Gold Mario

Gold Mario is the nickname given to a phenomenon reported in some personalized copies of Super Mario 64. As the name suggests, it takes the form of a Mario with a gold-like texture applied. The anomaly commonly manifests as a boss fight against the player, but people have also reported being able to play as Gold Mario. Interestingly, the texture utilized is an unused Power Star texture found in the Gigaleak going by the file name of 'polystar_env_txt', which has led to some people referring to the anomaly as Star Mario instead.

Function
Gold Mario currently has two known forms: A boss the player may fight, or a transformation for Mario similar to the Metal Cap. Both have been reported to use the same model, being a Mario with a texture that has the same reflection-like effect as the Metal Cap or Stars, but with a gold-like texture. Whichever form it takes, it always displays abilities similar to the Metal Cap.

Fightable Variant
If Gold Mario is encountered as a boss, it is always reported to have the exact same moves as the player-controlled Mario, which many people claim makes the fight very difficult. Most reports claim the fight is only available at the very end of the game, and that you’re required to fight as Metal Mario albeit without the power-up wearing off over time.undefinedCompleting the fight is said to unlock various things, such as a new ending, an extra difficulty for the main game, a final level, or even a playable variant of Gold Mario. Something to note is that there have been no reports claiming that there is dialogue upon starting or completing the fight, although a regular Power Star is always reported to spawn from Gold Mario upon defeat.

Playable Variant
If Gold Mario is encountered as an alternate form for Mario, it has so far always been reported as a powerup, being a Gold Cap. The Gold Cap has been reported to drop from either the same yellow boxes as other items (like coins) or new boxes with a more vivid yellow color. After unlocking the Gold Cap, people claim that new boxes appear for them, as opposed to replacing existing ones, and new Power Stars or objects appear in areas that would allow players to use the Gold Cap to achieve some goal, such as collecting a Power Star or a 1-Up. A unique variation of the Metal Cap theme plays while the Gold Cap is active, which can be heard in the video on the side. The abilities are allegedly similar to the Metal Cap, but there are also unique abilities.

Reported abilities include:


 * Sinking in water
 * Dealing enough damage to instantly defeat enemies on contact
 * Being impervious to fire but sinking in lava, similarly to quicksand
 * Still taking damage
 * Heavier physics
 * Yellow sparkles surrounding the player during a triple jump

Unlocking
Players who have encountered Gold Mario as a boss claim that unlocking it is reserved until the end of the game. Every report said they had the Metal Cap Switch pressed when they unlocked Gold Mario. Players claim after every currently achievable star is obtained, an entrance to a fight with Gold Mario appears on the final floor. The entrance itself varies, but is usually a painting. The player will then appear in an arena with Gold Mario and nothing else, with unique boss music playing. After Gold Mario has been defeated, the entrance disappears and there is no currently known way to have a rematch without resetting the file or choosing a different file. Something worth mentioning is that the title of the song is identical to the title of the star people claim to get after winning the fight.

Players who have encountered Gold Mario as a form of Mario claim that the unlocking method is variable. Some people claim to have new boxes containing a Gold Cap appear after defeating Gold Mario, while some people claim that an entrance to a new switch level appears instead, typically appearing in Shifting Sand Land’s pyramid subarea as an area named Chamber of the Gold Cap. Interestingly, some people say that defeating Gold Mario unlocks the Gold Cap as a replacement/upgrade to the Metal Cap, which may imply similar upgrades exist for the Vanish and Wing Caps. However, some people claim that defeating Gold Mario as a boss is not required to unlock the Gold Cap. Some reports say that Switch level is unlocked without any requirements, or even that the Gold Cap replaces the Metal Cap by default.

Some players have reported seeing a Gold Mario costume when the Costume Closet appears in their copy. Most players say that the costume needs to be unlocked by defeating Gold Mario as a boss or completing Chamber of the Gold Cap. If Gold Mario does not manifest in your copy, players otherwise report unlocking him by collecting a large amount of coins, typically around 800-1000, but some players have reported needing to collect all 2,672 coins in order to obtain Gold Mario.

Rewards
Defeating Gold Mario is said to reward the player in one way or another. Most claim they get to unlock a playable Gold Mario, but some claim that a brand-new type of Power Star known as Gold Stars appear in many of the levels. The stars are comparable to Green Stars in the later game Super Mario Galaxy, serving as regular stars but with more challenging ways to collect them. There are typically not many Gold Stars per level, and Gold Stars appear on the Star Select Screen after the regular stars. The other most common reward is unlocking a brand new stage titled Golden Gardens. the stage is described as being rather linear, similar to Bowser levels, and typically has a single Gold Star at the end. It is also possible the player may unlock multiple of these rewards, as people claim to need one reward to obtain another. For example, needing the Gold Cap to collect certain Gold Stars, or needing to collect all Gold Stars to unlock Golden Gardens. According to some reports, collecting enough Gold Stars and/or defeating Golden Gardens can unlock the Gold Mario costume in the Costume Closet.

Trivia

 * Brucetexturename.pngPolystar env txt.pnge who have allegedly dumped ROMs of their personalized copies claim the texture used for Gold Mario refers to the name "Bruce". There has been much speculation as to who this is, but it is believed to be the nickname given to Gold Mario by the developers, perhaps resulting from an inside joke.