Super Mario 64 DS Review

About the rabbits… in this version of Mario 64, they’ve added minigames that you can play using the touchscreen. When you start you only have a few of them unlocked, but by catching rabbits in the castle you unlock new ones. Each character has a set of minigames and you have to catch all of the rabbits with each character to unlock everything.

The minigames themselves are really fun and make good use of the touchsceen. Some of them were a little bit repetitive and sometimes you’d get the same game twice except it was another version of it. Most of the games I found myself playing just a little while others are really addictive. My favorite has to be the one where you draw lines that become trampolines that make Mario rebound and you have to get him to doors to exit and save as many Marios as possible. Luigi’s card games were simple but fun, but overall that’s not where I spent most of my time even though I’ve heard stories of people who just coudn’t stop playing the minigames. I guess it’s a love it or hate it situation.

Now, the most important aspect of this game: the controls! The DS’s lack of a control stick really makes this game more difficult. The analog stick on the N64 offered full 360 degrees of control while this time around you only have 8 directions with the D-Pad. I really found myself playing around with the camera angles, which are all controlled with the touchscreen by the way, to get a straight line each and everytime I was walking down a narrow path and I walked as slowly as I could. On the N64 version I could run everywhere without any problems, but this time around I had to be extra careful as the D-Pad doesn’t give the same precision. You also have to hold down the run button in order to run and it can become a little bit annoying.

And now, what you’ve probably all been waiting for! Does this game look as good as it’s predecessor or if the DS sucks? You probably all know the answer to this, but I’m gonna tell you one more time! The environments are a lot more detailed than they used to, and by that I mean that there is a lot more geometry and everything looks less cubic then before. There are a few elements added here and there to fill empty spots in the game and the game never slows down while I thought there were huge slowdown problems found in Mario 64. The DS really seems like it’s better than the N64 as it can push more polygons and keep a more stable framerate. The only drawkback are the textures. The DS doesn’t have any texture filtering, resulting in Playstation pixelated textures which don’t always look good. Sometimes since the view is far from you you won’t notice them, but the pixels on some of those textures are really big. It doesn’t really make the game ugly, in fact you will get used to it really quickly, but the textures don’t look as nice as on the N64. Some colors were also changed for some reason and it doesn’t look as colorful or cartoony as the N64 version which is something I really liked about it. Still, this game looks amazing even by today’s standards and is one of the most graphically impressive games on the DS.

The music and sound effects are nearly all intact. Some were changed and don’t sound as good as they used to, but I think it’s all because the N64 had a better soundchip. Most of the music is ok though, but the sound effects sound heavily compressed for some reason. I’m not saying the game sounds bad, but it’s a little bit dissapointing. The tunes are still as catchy as ever as they’ve been playing in my head ever since Mario 64 was released in 1996.

Something new to this version of the game is a multiplayer mode. In it, you’ll be playng with up to 3 friends and you have to run around catching stars. The goal is to get as many stars as you can but your friends can punch and make you lose stars to then steal them from you. It’s not the biggest multiplayer mode I’ve seen in a game but it’s fun while it lasts.

So, the big question is: should you buy it? If you can’t get enough of Mario then go ahead and buy it right now. It offers more than what was found in the original and will last you for some time. Those who’ve never played the game should also get it as they’re really missing on something. If you’re tired of Mario 64 though then you might want to wait for the New Super Mario Bros as Mario DS is essentially the same game with a few added extras. They’re good extras, but for some they might not be worth the 40$ price of admission. I’ve had a great time with it, and I hope we’ll see more extended ports like this one on the DS.