Introduction
Super Mario 64 is one of the most iconic 3D-based Super Mario games for the Nintendo 64, along with other popular Mario games such as Mario Kart 64 and the first 3 Mario Party games, just to name a few. When I acquired a copy of Super Mario 64 along with a Nintendo 64 game console way back in Christmas of 1997, I was instantly hooked on the game and have since been a huge fan. Super Mario 64 remains my all-time favorite video game up until the present, and I highly doubt that it'll change anytime soon. Of course, we can't forget how flexible and enjoyable the game is, allowing you to go from one world to another, and whether or not the player feels like beating the game in its entirety with a total of 120 stars or the minimally required 70 stars. Even with the game's unique personalization that many players experience with their copy of Super Mario 64, the game simply never gives you any dull moments. Many speedrunners choose Super Mario 64 as their number one choice for speedrunning a Mario game. Without further ado, let's get onto Super Mario 64's main courses, explained.
1. Bob-omb Battlefield
Bob-omb Battlefield is the land of battling Bob-ombs. It is the very first course to introduce the wonders of Super Mario 64. This course consists of enemies such as Goombas, Koopas, a Chain Chomp, and, of course, Bob-ombs. Mario will eventually meet Koopa the Quick, a friendly koopa who claims to be the fastest koopa alive and is always up for a challenge against anyone. Bomb-omb Battlefield was founded due to a disagreement of views between the black Bob-ombs of hate and the pink Bob-ombs of kindness. Although the pink Bob-ombs wish no harm and much rather praise love and peace throughout this world, they are sadly outnumbered by King Bob-omb and his fellow army of Bob-ombs, who want to spread their hate and evil in the name of Bowser, King of the Koopas. Mario enters Bob-omb Battlefield through the Bob-omb painting of Princess Peach's castle and sees the pure distress in the pink Bob-omb's eyes. He decides to team up with the pink Bob-ombs and put an end to the army of King Bob-omb. The pink Bob-ombs offer Mario the use of their cannons throughout his journey to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser's retched grip. This is a hard task for Mario to conquer, but with the power of the missing stars he'll be collecting, he defuses King Bob-omb and his evil army with ease.
2. Whomp's Fortress
Whomp's Fortress. The second course of the hit 1996 title. This world consists of land floating midair and is full of angry Whomps and Thwomps just waiting to squish anyone that comes along their path. Their main focus on who they want to squish would be our dear friend, Mario. Mario needs to do his best to avoid getting flattened like a squished tomato by these stone enemies. A few of Mario's goals for completing Whomp's Fortress would be to defeat King Thwomp, climb the giant tower, collect 8 red coins, etc. Another star of Whomp's Fortress Mario will need to snag requires him to wake up a drowsy owl that can manage to lift a 4-foot-tall plumber until he gets worn out and tells Mario to lay off the pasta, resulting in dropping our Italian cuisine-loving hero. Just make sure the owl doesn't manage to drop him off the course, or else it's one life lost for Mario.
3. Jolly Roger Bay
Jolly Roger Bay is the third course of Super Mario 64. It is a peaceful water world that holds a resident eel named Unagi and an old, weathered-out sunken ship. Ironically, Unagi means “eel” in Japanese. So, after all these years, we've been saying eel the eel the whole time. It's strange, isn't it? The first objective Mario needs to do is lure Unagi out of the opening of the sunken ship and swim into the ship, which contains four treasure chests. Mario will need to open them in the correct order to claim Jolly Roger Bay's first power star. If Mario chooses the wrong treasure chest, he'll be electrocuted. If Mario opens all four treasure chests in the correct order, he'll be given an air bubble from each treasure chest, which will prevent him from drowning quicker. After Mario brings life back into the old ship, he needs to do his best to avoid other nasty traps, such as getting nipped by clams and being fatally crushed by falling stone pillars in the ocean cave. Mario also needs to be extra cautious to avoid injury or death from the hungry eel and carefully grab the power star from its tail. Once Mario collects a total of 7 stars from Jolly Roger Bay, he will be going from a water-based world into a snow-covered world.
