Note: This guide is written from verified Super Mario 64 DS gameplay information, official manual details, and established walkthrough knowledge, rewritten in original language for web publishing.
Unlocking all characters in Super Mario 64 DS is one of the best parts of the game because, unlike the original Nintendo 64 version, the DS remake turns Peach’s castle into a four-hero rescue mission. You do not begin as Mario. You begin as Yoshi, the loyal green dinosaur who shows up, notices that Mario, Luigi, and Wario have apparently walked into the castle and failed to come back, and decides that somebody responsible needs to clean up this mustached mess.
The good news is that unlocking every playable character is not complicated once you know the correct order. The slightly less good news is that the game does not always shout the solution at you. It prefers the classic Nintendo approach: smile politely, hide a boss behind a painting, and watch you wander into walls for twenty minutes. This guide explains how to unlock all the characters in Super Mario 64 DS in 9 clear steps, including Mario, Luigi, Wario, and how Yoshi fits into the full character-switching system.
By the end, you will know where to go, how many Power Stars you need, which boss guards each key, and why Waluigi is not secretly waiting behind a purple door with a contract and a tennis racket. Sorry, internet legends. We had a good run.
Before You Start: How Character Unlocking Works
In Super Mario 64 DS, Yoshi is available from the start. Mario, Luigi, and Wario are locked behind character doors in Peach’s castle. To unlock them, you must collect specific keys by defeating special bosses. After each rescue, you can return to the character room and switch between heroes. Each character has different strengths, so unlocking them is not just for fun; it is also necessary for certain stars, puzzles, and secret areas.
The correct unlock order is simple:
- Start as Yoshi.
- Unlock Mario by defeating Goomboss.
- Use Mario to unlock Luigi by defeating King Boo.
- Use Luigi to unlock Wario by defeating Chief Chilly.
Trying to jump ahead usually leads to frustration. The game is built like a very polite bouncer: it lets you see where you want to go, then quietly reminds you that you are wearing the wrong hat.
Step 1: Start the Game as Yoshi
When you begin a new file, Yoshi is your first playable character. After the opening sequence, you wake up outside Princess Peach’s castle and must enter as Yoshi. At this point, Mario, Luigi, and Wario are not selectable. They are trapped behind doors in the character room, and you need keys to rescue them.
Yoshi is great for early exploration because he can flutter jump and swallow many enemies. His egg-throwing ability is especially useful in the first boss fight required to unlock Mario. However, Yoshi cannot punch, kick, or grab enemies the way the others can, and he cannot defeat Boos with a normal ground pound. That limitation matters later when you go after Luigi.
For now, focus on collecting your first Power Stars. Bob-omb Battlefield, Whomp’s Fortress, and early castle secret stars are good places to build up your total without needing advanced character abilities.
Step 2: Collect 8 Power Stars
To unlock Mario, you need access to Goomboss Battle, a special stage behind the Mario painting. The door leading to that area requires 8 Power Stars. This is your first major goal.
The easiest route is to collect early stars from Bob-omb Battlefield and Whomp’s Fortress. You can also grab simple castle stars if you know where they are, but new players should not overcomplicate it. Eight stars arrive quickly if you complete basic missions such as defeating King Bob-omb, racing Koopa the Quick, climbing Whomp’s Fortress, and collecting red coins.
Think of this step as your warm-up lap. You are learning the controls, adjusting to the DS movement style, and accepting that Yoshi’s flutter jump will save your dignity more times than you deserve.
Step 3: Enter the Mario Painting and Defeat Goomboss
Once you have 8 Power Stars, go to the room connected to the Rec Room area and enter the Mario painting. This takes Yoshi into Goomboss Battle, the stage where Mario’s key is hidden.
The fight against Goomboss is designed specifically for Yoshi. You cannot simply punch the boss because Yoshi is not built for that kind of plumber-style diplomacy. Instead, wait for Goomboss to leave Goombas behind him. Swallow a Goomba, turn it into an egg, and throw the egg at Goomboss. Repeat this process until he is defeated.
After each hit, Goomboss becomes faster and more aggressive. Stay behind him when possible, keep your distance, and do not panic if the arena starts feeling crowded. Yoshi’s flutter jump helps with positioning, and eggs are your main weapon. Land enough hits, and Goomboss will surrender Mario’s Key.
Take that key back to the character room and unlock Mario’s door. Congratulations: the actual title character has finally shown up to his own game. Fashionably late, as usual.
Step 4: Switch to Mario
After unlocking Mario, enter his room in the character area to switch from Yoshi to Mario. This is important because Mario is required for the next major unlock path. While Yoshi can wear character caps temporarily, rescuing Mario gives you permanent access to him from the character room and from course-start options later in the game.
Mario is the balanced character. He has solid speed, good jumping, and access to moves that Yoshi cannot perform. Most importantly, Mario can defeat Boos and enter areas that are difficult or impossible for Yoshi to clear normally.
