Super Mario 64/Glitches

There are several glitches in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, which can be useful or just strange. Please note that they most likely were fixed in the DS remake.

Bridge? What bridge?
A really simple glitch. In Course 1 (Bom-omb Battlefield) go to the first wooden bridge. Go under it, where the coins are, then press and hold A. you should be holding on to the bridge. Still holding on, make your way to the lowest point possible. Release A. Mario should pull himself up through the bridge.

Bob-Omb? That's not a Bob-Omb!

 * Throw a Bob-Omb. Pick it up as it lands. You'll be holding a huge Bob-Omb.
 * Run up the short white part of Chain Chomp's gate. You'll be holding...nothing.
 * Go near a lot of anything. You'll be holding...whatever that anything is!

Black Room of Death
Once you have all the stars, a cannon near the pond in front of the castle will open and launch you to a roof, where Yoshi will be waiting. Also on the roof is a Wing Cap. There is a glitch that can be done with this:
 * Get the Wing Cap, then fly off the roof and into the cannon on the ground.
 * Launch towards the tower as high as it will go.
 * Keep flying towards it until you reach it. The upper part of the castle has 8 sides, so when you land on an outcrop face away from the wall that is 2nd to the left of the one that is in front (the "front" wall is the wall that was directly in front of you when you blasted from the cannon.)
 * Face away from the wall and then quickly turn around and run into it. You should fall down into a strange chamber. Remember that you'll lose half of your power.
 * You'll be in a chamber that is completely black. If you try to enter the door, you will end up in another black room of death (In front of the castle's front door, while on the other side of the door you can see the castle walls). The only way out is to leave through a hidden wall in the chamber that's inside the castle.
 * When you fly to the castle outcrop, you can also walk straight up to the top of the castle instead of falling through (by walking up the 3rd left from the front wall)

Note: There are many black rooms of death around the castle, which can be accessed by glitches such as "The Rabbit Trick" and "Long Jump Beyond the Wall".

Flying Mario Corpse I

 * Go to Course 8 (Shifting Sand Land).
 * With the Pink Bob-Omb, open up the cannon in the corner of the level.
 * Go in the cannon, move the cannon as far left and as far up as it will go. Firing directly above the sun will kill you automatically as you will land in the quick sand.
 * Fire the cannon, do it many times.
 * Eventually Mario's power will run out but he'll still be in the cannon.
 * If you fire straight out into the level Mario will technically be dead but still flying. If Mario lands though he'll die and if he gets coins they won't do anything (and if Mario lands in water he'll drown automatically).

Flying Mario Corpse II

 * Go to Course 11 (Wet-Dry World)
 * Go in the cannon, and aim it just above the sun.
 * Fire the cannon and do it 4 times.
 * After the 4th time Mario's power will run out but he'll still be in the cannon.
 * If you fire straight out into the level Mario will technically be dead but still flying. If Mario lands he'll die and if he gets coins they won't do anything (and if Mario lands in water he drowns.)

Lose a life without a cause

 * Get all 120 stars.
 * Go into the cannon outside the castle.
 * Aim for the roof of the castle and fire the cannon.
 * Land on the roof, and go to the RIGHT side of the roof in the very back (where the game ends)
 * Standing next to the invisible boundary, slowly walk off the edge of the castle so that Mario will be hanging onto the edge of the castle.
 * Climb back onto the castle's roof, but as you do, hold the "A" button and push the joystick up and to the right.
 * Mario's cap will disappear, and even though Mario never lost any power, a bowser face will come out of nowhere and Mario will lose a life.
 * Some guess that this happens because when this trick is done, Mario steps outside the game's boundaries into a part of the game that doesn't exist, and the only way for the game to continue without corruption is to automatically make Mario lose a life.

Lose your cap permanently
Sometimes if the giant snowman blows your cap off at a certain angle, the cap will land in the ice structure containing the Star (from In the Deep Freeze). If you try to get your cap back, you will instead grab the Star (since the cap is slightly below the Star). If this happens, reset your Nintendo 64 system. If you save your game, you will never be able to get your cap back. In Super Mario 64 DS, this glitch was fixed. (If your cap gets blown off, it will land on a snowman's head.)

Lose two lives
Go to the Vanish Cap Under the Moat. Either enter with, or lose, enough health to die from the fire. Touch it and quickly aim yourself for the abyss. You'll lose a life and appear in the moat, where you'll drown.

