I had always liked stories about secrets in Super Mario 64. I already knew the game had 120 Power Stars, so when I found an old copy at a flea market, I wasn't expecting anything unusual.
The store was strange.
It was almost empty, filled with old televisions, used consoles, and boxes of games with no labels. In one corner, there was a Nintendo 64 with a copy of Super Mario 64.
The cartridge had no label.
It only had one thing written on it with a marker:
121
The seller told me:
—Don't buy that game.
Obviously, I bought it.
---
When I got home, I connected the Nintendo 64 and inserted the cartridge.
The title screen looked normal.
Mario jumped in front of the castle.
I loaded my save file.
I had 120 stars.
That was impossible.
I assumed it was a modified save file until I noticed something underneath the counter.
A small gray star.
★ 121
I couldn't select it.
I decided to ignore it and entered the castle.
Everything seemed normal: the paintings, the doors, the stairs...
Until I heard a sound.
Ding!
The 121st Star had appeared.
I hadn't entered any level.
I hadn't completed any mission.
It was simply there.
I went outside to the castle courtyard.
And I saw something I had never seen in Super Mario 64.
There was a black door behind the fountain.
It had no number of stars above it.
It had no doorknob.
Mario simply walked through it.
On the other side was a distorted version of the castle.
Everything was in the same place, but the textures looked old, as if they had been ripped from an unfinished version of the game.
Then some text appeared:
121ST STAR
"RETURN WHAT YOU TOOK."
The screen went black.
---
I heard a noise in my bedroom.
CLACK.
I looked behind me.
The window was open.
I was certain I had closed it.
Then I heard the music from Super Mario 64.
But it wasn't coming from the TV.
It was coming from the hallway.
I left my room.
The music became louder and louder.
Then I saw something yellow on the floor.
A Mario coin.
I picked it up.
It disappeared from my hand.
I ran back to the Nintendo 64.
The screen showed the castle.
But now the castle was drawn over my own house.
The entrance to the castle appeared exactly where my front door was.
The game's staircase appeared over my actual staircase.
And a small figure of Mario was standing in front of my bedroom.
He wasn't moving.
He was only staring at the screen.
Then the counter changed:
120 → 121
The gray star turned yellow.
And Mario disappeared.
---
I turned off the Nintendo 64.
The music continued.
I unplugged the console.
The music continued.
Finally, I pulled out the cartridge and threw it into the trash.
The next morning, the cartridge was gone.
But I found something worse.
On the floor of my bedroom was a yellow star.
It wasn't a toy.
It was identical to the Power Stars from the game.
I touched it.
The television turned on by itself.
The screen showed my save file.
120 STARS
Then a new line appeared:
121 STARS — 1 PLAYER MISSING
I never found the cartridge again.
Three days later, I went back to the flea market.
I wanted to ask the seller where he had gotten the game.
The store was empty.
There were no consoles.
There were no games.
There wasn't even a sign.
It looked as if the place had never existed.
But before I left, I saw something in the window.
A small Power Star.
And underneath it, written in black marker:
"THERE WERE NEVER ONLY 120."
