Super Mario Disk Version aka "Super Mario 64DD" (found unreleased Nintendo 64DD port of 3D platformer; 1999)

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Supermario64disktitle.jpg

A screenshot of the games title screen.

Status: Found

Date found: Jun '14

Found by: afonfjv (aka jimmy130)

Super Mario 64 Disk Drive was a planned port of Super Mario 64 to the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive. Originally set to release in 1999, it would have served as a launch title for the Nintendo 64 Disk Drive.

Background

In 1996, the Nintendo 64 debuted. The Nintendo 64 used cartridges while competitors Sony and Sega moved onto discs for their consoles. Instead of cutting the Nintendo 64's lifespan, Nintendo opted to try an add-on to the system to allow for disc usage. In 1995, Nintendo announced the Nintendo 64 Disc Drive one year after announcing the Nintendo 64.[1] The add-on would have utilized magnetic disks instead of the standard game cartridges. The Nintendo 64 Disc Drive missed many launch dates, but eventually came out in Japan on December 1, 1999, with a planned US release.[2] The add-on was a massive failure with and was discontinued in 2001 never getting released outside of Japan. Because of this, several games and expansion packs that were in development for the 64DD were subsequently cancelled, including an enhanced port of Super Mario 64.

Details

Little is known about Super Mario 64 DD except that it would have the same graphics and style as its predecessor and that Luigi would have been playable as well. There is reportedly a demo of this concept, but there are neither any legitimate images or videos of this. While Super Mario 64 DD was never released, Super Mario 64 DS can be seen as the fruition of these ideas. Many fans speculate that the game was going to be Super Mario 64 2. The magazine Famitsu claimed to have sources close to the project that confirmed Super Mario 64 Disk Drive was going to be a sequel to Super Mario 64.[3] This can be debunked by the fact that the found disk drive shows no new game, but instead an enhanced port of Super Mario 64.

Reemergence

While a full realization of these concepts hasn't been found, footage of a 64DD disk of Super Mario 64 had surfaced in 2014 when a French collector found the game at a second-hand store in Japan.[4] The only real noticeable differences between this and the original game with better textures, different castle music, slightly longer loading times, and buggy encounters with the Wiggler boss in Tiny-Huge Island. It's unknown if any further development of this was made or if it's even a sequel, but it's speculated that the game found was actually just a tech demo for the 64DD that Nintendo made and showed off to the press to show the hardware's potential.

Gallery

File:Super-mario-64dd.jpg
A photo of the game disk.
The game booting up on the Disk Drive.

More gameplay footage.

See Also

External Link

References