Super Mario 64×4 Hands-On
We try out Nintendo’s 4-Player spin on Super Mario 64
Tags: Super Mario 64 DS Categories: GBA Previews, Previews
Posted by Jake McNeill on May 29th, 2004
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Because Nintendo is satisfied with just giving us a hint of what we can expect when the DS launches, we can’t be entirely certain what shape Super Mario 64×4 will take when it becomes a full-fledged game. Will it be a handheld port of Super Mario 64 with new multiplayer features? A multiplayer-focused party game with a theme inspired by Super Mario 64? Or maybe even something else entirely? While we can’t be 100% sure, the first guess seems the most likely, as this demo has shown that it would be ridiculously simple for Nintendo to repackage its N64 system-seller with a few extra features to effortlessly create a killer app for its new handheld.
The demo shown at E3 was very simple in premise, yet showed off a number of the features of the DS extremely well. In it, four players control Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and Wario in the castle courtyard from Super Mario 64. From there, the four players must compete to be the one to collect the most stars, which randomly appear throughout the area. In this title, the DS’ top screen displays gameplay while the bottom shows a zoomed-out bird’s-eye view, complete with icons pinpointing the players, stars, and miscellaneous points of interest.
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Players move similarly to the way Mario did back in Super Mario 64, using B to jump, A to attack, R to slide and stomp, and now Y to run, because the DS D-pad isn’t analog, as the N64 control stick was. This is cause for a few problems, with the fast-paced action of the title making it somewhat awkward to hold the run, jump, and attack buttons at the same time to jump into a dive, as you could easily do on the N64. Hopefully this will be tweaked before the title’s release.
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This small complaint aside, the rest of the demo was quite impressive. Graphically, the game’s environments look just as good as the title’s N64 counterpart, and the characters look even better (something hard to see in the screenshots thanks to the DS’ lack of filtering). The sound… well, what could be heard over the roar of E3 sounded identical to the N64 game.
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Even those familiar with the N64 game were greeted with a few surprises. Chain chomps ran rampant across the pathways, sometimes carrying a star behind them. Players could attack each other to steal each others’ stars. Even some of the geometry was changed ever so slightly to make the game more interesting.
The game’s wireless network play was seamless, and required only the slightest pause before a game, more likely intended to make sure everyone was ready than to actually load the game (this is still a cartridge format, after all).
The fact that an N64 title seems to have been easily brought to the DS makes it seem inevitable that many of that system’s classic titles could make the same trip, and with the added functionality. Zelda 64? Smash Bros.? Oh, the possibilities… Thankfully, if this is a trend Nintendo plans on starting, they’re starting it with a title that looks to make significant additions to the original (rather than tossing in the same port of Mario Bros. they’ve been using in the Super Mario Advance series for years).
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Of course, that is assuming Super Mario 64×4 is in fact a small part of a port/remake of the N64 game, which we’ve said we can’t be completely sure of just yet. In the meantime, we’ll obviously keep an eye out for more information on the game, as it becomes available.
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Tags: Super Mario 64 DS
Posted by Jake McNeill on May 29th, 2004 and is filed under GBA Previews, Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
