Super Mario 64 DS similar games & best alternatives

Super Mario 64 DS - super-mario-64-ds_1.avif
Super Mario 64 DS - super-mario-64-ds_2.avif
Super Mario 64 DS - super-mario-64-ds_3.avif
Super Mario 64 DS - super-mario-64-ds_4.avif
Super Mario 64 DS - super-mario-64-ds_5.avif
Super Mario 64 DS - super-mario-64-ds_6.avif

Super Mario 64 DS

Wii U, Nintendo DS • 2004

Should you play it?

What works

  • Multiple playable characters with unique abilities
  • Extensive content with 150 stars and minigames
  • Portable and accessible gameplay
  • Engaging multiplayer with single-cartridge play
  • Improved graphics and sound over original

Things to keep in mind

  • Control scheme limited by lack of analog stick
  • Camera system can be frustrating
  • Some minigames are hit-or-miss
  • Textures pixelated up close due to hardware
  • Platforming precision reduced compared to original

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

Less competitive

Games that feels like Super Mario 64 DS but with less competition against others

More intimate

Games that feels like Super Mario 64 DS but with more focus on close relationships

Less fellowship-oriented

Games that feels like Super Mario 64 DS but with less of a community feel

  • Crash Bandicoot: Warped

  • Shantae and the Seven Sirens

  • Sonic Adventure DX

  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps

  • Freedom Planet 2

  • Sonic Adventure

Choose your own criteria ->

From the same developer

From the same developer, ranked by motivational fit.

Similarity map

How to compare these games

Compare nearby games

Each card is a nearby game on the similarity map, compared with Super Mario 64 DS. Swipe sideways to move between games. Titles already listed in What to play next are left out.

  • Cover and title: open that game’s page.
  • What works / keep in mind: the same highlights as the desktop comparison panel.
  • Bars: the main motivational differences versus this game.
How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Swipe to compare nearby games with Super Mario 64 DS. These titles are not in What to play next.

Super Mario 64 DS: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Violence, Survival, Leadership.

Last update: 21/08/2026