The Nintendo DS may have been an enormous success in its era, but it didn’t start that way when the system launched in November 2004. The touchscreen handheld's launch was pretty atrocious, especially compared to the generation-defining titles released on PC and console. There were just seven games available when the DS launched (including the packed-in demo for Metroid Prime Hunters) and nearly all of them were average (like Sega’s bizarre mini-game anthology Feel the Magic XY/XX) or outright bad (Madden NFL 2005 and Spider-Man 2).
But one exception to the abysmal lineup was a clear winner for the DS’s earliest adopters. Super Mario 64 DS was a remake of the game that both invented and perfected the 3D platformer. And now this industry-changing Nintendo 64 launch title was now in the palm of our hands, an equally mind-blowing feat. This version would add a handful of fun gimmicks that took advantage of the console's most advanced (at least for 2004) features, some interesting changes to the game’s progression, and even new collectibles.
Unfortunately, what should have been the definitive version of an already classic game was held back by one glaring flaw: the DS’s limited controls.
Super Mario 64 DS is the original game presented how most people remembered eight years after the fact. Graphics were smoothed over. The 2D sprites that made up most of the environmental assets like trees were now rendered in 3D. The look of Mario himself was also revised to make him look more like his GameCube model.
But in a strange twist, you don’t start the game with the titular Italian plumber. Instead, players begin with Yoshi who must find a missing Mario.
Mario wasn’t alone on this adventure this time. Joining him and Yoshi are other cast members hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom: Luigi and Wario. Four playable characters are a significant addition to the game as these aren’t just skin swaps. It’s an entirely new mechanic replacing an old one. In the original game, Mario could swap magic hats that turn him into metal, provide Kitty Pryde-like abilities, and throw fireballs. Here, each new character is given one of these powers, forcing players to swap between them once they’re all unlocked.
It’s ultimately an unnecessary change. It basically complicates the simple act of collecting ability-altering power-ups. However, there was a ton of charm in seeing the four characters star in a proper Mario platformer. Each character also played a little differently from the others. Wario couldn’t jump as high but was more resilient and could bully enemies by picking them up. Luigi, faithful to his appearances in 2D Mario games, jumped higher than his brother. Yoshi’s flutter kick let him hover further than the average jump and could throw eggs after swallowing enemies.
The addition of 30 new stars also gave players a reason to explore the castle further. These stars were simple compared to the more intricate ones players would collect in the original game. But more stuff to play in an already great game was nothing to be upset by.
With all the new tech stuffed into the DS, there were other additions outside of the main single-player mode. Mini-games that utilized the touch screen were a mixed bag. A Where’s Waldo-type game of spotting the odd character out was a decent distraction. Others, like the one that let you pick the petals on a daisy, were unimaginatively dull.
Rounding out the new content was a competitive multiplayer mode. Up to four players play as the game’s four leads who scramble for power stars across different maps. Each character of course could use their abilities to impede others’ progress or outright steal stars from them. Playing this in the schoolyard during recess was a decent enough time, but we were all more impressed that the DS could play with others wirelessly (off a single cartridge no less) than we were with the actual mode itself.
Super Mario 64 DS was as decent a redux as one could hope for in 2004. It prettied up the original and added a few new twists for those who replayed the original ad nauseam. There was just one issue with this handheld port that was a deal breaker for most: the game couldn’t be played with analog controls.
The original Super Mario 64 was beloved not just because it rendered the beloved world of Mario in 3D for the first time. It was lauded because of the fine control it gave players. The N64 introduced the analog stick to console gamers in 1996, and Mario’s 3D adventure was the ultimate showcase for the new dimension it provided to 3D gaming. Mario could walk, run, and even tippy-toe intuitively with the simple push of a joystick. The combination of the analog stick and Super Mario 64 was so revolutionary, that the competition would launch its own updated controller with a showcase platformer of its own the following year.
On the DS, however, there was no analog stick. Mario’s fine control was missing in action. Instead, players were stuck with moving Mario with a D-Pad or the touch screen. The D-Pad option was the best of the three in my opinion. With a dedicated run button and some extra careful maneuvering, the game was playable, if not a little frustrating. Playing with the touch screen gave the player finer control, at the cost of zero tactility. Sliding your finger or stylus across a small screen was not a facsimile for an analog stick, even with the thumb strap that came with the system.
Super Mario 64 DS was a great remake hamstrung by the limitations of its console, as it still lacked good analog controls. The lack of analog controls is one of the few things that the PlayStation Portable (PSP) did better than Nintendo. While it ultimately didn’t hurt the DS in the long run, as it outsold the PSP handily by the end of its run, it's a mistake Nintendo would rectify with the DS successor, and every handheld since.
Unfortunately for Super Mario 64 DS, however, this hardware oversight has made it one of the most forgotten Mario games ever made. I’ve long hoped that Nintendo would acknowledge this version of their classic platformer. Even a straight port with the analog controls added back in would be an awesome way to preserve part of its history. But that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
