SM64 Body Imitation Theory

The SM64 Body Imitation Theory is a far-fetched theory that states that the areas of Super Mario 64 represent parts of the human body. This theory had developed from suspicions of Princess Peach's Castle being representative of a heart and Wet-Dry World being a simulation of a brain. Many of the areas have correlations that can be connected to various parts of the human body (organs, limbs, bones, etc.).

Princess Peach's Castle: Heart
Princess Peach's Castle has been theorized to be representative of a heart, which can be seen with the "Internal Plexus of the Castle" theory. This theory states that the castle itself could be a physical manifestation of the Personalisation A.I, and that the inner workings of the castle are akin to vessels and nerves; a plexus. One of the plexuses of the human body is the cardiac plexus, which is situated at the base of the heart. The heart itself is used to pump blood throughout the body; much like how Mario goes through the various courses throughout the game through the castle.

Two of the most used colors of Princess Peach's Castle are white and red, which are used on the inside of the castle and outside too. The human heart is usually colored red and lighter variations of it (bordering on white in color). This could be another connection made to Princess Peach's Castle and the heart, as both share similar main colors.

Bob-omb Battlefield: Mouth
Bob-omb Battlefield is one of the first courses that can be accessed in Super Mario 64, and could be representative of the mouth. One of the signs of this can be seen with how it is placed as the first course of the game in order. Food goes into the mouth first via the digestive system, and this could be a connection based on the orders of what the two are in their fields.

Another example on how Bob-omb Battlefield could be representative of a mouth could be with the enemies of the game. One of the most notable enemies that can be found in the level is the Chain Chomp, which is characterized by having a mouth encompass a big part of the body. Along with this, one of the first anomalies that can be spotted in the game is the White-eyed Chomp, which could further strengthen these connections. The second enemy that would be discussed would be the Bob-Ombs themselves, which are lacking in a mouth themselves. This could be an ironic coincidence though. Goombas are also a part of this theory too, as they are anthropomorphic versions of shiitake mushrooms; a type of mushroom that can be digested by humans as food.

Whomp's Fortress: Hands
Whomp's Fortress is the second course in order of the course order in Super Mario 64, and it is representative of the body part known as hands. Hands can be used to build many objects and buildings, a major one of the latter being a fortress. The Whomp King's main ire and cause of fighting Mario was that Whomps and rocks were used and treated, so he wants retribution against people who wronged his people. Coincidentally, when the Whomp King is defeated, a fortress is built around his location. This can imply that the Whomp King and the Whomps themselves were used for making buildings; with the Whomp King being used to build the fortress.

Jolly Roger Bay: Feet
The course Jolly Roger Bay is theorized to be related to feet. One of the ties to both the course and the body part would be that Jolly Roger Bay is the first course to feature swimming in the game; and it is highly recommended to go feet first when delving into water. One of the stars of the game requires a full A Press to claim, which is the star where Mario has to open four chests in a specific order. Jumping in general requires the feet to be off the ground, and it could be related to the required A Press. Another star is located in the bottom of the stage; the bottom part of a human body is the feet.

Cool, Cool Mountain: Teeth
Cool, Cool Mountain could be related to teeth in the human body. The course's outside is represented by a huge mountain with a pointed top, which can be representative of a sharp tooth that has a similar shape to it. Another connection could be of the slide inside of the mountain, which can be a representation of a nerve ending inside of a tooth. Cool, Cool Mountain's music is a remixed version of Bob-omb Battlefield's music, which can be like a connection between both courses. This is akin to the connection between the mouth and teeth, as both are in similar places and are used to ingest food.

An injury to the skin known as frostbite is caused by freezing of the skin and underlying tissues. A popular depiction of frostbite itself is of the chattering of teeth to depict coldness. This depiction, along with the cause of frostbite, can relate to the connections between Cold, Cold Mountain and teeth. Cold, Cold Mountain is a cold place with lots of snow, and it could cause frostbite to a normal person.

Big Boo's Haunt: Ears
The course Big Boo's Haunt has theoretical connections that could relate to the ears. Music is one theoretical proof of the connection, as music is heard through the ears. One of these examples is of the jarring difference of music used for the mansion and its outskirts which is more horror-like than most other music. Another example would be of the infamous Mad Piano enemy, as pianos are used to make a certain type of musical noise for music.

Another audio-related connection to Big Boo's Haunt being related to ears relies on verbal cues. Big Boo's Haunt is home to one of the only times enemies, besides bosses, can talk to the player, with the Boos taunting Mario. Along with this, an anomaly known as "Big Boo's Secret Laugh" is found in the course, where the pitch of the Boo laugh heard in the outskirts of the mansion was much lower than most laughs heard in the course. Verbal cues play in the mystique of Big Boo's Haunt, and the ears are used to hear said cues.

Hazy Maze Cave: Anus
Infamously, the course known as Hazy Maze Cave has been related to the anus, through the "Hazy Maze Cave is the Castle's Septic System" theory. This theory depicts the course's entrance room's wall pipes being somehow connected to toilets, the toxic gas of the course being flatulence, and the boulders being balls of fecal matter. The anus itself excretes fecal matter (digested food) and air that's lodged in the large intestine (flatulence), which the contents excreted out are represented by the boulders and toxic gas in the theory.

