Nintendo’s flagship franchise has created a tremendous range of iconic and groundbreaking games over the decades, with the Mario games on the Switch continuing to earn high-praise and lofty sales.
To celebrate the dive into three-dimensional gaming, the Japanese giant has released Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which bundles remasters of three of the biggest and best 3D Mario games into one.
The first game of the bundle is, of course, Super Mario 64. Having been released in 1997 on the Nintendo 64, standing as one of the many N64 games that deserve to come to the Switch, Super Mario 64 stands as one of the most highly-regarded titles of all-time.
In this Super Mario 64 controls guide, you can see all of the movement, combat, and combination moves needed to explore the classic game on the Nintendo Switch, as well as how to save the game.
For the purposes of this controls guide, (L) and (R) refer to the left and right analogues.
Super Mario 64 Switch controls list
On the Nintendo Switch, Super Mario 64 requires a full controller (two Joy-Cons or a Pro Controller) to play; it isn’t possible to play the remastered classic with a single Joy-Con.
So, with a Joy-Con in either hand, attached to the handheld console, or through a Pro Controller, these are all of the Super Mario 64 controls that you need to play the game.
| Action | Switch Controls |
| Move Mario | (L) |
| Run | Continue to push (L) in any direction for Mario to run |
| Open Door | If unlocked, just walk into the door for it to open |
| Read Sign | Looking at the front of the sign, press Y |
| Grab | Press Y when standing near an item |
| Throw | After grabbing, press Y to throw the item |
| Side Step | (L) alongside a wall |
| Crouch | ZL / ZR |
| Crawl | ZL (hold) and move |
| Swim | A / B |
| Dive | Tilt (L) forward while swimming |
| Swim on the Surface | Tilt (L) back while swimming |
| Breast Stroke (Swimming) | Tap B repeatedly when in water |
| Hang on to a Wire Net | B (hold) |
| Jump | A / B |
| Long Jump | While running, press ZL + B |
| Triple Jump | B, B, B while running |
| Side Somersault | While running, make a U-turn and press B |
| Backward Somersault | ZL (hold), B |
| Move Camera | (R) |
| Change Camera Mode | L / R |
| Attack (Punch / Kick) | X / Y |
| Combo Attack (Punch, Punch, Kick) | X, X, X / Y, Y, Y |
| Slide Attack | While running, press Y |
| Trip (Slide Tackle) | While running, press ZL + Y |
| Jump Kick | B (to jump), Y (to kick in midair) |
| Pound the Ground | In midair, press ZL |
| Wall Kick | Jump towards a wall and press B on contact |
| Flutter Kick | In water, hold B |
| Suspend Menu | – |
| Pause Screen | + |
How to save Super Mario 64 on the Switch
Super Mario 64 wasn’t built with an auto-save feature, nor does the 3D All-Stars edition enable auto-saving. Unlike in other classic game ports to the Switch, the suspend screen (-) also doesn’t have a save option, and returning to the menu loses all of your unsaved data.
To save your game in Super Mario 64 on the Switch, you’ll need to get your hands on a Power Star. Once you’ve retrieved a star, a menu prompt will pop-up, asking if you want to ‘Save & Continue,’ ‘Save & Quit,’ or ‘Continue, Don’t Save.’ Unfortunately, you can’t save the game mid-level.
To keep your game up-to-date, always select ‘Save & Continue’ or ‘Save & Quit’ if you’re done playing Super Mario 64 for a while.
How to get Power Stars in Super Mario 64?
In Super Mario 64, your aim is to collect the Power Stars that Bowser has stolen and scattered across the painting worlds.
To find these painting worlds, you’ll need to explore the rooms behind the doors that you can walk through. After stepping into the room, you’ll find a large painting on the wall: all you need to do is jump into the painting.
As you collect more Power Stars, you’ll be able to open more doors to find more painting worlds.
How to get the first Power Star in Super Mario 64 H3
To get the game underway, you’ll find the first Power Star behind the Bob-Omb painting in the castle. To get there, enter the castle and turn left to go up the steps.
The door will have a star on it: push through and enter the room. You’ll then see a Bob-Omb painting on the wall, which you need to jump through to arrive at Bob-Omb Battlefield.
Get the Power Star by defeating Big Bob-Omb at the summit of the hill. To achieve this, all you have to do is run around the back of the boss, press grab (Y) to pick them up, and then throw (Y) them down. Repeat this process three times to get the first star in Super Mario 64.
Now you have all of the controls that you need to play Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo Switch.
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