Super Mario 64
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is a
platform game A platform game (often simplified as platformer and sometimes called a jump 'n' run game) is a sub-genre of action video games in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are charac ...
developed and published by
Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
for the
Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...
. It was released in Japan and North America in 1996 and
PAL region The PAL region is a television publication territory that covers most of Europe and Africa, alongside parts of Asia, South America and Oceania. It is named PAL because of the PAL (Phase Alternating Line) television standard traditionally used in ...
s in 1997. It is the first ''
Super Mario (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...
'' game to feature 3D gameplay, combining traditional ''Super Mario'' gameplay, visual style, and characters in a large open world. In the game,
Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. Despite the ...
, the primary antagonist of the ''Super Mario'' franchise, invades
Princess Peach is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the princess regnant and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in ...
's castle and hides the castle's sources of protection, Power Stars, in many different worlds inside magical paintings. As
Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
, the player collects Power Stars to unlock enough of Princess Peach's castle to get to Bowser and rescue Princess Peach. Director
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
conceived a 3D ''Super Mario'' game during the production of ''
Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagoni ...
'' (1993). Development lasted nearly three years: about one year on design and twenty months on production, starting with designing the
virtual camera system In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
. The team continued with illustrating the 3D character models—at the time a relatively unattempted task—and refining sprite movements. The sound effects were recorded by Yoji Inagaki and the score was composed by Koji Kondo. ''Super Mario 64'' was highly anticipated by video game journalists and audiences, boosted by advertising campaigns and showings at the 1996 E3 trade show. It received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its ambition, visuals, and gameplay, though some criticized its virtual camera system. It is the best-selling Nintendo 64 game, with nearly twelvemillion copies sold by 2015. Retrospectively, ''Super Mario 64'' has been considered one of the
greatest video games of all time This is a list of video games that multiple reputable video game journalists or magazines have considered to be among the best of all time. The games listed here are included on at least six separate "best/greatest of all time" lists from differ ...
. Numerous developers have cited it as an influence on 3D platform games, with its dynamic camera system and 360-degree
analog control An analog stick (or analogue stick in British English), sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller (often a game controller) that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joys ...
establishing a new archetype for the genre, much as ''
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'' did for side-scrolling platform games. It was remade as '' Super Mario 64 DS'' for the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
in 2004, and has been
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to other Nintendo consoles since. The game has attracted a cult following, spawning many fangames, a large
speedrun Speedrunning is the act of playing a video game, or section of a video game, with the goal of completing it as fast as possible. Speedrunning often involves following planned routes, which may incorporate sequence breaking and can exploit glit ...
ning presence, and enduring rumors surrounding game features.


Gameplay


Controls

''Super Mario 64'' is a 3D platformer in which the player controls
Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...
through various courses. Mario's abilities are far more diverse than in previous games. He can walk, run, jump, crouch, crawl, climb, swim, kick, grab objects, and punch using the
game controller A game controller, gaming controller, or simply controller, is an input device used with video games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game, typically to control an object or character in the game. Before the seventh generatio ...
's
analog stick An analog stick (or analogue stick in British English), sometimes called a control stick or thumbstick, is an input device for a controller (often a game controller) that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joy ...
and buttons. He can execute special jumps by combining a regular jump with other actions, including the double and triple jumps,
long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
,
backflip An acrobatic flip is a sequence of body movements in which a person leaps into the air and then rotates one or more times while airborne. Acrobatic flips are performed in acro dance, free running, gymnastics, cheerleading, high jumping, tricki ...
, and
wall jump This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players. 0–9 A ...
. The player can adjust the camera—operated by a
Lakitu Lakitu ( or ), known in Japan as is a fictional flying Koopa in the ''Mario'' franchise. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, he first appeared in the Nintendo Entertainment System video game ''Super Mario Bros.'', where he dropped enemies called ...
broadcasting Mario—and toggle between first-person and third-person view.