Before chasing Luigi, spend a little time getting comfortable with Mario’s movement. Practice long jumps, wall kicks, triple jumps, and ground pounds. The next stage is haunted, and haunted houses in Mario games are basically escape rooms designed by ghosts with too much free time.
Step 5: Collect 15 Power Stars and Enter Big Boo’s Haunt
To unlock Luigi, you need to reach Big Boo’s Haunt. In the DS version, this requires 15 Power Stars. Once you have enough stars, go through one of the plain wooden doors near the main staircase in the castle lobby, follow the Boo toward the courtyard, and find the larger Boo outside.
Use Mario to defeat the Big Boo in the courtyard. When it is beaten, a small cage appears. Jump into the cage to enter Big Boo’s Haunt.
This is where many players get stuck, especially if they try using Yoshi. Yoshi cannot defeat the courtyard Boo in the normal way, so Mario is the reliable choice. If the Boo is not appearing, check your star count and make sure you are in the correct courtyard area. The game is not broken; it is just being very Mario about it.
Step 6: Find the Luigi Painting and Defeat King Boo
Inside Big Boo’s Haunt, work your way through the mansion until you can reach the upper floor. On the third floor, look for the Luigi painting. Enter it to access Big Boo Battle, a secret stage that leads to Luigi’s key.
This stage is a small maze built around sound cues, moving platforms, and ghostly misdirection. Listen for King Boo’s laugh to choose the correct route. The closer and louder the laugh sounds, the more likely you are going the right way. Eventually, you will reach a mirror room where King Boo appears.
The King Boo fight is trickier than the Goomboss battle because the mirror matters. Sometimes King Boo is visible in the reflection, and sometimes he is visible on your side. Watch both the mirror and the room carefully. Attack him when you can approach from behind or catch him before he vanishes. After three successful hits, King Boo drops Luigi’s Key.
Return to the character room and unlock Luigi. You have now rescued the best jumper in the game and the official mascot of “I can totally make that gap.”
Step 7: Switch to Luigi and Reach the Mirror Room
To unlock Wario, you must use Luigi. Switch to him in the character room, then progress until you can access the castle’s upper areas and the Mirror Room, the same general room associated with Snowman’s Land.
Luigi’s special advantage is his mobility. He jumps high, moves gracefully through the air, and can use the Power Flower to become invisible. That invisibility is the key to reaching Wario’s challenge. In the Mirror Room, grab a Power Flower as Luigi and pass through the mirror to reach the Wario painting behind it.
This is one of the coolest moments in Super Mario 64 DS because it feels like the game is letting you break the rules, even though it is absolutely the intended solution. Luigi turns transparent, strolls through a mirror, and suddenly a hidden path opens. Very normal castle behavior.
Step 8: Defeat Chief Chilly to Get Wario’s Key
Enter the Wario painting as Luigi to reach Chief Chilly Challenge. This icy course is filled with narrow platforms, wind, Bullies, and slipping hazards. Take your time. Luigi’s high jumps are useful, but his slippery movement can make the stage feel like someone polished the floor with banana peels.
At the end of the course, you fight Chief Chilly. The goal is not to punch him until he gives up. Instead, you must knock him off the platform and into the freezing water. Each time he falls, he returns and changes the arena, making the fight more dangerous. The platform shrinks, the footing becomes worse, and Chief Chilly becomes more aggressive.
Keep moving, use careful jumps, and push him toward the edge. After knocking him into the water enough times, Chief Chilly is defeated and drops Wario’s Key. Return to the character room and unlock Wario’s door.
Step 9: Use Each Character for the Right Job
Once Wario is unlocked, you have all four playable characters: Yoshi, Mario, Luigi, and Wario. This is where the game really opens up. You can switch characters in the character room or use caps in certain levels to temporarily transform. Choosing the right character makes many stars much easier.
Yoshi: Best for Early Utility and Eggs
Yoshi can flutter jump, swallow enemies, throw eggs, and use fire power with the Power Flower. He is excellent for certain enemy-based challenges and early-game movement, but he lacks punching and grabbing strength.
Mario: Best All-Around Character
Mario is balanced and reliable. He can wall kick, use the Wing Cap-style feather, and handle many standard missions smoothly. If you are unsure who to use, Mario is usually a safe choice.
Luigi: Best for Jumping and Invisibility
Luigi has outstanding jump height and can become invisible with the Power Flower. He is ideal for reaching tricky platforms, passing through certain barriers, and making difficult jumps feel almost unfair.
Wario: Best for Strength and Metal Power
Wario is slower and heavier, but he is powerful. He can break black bricks and use Metal power, allowing him to sink underwater and survive hazards that would bother the others. He is not always graceful, but when the game needs brute force, Wario is the yellow-shirted answer.
Common Mistakes When Unlocking Characters
Trying to Unlock Luigi Before Mario
Mario is the intended character for reaching and clearing Big Boo Battle. If you are still using Yoshi and wondering why the Boo-related path feels impossible, that is the game’s way of saying, “Please rescue the plumber first.”
