New footage emerges of Super Mario 64 having multiplayer and Luigi

A staggering 26 years after the game was released, new footage has emerged showing an early version of Super Mario 64 multiplayer mode and the inclusion of Luigi.

The footage went seemingly unnoticed for approximately a month as it was uploaded to a small YouTube channel, flying under the radar of many super fans of Nintendo's iconic franchise. However, the VHS footage has been noticed, and it showcases Nintendo's 1995 Japanese Space World show, the event where it revealed to the world for the very first time the Nintendo 64. A console that would later be recognized as a significant leap forward in the history of gaming.

The footage shows a quick look at some off-screen gameplay of both Mario and Luigi within an early version of Super Mario 64, which, if the footage is true, would mark the first time Luigi has been spotted in the classic Nintendo 64 game outside of the 2020 leak that showed the character within the game files of the title. Originally, Luigi was meant to launch with the game, according to a 1996 interview with director Shigeru Miyamoto.

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"We were going to include him in a Mario Bros. style minigame, but because most users probably only have that one controller when they first buy their N64, for that reason (and others) we decided not to," Miyamoto said at the time.

"I think it would have been great if we'd been able to make it two-player, with Mario and Luigi. But if we had done it wrong, it would have turned into a fighting game or something (laughs), so we're leaving that challenge for next time," added Miyamoto