Health, lives, and power-ups

Unlike many of its predecessors, ''Super Mario 64'' uses a health point system, represented by a pie shape consisting of eight segments. If Mario has taken damage, he can replenish his health either by collecting three types of coins—yellow, which replenishes one segment; red, equal to two yellow coins; and blue, equal to five yellow coins—or by walking through a spinning heart. Underwater, Mario's health instead represents how long he can hold his breath, slowly diminishing while underwater and replenishing when he surfaces. As in previous ''Super Mario'' games, he starts with a number of extra lives, lost when his health is depleted or he falls into a bottomless pit. The game ends if Mario loses all his lives. When Mario finishes a course, he gains a life for every fifty yellow coins the player collected, and extra life mushrooms are hidden in various places such as trees and may chase Mario through the air or fall to the ground and disappear shortly if not collected. In absence of the
power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...
s normally found in previous games, such as the Super Mushroom and
Fire Flower (also known as and ) is a platform game series created by Nintendo starring their mascot, Mario. It is the central series of the greater Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise. At least one ''Super Mario'' game has been released for every m ...
, three colors of translucent blocks—red, green, and blue—appear throughout many stages. Three switches of the same colors can be found in secret areas that turn their corresponding blocks solid and allow Mario to obtain three types of special cap power-ups. The Wing Cap allows Mario to fly after doing a triple jump or being shot from a
cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
; the Metal Cap makes him immune to enemies, fire, noxious gases, allows him to withstand wind and water currents, perform on-land moves underwater, and have unlimited air capacity underwater; and the Vanish Cap renders him partially immaterial and invulnerable, and allows him to walk through some obstacles. A shell remains after stomping a
Koopa Troopa Koopa Troopas, known in Japan as , are fictional footsoldiers of the turtle-like Koopa race from the ''Mario'' media franchise. They are commonly referred to generically as Koopas, a race that includes Bowser, King of the Koopas, the Koopaling ...
, which Mario can use to surf on water, lava, and quicksand.


Setting and objective

The hub world takes place in
Princess Peach's Castle The is a fictional principality in Nintendo's ''Mario'' series. It is the setting of most main-series ''Mario'' games with an inconsistent presentation. There is no established canon regarding the topography of the ''Mario'' universe, and man ...
, which consists of three floors, a tower, and a basement, plus a moat and a courtyard outside the castle. The player's main objective is to look for paintings that bring them to courses containing Power Stars, which upon their collection unlock more of the castle hub world. Each of the fifteen courses has seven Power Stars, and an additional fifteen are hidden as secrets and as bonuses, for a total of 120 Power Stars in the game. The courses are filled with enemies as well as friendly creatures that provide assistance or ask favors, such as
Bob-omb The ''Mario'' franchise is a video game series by Nintendo. While Nintendo is usually the developer and publisher of games in the franchise, various series are developed by third-party companies, such as Hudson Soft and Intelligent Systems. ...
Buddies, who will allow Mario to access cannons on request. Some Power Stars only appear after completing certain tasks, often hinted at by the name of the course. These challenges include collecting one hundred yellow coins or eight red coins on a stage, defeating a
boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
, racing an opponent, and solving puzzles. The final level of the game is blocked by "endless stairs", but Mario can bypass them by collecting seventy Power Stars. There are many hidden mini-courses and other secrets within the castle, which may contain extra Power Stars required for the full completion of the game. If the player returns to the game after collecting all 120 Power Stars,
Yoshi Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the ''Yoshi' ...
can be found on the roof of Princess Peach's Castle, who will give the player a message from the developers, accompanied by one hundred extra lives and an improved triple jump.


Plot

The game begins with a letter from
Princess Peach is a fictional character in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original ''Super Mario Bros.'' installment. She is the princess regnant and ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in ...
inviting Mario to come to her castle for a cake she has baked for him. When he arrives, Mario discovers that
Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa race. Despite the ...
has invaded the castle and imprisoned the princess and her servants within it using the power of the castle's 120 Power Stars. The Power Stars are hidden in the castle's paintings, which serve as portals to other worlds where Bowser's minions keep watch over the Stars. Mario explores the castle and enters these worlds, gaining access to more rooms as he recovers more Stars. Mario unlocks two doors to different floors of the castle with keys obtained by defeating Bowser in hidden worlds. He gets at least 70 of the 120 Stars, breaking the curse of the endless stairs that block the entrance to Bowser's final hiding place. After Mario defeats Bowser in the final battle, he obtains a special Power Star which gives him the Wing Cap, and he flies back to the castle. Peach is released from the
stained-glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
above the castle's entrance, and she rewards Mario by kissing him on the nose and baking the cake that she had promised him.


