History Awesome / SuperMario64

!Meta
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngMFEeDoX54 16 Star is dead. 16 star is FUCKING DEAD!]]": With those words, [=GreenSuigi=] achieved what is probably the closest a speedrunner can get to ''fucking perfection'' with a 16 star speedrun record of 14:35.

* And how about Bowser's plan? He doesn't crack jokes or mess around this time. He just drops in, storms Peach's Castle, and seals every single door with the castle's stars. If he hadn't left the door to Bob-omb Battlefield open for whatever reason, [[TheBadGuyWins he would have won]].

* In late April of 2019, Nintendo-focused [=YouTuber=] Nathaniel Bandy discovered a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRmbFCFEOKc way]] to beat Super Mario 64 DS ''without using Mario.'' That's right- he managed to beat the game with just Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario. Even better, his total Star count by the end is a whopping 134/150 Stars. This feat spawned an entire new subgenre of Super Mario 64 speedruns, and is an impressive feat of ingenuity regardless.

* On that note, Bowser's encounters in general. Taking cues from his having [[TookALevelInBadass taken a level in badass]] a mere generation ago, Bowser ups his game this time; he outright storms Peach's Castle [[VideoGame/PaperMario64 for the first]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy of many times]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU in this series]], steals the source of its power, and puts his hold on pretty much every area of the castle by creating 15 different worlds that you have to explore. And then come the levels where you trek up to Bowser; you go through a gauntlet more similar [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros to]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 the]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 games]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld of]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland old]], complete with [[AwesomeMusic/VideoGames "Koopa's Road"]] playing as it builds up to your confrontation, complete with each having a Power Star to boot (2 in the DS remake). At the end of the level you fight the scaly king of the Koopas himself, who across the different battles uses several abilities such as a huge stomp attack, a charge attack, his signature [[BreathWeapon fire breath]], and even teleportation. As stated above, you have to throw him into a bomb to do any damage at all. Then comes "Bowser in the Sky". Pretty much everything is thrown at you this time, and the end has you fighting Bowser with an even ''more'' awesome tune in the background, forcing you to hit him three times to win, and after the second hit he makes the entire ground crumble, revealing a star shape and requiring your aim to be true to even hit the bomb. There's a reason why Mario is the ultimate hero of gaming, especially after this fight.

* Meta examples:
** The very fact that ''Mario'', already a successful 2D platforming series, transformed flawlessly into 3D, which had never been done before at the time. ''Super Mario 64'' would go on to leave major marks on the video game industry.
** In late July of 2020, a massive ContentLeak revealed data from several beta builds of multiple SNES and N64 games, Super Mario 64 included. What was one of the things leaked from this game? Pieces of a model for ''Luigi''. That's right; almost 25 years after the game was released, '''L is actually real.''' Even though Luigi didn't make the cut, it wasn't for lack of trying on Nintendo's part. They clearly didn't want the guy referred to as "player number 2" to have to sit the game out, even if he ultimately did...
*** Even better: Since Super Mario 64 released in June of 1996, that means the leaks were made 24 years and 1 month after. 24, 01. 2401. It's like it was destined to be.
*** Several coders were able to assemble the model and have it functional in a Super Mario 64 rom in no less than ''two days''. THAT'S how important the discovery was to everyone.

* Yoshi hijacking Mario's role as the main protagonist is one of ''the'' selling points of the remake. He doesn't just fight alongside Mario to beat Bowser. He straight-up ''steals the show.'' Even if his inability to punch or kick makes him a considerable downgrade to the plumbers[[note]]He's completely incapable of breaking the large brick blocks, which the other characters can do easily. He also has no way of defeating Boos, even with his ground pound, which makes him incapable of entering Big Boo's Haunt.[[/note]], his jumping capabilities and egg-laying and throwing, along with his overall balanced mobility, more than make up for not being able to throw his fists around. And ''even then,'' saving Mario, Luigi and Wario makes their hats appear in all levels for Yoshi to wear, giving the green dinosaur ''all'' of the plumbers' abilities until he gets hit. This makes it entirely possible to beat ''most of the game'' (Big Boo's Haunt, Bowser in the Sky and certain secret levels notwithstanding) entirely possible to beat with Yoshi alone.

