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Key · 09-13-2018, 08:45 AM

Super Mario 64 (In Depth Review)

Man, where do I even begin to talk about Super Mario 64. Oh, I know.

Super Mario 64 is perhaps one of the greatest games ever made!

I mean, that's simply just a fact. I hold a firm belief that Super Mario 64 while perhaps not the best game ever made, it's definitely up there with the greats. When we were talking about the Nintendo 64, I did mention that this game was certainly a push forward in a lot of directions. I'll talk about some of those now.

And before we get to the really fun stuff, i'll talk about things that don't require much imagery. Now, what makes Super Mario 64 the great game that it is? Well, a lot of things. First off, the movement in this game is fantastic. Tons of different things you can do like flips, forward slides, etc. For a platformer, that certainly covers a lot of ground. They definitely improved on this in later games, but for it to really get its start in Super Mario 64 is certainly a crowning achievement. Simultaneously, yes, Super Mario 64 is a 3D platformer, but its by far the best one of its kind when it comes to Nintendo 64 games. Hell, I think it was the only one of its kind back then. Either way, the first time I ever played Super Mario 64, my eyes were just lit up with excitement and that continued throughout the entire playthrough.

The other plus to this game that maybe not a lot of people would consider. I find it great that you can easily spent about 45 minutes to an hour in each level. The reason that is is because they've given you 7 tasks per level to complete. Some of the same as others in other levels, but that's not really the point. The point is that you can pretty much explore entire worlds in this game and not even realizing it. It's a really creative way to get people to see the levels you've created. I mean, it wouldn't be surprising to hear people saying that they searched every nook and cranny for anything they could find. It was sort of like mini open worlds in an already vast world.

Additionally, while the game plays well and has a lot of neat mechanics, I have to also give a lot of credit to how the game looks. I mean, the first thing you happen upon is this:

That's a pretty good indicator of what to expect in this game. And yeah, you pretty much search every nook and cranny of this castle and it feels amazing. Feels very natural as well to progress through it which is really nice.

Another one of my favorite designs in this game is the way you get into levels. It's not just your standard go into a door etc. You legit walk into paintings and walls to get to levels. That's such a cool idea especially when going with this "there's a castle around you" theme. Works extremely perfectly and I'm glad they went with it.

I will admit though. The game is not perfect. While it does have some frustrations with its controls sometimes, it doesn't make it any easier when you have to use a N64 controller. However, I have played it on the Wii U pro controller and it does take getting used to, but its fine either way. Other than that though I don't really find much fault in this game.

Oh, did I mention the soundtrack? Of course I didn't because I just thought of it. I mean, obviously I think the soundtrack is perfect. I listen to The Greatest Bits's remix album on it and I love it.

Yeah, Super Mario 64 is certainly one of the greatest games ever made and easily one of the greatest 3D platformers we've ever had. But again, of course I also feel that the games progressively got better. It had to start somewhere though right?

09-13-2018, 08:45 AM	#7 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	Super Mario 64 (In Depth Review) Man, where do I even begin to talk about Super Mario 64. Oh, I know. Super Mario 64 is perhaps one of the greatest games ever made! I mean, that's simply just a fact. I hold a firm belief that Super Mario 64 while perhaps not the best game ever made, it's definitely up there with the greats. When we were talking about the Nintendo 64, I did mention that this game was certainly a push forward in a lot of directions. I'll talk about some of those now. And before we get to the really fun stuff, i'll talk about things that don't require much imagery. Now, what makes Super Mario 64 the great game that it is? Well, a lot of things. First off, the movement in this game is fantastic. Tons of different things you can do like flips, forward slides, etc. For a platformer, that certainly covers a lot of ground. They definitely improved on this in later games, but for it to really get its start in Super Mario 64 is certainly a crowning achievement. Simultaneously, yes, Super Mario 64 is a 3D platformer, but its by far the best one of its kind when it comes to Nintendo 64 games. Hell, I think it was the only one of its kind back then. Either way, the first time I ever played Super Mario 64, my eyes were just lit up with excitement and that continued throughout the entire playthrough. The other plus to this game that maybe not a lot of people would consider. I find it great that you can easily spent about 45 minutes to an hour in each level. The reason that is is because they've given you 7 tasks per level to complete. Some of the same as others in other levels, but that's not really the point. The point is that you can pretty much explore entire worlds in this game and not even realizing it. It's a really creative way to get people to see the levels you've created. I mean, it wouldn't be surprising to hear people saying that they searched every nook and cranny for anything they could find. It was sort of like mini open worlds in an already vast world. Additionally, while the game plays well and has a lot of neat mechanics, I have to also give a lot of credit to how the game looks. I mean, the first thing you happen upon is this: That's a pretty good indicator of what to expect in this game. And yeah, you pretty much search every nook and cranny of this castle and it feels amazing. Feels very natural as well to progress through it which is really nice. Another one of my favorite designs in this game is the way you get into levels. It's not just your standard go into a door etc. You legit walk into paintings and walls to get to levels. That's such a cool idea especially when going with this "there's a castle around you" theme. Works extremely perfectly and I'm glad they went with it. I will admit though. The game is not perfect. While it does have some frustrations with its controls sometimes, it doesn't make it any easier when you have to use a N64 controller. However, I have played it on the Wii U pro controller and it does take getting used to, but its fine either way. Other than that though I don't really find much fault in this game. Oh, did I mention the soundtrack? Of course I didn't because I just thought of it. I mean, obviously I think the soundtrack is perfect. I listen to The Greatest Bits's remix album on it and I love it. Yeah, Super Mario 64 is certainly one of the greatest games ever made and easily one of the greatest 3D platformers we've ever had. But again, of course I also feel that the games progressively got better. It had to start somewhere though right?