Development

In the early 1990s, ''Super Mario'' creator
Shigeru Miyamoto is a Japanese video game designer, producer and game director at Nintendo, where he serves as one of its representative directors. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential designers in the history of video games, he is ...
conceived a 3D ''Mario'' design while developing the game ''
Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagoni ...
'' (1993) for the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Eur ...
. ''Star Fox'' used the
Super FX The Super FX is a coprocessor on the Graphics Support Unit (GSU) added to select Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) video game cartridges, primarily to facilitate advanced 2D and 3D graphics. The Super FX chip was designed by Argonaut G ...
graphics chip, which added more processing power; Miyamoto considered using the chip to develop a Super NES game, ''Super Mario FX'', with gameplay based on "an entire world in miniature, like miniature trains". According to engineer Dylan Cuthbert, who worked on ''Star Fox'', ''Super Mario FX'' was never the title of a game but the codename of the Super FX chip. Miyamoto reformulated the idea for the Nintendo 64, not for its greater power, but because its controller has more buttons for gameplay. At the January1993
Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...
(CES), where ''Star Fox'' made its debut, Nintendo's booth demonstrated a talking 3D polygon animation of Mario's head; it returned in the start screen, programmed by Giles Goddard. Production of ''Super Mario 64'' began on September 7, 1994 at Nintendo’s Entertainment Analysis and Development division, and concluded on May 20, 1996. According to Miyamoto, most of the time fifteen to twenty people worked on the game. Development began with the characters and
camera system In 3D video games, a virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in video games where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; m ...
; months were spent selecting a view and layout. The original concept involved the fixed path of an isometric game such as ''
Super Mario RPG ''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars'' is a role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996. It was the final ''Mario'' game published for the SNES. The game was ...
'', which moved to a free-roaming 3D design, with some linear paths, particularly to coerce the player into Bowser's lair, according to Giles Goddard. ''Super Mario 64'' is one of the first games for which Nintendo produced its illustrations internally instead of by
outsourcing Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...
. The graphics were made using
N-World N-World is a 3D graphics package developed by Nichimen Graphics in the 1990s, for Silicon Graphics and Windows NT workstations. Intended primarily for video game content creation, it has polygon modeling tools, 2D and 3D paint, scripting, color re ...
, a
Silicon Graphics Silicon Graphics, Inc. (stylized as SiliconGraphics before 1999, later rebranded SGI, historically known as Silicon Graphics Computer Systems or SGCS) was an American high-performance computing manufacturer, producing computer hardware and sof ...
(SGI)-based toolkit. The development team prioritized Mario's movement and, before levels were created, tested and refined Mario's animations on a simple grid. The 3D illustrations were created by
Shigefumi Hino Shigefumi Hino (日野 重文 ''Hino Shigefumi'', born 1963) is a Japanese graphics designer, game director and planner from Nintendo. He is the creator of Yoshi from the ''Yoshi'' franchise. Hino later served as the director of the ''Pikmin'' ...
,
Hisashi Nogami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer working for Nintendo. Nogami is well-known for working in the '' Animal Crossing'' and '' Splatoon'' series. Biography Nogami was born in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture in 1971. He graduat ...
, Hideki Fujii, Tomoaki Kuroume, and
Yusuke Nakano ''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure, action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installmen ...
, and the game was animated by co-director
Yoshiaki Koizumi is a Japanese video game designer, director, and producer, and business executive. He is a senior executive officer at Nintendo, where he is known for his work within their ''Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series. Since 2013, Koizumi is a ...
and Satoru Takiwaza.
Yōichi Kotabe is a Japanese animator and character designer. He has worked on several anime films from the 1960s and 1970s, on the ''Super Mario'' video game series, and the ''Pokémon'' series in television and film. He was an employee at Nintendo for two dec ...
, illustrator and character designer for the ''Mario'' series, made a 3D drawing of Mario from various angles and directed the creation of the character models. In an interview with ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', Yoshiaki Koizumi recalled that his challenge was animating the 3D models without any precedents. To assist players with
depth perception Depth perception is the ability to perceive distance to objects in the world using the visual system and visual perception. It is a major factor in perceiving the world in three dimensions. Depth perception happens primarily due to stereopsis an ...
, the team positioned a faux shadow directly beneath each object regardless of the area's lighting. Yoshiaki Koizumi described the feature as an "iron-clad necessity" which "might not be realistic, but it's much easier to play". Miyamoto's guiding design philosophy was to include more details than earlier games by using the Nintendo 64's power to feature "all the emotions of the characters". He likened the game's style to a 3D interactive cartoon. Some details were inspired by the developers' personal lives; for example, the Boos are based on assistant director
Takashi Tezuka is a Japanese video game designer, director, and video game producer, producer. He is a senior officer of Nintendo EPD and executive at Nintendo. Career Upon graduating the Design Department of Osaka University of Arts, he joined Nintendo in A ...
's wife, who, as Miyamoto explained, "is very quiet normally, but one day she exploded, maddened by all the time Tezuka spent at work". ''Super Mario 64'' was first run on an SGI Onyx emulator, which only emulated the console's
application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how t ...
and not its hardware. The first test scenario for controls and physics involved Mario interacting with a golden rabbit, named "MIPS" after the Nintendo 64's
MIPS architecture MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipelined Stages) is a family of reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architectures (ISA)Price, Charles (September 1995). ''MIPS IV Instruction Set'' (Revision 3.2), MIPS Technologies, ...
processors; the rabbit was included in the final game as a Power Star holder. ''Super Mario 64'' features more puzzles than earlier ''Mario'' games. It was developed simultaneously with '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' but, as ''Ocarina of Time'' was released more than two years later, some puzzles were taken for ''Super Mario 64''. The developers tried to include a
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
cooperative mode, whereby players would control Mario and his brother
Luigi is a fictional character featured in video games and related media released by Nintendo. Created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, Luigi is portrayed as the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario, Nintendo's masc ...
in
split-screen Split screen may refer to: * Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts * Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen * Split Screen (TV series), ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001 * Split-Scree ...
, but could not make it work satisfactorily. The music was composed by veteran composer Koji Kondo, who created new interpretations of the familiar melodies from earlier media as well as new material. Yoji Inagaki was responsible for the sound design, tasked with producing hundreds of sound effects. He and Kondo felt that music and sound effects were equally important. According to Inagaki, the average Nintendo 64 game had about 500 sound effects, and made comparisons to ''Ocarina of Time'', with 1,200, and '' The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask'', with 2,000. ''Super Mario 64'' is one of the first games to feature
Charles Martinet Charles Martinet (, ; born September 17, 1955) is an American actor and voice actor, known for his portrayal of both Mario and Luigi in the ''Super Mario'' video game series since 1992. He is also the voice of other characters in the series suc ...
as the voice of Mario, and Leslie Swan—then senior editor of ''
Nintendo Power ''Nintendo Power'' was a video game news and strategy magazine from Nintendo of America, first published in July/August 1988 as Nintendo's official print magazine for North America. The magazine's publication was initially done monthly by Ninten ...
'' and English
localizer An instrument landing system localizer, or simply localizer (LOC), is a system of horizontal guidance in the instrument landing system, which is used to guide aircraft along the axis of the runway. Principle of operation In aviation, a localiz ...
for ''Super Mario 64''—as the voice of Princess Peach.


