"An older story brought back for newer eyes, with old concepts having returned" Dear Sonic, I've planned invite for you and your friends at the castle please come soon! Yours truly ~ Princess Poke ~ Bay *Camera Zooms around Vizzed Castle* (Eniitan, GreenLuigi, and Mohammedroxx) *jumps out of 3 separate pipes* Eniitan: Let's head into the castle! *Greenluigi and Mohammed nod in agreement*........(several hours later) Sonic: *resting ontop castle* Lakitu: SONIC! wake up your friends have rushed into the castle and haven't come out in several hours? Something must be amiss and only you can help find out what's wrong as you're the only one left. *Jumps off Castle top* Well then, guess I'll just have to solve this mystery I have a pretty good idea what's going on but I'll have to see in order to make sure it's correct *rushes inside*
An older classic, remade with new looks and new concepts
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Alot of us remember this game from our childhood considering it to be one of the best platformers during the late 90's and some even consider it to be one of the best to this very day, seeing the great appeal of this it was remade from the Nintendo 64 to the new DS handheld. So already before we look at this we need to have the mindset that this game was made in 96' thus forth we can't really compare the standards of graphics to most DS games out at the same time, and looking at the game right away you can see a definite upgrade to the graphics of not only the levels themselves but the enemies and players themselves though when zoomed up you can easily see the pixels and shading very clearly so it's not really the best looking game remake. Since I've already talk about the looks of the game on the N64 version I'll compare 1 level from the original and this version comparing them and then look at 2 levels exclusive to the DS port.
Original VS Remake
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Like I've said above the levels have more details in the remake but where's my proof? take a look at Big Bomb-omb's Summit and you'll see the grass was a strange green and the ground a light brown with not much detail, comparing that to the DS version where the ground is physically more detailed and the grass looks normal like what you would see in Mario Sunshine. So the graphics though still being pixel-clear to see looks it definitely had improve from 96'. Now let's take a look at 2 levels that weren't in the original version.
/*DS Exclusive Levels*
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_*Goomboss Battle*_ ~ Mostly likely this shall be the first new stage that you go and visit in this game, with the other heroes of the mushroom kingdom lock and hidden away somewhere you'll reach your first point of rescuing one of them. This place if I have to compare it to any level in the game it'd have to be Hazy Maze Cave since it has that dark and creepy like atmosphere with the same kind of poisonous fog we'd see in the level mentioned above. At the end of this stage "some" of us will see a familiar face from Paper Mario, he's the King Goomba from the very first chapter in the game which I find to be a cute detail and quite funny as it's like he's doing it out of smite for what happened. Great looking level and I'll add one more I enjoy.
**_Sunshine Isles_/**
Right when you enter this new secret stage for those of you familiar with the Gamecube and the game "Mario Sunshine" you'll probably notice right away that the music is from Delfino Plaza and although the stage doesn't share similar looks for the music that it represents, it is a nice tie in for me to hear that song while being on a beach like area as it reminds me of a game that is widely underrated and deserves more attention but that's besides the point. I'm sure there will be older fans that will reminisce about this stage with its music.
As we can see her the graphics certainly have improved from the normal blocky format seen on the N64 and this is a port of an older game so games made in 2004 (year of this games release) it would be highly unfair to judge it based on that...so instead I'll rate it on how well of a remake it is. This comes so close to being a perfect score but sadly because of that problem I issued with mess of clearly visibly bad pixel imagery found on the enemies/characters/and stages I'm going to have to kick it down one notch lowering the graphics score to a 9 out of 10.
OO ~ Upgraded looks, same songs, but how does the (somewhat) remastering sound? OO
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....Ok I'm going to tell you right now, how many people have you heard without smiling or joking saying that they hate Mario 64's musical layout...chances are VERY FEW! Since the music from the original release even to this day has been considered the best video game music ever released, so if it's held up after 18 years then I'm pretty sure it's obvious that I'll say that I absolutely LOVE this games
selection on its soundtrack. But during that long stretch between decades I'm sure it was obvious that they should try redoing some of the soundtrack but does it fit better than the original? I'll talk about 3 songs I enjoy and see how they fit in this version.
*...''' Hazy Mazy Cave"'...*
When you start this level you'll notice it sounds very familiar to the original but if you listen closely the music has kind of been washed out/faded out so the beat are more so quiet compared the N64 version. So as such this doesn't really sound very deep and mysterious like the original intention of this level when it was first created, as whenever you're in a cave you don't know which turns leads to what, so it's full of mystery and wonder. This version....ehhh...with the drowned out sound kind of takes away that feeling so it's more so a basic track in a deep and dank level area so +N64+ is my favorite for the sound.
