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{{Item-infobox
{{item infobox
|image=[[File:Endless Stairs.png|250px]]
|image=[[File:Endless Stairs.png|200px]]<br>In ''Super Mario 64''<br>[[File:SM64DS Endless Stairs.png|200px]]<br>In ''Super Mario 64 DS''
|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario 64]]'' ([[List of games by date#1996|1996]])
|first_appearance=''[[Super Mario 64]]'' ([[List of games by date#1996|1996]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Super Mario 64 DS]]'' ([[List of games by date#2004|2004]])
|latest_appearance=''[[Super Mario 3D All-Stars]]'' ([[List of games by date#2020|2020]])
}}
}}
{{quote|To open the [[Big Star Door|door]] that leads to the "endless" stairs, you need 70 [[Power Star|Stars]]. Bwa ha ha!|Bowser}}
{{quote|To open the [[Big Star Door|door]] that leads to the "endless" stairs, you need 70 [[Power Star|Star]]s. Bwa ha ha!|Bowser|Super Mario 64}}
The '''endless stairs''' (also stylized as the '''"endless" stairs''') are an obstacle within the [[Peach's Castle|Mushroom Castle]], first appearing in ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' and later reappearing in ''[[Super Mario 64 DS]]''. They are behind the final [[Big Star Door]], which leads to [[Bowser in the Sky]]. If the player has fewer than 70 [[Power Star]]s in ''Super Mario 64'' or has 80 Power Stars and does not have [[Mario]] in ''Super Mario 64 DS'', they can still enter the Big Star Door, but they will endlessly climb this flight of stairs, seemingly gaining no ground, though they can easily exit through the entrance. Once the player manages to collect 70 Power Stars (80 and Mario in the [[Nintendo DS]] remake), the endless stairs finally end, and Mario will be able to access [[Bowser in the Sky|the final level]] of the game when he reaches the top.
The '''endless stairs''' (also stylized with {{wp|sneer quotes}} as '''"endless" stairs''') are an obstacle within the [[Peach's Castle|Mushroom Castle]] in ''[[Super Mario 64]]'' and ''[[Super Mario 64 DS]]''. They are behind the final [[Big Star Door]], which leads to [[Bowser in the Sky]], the final [[level]] of the game.


The "endless" stairs illusion is created by warping Mario back once he reaches a certain point.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlB0hkVGHUo&t=7m33s</ref> This can be easily seen in the DS remake via the minimap, as well as the fact that the ceiling at the top of the stairs is actually slightly visible in this version.
Unless the player has more than 70 [[Power Star]]s in ''Super Mario 64'', or has more than 80 Power Stars and is playing as [[Mario]] in ''Super Mario 64 DS'', trying to climb this flight of stairs will seemingly gain no ground; they must eventually relent and leave through the room's entrance. After meeting these conditions, the stairs can be climbed normally, granting Mario access to Bowser in the Sky.
 
The illusion of the "endless" stairs is created by warping the player character back down a few steps once they reach a certain point,<ref>Blaf Snarten Burg (January 12, 2019). [https://youtu.be/gBHwF4kfMYY?t=453 Off Camera Secrets Super Mario 64 Boundary Break (REUPLOAD READ DESC)]. ''YouTube''. Retrieved January 19, 2021.</ref> combined with {{wp|distance fog}} to hide the top of the staircase. The trick can be spotted by getting the camera uphill from the character as they climb the stairs, as the bottom of the room is more visible, breaking the {{wp|translational symmetry}} of the stairs. In the [[Nintendo DS]] remake, the player can also see their character's position being moved on the minimap, and the ceiling at the top of the stairs is actually slightly visible due to lighting changes.


==Names in other languages==
==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
{{foreign names
|Jap=はてしない かいだん
|Jpn=はてしない かいだん
|JapR=Hateshinai Kaidan
|JpnR=Hateshinai Kaidan
|JapM=Endless Stairs
|JpnM=Endless Stairs
|Ita=Scale infinite
|ItaM=Endless stairs
|Fre=L'escalier sans fin
|FreM=The endless stairs
}}
}}


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The audio track that plays seems to be based on the {{wp|Shepard tone|Shepard tone audio illusion}}.
The audio track that plays seems to be based on the {{wp|Shepard tone|Shepard tone audio illusion}}.
{{media table
{{media table
|type1=audio
|file1=SM64-Looping Steps.oga
|name1=SM64-Looping Steps
|title1=''[[Super Mario 64]]''
|pipe1=''[[Super Mario 64]]''
|description1=Looping Steps
|description1=Endless Stairs
}}
}}


