SM64 Level Select
By James S.
What did Nintendo forget to take out of SM64 but is actually a good thing-the level select and it's even in the PAL version. It can be activated using a code; pressing start at the title screen you can choose what level you want to go to including the ending. As for the enemy levels you can't select what star you want to do (though that isn't usually a problem), and if you exit a course you return to the level select at the title screen.
Above you can see on the left the PAL level select which has the missing colourful % character which is in the Japanese game as seen on the right. Note that the level select has the title of just 'SUPER MARIO' maybe as it was programmed early on and the final name was not decided then.
The analogue stick doesn't work with the level select, instead use the D-PAD:
D-Pad Up: select previous level.
D-Pad Down: select next level.
D-Pad Left: Select the level 10 levels before current one.
D-Pad Right: Select the level 10 levels after current one.
Stranely, some of the names are difficult to relate to the actual levels, others fairly obvious such as 'kuppa1' for the first Bowser fight (i.e. Koopa 1 since King Koopa is what Bowser is known as in Japan). There are a few glitched up letters due to some of the colourful characters not existing which also doesn't help in selecting the right level (but all the colourful characters are in the Japanese version). The blank names were perhaps where more levels were to be added; if selected you are returned to the title screen.
Here is the list of levels; the level number as shown in the level select is displayed first
followed by the level name.
1 (Unused)
2 (Unused)
3 (Unused)
4 Big Boo's Haunt
5 Cool, Cool Mountain
6 Inside the castle (first floor)
7 Hazy Maze Cave
8 Shifting Sand Land
9 Bob-omb Battlefield
10 Snowman's Land
11 Wet-dry World
12 Jolly Roger Bay
13 Tiny-huge Island
14 Tick Tock Clock
15 Rainbow Ride
16 Outside the Castle
17 Bowser in the Dark World
18 Vanish Cap Under the Moat
19 Bowser in the Fire Sea
20 The Secret Aquarium
21 Bowser in the Sky
22 Lethal Lava Land
23 Dire, Dire Docks
24 Whomp's Fortress
25 Ending picture
26 Courtyard with the Boos
27 The Princess's Secret Slide
28 Cavern of the Metal Cap
29 Tower of the Wing Cap
30 Bowser in the Dark World Boss Fight
31 Wing Mario Over the Rainbow
32 (Unused)
33 Bowser in the Fire Sea Boss Fight
34 Bowser in the Sky Boss Fight
35 (Unused)
36 Tall, Tall Mountain
37 (Unused)
38 (Unused)
All content of this and related pages is copyright (c) James S. 2007-2011