Forgetting the Star Requirements
You need 8 Power Stars for Mario’s unlock path and 15 Power Stars for Big Boo’s Haunt in the DS version. Wario requires later progress because you need Luigi and access to the Mirror Room route.
Expecting Waluigi
There is no playable Waluigi in the official retail version of Super Mario 64 DS. The real playable roster is Yoshi, Mario, Luigi, and Wario. The Waluigi rumors are part of gaming folklore, but they are not part of the actual unlock list.
Why Unlocking Every Character Matters
Unlocking all characters is not just a completionist trophy. Super Mario 64 DS has 150 Power Stars, more than the original Nintendo 64 version, and many challenges are designed around character-specific abilities. Some stars become far easier with Luigi’s jump. Others require Wario’s strength. Mario’s wall kick and flying ability open specific routes, while Yoshi’s egg attacks and flutter jump make him more useful than players sometimes expect.
The game rewards experimentation. A mission that feels impossible with one character may become almost silly with another. That is the real charm of the DS remake: it turns a familiar castle into a puzzle box where the solution is often not “jump better,” but “bring the correct hero.”
Extra Experience: What It Feels Like to Unlock All Characters in Super Mario 64 DS
The first time you unlock every character in Super Mario 64 DS, the game changes personality. At the beginning, Peach’s castle feels slightly lonely. You are Yoshi, wandering through familiar halls, seeing doors with character symbols, and wondering when the famous plumber will actually join the party. It is a strange but clever twist. The remake knows players expect Mario immediately, so it makes rescuing him the first big milestone.
Unlocking Mario feels like the game finally hands you the classic toolkit. Suddenly, you can punch, kick, wall jump, and move through stages with that traditional Super Mario 64 rhythm. Even if Yoshi is fun, Mario makes the castle feel familiar again. The Goomboss fight is a great introduction because it teaches you that the DS version is not just copying the old game. It has new bosses, new goals, and new reasons to revisit areas you thought you understood.
Luigi’s unlock is probably the most memorable. Big Boo’s Haunt already has one of the strongest atmospheres in the game, with creepy rooms, odd camera angles, haunted furniture, and that constant feeling that the mansion is laughing at you. Finding the Luigi painting on the upper floor feels like discovering a secret inside a secret. Then the mirror battle with King Boo adds another layer of weirdness. You are not just fighting a ghost; you are reading reflections, watching shadows, and trying not to get turned around like a confused tourist in a haunted hotel.
Once Luigi joins the team, movement becomes more playful. His jump is so good that he can make some areas feel completely different. Platforms that seemed far away suddenly look reachable. Mistakes feel less punishing because Luigi can float and stretch jumps in ways Mario cannot. He is the character you choose when a star looks annoying and you would rather solve the problem with elegance than stress.
Wario’s unlock has a different mood. By the time you chase him, you understand the castle better. You know that mirrors are suspicious, paintings are portals, and any room that looks decorative is probably hiding a challenge. Passing through the mirror as Luigi is one of those moments that makes the game feel magical. It is a simple mechanic, but it creates a strong memory because it feels like you found something the castle did not want to show you.
Chief Chilly, however, is not there to be charming. His fight can be slippery, tense, and a little rude. The shrinking platform makes every mistake feel bigger. Luigi’s movement is powerful but floaty, so controlling him on ice requires patience. When you finally knock Chief Chilly into the water and claim Wario’s Key, it feels earned. Wario may be slow, but unlocking him gives you access to strength-based solutions that no other character can provide.
Playing after all characters are unlocked is the real reward. You stop thinking of the game as one adventure and start treating it like a team mission. Mario handles classic platforming. Luigi handles ridiculous jumps. Wario handles heavy-duty destruction. Yoshi handles eggs, fluttering, and general dinosaur weirdness. Switching characters becomes part of the strategy, and the castle feels less like a hub and more like a headquarters.
That is why unlocking all characters remains one of the most satisfying goals in Super Mario 64 DS. It gives structure to the early game, teaches the remake’s new mechanics, and makes the world feel bigger than the original. Also, let’s be honest: any game that lets Luigi walk through mirrors and Wario punch problems into submission deserves at least a little applause.
Conclusion
To unlock all the characters in Super Mario 64 DS, remember the order: begin as Yoshi, collect 8 Power Stars, defeat Goomboss to unlock Mario, collect enough stars to enter Big Boo’s Haunt, defeat King Boo to unlock Luigi, then use Luigi’s invisibility in the Mirror Room to reach Chief Chilly and unlock Wario. Once all four characters are available, the game becomes much richer because each hero solves different problems.
Yoshi is your starting explorer, Mario is the balanced classic, Luigi is the high-jumping specialist, and Wario is the powerhouse. Master all four, and Peach’s castle becomes less confusing, more flexible, and much more fun. No cheat codes, no fake rumors, no secret Waluigi ritual under a full moonjust good platforming, smart character switching, and a few boss fights that still know how to humble you.
