Blast from the past Super Mario 64 vs Super Mario 64 DS

What version was better N64 or DS

  • DS

    Votes: 16 18.2%

  • N64

    Votes: 72 81.8%
  • Total voters
    88
Spukc

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill


So since the switch 2 will come out soon and a new mario 3D game will come out soon.

Let us debate about the first one.
 
No BLJ, no thanks.

64 all day.
 
I've played the DS version on the DS and... it sucked.
But playing on the 3DS it was the best version for me since movement was done through the 3DS Analogue slider which was much better to my thumb.
 
The whole selling point of Super Mario 64 was the analog controls in a 3D space. DS completely throws that away.

I haven't played the DS version with analog controls though so maybe that? But it wasn't it's original form.
 
DS version was a cool novelty, but had some issues. I actually liked the updated visuals at times - the textures tended to be a lot better than what the N64 version had, in some cases. The d-pad controls were obviously not ideal, but whatever.

The thing that bugged me, though? You start the game as Yoshi. I don't know why, but that always stuck in my head as compromising the experience. If you've played the original game, it's like "oh, that's an interesting twist," but that's... not what the game is supposed to be.

The best part of the game was the mini-games you unlock.
 
Good timing, as I'm currently playing through Mario 64 using the 3D all stars version. It's such a great and joyful game. It makes me feel old thinking it's been so long since this generation.
 
The DS version is a cool tech demo but without an analogue stick it destroys the N64 game's legendary controls and mechanics. The new levels are extremely basic in terms of design. The new characters add little and are pretty much without exception inferior to playing as Mario. An interesting curiosity, but if you want the SM64 experience, only the original will do.

Danny Dudekisser said:
The best part of the game was the mini-games you unlock.
Click to expand...

100%
 
DS was great and I loved the mini games they put in the game. The extra stars you could collect were great new additions as well but the lack on an analog stick on the DS made the game feel different. Completed both version and enjoyed both but I have to go with the 64 version on this one.
 
Those 3D DS games were ugly as fuck and controlled terrible.
 
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The DS feels like a fan made ROM hack. It's truly awful. The extra stages were so bad, remixing the stages and stars and adding terrible to control characters made it just awful and the only game they butchered worse was the Diddy Kong Racing port on the DS.
 
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It was always a bummer that Nintendo didnt rework SM64DS for the 3DS.

alf717 said:
DS was great and I loved the mini games they put in the game. The extra stars you could collect were great new additions as well but the lack on an analog stick on the DS made the game feel different. Completed both version and enjoyed both but I have to go with the 64 version on this one.
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Hollowpoint5557 said:
The DS feels like a fan made ROM hack. It's truly awful. The extra stages were so bad, remixing the stages and stars and adding terrible to control characters made it just awful and the only game they butchered worse was the Diddy Kong Racing port on the DS.
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the duality of man
 
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nkarafo said:
The whole selling point of Super Mario 64 was the analog controls in a 3D space. DS completely throws that away.

I haven't played the DS version with analog controls though so maybe that? But it wasn't it's original form.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't agree with the idea that the "whole selling point" was analog controls, but it does greatly enhance the experience. The imaginative worlds was the biggest draw in my estimation.

The DS version is surprisingly playable, and I only encountered a few instances where the 8 way direction was the cause of irritation. In saying that, the 3DS port on the "new" 3DS is the GOAT. I wish they could port the DS content into that version
 
Man I remember playing this and being impressed Mario 64 was running on a Nintendo handheld at all.
Now it's like "yeah but is Cyberpunk 2077 60fps?"
 
in terms of REALLY fucking up stuff its Mario 64 DS and Majoras Mask Remake for 3DS, the way the fucked up the Zora mask made me stop and never touch it again.
 
64DS was super cool just on the basis of getting it as a portable game with added content. I remember there was som fun side-games like Picture Poker and stuff as well.

But if I had to pick I'd take the N64 version over it.
 
Fbh said:
Man I remember playing this and being impressed Mario 64 was running on a Nintendo handheld at all.
Now it's like "yeah but is Cyberpunk 2077 60fps?"
Click to expand...
To this day I still have no idea how they managed to get Metroid Primer Hunters to play so well on the ds.

