Obviously, some of us are a little cranked that Nintendo's launch title for the DS is seeminly a port of Super Mario 64...
(Ian shouts from the sidelines: "A little cranked is putting it mildly!!!")
So I decided to do a bit of research and see if I could find out what is the same and what is different... so, as Mario would say, "Let's a GO!"
Graphics: Okay, when Nintendo announced the DS, they said the graphics would be on par with the N64. But from what I've seen, I think it's fair to say they're comparable to first generation Gamecube games... almost. The overall look is much smoother and the character models are MUCH better than what you found in Super Mario 64.
Levels: Watching the levels, it appears that the maps haven't changed much from SM64. I recognized several stages such as Bob-Omb Mountain and Dry Dry Desert and the infamous Red Carpet Slide. Whether or not the levels will change depending on what character you use isn't really known, but I did see Yoshi battling the Bob-Omb King, by lapping up smaller Bob-Ombs and shooting them back at him.
Story: I went to Nintendo.com and checked out SM64DS's game page and I happened upon the story.
"Answering an invitation, Mario, Luigi and Wario set out for a royal party with Princess Peach. When they arrive at the castle, though, they find it strangely empty. Meanwhile, Yoshi awakes from a rooftop nap to find the castle eerily silent, with Mario, Luigi and Wario nowhere to be seen. Yoshi soon discovers that Bowser has pilfered the castle's Power Stars and imprisoned the Toads in the castle's immense collection of paintings. It's up to the dynamic dino to figure out what happened to Mario, Luigi and Wario and save the day. "
So apparently you start off by playing Yoshi, and you gain access to the others by finding them in other levels. Or maybe perhaps you play through certain characters through certain worlds until they find each other, then you are able to access them all in all the levels.
Gameplay: From what I've seen, it's the usual hop N bop we all know and love. This is from Nintendo.com
"Each of the four main characters has multiple jumping moves that cover great horizontal and vertical distances. Each has unique moves: Yoshi can eat enemies and turn them into eggs that he can throw; Mario can punch, kick and wall-jump to great heights; super-strong Wario can break certain blocks; and Luigi can jump incredibly high. Power Flowers give each character even cooler powers, like invisibility, fire breath or the power to float through the air. "
So each character has a different skill, which probabaly means certain parts of a level can only be reached by certain characters. The hint at "Power Flowers" and "Fire Breath" makes me wonder... are fireballs back in 3-D?
Differences?: Well the ability to play with four players is an obvious difference. And apparently there are at least 30 new Stars to uncover (and new levels to find them in?), not to mention the "tons of new touch sensitive mini-games". As for the 4 player mode, is it battle only, or can you play through story mode with three other players? Perhaps while you're kicking Goomba tail in the Thwomp Fortress, someone else could be playing through Rainbow Ride? And if the levels were connected, that would be sweet. For instance, if a player falls down during Rainbow Ride, he could end up in Thwomp Fortress just in time to help you fight a boss. But again, we don't know the extent yet.
Please, feel free to add anything else you've heard about. But as of now, I don't think this is just a standard port...
(gets beaten by Ian)
Topic: Super Mario 64 DS... Port or Not a Port? (Read 11304 times)
