Super Mario 64

SUPER MARIO 64

Super Mario was a launch title for the Nintendo 64 system and the first Mario game to be fully rendered in 3D, ensuring the Mario series' survival during the shift to 3D in the late 1990s. Super Mario 64 is widely acclaimed as being one of the best games of the N64 and generally as one of the best in the Mario franchise. The plot is more or less the same, with Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach (known by that name for the first time here), except that this time he has placed a spell upon her own castle and trapped her inside.

We have five major characters returning, specifically Mario, Princess Peach, Toad, Bowser, and Yoshi. Mario is, of course, the main character, with most of his basic moves returning, except now expanding upon the new third dimension of the game, giving him a wider range of movement and more diverse jumping maneuvers, including backflips, side flips, long jumps, and ground pounds. He is also supplied with three different caps from item boxes that allow him to fly with wings, turn metal and become heavy, and turn pixellated, allowing him to walk through specific walls. A few other moves come from other objects in the game, such as the ability to launch himself from a cannon, ride around on a Koopa shell, and pick up and throw enemies and items.

Luigi, sadly doesn't make a return in this game, despite rumor-mongers' best efforts. Mario's friends Peach, Toad, and Yoshi all return, sadly not doing much in game, more or less simply existing as NPCs in their world. Peach is held hostage by Bowser until the end of the game, Toad appears occasionally throughout the castle, giving you advice and occasionally stars, and Yoshi appears in a surprise guest appearance at the very end of the game.

Bowser once again acts as our main villain. Mario fights him on three different occasions, each time standing on a platform surrounded by bombs. He will stomp around and breathe fire until Mario grabs his tail and swings him around to throw him into a bomb. Occasionally he will charge at Mario if Mario moves too far away, and in later battles, can also jump hard enough to tip the stage and ground pound to make electrocuting shockwaves. He gives us quite a bit.

We have a number of returning enemies, including Goombas, Koopas, Bob-Ombs, Boos, Piranha Plants, Monty Moles, Wigglers, Chain Chomps, Thwomps, Pokeys, Bullet Bills, and Lakitus, and although Shy Guys don't appear, their offshoots Fly Guys and Snufits do. Goombas mostly just hop around and walk toward you, acting like the basic enemy they are. Koopas only appear a couple of times, sometimes running away when you approach and getting knocked from their shells when you jump on them, and sometimes challenging you to a foot race. Boos mostly float around and cackle, their Big Boo form also appearing several times in game. Piranha Plants have apparently gotten lazy recently, napping until you approach them and then biting at you. Lakitus also return, floating around and dropping Spinies as usual. However, this game also features a supporting character in the Lakitu Bros., a Lakitu who follows Mario around with a camera, functioning literally as the game's camera.

Fly Guys are basically Shy Guys with little propellers on their heads that can shoot tiny fireballs at you, while Snufits are basically Snifits that float around in the air. Bob-Ombs are quite frequent in this game, though their main role is basically just to explode. They do have a pink friendly variant though, who seem capable of operating cannons. They also have a giant ruler in the form of Big Bob-Omb, who walks around, grabs you, and throws you. (Okay, a little disappointing, I know.) Monty Moles once again pop out of the ground and throw things at you. Still pretty much it. Thwomps move up and down. Pokeys wiggle around as a stack. Bullet Bills fly at you from a Blaster. And finally we see one Chain Chomp tied to a stake, lunging at you and trying to bite you, and one Wiggler, walking around not doing much but speeding up once angry.

Some new enemies include Bullies, Spindrifts, Scuttle Bugs and Skeeters, Moneybags, Clams, Swoops, Chuckyas, Heave-hos, Bubbas, Whomps, Mr. Blizzards, Mr. I's, Amps, and Kuromames. Bullies are Bob-Omb like enemies who like to ram into you and knock you off the side. Spindrifts are enemies that send you flying when jumped on. Scuttle Bugs and Skeeters are both spider-like enemies that scoot around. Moneybags like to pretend to be coins only to hit you with a surprise attack (basically a Mimic). Clams and Swoops are basically ordinary clams and bats. Chuckyas and Heave-hos are wind-up enemies that like to pick you up and throw you places. Bubbas are just big fish that like to eat you (so maybe something to add to the Cheep Cheeps). Whomps are walking concrete slabs that like to slam down and crush you, sort of offshoots of the Thwomp, with a king of their own. Mr. Blizzards are snowmen that throw snowballs and sometimes hop around. Mr. I's are giant eyeballs that follow you around until dizzy. Amps are circling balls of electricity and Kuromames are little black balls that spit fire. All in all, not much to work with today.

