Scariest moments in Super Mario 64

Introduction

Super Mario 64 is a Nintendo 64 game released in 1996, created and published by

Nintendo. It was also the first 3D-based Mario game in the Super Mario series. We

all love Super Mario 64 for many things, such as its unique personalization and

giving the player the ability to travel from various worlds, ranging from battling

Bob-ombs to being up in the clouds and over a colorful rainbow on a flying airship.

Mario can do so much more compared to his earlier years, such as punching

and kicking enemies as well as performing long jumps and backflips. Super Mario

64 was an astounding hit for its time and still proves to be enjoyable and forever

loved by Super Mario fans (like me) over the years. Super Mario 64 is incredibly

fun to play, but it does carry some very terrifying moments. Here is my take (in no

particular order) on some of the Scariest moments in Super Mario 64.

1. The man-eating piano in search of plumber blood!

Big Boo's Haunt is a spooky-themed course that is bombarded by Boos, eyeballs, and spiders. While there are also books and chairs being thrown at Mario, there

sits this lonely piano. Sitting in a corner of an empty room just waiting to be used

to play a catchy tune, or so we think! What Mario doesn't know is that the piano is

a trap created by Bowser, and it is out to murder him! The piano is suddenly

lunging after Mario with a tune that rings music into Bowser's ears. Before you

know it, the piano is victorious, and Mario is lying on the floor, injured from the

piano's vicious attack. I consider the Mad Piano as one of the craziest jump scares

you'll witness out of Super Mario 64.

2. Can the eel come out to play? I highly doubt it!

Now that I've covered one of the scariest jump scares you'll see out of Super

Mario 64, there's the giant eel from Jolly Roger Bay. Jolly Roger Bay is known for its calm waters and relaxing music. Although Jolly Roger Bay is a peaceful world,

there's a sea-like monster lurking in the depths of the water just waiting to harm

anyone who goes near it. Mario's objective in acquiring one of the missing Power

Stars are to lure Unagi out of its hiding spot and grab the star from its tail. This is a

hard task for Mario to complete, as he has to grab the Power Star before the Unagi

decides to take a bite out of our heroic plumber. If you're able to acquire the Power

Star, consider yourself lucky because the Unagi will be awaiting your return.

3. Got that sinking feeling? That's because you are sinking!

Here we are in Shifting Sand Land, the land of shifting sand. This world is full of

nasty Pokeys, Tox Boxes, and tornadoes. Of course, we can't forget the biggest

enemy of this sandy world, quicksand. Yes, it's all over the place, and Mario must

be very cautious of where he's going, or he could end up in a sandy grave. One of

the scariest moments of Shifting Sand Land is when he gets stuck in some

quicksand inside the pyramid. All Mario can do is struggle, but he is helpless as no

one is there to save him. His last effort at freedom is to extend his hand in hopes

that some other mysterious hero pulls him out of his doom, but his efforts have

failed, and he is gone forever.

4. Choking on poisonous fumes in the depths of the underground caves

Our hero now arrives in a world known as Hazy Maze Cave, a maze-like cave that

has vicious spiders and toxic gas. The only way Mario can go through the toxic

maze is to use a power-up known as the Metal Cap, which is located in green-

colored boxes throughout this world. The Metal Cap can help Mario complete the

dangerous maze without breathing in any contaminated air. There is one catch:

This is a power-up that has to be unlocked by entering a secret level and pressing

a giant green switch before you can use the metallic hat. If you don't know where

the secret of the Metal Cap is, you may want to navigate the poisonous maze as

quickly as possible before Mario starts choking to death. Mario can only last

through the maze for so long until he starts coughing from the gaseous fumes of

the underground cave. Before you know it, Mario can no longer breathe and falls

over, succumbing to the toxic fumes of the underground maze cave.

5. Drowning in the water worlds

One of my very own biggest fears in life is drowning. Although I can swim, it was

something that always scared me. I was never a fan of seeing people drowning in

scenes from various TV shows, movies, and most especially video games. Super

Mario 64 is one of those games that has etched that fear into me even more. Just

watching Mario clutching his throat and gasping for air was just a bit too much for

a then-6-year-old girl to see in a Mario game. I always try my very hardest to keep

Mario from running out of oxygen, whether it's from collecting coins and inhaling

bubbles from underwater treasure boxes to replenish his air supply while staying

underwater for long periods. Enemies, such as Clams, are

just enough to quickly deteriorate the life of our good old Italian plumber into

becoming a drowning victim.

6. Heading to Electric Avenue with electric Amps

Some worlds have enemies known as Amps that are there to electrocute

Mario. Amps are round, metallic-looking orbs that fly around just looking for

someone to put their voltage into. That "someone" they want to zap is, you

guessed it, Mario! When an Amp touches Mario, he starts shaking uncontrollably

as electricity goes through his entire body. Once the electricity has taken the life

out of Mario, he goes limp and falls onto the ground completely lifeless. And as for

the Amps, well, they are feeling victorious over their electrifying achievement.

Jerks.

7. Swirling around in whirlpools

Dire Dire Docks is a course that many people love because of its theme song. You

cannot go wrong with the music in Dire Dire Docks. There's one thing that

really "sucks" in Dire Dire Docks, and that is the dreaded whirlpool. This whirlpool

is there to prevent Mario from collecting coins and opening treasure chests. If

Mario gets too close to the whirlpool; he is pulled in and gets sucked down to his

doom and drowns.

8. No swimming allowed in Tiny Huge Island!

Tiny Huge Island is one of the most unique courses to be featured in Super Mario 64. In the upstairs portion of Princess Peach's castle, you find a room containing three nearly identical paintings, each in a different size. The paintings display a huge Goomba beside a small Goomba. Mario can only enter two out of the three paintings: the smallest takes him to the small side island, while the largest leads to the large side island. Koopa the Quick, the island's resident, also reappears in this course. Tiny Huge Island is filled with enemies, both large and small, such as Goombas, Fly Guys, and Lakitus. However, the most dangerous threat is the giant Cheep Cheeps on the large side island. Approaching them while swimming is extremely hazardous—if Mario gets too close, he can be eaten instantly. The lakes inhabited by these Cheep Cheeps are perilous, and Mario should avoid swimming in them entirely to ensure his safety.

Conclusion

This pretty much covers my views of the Scariest moments in Super Mario 64. I

hope you enjoyed it. I will be making more Mario-related articles

soon. In the meantime, stay tuned!

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