** Even better with the final battle, as Mario has climbed far into the sky to fight him, and the battle is set to some epic background music. You have to blow Bowser up '''three''' times! Grabbing the star afterwards and flying into the sky with heroic music playing... perfect way to end the game.

* Any time you get the Koopa Shell. Mario is ''surfing'' with it.
* Each and every time Mario dons the Wing Cap is an awesome moment, soaring through the sky with soaring music playing. There's a reason why it's the game's signature power-up.

** In late July of 2020, a massive ContentLeak revealed data from several beta builds of multiple SNES and N64 games, Super Mario 64 included. What was one of the things leaked from this game? Pieces of a model for ''Luigi''. That's right; almost 25 years after the game was released, '''L is actually real.''' Even though Luigi didn't make the cut, it wasn't for lack of trying on Nintendo's part. They clearly didn't want the guy referred to as "player number 2" to have to sit out, even if he ultimately did...
** Even better: Since Super Mario 64 released in June of 1996, that means the leaks were made 24 years and 1 month after. 24, 01. 2401. It's like it was destined to be.
** Several coders were able to assemble the model and have it functional in a Super Mario 64 rom in no less than ''two days''. THAT'S how important the discovery was to everyone.

** In late July of 2020, a massive ContentLeak revealed data from several beta builds of multiple SNES and N64 games, Super Mario 64 included. What was one of the things leaked from this game? Pieces of a model for ''Luigi''. That's right; almost 25 years after the game was released, '''L is actually real.''' Even though Luigi didn't make it, it wasn't for lack of trying on Nintendo's part. They clearly didn't want the guy referred to as "player number 2" to have to sit out, even if he ultimately did...

* And how about Bowser's plan? He doesn't crack jokes or mess around this time. He just drops in, storms Peach's Castle, and seals every single door with the castle's stars. If he hadn't left the door to Bob-omb Battlefield open for whatever reason, he would have won.
* There's an oasis in a corner of ShiftingSandLand. What's awesome is the fact that the developers were nice enough to put it there to refill your health at any time, since diving in water and then coming back out refills your health.
* On Bob-omb Battlefield, using the cannon on the floating island to launch Mario directly into the red-coin star with careful aiming. A flawless victory.

** The very fact that ''Mario'' managed to successfully translate from a 2D platforming series into 3D, which had never been done before at the time. ''Super Mario 64'' would go on to leave major marks on the video game industry.

** On that note, Bowser's encounters in general. Taking cues from his having [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]] a mere generation ago, Bowser ups his game this time; he outright takes over Peach's Castle [[VideoGame/PaperMario64 for the first]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy of many times]] [[VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU in this series]], steals the source of its power, and puts his hold on pretty much every area of the castle by creating 15 different worlds that you have to explore. And then come the levels where you trek up to Bowser; you go through a gauntlet more similar [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros to]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2 the]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3 games]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld of]] [[VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld2YoshisIsland old]], complete with [[AwesomeMusic/VideoGames "Koopa's Road"]] playing as it builds up to your confrontation, complete with each having a Power Star to boot (2 in the DS remake). At the end of the level you fight the scaly king of the Koopas himself, who across the different battles uses several abilities such as a huge stomp attack, a charge attack, his signature [[BreathWeapon fire breath]], and even teleportation. As stated above, you have to throw him into a bomb to do any damage at all. Then comes "Bowser in the Sky". Pretty much everything is thrown at you this time, and the end has you fighting Bowser with an even ''more'' awesome tune in the background, forcing you to hit him three times to win, and after the second hit he makes the entire ground crumble, revealing a star shape and requiring your aim to be true to even hit the bomb. There's a reason why Mario is the ultimate hero of gaming, especially after this fight.
*** And how about Bowser's plan? He doesn't crack jokes or mess around this time. He just drops in, storms Peach's Castle, and seals every single door with the castle's stars. If he hadn't left the door to Bob-omb Battlefield open for whatever reason, he would have won.

