Nintendo DS Launch Info!

To get back on-topic, Mario 64 DS is going to be fucking awesome. It's a hell of a lot more than just a port.

1) You've got at least four different characters to pick from while playing. You can use Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Wario and possibly a hidden fifth character yet to be announced. Each has their own set of special abilities and each must be used in order to progress through the newly redesigned game.

2) New levels, new powerups and new enemies have been added to the game. The Maximum Star count in the original Mario 64 was 120 stars. In M64 DS, the number has risen to 150. So, there are possibly three or four new worlds to explore in the game. On top of that, the Power Flower (similar to a Fire Flower) items have been re-inserted into the game, and have a different effect on each character. The item causes Mario to inflate like a balloon and float in the air for a limited time, while it causes Luigi to turn invisible. The rest of the special abilities and items have yet to be revealed at this time.

3) A wide variety of touch-screen minigames have been added to the game as well. Some examples being a slingshot game in which you shoot Bob-Ombs by pulling back on the stylus and releasing it, or a "pipes" minigame in which the player must guide Mario and Luigi down a series of vertical bars by drawing connecting pipes between them to circumvent obstacles.

Beyond that, the controls have been altered slightly, allowing the player to either use the d-pad or the touch screen for more precise control. Granted, there are bound to be even bigger additions to the game that we'll either learn about in the coming weeks or we'll have to wait to see for ourselves. The game is going to kick ass.