The Mystery of Marty

For decades, Mario Kart 64 has held Marty behind bars, leaving us ignorant of the crime he committed...until today.
Consider supporting me - / zoomzike
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⦁ Sources ⦁
MarioWiki, MarioBrothBlog, NoClipWebsite, aWiibo, Clay McElveen
(Footage)

[@zoomzike]

I want to give Marty a hug but I'm worried he'd crush me.

[@MortexBerri]

Yes

[@monsterdong420]

Yes

[@Tumble64]

General rule of thumb: don't try to hug thwomps

[@erc3338]

lewd

[@EvilOverlord1662]

Yes, but not on purpose.

[@waffleman8053]

Imagine the reaction if they bring this track back and Marty's not in the cage.

[@handsomeharold4698]

If you play as any bowser you get chased by a thwomp

[@misterzygarde6431]

They better make him playable then

[@gboogie3257]

@@misterzygarde6431 ahh yes just like playing as the crate in CTR

[@LARKXHIN]

He's now on parole!

[@emberthefox4951]

I'd throw a party. My man was finally freed from his false imprisonment.

[@Versitax]

If Marty was green, it would open up the possibility of Racist Bowser.

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

Lmao

[@shinylugia7052]

Ironic when you consider bowser is partially green

[@kiwi_2_official]

@@shinylugia7052 racism is exclusionary

[@Biker_Gaming]

fr

[@michaelfalcone7110]

The sequel to Racist Mario

[@Tokuto-kun]

"Marty isn't green, it's just the lighting in his cage" is what i've been trying to tell everyone even before I learnt that his texture isn't actually green just a few minutes ago from this very video. Thanks for making this.

[@stereo-soulsoundsystem5070]

No. He is green to me. Official canon

[@Guhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

@@stereo-soulsoundsystem5070fax

[@n13475]

"Marty isn't green 🤓☝️"

[@LandonEmma]

Fr

[@globingoblin]

He's a true martyr

[@skep2923]

I don’t recall him being French.

[@alexanderharrison7421]

Nah he's just an Apostle in Early Christianity

[@Dragonchaser144k]

Marty the martyr

[@2u29wjiowk2iswj]

@@alexanderharrison7421 Martyr means punished for religious beliefs but also other beliefs

[@2u29wjiowk2iswj]

@@skep2923 It's an English word too

[@zkoopa4445]

I never thought about what little amount of Thwomps are in Mario 64

[@misirtere9836]

nobody tell him about the bullet bills

[@MrCheeze]

Mario Party uses blue thwomps so heavily that I just assumed there must be a lot of them in their original game, when there just.... aren't.

[@Iinneus]

It's even more insane if you see a lot of Mario 64 hacks, where Thwomps are EVERYWHERE. Not once have I ever thought "huh, this hack is using thwomps? that's a bit of an obscure enemy for SM64"

[@SonplaysMinEcraft]

revisionist history

[@foursidekm]

@@Iinneus it's probablu 'cause they show up quite early on in mario 64 so they stick in your mind more

[@cioplasmmajic8327]

But what if it isn't a punishment, but a protection? You can destroy every other thwomp in Bowser's castle by using a star, but not Marty, since he's protected by the bars. Maybe the bars aren't to keep HIM in, maybe they're to keep YOU out.

[@Skybass_]

I kinda like the idea that the developers were just like “Yeah this part of the course could use a little extra detail lets throw a prisoner in there”

[@Iwidelyoutliveeverything]

the name "Ahem, top thwomp" sounds like you're telling him to take you to to top floor as if he was an elevator attendant, further showing that he is good.

[@sapphireaurora9634]

Man, I remember one of those myths that spread like wild fire. In this case it was that there was a way to break out Marty where he would follow people and always block their way. Does anyone else remember that

[@MikeDigitaLProductions]

I think i do

[@Minosprime679]

Actually sounds like a cool mechanic ngl

[@limabravo0001]

Mandela effect

[@moth_farmer]

I remember talking in school about this. I said something about using a bomb and a spiny shell at the same time to break the bars, lol.

