Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64[a] is a 1996 platform game for the Nintendo 64 and the first Super Mario game to feature 3D gameplay. It was developed by Nintendo EAD and published by Nintendo. Super Mario 64 features 3-dimensional freedom of movement within a large open world based on 3D polygons. It builds upon the Mario tradition of gameplay elements, visual style, and characters. As Mario, the player explores Princess Peach’s castle to rescue her from Bowser.

Director Shigeru Miyamoto conceived a 3D Mario game during the production of Star Fox (1993). Super Mario 64’s development lasted approximately three years: one on design and two on production. The high-fidelity graphics were created using the Nichimen N-World toolkit. The score was composed by Koji Kondo. A multiplayer mode featuring Mario’s brother Luigi was cut, but rumors spread of his inclusion as a hidden character. The Nintendo 64’s first-day launch game library includes only Pilotwings 64 and Super Mario 64. Nintendo released it in Japan on June 23, 1996, and later in North America and Europe.

Featuring a dynamic camera system and 360-degree analog control, it established a new archetype for the 3D genre, much as Super Mario Bros. did for side-scrolling platform games. Super Mario 64 received critical acclaim as one of the greatest video games of all time. Reviewers praised its ambition, visuals, gameplay, and music, although they criticized its unreliable camera system. It is the best-selling Nintendo 64 game, with more than eleven million copies sold by 2003. Numerous developers have cited Super Mario 64 as an influence. It was remade as Super Mario 64 DS for the Nintendo DS in 2004, and it has been ported to other Nintendo consoles.