Summary

  • Luigi was originally planned to be playable in Super Mario 64, but was cut during development, confirming a long-standing gaming urban legend.
  • Dataminers found evidence of Luigi's inclusion in the game's source code, including textures and a model, suggesting he was almost completed before being left out.
  • Rare footage from Nintendo's 1995 Space World Show showcases a build of Super Mario 64 with Luigi jumping, providing further evidence of his planned inclusion.

Over 25 years after the original release of Super Mario 64, a fan has uploaded some old footage online that showed that Luigi was planned to be playable in the game before being cut during development. Luigi being in the original Super Mario 64 was one of the biggest and longest standing gaming urban legends. Despite the theories and legends was ultimately dismissed as a rumor.

In 2020, there was the infamous Nintendo gigaleak, which dumped a ton of information and source code from older Nintendo games, including an early build of Super Mario 64. Dataminers who dug into the source code found evidence of Luigi being in Super Mario 64. What was found was almost completed too, such as textures and a model that would have turned Mario into Luigi, though the implementation of a playable Luigi was not completed in time. Recently, some footage has been uploaded that further shine a light on Luigi's planned inclusion as a playable character.

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The footage was uploaded to YouTube by Now In Game Channel, which contains rare VHS footage of Nintendo's 1995 Japanese Space World Show. This was where the Nintendo 64 console was showcased for the first time. Around the 13:21 mark of the video, eagle-eyed viewers can spot to the right a build of Super Mario 64, with Luigi jumping towards the screen. It's only on-screen for a few seconds, meaning it is very easy to miss.

Luigi Mario 64 screenshot

If this footage is to be believed, this would make it the first time Luigi has been seen in Super Mario 64 outside the massive Nintendo gigaleak from 2020. An old interview from a Nintendo strategy guide (archived by VGC) has Shigeru Miyamoto describing the process of designing the game, creating rooms made of "LEGO-like blocks" that allowed Mario and Luigi to jump, run around, and more. This description seemingly matches the video footage provided by Now In Game Channel.

According to Miyamoto, Luigi was included as a playable character in a scrapped multiplayer mode for Super Mario 64. Due to a combination of memory issues and the likelihood that players would only have one controller when Super Mario 64 was released, Luigi was left out of the final build of the game. The closest Luigi would come to being playable in Super Mario 64 would be in the Super Mario 64 DS remake.

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Super Mario 64 Tag Page Cover Art

Super Mario 64
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3D Platformer
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Released
September 26, 1996
ESRB
E for Everyone
Developer(s)
Nintendo
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Engine
Nintendo 64 SDK
Franchise
Super Mario Bros.
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WHERE TO PLAY

PHYSICAL
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Super Mario 64 marks the series' first foray into the 3D platforming space, with players controlling Mario as he is invited to the Mushroom Kingdom castle by Princess Peach. Players will locate Power Stars through a variety of levels to reach Bowser.

Platform(s)
N64
Genre(s)
3D Platformer
How Long To Beat
12 Hours
Super Mario 64 trailer screenshot