[@SonicMaster519]

I remember having a fever dream when I was little. I sat next to the cage as Luigi, and suddenly the cage opened as Marty was laughing. His eyes glowed red and then a chase scene started where I had to drive away from his as fast as I could while avoiding spikes on some random highway in the middle of night. I lost and I got crushed by him, but I did it again and beat him, this time. The goal was marked with some other orange Thwomp that had a sign next to it with the text "Mary" on it. It showed a cutscene of Marty and "Mary" speaking before they grew the most realistic blue arms I had ever seen and hugged each other. Then the screen turned white before fading into the title screen and I had apparently unlocked Marty and Mary as drivers. All I remember was Marty had unlimited power-ups but Mary was the fastest driver. Freaking awesome, I remember feeling sad when I woke up and realized it was just a dream. Thanks for the awesome video, reminded me of my crazy childhood dreams involving this big guy.

[@lemonsmug]

marty op plz nerf

[@DE23]

Relationship *GOALS*

[@lazylaze8278]

ahh, the dream where you unlock something awesome in a game. had some of those too!

[@mordo0639]

This could be a great scenario for Mario Kart 64 VHS type video

[@SonicMaster519]

@@mordo0639 please do not

[@connordarvall8482]

First time I saw Marty, I got freaked out because my game design sense told my that thwomps are supposed to move and crush things, which meant if the game was holding him back, they were going to release him during the race to cause mayhem.

[@nathannightmare1604]

That would have been cool.

[@_Lyan_]

Interesting... So Marty is actually a good guy! His laughs then would be directed towards Bowser, as if to say "It's too late Bowser, Mario got all the Power Stars needed to defeat you! I've done my part. Heh...heheheheh."

[@youtubeuniversity3638]

And laughing at a few of the other racers could be a more friendly triumphant laugh, a sort of a "He got to me too late! You don't need my help anymore!"

[@franklinfleming1237]

I see it more as he wasn't angry lol 😆 he smiles.

[@theaa47]

Marty deserved better #JusticeForMarty

[@geargamerjonezy]

I think Marty should make a comeback but not imprisoned

[@TexTheGuy]

A gimmick where he chased you angrily

[@WilfredCthulu]

Legit one of my favorite rumors lol. I'm surprised we haven't seen Marty added through mods yet.

[@alexanderdahms4001]

Ima pertt sure there are mods that add him

[@MadMasterPorkey]

Truly the saddest story in the Mario universe

[@NamelessGamer29]

Marty was actually imprisoned for secretly planning a coup against Bowser with assistance from the Mushroom Kingdom but was betrayed last minute by Peach who didn’t want any trace of involvement to avoid a geopolitical scandal.

[@chad_bro_chill]

Lmao I guess that means he's now in Bowser's castle so that Bowser can torture him whenever he pleases. Brutal.

[@rebornreaper194]

Marty was actually just planning a soup for Bowser -- common misconception.

[@AquaVmapping]

@@rebornreaper194 what kind of soup

[@GrinceMaster73]

@@AquaVmappingperhaps a hedgehog stew

[@Baconator2558]

​@@rebornreaper194It's really hard to type when you're a giant stone cube.

[@Rediscool9]

This guy has always scared me with how mysterious he is. Why is he green? Why is he in bars? Why does he LAUGH maniacally when you go near him? Could it be possible that he is more than just a simple Thwomp? What if he isn’t really a Thwomp at all? Just who or what IS he.

[@killedbycrit]

THAT IS THE PERFECT SETUP FOR A CREEPYPASTA

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

@@killedbycrit it's not 2013 lmao

[@lemonsmug]

@@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer and?

[@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer]

@@lemonsmug it's not creepypasta era

[@danolantern6030]

@@Average-Cacodemon-Enjoyer Not trying to be mean here but who cares?

[@MarkiplierMeatMuncher8]

