I’d honestly say the only thing this game has going for it is the multiplayer because otherwise I do not care for this version of Mario 64, I do not like the controls no matter if it’s on a DS or a 3DS and honestly if the port itself was outstanding I could suffer through the controls but none of the new content justifies playing this version, the multiple characters is a cool idea but I don’t care for how it’s executed here, even with the cap system. The game looks how you’d expect for a DS launch title so I don’t fault it for that I’m honestly a sucker for the low poly DS look but even still I wish this port was done a generation later on the 3ds to take advantage of that systems improved power and circle pad. A wonderful idea for a remake on the wrong hardware.

First and foremost I would only recommend playing this on a new 3ds for the “””second stick””” but honestly this is a totally valid version of the game. Obviously it doesn’t control as well as the original but between the New 3ds nub and the gyro controls I managed to get by well enough. Graphically it looks really nice, and everything from the original game is here and accounted for plus a handful of new features like being able to refight portrait ghosts and the improved hidden mansion. If you like the original I’d honestly recommend at least trying this, it surprised me how much I liked it.