Big Boo’s Forest, or sometimes Big Boo's Woods are conjectural names for a widely reported anomalous level encountered in personalized copies of Super Mario 64. It universally bears some connection to Big Boo’s Haunt, as implied by the name. It is a relatively unstable level, having the potential to appear remarkably different for different players. It consistently uses the same skybox as Big Boo’s Haunt and usually the music, although on occasion uses the Hazy-Maze Cave or Merry-Go-Round theme instead. The anomalous Dry Bones enemy is frequently reported within this stage.
The vast majority of encounters with the level claim it is accessed by somehow escaping the cage in Big Boo’s Haunt, usually using a Crazy Box. Anomalously-inserted objects such as a Wing Cap or Cannon can also accomplish this, and some players report the Vanish Cap allowed them to pass through the bars as well. In some instances, a painting leading to the level can be found in Big Boo’s Haunt.
Geography[]
The skybox for Big Boo's Haunt, reused in this stage
Big Boo’s Forest is commonly described as a very simple level, consisting of a labyrinthian assortment of pathways bounded by “walls” with a texture depicting rows of trees. Some say the paths shift and change when out of the player’s sight, though this has yet to be properly documented, and few other instances of a level’s geometry being edited in real time have been reported, casting doubt upon the idea.
While this is the most commonly reported appearance, others say the level can take a vastly different form, such as dirt trails in an environment dotted by the typical trees found throughout the game, or even rudimentary fully modeled trees, though the maze aspect is usually retained. Other notable variants from extremely personalized copies include:
- An athletic level taking place on treetops over the abyss, bearing vague resemblance to Goomboss Battle from the DS remake
- Multiple “rooms” bounded by forest-texture walls connected to each other
- An area resembling more of a very large garden than a forest with wild overgrowth
- Forested ruins featuring collapsed stone structures and various graveyards
The most notable feature is a cabin found in the center of the stage, typically far from the player’s starting point. There are few constants regarding the nature of this cabin, though it is featured in every documented encounter with the level. It usually contains a Star in some way, such as by climbing on top of it, or its front yard being a Red Coin Star’s spawn location. The cabin is generally reported to be a small structure, though it may be larger to fit personalized missions, such as the aforementioned climbing Star expanding the cabin’s exterior to add platforms along the walls.
The cabin’s interior is not always accessible, though it usually consists of one or two minimalistic rooms with objects from Big Boo’s Haunt, such as the haunted chairs or books, and something required to progress the level, such as a Vanish Cap. In rare instances, the interior is personalized to be an entire subarea with layouts resembling Hazy-Maze Cave, though this is not well documented.
Missions[]
Due to the inconsistent nature of the level, many different requirements for obtaining the Star have been recorded, although it is usually a simple Red Coin mission. Reported missions include:
- Collecting a Vanish Cap from the cabin and using it to enter a passage in the forest
- Defeating several Boos
- Platforming across large, modeled trees
- A five secrets mission with no visible indicators
- Finding and defeating Big Boo
- Locating an exit with white light coming through it
- This has a chance to not give the player a Star and instead simply boot them from the level
- Climbing to the top of the cabin
- Collecting a Key to the cabin from Boos
- Talking to a toad trapped in the cabin
- There are no reports of the player actually being able to rescue him
- Finding a bob-omb and blowing up an entrance into the cabin
- A reprisal of Big Boo’s Haunt’s “Secret of the Haunted Books” mission
Speculation[]
A popular theory sprouting from the varied and usually simplistic nature of the course is that it is an example of Dynamic Level Arrangement, prompted by the AI accidentally allowing the player to escape Big boo’s Haunt and thus creating a level based on the forest skybox. It is thought that the cabin is a relic of Big Boo’s Haunt geometry data, hence why it always appears. However, this would not explain why it is occasionally accessed through a painting.
It is believed to be related to an unused level seen in the Spaceworld 1995 trailer that does not perfectly align with any area in the game barring vague resemblance to Big Boo’s Haunt. Specifically, people believe the area shown in the footage is the interior of the cabin, as the structure is sometimes reported to use the same wall and blue carpet textures. Some say the unused level was erased from the code, but certain remnants remain, allowing the AI to dynamically arrange a level similar to the unused one.