Super Mario 64/Walkthrough

Entering the Castle
Once the scene ends, you take control of Mario. Use the area to try out some of Mario's moves. Then, walk up to the castle. When your ready you can enter the castle.

The First Floor: 0-1 Stars
Upon entering, someone will give you a warning; ignore it. There is only one place you can go to now, and it is the door with an unmarked star on it. Going inside, you will find a painting. This leads into the first stage, Bob-omb Battlefield.

After you get a star, there will be several other places you will be able to go to. There are two doors marked with a 1. The bottom one leads to Whomps Fortress, and the other leads to a room with four doors. The three missing characters are here, but without a key to open the doors, you cannot switch characters yet. However, the stained glass window of Princes Peach to the right contains a secret stage, The Princess' Secret Slide.

There is another room beyond this one, however. The next room is the Rec Room. Here was where the princess played games as a child. The Toad, however, lost most of the keys to the games (the mini-games that you can play). To get the keys, you will need to catch rabbits. There are seven for each character. You will notice that in the Rec Room there is another painting. This one takes you to Sunshine Isles, another secret stage.

You will notice a door also, but you can't open it until you have eight stars. For now, go to the stages you have unlocked, and get as many stars as you can.

The First Floor: 3-12 Stars
After accumulating three stars, you will be able to go to a few more stages. If you go to the door on the far right, you will find a room with a painting leading to Jolly Roger Bay. There are also two small apetures on the sides of the room. The left has a 1-up mushroom, and the other takes you to The Secret Aquarium.

The door closest to the door to Bob-omb Battlefield has another main course: Cool, Cool Mountain.

After you get eight stars, the door in the Rec Room can be opened. Inside the room is a picture of Mario you can go into. This will lead you to the Goomboss Battle. If you beat Goomboss, you will get a key to Mario's room, thereby unlocking him.

After getting twelve stars, the door with the big star can be opened, but only if you have Mario. Then, any character can go inside. (This applies to all doors that look the same.) The long hallway has a trap pit; go inside to reach Bowser in the Dark World.

If you beat Bowser, you will get a key unlocking the basement, so head to the wooden doors, then go down the stairs.

The First Floor: 14-15 Stars
Whether you defeat Bowser in the dark World or not, after you get 14-15 stars, two places are unlocked. The courtyard now has a big Boo in it. If you defeat it, it will drop a carrusel-like object. Jump into it to reach Big Boo's Haunt. The course itself has a picture of Luigi hidden somewhere inside it, so go take a look.

In the first room of the castle a bright light will be shining onto the sun carpet. Stand in it and look into the "sun" to reach the stage called Tower of the Wing Cap, where you can find the switch that makes all of the red ? blocks solid. (However, you will need to be Mario to do anything there.)

The Basement: 0-29 Stars
There are three stages you can go to now. If you enter the big maze-like room, there will be a door with a star on it. The portal in the room ahead leads to Hazy Maze Cave. The big painting in the center of the maze-like room has two stages itself. The painting leads to Lethal Lava Land. If you go left from the painting, you will reach a dead-end, but the wall leads to another stage, Shifting Sand Land. Explore all of the stages you have now to reach thirty stars and unlock the next big door.

Before you do so, however, go to the wooden door in the maze-like room. Here you will find an underwater section. Swim to the other side, then ground-pound the two pillars to drain the water. This will allow you to access the basement from outside (where you start), make a stage available, and allow several rabbits to appear.

The Basement: 30-31 Stars
After you open up the big door, you will find that the Bowser stage is blocked by a portal. This leads to Dire, Dire Docks. After you get the first star in there, the portal will move back, allowing you to access Bowser in the Fire Sea. If you beat Bowser, you will get another key, this time to the second floor.

The Second Floor
Not exactly much will happen on ths floor, but it opens up several more stages. If you go into the mirror room, you will find two stages. To get to Snowman's Land, you will need to find the painting not relfected (on the left). To reach the other stage9Chief Chilly Challenge0, enter as Luigi, then grab a flower and run through the mirror and into the Wario painting. If you go through the door on the other end, you will reach a blank room with a star.

In the circular hallway, you will find two stages: Wet-Dry World and Tall Tall Mountain. Wet-Dry World is found by going into the painting with a water strider, and Tall Tall Mountain is found by going into a small painting of a mountain surrounded by mushrooms.

The other door in the area leads to a room with three paintings. The middle one is not a portal. However, the other two will take you to Tiny-Huge Island. The left one makes you huge, and the other tiny.

The Third Floor:50-79 Stars
After you get 50 stars, unlocking the big star door (with Mario) will allow you to access the last area in the game. There are a few more stages up here, as well as another big door (you can go in any time, but now you cannot go all the way up because of endless stairs). The clock will lead you to Tick Tock Clock. There are two holes on the walls on either side of the room. If you are standing in front of the clock, going into the right one will lead you to Rainbow Ride. The left leads to Wing Mario Over the Rainbow.

The Third Floor: 70 Stars
After finding 70 stars, Mario will be able to climb the endless stairs and to the top, where a hole will lead him to Bowser in the Sky, the final showdown against Bowser.