Ok, I've split the Mario Kart topic, as the coversation had steered towards Mario 64.

Here's some info on the game which was a launch title in the US and Japan, and will also be a launch title for Australia and Europe.

Video Clip


Now here's where the topic started steering away....

For 100th time; it's fucking N64 graphics! What do you expect!! :P

No, it's worse than the N64. I don't ever remember Mario 64 looking that bad, and I played it myself.

And, in these times, and from what i've seen of the PSP, I do expect better.

I'm downloading it now.

***EDIT***

Ok, looks better than the pics, but it was a pretty blurry vid.

:huh: Are you mad?! Mario 64 never looked better, I'd say.

Manny, have a look at these and tell me that the N64 version is better.

http://www.nintendation.com/test/Estapol/m...64_vs_ds_01.jpg
http://www.nintendation.com/test/Estapol/m...64_vs_ds_02.jpg
http://www.nintendation.com/test/Estapol/m...64_vs_ds_03.jpg
http://www.nintendation.com/test/Estapol/m...64_vs_ds_04.jpg
http://www.nintendation.com/test/Estapol/m...64_vs_ds_05.jpg

And people, please use discretion with these screens, as I might get in trouble for posting them. *taps nose*

I think being able to see the items actually adds more strategy. Will you hold onto that green shell because you know the guy behind you has a red shell? Or will you turf it for the chance at a better item? Conversely, if the guy with the red shell sees you with a green shell will he risk shooting it off? Plus you'll need super concentration to race the course as well as keeping an eye on the item status of seven other players.

In 4 player split in MK64 you could check the other guys' screens to see what they had anyway.

Lol Estapol. Mario 64 DS has more polys than the original but can Manny see past the lacking texture effects to see that?

Wow, MArio 64 DS has better texturing, but it doesn't have as good as anti-aliasing as the N64.

Exactly. Mario 64 had crisper graphics, and didn't rely on a bunch of blurry and blocky textures to try an emulate something which it couldn't handle.

What are you on about?

Mario 64 is the one with the blurry textures, and the DS version is easily more crisper.
Just look at these shots;

Yeah the wooden slats on the ramp are easily more detailed on the DS.

the DS version is a much nicer, much crisper rendition of the n64 original. the game been remodelled by the looks of things, which is especially apparent in this shot:


im looking forward to this :D

Screw those shots. Do you remember Mario 64 being as blurry as it is in those shots? So they got crappy screenies of it in action, it doesn't represent anything. I played Mario DS, the characters were very jaggy, and the floor textures looked absolutely horrendous.

Well I played Mario 64 this arvo, and looking back at it, it looks shit.(and yes, it does look that blurry)

When exactally was the last time you played the original Mario 64 Manny?

Don't get in a tizz Estapol, just disregard his opinion. You can find something wrong with everything if you look hard enough, and that is exactly what cynical 'ol Manny is doing.

Everyone else who has posted so far has been able to see the obvious visual improvements the DS has over the N64 version, so instead of trying to work out from what direction he is hailing from, just disregard it. Seems to me as though he's desperately looking for faults in the DS to justify something... something I can't put my finger on, just yet.

I'm downloading the movie now and I'll post my impressions later, but considering the movie will easily impress me more than the screens already have, I see no reason to be so cynical about it.

I didn't even notice that there were differences in the graphics until I first saw comparison shots.

But I have the original on N64, so I'm not going to buy the DS version as I do not think it has enough new material to warrant a purchase.

Mario Kart 64 on the other hand, I might just get that. The only version I have is the GBA one, and the DS one looks like it'll be fun.

Oooh, I knew MarioDS looked better than its N64 original, but there's nothing like a side by side comparison shot, cheers Estapol and tau :D

Manny is probably remembering Mario 64 back when he played it in 1997 (and thus why he feels the DS version looks inferior), because we all know he never played it again after that :P .

It has been a while i'll admit, but when I played Mario DS, I just went "urgh, this looks like shit". Maybe I hold Mario 64 in higher regard because it has been a while, but from memory, I don't remember Mario 64 looking that jaggy.

And there's no need to disregard my opinion. Sure compared to you folk, it looks cynical, but from what i've seen, i've been far less than impressed, and i'm not talking about just screenies or movies, i'm talking about actually playing the damn thing.

But Moggo, you go ahead and use your super slueth skills to try and find my reasoning behind it, you'll be looking for a long while. Point is, I doubted it at first, i've tried it first hand, and have come off less than impressed. Nothing more to it really.

In my experience, the DS version looks far better. I played the 64 version about a week before I saw the DS in action, and I must say I was astounded at how much better the DS version looked. I have to admit, those screens of both versions are a little inaccurate IMO. The 64 version didnt seem as blurry to me, and the DS version and the textures looked nowhere near that dull.