4. Cool, Cool Mountain
Cool, Cool Mountain. The 4th and 1st snow-themed courses of Super Mario 64. It's a frigid, snow-covered world located high in the sky with adorable penguins, not-so-friendly snowmen, and very mean Spindrifts. Mario's missions, such as racing the log cabin's resident penguin, searching for the mother penguin's missing child, and helping a giant snowman recreate his missing body, are some of the requirements for receiving Cool Cool Mountain's power stars. Cool, Cool Mountain is the first course in Super Mario 64 to fully introduce the wall kick, a new ability Mario learns throughout his journey. Now most of us who have played through Super Mario 64 over the years will feel the need to drop the baby penguin off the ledge of Cool, Cool Mountain. It seems that there has been some animal cruelty being committed by most of us, huh? But even I have to admit, I've dropped the baby penguin off the mountain numerous times over the years as well. Admit it, we've all done it.
5. Big Boo's Haunt
Big Boo's Haunt, the 5th main course. It is a spooky-themed course that serves as a home for some of Mario's enemies, such as Skuttlebugs, Bookends, flying chairs, Mr. I's, the Mad Piano, and, of course, Boos. Although every enemy in Big Boo's Haunt will go after and attack Mario on the spot, Boos prefer to attack him from behind. Boos are super shy ghosts and cannot stand anyone who looks them straight in the eyes. Some of Mario's objectives in Big Boo's Haunt include defeating three big Boos, one giant Mr. I, collecting coins, and riding the terrifying merry-go-round operated by the Boos of the haunted house's basement. Despite all these creepy crawlers, Mario doesn't break a sweat in sending all the baddies packing and leaving their haunted home. But a lot of us can strongly agree that the biggest and scariest jumpscare in Big Boo's Haunt is the Mad Piano. It sits all alone in a vacant room, just waiting for someone to come over and play a catchy tune on it. As much as I hate to admit it, I always found the vicious piano coming to life and going after Mario to be rather comical. Most people don't like the piano, but for some reason I thought it was funny. Terrible song it plays, but still funny. I guess we all have different views on Super Mario 64's enemies.
6. Hazy Maze Cave
Hazy Maze Cave is course number 6 out of 15. It is a dark, murky cave containing an underground maze filled with toxic fumes, as well as countless Skuttlebugs, Mr. I's, Snifits, Swoops, and moles waiting to inflict pain on Mario. Giant boulders rolling into a bottomless pit can also pose a huge threat to our mighty hero. The secret level to the Metal Cap lies in the depths of the cave, which is home to a friendly sea creature that is willing to give Mario a lift to the entrance of the Metal Cap secret room as well as one of the missing power stars. The Metal Cap will prove to be super useful to Mario in Hazy Maze Cave, as he does not take damage from enemies and prevents him from inhaling the poisonous gas of the treacherous maze-like cave. Without the power of the powerful metallic hat, Mario will easily perish in the gaseous fumes, enemies, and traps of this gruesome cave.
7. Lethal Lava Land
Lethal Lava Land is the land of lethal lava and also the 7th course of the game, just ready to burn Mario to a crisp. Lethal Lava Land serves as home to several Bullies, eager to bully Mario around and push him into the deadly lava. Mr. I's also lurking around in this firey world. There is a volcano that lies in the middle of this scorching-hot world that you'll need to go into to claim the last two stars of this hot and steamy course. Mario will need to build up enough courage and stand up for himself to fight back against the mean Bullies and collect more power stars. With the aid of a Koopa shell and the trustworthy Wing Cap, Mario will conquer Lethal Lava Land in no time and move on to the next world. Hopefully, Mario won't suffer any nasty third-degree burns from Lethal Lava Land's killer lava.
