Buying guide
Super Mario 64 — buying the N64 original or the DS version
Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64, 1996) is the game that invented the 3D platformer: Peach's castle as a playground, 120 stars, and a camera and analogue control the whole industry built on. Super Mario 64 DS (2005) is not a bare port but the expanded version. Two cartridges, one game — and the question which one to buy.
The short answer
Want it as it was: the N64 cartridge — original controls, original picture, and no save battery to worry about. Want more of it: the DS version, with Yoshi, Luigi and Wario playable, more stars and touchscreen minigames, on any DS, 2DS or 3DS. Buying for a European N64: it has to be a PAL cartridge — the console is region-locked.
The game that invented 3D
When Super Mario 64 reached Europe there was nothing like it: a fully explorable 3D world, a camera you steer yourself, and movement that answers the analogue stick from a tiptoe to a sprint. The star hunt through the paintings of Peach's castle is still the blueprint of the genre, and the speedrunning community keeps the game alive to this day.
N64 or DS?
Purists choose the N64 cartridge: the original controls and the picture as intended. The DS version is the more generous one — the whole game plus four playable characters (Mario, Yoshi, Luigi and Wario), more stars than the original 120 and touchscreen minigames, in a cartridge that fits in your pocket and plays on every DS, DSi, 2DS and 3DS. The slide pad steers a little differently from the analogue stick; that is the one thing a purist will notice.
Each stands on its own, and collectors tend to end up with both. The only other way to own the game is Super Mario 3D All-Stars on Switch — sold in a limited window in 2020-2021 and then withdrawn, so that route is a collector chase of its own.
What to check on a used copy
- The region. The Nintendo 64 is region-locked — cartridge notches and video standard differ — so a European console takes a PAL cartridge. We mostly stock PAL and state the region in every listing.
- The save. Super Mario 64 saves inside the cartridge itself, without a battery, so the flat-battery problem of some other N64 games does not apply. We still run the save test on every copy.
- Function and condition. Every cartridge is play-tested on real hardware and described honestly — good or fair condition, with the label and shell as they are.
Playing it on original hardware? We keep tested Nintendo 64 games on the shelf, and the DS version sits with our Nintendo DS list.
Buy it already tested
Every Super Mario 64 we sell — N64 or DS — has been play-tested and save-tested on real hardware, with the region stated. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked from the Netherlands to all 27 EU countries — no customs inside the EU.
See Super Mario 64 in stockQuestions we get asked
What is the difference between Super Mario 64 and the DS version?
The DS version from 2005 contains the whole game plus extras: four playable characters — Mario, Yoshi, Luigi and Wario — more stars than the original 120, and touchscreen minigames. The N64 version is the original as it appeared in 1996, with the analogue stick; on the DS the slide pad steers just a little differently.
Is there a save battery in the N64 cartridge that can run empty?
Not in Super Mario 64: the game saves inside the cartridge itself and does not depend on a battery, so the battery problem some other N64 titles have does not apply here. We still test saving on every copy before it is listed.
Does Super Mario 64 DS play on a 3DS or 2DS?
Yes. It is a DS cartridge, and those play on every DS, DSi and on the whole 3DS and 2DS family.
Will an American or Japanese N64 cartridge work on my European Nintendo 64?
Not as it is: the Nintendo 64 is region-locked — the cartridge notches and the video standard differ per region — so a European console takes a PAL cartridge. We mostly stock PAL and state the region in every listing.
Can I play Super Mario 64 on the Switch?
Only through Super Mario 3D All-Stars, the collection Nintendo sold in a limited window in 2020-2021 and then withdrew. Physical copies of that are sought after; the N64 cartridge and the DS version are the two ways to own the game on its own.
N64 or DS — which one should I get?
Purists take the N64 cartridge: the original controls and the picture as intended. The DS version is the more generous one — more characters, more stars, and it fits in your pocket on any DS, 2DS or 3DS. Each stands on its own; collectors tend to end up with both.
Where it fits in the series: all Mario games in order — the GameCube successor, Super Mario Sunshine, has its own guide, and all Mario games are on the shelf.
Dutch reader? Super Mario 64 kopen — dezelfde gids in het Nederlands.