Theory: Marty has spent a lot of time in that little cage. If you know Thwomps, then you know that their only purpose in life is to slam down on the ground, go back up, then do it again for all eternity. But do you think Marty is able to do that in such a small space? Sure, he absolutely can, but it's not the same. Thwomps usually like to slam down from high places, but this cage feels a bit too tiny for Marty to slam down. And like, why does Marty go to jail, but not people like Koopa the Quick, or the Lakitu camera man? They helped Mario as well in Mario 64, so why do they get to be free? It was not fair... He was unfairly put there in the 1st place. He realized that Bowser was evil and that he shouldn't aid him in his schemes. So because of this, he helped Mario instead. He helped him get a Power Star so Mario could have a little more chance against Bowser! And.... it worked!!! Marty felt joy in his life, he couldn't wait to be rewarded by Peach herself cause what he did, he did something great!... But.... that wasn't the case... Instead of gifts and presents, he got something much worse, in fact, it was something that no one would dream about... Lord Bowser sent him to prison, for life presumably! Marty was astonished. The worst part is, that he wasn't put into any ordinary cell, he was LITERALLY put in the open for everyone to see! IN A RACETRACK OUT OF ALL PLACES!!! The racers, the audience, everyone could see him trapped. It gets worse, because he saw that his Thwomp bretheren were used as hazards for the track, right infront of his cage. Those Thwomps could slam down as much as they wanted, they could get the satisfaction of crushing someone anyday. They were... free!... Well, somewhat atleast. They were forced to stand there just so they could crush the racers, and that's it. Bowser, and everyone else just saw them as hazards that they could dodge and ignore. But Marty knew that those Thwomps were more than hazards. Thwomps have feelings and emotions too, you know? One of the Thwomps probably wanted to go to Thwomp College and get a job that they always wanted, but no, that Thwomp is now on this racetrack for all eternity... Worst part is, that Marty couldn't tell them the truth, he couldn't tell them to rebel, he was too far away and he couldn't get them to listen. He was forced to watch them suffer, similarly to how he suffers as well. But, that's okay, Mario might save him, and the other Thwomps eventually, right? Well, he waited and waited, until one day, it was announced that a couple of racers are going to race in Bowsers Castle. You couldn't believe his reaction when he saw that the one and only Jumpman was there! Oh joy!!! This means that Mario is here to save him and his comrades!!! But Mario didn't come alone, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, DK, and even Wario were there too! This is it, this is the day that the Thwomp species will rise above Bowser and they will finally get the respect they deserve!.... Well........... not really........ Mario and friends weren't there to save, that was probably their last intention. The only reason they were there, was because... they just wanted to have fun racing... Marty felt like that the whole world fell upon him. Mario... forgot about him. It was that day that Marty lost all hope and happiness in his life. Bowser is not the only person who sees Thwomps as tools... EVERYONE sees Thwomps as tools! Marty did not want to live anymore, he wanted to end his own life... but he couldn't. Thwomps are basically invincible, they can only be killed with a Starman, or a Giant Mushroom. But let's be honest, who is going to run around with these specific items just so they could approach a seemingly useless cage, with an even more useless Thwomp inside, so they could destroy it? Nothing would happen, so there's no reason to. So Marty could do nothing, but close his eyes in shame, sadness, anger, and disappointment. And over the years, he was pretty much forgotten by everyone, even by Bowser. Mario would never come to save him, and he was just left there to rot until the end of life itself. But why is he laughing then? Because of everything that happened, he has become insane and mentally deranged. There's no hope for him, no one to save him, no Thwomp HE could save, and no good life to be had. Marty knows this, and he can't do anything about any of this. His only purpose is to be decoration in a racetrack that hasn't been used since a decade. Marty's best decision is also his worst. Without him, Mario would have probably not been able to save Peach, and the world itself from the evil King Koopa. But Mario doesn't know, he only sees Marty and every other Thwomp to be mere accessories, and nothing else.

[@murdcrockdolphin]

Marty really do be having deeper lore than the entire Mario franchise

[@lemonsmug]

marty lore bottom text

[@zkitty11]

maybe Bowser tried to have Koopa the Quick arrested but he was too fast

[@STEALT_BLADE]

Lorereeee

[@AlmyTheAlien]

Bowser really is a surprisingly merciful ruler, I doubt there're many other kingdoms where committing high treason gets you a few decades in a private cell with a wide view of the larger castle.

[@Gemarald]

There's nothing better then "secret characters" in video games. L is Real (Which turned out to be true in a way), Waluigi in Super Mario 64 DS, Marty.... Now that I think about it there are a lot in Nintendo 64 games but still. It's so enjoyable hearing people make stuff up, be it screts, secret characters, missions, or places, it's just fun!

[@heyoyo10gaming4]

Wait until you hear about Rankles the Otter

[@Irreve-rsible]

Or some from Smash Melee were quite good.

