Super Mario 64/Walkthrough

Entering the Castle
Once the scene ends, you take control of Yoshi. Use the area to try out some of Yoshi's moves. Then, walk up to the castle. Unfortunately, the castle doors are locked. Lakitu, the cameraman, will tell you a rabbit was spotted with the key. Find the rabbit and use the A button to eat him, making him surrender the key. Now you will be able to go inside 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 Stars
Whether you defeat Bowser in the dark World or not, after you get 14 stars, tow 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 ? Switch, 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 lead 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.