While it’s been a known fact for quite some time that Super Mario 64 was originally intended to have a multiplayer mode, the general public in the West has never seen any footage to suggest Nintendo had developed the mode beyond the concept stage. In a recently uncovered video (courtesy of the YouTube channel Now in Game Channel) from a Japanese broadcast, we now have a glimpse of what that mode looked like along with some footage of Luigi in Super Mario 64.
We finally have a glimpse of what the early multiplayer mode for Super Mario 64 looked like! This is also the first time we have seen Luigi's SM64 model outside of the Nintendo Leaks! Take a look! pic.twitter.com/Ev3R7NDBtp
— Marionova (@Marionova64) December 15, 2023
Starting around the 13:20 mark in the video, the camera pans to some TVs showcasing Nintendo’s then-upcoming 3D platformer. Along with an early look at Mario running around the entrance of Peach’s castle, the TV to the right displays Luigi spinning through the air. It can be hard to see on small screens, but when viewed on a large monitor, the character model is very clearly Mario’s green-clad brother. He does appear to be slightly taller, but the angle of the footage might be distorting him.
L is Real?
The rest of the video is more of an overview of the Nintendo 64 and even includes some footage of Shigeru Miyamoto talking about the console. There is also a look at a beta version of Super Mario 64 that sees the game running at a higher frame rate with a vastly different HUD. In addition to that, there are betas of Mario Kart 64, Kirby’s Air Ride 64, and Pilotwings 64 that all show the games in earlier stages of development.
The video does not currently have subtitles or closed captions available, but there is bound to be someone willing to pour over the footage to give us a better translation of what is happening. Regardless of if or when that happens, it’s very clear from this video that Nintendo was farther along with multiplayer for Super Mario 64 than we previously believed. For more information about the unreleased beta of Super Mario 64, check out our article below!
Nintendo 64 leaks uncover Luigi in Super Mario 64, uncompressed Star Fox 64 voice clips, and more
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