OoO..."' Jolly Roger Bay"'...oOo
Probably the most famous and beloved song of Super Mario 64 and the system it was used on, for it's very soothing atmosphere and upbeat tone wherein no matter how much of a bad day you can have...there's just always a way for this game to make you at least smile a little bit. As it starts off slowly when you begin the journey from the start to the time as you explore the depths of the ocean and as you get deeper and deeper more musical beats get added to the song, and once you reach the treasure room it really starts rewarding you with the complete and best part of this music: for the peaceful somber tone, added instruments, and almost clapping like melody added towards the end of your quest in the bay. I don't spot many differences in the melody other than it may sound a bit slower in the DS version but for the most part they're very alike so +Either+ is great to listen to.
*{Finale}*
Alot of people don't really pay tribute to this song as much even though it's personally my favorite in the entire game, and this one...actually does sound better on the DS than the N64 maybe that's just me but it actually sounds clearer in quality and just the ending feels sweeter seeing the 4 characters together rather than just Mario himself. So +DS+ wins here.
So while the remastering in some places was a bad decision and good in others, mostly 85% of the game stays exactly the same as in the version first released, Though I still prefer the original version Nintendo did a great job on keeping the sound addictive so I'd say the sound is at least with an 8 out of 10 here.
'_' A new style of addictiveness, brought to interest old fans and new '_'
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Looking at the game most people will immediately think well of course it's going to be addictive, it's bloody Mario 64 so of course it'll be great, but here's the thing though this is a re-doing of that game there are lots of additions that it makes it a separate story of addictiveness as I consider this to be the "complete" version of the original game since it includes some ideas that were left out and only seen in early beta's and screenshots. But the major point being that this game includes one critical factor that was left out in the original plans which was that "Luigi" was set to be used in the N64 mode possibly as the second player, thus forth why you see 3 characters jump out of the Pipes in the intro of the game as Mario and Luigi were in the initial development but they added a 3rd character to the bunch I won't say just yet whom it is but let's just say he "missed" alot of the standard project.
But what makes this game addictive but in a new way? Well like I said there are 3 human characters you can play as, and a certain character we've seen before but thankfully if you go into water with him this time he won't evaporate. Now sure you may stand their in your fungus made suit shouting "Mushjection!" to me by saying that what's the point when the characters basically just use the "Caps" originally used in the N64 release? Good reply but sadly there are some different features to having these different characters such as: Yoshi's fire-flower technique ~ which you can spout fire from your mouth as well as normal techniques like sucking enemies in and turning them into an egg similar to Yoshi's Island & each character has different characteristics whether it be in strength, jumping ability, or just original fun.
Lastly before I end this off I just want to say one thing that makes this game also have and added (though not HUGE) but still fun to do if you're tired out from the normal gameplay or just want to relax and not worry about certain worries of area distractions/enemies, they have a few mini-games to start out and you can unlock more during the hour of playing normally and finding Bunnies related to a characters color in order to unlock more mini-games for them. Like I said not big but still a nice addition. Such a great and addictive game as before with such great additions (still prefer the N64 version) I'd have to say the addictiveness is a solid 7 out of 10!
~~** Bringing a new shining star's story a refreshing new light**~~
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We've all heard the story before, Mario my hero an Italian plumber whom for some reasons hasn't done actual plumbing in along time *cough cough* (Mario Bros 83') and this strange lovely princess that he desires to rescue all the time has invited him for a nice little soirée at the Mushroom Castle as she's made a lovely cake for him, asking that he PLEASE come. Blah blah blah so what else is new seems like the same pointless story with oh lookey here *Mario Jumps out of pipe* how could I have imagined that happ...*2 more pipes appear with Luigi and Wario Jumping out* o.O wait....what? What are those 2 doing here?! and after some time they decide to enter the castle so what? The game doesn't even have the bad plot as before?! :S .....*See's Yoshi on castletop* ?? Ok so he was on their in the original but that doesn't mean much right besides looking more so like a refined Yoshi's Island looking sprite of himself? ....... 0.0 now he's getting up after being told no one has come out of the castle in AGES?! But my DS clock says it's only been 12min? Time to take control of the...dinosaur and save the princess O.o while figuring out what happened to the other "heroes" (quotes on the hero's because Wario? Hero? Not often) ?
Yes this story has been revamped as you saw in that terrible acting skill of mine (which is why I'm a writer instead...) and it's clearly NOWHERE near the same as the final product we knew and loved as our cute little innocent child lives, what does that mean? Well the way I see, it's partially a new concept and the rest are leftover BETA ideas from the very original concept of Mario 64, Such as having Luigi a playable character which I've mentioned before in the other sections above and possibly many others, so I'm going to say they made a GREAT decision by recreating the story with beta plot elements and keeping the same old fun we loved but mixing it up with new surprises so the story deserves a great 9 out of 10 here.
