While I was playing Dead Space, I suddently felt the urge to replay something alongside it. I was thinking Mario Sunshine at first but ended up deciding on Mario 64 because I never finished the Switch version before. Super Mario 64 is a game I always liked but not loved. I'm a huge Mario Galaxy fan and much prefer that game overall but after replaying this game, I'm happy to say I like/appreciate it more than I did.

I think the absolute best aspect is Mario's move set when you're in an open level. It's just an absolute blast to play in stages like those, which is why I really enjoy the first 2/3rds of this game. The last third, while not bad has more linear/slower levels like rainbow ride and tick tock clock. They just don't feel as fun in comparison to the prior levels I think. Wet-Dry world is the only world I think I outright disliked this time around, idk why I just didn't find it fun. Some of the stars in general can be really annoying by the endgame, especially the 100 coin stars. While I'm not in love with those types of stars, most of the time they're fine up until the last couple courses. Those can be real rough.

A criticism I have with this game is spitting you out of levels kinda feels like padding. Don't get me wrong, I honestly wasn't annoyed by this for most of the game but when you have levels like Tick Tock Clock or Rainbow Ride where it's a linear climb/ride to the top for at least half the stars, it gets samey having to do the same portion of the level over and over again. It's really only a big issue with those levels I feel, otherwise I'm fine with it but it still does feel like padding (which is maybe another reason why I prefer Banjo-Kazooie :trxll:).

While I much prefer something like Galaxy's OST, I forgot how good 64's was. It's so iconic and is all around really great. Another thing I really like is the early 3D atmosphere this game has. I mentioned it in my Doom and Croc reviews too but something about that specific aesthetic really does it for me. Tho it also can feel a bit too early 3D for my liking, which is why i prefer something like the Banjo games aesthetics more overall.

I was watching a video recently talking about some footage that showed people playing this game for the first time and being really bad at it. This was probably their first introduction to 3D games and it really made me think just how crazy this must've been to people that experienced this game at launch. It's incredibly revolutionary and very much holds up well nowadays.

I was gonna say maybe I like this less compared to something like the Galaxy games because I'm more nostalgic for those...but I played both Banjo Kazooie games at the same time as this game and I definitely like those more so I guess it's just a me thing. Either way, while I don't absolutely love this game as much as others do, this recent playthrough made me appreciate the game more. Despite the faults I have, it's still very fun and a great game overall. I was gonna give this a 7.5 but ah fuck it, I'll give it an 8 for now.

Oh also this version is automatically worse than the NA original because no Gay Bowser :trxll: 

An experienced dev team's first foray into true 3D that, shockingly, gets it right all the way back in June 1996.

Absolutely rock-solid fundamentals which set the tone for the rest of the genre. Analog controls enable precise adjustment of angles which have huge downstream effects. A signature focus on momentum, combined with tricks both intentional and unintentional, birthed one of the most legendary and iconic speedrunning scenes of all time. Systems like this in a casual single player context, balanced to enhance rather than subvert challenges, are rare to find, and even the devs themselves never quite managed to recapture this particular flavor.

The level design here is emblematic of the early 3D era "golden age": enough detail and representation to evoke sense of place, but with the abstraction necessitated by the time's technology both facilitating dense layouts and imbuing the atmosphere with a surreal, dreamlike quality. No established formulas for success existed yet, so levels aren't overly concerned with providing the player a frictionless experience. Each expresses their own quirky character, something felt even more strongly than usual since gameplay is so contextualized by the precise placement of nearby geometry.

Shortcomings mainly occur in obtuse progression/secrets and a handful of stages (more concentrated in the latter half) that don't play to the game's strengths. Luckily, the huge modding scene has leveraged this fantastic foundation and learned from these mistakes to create a veritable cornucopia of visions, both vanilla-like and experimental, for you as a player to explore.

Yup, Quake is a pretty great game!

All the way back in 2010, me and my brother were gifted a Wii during our first week of school that Fall. I had just started the 5th grade and a week or two prior I had rented and played a chunk of Super Mario Galaxy 2 on my dad's friend's Wii during a beach trip. I absolutely loved what I played of it but after the trip was over, I had to return the game back to the rental store and of course the Wii was not mine, so I craved more. Like I said, my dad gifted us a Wii and with it was Super Mario Galaxy. My brother got the Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs game so it's pretty clear only one of us got a quality title. I was infactuated with this game. I can still remember running home from school, going right to my Wii as I couldn't wait to play it any longer. I'd wake up super early on weekends too just to play more. This and Galaxy 2 were basically the first non-licensed game's I truly loved and I'm very thankful for that as it made me want to play more Nintendo titles afterwards. As you can see I adore this game, let's talk about why!

I think the defining factor as to why people love this game so much (besides the story) is it's atmosphere and portrayal of space. Sure, you have more goofy or lighthearted galaxies like Honeyhive or Beach Bowl that wouldn't feel out of place in another game. But a good chunk of the galaxies in this game, as well as the Comet Observatory, just have this really unique emptyness or marvel that really makes you feel like you're in space. Take Space Junk Galaxy for example. It's a very serene and solemn galaxy where most of the setting is literal space with some junk spread throughout just like the name implies and it's very relaxing to go through. A lot of the time I would just go into first person and marvel at the scope of all the planets or just look at the different skyboxes each galaxy has. Even on this playthrough, when I've played this game countless times, I still did this..it just never gets old to me.

