Super Mario 64 DS
Mario wants 'touching', Ben obliges
The DS is with us. It's hard to believe really. It almost seems as if no sooner was the machine announced than we're sitting here with it in our laps. I do wonder though if Nintendo are almost as surprised as us by the speed at which events have unfolded. That at least would explain why at the time of launch the DS only had one first party Nintendo title on the shelves. No Yoshi's Touch, no Wario Ware - only Super Mario 64 DS. It's logical though, from Nintendo's point of view. After all, Mario 64 was the second most acclaimed title to appear on the N64 behind Ocarina of Time (fancy taking bets on when a DS version of that will be announced?) so what better way to showcase the power of your new handheld than by porting the moustached plumber's maiden 3D outing? There is one problem though - the DS may be able to run Mario 64 perfectly from a technical perspective, but it hardly makes use of all the DS's wonderful technological innovation. The answer - touch control and mini games.
Related
The first of these is actually quite crucial. The DS is a fantastic piece of kit but the more I play it the more one question keeps occurring to me. When the N64 arrived and Mario moved into the third dimension it wasn't just a graphical transformation that occurred. There was also an evolution of control. The N64 bought with it the analogue stick for the first time on a standard joypad (the Saturn, remember, only boasted analogue control on the additional Nights joypad). Using the stick was vital in this new 3D world where precision control is necessary and despite my loathing of the N64 joypad it still managed to do the job. Now, there's no denying that the DS can effortlessly reproduce Mario 64 in graphical terms but the lack of analogue control is a real problem. Mario 64 wasn't designed to be used with a digital d pad, pure and simple. You also have to wonder: since the DS was designed to offer N64 power graphics then why did Nintendo not see fit to give it suitable controls to play 3D games? It's a question you'll ask yourself often as you play Super Mario 64 DS.
In truth though the game is still playable with the default d pad control setup, despite my dubious ponderings. You get used to holding down a button to run in the same way that you get used to taking more time when trying to accurately orientate your character. You can get the job done but there's no escaping the fact that the game is screaming out for some sort of analogue input. More specifically however it screams out for an analogue stick since using the touch screen as a substitute is a troublesome affair. As I discovered with the Metroid Hunters demo, touching the screen with one hand whilst supporting the unit with the other is a painful business. Add to that the need to press buttons with the supporting hand in combination with delicate stylus movements and overall, despite the fact that a great level of control is possible, it simply feels like a lot more effort than the default digital setup, despite its inferiority.
But perhaps to dwell on the controls alone is unfair because Super Mario 64 DS is not a bad title by any means. Nor is it a straight port; it is very much an enhanced version of the original featuring more stars to be found, extra levels to be played and more playable characters. You start the game as Yoshi and by attempting extra challenges not in the N64 version you can subsequently unlock Mario, Luigi and Wario. Also prominent too is the quest for rabbits. Each character has a set number that must be caught to unlock the quite exquisite mini games playable from the main menu. Each character has two mini games initially available at the beginning of the game and a further four to be unlocked by catching the rabbits in the main game. Despite the fact that the games are a little hit and miss I've easily spent as much time with them as I have the main game itself. Some of these touch-screen-centric games are truly ingenious in their design and typically Nintendo in their boldness. The games are pleasantly varied and offer a variety of challenges; their requirements of the player too are equally as diverse. Some are tests of speed and accuracy, others of memory or mental agility. The quality of the DS hardware allows for some very precise control meaning that it's your own fault if you fail, not the machine's. Though some games you will maybe play only a handful of times there are some that you will return to again and again, much in the same vane as Wario Ware, in an effort to beat your previous high score. When out and about with my DS I found the Mario 64 mini games combined with the Wario Ware cartridge sitting in the GBA slot perfectly, proving to be an infallible tool in combating any potentially boring situation.
We all would have liked to have seen an original Mario adventure launch with the DS, taking full advantage of the hardware innovations but in the short time between development and release I guess this was a little too much to ask. At least we have that to look forward to. Until then Super Mario 64 DS is a must own title if you have the system. The DS's battery life is indeed impressive but the size of Super Mario 64 will easily see you through numerous charges. You'll have lots of fun on the way too, whether you're reliving past memories of the N64 incarnation or enjoying it all for the first time. It's just a shame that time and time again it's the controls that you'll be telling your mates about as much as the game itself.
85%
Comments
What on earth are you on about?
Well, excuse me - I generally can only be bothered to read posts that are coherent, relevent and structured in a way that at least remotely resembles English.