[@floppa_gamer1111]

if you play sm64 ds l is real is true

[@WuhHuh]

I find it funny how L was real in SM64DS, but the next generation revived the myth by saying that Waluigi was a secret character in the game. Whenever the next SM64 remake comes out, I’m hoping that they actually add in Waluigi, but then new fans make up a new myth saying that Nabbit will be a secret playable character in the game or something.

[@Dante...]

One time when I was a little kid I drove up to Marty to get a closer look at him and I just assumed he was sleeping but when he suddenly opened his eyes and started laughing it scared the crap out of me and I never sat next to him again. Was anyone else ever scared of Marty or the other thwomps or was it just me?

[@DustD.Reaper]

ZoomZike just pulled a backstory for a Thwomp that wasnt even given a name by the devs and actually managed to explain it with straight logic and evidence, how could someone not love his channel?

[@zigdoesstuff]

The end of the trailer for Mario kart nine should show the cage being opened and then they reveal him as a playable character

[@jacobtheorangeyoshi8710]

Honestly Marty is another one of those “accidental Nintendo icons” from one random Mario title that really gets appreciation from the community. I’m all for it

[@neonXG]

we need to save Marty

[@BenCol]

I’d say having to live at the tip-top of Tick Tock Clock seems punishment enough, being forced to live in seclusion away from all his friends. At least in Bowser’s Castle he’s easily accessible for people to come say hello. Unless perhaps he’s an introvert and enjoyed being all by himself at the tip-top of Tick Tock Clock and having people come up and say hello to him is precisely what he doesn’t want. Or perhaps he just wanted the seclusion so he could focus on writing his book ‘The Rise and Fall of the Thwomp Empire’.

[@ReadyDude]

Damn it Marty what did you do to get yourself locked up this time

[@hellothepixel1107]

Honestly this is a pretty believable theory. I could easily imagine the devs throwing ideas around for the map, and one of them thinks "hey, what if that one thump from sm64, the one the player had to get on to get the star, what if he was imprisoned for betrayal in Bowser's castle?". Maybe it would be a bit too deep of a cut - specially compared to most references - but i don't feel it's out of the possibility.

[@extremmefan7305]

As someone who only knew of this track through its reiterations for a long time, even the name is new to me. That said, your theory does hold much water, and I'd be willing to accept it as a headcanon.

[@genemelendez8157]

I hope someone makes a fan game that has Marty playable. Maybe it would be a game where Bowser’s minions start an uprising

[@idontwantahandlethough]

When I was a little kid I always believed you could break him out of there and then you got to play as him. Then again/ I also believed that the tomatoes I buried in my sandbox were dragon eggs are were totally going to hatch into dragon babbies soon, so idk if that's really saying much.

[@rajkanishu]

completely random trivia about miniscule mario kart tracks' details is not something I knew I needed in my life, thank you

[@HeyImLucious]

I want to believe I'm not the only kid who was scared of this.. thing... as a kid

[@zekebeans674]

This is Cybershell-level lore-diving.

[@lemonsmug]

The thwomp easter egg that made me question my sanity

[@Tailslover2002]

WTH?! After all these years we all didn't know who "Marty" is & what he's done, but now you literally solved the entire mystery! This is awesome!

[@macmo544]

I had a dream as a kid that I somehow got a hold of a boo and a starman at the same time and was able to pass through the cell and there was a shortcut behind that lead directly to the goal. It felt so real that years later when I played the game again I spent days trying to do it again.

[@guyrocketram9698]

marty's become a bit of an inside joke with some of my friends, we treat him like a cryptid lol. i kinda love the idea of him being this traitor who helped mario. kinda a fun idea.

[@dundee1232]

Dude I love how you broke all of this down and it actually makes a lot of sense! I also would love to tell you about one of my favorite boards for my Mario Party concept I brought up before. I don’t know the name for the board yet but it’s a giant rock stadium concert where the goal is to get to the end of the board On the stage and meet with the rockstar who will give you a star on each visit not only that but every time you meet him you get rockstar points and you can spend those points to go into the VIP lounge to get a star for free. There are actually three VIP lounges each one costing more amounts of points to enter. 20 40 and 60 respectively. The path to the VIP lounge will be blocked unless you have enough points. One star for 20 points 2 for 40 points and 3 for 60 points

[@bnelssMviewshourago]

JUSTICE FOR MARTY

[@jesusramirezromo2037]

Even as a kid, I always taught he was jailed for being good, and maybe helping Mario

[@timlake3472]

The old green thwomp. Edit: i guess he is not green.

