Super Mario 64 Hacks Wiki
Super Mario 64 Hacks Wiki




SM64: Stars of the Beast is a ROM hack made by Milgram355 and released on May 2018. It contains 145 Stars and is one of the hardest hacks of the year. It is notoriously qualified as a hard hack, but not as difficult as other hacks like King Boo's Revenge, Super Mario Treasure World, SM64 Masters Challenge, to name a few.

Since its early release, it is known for its questionable design choices such as abusing slippery terrain and wind in certain levels, hidden Star boxes in random locations and tight coin collecting, turning it into a peculiar and annoying game. The difficulty mounts up from the mid-game all the way to the final courses and ultimately the last Bowser course. Also it has one of the highest amount of Stars required to enter the final fight against Bowser (referred to as The Beast).

The important thing to note, is, this hack has subtle references to the music genre, most notably, song titles of rock/metal band Iron Maiden, and there are featured level designs referencing to other games such as Mario Party or Pokémon.

The sequel, Stars of the Beast 2, was released the following year.

Extras[]

According to the Readme file from the hack, the creator challenges the players to do the following:

  • Get the 100-coin Star in Course 11 (Windy Vanilla Dome) without savestates.
  • Get both the red coin Star and the 100-coin Star in Course 14 and Course 15 without savestates.
  • Find the hidden secret course which replaces the End Cake Picture.
  • Get all 145 Stars savestateless.

Main Courses[]

Name Stars Requirement Coins Notes
Bob-omb's Sand Battlefield 7 141
Rainbow Castle 118 Wing Cap Rubik's Sky is located in this course.
Toxic Waste Canyon 7 10 Stars 116
Dante's Inferno 20 Stars 128 Metal Cap Lava Maze is located in this course.
Colorful Board Metal Cap 100 This course takes references from the Mario Party franchise, such as the colored spaces and minigames. Entering this course without activating the Metal Cap will result in a instant death trap.
Siberian Village 7 Key 1 122
Haunted Viridian Forest 40 Stars 115 Vanish Cap Switch Palace is located in this course, but is only accessible after clearing Stars 1 and 2.
Toxic Twin Towers 50 Stars 155 Ice Cream Vault is located in this course.
Ice-Fire Islands 60 Stars 100 This course has the tightest coin collecting, making the Star near impossible to collect.
The Lost World 7 Key 2 114
Windy Vanilla Dome 104 This course is second hardest in terms of tight coin collecting, making the Star near impossible to collect. And most parts of the course trigger the wind current, especially when crossing bridges.
Marshy Roman Ruins 80 Stars 108
Bad Luck Cauldron 7 90 Stars 115
Ancient Lake Town 100 Stars 126 This course is one of the hardest stages due to its slippery terrain conditions and repeated linearity.
Rainbow of the Damned 110 Stars 125 This course is a parody of Rainbow Drugs from Star Revenge 2: Night of Doom. It is considered the most hardest course ever made for its misuse of wind currents and other hazards, as well as repeated linearity.

Side Courses[]

Name Stars Requirement Notes
Bowser's Volcano Fortress 3 30 Stars
Bowser's Sewer Ruins 71 Stars The red coin Star is among the hardest Stars of the game.
Bowser in the Infernal Sky 5 120 Stars This course is the most hardest of the game, due to its incohesive level design, slippery terrain, wind, and tight jump precision combined.
Wing Cap Rubik's Sky 2 Falling off the course until the life counter reaches zero will not result in a game over, but instead grants minus lives.
Metal Cap Lava Maze
Vanish Cap Switch Palace Stars 1-2
(Course 7)
A sign notes that at the end of the course, it has the Golden Gun puzzle from the Egyptian (el-Saghira Temple) stage from GoldenEye 007.
Secret Swamp 5 Wing Cap Entering this course without activating the Wing Cap will result in a instant death trap.
Kids' Playground Slide 6 50 Stars
Ice Cream Vault 4 This course is also called "Secret Stars" in the pause menu. This level is widely known for its design which will be used in the sequel.
Snufit Caves 5 Vanish Cap Entering this course without activating the Vanish Cap will result in a instant death trap.

Music[]

Used in Track Source
File Select Treasure Trove Cove Banjo-Kazooie
Overworld 1 Jinjo Village Banjo-Tooie
Overworld 2 Inside Ganon's Castle The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Overworld 3 Lost Woods
Bob-omb's Sand Battlefield Gobi's Valley Banjo-Kazooie
Rainbow Castle Rainbow Castle Mario Party
Toxic Waste Canyon Bunker 2 GoldenEye 007
Dante's Inferno Temple Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Colorful Board Underground Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Siberian Village Freezeezy Peak Banjo-Kazooie
Haunted Viridian Forest Creepy Castle Donkey Kong 64
Toxic Twin Towers Krook's March Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Ice-Fire Islands Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Astley
The Lost World Main Theme [Metal Cap Mix] Super Mario 64
Windy Vanilla Dome Grasslands, All the Way Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Marshy Roman Ruins Crocodile Cacophony Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Bad Luck Cauldron Hot-Head Bop
Ancient Lake Town Lavender Town Pokémon Red / Blue
Rainbow of the Damned Rainbow Road Mario Kart 64
Bowser's Volcano Fortress
Bowser's Sewer Ruins
Koopa's Road Super Mario 64
Bowser's Volcano Fortress (Boss)
Bowser's Sewer Ruins (Boss)
Inside the Church Banjo-Kazooie
Bowser in the Infernal Sky
Final Bowser Battle
Ultimate Koopa Super Mario 64
Wing Cap Rubik's Sky Stone Tower Temple The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Metal Cap Lava Maze King Dodongo / Volvagia The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Vanish Cap Switch Palace Welcome to Booster Tower Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Secret Swamp Lockjaw's Saga Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
Kids' Playground Slide Pika Cup Battles 1-3 Pokémon Stadium
Snufit Caves Floro Sapien Caverns Super Paper Mario
Ice Cream Vault Battle! VS. Trainer Pokémon Uranium
Boss Battle Come On, Again! Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Power Up Going Somewhere Mario Party 2
Metal Cap Metallic Mario Super Mario 64

Trivia[]

  • There is only one cannon present in the entire game (which is in Windy Vanilla Dome).
  • Pokey did not appear once in the desert stages.
  • Course 4's name, Dante's Inferno, is a reference to a book called Divine Comedy; the sign in Bowser 3 tells a story about heaven and hell, those are references linked to that book.
  • Course 5, as it references Mario Party, has elements based on mini-games such as Mushroom Mix-Up and Sky Pilots. Coincidentally, the wing cap theme is from Mario Party 2 playing along during Star 6 based on the latter.
  • Course 9's design is based on the concept of Pokémon's Ninetales, which ever since Gen 7 Started, has a fire and ice form.
  • Powerslave and Up the Irons are references to Iron Maiden, in which Stars 1 and 4 in Course 10 are named after.
  • Star 4 in Course 12 refers to a Slayer song, titled Raining Blood.
  • In Course 13, Star 5 refers to Deep Purple's song, Burn, which is relatable within the whole mission.
  • Rainbow of the Damned is inspired by Children of the Damned. Another sign within Bowser 3, refers to Bowser as "The evil that men do", named after Iron Maiden's song. The same can be said with Star 6 in Course 14, Aces High, named after another of their song, which is a reference to a war plane looming over the city.