The Wii motion controls also allowed Mario to attack enemies in two different ways, either spinning with a flick of the Wiimote or jumping on enemies as he would normally. When Mario wasn’t using a special cap, he also had a slew of acrobatic abilities that would become staples of his move-set.īeing a game in space, Mario was now able to fly from planetoid to planetoid, each with its own gravitational pull. Players could walk through grates with the Invisibility Cap, trudge through currents and walk on the sea floor with the Metal Cap, and take to the skies with the Wing Cap. Mario 64 introduced powerups in the form of caps. While some objectives were linear, players could use each sandbox-like world to complete whatever objective they pleased.Ĭompleting objectives would net the player power stars, which they could use to open the many locked doors inside Peach’s Castle, functioning as a hub world for each level. Instead, players were encouraged to complete objectives within open levels. Gone were flagpoles and conventional power-ups.

Nintendo’s goal of transitioning Mario into a 3D format was achieved, though its success would unintentionally change gaming as a whole. Super Mario 64 marks Mario’s first foray into the 3d realm, and the first time Princess Toadstool’s name was changed to Princess Peach in a mainline title outside of Japan.