I played the game today, definatly better than the N64 graphics. Definatly.

Trust me, those are good shots of Super Mario 64. It's natural that when we come back to a classic after so many years, the graphical punch is somewhat softened by the advances we've seen in recent years.

I remember when I went back to the original Tomb Raider. Yeesh. :huh:

The DS version easily looks better, but are the textures actually that dull? (looking especially at the grass)

Now I know why I think Mario 64 DS looks like crap, I've been playing the ROM! :P

Clicky for low quality screen!

That's a screen from your N64 emulator, so of course it's going to be clear. :P

The N64 can't output at that resolution, nor can it output an progressive video signal; both of which are significant video quality enhancements. :)

Plus I'd say that that's running at a much higher framrate than the N64 version. :P

Now that we've established that MarioDS is better than the orginal Mario64 is anyone excited about playing the game? 30 news stars, new ways to get old stars and I believe 2 new levels is some pretty cool enhancments.

I'll probably pick it up when the price is Sub $30. Hopefully it wont be long. :P

I've actually changed my mind and I'll probably pick up Mario DS when I get a Black DS system.

What changed your mind DC?

Hey, did anyone watch the DS ads during the Superbowl Halftime show!?? They were friggin hilarious!! :lol:

I have it right in front of me but I can't play it T_T

The vertical orientation of the manual is pretty cool though. And those minigames look fun.

The 8 they have descriptions of in the manual are:
Wanted! : Find the character that appears on the top screen. Tap the touch screen where he's hiding.

Loves me...? : To pluck the flower, tap the petals on the touch screen. Find out how your crush feels about you.

Mario's Slides: Guide Mario down the slides to the star. Draw lines on the Touch Screen to create alternate routes for him (like that bonus game in Super Mario World)

Bounce and Pounce: Help Mario defeat the Fly Guys by bouncing on top of them, but don't let him fall! Touch him to make him jump.

Memory Match: Touch cards to find matching pairs. Clear the board to win coins

Pair-a-Gone: Touch two identical cards that are next to each other. Cards will disappear when you touch them.

Bob-omb Squad: Use your slingshot to knock the parachuting Bob-ombs out of the sky.

Snowball Slalom: Rub the Touch Screen to roll the snowball down the path. Make it to your goal before time runs out to win.

Too bad you can't play these on multiplayer.

The fact that it has thirty extra stars to collect and the ability to play as different characters. Plus, it is really the only game that looks to be worthwhile for purchasing the DS at the moment.

DC... you do realise that a black DS is not coming out, or not atleast for an extremely long time, if ever? I'm assuming you have seen everywhere "Color: Silver and Black". Well, they mean that the DS will be available in Silver, with parts of black. Then again, a black DS much later on could be on the cards, but nothing is official.

Nintendo announced that they would release a fully Black DS, but they didn't say when they'd do it.

Talk on the street is suggesting that Nintendo will be releasing some new DS colours around the time of the PSP's US launch date(March) to take a bit of the edge off the PSP launch.

I know I can wait till March for a DS, the current launch titles make aren't really appealling to me, but Mario Kart and possibly NSFU2 are. ;)

:o You scared me for a second!
I thought you meant next march. :P

I probably wont get myself a DS until the end of the year, Mario and Wario are really all I'm interested in, but more importantly there are a number of GCN and Xbox games releasing in 2005 that I must get my hands on first (since I already own those consoles, it makes sense to get the software for them, rather than a new hardware with software I dont want right).

I figure that by the end of the year, E3 will have come and gone, we will know what's on the horizon for the DS, some of the more interesting software will be released and there is likely to be some good deals in purchasing the system, and also by the end of this year I would have got essentially all the console games that I want. So yeah, the end of the year sounds good to me. Seems like a long wait, but with some great console games that are coming up, it'll hardly be a painful wait.

Since the DS thread is getting spammed with Mario 64 DS posts I thought I should post here instead.

My new high score in the Shell Smash minigame is 58950. Currently on 32 stars in the main game.

Some more comparison pics from NoE:







And if you've fought Bowser you can see he not only looks better he animates better as well. The old Bowser had a weird walking animation and didn't have a correct turning animation (not to mention a damn huge head!).

It's beyond me as to why they decided to make the textures blander, I think that's the real difference graphical difference.

Everything just looks so mopey. :(

Power of the system Estapol, nothing more.

What do you mean? I'm pretty sure it was an intentional move on the developers part and not a hardware limitation.

Nearly all of the textures have been changed; some for better, some for worse.

Basically I'd say it came down to the developer opting for a less vibrant colour palette.

@ ~DC:

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/hardware/index.html

Eyce, you're a freaking legend. :D

Some may look better, some may look worse, but across the board the textures are less detailed.

I've also seen some strange UV mapping blends resultant from less impressive filtering. My money is on those changes being a power concern.