[@warioland523]

Am I the only one who would want a Thwomp as a playable character in a Mario Kart? I mean not only would it be funny seeing a literal block of stone driving a kart but I imagine due to how heavy he is he can really throw that weight around and ram people off the track.

[@SomeGuy712x]

Coincidentally, Pannen just published a video about how it's possible to collect the star above Marty in Tick Tock Clock in zero A presses.

[@leo.909]

It's tough and sad to be a thwomp you're just made out of stone and endlessly stomping on the ground

[@Brabbs]

I love these studies on obscure VG stuff! Keep it up!

[@fraquero3192]

bro this is genuinely a good theory, good job

[@maskedtape]

I actually hope Mario ends up freeing Marty either through an MK8 path that allows you to take a shortcut through his broken cage, or through another Mario game where we end up in Bowser's castle

[@DukeofBlasphemy]

Really loved this video! Calm editing style, genuine humor and a fun, silly theory; HUGE change in pace to the standard KZbin fare. This is really great, good job!

[@cxx23]

Maybe he laughs because he's happy to see Mario still alive, or he just thinks it's funny that Bowser still hasn't succeeded.

[@BirdieSenpai]

I love that this even works with the different versions: In SM64 and MK64, Marty is blue and cubical, whereas, in SM64DS and MKWii, he's gray, spiked, and rectangular. It's perfect!

[@4per8]

I love Marty's musical blender

[@WayOutGaming]

Glad I'm not the only one who thought of that lol

[@FR3SHMoure]

People always say "who is marty?" But never "how is marty?"

[@lamenwatch1877]

You just made me love an officially un-named character that I didn't even know existed.

[@gamesier2400]

X: Hey what do we put in bowser castle for decoration? Y: a green thwomp behind iron bars that laughs? X: ok

[@asdunlavey]

Bowser is racist against green Thwomps. 😢

[@CJ-ln5ov]

If Marty had been a Crash Bandicoot character, he would’ve made it into Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, hands down.

[@Trelior]

The remake of the course, which Zike included a shot of, shows the gray thwomp under the yellow light.

[@Shiftarus]

My cousin got in there one time and it gave him a legit Mew on his copy of Pokemon Red. You have to go backwards for 100 laps and then pull the cartridge out and put it back in real quick

[@sagacious03]

Interesting analysis video! Thanks for uploading!

[@SwaggyG_2102]

Ever since I played this track on MK WII, I always wanted to know as to why there was a lone Thwomp locked inside of a jail cell while the other thwomps were free to squash people. So thanks for taking the time to analyze this!

[@Nic_2751]

What did he do?

[@extremefuccboi6point5]

Tax fraud. All thwomps commit murder, they're specifically made for crushing people to death. They wouldn't go to jail for carrying out their intended purpose. Logically, it must be a white-collar crime, and I think Marty looks like the kind of thwomp to commit tax fraud. Yoshi inspired him.

[@alexmitchell1182]

I don't really have much to say but this is legit a pretty nice and entertaining video about Marty from mario 64 my dude ngl.

[@MarioGMan25]

I'd like to note that it's possible that Marty is still green, and that the yellow lighting was just a good way to save on cartridge space so they don’t have to make all new textures. For one specific character model.

[@fanc_ceoOFsilly]

plot twist: thats just his room and he’s taking a short break/nap

[@SoyLuciano]

Coincidentally, this video has the same length as an early _Doraemon_ episode.

[@longlivetheking69]

we gotta crowdfund marty's bail, AKAB (All Koopas Are Bad)

[@airborneyoshi]

I think the red coin thwomp makes just as much sense, I wouldn't put it past bowser to punish a minion for an accident like that.

[@Manobaru]

What if he's not imprisoned but only spectating the race from a safe area?

[@SigSelect]

I subbed as soon as you were able to demonstrate writing a sentence which didn't use the same word twice within in. Rather than saying "castle" again, you said "lair."

