As previously mentioned earlier today, the Nintendo DS version of Super Mario 64 is not a simple port. The game features many enhancements that alter the strategies required to earn the stars in the adventure. Players actually begin the game as Yoshi, who as you know was high atop the castle in the original Nintendo 64 game. As Yoshi, players must locate Mario, Luigi and Wario somewhere within the castle's paintings. Only then will players be able to play as these characters in the main adventure. As a side-note, these characters are playable "temporarily" when Yoshi finds their respective hats in a level. A Mario hat will turn Yoshi into Mario temporarily (he still emits the cute Yoshi grunts and groans), giving players the distinct character control of Mario for a short while.
Each character has their own attributes. Yoshi, for example, has his familiar flutter-hover, and can swallow enemies and throw eggs. Luigi has a higher jump than the rest of the crew, and can turn invisible when he finds the power flower. Mario can now inflate like a balloon with the help of a power flower, which will come in handy in the newly designed levels.
The goal to completion has been upped to 150 stars now, which means there are some new levels in the game. We got our sneak peek at one of the new challenges that took place in a platform design that featured a gas-filled area that would harm the character if he fell off the ledge into the poison. It didn't offer any new play mechanics, rather just offered a new level layout and challenge.
The controls are definitely different than the Nintendo 64 version, since the DS lacks a true analog stick. The digital pad offers a standard walk, and holding down the Y button will cause the character to run. It's not as precise as the Nintendo 64 game with its analog control, which is why it was mentioned during the presentation that there's a new touch screen control option in the game where the screen becomes an analog stick. You can slide your thumb along the touch screen and the character will behave as if you were pushing around an analog controller. It took a few minutes to get used to, and I simply changed the controls back when it got too awkward to play this way. But Nintendo representatives stated that this control mechanism's better when used with a special stylus-thumb strap device that may be made available when the system ships at the end of this year.
Graphically the game seems much more colorful, sharper and lively than the Nintendo 64 game, though the images have a sort of "shimmy" to them that might be due to the lack of texture filtering of the Nintendo DS. When the game was blown up on the big screen a lot of the graphical issues were made known...but on the small backlit screen of the Nintendo DS, you won't care that there's some pixelation going on in some textures. The resolution of the screens do a decent job of masking the issue.
Other additions in the game include a series of touch-screen savvy mini-games that will reward players. These games utilize both screens in their design; in one, players shot bombs out of a slingshot by dragging back on the stylus. In another, players played a game similar to the old "pipes" game, where they must guide a Mario head down a series of lines by connecting rungs between four vertical bars. There's even a small puzzle game featuring Luigi where players must match two cards touching each other to clear out the pile.
While it's disappointing that the Mario launch title for the Nintendo DS is a remake of a seven year old game, at least this remake adds a lot more to the mix. The platform design is still top notch, and is still one of the finest 3D platformers ever created.