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
[[File:SM64 Notendless.png|thumb|150px|[[Mario]] at the top of the stairs with fewer than 70 [[Power Star]]s]]
[[File:SM64 Notendless.png|thumb|150px|[[Mario]] at the top of the endless stairs with fewer than 70 [[Power Star]]s]]
*There is [[List of Super Mario 64 glitches#Backwards Long Jump|a glitch]] with which the player can bypass ever needing to collect at least 70 Power Stars, but only for the [[Nintendo 64]] version.
*There is [[List of Super Mario 64 glitches#Backwards long jump|a glitch]] with which the player can bypass ever needing to collect at least 70 Power Stars, but this works only for the original [[Nintendo 64]] version, as this glitch was patched in the [[Super Mario 64#Super Mario 64: Shindō Pak Taiō Version|''Shindō Pak Taiō Version'']], which carried over to ''[[Super Mario 3D All-Stars]]'', as well as ''Super Mario 64 DS''.
**However, [[List of Super Mario 64 DS glitches#Fall Through the Stairs|a different glitch]] can be used to access this in the DS remake.
**However, [[List of Super Mario 64 DS glitches#Fall through the stairs|a different glitch]] can be used to access Bowser in the Sky with any player character aside from Mario and/or with fewer than 80 Stars in the DS remake.
*The endless stairs are similar to the {{wp|Penrose stairs}}, which are also endless stairs, except the latter are formed in a loop to produce the endless illusion, while the former follow the more traditional fashion of stairs by going up.
*The endless stairs are similar to the {{wp|Penrose stairs}}, which are also endless stairs, except the latter stairs are formed in a loop to produce the endless illusion, while the former ones follow the more traditional fashion of stairs by going up.


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>
{{SM64}}
{{SM64}}
[[Category:Super Mario 64 Objects]]
[[Category:Super Mario 64 objects]]
[[Category:Super Mario 64 DS Objects]]
[[Category:Super Mario 64 DS objects]]
[[it:Scale infinite]]
[[it:Scale infinite]]

Latest revision as of 19:02, January 18, 2025

Endless stairs
The "endless" stairs in Super Mario 64
In Super Mario 64
The endless stairs inside Mushroom Castle
In Super Mario 64 DS
First appearance Super Mario 64 (1996)
Latest appearance Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020)
“To open the door that leads to the "endless" stairs, you need 70 Stars. Bwa ha ha!”
Bowser, Super Mario 64

The endless stairs (also stylized with sneer quotes as "endless" stairs) are an obstacle within the Mushroom Castle in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS. They are behind the final Big Star Door, which leads to Bowser in the Sky, the final level of the game.

Unless the player has more than 70 Power Stars in Super Mario 64, or has more than 80 Power Stars and is playing as Mario in Super Mario 64 DS, trying to climb this flight of stairs will seemingly gain no ground; they must eventually relent and leave through the room's entrance. After meeting these conditions, the stairs can be climbed normally, granting Mario access to Bowser in the Sky.

The illusion of the "endless" stairs is created by warping the player character back down a few steps once they reach a certain point,[1] combined with distance fog to hide the top of the staircase. The trick can be spotted by getting the camera uphill from the character as they climb the stairs, as the bottom of the room is more visible, breaking the translational symmetry of the stairs. In the Nintendo DS remake, the player can also see their character's position being moved on the minimap, and the ceiling at the top of the stairs is actually slightly visible due to lighting changes.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning Notes
Japanese はてしない かいだん[?]
Hateshinai Kaidan
Endless Stairs
French L'escalier sans fin[?] The endless stairs
Italian Scale infinite[?] Endless stairs

Media[edit]

The audio track that plays seems to be based on the Shepard tone audio illusion.

Help:MediaHaving trouble playing?

Trivia[edit]

The backwards long jump glitch from Super Mario 64.
Mario at the top of the endless stairs with fewer than 70 Power Stars
  • There is a glitch with which the player can bypass ever needing to collect at least 70 Power Stars, but this works only for the original Nintendo 64 version, as this glitch was patched in the Shindō Pak Taiō Version, which carried over to Super Mario 3D All-Stars, as well as Super Mario 64 DS.
    • However, a different glitch can be used to access Bowser in the Sky with any player character aside from Mario and/or with fewer than 80 Stars in the DS remake.
  • The endless stairs are similar to the Penrose stairs, which are also endless stairs, except the latter stairs are formed in a loop to produce the endless illusion, while the former ones follow the more traditional fashion of stairs by going up.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Blaf Snarten Burg (January 12, 2019). Off Camera Secrets Super Mario 64 Boundary Break (REUPLOAD READ DESC). YouTube. Retrieved January 19, 2021.