Super Mario 64

Whenever I dust off my old n64 and glance at the classic collection of games that I have accumulated, Super Mario 64 is one of the few that stands out amongst the rest. The n64 was the first console that I ever played on and it probably is my personal favorite as almost any game I put in has a very strong feeling of nostalgia attached to it. This feeling is even there for the games that sucked! Awe sooo many memories!
Anywho I first played this game in 97 and instantly fell in love with it. Because I was relatively new to gamming at the time Super Mario 64 did not have the same affect on me as it did for older people who were around for mario in the NES and SNES days but still this game has one of the biggest nostalgia laced holds on me. Whenever I go back to it and play several round after round of some of my favorite levels in the game I become in awe at the detailed work and achievement Miyamoto and company have developed. The Camra system was revolutionary for it's time and the controls were spot on. The graphics also showed the potential of what the n64 could accomplish and the musical score has some of the most memorable tunes I've ever come across in gamming. But the real star of the show here is the level design. The game is layed out in an almost non-linear sequence after you collect like one or two stars. After that you can go around the castle and unlock new rooms and discover new courses and levels. Not to mention there are quite a bit of secrets and easter eggs hidden through out the game. There are so many heavily detailed levels that spawned all sorts of difficultly and challenge. Each level was also unique and different others to which you'll have your own personal favorites. This game was one of the primary reasons to own an n64 back in 96 and 97. However in 1998 Nintendo surprisingly managed to do the impossible and even topped mario. This was of course the greatest video game ever made The Ocarina of Time!