Unofficial boxart by WarioGamer2025.
Wario Land 64 is the rumored first prototype build of Super Mario 64, even older than the July 29th 1995 build. Rumors say that after the failure of the Virtual Boy, Nintendo didn't want to tarnish Mario's reputation if the first Nintendo 64 3D platformer flopped, so Wario was going to be used instead. After the game was proven to be successful with test audiences, they realized that the console wouldn't ruin Mario, so they went and made Super Mario 64. Information about Wario Land 64 is scarce, but several sources have corroborated its existence.
Speculation[]
Wario Land 64 is speculated to be, as mentioned before, the earliest version of Super Mario 64. If Wario Land 64 is real, then the infamous 1995 build was not the first version, and was modified to become Super Mario 64 after Wario Land 64 proved that 3D platformers would work. It is also thought that Super Mario 64 was initially sold to Nintendo by an unknown Japanese organization. Wario Land 64 may have came before this, as no reports mention the Personalization A.I. in this build of the game.
Reports[]
- Everything in this section should be taken with a grain of salt. These are all unverified claims.
Developer Claim[]
"I'm sure most people are now aware of the fact that every single copy of Super Mario 64, from '96 onwards, is personalized, strictly to appeal to the pleasures of whoever possesses it. Very well, one of the most common occurrences lately in these personalized copies is the appearance of a mysterious anomaly known as "The Wario Apparition". I am here to explain what it is, and why it's there.
No one knows where the original build came from, all that was told to employees was that Nintendo wanted to use it to create the first, big 3D platformer. The jump from 2D to 3D was incredibly hard for the company, and thus, they decided that their first game would not be shown to test audiences and would not be a Mario game, rather a Wario game instead, as they feared that if the game failed, Mario would be associated with its failure, essentially ruining his image. And so, Nintendo decided to make Wario Land 64, marketing it as a sequel to 1994's Wario Land.
The game would function as any Wario Land game would: it would have the shoulder bash, harsh movements, and of course, the ability to gather power-ups via being damaged by enemies.
What the Ghost Spider might have looked like on Wario Land 64.
One of these enemies was the Ghost Spider, that, after the game proved to be successful and was changed from a Wario game to a Mario game, was reused in Wario Land II (1998) and onwards. If Wario clashed with the Ghost Spider, he would turn into a ghost, his body would dissolve, and his head would start growing drastically. With that, he would be able to essentially roam the level as an invincible giant head, eating any enemy who dared to cross his path. Sounds familiar? There was also a multiplayer mode planned, one where two players could duke it out in an arena using certain power-ups, including the Ghost Spider's ability.
As mentioned before, after the game was proven to be successful to test audiences, most content was reskinned and removed to make it look more like a Mario game. However, the A.I. kept most of the content from Wario Land 64, using it to personalize the game. Soon, in Spaceworld '95, the game would be revealed and played. The developers began getting paranoid, trying to find a way to remove all of the Wario Land 64 content from it, and all of the content from before it was sold to Nintendo. And so, the developers found a way to conjoin every single bit of content they didn't want and throw it out. When it mashed together, unknowingly, they created the Wario Apparition. The reason it causes hallucinations and stroke-like effects for the players who see it is largely unknown as of now, but it is theorized that it has something to do with whatever the game was supposed to be before it was even inherited by Nintendo. All that is known is that the Apparition's inner behaviors are practically an enigma. It is an incredibly unpredictable being, and if it contains whatever cursed content from the game before it was sold to Nintendo it... Let's just say that wouldn't be favorable at all."
The game's plot.
Guidebook[]
Several images of the supposed guidebook of the game have been leaked online. It was shared by a user who claims that he sometimes gets sent E-Mails with pictures of the guide. At the moment, only two images have been shared.
A second image, explaining a planned multiplayer mode involving Waluigi.
The first image contains the supposed story of the game. It's about Wario trying to recover the power of his castle that was stolen by Captain Syrup by obtaining every Power Star, referred to as golden stars, inside the castle. The second image confirms that there was a multiplayer mode planned for the game, with the second player intended to be Waluigi. The guidebook appears to have some grammar and spelling mistakes, making it look like an early draft.
This guidebook has been confirmed as fake, as Waluigi was not made by Nintendo and he only was made for Mario Tennis for giving Wario a sports companion. This means that it's impossible that Waluigi was present in Wario Land 64 during its development.