy back or its back to the drawing board and you’ll be starting the level all over again.

The game has 3 memory slots so you can let your friends and family play without messing up your saved file! Not that you can really mess up your saved file as no matter how many lives you have managed to build up, when you carry on from a save you’ll be back on 4 lives.

I have really enjoyed playing this game and have kept coming back to it everyday. The mini games provide a break from the main game, but you will be drawn back to the main game because it is so easy and fun to play. Even when you complete it you will keep coming back now and again.

The camera angles can get very annoying at times and you find yourself frantically trying to adjust it so you don’t fall off the end of some precarious cliff! There are points in the game that the camera angles, or rather lack of camera angles can get really annoying, but this tends to only last for a few seconds and then you forget all about it and carry on.

I bought my DS with Mario and Warioware: Touched and although I have put in some solid hours worth of gaming on Warioware: Touched and the free demo of Metroid Prime Hunters, most of my DS time has been spend inside Princess Toadstool’s castle!

Anyone can enjoy playing this game, as long as you like playing good games. There are no fancy graphics here; this game is a straight forward platform game with a few puzzles along the way, but it is full of great game play and is fun to play, for all ages!

Perfect for playing on the bus or train or anywhere you are! You can pick Super Mario 64 DS up for about £25 if you have a look around. The amount of time you will spend playing this game with all its 150 stars, mini game and multi player options, I consider this to be a bargain.

Now if you will excuse me I’ve spent far too long away from my DS, it’s time to don my fake moustache and surrender another few hours to Mario and his relentless game playing!
 

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