~~OoO**Raising the level of length higher than any plumber's imagination**oOo~~
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*Uses Fireflower and puffs into balloon hedgehog* If my size right now doesn't speak enough words for me, than allow my air balloon quills to do the talking for myself. This game has ALOT more added to it which is always great in a remake so that way you won't get bored of it easily and adds just a large layer of surprise waiting for you to enjoy and hopefully gain fond memories of and as we've established many times above our shroom' caps you can play as four characters here: Yoshi, Mario, Luigi, and Wario each with their own variant versions of gameplay abilities which are needed to progress through certain area's of the game whether it be the steel-toned deminor of Wario, the classic but unforgettable P-Air filled Mario, to the fire breathing scares that come from Yoshi's fire-flower madness you'll find new and old features to enjoy and reminisce on during your adventure through this old fun filled land.
Sadly there are no new worlds that were added into the game, which is kind of depressing as with everything new they added including older idea's it would have been interesting to see maybe some older level design made into this product. As there were originally going to be 32 worlds in the 96' release but instead was dropped down to 15 due to hardware and it stayed constant in this port with a few addition "secret" levels but other than that it's mostly the same in terms of area's. Wish they could've taken some ideas from Super Mario 64 2 but oh well. So bundle 15 worlds with the old concept of having more than just Mario, the only thing left to talk about are the Mini-Games: which are pretty basic but fun at times. You can play "WANTED" which is a hide and seek-esque game wherein a sign would show whom you'd have to find and tap in order to move on, Psych-out which is a card game in which you must guess what is behind the card you see in the screen above (which you can see through at some points), Bomb-Omb squad which is basically like a pairing game in which you must place these bomb-omb on this side and the others on the opposite side without letting one explode or fall into the wrong corner, so a puzzle mixed with Hot Potato elements.
That's all I can feel obligated to tell you about this game so the depth I would say is a very well stable 9 out of 10!
~o~O~o~ Lowered difficulty due to new additions of this remake ~o~O~o
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*Throws Yoshi Egg at Goomba* I'm going to be bluntly obvious here and say that this version is FAR FAR easier than the original version, if you thought the first game was easy to finish levels with then bring out a new pair of chameleon gloves as this remake is alot easier to abuse tactics with each character having different and helpful traits: Mario = Basic normal jumping and fighting but can use gliding and ballooning for power-ups, Yoshi = low speed, average strength (thanks to special moves) and the ability to gain a small boost in the air with the flutter jump, Luigi = Normal speed, HIGH jumping capabilities (specially with backflip) great for speedrunning high obstacle challenges, and finally Wario = very low speed, low jump, incredible strength and kickback specially when using power-up.
Normally I'd say ok lower that down which will make it a 5 but unlike before you can find a bomb-omb buddy which'll show you on the touch screen where the rest of the Red Coins are located around the map which definitely makes those missions easier to complete, not to mention that for the most part the camera is easier to control with the touch screen having button to press easily to rotate and about 90% of the time is glitch free so it won't purposely get stuck in a wall like the N64 classic.
One thing I must talk about with difficulty that did actually make the game fun to play over and over was the reward that you would receive which also adds to the addictiveness as well, what happens when you'd get 150 (120 in original version) stars and complete the game. In the past you'd be able to use the cannon outside in the courtyard and shoot up to see Yoshi whom would give you 100 lives and a special triple jump which allowed you to dive out without ever taking damage NO matter how high the fall would be which was VERY rewarding however; we know that this is no longer possible since our green dinosaur is a playable character so he obviously can't meet himself and get this prize so instead when you shoot up there you only get a few lives...and wing cap ability as Mario which.....isn't much and therefore with the already easy difficulty it isn't really rewarding either at the end so all points aside I'd really have to say the hard/fairness factor for Super Mario 64 DS is only a measly 3 out of 10 which isn't a very good score in my eyes.
*Falls outside of castle* Well it seems like the tragedy is over and everything is back to peace here! It's been great ride and it was nice to see the changes that were made this time around for my adventure and I'll surely miss it but will always remember it in my mind and heart *Eniitan hops away, GreenLuigi vanishes, and Mohammedroxx bashes underground* .....!! *Pokefreak219 appears from Castle mirror* Sonic! The castle is back to normal now and the land is back into peace! Thank you dearly Sonic, should we be going now...it is late in this game after all? Sonic *nods and grabs feather while holding poke's hand* This ends my journey here but I hope this was as fun for you all as it was for myself! *Triple jumps and fly's away with Poke* .........*See's other friends flying in distance* :) haaaa such a fun journey with my loving friends but like all good things it must come to an end so like the heroic mustache man would say.....
**See you next time...!**//
Sonicthehedgehog57+Pokefreak219tm
Graphics
9 Sound
8 Addictive
7 Depth
9 Story
9 Difficulty
3
User Notice 
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