Bouncing Mushroom

 * Get all 120 stars, and make sure the moat in front of the castle has no water in it.
 * Go outside of the castle, and go to the tree on the far left that contains a secret 1-UP mushroom.
 * Climbing to the top of the tree and pressing the joystick up will make the 1-UP mushroom appear. Do this, but as soon as the mushroom appears, jump off the tree and make a long jump into the moat, while avoiding the invisible cap hole. The goal of this trick is to run away from the 1-UP mushroom as fast as possible, and not let it get to you.
 * Without slowing down, keep making long jumps across the moat until you get to the pond. When you get to the pond make a sharp RIGHT leap into the pond as fast as possible.
 * Swim out of the pond and get into the cannon.
 * Aim the cannon for the castle roof and fire it.
 * Once you land on the roof, get the winged Mario cap and fly above Yoshi.
 * Fly straight, and fly in a circle around the perimeter of the game. This should be done to make it difficult for the mushroom to catch up.
 * Once you've made a complete circle, you'll get back to the cannon. Go into the cannon and do the Black Room of Death glitch (see the first section of this article for more information.)
 * When you are in the black room, the mushroom will try to get to you, but the wall will be blocking it. As a result, the mushroom will be constantly bouncing back and forth against the wall in a "C" shape, unable to get to Mario. If Mario moves left or right, the mushroom will follow Mario along the wall. If the mushroom gets stuck in the wall and Mario walks through the door, the mushroom will vanish, but if the mushroom doesn't get stuck, Mario will get it when he walks through the door.

Other way to enter light

 * After you have 10 stars, go behind the carpet in the lobby.
 * Look up at the light.
 * Quickly go on the carpet and zoom in.
 * You'll enter Tower of the Wing Cap before you look up.

Oww! Oww!
Get hurt by one of the two Mr. I's in Hazy Maze Cave. Mario wil say "Oww!" like usual. Then he'll fall off the cliff. Sometimes when he reaches the bottom, he'll say "Oww!" again but won't actually take any damage.

The UFO of Jolly Roger Bay

 * Go to Course 3 (Jolly Roger Bay) and choose star #1
 * Go under water, to the very back at the very bottom, and open all the chests.
 * Swim over to the sunken ship. By this time, the eel should be out of the ship's hole.
 * Once the eel is gone, swim into the hole on the top of the ship.
 * Open all the treasure boxes.
 * Wait for the water to drain.
 * Run over to the steps, but before you get to them, slow down to a crawl, or tip-toe.
 * You should see a small UFO-like object floating in front of you. However, when you try to get to it, it will zip off erratically in a different direction, much like what a UFO would do.

Shortcut on the Second Floor Steps
If you've opened the door to the castle's upper floors...on the spiral staircase leading to them, there's an unintended shortcut. Jump along the edge of the wall just before the left turn. Mario will grab onto an edge that shouldn't be there. You can pull him up through the wall, and he'll be right there at the door that faces the painting for Wet-Dry World. A black room of death (near the door to the second floor) can be found by doing this glitch.

Shell Suicide
In Lethal Lava Land, get the shell. Surf on the lava and to the log. Mario will get crushed and lose all his health. He'll also make a very weird noise. This can also done in Snowman's Land, by surfing under the Chill Bully's platform.

The Rabbit Trick
If you grab the rabbit in the basement at the right angle, you will warp slightly so you are in front of the rabbit in the right position to grab it without changing which way you face. This can be exploited to warp through the star door without 30 stars by placing the rabbit in the right position and grabbing so you are on the other side of the door. This is used for beating the game with only 16 Stars. It can also get you to two different black rooms of death (One near the basement door, and the other near the door to the moat).

Bypass The Last Star Door And The Endless Stairs
If you long jump backwards on the stairs at the right angle rapidly, you will go through the star door or climb the endless stairs, depending on which stairs you are doing it on. In order to long jump backwards, do a regular long jump, then move the control stick backwards. Keep holding down the Z button and press the A button as fast as possible while on the stairs to fly through the star door or the endless stairs. This allows you to beat the game with as little as 16 Stars. The guys doing these videos use the rabbit glitch and the stair trick:

Manipulated Boo Guard

 * Get 12 Stars so the Boo appears in the hallway.
 * Go to the hallway where Boo is, and quickly leave the door.
 * Enter the room with the entrance to Whomp's Fortress (or the room with the entrance to Cool, Cool Mountain).
 * If you are in the room with the entrance to Whomp's Fortress, walk slowly to the left side of the room. If you are in the room with the entrance to Cool, Cool Mountain, walk slowly to the right side of the room.
 * Go back into the room with the Boo, and it should be facing backward.
 * Go into the basement and then go back into the hallway. The Boo will be facing the normal way.
 * Enter the Whomp's Fortress or Cool, Cool Mountain room again and walk slowly to the side of the room closest to the hallway. You should hear the Boo laughing partway there.
 * Walk slowly to the courtyard hallway again. The Boo should be gone.
 * Enter the door to the courtyard to see a Boo floating in the middle of nowhere.

Long Jump Beyond The Wall
Near the basement door, you can do a backwards long jump along the wall to the left of the door. Do a rapid long jump, the same way you did in the "Bypass The Last Star Door And The Endless Stairs" glitch. If done correctly, you will go through the wall and into another room. This glitch can be used to get to a black room of death (under the stairs).

Starting a Course With No Power
Start on the bridge outside the castle and jump down off the bridge towards the door into the basement. You will lose 8 power. Now go into the door and into the halls with fire and burn yourself once to lose three more power bar things. Now go near the Lethal Lava Land picture and jump up on a fire next to it - Time yourself right - on the last power bar, jump into the picture, by the time the screen fades, all your power should be gone. As soon as the level starts, you'll fall dead.