8. Shifting Sand Land
Shifting Sand Land. The land of shifting sand and the 8th course of Super Mario 64. It's a desert-themed course with several enemies such as Pokeys, Goombas, Bob-ombs, Fly Guys, Grindels, Eyeroks, and dangerous human-swallowing quicksand. The sandy world's main threat is Klepto the Condor, a prankster bird that enjoys taunting Mario by constantly stealing his most prized possession, a red-colored hat with the letter “M” on it. As Mario grows more irritated with Klepto's hat-stealing antics, he kicks Klepto right in the face, letting go of his hat, a hat so powerful (and special to him) that it prevents him from taking on more damage from his injuries than when he's not wearing his hat. Neat hat he has there, doesn't he? Some of Mario's objectives in collecting more power stars in this tedious wasteland include using a Wing Cap to collect a few unreachable red coins, punching Klepto in the face to get him to release the power star (we'll add that to his animal abuse rap sheet), and going in and out of the pyramid of Shifting Sand Land. As long as he avoids getting injured by various enemies and getting swallowed up by deadly quicksand, Mario should be just fine claiming victory over this complicated desert.
9. Dire, Dire Docks
Dire, Dire Docks, the 9th course and 2nd water course, is arguably the most favorite course by many players around the world solely because of the main song that's included in this water-themed course. Dire, Dire Docks holds several fish, a hungry shark, and a massive-sized manta ray. The biggest threat to Mario in the course is a deadly whirlpool that he cannot escape and will give Mario the unfortunate loss of Dire, Dire Docks. Mario is also at high risk of drowning in the waters of this world, so he'll need to do his best to swim up to the surface from time to time and collect coins to replenish his health back up to 100%. The first star Mario will be claiming in Dire, Dire Docks, will unlock the entrance to Bowser's second course, Bowser in the Fire Sea. Mario will need to snag the star from the roof of Bowser's submarine to reach and defeat Bowser and be given the key to unlock the upstairs rooms of Princess Peach's castle. Other tasks Mario will need to complete include swimming through the water loops of a giant manta ray, jumping from pole to pole for 8 red coins, and opening 4 treasure chests in the correct order.
10. Snowman's Land
Snowman's Land is the second snow-themed course (Cool Cool Mountain being the first snow-themed course) and the 10th course in Super Mario 64. Snowman's Land has several bullying snowmen, Spindrifts, Goombas, and Moneybags that hop away from Mario when he closely approaches them. There also lies a massive snowman-shaped mountain located right in the middle of Snowman's Land, with a large penguin (who is very helpful, I might add) located near the top of the snowman mountain. I guess that's why it's called Snowman's Land, right? There is a very mean Ice Bully that skates on a slippery ice floor floating above a freezing pond that will give Mario frostbite when he falls in it. A small lake resides in Snowman's Land that Mario can swim in but be very cautious not to let him swim in the chilly waters too long because he takes in damage quickly due to the extremely cold conditions of the water, eventually sucking the life out of Mario to a very frigid death. A small igloo is located within the snowman-shaped mountain that will contain one power star. The igloo in Super Mario 64 is, in my opinion, like the tardis from Dr. Who; it's small on the outside and big on the inside. It's a weird and funny thought I wanted to throw out there.
11. Wet-Dry World
Wet-Dry World. A lost city-themed world that has the unique ability to flood and drain the water. It would be course number 11 out of the 15 main courses. This part wet and part dry world has strange creatures such as Skeeters, Amps, Flame throwers, Heave-Hos, and a lone Chuck-ya. Skeeters are water-like bugs that skim across the water, while Amps, flame-spitting orbs, and Heave-Hos prefer to keep the world as dry as possible. The Chuck-ya of Wet-Dry World is a nuisance that likes to grab Mario and throw him wherever it wants to. Some of Mario's objectives in collecting more power stars would be catching the express elevator and walking on platforms with arrows printed on them. There are two power stars located in the downtown area of Wet-Dry World that you'll also need to collect to complete course number 11. Keep in mind that you'll need to make sure you have that Vanish Cap unlocked because there is a power star located behind a fenced-in corner of downtown Wet-Dry World. If you do not have the Vanish Cap unlocked, you'll need to trace your steps back to the secret location of the Vanish Cap to reach this specific power star.
