Super Mario 64
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Super Mario 64 was the launch title for the Nintendo 64 (N64), and is largely considered to be one of the best and most important 3D platformers of all time.
Game Versions
There are many different versions of the game, differing by where, when, and how they were released, and in what way.
N64
The Nintendo 64 console is less robust than modern consoles, so its CPU is more likely to crash when confronted by unforeseen occurrences.
Japanese
V1.0
The very first version of the game, the Japanese 1.0 N64 has all the quirks of the Japanese 1.1 N64 version, as well as different Timestop mechanics and other things (please add if you are reading this).
V1.1
Version 1.1 of the Japanese N64 version fixed some of the bugs from the 1.0 version, but still contains many that were later fixed, such as spawning displacement, the lack of a coin limit, and other things (also please add). It is notable because it contains less dialogue than the English version. For example, Mario does not say "Haha", nor does Peach narrate her "Dear Mario" letter. She also does not talk during the ending. This version is notable for being the fastest version of the game for the 1 Key category, but no others. This is because the text takes longer, but the lack of narration makes the game shorter. The text in the first Bowser fight is avoided during the 1 Key run, so the Japanese version becomes faster.
English
The English version of the game introduces voice clips like "Haha" and Peach's voice clips. It fixes some errors from the previous version, like the lack of a coin limit. It has, in general, less text than the Japanese version, but takes longer during the intro and ending due to Peach's narration.
PAL
The European release of Super Mario 64 supports language changing in the settings menu between English, French, and German. This is optimal for the ABZ Button Challenge because the Start button can be used to change language and the language with the least text can be selected. Due to Wii VC Round-To-Zero, however, the true optimal PAL version is not on N64. Outside of ABZ, PAL is little-used because changing languages wastes time and English is effectively identical if you do not change languages. Oddly, PAL runs at 24 frames per second rather than 30, another reason why it is suboptimal for speedruns.
Shindou
The final release of Super Mario 64 was once again in Japanese. It enabled a compiler flag to allow optimizations, so the game lags less. It also fixed the Backwards Long Jump glitch, which is why it is rarely used in speedruns, except in the BLJless category. Strangely, when grabbing a pole on this version, horizontal speed affects Mario's angle. The game introduced new voice clips like "Bye, bye!" when throwing Bowser. Some of Mario's voice clips are high-pitched in this version.
Wii VC
Main article: Virtual Console
The Wii acts differently from the N64. It is much less likely to crash. Unlike the N64, it does not crash from PU crashes, Bully angle crash, Bob-omb angle crash, or when Mario gets infinite speed. The Wii also has a different rounding method for floats than other consoles, which is documented here: Wii VC Round-To-Zero
Japanese
Japanese Wii VC is actually the Shindou edition, not the original Japanese version. This is why it does not have spawning displacement or other Japanese N64-exclusive glitches, nor does it have BLJs. It is almost never used for speedrunning for that reason.
English
English Wii VC is the optimal Wii VC for speedruns. It avoids the lack of BLJs in the Japanese version and the slower framerate of the PAL version. It is used for the A Button Challenge any% run because Bowser in the Fire Sea takes 0 A presses instead of 1 due to a rounding error.
PAL
PAL Wii VC is rarely seen because it is obscure and slow. However, it is actually the ideal game version for the ABZ Button Challenge, at least for any%, because it contains both language switching and the rounding error in BitFS.
Wii U VC
The Wii U has no known interesting glitches that set it apart from either N64 or Wii VC. It is identical to Wii VC, except that the rounding error is absent.
Japanese
Not commonly used in speedruns.
English
Not commonly used in speedruns.
PAL
Not commonly used in speedruns.
iQue (Chinese)
The iQue version of the game runs on a similar console to the N64. Because there are no TASing tools available for this console, it is unknown how the console acts upon a floating-point truncation error, since BLJing and the Bob-omb and Bully angle crashes were patched. It is still being studied and has never been useful in a speedrun for similar reasons to the Shindou version.
Disk Drive Edition
Main article: Super Mario 64 Disk Drive Version
Found at an obscure Japanese game store, the Disk Drive version of Super Mario 64 is an early version of the game. It has several bugs, most notably that it crashes whenever Wiggler walks, making Wiggler's Red Coins crash upon entering the loading zone and Make Wiggler Squirm crash after clearing Wiggler's text. Thus, a 120-star run is impossible. Because it is on a disk, loading times are very high and the game can lag. Thus, it is not useful for speedruns.