Super Mario 64 DS Review
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Super Mario 64 DS is a great remake of the original that came out for the N64 back in 1996. The single player game has you start out as Yoshi when Mario and
Co. get lost inside of Princess Peach's castle. Yoshi decides to run in and find them. As you get farther in the game, you unlock Mario, Luigi and Wario as playable characters. Each character has their own unique moves and traits. Yoshi for example can eat enemies with his long tongue and turn them into eggs. As you complete missions in the game, you gain more and more stars. There are 150 stars in total in this updated version as opposed to the original 120 in Mario 64. The multiplayer mode pits you and three friends (or computer controller players) against each other in a struggle to collect more stars than your opponents. Whoever holds the most stars at the end wins. There is also a "Rec Room" where you can play mini games that you unlock as you go through the game by collecting keys from rabbits. These mini games are a good example of what the DS can do. Most people will probably spend more time playing these than the actual game. These mini games range from Pachinko, to card games, to games that have you drawing lines to connect heads to bodies.
The graphics are fluid and smooth for this game; though there are a few noticeably bitty parts, they are not too bad. This game delivers on exactly what a DS can process. Although Nintendo probably could have done better with the game, they do not decrease the gameplay in anyway from the original. Things like the mini games are done well and some of the watercolor backgrounds on mini games such as “Loves me Not” are beautiful. Overall, the graphics are decent, but not significant enough to change the gameplay for the user.
The stereo sound on this game is astounding. From the moment I picked it up to the moment I set it down, I was amazed. The stereo sound is definitely noticeable and sounds wonderful in every way. The music is a bit tinny at times due to conversion issues but it is not noticeable for the most part. This game for sure has the best sound of any DS game I have played so far, and is an omen of good sounds to come.
The controls on Super Mario 64 DS are not all that great but they work well enough for me. This game was meant for an analog joystick and though the touch screen/thumb strap tries to emulate this, it does not work out too well. The D-Pad works decent enough but you will find yourself accidentally throwing things or trying to eat things with Yoshi in the wrong direction. They can be frustrating at times but they are not horrible enough to kill the gameplay.
The replay value on the actual game is not that high because once you get all 150 stars I am sure you would not want to do it again. The multiplayer is not very good so you probably will not be playing that repeatedly. The feature you will keep coming back to this title for is the Rec Room. The mini games are very fun and addicting. My friends and I challenge each other during lunch to beat high scores for certain mini games. There are 36 mini games, which is enough to keep anyone busy for a while.
Super Mario 64 DS is a great game and most people will buy it for the nostalgic value and the mini games. The only major downside to this title is the sketchy controls. If you can get past the sometimes-annoying controls, you will love this title. You may even buy it just for the extremely addicting mini games. Now that is definitely saying something!
| Ratings | ||
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| Controls | 0 | |
| Graphics | 0 | |
| Originality | 0 | |
| Replay Value | 0 | |
| Sound | 0 | |
