Epicly Ball Grabbing
Every once in a great while a game comes along which captivates its players to no end, and when the end is over, continues to hold them. Seldom is this game an old quasi remake/port. However, Mario 64 DS is such a game. If you asked me around this time a little over ten years ago if I would ever be captivated my Mario 64 again, as I had finally finished collecting all 120 stars in January of 1997, my answer would probably have been a very strict “no.” Yet here we are ten years later with that same game re-released on Nintendo's DS, and I have fallen in love with it all over again. Upon completing the game I felt a void open within my being, which I know will never be able to be filled. Mario 64 DS dose that to you. It's an experience that isn't new and isn't old, but has a fresh spin on what you have most likely played before. It will grab you by the balls and never relinquish them, not even when it's over, with Bowser beaten and our heroes eating their cake, justly deserved. It will not let go, leaving an irreparable gaping chasm in the soul, which will never be filled, because in beating it, you know you have lost something special. Mario 64 DS is such a game, truly epic.
The Story line for the game is pretty much the same as the original we all experience back in the fall of 1996 with Princess Peach calling Mario to the castle because she has baked a cake for him. However, there are some twists this time around. For starters Mario doesn't come alone. He brings his brother Luigi and evil twin Wario, which doesn't make any sense from a continuity stand point, along for the party. However, they vanish as soon as they enter the castle. Yoshi, who has been sleeping on the castle roof during all of this, is awoken by the Lakatu brothers, who everyone should recognize as the camera men from the first game, and who maintain that role in this one as well. The Lakatu task Yoshi with going into Peach’s castle in search for our missing hero's, and the adventure begins. Shortly after entering, you learn that Bowser has taken over the castle, stolen its power stars, and imprisoned everyone in the walls, including Mario, Luigi, and Wario. The result of this is you have to, "unlock" Mario, Luigi, and Wario to play as them. This sounds okay at first, but Nintendo could have done a little better job with this since they are literally locked behind a door in the princess’ quarters. Once unlocked, it's quickly apparent that each of the four playable characters in the game has entirely different properties and abilities. Wario is fat and slow, but a powerhouse. Luigi is thin and nimble, coming complete with the flutter jump from Mario 2. Mario is the best all around character and plays pretty much identically to how he was in the original N64 release. Yoshi has been bootlegged from Yoshi’s Story, and can eat enemies turning them into eggs. These eggs can then be hucked at other less delicious enemies for a ranged attack. Yoshi also has his classic grunting flutter jump, and can spit out whatever you place in his mouth much like you could in Yoshi’s Island. He can also spit fire if the devoured foe has that property, which will probably make him your character of choice for some 90% of the game, because he has everything and is grossly imbalanced. While this addition to the game may seem like a bad thing, it gives the game a much needed fresh feel and is much of the reason for why Mario 64 DS is so engrossing. This also eliminates the different power cap's from the original release and brings back the much missed "power flower", temporarily activating your characters special ability when touched. Mario for instance gets the power balloon ability from Super Mario World, allowing him to float around.
The music in the game, as well as the sound effects, are as good ever with the return of some classic Mario beats such as a remix to the original underground music heard in stage 1-2 of Mario Bros. 1 on the NES. Other tunes in the game have been touched up and a few new songs have been added thanks to the inclusion of a couple new levels, which are nice but mostly feel tacked on. Voices for the characters, as well a their sprites, have all been ripped directly from their latest Game Cube titles, minus Yoshi who was taken from Yoshi's Story on the N64 since as of the Nintendo DS’ release it was his most recent title.
Not surprisingly, the graphics have been touched up as well. Upon comparison with the original N64 version, the graphical touch up Mario 64 DS received is almost shocking, as the original Mario 64 looks bland and disgustingly simple, with no visual depth to it what so ever, when seen beside its new DS counterpart.
Unfortunately, other parts of the game have either not stood the test of time, or not ported so well. The camera is most notable here. Its position ranges from god awful to down right frustrating at times. You don't have 360 degrees of control over it, but some where around 270. The reason for this is the camera will always go behind your character when you click on it, other wise it just stays, or will stop if there is an object or wall in the way. My best guess for why Nintendo did this is because they were trying to cut down on the ungodly amount of clipping errors that were a major complaint, as well as a major problem at times, in the original game. However, the camera will still occasionally go into the wall and clip, which to me doesn't make sense when they were trying to get rid of that problem, and as a player, I would rather have a camera that clips and will give me the view I need as opposed being forced to constantly make blind leaps of faith because I can’t what I’m doing, which result in hindered progress and/or death more times than not.
Another problem with the game is the controls. By default, the game is setup so you can use both the touch screen and the 2D D-pad with the A, B, X, and Y buttons. However, play control with the D pad is so poor that it’s practically unplayable. Those that attempt to use the stylus will be sorely disappointed. I don't think there have been words invented yet to describe how bad the game handles if you attempt to use it. The Thumb Pad, which comes on the strap of the DS, is the way to over come most of this dilemma since it is like using the old control stick on the N64. However, the thumb strap needs to constantly be readjusted, or tightened. Even this method of control is only descent at best since your movement is limited by the size of the touch screen. Also if you use the tip of your thumb using control sticks for precision, such as I do, you will find that it’s rather difficult to keep the pad in position and will most likely have to settle for dumbed down control by using the ball of your thumb. Also, the handling is much looser in Mario 64 DS as it was in the original, and as a result you will probably find yourself making a lot more silly mistakes, such as falling off cliffs and ledges, more often than not.
If you need something to occupy yourself with on a flight to Tokyo and back, this is the thing. Even after your return there’s a good chance you won't have this baby beat, because it’s a solid 20-40 hour game at least, which makes it one of the longer DS titles out there. Also, for all the completion freaks, more stars have been added for you to get. You will find that many of them are very difficulty to acquire while others are laughably easy. Mario 64 DS took up about two weeks of on and off game time for me to get the 80 stars required to unlock the final boss and then beat him. The Boss levels and battles are without a doubt one of the games most challenging areas, especially the final level and battle, which I can describe in no other way than as totally nightmarish, and I attribute my victory to nothing more than luck.
Despite the control issues, everything is there and you will find the overall experience is extremely long lasting and satisfying. Mario 64 DS is a challenging game, as well as a very fun and rewarding game to play. I sincerely enjoyed my time spent with it, and urge everyone else out there with a DS, to go out and buy it if you haven't already done so. This is a keeper that will stay with you for a long time to come, and is unquestionably one of the best DS titles available.
