Super Mario 64 DS

Super Mario 64 DS is Nintendo EAD’s expanded Nintendo DS version of the landmark Nintendo 64 3D platformer. Nintendo published it as a launch-period game for the handheld in Japan and North America in late 2004, with PAL territories following in 2005. The adventure returns to Princess Peach’s Castle, where Mario, Luigi, and Wario have vanished after answering Peach’s invitation. Yoshi becomes the initial hero, entering the castle’s paintings and secret passages to recover Power Stars, rescue his friends, and ultimately confront Bowser.

The central quest keeps the free-roaming course design that defined Super Mario 64. Each world is a compact 3D playground filled with hazards, enemies, switches, secrets, and several star-based objectives. Rather than simply moving from one linear stage to the next, players choose a mission, explore at their own pace, and learn the layout well enough to uncover alternate routes and rewards. Power Stars open further areas of the castle, creating a steady sense of progression while leaving room to revisit earlier courses for unfinished challenges.

This Nintendo DS edition changes the adventure’s starting point and broadens its playable cast. Yoshi begins the search, while Mario, Luigi, and Wario are unlocked during the journey. Their different abilities affect how particular obstacles can be approached: Yoshi can swallow enemies and use eggs, Luigi has a distinctive aerial kick, and Wario’s strength suits heavy objects and hard-hitting attacks. Character caps also let a hero temporarily take on another character’s form, making the choice of character part of the castle’s puzzle-solving structure instead of a cosmetic swap.

Nintendo also adapted the original game’s special transformations for the four-character setup. Power Flowers grant a different temporary ability depending on who uses one: Mario can float as a balloon, Luigi can pass through certain barriers, Wario becomes metal-bodied, and Yoshi gains fire breath. These powers are used to reach isolated spaces, deal with obstacles, and find more collectibles. The total target rises from the Nintendo 64 game’s 120 Power Stars to 150, with extra objectives and additions built around the enlarged adventure.

Super Mario 64 DS was designed around the hardware’s two screens. The upper display presents the action, while the Touch Screen can show a map and provide camera or movement controls; the standard buttons and Control Pad remain available for conventional play. Its three-dimensional movement and camera management ask players to judge distance, momentum, and height while leaping between platforms, swimming, climbing, and battling enemies. The portable format preserves the broad, exploratory feel of the original while giving the DS’s stylus and second screen practical roles during play.

Beyond the single-player castle quest, the game includes touch-screen minigames and local wireless VS Battles for up to four players. In the multiplayer mode, competitors choose from the playable characters and race around selected areas to gather Power Stars. The minigames, unlocked through progress in the adventure, span quick challenges that use the Touch Screen in ways separate from the main platforming. Together with the added characters, expanded star count, and multiplayer features, these additions make Super Mario 64 DS a substantial DS-specific reinterpretation of Super Mario 64 rather than a straight portable conversion.

As an early showcase for Nintendo DS, the game connected a foundational 3D Mario adventure to Nintendo’s new dual-screen handheld. It retains the castle hub, open-ended objectives, and Bowser rescue story that make the original immediately recognizable, but reshapes them around a different control setup and a larger set of activities. For players exploring the Nintendo DS library, Super Mario 64 DS remains a distinctive version of Mario’s 3D platforming debut, built around collecting stars, mastering varied characters, and repeatedly discovering new uses for familiar worlds.