Release

''Super Mario 64'' was first shown as a playable prototype in November1995 at Nintendo Space World. This version was only fifty percent complete, and only about two percent of
texture mapping Texture mapping is a method for mapping a texture on a computer-generated graphic. Texture here can be high frequency detail, surface texture, or color. History The original technique was pioneered by Edwin Catmull in 1974. Texture mapping ...
was finished. It featured thirty-two courses. Miyamoto had hoped to create more, possibly up to forty, but was ultimately reduced to fifteen. According to Nintendo of America chairman
Howard Lincoln Howard Charles Lincoln (born February 14, 1940) is an American lawyer and businessman, known primarily for being the former Chairman of Nintendo of America and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Mariners baseball tea ...
, Miyamoto's desire to add more was a major factor in the decision to delay the Nintendo 64 release from Christmas1995 to April1996. Nintendo president
Hiroshi Yamauchi was a Japanese businessman and the third president of Nintendo, joining the company in 1949 until stepping down on 24 May 2002, being subsequently succeeded by Satoru Iwata. During his 53-year tenure, Yamauchi transformed Nintendo from a hanafu ...
later said: "Game creators can finish games quickly if they compromise. But users have sharp eyes. They soon know if the games are compromised. iyamotoasked for two more months and I gave them to him unconditionally". The game was later shown at E31996 with multiple Nintendo 64s set up for people to play. According to Giles Goddard, the stress of the project caused some programmers to quit or move to different departments.


Advertising and sales

Peter Main, Nintendo's vice president of marketing at the time, stated ''Super Mario 64'' was meant as the
killer app In marketing terminology, a killer application (commonly shortened to killer app) is any computer program or software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as computer hardware, a video game ...
for the Nintendo 64. The million marketing campaign included videotapes sent to more than five hundred thousand ''Nintendo Power'' subscribers and advertisements shown on
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
,
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
, and
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
. ''Super Mario 64'' was released in Japan in June1996, North America in September, and in Europe and Australia in March1997. During its first three months of sale in North America, it sold more than twomillion copies and grossed $140million in the United States, becoming its best-selling video game of 1996. It was also its best-selling game from 1995 to 2002. During the first three months of 1997, it was the second-best-selling
console game A console game is a type of video game consisting of images and often sounds generated by a video game console, which are displayed on a television or similar audio-video system, and that can be manipulated by a player. This manipulation usually ...
at 523,000 units. By early 2001, it had sold 5.5million units, and 5.9million by September2002. At the 1999 Milia festival in
Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, ''Super Mario 64'' won a Gold ECCSELL prize for earning revenues above million in the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
in 1998. It had become the second most popular game on
Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
's
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
by June2007, behind ''
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'' By March2008, ''Super Mario 64'' sold 11.8million copies worldwide, being the bestselling Nintendo 64 game. By 2015, ''Super Mario 64'' was the 12th most sold ''Mario'' game, with 11.91million copies sold.


