Personalization Factor

The personalization factor of a cartridge is a measure of just how personalized a copy of Super Mario 64 is. It is commonly known that every copy is personalized to some extent, but some are more personalized than others. This scale is similar to, but distinct from, The Wario Approximation, another measure of how personalized a copy is.

Personalization Factor 0:Base Game
No true PF0 cartridges exist, because every one is personalized. However, all SM64 ROMS played on emulators function as a PF0 cartridge. The Wii U version and 3D All-Stars version both use these ROMS, and therefore also lack personalization. The reason for this is that the emulators do not emulate the AI itself. It is commonly theorized that this was done on purpose, in an attempt to remove all traces of personalization, however it could also be because of the inability to recreate the bond between the cartridge and the Nintendo 64.

Personalization Factor 1:Typical cartridge
Most copies are here. These cartridges are personalized, but not by a noticeable amount. One can tell they’re personalized when they play two different cartridges, though, as when one switches to someone else's cartridge, it often feels "wrong".

Personalization Factor 2:Minor alterations
As is commonly known, many copies contain a crack that easily reveals where the Whomp’s Fortress secret 1-up can be found. Other anomalies around this kind of level can also appear in a significant fraction of copies, and it is these kinds of anomalies that are considered Personalization Factor 2. However, besides clues appearing and disappearing compared to the base game, and controls being slightly different, copies at this level appear normal.

If you can follow a walkthrough of the game, and everything appears to work like the guide said it would, your copy is either here or PF1.

Personalization Factor 3:Dynamic Level Rearrangement
Here is when personalization becomes unmistakable. Enemies not appearing in the same places they would on a normal cartridge, coins being in different locations; Dynamic Level Rearrangement and similar anomalies fall here. If your Personalization Factor is 3 or above, you are likely to see the White-eyed Chomp. This may be what brings the Personalization Factor from 2 to 3 in the first place, it may be there to signify that the Personalization Factor is already at PF3, or it may come just before the Personalization Factor rises even higher.

Strangely, around here, it is common for the HUD icons change into one of their beta incarnations.

Personalization Factor 3.5:Unused Levels
Around here, the game will start to bring back unused stages from the game’s earlier builds. Around here, it also becomes possible that Luigi becomes a playable character in the game. Unused enemies may also appear here. This is only a minor level, because this doesn't grant the AI any new abilties, considering the AI can pull from beta content at PF3.

Personalization Factor 4:Dynamic Level Arrangement
It is rare for a copy to ever reach this high of a Personalization Factor, but this level has been documented. This is where anomalous levels begin to appear. However, not all of these levels can appear at this level, as Dynamic Level Arrangement can only use pre-existing assets.

Personalization Factor 5:Anomalous Object Subtypes
This is where things like Coin Discoloring, Enemy Discoloring, and sometimes even Star Discoloring appear. At this point, you may also start to see anomalous floors of the castle, like the 4th floor and Floor 2B. These floors may also exist without these previous anomalies, using only enemies that can be found in the game, plus unused enemies. If this is the case, your copy has a Personalization Factor of 4.5.

Around here, it's also possible for the Yellow Cap Switch to contain its own unique cap, rather than a Koopa Shell as was initially intended.

Personalization Factor 5.5:Enemy Recreation
Enemies from other Mario games, like Dry Bones and Hammer Bros. have been observed to appear in Super Mario 64, somehow completely recreated. These enemies appear to be based on modifying existing assets, and treating them as variations of the original enemy, much like how this same process was used for Enemy Discoloring. This process may also be responsible for the elusive Wario Apparition.

Personalization Factor 6:New Features
At this point, the AI can craft entire new gameplay features, like a Costume Closet, and actual rewards to Medals. In rare cases, entire minigames, like The New Mario Bros. can appear around here. Companions may also get introduced around this level, but some variations of the scale place these at “Personalization Factor 6.5”. Around here, potentially scrapped bosses may begin to reappear, such as The Castle Keeper, and the scrapped multiplayer mode may return here, fully functional.

Personalization Factor 7:Like a Different Game
At this point, the alterations to the gameplay are so significant that the copy has more differences to the base game than similarities. Quest Items may begin to appear, making the game more akin to an RPG or a Metroidvania. New playable characters may begin to appear here, and the entire story of the game may be different, with areas like the Downtown Mushroom Kingdom appearing. Custom cutscenes may also appear at this point.

Personalization Factor 7.5:Branching Paths
At this point, Alternate Endings begin to appear, and the ending you get can actually depend on what is done in the game’s story. The different endings may even lead to entire Alternate Campaigns, making the game almost entirely unrecognizable as Super Mario 64.

Personalization Factor 8:???
A Personalization Factor this high has never been observed. Every observed anomaly could potentially have come from personalization at PF7.5 and below. However, looking through the AI and its functions, we can tell a level of PF8 is theoretically possible. At this point, the game may become completely unrecognizable as Super Mario 64, with the main hub area transforming into a seemingly infinite labyrinth. Because cartridges and RAM both have a limited amount of space, it would possible to go back into the direction you came from, and, rather than end up where you started, instead end up in a new place. There is a developer anecdote of this level of personalization actually being reached in the 7/29/1995 build, after going into the basement, though this has yet to be confirmed.

It has been theorized that the endless labyrinth is what is referred to on the iceberg as “the internal plexus of the castle”, but the theory lacks confirmation.

It is also theorized there may also be minigames with gameplay completely unrecognizable as a Mario game, limited only by what is programmable on a Nintendo 64, and items in the main game that could have any potential feature programmable, but this is currently unconfirmed, given that no copies with a Personalization Factor this high have ever been known to exist.

In-Game Meter
Some have reported an in-game meter for the Personalization Factor. However, these reports may very well be confusing this scale with that of The Wario Approximation, given that the in-game meter does not match this scale, and these reports appear to be identical to the reports of the supposed in-game meter for The Wario Approximation. Interestingly, the in-game meter also does not match The Wario Approximation, meaning it’s a mystery what the actual scale was meant to be, if such an official scale existed.