/handbags
Come on Ben, he did manage the one full stop in those eight lines of text ;-)
Well spotted - I obviously didn't give him enough credit...
where can i get this game
In a shop
hai is dhis '' Dj-Star ''
very good game
Ben i think your completely right i had gotten the DS on christmas along with metroid mario and spiderman 2 for the DS and i'm most intreasted with mario so i've been playing it 18/7 in my opinion i don' t like how boser must be spun the touch screen is a wonderful piece of hardware but like you wrote it's really hard without the anolog stick mario is my god practicly i had a 12 inch stuffed mario shipped from hawiai and i live in Massachusets iy's crazy so i love the idea of it and i do get out but this was important so if you can write back somehow i'd like that i'll check here for a coment from you
Ben i think your completely right i had gotten the DS on christmas along with metroid mario and spiderman 2 for the DS and i'm most intreasted with mario so i've been playing it 18/7 in my opinion i don' t like how boser must be spun the touch screen is a wonderful piece of hardware but like you wrote it's really hard without the anolog stick mario is my god practicly i had a 12 inch stuffed mario shipped from hawiai and i live in Massachusets iy's crazy so i love the idea of it and i do get out but this was important so if you can write back somehow i'd like that i'll check here for a coment from you
Ben i think your completely right i had gotten the DS on christmas along with metroid mario and spiderman 2 for the DS and i'm most intreasted with mario so i've been playing it 18/7 in my opinion i don' t like how boser must be spun the touch screen is a wonderful piece of hardware but like you wrote it's really hard without the anolog stick mario is my god practicly i had a 12 inch stuffed mario shipped from hawiai and i live in Massachusets iy's crazy so i love the idea of it and i do get out but this was important so if you can write back somehow i'd like that i'll check here for a coment from you
Ben i think your completely right i had gotten the DS on christmas along with metroid mario and spiderman 2 for the DS and i'm most intreasted with mario so i've been playing it 18/7 in my opinion i don' t like how boser must be spun the touch screen is a wonderful piece of hardware but like you wrote it's really hard without the anolog stick mario is my god practicly i had a 12 inch stuffed mario shipped from hawiai and i live in Massachusets iy's crazy so i love the idea of it and i do get out but this was important so if you can write back somehow i'd like that i'll check here for a coment from you
Hint-Star in mirror-
:)You must have LUIGI to do this hint:)
Bring Luigi into the second floor, and go into the room with the mirror wall. Then grab one of the power flowers, and luigi will turn invisible. Next go into the mirror and go into the door. This will bring you to a white room with a star.
NOTE: You can also jump into WARIO'S painting by doing this.
WITH WARIO.......
With wario U can...
*SMASH BLACK BRICKS:)
*WHACK GOOMBAS FAR;)
*RUN SLOW:(
*JUMP NOT VERY HIGH:(
:)= GOOD ;)= OK :(= NOT VERY GOOD
MyStErY PaiNTiNg
Wanna know what the mystery painting is?
But first you must beat the game:(
HA HA!!!!!:D
the mystery painting is.....
BOWSER'S PAINTING!!!!!!!
The painting is located in the star door on the first floor.
NOTE: lf you try it without completing it... Bowser will dump you into his trap. you must collect all(150) stars and have 100% comlete!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just as the title says. Nintendo should offer to recall all systems, to put in a better graphics card/ an analogue stic, hey, it's either that or be shoved out in the cold when a wannabee nintendo fanboy says that the PSP is better (which only the graphics are better, but us americans are suckers for bling).
This is the best game ever!!!
hello?
oops! sorry I did mean to do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oops! sorry I didn't mean to do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is cool!!!
how do i get into the shining light when you walk in the castle on super mario 64 ds
wats is uo my m8t says hi
Super Mario 64 is actually by far the the most acclaimed N64 game im afraid and Ocarina of Time is actually 2nd. You got it all wrong buddy.
how do you defeat the big bob-omb in 'big bob-omb's revenge? im really stuck!
where is the door with a 30 on it?
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacvb ghbnkm m, a v bf vs h hnb
to defeat the big bomb-omb in 'big bomb-omb's revenge' you have to be mario, then pick him up and throw him down a few times until he gives up and gives you the star.
THIZ GAME IS DA F*CKING BEST ITS NOT EVEN FUNNAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I want to play super mario 64 online and it is not leting me help me
okay i got mario but how do i get him to float to the light i look up then i get the screen saing " a voice from above is saying hey mario" but he wont float what buttons do i push
hhiihihihihihihihihihiihhihihihihihihihihiih
hi
ok um why r u just showing pictures i wanna know how do ya beat that anoying big bob-omb thing so STOP showing pics!