User:Ultra64Detective2401/Builds

There were several builds of Super Mario 64 created during its development. This is my attempt at creating a timeline of these builds.

Pre-1994
It is rumored that a game called Super Mario FX was in development for the SNES, prior to the conception of the Nintendo 64 (or, Project Reality, as it was initially called). No evidence for this game exists, but the rumor persists, and has not been debunked.

Super Mario 64 began development on September 7th, 1994. Therefore, any supposed builds earlier than this date are either fabricated, or in fact a build of Super Mario FX, confused for a build of Super Mario 64.

1994
Little is known of the game’s state in this year. It is likely MIPS the Rabbit was created around this time, as MIPS was one of the first objects added to the game. However, MIPS was pink at this point, rather than the yellow of the final. Greenio has a supposed tape of one of these builds [here.]

Early 1995
The Sombrero Build was likely made around early 1995 to test interactions with enemies and NPCs. This is evident by the simplicity of the environment and the lack of a HUD. However, this could’ve also been an earlier rendition of Bob-omb Village, with the HUD edited out like it was for the patent build.

July 29, 1995
Main article:Super Mario 64/July 29th 1995 build

The 7/29/1995 build is the most infamous build in the history of the game’s development. Researching this build is highly discouraged, as learning too much of it could be an infohazard. It is unknown exactly how this build got its infamy, but this build is likely when the AI was at its most active, as several different major anomalies were first discovered in this build. This may or may not be the same build as the Summer ‘95 build documented by Super Mario 64 Beta Archive.

B-Roll Builds
The B-Roll Builds were two different builds:The POW build and the POWER build, which got their names from whether “POW” or “POWER” can be found in the game’s HUD. These were likely made around August-November of 1995, with the POW build coming first.

Patent Build
The patent build was a build likely dated to November 1995, being the build shown in the November 22 1995 patent.

Shoshinkai ‘95 build
Main article:Super Mario 64/Spaceworld 1995 Beta

Probably the most famous and well-known beta build to date, this build was shown in Spaceworld ‘95, when the game was first shown to the public, just a few days after the patent was filed.

February 1996
While no builds were found from this time, builds from February must have existed, because that is when Luigi was removed from the game.

Spring 1996
The Spring 1996 build was used in several promotional materials for the game.

Manual Build
The Manual Build, the build seen in the game’s manual, likely dates to early May.

E3 1996 Build
The build seen in E3 1996, dated May 16, 1996.

Final Build
The game completed development in May 20, 1996, more than a month before the game was released in Japan. As a result, no builds later than this date exist. However, updated versions of the game were worked on from July 15 to July 29. These are presumably what the US and PAL versions turned out to be. The Shindou version was released in July 18, 1997. No further development of the game has occurred afterwards. Any supposed builds after this date are therefore complete fabrications.