Re-releases


''Super Mario 64 DS''

An enhanced remake, ''Super Mario 64 DS'', was released for the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
in 2004. As with the original, the plot centers on collecting Power Stars and rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser. In contrast with the original, Yoshi is the starting character, with Mario, Luigi, and
Wario is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' series, designed as an Arch rival, arch-rival to Mario. He first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy game ''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' as the main antagonist and final Bos ...
as unlockable characters. It features improved graphics, slightly altered courses, new areas, powerups, and enemies, more Power Stars to collect,
touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...
mini-games, and a multiplayer mode. Reviews were mostly positive, with critics praising the graphics and add-ons to the original game but criticizing the controls and multiplayer mode. By September2021, 11.06million copies had been sold worldwide.


Other re-releases

A version of ''Super Mario 64'' was used as a
tech demo A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or an otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of s ...
for the
64DD The is a magnetic floppy disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was released in Japan on December 13, 1999. The ...
floppy drive at the 1996 Nintendo Space World trade show. Like ''
Wave Race 64 is a 1996 racing video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. Gameplay involves the player racing on a personal watercraft on a variety of courses while successfully manoeuvring the vehicle around various buoys. A multip ...
'', ''Super Mario 64'' was re-released in Japan on as which fixed various bugs, added support for the
Rumble Pak The is a removable device from Nintendo which provides force feedback while playing video games. Games that support the Rumble Pak cause it to vibrate in select situations, such as when firing a weapon or receiving damage, to immerse the player ...
peripheral, included the voice acting from the English version, among other changes. In November2003, it was
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to China's
iQue Player The iQue Player (, stylised as iQue ''PLAYER'') is a handheld TV game version of the Nintendo 64 console that was manufactured by iQue, a joint venture between Nintendo and Taiwanese-American scientist Wei Yen after China had banned the sale ...
as a limited-release demo. In late 2006, it was released on the Wii Virtual Console service which added enhanced resolution and compatibility with the
GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
and Super Famicom Classic controllers. In September2020, ''Super Mario 64'' was one of the three ''Super Mario'' games to be included in the ''
Super Mario 3D All-Stars ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars'' is a 2020 product bundling, compilation of platform games for the Nintendo Switch. It commemorates the Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary, 35th anniversary of Nintendo's ''Super Mario'' franchise, with High-definitio ...
'' collection on
Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
. It made another Nintendo Switch appearance in October2021 as part of the Nintendo 64 lineup for the
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+ Expansion Pack.


Reception


Critical reviews

''Super Mario 64'' received enthusiastic pre-release reception. ''
GamePro Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'' commented on the 1995 prototype's smoothness, and how the action "was a blast", despite the game being only fifty percent complete at the time. Ed Semrad of ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The m ...
'' agreed, praising the new 3D animation of ''Mario'' characters shown in only 2D before. Larry Marcus, a source analyst for Alex. Brown & Sons, recalls ''Super Mario 64'' being the most anticipated game of E31996, remembering a field of teenagers "jostling for a test run". ''Super Mario 64'' received critical acclaim, with a score of 94 out of 100 from
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based on thirteen reviews, and a score of 96% from review aggregator
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based on twenty-two reviews. The design, variety of controls and use of 3D gameplay received praise from video game publications. ''Maximum'' found its strongest points were the sense of freedom and its replayability, comparing it to ''
Super Mario World ''Super Mario World,'' known in Japan as is a platform game, platform video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was released in Japan in 1990, North America in 1991 and Europe and A ...
'' and citing its similar gimmick of allowing access to new areas upon finding switches. One of ''
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'' four reviewers, E. Storm, cited the water levels as "overjoy ng and showed how ''Super Mario 64'' delved into an "entirely new realm of gaming". ''
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'' called it "beautiful in both looks and design". Doug Perry of ''
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'' agreed that it transitioned the series to 3D perfectly. ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' discussed the levels in their initial review, praising them for their size and challenge, and later ranked it the fourth best console game of all time, arguing that it had breached the entire genre of 3D gaming while working virtually flawlessly. ''
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'' editor Paul Davies praised the 3D environment, and said that it enhanced the interaction, and described the control scheme as intuitive and versatile. ''
Total! ''Total!'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future plc. It was published monthly for 58 issues, beginning in December 1991 (cover-dated January 1992), with the last issue bearing the cover-date October 1996. A "1993 A ...
'' hailed the gameplay as being so imaginative and having such variety that their reviewers were still "hooked" after one month. Writing for ''
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'', Jonti Davies commented on the diversity of the gameplay and the abundance of activities found in each course. ''
Nintendo Life Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British mass media company based in Brighton. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other ...
'' Corbie Dillard agreed, calling the variety the game's "greatest genius". Writing for ''GameRevolution'', Nebojsa Radakovic described ''Super Mario 64'' as one of the few "true" 3D platform games. ''
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'' likened it to an enormous playground which was a pleasure to experiment in, but opined that the exploration element was slightly brought down by how many hints and tips there were. Victor Lucas of ''
EP Daily ''EP Daily'' (formerly ''The Electric Playground'') is a daily news television show that covers video games, movies, TV shows, comic books, collectibles and gadgets. Created and executive produced by host Victor Lucas, and his Vancouver, British ...
'' agreed, praising the freedom, but suggesting players "skip all the sign posts". ''Super Mario 64'' also received praise for its graphics. ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' praised the graphics for being "clean yet simple" and not detracting from the details of the game world. ''GamePro'' particularly praised the combination of unprecedented technical performance and art design, calling it "the most visually impressive game of all time". Paul Davies described the graphics as "so amazing to see, you find yourself stopping to admire
hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the g ...
. Jonti Davies called the visuals phenomenal, and the frame rate respectable.'''' Doug Perry found the graphics simple but magnificent, a sentiment shared by ''Next Generation''. ''Hyper (magazine), Hyper'' reviewer Nino Alegeropoulos called it the best-looking console game to date and opined that its high resolution and frame rate for the time made it look "infinitely better than a cartoon". ''Total!'' said that the graphics' lack of pixellation and jagged edges made it look like they were from a "top of the range graphics workstation". The camera system received mixed reviews. Next Generation (magazine), ''Next Generation'' found that ''Super Mario 64'' was less accessible than previous ''Mario'' games, frustrated by the camera's occasional erratic movements and lack of optimal angle. Nebojsa Radakovic and Doug Perry added that the camera was sometimes blocked by or went through objects. ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' Dan Hsu, Shawn Smith, and Crispin Boyer all removed half a point from their scores, claiming that the camera sometimes could not move to a wanted angle or rapidly shifted in an undesirable manner, a criticism that returned in ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' ''100 Best Games of All Time'' list. ''Game Informer'' stated in their 2007 re-review by present-day standards the camera "would almost be considered broken". ''Nintendo Power'' also noted the learning curve of the shifting camera. In contrast, Corbie Dillard claimed that the camera did not have any problems, and that it succeeded at helping the player traverse complex environments. This sentiment was shared by ''Total!'', claiming that there were very few occasions where the camera was at a suboptimal angle. Paul Davies acknowledged that he was critical of the camera, saying that in some occasions it was difficult to position ideally, but ultimately dismissed it as "one hiccup" of a "revolutionary" game.