There are also a number of bosses and supporting characters to consider here as well. Our bosses include Big Bob-Omb, who picks you up and throws you as said before; King Whomp, who jumps up and slams down like his people; Big Boo, who floats around like regular Boos; Big Bully, who knocks you off the side like regular Bullies; Eyerok, a pair of giant stone hands with eyes that try to crush you or push you off the side; and Chill Bully, a blue bully that knocks you into ice instead of lava. I would definitely like to see Eyerok as a boss (although we kind of have Master Hand and Crazy Hand for that), and the rest could be fine as bosses.

And finally, we have Penguins, who act mostly as NPC's and once challenge you to a race; Dorrie and the Owl, gentle animals who give you a ride occasionally; Klepto and Ukkiki, an annoying vulture and monkey who like to steal your hat; MIPS, rabbits that like to run around and lead you on a wild goose chase to get a star; and a Manta Ray, Shark, and a giant eel named Unagi who mostly just swim around and mind their own business. Once again, not much to go on.

Now, let's move on to the stages! Super Mario 64, like most of the early 3D games and even a few today, was centered around a hub world from which you could access every other stage in the game. For Mario 64, the hub world was Princess Peach's castle, which had an outside and an inside, the inside being made up of three floors and a basement. The outside is what the Princess Peach's Castle stage from Melee is based on, while the interior would also function well as a stage. Inside the castle, you could access the other worlds via paintings, walls, and a couple of other outliers.

The worlds themselves included: Bob-Omb Battlefield, a basic grassland stage; Whomp's Fortress, another basic stage with more of a building motif; Jolly Roger Bay, a water level; Cool Cool Mountain, a snow level; Big Boo's Haunt, a ghost level; Hazy Maze Cave, an underground level that tends to annoy people; Lethal Lava Land, a lava level; Shifting Sand Land, a sand level; Dire Dire Docks, another water level; Snowman's Land, another snow level; Wet-Dry World, a water level mixed with the building motif of Whomp's Fortress; Tall Tall Mountain, a mountainous level; Tiny-Huge Island, another grassland level with a size-changing gimmick; Tick Tock Clock, a level set inside a literal clock; and Rainbow Ride, a sprawling sky level. I'm just going to say it right now. Every single one could function well as a Super Smash Bros. stage, so I'm sticking them all in.

There are a handful of other stages: a simple slide, a water-filled room, a small sky level, and a level to unlock each special cap. I think it would be fine to leave them out since they all tend to be simplified versions of other stages. There are also three Bowser stages in which you work your way through a platforming level before facing Bowser. At least one, centered on Bowser's arena from each, would probably be fine.

As for items, of course we have our three caps, Bob-Ombs, Bullet Bills, stars (though they don't grant invincibility), coins, and boxes.

Now, let's see what we've got!

Characters:
Mario: multiple different types of jumps and punches, wing cap, metal cap, pixel cap, ride on shell, fire from cannon.
Peach: nothing
Toad: nothing, give star
Yoshi: nothing
Bowser: tromp around, breathe fire, charge, tip stage, create shockwaves
Goombas: walk around
Koopas: run away, pop from shell, race
Piranha Plant: sleep, bite
Boo: float around, Big Boo
Lakitu: float, drop Spinies, use camera
Shy Guy: Fly Guy, fire, Snufit float, fire pellets
Bob-Omb: explode, fire cannons, pick up and throw (Big Bob-Omb)
Monty Mole: jump, throw rocks
<Tentative> Chain Chomp, Wiggler, Whomp

Bosses:
Big Bob-Omb
King Whomp
Big Boo
Big Bully
Eyerok
Chill Bully

Stages:
Princess Peach's Castle (Melee)
Princess Peach's Castle (Inside)
Bob-Omb Battlefield
Whomp's Fortress
Jolly Roger Bay
Cool Cool Mountain
Big Boo's Haunt
Hazy Maze Cave
Lethal Lava Land
Shifting Sand Land
Dire Dire Docks
Snowman's Land
Wet-Dry World
Tall Tall Mountain
Tiny-Huge Island
Tick Tock Clock
Rainbow Ride
Bowser's World

Items:
Wing Cap
Metal Cap
Pixel Cap
Green Shell
Bob-Omb
Bullet Bill
Coin
Star
Box

Thanks for reading! Next up, we'll cover Mario's vacation game on the Game Cube: Super Mario Sunshine!