"Super Mario 64" Outside the Castle Quiz

Answer: He enters through a warp pipe

Ever since the Mario games first began, Mario's preferred method of quick travel has been those classic green tubes (or warp pipes). This has been a classic element of the Mario games ever since the original "Super Mario Brothers" for the NES. In the case of "Mario 64", this is one of only a few times one of these items will be seen or used in the entire game.

Answer: Princess Peach sent him a letter

When you choose a new game for the very first time, a brief cutscene plays before you begin the game. In this scene, you are given the opportunity to see a letter sent from Princess Peach to Mario inviting him to the castle. She says she has baked a cake for him. Of course, as it turns out, Peach is in trouble once again and Mario must save her but that is not his original purpose in coming to the castle.

Answer: Lakitu

This little character is not new to the Mario saga, but his role in "Mario 64" is. He is the "camera man" for the entire game. It is through his lens that the player views Mario and Mario's surroundings throughout the game. In fact, there are several mirrors throughout the game and if you stand in front of one of these mirrors, you can see Lakitu hovering behind you.

The best place to do this is on the third floor of the castle, in the room that leads to the final snow level.

Answer: Coins

While there are some coins at other locations around the outside of the castle, there are no coins on the beach.

The cannon is jutting out from the beach and is surrounded by low walls. The cannon is covered by a metal grate that remains closed until all 120 stars are collected throughout the game.

There is a green tree on the edge of the grass right by the sand of the beach.

There is a small sign near the water. If you read this sign, it gives a brief explanation of swimming techniques.

Answer: How to climb a tree

Each sign in the area is located in a place that provides easy access to an area where that particular skill can be practiced. In this case, this sign is located near a cluster of trees on which Mario can practice his climbing.

Answer: Under the bridge that Mario must cross to get to the castle

They are under the bridge but very high. The only way for Mario to collect these coins is to perform a triple jump or a side flip into the wall and then wall-kick off of the wall and grab each coin.

There are no coins on the roof of the castle; just Yoshi and a wing cap box.

There are coins at the bottom of the lake but there are more than two and they provide nothing but increased life for Mario if he has been underwater long enough to lose some of his breath.

There are no coins hidden in the waterfall or the area around the waterfall.

Answer: True

The castle is also accessible in "Mario Kart 64" on the track named ROYAL RACEWAY. If you veer off to the right after completing a long jump over water, you can drive right up to the castle. Many of the details from the area around the castle in "Mario 64" are also present in "Mario Kart 64". If you do this while racing, you may fall behind as it is a dead end, but it is an interesting detour for those who are looking for little extras in the game.

Answer: 100 lives

Yoshi is the character found on the roof (this detail was omitted from the question for the sake of a question later in the quiz) and he grants Mario 100 lives to play around with. A wing cap box is also available on the roof next to Yoshi. There were rumors when the game first came out that the wing cap you received from the box on the roof was an "eternal" wing cap that never had its power run out, but this is not the case.

Answer: Invisibility/Invincibility Cap (blue)

Access to this bonus stage is through a square black hole near the water fall on the left side of the castle. This cap earns Mario temporary invisibility, allowing him to pass through certain walls and fences. It also temporarily grants Mario invincibility to enemy attacks (although Mario can still be injured by a long fall or by being under water for too long).

The wing cap bonus stage is accessed after Mario has collected 10 power stars and stands in the lobby of the castle, looking up at the sunlight streaming in through the window.

The metal cap bonus stage is accessed through a special entrance found in level 6, the Hazy Maze Cave.

Sadly, the classic Mario power of fireballs is not present in "Mario 64". There is no yellow cap in the game.

Answer: Princess Peach

Despite the popular rumors that Mario and Peach got married after just about every Mario game (I mean, why wouldn't she marry Mario?! He has saved her so many times, right?), Mario apparently never tied the knot with Peach. Since Mario is originally summoned to the castle for a cake Peach has baked, it can be assumed that he does not live there. Therefore, there would be no reason for Mario to be pictured on the window.

Throughout the course of the game Mario must collect 120 power stars. It is these stars that grant the power to the castle. However, despite the stars' crucial role in the game, they are not included in the picture.

Yoshi can be found on the roof in person (or is it "in dinosaur") but is not in the picture.

Answer: While standing still, crouch, then jump (hold Z button, press A button).

The backflip is a useful tool in the game as it is one of the few jumps that does not require special timing. It is, however, not as high as most of the others.

If Mario crouches and then jumps while running, he performs a long jump. This jump does not gain Mario much height, but does enable him to cross gaps he is unable to cross with a normal jump.

Running one direction, then changing directions and jumping causes Mario to perform a side flip. This is the second highest jump in the game and is quite useful for many things such as gaining the advantage over pursuing enemies. The only jump higher than the side flip is the triple jump and is executed while running, then jumping three times in succession with good timing.

Standing still and then jumping and attacking at the same time cause Mario to perform a powerful jump-kick. This is an excellent weapon against many enemies because it does not require great timing like the normal attack (punch) does.

Answer: None of these

Actually, the only thing that can be found under this bridge is water. The water from the moat runs under this bridge into the lake in front of the castle.

Two coins can be found under the large grey bridge that goes to the castle entrance.

There are a couple of extra life mushrooms able to be found outside the castle but under this brown bridge is not one of them.

The only wing cap box outside the castle is the one on the roof with Yoshi.

Answer: Red

The entire roof as well as the peaks on the spires of the castle appear to be red tile. The rest of the castle is grey stone. There is also a stained glass window on the central peak of the castle and flags on top of the spires.

Answer: True

While there is plenty to do outside the castle, there are no stars to be found here. There are many things found outside the castle but nothing that earns a star for Mario. Every one of the 120 stars are found inside the castle or, in the case of the Blue Cap bonus stage and the level entitled "Big Boo's Haunt" which is found in the "backyard" of the castle, inside a level. (Note: The star earned in this bonus stage is considered a castle secret star and is earned by collecting 8 red coins in the bonus stage.)

Answer: Waterfall

The waterfall actually comes in to play once in the game. In one of the underwater levels there is a large hole in the wall beneath the surface of the water that tries to suck Mario into it. It is possible to swim out of its pull but if you do get sucked into it, it deposits Mario down the waterfall and into the pool where the water from the waterfall collects.