Awards

''Super Mario 64'' won numerous awards, including various "Game of the Year" honors by members of the gaming media, and in Nintendo's own bestselling Player's Choice selection. It has been placed high on "List of video games considered the best, the greatest games of all time" lists by many reviewers, including ''IGN'', ''Game Informer'', ''Edge (magazine), Edge'', ''Official Nintendo Magazine,'' ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', and ''Nintendo Power''. ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' awarded it a Gold award in its initial review, and it won ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' Game of the Year for both editors' pick and readers' pick, and Nintendo 64 Game of the Year, Adventure Game of the Year, and Best Graphics. At the 1997 Computer Game Developers Conference, it was given Spotlight Awards for Best Use of Innovative Technology, Best Console Game, and Best Game of 1996. ''Maximum'' gave it a "Maximum Game of the Month Award" before its international release, ranking it the greatest game the magazine had ever reviewed. ''Digitiser'' ranked it the best 1997 in video games, game of 1997, above ''Final Fantasy VII'' as runner-up.


Legacy

''Super Mario 64'' was key to the early success of and anticipation for the Nintendo 64. Lee Hutchinson, a former GameStop, Babbage's employee, notes how the game was spurred by a feverish video game press, and how the success of the game defied the rule that a wide variety of launch games was necessary for broad appeal. Eventually, the Nintendo 64 lost much of its market share to Sony's PlayStation (console), PlayStation, partly due to its Nintendo 64 Game Pak, cartridge and controller design decisions, which were reportedly implemented by Miyamoto for ''Super Mario 64''. In 2012, ''Super Mario 64'' was among the 80 entries in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's The Art of Video Games exhibit.


