Super Mario 128

Super Mario 128 [1]refers to a series of development projects that were originally to be used only to create a sequel to Super Mario 64. As debuted at Nintendo's Space World trade show in 2000,[2] the demonstrated graphics and physics concepts were gradually incorporated into various games across many years. This includes the rapid object generation in Pikmin, the "sphere walking" technology used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Super Mario Galaxy, and the physics of Metroid Prime.[3]

Super Mario 128
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s)Nintendo
SeriesMario
Platform(s)Nintendo GameCube/Wii
Genre(s)Adventure, platform

History

Super Mario 64 sequel

The name Super Mario 128 was first used as early as January 1997 by Shigeru Miyamoto,[4] as a possible name for a Super Mario 64 sequel.[5] This rumored expansion and sequel to Super Mario 64 called Super Mario 64-2 was said to be developed for the 64DD, but ended up being cancelled due to the 64DD's commercial failure.[6] Shigeru Miyamoto mentioned at E3's 1997 convention that he was "just getting started" on the project.[7]

We're in the middle of preparing Mario 64-2 for release on the 64DD. I'd like to take advantage of the 64DD's ability to store information. As of now, Luigi's also a full part of the game, but we haven't started thinking about 2-player gameplay with Mario and Luigi yet. We'll tackle that once we've got the system ironed out—we've figured out the processing power issues, so we could do it if we tried.

Shigeru Miyamoto, December 1997[8]

In November 1999, Shigeru Miyamoto said, "Well, for over a year now at my desk, a prototype program of Mario and Luigi has been running on my monitor. We've been thinking about the game, and it may be something that could work on a completely new game system."[9][10] The game had only a demo of one level made for it. Miyamoto claimed that multiplayer functionality was the first aspect of the game that he wanted to include.

Nintendo Power: How about the sequel to Super Mario 64?
Miyamoto: We've been thinking about the game, and it may be something that could work on a completely new system.
Nintendo Power: Are you planning on making a two-player game with simultaneous, cooperative play?
Miyamoto: We've actually been considering a four-player game with simultaneous play, but each screen would need to be very small, and we would have to implement new camera work. But it's these sort of problems that I like to tackle.

— 

References

  1. Life, Nintendo (2018-10-03). "Feature: Remembering Super Mario 128, The Groundbreaking Masterpiece That Never Really Existed". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  2. "Super Mario 128". MarioWiki. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  3. "Super Mario 128 (GameCube)". IGN.
  4. Gilbert, Ben. "Your favorite Super Mario games are getting remastered for the Nintendo Switch, according to new reports". Business Insider. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  5. "Nintendo Power". Nintendo Power. January 1997. http://www.miyamotoshrine.com/theman/interviews/0197.shtml. Retrieved November 23, 2017. 
  6. "Super Mario 64 II (Nintendo 64)". Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  7. Imamura, Takao; Miyamoto, Shigeru (August 1997). "Pak Watch E3 Report "The Game Masters"". Nintendo Power (Nintendo): 104–105. 
  8. Miyamoto, Shigeru; Itoi, Shigesato (December 1997). "A friendly discussion between the "Big 2" (translated text)". The 64 Dream: 91. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  9. "Nintendo Power". Nintendo Power (Nintendo). November 1999. 
  10. "Super Mario 128". Super Mario Wiki. Retrieved 2020-04-08.
  11. "An interview with Shigeru Miyamoto". Nintendo Power. December 1998.