Castle Grounds

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia

Not to be confused withCastle Gardens.

This article is about the location inSuper Mario 64. For the golf course inMario Golf: Toadstool Tour, seePeach's Castle Grounds.

Castle Grounds

First appearance	Super Mario 64 (1996)
Latest appearance	Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020)
Greater location	Mushroom Kingdom

TheCastle Grounds are the area in front of theMushroom Castle inSuper Mario 64 andSuper Mario 64 DS. They are a hilly, grassy area with several smalltrees and a waterfall on the far left that pours into the castle's moat. There are two bridges over the moat: a wooden one that leads to the right side of the Castle Grounds, and a stone one that leads to the front doors of the castle.

InSuper Mario Odyssey, theMushroom Kingdom andPeach's Castle in specific are heavily based onSuper Mario 64 andSuper Mario 64 DS, so the Mushroom Kingdom's layout has a drain-able moat, a hedge maze, a pond, anda device that allows the player to reach the roof of the castle like the Castle Grounds.

History[edit]

Super Mario 64 /Super Mario 64 DS[edit]

InSuper Mario 64,Mario arrives at the Castle Grounds via aWarp Pipe upon receiving aletter fromPrincess Peach. When he approaches the castle, he is greeted by theLakitu Bros. There are multiplesigns in the Castle Grounds that explain the game's controls. After obtaining thekey fromBowser in the Dark World, Mario can drain the moat byground-pounding twobrick pillars in the castle's basement, which allows him to access an areaunderneath the moat where he can activate theVanish Cap. After obtaining all 120Power Stars, Mario can use thecannon next to the lake to launch himself on top of the castle, where he finds three1UP Mushrooms, ared block, andYoshi, who maxes out Mario's lives and gives him a specialTriple Jump.

InSuper Mario 64 DS, Mario,Luigi, andWario all arrive at the Castle Grounds after Peach sends her letter. They then enter the castle to search for Peach while Yoshi is seen sleeping on the roof. When they fail to return, one of the Lakitu Bros. wakes Yoshi up, prompting him to search for them. When he tries to enter the castle, it turns out to be locked. To obtain the key, Yoshi has to chase arabbit through a small hedge maze, which was added to the Castle Grounds in this version of the game. Later, after speaking to theToad in theRec Room, Yoshi can find six more rabbits in the Castle Grounds that give him keys when caught. ABlack Brick was placed on top of the entrance to The Secret Under the Moat, requiring Wario to access it. Luigi's final rabbit can be found on the castle roof, and the red block now gives aPower Flower (Wings if the player plays as Mario). The roof also features a small fence around the area where the three1-UP Mushrooms are found.

TheVS mode also features the Castle Grounds as a playable course. In this mode, the doors are blocked, preventing access to the castle; a movingplatform above the pond is added; and aChain-Chomp is hopping around in front of the castle with one of the Stars located at the end of its chain.

Mario Kart 64[edit]

The Castle Grounds return inMario Kart 64. The area can be accessed by driving off the road to the right onRoyal Raceway after the big jump, though doing so has no benefit during a race. The layout has been slightly simplified; some of the trees, as well as the small beach with the cannon on it and the waterfall, are missing. The Award Ceremony takes place here.

Though Royal Raceway returns inMario Kart 8,Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, andMario Kart Tour, the area in front of Peach's Castle (as well as the castle itself) has been redesigned, and it is no longer possible to explore it.

Mario Party series[edit]

Mario Party 3[edit]

The Castle Grounds can be briefly seen in the introductory cutscene to Story Mode inMario Party 3, and it is also where theMillennium Star first crashed down there. A 2D popup-like replica of the Castle Grounds (and Peach's Castle by extension) can also be seen inside the toy box, which also doubles as the background of the main menu.

Mario Party 4[edit]

The introductory cutscene ofMario Party 4 takes place in the Castle Grounds, which appear to be a very vast and flat grassy plain with realistic-looking trees bordering it. The castle moat does not appear to be visible in this depiction.

Gallery[edit]

Super Mario 64[edit]

View of the castle
Mario arrives via Warp Pipe.
The cannon
The moat after being drained
The roof of the castle