Nintendo DS

1 Player, 4 Player Wireless Rated E (Everyone)
Release Date 2004/10/25 (US)
Retail Price $29.95
Buy at Amazon

Overall Rating 8 out of 10

First Impressions

Super Mario 64 DS is a third-person shooter, except without the shooter part. Instead you get certain moves that help you along in the game. The moves depend on which character you are playing with (Mario, Luigi, Yoshi or Wario). You move through different types of worlds solving puzzles and collecting stars to try to eventually defeat Bowser, who evidently has his panties in a bunch. Again.

The more stars you collect, the more worlds you can enter. You can enter certain worlds multiple times to collect many stars from the same world. Fortunately, the game tells you what you need to do to get all the stars in a world, but sometimes finding them can be tedious.

Overall the game is quite fun and a good addition to any Mario-fan’s collection.

On Second Thought

After a month of play Super Mario 64 has shown to hold our interest, but not in the way probably intended. The mini games are played over and over again, but the Adventure portion of the game is rarely touched. Wireless play is always fun when you have the chance and overall the game does have some great replay value.

Dissecting Super Mario 64 DS

ERSB Rating – (E for Everyone)

This game is rated “E” and it deserves the rating. Unless you are a member of the “Save the Goombas” extremist group you probably won’t find anything offensive in Super Mario 64 DS.

Play Modes – (9 out of 10)

The three different modes keep this title entertaining for all types of gamers.

VS Mode – This is a kind of “Collect the Stars” game. It can be played by up to four people using only one game cartridge. The object of the game is to collect more stars than your opponents, the person with the most stars when time runs out is the winner.

Adventure – This is the main game (described above). This is probably where you will spend most of your time initially. You’ll need to play this quite a bit to unlock the mini games anyway.

Rec Room – The Rec Room is where all the mini games reside.  There are 36 mini games, although you only start out with 8. A relatively good player can unlock all of them but one and they are worth it, most are quite fun. The last mini-game requires you to have collected all 150 stars in the Adventure portion of the game, which is either impossible or I’m just really lazy. Or both.

Controls – (7 out of 10)

The VS and Adventure portions could really use an analog stick. Using the control pad isn’t bad, and using the touchscreen isn’t bad but neither are ideal. I played through most of the game using the control pad and it didn’t really bother my thumb, but it was hard to get the character in the exact spot you wanted him in.

On the opposite end of the spectrum in the Rec Room portion of Super Mario 64 DS the controls use the touchscreen and use it well. Most of these games couldn’t be done without a touchscreen or a mouse. These kind of mini games and puzzle games are where the DS really shines.

Sound/Music – (9 out of 10)

The music is great as you would expect from a first-party Nintendo title. Nothing over the top, just good music fitting for a game like this. The sound effects are colorful and cheery and fit the game well.

DS Capabilities – (8 out of 10)

Dual Screen – The second screen is very well used in most of the mini games and in the Adventure portion of the game the map on the second screen is useful.

Wireless – The wireless VS mode is a great addition to this game. Only one game card is needed although you will need a) friends and b) more Nintendo DS systems. Certain restrictions apply, friends void where prohibited.

Touchscreen – Most of the mini games in the Rec Room would not be possible without the touchscreen. This is where you can get an idea of some of the cool stuff that can be done with the touchscreen. Controlling the characters in the Adventure game is less than great and once again you’ll wish Nintendo had included an analog stick.

Innovation – (7 out of 10)

This game was very innovative when it originally came out for the Nintendo 64 console, but that was years ago. They have put quite a few new things in the game, like the use of several different characters, but overall there isn’t a great load of innovation in the Adventure part of the game. Nothing overly groundbreaking here (well, maybe Wario).

Some of the mini games in the Rec Room are very innovative in their uses of the second screen and the touchscreen. You’ll do anything from drawing to pushing a turtle shell in a shuffleboard-like game. Some are quite creative. 

Fun Factor – (7 out of 10)

Adventure Mode is very fun initially, but going back into the different worlds over and over again to find different stars can get annoying. This is needed to unlock the mini games, but you might find yourself disinterested after you unlock all the mini games you want to play.

The Rec Room has a lot of great mini games that are fun and have a high replay value. Most of the games have a high score list associated with them which is fun for people who share one DS. About half of the games are really fun and you’ll come back to them time and time again.

Summary – (8 out of 10)

This is a fun game which is made even more fun by the unlockable mini games. It has a few annoying quirks and doesn’t use all of the DS’s capabilities but it is still quite fun and the mini-games throw it into a “must buy” category, especially if you can get a good deal on it.

Tags: Nintendo DS · Platforms · Reviews