The secondary goal in this particular Super Mario 64 challenge is to collect all eight red coins while being consistently haunted by the mushroom. In the N64 version of the game, the mushroom has the ability to fly—at speeds slower than Mario—until it touches the player. And it will not stop following the player until it succeeds, not unlike an inverted Terminator.

Yes, it takes a little while to get going, but the excitable narration, even in Japanese, is top notch. The entire series of videos can be watched at YouTube.

Super Mario 64 Challenge [YouTube via NeoGAF]

Chain Chomp Hat [Knitting Ninja - thanks, Motha!]

Princess Peach's Castle: it's one of the Mushroom Kingdom's most prominent landmark immortalized in playing cards. Tipster Professor Hazard passes this along:

Check out this house of cards that Sasha Fiero over at Snipe Hunt Media made! It's Peach's Castle from Super Mario 64, complete with moat and a Queen of Hearts for the picture of Peach on the front. I thought this might be the kind of thing you guys would want to see.

Not only is Super Mario 64 the series first 3D incarnation, but also the first game to let you really abuse Mario in a myriad of different ways. The above clip shows Mario being burned, drowned, shot into a stone wall, snow balled, flattened, shot out of a cannon and then drowned, falling, smushed, burned then smushed, etc. Some seems like glitch exploits, while others seem unnecessarily cruel. So many Mario deaths. So sad. Brian Ashcraft

Thanks bpmΩ!

Some of our readers have bred, which might or might not be a good thing. But, it does give them an understanding of what gaming is, that it's not bad or evil. The Guardian points to a gaming parent post written by the mother of a 16 year-old son. It details how Super Mario 64, Halo and PG-13 rated trash talk has brought them closer. There's From the post:

I played badly at first but I would sneak into his room at night while he was asleep to practice and hone my skills. His gaming time was limited because he was young and reading and learning were more important at his age; each night we would play for an hour and on weekends a couple of hours per day. We would take turns on the controller. I would usually only play if he was having a hard time getting through something. We each would have our attempts at defeating the unbeatable bosses. I shared in the excitement when after 20 grueling tries he would finally beat a level or boss and I would bask in the hugs, kisses and pride when I beat a level or boss he could not defeat. And yes I even spent late nights while he slept looking for hints and walk-throughs.

How sweet. The post is gooey, schmaltzy and slightly heavy handed — Important words are put in bold to drive home the point. Still, it's really nice to see this kind of stuff. What about Kotaku-land? Anyone game with their children or parents? Brian Ashcraft

Gaming Parents [2old2play via The Guardian]

Nintendo sent me a Wii Classic Controller along with a bunch of Wii games yesterday afternoon, so I just started messing around with it tonight.

The first thing I did, of course, was purchase Mario 64. As soon as I started the game a message flashed up on the screen: You will need the Classic Controller.

Fortunately, the thing is only $20 and so far seems well worth the price. Check back tomorrow for a more substantial review of the controller and how some of the Virtual Console games behaved on it. Behaved! Brian Crecente