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In Mario 64, before the start button screen shows, you have some kind of mini-game where you could strech marios face in many ways.

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Did that mini game do anything? Had any effect on the main game? Or was it just for show/fun?

I think I've heard somewhere that some stretch patterns would be cheatcodes, but couldn't find confirmation anywhere.

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As Super Mario 64 was Nintendo's first title for the Nintendo 64, an interactive Mario face served to familiarize the player to the Nintendo 64 controller without worrying about actual gameplay.

Source.

This is the only thing I could find in a quick search. It seems unlikely to be a method for entering cheat codes as there are countless ways and degrees to stretch Mario's face, so there doesn't seem to be a way to put in a precise pre-defined stretch combination.

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  • From what I remember, this screen was purely for fun. I don't remember it ever doing anything else.
    – Timmy Jim ♦
    Apr 13, 2017 at 19:23
  • As I recall, they used it as inspiration for a mini game in at least one of the Mario Party games, or was it the other way around, but that's it.
    – Ryan
    Apr 13, 2017 at 20:36
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    @Ryan "As Super Mario 64 was Nintendo's first title for the Nintendo 64" - I don't know how it could have been the other way around.
    – Rob Watts
    Apr 13, 2017 at 21:21
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    @RobWatts - they're both by Nintendo, and it's likely that Mario Party was in development before the N64 released, albeit at an early stage. It's not impossible that the minigame was developed early for Mario Party, and then adapted to serve as the Mario 64 start screen not long before the game went gold. Of course, I'd call it unlikely, but it's not impossible.
    – Aielyn
    Apr 14, 2017 at 7:48
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    @Aielyn Mario Party was made by Hudson Soft, not Nintendo. The collaboration between the two companies began in 1998, two years after Mario 64 came out, and Mario Party was released in December of that year (in Japan). So Rob Watts is quite right, the Mario 64 title screen must have come first. Source
    – daemonexmachina
    Apr 14, 2017 at 10:29

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