Techtite's Nintendo DS Reviews!

"...this is not just the definitive DS title upon launch; it's the definitive portable game of the year, period."

---from the review

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Super Mario 64 DS

Click picture to order this game (DS)

Review by Steve

Has there ever been a new video game system "launch title" as magnificent as Super Mario 64? It was the first appearance of true 3D accelerated gaming in video game systems. What's more; it even had some cool FX. Even to this day that ripple effect when going through a magic wall is totally cool. No surprise then, that Nintendo would offer a reprisal of their most popular Mario hit for the Nintendo DS: Super Mario 64: DS...!  It isn't surprising that the game is as fun as it ever was. What's surprising is how it's often even more fun than that.

The real fun comes when you see the classic opening...with one added surprise. It's fun enough to see Super Mario 64, in pristine form, 3D accelerated graphics and all, on a portable Nintendo DS (!). Then opens not one pipe with Mario coming out, but...two? ...three? Suddenly, this isn't just a fight against Bowser and Mario; Wario and Luigi have joined in. This is just some of the fun added to this classic game. You now have multiple characters, meaning multiple methods to solve each star quest. Mind you, Nintendo likes to keep things simple for the kids to begin with, so you start with control of only one character...just for now.

The game begins with Yoshi. This heroic...thing, was asleep during the prologue and oddly enough that has kept him from getting trapped in the castle. It is up to Yoshi to go through the first puzzles, as only Yoshi can. Trouble is that Yoshi doesn't have the strength of Wario, the jumping of Mario or the agility of Luigi, which introduces the game's best feature; alternate solutions to obtaining almost any star. That's pretty cool.

Here's one example, which isn't a spoiler because it's the first star out of 150, and if you can't get that, you might as well return the game right? Anyway, in the original game the first star was found by battling a giant Bomb King by throwing him across the mountaintop you fought him on. Well, Yoshi's arms aren't for throwing, so what's a little dinosaur dragon thing to do...? Simple: "eat" those bombs he's throwing, and use your salamander-like tongue to whip them back. Yes this is still an E for Everyone game title (walking bombs or not; it's all G-rated mom and dad!), though the point is: this isn't just a Mario game anymore. It's a game with multiple characters, alternate solutions, and lots of added fun.

In time Yoshi defeats the first mini boss (hint: not Bowser!), then the second, then the third, and all the three additional characters are present. Then things really get fun. Each one has special skills, enhanced by the Red cubes found around the castle. See; in the original game, these gave Mario the ability to fly for a short while. In this game, they give each character an alternate ability. In fact, some red cubes even give Mario an additional power that doesn't involve wings in his cap; he turns into a floating balloon! Meanwhile, Luigi turns into a ghost (Luigi's Mansion; get it?) and can walk through mesh gates and is invulnerable to attack for a while. Wario becomes metal-Wario, making him a walking tank (and heavy as a ton; hint, hint). Here's my favorite one: Yoshi can breathe fire. Remember all the times Mario was set on fire only to run around wailing? Well, turnabout is fair play against all those enemies. You GO, Yoshi! That's one cool super power.

It also provides for a few added puzzles, as well as a few easier ones. If you can keep a level head and remember who-does-what, you can take a number of the most difficult puzzles of Super Mario 64 and solve them even easier. Then again...don't! Try to solve an underwater puzzle with the same challenge as the original game. Or: turn into Wario, activate his heavy as lead metal-Wario ability, and solve such puzzles even easier. In a similar comparison: Luigi's fire breath can be really cool against someone in the snow worlds, while Luigi in the haunted "Boo" ridden territories...well, you get the idea.

You may wonder at this point what is so "DS" about this remake. Well, how about no less than 28 mini-games, scattered throughout the castle? Little bunnies of alternate colors (one color per character) are running around the castle. It's your job to catch them, and if you do, they give a "key" that unlocks a mini game. This game can either be played within the castle's game room, or separately via the main menu. In short: Luigi's bunnies unlock card games, Wario's games are battles of some sort (like shooting water baloons at falling Bob-ombs), Mario's are flying games of some sort, while Yoshi has the "cute" games. Each of the mini games utilizes the DS double screen, with the action always controlled via the lower screen touch sensitive surface. There is so much fun here among the 28 games, it's actually quite surprising that Nintendo didn't call these a "Mario's Mini Games: DS" game pack and sell it separately. Selling it for free within a game that was already a guaranteed sell, only makes this game better.

Yes, DS also has multiplayer. This is where the bad news starts, because there's no cooperative play here. "Multiplayer" can be complimented, at least, in that you only require one (yes: ONE) cartridge on one DS to play. Other DS units need merely click "download" on their own DS' main menu, whenever the DS with Super Mario 64 DS in it is placed in "VS" mode. Then it's a race to get as many stars as possible among all the racers present. It's fun, sure, but not as fun as, say, cooperative play in the actual story.

Now, since this is an (almost) exact replica of the original game, you will hear few complaints here, since I had so few with the original. Yet seeing as this is the Nintendo DS, it is a bit annoying how one of the two screens is always a map. Why not have a little double-screen action here? Sure the map is not only invaluable; it has arrow keys to make turning the camera angle a breeze, and it also provides easier maneuverability with your thumb when pressed against the screen's touch sensitive surface. Yet we would've preferred a few double-screen puzzles. We're just saying.

It is both this game's brilliant success and yet subtle flaw that it is often so unchanged from the original. There are additional characters, 30 additional stars, and at least four additional super-powers among the principle characters. Yet the poor camera system is still there, often "automatically" turning your angle of vision right beneath the floor, or right behind a nearby wall. The annoying one-two button trick to "super jump" is still there; good luck keeping Mario from, on occasion, simply resorting to his "stomp" attack, which uses the same buttons. Then there are all the instant deaths. Let me take this time to say I'm one of the advocates to turn "limited lives" into a thing of the past. It's a concept that was intended for kids to shovel out more quarters in the arcades, and in a home game it makes no sense.

Yet these are very nitpicking gripes in nature, for what is the definitive DS title upon launch. Sure, we've come a long way in console gaming since the original game first hit store shelves, but just think of the awesome feeling of being able to play this console game in portable form, with not a single degradation in quality. Add over three dozen mini games to the fun, and I need to correct myself: this is not just the definitive DS title upon launch; it's the definitive portable game of the year, period. When pre-ordering (or more likely back ordering) a DS, you really should add an order for this as well.

---Steve