Walk on quicksand
Go to Shifting Sand Land and go inside quicksand and press Z while getting sucked in. You will be walking on quicksand. Press A on the control pad to get out.

Hold a Wing Cap in Your Hand
Go to Shifting Sand land and lose your hat. Get it out of the bird's talons, but don't grab it. Now, go through a teleporter any number of times and get a wing cap. Now run up to the cap as if you are doing the "Hold Your Cap in Your Hand" glitch. But since you have a wing cap, you will be holding a wing cap in your hand. And you can still triple jump or shoot out of a cannon and start flying!

Immediately start flying one direction
Okay, this one is really, really simple. While flying, all you have to do is land while very sharply turning one direction. Then start flying again, and BOOM! You'll be flying in that direction. If that was a little complicated to read, here's an example. Okay, I just started flying. I start VERY SHARPLY turning left, and I land while still turning. Now I start flying again, and WHOA! I start by immediately turning left and the only thing I did was triple jump!

Fence Flying
This one happens in Bob-omb Battlefield. Get into the tall cannon near the Koopa Troopa. Aim for the bottom of the floating island, and fire. You will need to hold up the entire time to send you flying waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay up in the air! You will even fly above the mountain! Eventually, you will get sent out of the level's boundaries and lose a life after about ten seconds.

Suicidal Chill Bully
Go to Snowman's Land and grab the crate. Go over to the ? Block, line yourself up with the tree, and throw the box onto the platform with the Chill Bully on it. Chill Bully will walk onto the box and fall into the ice cold water.

Frozen Snowman's Land
This glitch works in the European version. In Snowman's Land, set the star to Snowman's Silver Star, collect all five Silver Stars, then go into the igloo. You will find that all the stars have disappeared. Now, go back outside the igloo and you will find out that the stars are back. If you collect one, everything except your character will freeze. Also, the enemies will disappear completely. To get out of the level, get yourself killed by the freezing water, press, , , and at the same time to return to the title screen, or simply turn the power off.

Multiple Caps
This glitch works if you are playing as Mario, Luigi, or Wario. In Snowman's Land, go to the bridge near the Snowman's head. Purposely let yourself get blown off the bridge. Now grab the crate and throw it at the snowman wearing your hat, which was blown off by the Snowman. Get your cap back, and go back to the bridge and let yourself get blown away again. This time when you throw the box at the snowman, you will find two caps. Keep losing your cap and getting it back, and the caps will multiply by two (4, 8, 16, 32, 64). If 16 or more caps appear, the DS will lag and some of the sprites will be invisible. If too many caps appear, the game freezes. However, the game will only freeze if you have Version 1. If you have Version 2, the game will not freeze, but the DS will lag and you can get more and more hats.

Hatless Power Flower Abilities
As Yoshi, enter Tall, Tall Mountain, get Hoot the Owl, and fly to the top of the mountain. You will need to select a cap from the menu for this glitch to work. Collect the Power Flower (or Cape Feather if you get Mario's cap). Jump off the mountain and go to the area where Ukiki is. Grab him, and once the Power Flower wears off, do a cliff dive into the water (while holding Ukiki). Ukiki will steal your cap while you are in midair. Swim far away from Ukiki, and get Hoot the Owl to fly you to the top of the mountain. The glitch will fail if Ukiki gives his speech. Now hit the ? Block and collect the Power Flower. The glitch will differ depending on which character you are using.


 * Mario: Everything will be normal, but he will have wings growing out of his head.
 * Luigi: His body will be invisible, but his head will remain the same.
 * Wario: The game will freeze the instance you collect the Power Flower.

Ghost Rabbit
Go into the courtyard as Wario, because there is a rabbit for him to catch. Position the rabbit in between the Boo and Wario, then face the Boo. Charge toward the rabbit and, if lucky, you will catch the rabbit, the Boo will solidify, and the Boo will knock the rabbit out of Wario's hands. The rabbit will not move, can't be touched, and you'll walk through the rabbit as if it was a transparent Boo. Many players use this glitch to get humorous screenshots of Wario standing inside the rabbit, making him look like he has rabbit ears.

Walk Underwater in Jolly Roger Bay
Enter Jolly Roger Bay as Wario, or use his cap, and go into the ocean cave. Make sure the star is set to PLunder In the Sunken Ship. Get the Power Flower and quickly run to the nose of the ship as fast as possible. If successfully done, you will stand under water and be able to walk around. The only way to escape is to die, enter the ocean cave, or exit the level.

Flooded Tall, Tall Mountain
In Tall, Tall Mountain, set the star to any mission with Hoot the Owl in it. Get Hoot to fly you over to the Scary 'Shrooms section. Now go onto the warp mushroom and the entire course will be filled with water! Avoid the wind and the water at the bottom of the mountain, as the glitch will end if this happens. If you do this glitch as Yoshi, you can carry a Chuckya! To do this, go over to where the Chuckya, being careful not to let the water disappear. Press to grab the Chuckya as if it was a Koopa Shell. The Koopa Shell music will be playing, and you will be swimming around while carrying a Chuckya. As the water disappears, you will still be carrying the Chuckya.