27. Super Mario 64 | 1996 |
Switch 2 |
6/18:
Super Mario 64 is about to be 30 years old later this year. It's hard for me to imagine, because that game was out before my time. I didn't have the experience of transitioning from the 2D sprites of the SNES/Genesis to full-fledged 3D graphics promised by fifth-generation consoles, such as the Nintendo 64. I've had an N64, and I have played a bit of SM64 growing up, so I do have some nostalgia for the game.
All of this is to say: Super Mario 64 is without no doubt a masterpiece, and will continue to be so as long as 1+1=2. I don't think it's a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. The camera, while NOT as bad as everyone makes it out to be, can become unintuitive when moving on a thin surface or lining up for a jump. Even when using the Mario Cam instead of the Lakitu Cam (I think a lot of people forget it exists), it can still be troublesome. Yet if the camera system of Mario 64 was reworked, we wouldn't get the cinematic moments of the Chain Chomp narrowly avoiding you with its bite in Bob-omb Battlefield, nor the piano coming to life in Big Boo's Haunt. Those moments wouldn't have been as memorable or cherished if captured at any other angle.
The designers of Nintendo were so ambitious with this game. I can imagine kids bewildered at getting to explore Peach's Castle for the very first time, and discovering all the castle's secret levels in the process. Imagine going from 8 or so worlds in a 2D Mario game, to almost double with 15 in SM64. Sure, there's repeat themes -- two snow courses and two water for example -- and some courses are a lot better than others. But that doesn't matter; you don't have to play every level. I ended up skipping Cool, Cool Mountain and Tiny-Huge Island entirely; not because I don't like them but because I got involved with trying out other levels first. I really wanted to fully complete all the water courses (yes, I like the water levels) and the very first two courses as well cause they are both classics. It ended up being more than half of the 70 stars I needed to finish the game, so the rest of the stars I got were just whatever I felt like getting at the moment.
There's just something special with the design of Mario 64. Take the 3rd mission in Bob-omb Battlefield for example: "Shoot to the Island in the Sky". You're supposed to walk halfway up the mountain and use the cannon to fire yourself at the tree. The game doesn't tell you this of course, but that's the easiest, most simple path to the star. You can however, also use the cannon that's almost directly underneath the floating island to get there. It's a quicker, but more difficult solution as you get a lot less wiggle-room to line up the perfect shot. If you aim too high, you'll miss the top of the tree and end up sailing towards the mountain. It sucks when you miss, but you end up a lot closer to the easy cannon shot in return. Was this all by design, or is it all one big coincidence?
Whatever the case may be, it adds more and more to Mario 64's crowning achievement: the freedom. You have the freedom to pick out what stars you want to get, and how you want to obtain them. There's some exceptions to the rule, but you ultimately decide what you want to do. You have an entire arsenal of tricks at your diposal to obtain these stars: the triple jump, the mid-air dive, the long jump, the ground pound. You can combo some of these moves together to get to other areas quicker, or places that may or may not have been available yet by design. It really opens the game up for a high skill-ceiling, and it's ultimately why SM64 is still the #1 speedrunning game in the world.
There's skips like the backwards long jump up the infinite staircase that anyone can do, lore ("L is Real"), memes ("So Long Gay Bowser"), and theories outside of the game ("Every copy of Mario 64 is personalized"). These are all elements that make this game stand out beyond the game, but never overshadows it; because SM64 is timeless to play. Mario 64 is not even my favorite 3D Mario game, but there's no denying the fact that Super Mario 64 is eternal.
Grade: S
