Back in 1996, a Japanese guidebook to accompany the launch of Super Mario 64 was released. What made this book stand out against other guides of the time was its inclusion of 3D diorama models of each Super Mario 64 level.
Copies of this book can still be found online for those who wish to collect some Mario memorabilia. But those less concerned with owning physical items but still have an interest in Nintendo’s history are now in luck, as Dave Shevlin from Video Game Comfort Food has uploaded the entire book to the internet (thanks, Kotaku).
“Here it is! The infamous Mario 64 guide with the incredible 3d sculpture landscape scenes!!”, Shevlin tweeted.
“Finally, I can bring this to the internet to enjoy with my 600 DPI scans!”
This guide is written almost entirely in Japanese, but even if the text may get lost in translation the pictures themselves make this upload well worth a look.
The attention to detail is amazing, with everything from 3D floating platforms to tiny little patrolling Bob-Ombs shown off within the book’s 2D pages.
There is even a chilly little Mario model on the side of the game’s snow laden mountain.
What there doesn’t seem to be is an image anywhere showing Mario rather callously throwing a baby penguin over the mountain’s side, but that’s perhaps for the best.
Check out the whole book by clicking the link here. It is a delight to behold.
Nintendo rereleased Super Mario 64 as part of its 3D-Allstars anniversary celebration pack in 2020. So, even though this book is now decades old, it may well still come in handy for any heading back to the Mushroom Kingdom for a spot of nostalgic gameplay today.
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