SM64 The Dark Stars is a ROM hack created by Caasje, with 75 Stars and 10 main courses. This hack is fairly challenging with a wide variety of missions set to hard difficulty until the later courses become much more puzzling and trickier. The courses don't have a special Star requiring to collect 100 coins, in addition, there are extra content such as hidden signs, shortcuts, and secret endings to find as case of easter eggs.
Likewise, it is made for players who are fond of fun jump mechanics and creativity towards light extreme hacks.
Two years later, a 55-green-Star hack extension titled: SM64 The Dark Green Stars, was made in collaboration with Ozsef. Plus, two meme extensions of Dark Stars were created by two different creators, one is a similar green comet but set to every hidden sign location (Dark Signs) and one is a machine-translated version of the original hack (Sirte, 64 Star-holders).
Eventually, the sequel of Dark Stars, SM64 Stars of Reincarnation, was released in September 2023.
Plot[]
Bowser placed Dark Stars around the worlds in order to make them fade into obscurity, but Mario will have to collect them to stop from happening otherwise.
Levels[]
| Name | Stars | Difficulty | Hidden signs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destroyed Lava Town | 6 | Easy | 2 | |
| Relaxed Tree Swamp | 6 | Medium | ||
| Deep Dark Cave | ||||
| Great Great Mountain | This level has a hidden secret warp leading to Frosty Icicle Cave. | |||
| Hot Lava Ruins | 1 | This level has a hidden secret warp leading to Fiery Camp Place. | ||
| Cold Cloudy Sky | 6 | Hard | 2 | |
| Frosty Icicle Cave | Medium-Hard | 1 | ||
| Dangerous Toxic Factory | 2 | |||
| Fiery Camp Place | 6 | Hard | This level requires 30 Stars to enter. It can also be accessed without meeting the requirement via a secret warp in Hot Lava Ruins. The Metal Cap Switch is located in this level. | |
| Hectic Crumbling Castle | Very Hard | 5 | This level requires 40 Stars to enter. Like the previous level, it can also be accessed without meeting the requirement via a secret warp in the second overworld (through Hot Lava Ruins). The Vanish Cap Switch is located in this level. |
Secret Levels[]
| Name | Stars | Difficulty | Hidden Signs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chaotic Cube Collection | 1 | Medium | 1 | This level is based off of Rubik's Cube, and it also inspired from the Wing Cap stage in Stars of the Beast. Also, one of the secret endings (Corrupted End) is led inside this level by the hidden signs. |
| Sinister Realm | 3 | Easy | This level is particularly easy to complete as each of the 3 paths leads to a Star. | |
| Bowser's Dark Castle | 1 | Hard | 0 | This level's only Star is to collect all 8 red coins. |
| Bowser's Lava Castle | 7 | Very Hard | 4 | To access this level, it requires activating both the Vanish and Metal Cap Switches, or else the player will be falling into a kaizo trap. This level is split in two halves: the first half has 5 Stars and the second half has 2 Stars. |
Miscellaneous[]
| Area | Notes |
|---|---|
| Overworld 1 | The Star is held by a Toad above Bowser's Dark Castle's entrance. |
| Overworld 2 | Red coins are scattered around while the second Star is held by a Toad in a window (the right side) near Hectic Crumbling Castle's entrance. |
| The End? | This area is located from the 2nd section of Bowser's Lava Castle. It leads to either the Bad End, which Bowser wins if all 75 Stars aren't collected, and the Normal End if all 75 Stars are collected. Jumping on one of the coloured squares will bring the ending screen as it's likely to hint that the story is yet to be concluded from the next hack told by the signs. |
| Corrupted End | By misusing the secret warp in Chaotic Cube Collection two times until the music stops and falling off the level will send the player back to Peach's Castle. Get to Peach's Slide only to enter a unused stage that homes the Wing Cap Switch, then collect the Star until the player reaches a broken, glitchy area that makes the game crash in certain spots. |
Music[]
| Used in | Track | Source |
|---|---|---|
| File Select | File Select | Super Mario 64 |
| Overworld 1 | The Sanctuary of Water and Ice | Rayman 2: The Great Escape |
| Overworld 2 | Shooting Star Summit | Paper Mario |
| Star Select | World 6 | New Super Mario Bros. |
| Destroyed Lava Town | Hailfire Peaks (Fire Side) | Banjo-Tooie |
| Relaxed Tree Swamp | Forest Interlude | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest |
| Deep Dark Cave | Darkmoon Caverns | Diddy Kong Racing |
| Great Great Mountain | Hoohoo Mountain | Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga |
| Great Great Mountain (Cavern) | Thwomp Caverns | Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time |
| Hot Lava Ruins | Lava Overworld | New Super Mario Bros. |
| Cold Cloudy Sky | Slider (Remix) by EDark | Super Mario 64 |
| Frosty Icicle Cave | Freezeezy Peak | Banjo-Kazooie |
| Dangerous Toxic Factory | Lava Reef Zone (Act 1) | Sonic 3 & Knuckles |
| Fiery Camp Place | Hot-Head Bop | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest |
| Hectic Crumbling Castle | Relic Castle | Pokémon Black/White |
| Chaotic Cube Collection | Battle! Vs. Trainer | Pokémon Uranium |
| Sinister Realm | Looping Steps | Super Mario 64 |
| Bowser's Dark Castle | Hooktail's Castle | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door |
| Bowser's Lava Castle (1st Half) | Crocodile Cacophony | Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest |
| Bowser's Lava Castle (2nd Half) | Lava Rock Lair | Super Mario 3D World |
| Final Bowser Battle? | Ultimate Koopa | Super Mario 64 |
| Vanish Cap, Shell Ride | Powerful Mario | |
| Metal Cap | Metallic Mario | |
| Star Catch Fanfare (Beta Version) |
Luna Ascension | Tower of Heaven |
| Unused Track | Weapons Factory | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars |
| Floro Sapien Caverns | Super Paper Mario |