MIPS
MIPS is a Yellow Rabbit found in the Castle Basement when the player has collected fifteen Power Star. MIPS will actively attempt to flee when Mario approaches him. If Mario catches MIPS, he will give Mario a star. MIPS appears in the basement a second time after Mario has collected fifty Stars. Mario can catch MIPS again and will get another Star from him. After getting the last Star, MIPS will not reappear for the rest of the game.
In the remake Super Mario 64 DS, MIPS does not make a reappearance; instead of being replaced by the rabbits scattered throughout the castle for each character to find. They're modeled after MIPS, but they do not give up Power Stars. Instead, they give up keys to unlock minigames in the Rec Room. Two of Mario's, one of Wario's, and one of Yoshi's rabbits can be found in the same location MIPS was in the original game.
Along with Mario, MIPS was the first character created for Super Mario 64. MIPS was used extensively in early Nintendo 64 test simulations and ultimately made it into the final game because the development team liked him so much.
MIPS Clip
In speedrunning, the trick called MIPS Clip is used to bypass the 30 Star Door that leads to Dire, Dire Docks and Bowser in the Fire Sea.
Trivia
Sourced from MarioWiki.com
- MIPS is named after the MIPS (Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages) microprocessor, the type of processor used in the Nintendo 64.
- MIPS is involved in a glitch where if the player picks him up and places him near a wall, Mario will go through that wall.
- Although not quoted directly, several of MIPS's lines reference the White Rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
- Mario was originally able to throw MIPS the rabbit, but this was removed.
- MIPS also makes a cameo appearance in Mario Party 3 in Woody Woods, where several can be seen gathering near the item shop. MIPS appears in 3 colors: orange, yellow, and pink, which are colors matching the rabbits that replace MIPS in Super Mario 64 DS (the only absent color is green).