Influence

''Super Mario 64'' set many precedents for 3D platformers as one of the most influential video games. The game is known for its Nonlinear gameplay, nonlinear, open freedom, which has been acclaimed by video game developers and journalists. ''1Up.com'' wrote about its central hub world, which provides a safe tutorial and a level selector, and is now a staple of the 3D platformer genre. As the genre evolved, many of the series's conventions were rethought drastically, placing emphasis on exploration over traditional platform jumping, or "hop and bop" action. Though some disputed its quality, others argued that it established an entirely new genre for the series. Its mission-based level design inspired game designers such as ''GoldenEye 007 (1997 video game), GoldenEye 007'' (1997) producer and director Martin Hollis (video game designer), Martin Hollis and the development team of ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (video game), Tony Hawk's Pro Skater''. Dan Houser, a prominent figure in the development of the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, stated, "Anyone who makes 3D games who says they've not borrowed something from ''Mario'' or ''Zelda'' [of the Nintendo 64] is lying". Square Enix has stated that a coincidental meeting with Disney employees resulted in the creation of the ''Kingdom Hearts'' series, inspired by ''Super Mario 64'' use of 3D environments and exploration. Chris Sutherland, who served as the lead designer for Banjo-Kazooie (video game), ''Banjo-Kazooie'', agreed that ''Super Mario 64'' set the benchmark for 3D platformers and claimed that any other game in the genre on the Nintendo 64 would inevitably be compared with ''Super Mario 64''. ''Super Mario 64'' introduced a free-floating camera that can be controlled independently of the character. To increase freedom of exploration and fluid control in a 3D world, ''Super Mario 64'' designers created a dynamic virtual professional video camera, video camera that turns and accelerates according to the character's actions. This camera system became the standard for 3D platformers. ''Nintendo Power'' praised the game's camera movements along with ''The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' addition of the Strafing (video games)#Circle strafing, lock-on camera and concluded that the two games were trailblazers for the 3D era. ''PC Magazine'' K. Thor Jensen considers ''Super Mario 64'' to be the first truly realized 3D platformer with the integration of camera control into its core gameplay, which he called the medium's true evolutionary leap. ''Super Mario 64'' use of the analog stick was novel, offering more precise and wide-ranging character movements than the digital D-pads of other consoles. At the time, 3D games generally only allowed the player to either control the character in relation to a fixed camera angle or in relation to the character's perspective. ''Super Mario 64'' controls, in contrast, are fully analog and interpret a 360-degree range of motion into navigation through a 3D space relative to the camera. The analog stick allows for precise control over subtleties such as running speed. In 2005, ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' ranked ''Super Mario 64'' the most important game since they began publication in 1989, stating that, while there were 3D games before it, "Nintendo's was the first to get the control scheme right". In July2021, a pristine, sealed copy of ''Super Mario 64'' was auctioned for , the largest amount ever paid for a video game. Heritage Auctions's video games specialist said, "It seems impossible to overstate the importance of this title, not only to the history of Mario and Nintendo but to video games as a whole".


Successors

A sequel was planned for the 64DD add-on, under the codename ''Super Mario 128''. In July1996, Nintendo insiders stated that Miyamoto was assembling a team consisting mostly of developers who had worked on ''Super Mario 64''. Miyamoto affirmed that work on the sequel had only commenced at the time of the E31997 convention. The project was canceled due to its lack of progress and the commercial failure of the 64DD. ''Super Mario 64'' successors include ''Super Mario Sunshine'' for the GameCube and ''Super Mario Galaxy'' for the Wii, building on its core design of power-ups and its 3D, open-ended gameplay. ''Super Mario Galaxy 2'' includes a remake of ''Super Mario 64'' Whomp's Fortress level called Throwback Galaxy. ''Super Mario 3D Land'' and ''Super Mario 3D World'' are departures from the open-ended design, instead focused on platforming reminiscent of 2D games. The Nintendo Switch game ''Super Mario Odyssey'' returns to ''Super Mario 64'' open design; it includes numerous references to the latter. The ''Mario 64'' Suit' and Mario 64'' Cap', which change Mario's appearance to his in ''Super Mario 64'', can be purchased after completing the main storyline. Additionally, Mario can travel to the Mushroom Kingdom, which includes Princess Peach's Castle and its courtyard. The Kingdom's Power Moons resemble ''Super Mario 64'' Power Stars.


Rumors, conspiracy theories, and glitches

Rumors spread rapidly after the game's release. The most popular was a pervasive rumor that Luigi existed as an secret character (video games), unlockable character. In 1996, ''IGN'' offered a prize of $100 if a player could find Luigi, to no avail. Fueling the rumor was a very blurry message on a statue in the courtyard of Princess Peach's Castle, thought to say "L is real 2401". This was disproved in 1998, when a fan received a letter from Nintendo that the programmers included the text as a joke and it was not supposed to say anything. In July2020, 24 years and 1 month after the initial release of ''Super Mario 64'', unused assets for Luigi from the scrapped multiplayer mode were discovered in the game's development files, in an event known as the Nintendo data leak, Nintendo Gigaleak. Satirical conspiracy theories about the game became popular in 2020, and were grouped into the "''Super Mario 64'' iceberg", an Internet meme of an iceberg, with the less likely theories representing places closer to the bottom of the "ocean". One popular rumor involves a "
Wario is a fictional character in Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' series, designed as an Arch rival, arch-rival to Mario. He first appeared in the 1992 Game Boy game ''Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins'' as the main antagonist and final Bos ...
Apparition", based on an E31996 presentation with Charles Martinet voicing a disembodied Wario head. Some fans believed that the Wario head remained in some copies of the game. Conspiracy theorists also spread the rumor that "every copy of ''Super Mario 64'' is personalized", claiming that certain bizarre phenomena existed in only certain copies of the game. In the years since the game's release, players have used glitches to reach previously unreachable parts of the game, including, in 2014, a coin not meant to be collected. Speedrun techniques include the Lakitu skip, a glitch that disables the long dialogue by Lakitu about camera tutorials; the Bob-omb clip, performed by Mario strategically picking up a Bob-omb to clip through walls; and the backwards long jump glitch, which involves the player performing a repetitive move, the "backwards long jump", for Mario to ascend the endless stairs to the final level ahead of schedule; the latter was patched in the 1997 ''Shindō'' re-release. The ''Super Mario 3D All-Stars'' re-release also patched this as it was based off of the ''Shindō'' version. In 2013, YouTuber Vinesauce posted a compilation of various corruptions of the game, replicated with a program named ''naughty''. Another YouTuber, Pannenkoek2012, creates highly technical and analytical videos of ''Super Mario 64'' glitches and mechanics, which have been covered many times by the video game press.