Lethal Lava Land: Nose
Lethal Lava Land's connection to the human body is the nose. The volcano in the middle of the course is theorized to represent a nose due to the triangular shape of it, along with the hole in it being akin to the nostrils. The enemy known as Bully is theorized to be related to snot balls, and the fire jets in the course being referenced to runny nose boogers. The painting of the course itself seems to look like a distorted silhouette of Bowser's face, with a noticeable lack of a nose. This could be an ironic coincidence.

Shifting Sand Land: Bones
In the case for Shifting Sand Land, the part of the body it theoretically represents would be the bones of the skeleton of the human body. Shifting Sand Land contains a pyramid in the course, and pyramids have been popularly depitced with mummies in them; corpses of Egyptain pharaohs inside tombs. These corpses are skeletal in popular depictions of mummies; which could be a connection to the pyramid in Shifting Sand Land. An explicit connection towards mummies would be the Grindel enemy in the pyramid area, which is a mummified version of a Thwomp.

The reference towards "shifting" in the course name could also be a reference to the shifting of bones as a person grows up. Bones of the human body grow and sometimes fuse together, shifting their appearance.

Dire Dire Docks: Bladder
Dire Dire Docks is theorized to be connected to the organ known as the bladder. The bladder is a small organ that holds urine that is peed outside the human body. Dire Dire Docks is also a small area that's filled with a liquid substance; that being water. Along with this, it's one of the only courses with an unique exit; a hole in one of the areas of the course, akin to how urine is peed out. Bowser's sub is also another connection to the bladder, as it is greyish in color and has a round shape. This could be a reference to kidney stones, which can be stored in the bladder.

Snowman's Land: Lungs
The course known as Snowman's Land could be akin to the lungs of the human body. The lungs store in air with the bronchial tubes, and is used to take in oxygen and blow out carbon dioxide. This can be connected to the giant snowman in the course, which blows air out of its mouth. Along with this, the level itself contains a lot of ice, which can evaporate into air in the real world. Coincidentally, in Super Mario 64 DS, one of the stars of the course requires Yoshi to burn ice via the Power Flower.

Wet-Dry World: Brain
It is highly theorized that Wet-Dry World is a simulation of the human brain, and there seems to be a lot of evidence that could back it up. It is theorized that the water diamonds are used to simulate the brain, albeit to what extent is unknown. The underwater city portion of the course could be connected to the human mind's subconscious; hidden from the surface. The cobblestone textures are also seemed to be connected to the "wrinkles" of the brain.

There's also an unused brain diagram found in the game, which also seems to connect to the theory that Wet-Dry World is connected to the brain. Sightings of the diagram have been noticed, either as the portrait of the course, or replacing one of the other smaller portraits. It is theorized that the brain diagram was used as a reference for Wet-Dry World.

Tall, Tall Mountain: Esophagus
A theory about the course Tall, Tall Mountain states that it is related to the esophagus. This could be found due to the mushroom stalks in the course having a tall, lanky appearance. An esophagus is tall in the human body, much like the mushroom stalks. Along with this, the slide of the course is long and has one main pathway, akin to the esophagus organ. The level also shares its music with Bob-omb Battlefield, which was remixed into Cool, Cool Mountain's music. All of these areas represent organs in the digestive system, so these three probably are connected in some way.

Tiny-Huge Island: Eyes
The theory about Tiny-Huge Island is that it is related to the eyes. The change of the land's size from pipe to pipe has two theoretical connections to the eyes. The first one is that it could be connected to nearsightedness and farsightedness; the larger island for far sight and the tinier island for near sight. The islands could also be connected to how when people get older, their sight gets worse.

The Wiggler boss could also be connected to this theory, due to most of its body being made up of spheres. The spheres could be connected to the eyeball itself, as the shape of it is also spherical.

Tick Tock Clock: Nerves
Tick Tock Clock is theorized to be connected to the nerves of the human body. The course itself is inside of a clock, which has gears and pendulums all over it connecting to its function. These gizmos could be the "nerves" of the clock, much like the nerves of a human body. Electricity is used to power the clock and machines like it, and it probably is representative of the message inputs and outputs sent by nerves. The Amp enemy also appears in the course, which can strengthen the electricity connection.

Rainbow Ride: Veins
The final main course of the game, Rainbow Ride, is theorized to be connected to the veins of the human body. The veins travel blood cells to the heart in order to receive fresh oxygen, much like how the rainbow in Rainbow Ride travels the carpet to a fortress/castle area. The rainbow in Rainbow Ride represents a vein, and the carpet represents a red blood cell. It is possible that the fortress in Rainbow Ride could also represent a heart, since it is a fortress not unlike Princess Peach's Castle.

Secret Courses: Vestigal Organs
The culminate group of secret levels in the game (including Bowser levels) could be representative of the vestigal organs found in the human body. The short length of these levels can represent how most vestigal organs are smaller than most organs. Along with this, the lower amount of stars in the levels could be possibly related to how these organs don't really have any use.