* A meta-example, but managing to successfully translate a 2D platforming series into 3D, which had never been done before at the time. ''Super Mario 64'' would go on to leave major marks on the video game industry.
* Each and every time Mario dons the Wing Cap is an awesome moment, soaring through the sky with soaring music playing. There's a reason why it's the game's signature power-up.

* Meta example: In late July of 2020, a massive ContentLeak revealed data from several beta builds of multiple SNES and N64 games, Super Mario 64 included. What was one of the things leaked from this game? Pieces of a model for ''Luigi''. That's right; almost 25 years after the game was released, '''L is actually real.''' Even though Luigi didn't make it, it wasn't for lack of trying on Nintendo's part. They clearly didn't want the guy referred to as "player number 2" to have to sit out, even if he ultimately did..

* Somehow, ''Bowser'' of all characters manages to [[TookALevelInBadass take]] ''[[TookALevelInBadass another]]'' [[TookALevelInBadass level in badass]] in the remake. When he takes another go at what he did in the original, he not only replicates his original takeover of Peach's Castle perfectly, he manages to improvise a little and, with the help of his co-dragons Goomboss, King Boo, and Chief Chilly, he captures ''Mario, Luigi, and Wario'', three of the most powerful characters in the entire franchise, when they try to stop him, and even better, that doesn't even throw a wrench in his plans. That's what really sets the stakes even higher in the remake, which could have been a let-down otherwise. Now Bowser's grown even ''more'' powerful this time around, and now, with his three most powerful enemies taken out of the picture, Yoshi is the only one who can stop him.

* And how about Yoshi in general? We all know Princess Peach is going to be captured, but when we see not just Mario, but Luigi and Wario, we think they're gonna be just fine. But after a while, they don't return. So Yoshi (who somehow manages to get down from the castle roof to the ground without waking up) decides to take a look himself, and when he breaks into the castle, he finds out that our seemingly insurmountable heroes have been captured, as Bowser took a level in badass and made sure they couldn't get in his way. What does the character who appeared as just a cameo in the original do? Well, no need to fear, as our unlikely hero takes a ''serious'' level in badass, and fights his way to the Power Stars one by one, and rescues Mario and our heroes just in time and saves the day, and all this, with just his appetite and incredible jumping! Talk about a hero.

* And how about Yoshi in general? We all know Princess Peach is going to be captured, but when we see not just Mario, but Luigi and Wario, we think they're gonna be just fine. But after a while, they don't return. So Yoshi (who ''somehow'' manages to get down from the castle roof to the ground without waking up a sweat) decides to take a look himself, and when he breaks into the castle, he finds out that our seemingly insurmountable heroes have been captured, as Bowser took a level in badass and made sure they couldn't get in his way. What does the character who appeared as just a cameo in the original do? Well, no need to fear, as our unlikely hero takes a ''serious'' level in badass, and fights his way to the Power Stars one by one, and rescues Mario and our heroes just in time and saves the day, and all this, with just his appetite and incredible jumping! Talk about a hero.

** It's certainly no Mario vs Bowser, but Yoshi throwing down with Goomboss still manages to pack a punch, as it reminds us just why he needs to win--if he fails, then Mario and the crew will be trapped, and so will Princess Peach, and all will be lost.

* Meta example: In late July of 2020, a massive ContentLeak revealed data from several beta builds of multiple SNES and N64 games, Super Mario 64 included. What was one of the things leaked from this game? Pieces of a model for ''Luigi''. That's right; almost 25 years after the game was released, '''L is actually real.'''