Super Mario 64: 10 Facts Every Nintendo Fan Needs To Know
7. The Ocarina Of Time Connection
In Super Mario 64, you must explore the castle and enter levels by jumping into paintings. Strangely, this concept was intended for Ocarina of Time, not Super Mario 64.
The developers of OOT wanted Hyrule to serve as an over world, but were concerned the CPU couldn't process that much data. Because of this, they thought it would be easier if the game took place in a single location (Ganondorf's Castle), and have Link transport to different dungeons by leaping into paintings.
Luckily, the programmers had no problem with the over world and so, Nintendo repurposed the painting mechanic for SM64. The castle that was intended to be used for the OOT's central hub was tweaked into Ganondorf's fortress and the painting concept was retooled for the battle with Phantom Ganon.
The desert level, Shifting Sand Land, was also intended for Ocarina of Time but it was repurposed it for SM64 after the developers thought its aesthetic didn't fit with Zelda's structure.
Not only that, Link's trusty steed, Epona, was originally designed as Mario's horse. However, it was decided very early on that Epona would fit a Zelda game better, so it is unknown how she would've been incorporated exactly in SM64.