A Ryan's VC Review: Super Mario 64

[Nayrman]

Yes, another one peeps. I realized I had this on my VC (despite my old N64 still working...lol) and thought I'd breeze through it really quick (got all 120 stars in about...7 hours or so.) This is the THIRD time I've 100% completed the game (N64, DS, and now VC) and felt like reviewing one of the most played game in the history of gaming (I believe it's fifth or sixth in all time sales).


-Wow...has it really been 12 years? It still has the Kids-Adults "rating" on it!

Gameplay/Premise: It's a Mario game, save the princess from Bowser. Simple enough right? Well, WRONG! This is the very first game to widely use the "collect-a-thon" type of style of play (which would be unceremoniously copied by: Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, DK64, Jak and Daxter, Spyro the Dragon,... just to name a few). This seemed revolutionary back in the day, and allowed for simple and easy to understand challenges to complete. Basically this was the solution to having "ends" to the levels. 120 stars and all, nothing too big.

As far as gameplay goes, it's the same old Mario of run and jump. Personally I found it a bit odd that Mario finally got a punch and a kick in this game. Of course, this was back in the day when violence wasn't such a darn issue and guys like Mario could actually punch things. There are some new jumps as well (backflip) which was nice for it's time. The worlds are big (for 1996) and for the most part origional (a few pallets are reused, but oh well), so in terms of general gameplay there are only a few minor gripes.

First off, the control really doesn't hold up to today's standards. Mind you it still works fine, but there are times when Mario seems to have a hard time doing what you tell him to do. There are only two controller options for the N64 games, Cube and Classic. I will say the Cube controller is very unresponsive, so use the Classic. The only other thing to mention is that Mario seems a bit more "slippery" than in past games. I don't know whether this is a result of it being a downloadable game or if this was always the case (I don't remember him being this bad). Again, it can be worked around, but it just feels wierd that something like that wasn't noticed. Or perhaps I'm just nitpicking.

The biggest flaw in the gameplay is the HORRENDOUS camera. It's remarkable how we thought this was the cutting edge of camera work twelve years ago, and now it feels less co-operative than Sonic's camera problems. Throughout much of the game I had to wrestle with the camera just to find a decent view, and since it isn't a full control stick adjustment (a flick of the camera sends it flying to a preset angle) so you're stuck with only a few angles when full control would've been much better. In all honesty this is the one aspect of Mario 64 that absolutely fails in today's standards. Everything else still feels really good though.


-The game that defined 3D...how I remember getting this game as a kid and being amazed at it's greatness.

Graphics: In all honesty this is a peculiar game to rate in terms of a graphical standpoint. Frankly, it was the first of it's kind. There really isn't a game to compare it too since just about every N64/PS1 game to come after it looked at least moderately better. That's not to say it looks bad though, in fact the graphics still hold up rather well. Some visuals are mere sprite trickery, but that isn't a big complaint (it was mostly to keep cartridge space open), as everything is still nice and blockey as I remember. It almost has it's charm from the graphics like the old Mario and Sonic games from the 2D eras. The biggest problem graphics wise is that there are some wierd hitbox/invisible wall type problems every now and then. I'll give it some slack since the game could've very well been glitchy beyond repair, but it's not as big a deal as the camera.


- "It's a me! Mario! Hello!"

Sound: One of gaming's all time classics in terms of sound and music. This is the second official game to include Charle Martinet (the first was some wierd card playing game on the SNES) as the voice of Mario, and for most of us this was the first time we had ever heard Mario speak in a game. I'm a bit biased, but one of my earliest gaming memories is poping in the cartridge, turning on the game, and getting a warm greeting by the plumber himself. Frankly this is probably one of the best moments in gaming...at least in my perspective. Since it's a Mario game, there really isn't any voicework in the game besides Mario. Leslie Swan plays Princess Peach (and trust me its a MILLION times better than what she is now). All the baddies are left to simple sound effects used from a primitive MIDI software. Bowser had a synthesised voice, and it sounds rather nice. Seriously, let Bowser be evil again...

The music is nothing short of fantastic. If it werent for the origional Mario and Zelda games, this would probably be the most well known gaming soundtrack in gaming. Every song in the game is perfect, from the soft and moody tune in the water levels, to the happy-go-lucky joy in Rainbow Ride, it's all perfect. A few songs are used a few times, but many of the songs are simply so good you don't mind. My personal favorite has to go to the final boss with Bowser as the organ chimes play in a hauntingly beatuiful melody in such a great moment. EAT YOUR HEART OUT SEPHIROTH!


-It's Bowser! And he's actually EVIL in this game! What happened Nintendo!?

Entertainment: I had a hard time raiting the entertainment portion of this game, merely because I've played this game so many darn times. As I said in the forefront, this is the third time I've gone through and 100% completed it, and to be honest I've completely memorized how to do every star in most of the levels by now. Oddly it's still a fun game, and it's still a challenge every now and then. (TAKE NOTES YOU CASUAL CARPETBAGGERS!) If I can still find some enjoyment after all this time and after all these playthroughs, someone new to the game should have a blast.
All in all I highly recommend this to anyone who hasn't played it. If you've played it then perhaps a pass, but it's one of those games you pretty much HAVE to play to be considered a gamer. Some aspects don't hold up well to today's standards (DIE CAMERA DIE!), but back in the day this game was GOD to just about every developer out there. It's not perfect, but it doesn't pretend to be. It's only a step below my four "perfect" games I give that distinction.
"Mario platformer = buy now"


-Thank you so much for to playing my game!
One of the best rewards for beating a game ever...praise from the man himself. (Yes, we were all stupid little kids at the time but who cares? XD)

Note: This isn't a review that should be taken quite seriously. As I stated before, this is one of those games I'm kinda biased towards, merely because I remember it so fondly as a kid. However, this is one of the few truely "magical" games. I bet you could give this game to a kid today (and after whining about the graphics...ungrateful twerps) and they'd still have a blast with this game. This is one of the few "recent" Mario games to really live up to it's namesake. Please Nintendo, make more games like this one...