Game Debate #16: Super Mario 64

[DefaultGen | 5,725]

37 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Rainbow Ride feels like a great reward for getting to the end of the game, I love the energy of that level and all the platforming challenge.

As a kid I thought Rainbow Ride was the coolest, but now I get to Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow and it's like ughhhhh. LET ME RUN AND JUMP. No autoscrolling! Maybe it wouldn't so bad, but you have to do the Cruiser path at least twice, probably 3 times for the 100 coin star.

[OptOut | 9,034]

24 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

As a kid I thought Rainbow Ride was the coolest, but now I get to Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow and it's like ughhhhh. LET ME RUN AND JUMP. No autoscrolling! Maybe it wouldn't so bad, but you have to do the Cruiser path at least twice, probably 3 times for the 100 coin star.

Actually, as long as you get all the blue coins, you don't need to go on the cruiser path to get 100, you can go to the donut lifts instead.

I will agree that the Rainbow Ride part can be super slow, but to me it feels like a chauffeur ride victory lap to the winner's podium!

[Andy_Bogomil | 862]

I like Hazy Maze... although I wish there was a way from Nessy's room to the main moving platform room. Boo's House is probably my least favourite all around... or maybe DDD. But again, there nothing I really dislike that much about the game.

[Jeevan | 9,164]

As stated, all levels are pretty damn good, and as a whole, they just make a solid game. 

[Andy_Bogomil | 862]

Wet-dry is pretty sweet when the music changes as you swim through the tunnel to town. Also the water level changing depending where you jump through the painting was also a nice touch!

[Jeevan | 9,164]

4 minutes ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

Wet-dry is pretty sweet when the music changes as you swim through the tunnel to town. Also the water level changing depending where you jump through the painting was also a nice touch!

This guy gets it  

[croagunk | 798]

Super Mario 64 is an 8/10 for me. I’ve only started playing it recently on Super Mario 3D Allstars on the Switch. Definitely a great early 3D game. Very fun, cute, and challenging.

[Astro Bot | 98]

I was never super impressed with this one for all the hype it's gotten. There are other platformers on the system I have enjoyed more like Mischief Makers and Conker's Bad Fur Day. Pus, Super Mario 64's camera sucked. A lot of people were blown away by it because it was one of the earlier 3D games, but Tomb Raider was the game that had that effect on me. 

I have so many great memories with SMB 2, SMB 3, and the Super Mario World games. Super Mario 64 just did NOT have that same kind of magic for me. 

Looking back now, the franchise has certainly had better games than Super Mario 64. It's a 6 out of 10 for me personally.

[Astro Bot | 98]

I just want to add something else that popped into my mind. I remember at the time when I first played Super Mario 64, I was expecting a level structure similar to previous games. You start a level, then have to get past all of its obstacles and enemies until you get to the end of the level. I remember not liking how levels were just a big area to wander around in, until you complete a random task and then the level just ends. I think I was maybe looking for something more along the lines of the Crash Bandicoot games where levels are a linear affair with enemies and obstacles to overcome, while Super Mario 64 felt more like a sort of mission based game. It just...wasn't what I was expecting from the game I guess. 

I also had some problems with my particular cartridge, a couple times the game just stopped working. So I think that soured me a bit on the game as well. Plus as I said before, I kind of hated the camera. People praised this game so much for moving 3D gaming forward, but I always felt like the game was a little clunky when I first played it. 

For some reason whenever I think of Super Mario 64 I think of Conker's Bad Fur Day, and I just enjoyed that game a lot more.

This is a game I may revisit at some point to see if I feel any differently about it, especially since I love platformers so much and this game is viewed as a milestone in the genre.