12. Tall, Tall Mountain
Tall, Tall Mountain. A massive mountain that is located up in the sky of course number 12. Tall, Tall Mountain has Goombas, Bob-ombs, Chuck-yas, Fly Guys, devious monkeys, and a small cloud that will blow away anyone that comes along its path of the mountain. Mario must complete the tasks of Tall, Tall Mountain, such as finding a secret slide within the mountainside and shooting yourself at a giant mushroom that sets itself far away from the mountain, just to name a few. There are a total of two monkeys living in Tall, Tall Mountain. One that will give him a power star after its capture from Mario, while the second one will steal his hat, taunting our protagonist. Which monkey do you think will give you a star? Which monkey will take Mario's hat? I will never tell. It's up to you to figure that out. Mario will need to be extra cautious around Tall, Tall Mountain's resident Chuck-ya, as it may decide to throw him off of the floating mountain after his temporary capture, which will take one life out of Mario.
13. Tiny-Huge Island
Tiny-Huge Island is another unique course (just like Wet-Dry World) that can take you to the small side or the large side of its world simply by traveling through warp pipes. It is the 13th course out of 15 courses and contains countless enemies (big and small), such as Goombas, Koopas, Fly Guys, Flame throwers, Chuck-yas, and Piranha Plants. There is a massive Wiggler (who, in my opinion, has bipolar disorder) inside the island's cave. He gets extremely angry after Mario cracks a leak through the cave's ceiling, taking its frustration out on Mario when he enters its home. Mario has to stomp on the short-tempered Wiggler a total of three times to get it to calm down and give up the power star. Mario needs to collect seven stars from Tiny Huge Island, ranging from having a second race with Koopa the Quick (after his tremendous failure against Mario back in Bob-omb Battlefield), stomping the heck out of the Wiggler (as mentioned before), kicking the life out of five giant Piranha Plants in search of plumber blood, and so on. Once Mario completes the interesting world of Tiny-Huge Island, he will move on to yet another unique course.
14. Tick Tock Clock
Tick Tock Clock is the 14th course of Super Mario 64. It's a giant clock located at the top level of Princess Peach's castle. This clock may be attractive and fancy to look at, but it is no ordinary clock. This clock takes you to a whole new world inside itself. There are many obstacles and tricky mechanisms inside this clock that prove more difficult for our hero in comparison to the previous 13 courses. Slipping up to the clock's several traps and falling into its bottomless pit can easily cost Mario his life, so he'll need to watch his step when navigating the internal functions of this special clock. The clock holds Heave-Hos, Bob-ombs, Amps, and Thwomps. Mario must snag 7 power stars from levels such as navigating through the pit and the pendulums, stomping on the Thwomp at the tip top of the clock, and collecting 8 red coins on moving bars. One of the Toads being held captive within the castle walls will give you a hint about the secrets of Tick Tock Clock. Do you know what the secret is? I'll give you my hint; it has to do with controlling the clock movement.
15. Rainbow Ride
Rainbow Ride is what would be considered by many players as the most beautiful and yet difficult course of Super Mario 64. Rainbow Ride will be the very last course you'll have to complete to move you closer to defeating a much stronger Bowser and saving Princess Peach and the rest of the Toads being held captive from within the castle walls. This final course is located high up in the sky, surrounded by fluffy clouds, colorful rainbows, and even a flying airship and a giant vacant house floating in the sky. The chances of falling to your doom are very high, so Mario will need to take extra care when climbing up Rainbow Ride's vast traps and obstacles. Actions such as riding flying carpets, conquering tricky triangles, and shooting yourself over the rainbow with the help of the pink Bob-omb's cannon will need to be completed to achieve victory over Rainbow Ride.
Conclusion
These are all my views and explanations of the main courses in Super Mario 64. Many secret levels within the game will need to be completed to the best of your ability, but I wanted to give you a good idea of how the 15 main courses operate and give some valuable and interesting information about their secrets, tricks, and so on. If you beat Super Mario 64 successfully, Mario will be awarded a delicious cake, as promised in Princess Peach's invitation letter, as you'll see in the introduction cutscene. Someday I may make up a follow-up article about all the secret courses of Super Mario 64, but for the meantime, I'll just leave it here.
All in all, I hope you enjoyed my article. I will be writing more articles soon. But for now, this is your girl, guineapig64, signing out!
Note: credit for all images and GIFs used go to their original creators.