Introduction:

Welcome to Super Mario 64 DS! the new improved and updated game to Super Mario 64

Story:

Well, the story seems to open the same way as super mario 64 did. You receive a letter to meet the princess, because she has baked a cake. Well once Mario himself jumps out of the warp pipe, than is when things start to change. A few seconds after mario jumps from his pipe, 2 more pipes appear and out hops wario and luigi. After the three of them have thier little scene, they enter the castle and everything goes quiet...

Yoshi, who has been sleeping on top of the castle, is awaken by a lakitu and informs Yoshi what has happened. at this point you take control of yoshi and set off on the grand journey.

Gameplay:

Even from the second the game starts, you notice the changes. to the left of the starting point, is small hedge maze that was not there in the original game. after you are done"ooohing" and "ahhing" at the new addition, you will probably head for the castle door. You will soon find out that the door is locked, and that you need a key. Yet another new change already! So you turn around and as you start to cross the bridge, you are informed by a lakitu that he saw a rabbit take off with the key, and is hanging around the hedge maze. well after your are done chasing the rabbit down and retrieve the key, you will now enter the castle. You will hear the same bowser laugh you did in mario 64, and from here the search for mario luigi and wario, as well as the power stars truly begins.

Some obvious changes in gameplay will become apparent shortly into the game, such as new levels, new stars, MORE stars, new rooms in the castle, as well as new secrets. also included is a new vs. mode, where players will have to fight for power stars in your choice of 1 of 4 locations. all this is available with 1 game card, via download play. in addition to all of this, there are now a HANDFUL of stylus oriented minigames, which you will play using the touchscreen, and you will unlock after you find rabbits. each rabbit unlocks another new minigame for you to play (8 minigames are open from the start however). All in all, the new content will surely make old players happy, and players that may have never played mario 64 will find ALOT to love in Super Mario 64 DS (one small thing to add, the touchscreen can be used as some sort of analog controller, but i just found this difficult and useless. im sure there are many people that will prefer this over the dpad however)

10/10

Graphics:

the graphics in the game are AMAZING. From ironed out rough spots from the original, to changed textures and colors, to even updated character models, the graphics are sure to please. everything is so much more crisp and clear, its like a dream come true. Certainly better than what the n64 was capable of.

9/10

Sound:

ahh, the sound in the game is magical. it sounds just like it did on the TV about 8 years ago. Everything about the sound is exactly as i remember it, and the new sounds used in the game i will also remember for a long time to come. Nintendo really did a good job by adding the stereo speakers

9.5/10

Replayability:

the replayability in this game is enormous. ive been playing super mario 64 since it came out, and i will always go back for more. so far thats 8 years of great replayability, and this updated game will bring great replayability for just as many years to come

9/10

challenge:

looking at this strictly from if i were playing it for the first time - i would say it has great challenge. some stars are rediculously easy, while some are incredibly hard to find. When i played this game 8 years ago it took me a while to find out where some stars were, and others just took several attempts to finally get at. playing this game for the first time will provide you with great challenge, but replaying it will certainly make it much easier

7.5/10

overall:

Super Mario 64 DS is a VERY well done update to the classic game. If you loved Super Mario 64, SM64DS has loads more to offer, which any fan of the original should definitely check out

i give Super Mario 64 DS (overall, not avg) 9.5/10 - it gets -.5 for reminding me how pissed off i got at some of the stars :P

Written By: James Leichnitz aka Nesmaster
Date Submitted: January 5th, 2005

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