This is an ongoing series, where I attempt to play and rank every video game in the known universe and find out where it lands on a definitive all-time list. Look for past blogs to see where other games have placed.
Talking about "Tent-Pole" games for this blog is a weird feeling. Normally, I try and talk about what a game is, and how it plays, but there isn't a person reading this that has never heard of Super Mario 64. There might be people who have never played it, but I don't need to explain that it is a 3d platformer that centers around an unknown hero named "Mario" who jumps everywhere he goes. So, instead I will get into with the belief that everyone already knows about it.
When I try to rate games, I try to ignore the influence that it might have had in the industry, because by that logic games like "Pong" and "Wii sports" would always be at the top of the list, when they really might not deserve those places. Super Mario 64 is no different. 3D was coming into its own, this was a system-seller for Nintendo on its own console, and it set the stage for how regular 2D games could transition whilst staying faithful. While I don't work in industry, I would probably put Mario 64 in the top 10 games that helped change an industry. Now, put that thought aside and lets dig into the meat of this game.
When people think back fondly on Mario 64, I am under the belief that they really only think fondly back on their first 4 hours with the game. Mario 64 has 15 worlds, 120 challenges (stars), but I think this is a game that while ambitious, is far from the perfect pedestal game that people make it out to be. If I am completely honest, I would argue that people ranking their favorite worlds, almost all of them reside in the first 1/2 of the game. I'm not going to go through each world, but some highlights that people probably think of.
Bob-ombs battlefield - The very first level! When you get to really take Mario for a spin, and see what the game has to offer.
Cool-Cool Mountain - The Penguin Slide
Jolly Roger Bay - The first time you hear the best song in the game
the 1st Bowser level - Seeing your adversary in the 3d and beating him.
I am just one person, but everything after Hazy Maze Cave are actually bad levels. No one could possibly think the 2nd water level, or 2nd snow level are good. Wet Dry world, Tiny-Huge world, and Tick Tock Clock are interesting concepts but a pain to play. Rainbow ride is by far the worst, and Big Boo's Haunt is a letdown compared to the Ghost houses in Mario world. There are more, and people who really love Tall Tall mountain can yell at me, but the levels after the first bowser fight just felt uninspired. Some of this is just earlier levels are easier and thus make you feel better playing them, compared to later levels that expect you to have a mastery of the controls. Would I think differently if one fall from Tick Tock clock didn't mean that I had to start the level over, possibly, but I also didn't feel that Mario 64 was a tough game. (future statement, I feel the same way about Odyssey... super strong start, but later levels just don't have that spark).
Moving on to the challenges, For the most part they did what they could. They give out a little tease of what to expect in the name, you try and figure it out and either get rewarded with a Star or stumble onto a different one. I like this mechanic, because it forces me to play in the world they created, and there is almost always a bail-out start if I can't figure one out. Are there bad examples? Of course, "Blast away the wall" or whatever it is called in Whomp's fortress is particularly bad, because you aren't ever led to believe that shooting out of a cannon can break a wall, and they don't use it in any other level afterwards.
I feel like I have been particularly harsh on this game, but I really do like it. Some of it is certainly nostalgia, but some of it is the fact that Nintendo got so much right. Mario moves as he should, and it feels good to nail triple jumps, and long jumps. The game has the right difficulty curve that feels significant but not egregious. If you play this game like a non-crazy perfectionist, there is also plenty of stars and levels you can avoid in order to still fight and beat the game. I think having that option is great for people who don't want to stick it out or play through parts they don't enjoy. You could max out all the beginner stages, halve the middle stages, and maybe just pick a couple levels they enjoy or can tolerate at the end and you can see credits. Options that feel ahead of it's time. Did the camera controls stink? Absolutely they did, but camera controls are still bad in 3D games that have had decades to grow on this, so I can't fault them too much. However, that doesn't mean that it still wont be blamed for countless deaths or missed items.
All in all, Super Mario 64 is still a classic, but like all platformers is probably a shade longer than it needed to be (especially if you are going for all 120), it will always mean more to those that played it as kids, and it won't usurp later and greater Mario games (to be reviewed), but I was able to entertain my kids with it, despite them knowing none of the significance or for having any nostalgia for the game or system itself.
Thanks for Listening.
Is it the Greatest game of all time: Yes, it currently is!
Where does it rank: It is the new #1 game on the list. It knocks the previous Mario game "Super Mario Bros" off its pedestal and down to #2. These games are separated by the thinnest margin for me. Mario 1, was a tight game with perfect controls and a difficulty ramp up that felt great to conquer. Mario 64 is not perfect, but the feeling of being/controlling Mario is more exciting and enjoyable, and while getting 120 stars is a drag, if I stopped at the 70 required to fight bowser, I could have cut out levels that I didnt enjoy as much.
Up Next: Yakuza 0
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