But to their credit it worked and thats what got me into the metroid series
 
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Those PS1 textures destroy the artstyle a lot. And Mario64 was designed around analog controls.

Also the game will looks a lot better on a CRT than on those mini LCD screens, the textures can look great on a CRT somehow. Same thing with Ocarina of Time on a real CRT.

N64 wins by a lot.
 
This was the exact moment I lost patience with ports and remakes replacing new games.

They had gotten away with it starting from Mario Bros 2 for GBA but the formula to port games in sequence didn't fit this time.

Mario 64 with a dpad. Why deconstruct it further? This is the opposite of their best when the game is made around the hardware.
 
If you were there for the N64 release you'd know how special that was. The DS was quite an achievement for a handheld, although the controls were gimped. But that first foray into well crafted 3d gaming, after many years of 2d masterpieces, was something else.

Unfortunately I can't vote on this so my opinion is like dust on the wind.
 
I never had an n64 but played 64 a lot. I wanted a DS so bad & got one right after launch. 64 DS blew me away on the handheld. It was crazy those graphics in my hand way back then. I had no issues with controls & got 150 stars. Loved having different characters like Wario.
 
Super Mario 64 DS was the first time the homogenization/corporatization of the franchise was totally impossible to ignore. Truly one of the worst remakes ever.
Minigames were cool, though.
 
Has anyone made a mod of the DS version with Gamecube controls. Is it even possible?

It is really best to play the original because the controls were so damn good.

You can totally hook up the N64 controller to a Mister and it works perfectly.

It also works in Retroarch with some small tweaks.
 
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The controls never quite felt right, unfortunately. But the new features and playable characters were pretty cool, if weirdly implemented. Made the game feel kind of like some sort of bizarre "second quest" or something, but I wouldn't recommend it to newcomers.

That said, the touch-based minigames were actually really great. Very much worth the price of admission alone and were addictive to unlock.
 
Kilau said:
The decomp on PC with RTX or the 3DS version in 3D.
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... did I miss a re-release? There is no 3DS version with stereoscopic 3D that I'm aware of?

N64 version remains the king. The control downgrade was an instant show stopped, but for me it was the additions to the game that hurt it. The added character non-sense hurt the game's pacing more than it expanded the game, so I never bothered to finish it.
 
We need to port the 3DS characters content in the decompiled Mario64 for all it's glory. Coincidentally, I just replayed M64 again and the controls are just... wow. I'm amazed I got through it the first time I played it.
 
ZehDon said:
... did I miss a re-release? There is no 3DS version with stereoscopic 3D that I'm aware of?

N64 version remains the king. The control downgrade was an instant show stopped, but for me it was the additions to the game that hurt it. The added character non-sense hurt the game's pacing more than it expanded the game, so I never bothered to finish it.
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Homebrew, widescreen and stereoscopic 3D, some other versions too.
 
Hudo said:
N64 for the controls alone.
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For me for the graphics too. DS had interestingly improved geometry in many places but it was a step back texture quality wise since the area Nintendo cheapened out on in the GPU they commissioned was texture filtering… so they ended up pre-filtering some textures to make the magnification artefacts less visible.

I am sorry, but a step down textures wise from the N64 of all places…

You could have analog controls if you used the thumb attachment on the touch screen but it was not perfect as it was was essentially a virtual joypad and it made me afraid of ruining the screen by mistake hehe.
 
Neff said:
The DS version is a cool tech demo but without an analogue stick it destroys the N64 game's legendary controls and mechanics. The new levels are extremely basic in terms of design. The new characters add little and are pretty much without exception inferior to playing as Mario. An interesting curiosity, but if you want the SM64 experience, only the original will do.



100%
Click to expand...
At that time I think people were impressed by the idea of playing the full Mario 64 on the go using the new touch screen. That was like THE gimmick of its time, before iPhone too. Kids who bought the DS version probably never touched the n64 controller at all.

But yeah, aside from this, the N64 version is the one to play and the best I mean it's not even questionable.
 
like the N64 version. I'm used to that so I don'[t like the DS version. I dont like being forced to play as new characters either. Makes it feel too different.
 
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