[@Markynava777]

I swear... When I was younger... I have a memory of somehow getting Marty to escape and I remember he just took off on the track... I now have come to believe this was simply a dream i must've had.

[@BR-jw7pm]

when a random background element is one of the most memorable things in a beloved game!

[@golgarisoul]

FREE HIM FREE HIM

[@trl9380]

Wow... I was wondering why I keep seeing him locked in the cell playing Mario Kart but this explanation really make sense

[@JoSephGD]

I headcanon that Marty is not the same Thwomp in Wii, but is there for the exact same reason: Super Mario 64 DS.

[@MovieMonster9]

I remember people trying to abuse time trial mushrooms to unlock him. And too many fake videos came from that.

[@baconlabs]

in a 2000 interview about Nintendo's #1-rated family sitcom, Shigeru Miyamoto mentions that the Thwomp was made green because it was an "eye-catching" color, and that the yellow lighting would make viewers think there was "something wrong with their TV sets"

[@Ixmore]

Marty kind scared me as a kid and I think that's the reason why he's caged; to act as a scarecrow on top of Bowser's defensive system.

[@Landonio]

"We have to back, Marty!"

[@ViIvaNunner]

imagine if they brought the track back and marty was the only thwomp to be the old thwomp design

[@zerofichas6963]

Nice video. I'm glad some people like marty. I will try release my romhack with Marty playable this year.

[@OpenKeith]

5:26 TOP Thwomp??? 😳😳😳😳

[@sandakureva]

I had always thought that he was supposed to chase you, but the gate was glitched out or something.

[@The_D_ray]

I just love this kind of shit. When something in a videogame is not meant to be interesting or meaningful in any way, but still catches the eye of the curious to make it as relevant as everything else, maybe even more. True magic.

[@CodesTheOtaku]

It wouldn’t make sense for Bowser to imprison his minions for failure, anyway. From what we’ve seen of Bowser since, the minions actually follow him out of respect, rather than fear (though they ARE wary of his temper). Which implies that, while he is evil, he’s a great leader worthy of their adoration. Hell, he even forgave the three traitors from Bowser’s Inside Story, only demanding that they “pull their weight in beating Mario next time”. But actively aiding his sworn enemy without his permission? That is outright betrayal that Bowser deems worthy of imprisonment. Also, Thwomps are big-ass rock monsters. Even taking “Stomp on the Thwomp” at face value, I doubt Marty would even feel it.

[@MhxAir]

I personally miss blue Thwomps. Now they have spikes, to prevent you standing on them, so Mario can never do this again (without a power up)

[@VaporeonXo]

Great video!!

[@Dante...]

Marty kinda reminds me of those weird caged ghost things in Red Mountain from Sonic Adventure.

[@rayminishi689]

Marty's laughing is literally Wario's, but slowed down and deepened

[@renakunisaki]

My uncle who owns a Nintendo says if you can beat every course in 0.5 A presses, and have Pokémon Green in a Transfer Pak, you can unlock Marty as a Pokémon.

[@ModBros8434]

Imagine being the one level designer who thought it would be kinda funny to put a thwomp in jail and accidentally starting decades of rumors, hoaxes, jokes, and legends.

[@tzeccentric7848]

I’m sure others have figured this out too, but you can literally kill a thwomp; just in Mario kart 64, though. If you have a power star from one of the item boxes, you can drive straight at a thwomp and they’ll explode upon contact.

[@josemembreno3134]

now, see, stuff like this is exactly why zoomzike is my favorite youtuber. ...also, wow, the vindication i feel from having it confirmed that marty is, indeed, Blue and not Green!

[@SpicyWah]

Nice to come back from work to watch a video on our favorite lonesome Thwomp

[@velvetbutterfly]

I was so fascinated by this Thwomp when I was a kid I knew what it was just from the thumbnail on my phone

[@hinglemccringleberry9389]

bro tick tock clock is PTSD inducing.... getting all the stars on that level will haunt my dreams forever

[@zenbmonk1016]

Marty? I used to call him Green Thwomp.

[@IvanlyChannel]

a daring hypothjesis

[@Sammykyt]

I never knew his name but I have always wondered why he was in the jail cell in the first place. This is one feature that makes the N64 Bowser’s Castle even more eerie than it already is which just makes it even better.