As I said, the story is probably the other aspect people love about this game the most. It's still a Mario game so don't expect something mind-blowing but the cutscenes that are here are all great. Be it the beginning cutscene where Mario gets shot at by a magikoopa and gets flung to the starting planet while Peach screams his name, to the ending cutscene where all the Luma's save the entire universe by sacrificing themselves. It's just all so well done. Granted, these cutscenes only really happen at the beginning and end of the game, but it's what's contained in them that matters and it's the single best story in any mainline Mario game hands down. That's not even getting into the optional Rosalina's storybook which is in itself the single best part of the story. It just adds that extra depth to her character and let's you see who she is and how she got there. And even replaying it now, I still teared up...it's that good.

The OST I also think is the single best soundtrack in any Mario game. It has it all, it has catchy songs, it has majestic songs, it has atmospheric songs, it has emotional songs. I love Galaxy 2's OST too but it doesn't top 1 in my opinion and I think that's specifically because 2 doesn't have those emotional/sad songs which I value a bunch nowadays. Those would be A Wish, Sad Girl, and Family. Those last two especially, goddamn dude, I always can't help but get emotional when I hear them. Some other more lighthearted songs I love are Gusty Garden obviously, Melty Molten Galaxy, Buoy Base Galaxy and The Comet Observatory. All in all, an absolutely fantastic soundtrack.

As for the galaxies themselves...they're good! There may be some I'm not the biggest fan of, mostly the beach/bee galaxies and that's mostly because they reuse that theme twice which kinda stinks. But in general the galaxies are quite good even if they're aren't a ton of main one's. In that regard, 2 still does it better because there's way more fun and varied galaxies in that one, but 1 still has some really great levels to play around in. My favorites were Gusty Garden, Buoy Base, Freezeflame, Melty Molten and Space Junk. Special mention to Toy Time too for being so wacky and fun. Though, honestly another small critique I have with the game is the prankster comets. I'm fine with the purple coin ones but for the ones you playthrough your first time through before Bowser, there only being 4 types is kinda lame. 2 fixed this somewhat by adding more types and making it less obvious what it's gonna be but I felt it was worth pointing out. I will also say, people saying the movement in this game sucks I will never get. Is it better than Odyssey's? Definitely not but I still think it's a ton of fun to play around with the gravity. That's just me at least.

So yeah, I know I gave a criticism or two but I still absolutely adore this game and 2 fixes those issues I have and I sort of group them together as one game so it balances each others faults out. It and Galaxy 2 are basically my favorite games ever and I go back and forth on which one I prefer regularly for different reasons so I usually group them together even if both give pretty different gaming experiences. Either way, this game means everything to me and it's a must play for every gamer I think. I love it so much. Anyways, figured I'd go and replay 2 while I'm at it so look for that review soon!

Also forgot to say, I played as Luigi this time around. He's fun to play as even if he is slippery cuz his jumps are much larger. The reward you get for 100%ing both Mario and Luigi is lame as hell though and definitely was improved in 2.

A thinking man's game.

When you've got a rubber butt, what happens when you rub one out too much? You would now have an empty metal butt. How else would you maneuver through the cavernous Bubsy 2-adjacent level design without a rubber?! You've got your wooden stiffy jump that flops at the most inopportune times, and you're over here trying to draw naked mermaids while getting blasted by nu metal pirates and vacuum cleaners who won't even give you the common courtesy of a reach around. Here's a tip, be quick on the draw, or eat lead as they say. Get my point?

You attempt to rub another one out, but you constantly miss your mark because what are hit boxes but a suggestion? I'll pen you one right now, or better yet a finger because fuck pens, we pencils in this bizzatch. No more monkey business from you, or it'll be a walk of the plank straight into the giant toilet. With a zillion units sold, the entire multiverse has accepted massive amounts of wood into their homes, and the brick wall industry has collapsed unto itself. The last winning effort to preserve the rain forests was one love tap from a new beloved mascot, move over Mario Andretti or whatever that jabroni's name is, because the stiff competition has found itself on top. A new pencil-necked dude with attitude has replaced the hedgedork as the head of Sega, replacing the current timeline as Nintendo is now the one who missed the mark and has found themselves rubbed out for good.

Say it! SEGAAAA!!!!!

Your favorite president is Woodrow Wilson.

When you're four years old, you're the biggest dumbass on the planet. You're a big stupid poo poo head. Any other idiot could walk up and pretend to pull a quarter out of your ear, and you'll be amazed and stop cleaning your ears out of fear of losing anymore quarters coming out of them.

When we came home with Sonic & Knuckles, I was astonished at this supposed new abra kapocus-hocus kadabra bullshit that has warped time and space to allow Knuckles to appear in Sonic 2. Woah, what are you doing Knucklehead, this is Sonic's game!! Not no more! The dumbass wheels in my dumbass kid brain started turning, then they started hitting the thick mud that made up the majority of my head and began digging up dumbass ideas that only a child with no concept of how things work would think of. I could make Knuckles appear in Sonic 2, clearly that means I could make Sonic characters appear in other games too! Alright Sonic, we're playing some goddamned football! Then what do you know, I get greeted with "NO WAY!" on the TV screen and become dumbfounded and insulted.

What do you mean you don't wanna play Joe Montana Football?!? What are you? An idiot?! I thought you were cool Sonic! I'm tired of my best friend stabbing me in the back. You think I'm playing? Sonic, I'm not playing. I'm gonna rip your head off. You're supposed to be my friend!

Flying Battery Zone solos the entire Mario franchise.