[Mario 64 DS] Ultimate retro gaming

Of course a Mario for the DS, but I have never thought that they were going to use the old, but very good Mario 64 game. Maybe they thought (like me) that Mario Sunshine didn’t do the job and was a miserable failure, or they just were lazy. But whatever the reason is, they’ve made another great game.

This was the first game that I’ve played on a DS, and when I played it for the first time, I went crazy. The first reason for this was that I had never seen 3d graphics on a handheld (and they are pretty good), the second reason was that my Nintendo 64 was stolen with the 60% save game of Mario 64, and now I had a new chance to beat the game. I pretty soon realized that there were things not as I remembered them: you start with Yoshi (WHY?? I hate that… thing) and some stars had disappeared/were replaced by other stars. Also moving around was not as I remembered it, small ridges are were deadly as ever, and now and then you stop running when your thumb is in the screen corner, but after a few hours it played like the old version and I got used to it.

The four characters: Yoshi, Wario, Luigi and of course Mario.

Positive changes
This new version has some new, really nice, extra’s in it: the four extra characters add more varying game play, there are new stars so you can search a bit longer for them and (maybe the best addition) are the mini games. Also the rabbit hunting season is opened, and you must catch bunnies, hopping around the whole level, to get new mini games. These two features are quite addicting.
The mini games make a good use of the touch screen, and consist of rolling, shooting, jumping, rolling and even betting. These new factors and the highscore system make sure that you can stay playing this game for (nearly) ever against your friends, beating each others highscore, a nice way to spend time after making yourself angry about stars that you can’t get. In a nutshell: the mini games add much tot the game.
The only bad addition are the four new characters, they make the game to easy, because they all have their own powers, and if you use them very smart, you can skip hours of walking and puzzles, and in that way get stars that where a lot more challenging in the old version in roundabout 1 minute.

return of the Bowser

Old stays gold
Luckily the old elements are still in there, like swinging Bowser around (something that;s a lot harder with the touch screen). If you’ve played the old N64 version, the memory’s shoot back into your mind, and you will know that this version is even a little bit better then the old one, everybody seems a bit better. The old sounds are there, and the graphics are at least equal to the N64 version, and maybe even better.

Multiplayer
How is it even possible, a multiplayer in a game like Mario, but it is really in it. It is a funny option that isn’t worked out enough, you must hunt for the stars and punch players that already have a star.. a bit boring. I don’t get  why they even put it in there, it is to simple to force a draw, a better option was to make multiplayer mini games or something like it….

to conclude…
 It’s a nice made game, and an enormous must have for retro gamers, but of course also for non retro gamers. A beautiful game play that doesn’t bores quick, and with the mini games it will get a nice and long life length. It isn’t very hard to finish the game, to many things are made just to easy if you use the characters wise enough. It’s a pity that the multiplayer doesn’t adds much, but it’s certainly the best game in the first load DS games.

Marks
Graphics: 9, Not bad for the first 3D game that I see on a handheld, the quality is nearly the same as on the N64.
Gameplay: 9, it plays very sweet, no bugs and nearly no shocking camera work, it’s a pity the game is a bit simple…
Sound: 9, not very new, but it doesn’t matter very much, it are nice sounds to sing along, and drive your parents crazy with.
Lifetime: 9, A long time, till you’ve played the whole game, and longer till you’ve been driven crazy by the mini games (if you are motivated that is).

Score: 9

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