Fan projects

''Super Mario 64'' has led to the creation of Fangame, fan-made remakes, Video game modding, modifications and ROM hacking, ROM hacks: * ''Super Mario 64: Chaos Edition'', a PC-emulated version of the original that loads codes which cause bizarre behavior. The game received coverage after streaming ensemble Vinesauce posted a playthrough of the game. * ''Super Mario Run 64'', converting the game into a 2.5D running game (video game), running game in the spirit of ''Super Mario Run''. * ''Super Mario 64 Online'', enabling online multiplayer. It was taken down after a copyright strike by Nintendo. It was later reuploaded and renamed to ''Net64''. * ''Super Mario 64 Maker'', a ''Super Mario Maker''-like level editor. * ''Super Mario 64 Odyssey'', featuring levels based on ''Super Mario Odyssey'' and adding its mechanic of possessing enemies by throwing Mario's hat. * ''Super Mario 64: Last Impact'', an original game that incorporates elements from other ''Mario'' games, such as the Fire Flower from ''
Super Mario Bros. is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The successor to the 1983 arcade game '' Mario Bros.'' and the first game in the ''Super Mario'' series, it was first released in 1985 for ...
'', the F.L.U.D.D. cannon from ''Super Mario Sunshine'', and the Bee Mushroom from ''Super Mario Galaxy''. * ''Super Mario 64: Ocarina of Time'', in which '' The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time'' world is recreated in ''Super Mario 64'' engine, with new gameplay elements, puzzles, and a story. * ''Open World Mario 64'', a battle royale game, battle royale–style mod set on a huge map made up of all ''Super Mario 64'' levels, in the style of ''Fortnite Battle Royale'' and ''PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds''. * ''First Person Mario 64'', a modification fixes the camera configuration on first-person, often making the game much more challenging due to how the game demands acrobatic movements, and how the game does not render objects when they're too close to the camera. * ''Super Mario 64 FPS'', a first-person shooter remake of the original, speedrunned by YouTubers Falsepog and Alpharad. * ''Super Mario 64 HD'', a High-definition video, high-definition video game remake, remake of the first level of ''Super Mario 64'', Bob-Omb Battlefield, using the Unity (game engine), Unity game engine. The project was taken down following a Copyright infringement, copyright claim by Nintendo. * In 2019, fans decompiler, decompiled the original ROM image into C (programming language), C source code, allowing ''Super Mario 64'' to be natively
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...
to any system. ** In 2020, fans released a Windows port with support for widescreen displays and 4K resolution, 4K resolution. Nintendo enlisted a law firm to remove videos of the port and its listings from websites. Fans created ports for several more platforms, including the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Vita, Dreamcast, and Android (operating system), Android. ** ''Super Mario 64 Plus'', a Fork (software development), fork of the Windows port featuring a new permadeath, permanent death option, bug fixes, and an improved camera system.


Medical literature

In 2013, a study was conducted to see the Neuroplasticity, plasticity effects on the human brain after playing ''Super Mario 64''—chosen for its navigation element and the ability to play in a three-dimensional environment—for at least thirty minutes every day for two months. The study concluded that doing the previously mentioned activity caused the gray matter (a major part of the central nervous system) to increase in the right hippocampal formation and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—brain areas thought to contribute to spatial navigation, working memory, and motor planning.


Notes


Notes on inflation


References


Footnotes


Sources

* * *


External links


''Super Mario 64'' Profile (1996) – Nintendo (archive)


* {{Authority control 1996 video games 3D platform games Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year winners Golden Joystick Award winners IQue games Nintendo 64 games Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development games Nintendo Switch Online Nintendo 64 games Open-world video games Single-player video games Super Mario, 64 Video games developed in Japan Video games directed by Shigeru Miyamoto Video games directed by Takashi Tezuka Video games scored by Koji Kondo Video games set in castles Virtual Console games for Wii Virtual Console games for Wii U