One of the single most influential games in my life. My first home console was a GameCube, but I was born in the early 90s, so this version of Mario was the first one I really knew. There was a stretch of time when I thought the N64 was the first video game console, and Super Mario 64 the first game. Which doesn't make sense, since I grew up with computer games and had MAME and hundreds of arcade games installed on my childhood computer, but part of it was that I considered computer games and video games different things for many years, mostly as a consequence of my limited access to video game consoles.
But I'm getting off-track. Because I thought video games started with Mario 64, so many of my impressions as to what video games were and could be came from Mario 64. I think everyone who plays video games has this sort of thing happen to them. It's something you often grow out of - Mario 64 wasn't the only video game that informed my understanding of the medium back then, but I don't exactly find myself making comparisons to Elmo's Preschool or Madeline European Adventures these days. Still, it's a testament to how groundbreaking and absolutely rock solid of a game Mario 64 was that I still find myself coming back to it, even after all this time.
Part of why I wanted to replay this was to see what it was to Mario 64 that still held me. I've been engaging with a lot of younger gamers lately who don't resonate with this game the way I do (including some of my followers here! Hi, friends). I definitely get it - even limiting the focus to 3D Mario, there are a lot of quality of life changes in later games that make the platforming generally easier, or there's more of a focus on spectacle or mechanical exploration. Heck, the first Super Mario Galaxy is a contender in my book for my favorite Mario game. But I think the strengths to Mario 64 are a lot more understated.
Mechanically, the main takeaway is Mario's moveset. I have always thought this was the best Mario ever felt to control. Things like the Long Jump, the Sideways Somersault, the Backwards Somersault, the Dive, and the Triple Jump give Mario sooooo many options when navigating obstacle courses, all contingent on the player's confidence in their own abilities. This doesn't preclude the game from being hard, and even now I still found myself struggling against Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride, but the player has such a wealth of options to approach challenges that it's always fun to experiment and see what works. Even when it seems like it wants to waste your time, the game is hardly ever wasting your time (protip for Rainbow Ride - don't ride the carpet, turn around and do a Long Jump at the pole).
By contrast, while later games do give the player more options to easily clear gaps, I feel this comes at the cost of innate mechanical intrigue. Games like Galaxy or 3D World are great fun, but that mechanical strength comes from the contextual abilities granted by level design, not something the player is capable of doing at a moment's notice. Even the Mario game that skews closest to 64 - Sunshine - is not immune to this; yeah, Mario basically retains his full moveset, but the F.L.U.D.D. is such a crutch that you're only likely to lean into it when you HAVE to.
Of all things, I also found myself really drawn into the game's writing this time around! The game is strangely quotable, despite how little focus it gets. "Wall kicks will work", "GHOSTS... ...DON'T... ...DIE!", and "Keep that control stick smokin'" have long been personal favorites, but I really found myself taken in this time by the Lakitu Bros.' action news report (what a fun way to contextualize a 3D camera for a gaming public who had never used one before), Whomp King's "I won't gravel... err, grovel", Mama Penguin's panicked "(They say she has my beak...)", and Big Penguin's boasting. I also love the feeling of reverence you get from collecting a 100 coin Star, and the narration says that you gain more power from the castle. These are all little things, but I love what they add to the experience.
I've always found criticism of the camera overblown. It's not a recent conversation - people have objected to it since I entered the fandom years and years ago. I do think a remake could benefit from full camera controls - inevitably, there are points where I'd find myself fighting against Lakitu - but it's serviceable, and for a first pass, it absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Mario 64 is a game that still holds up in my book. I don't expect that to be the case for everyone, and that's okay. 3D Mario has drifted away from the example this game set, and that's okay, too. But for me, it will probably always remain one of my favorites.
But I'm getting off-track. Because I thought video games started with Mario 64, so many of my impressions as to what video games were and could be came from Mario 64. I think everyone who plays video games has this sort of thing happen to them. It's something you often grow out of - Mario 64 wasn't the only video game that informed my understanding of the medium back then, but I don't exactly find myself making comparisons to Elmo's Preschool or Madeline European Adventures these days. Still, it's a testament to how groundbreaking and absolutely rock solid of a game Mario 64 was that I still find myself coming back to it, even after all this time.
Part of why I wanted to replay this was to see what it was to Mario 64 that still held me. I've been engaging with a lot of younger gamers lately who don't resonate with this game the way I do (including some of my followers here! Hi, friends). I definitely get it - even limiting the focus to 3D Mario, there are a lot of quality of life changes in later games that make the platforming generally easier, or there's more of a focus on spectacle or mechanical exploration. Heck, the first Super Mario Galaxy is a contender in my book for my favorite Mario game. But I think the strengths to Mario 64 are a lot more understated.
Mechanically, the main takeaway is Mario's moveset. I have always thought this was the best Mario ever felt to control. Things like the Long Jump, the Sideways Somersault, the Backwards Somersault, the Dive, and the Triple Jump give Mario sooooo many options when navigating obstacle courses, all contingent on the player's confidence in their own abilities. This doesn't preclude the game from being hard, and even now I still found myself struggling against Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride, but the player has such a wealth of options to approach challenges that it's always fun to experiment and see what works. Even when it seems like it wants to waste your time, the game is hardly ever wasting your time (protip for Rainbow Ride - don't ride the carpet, turn around and do a Long Jump at the pole).
By contrast, while later games do give the player more options to easily clear gaps, I feel this comes at the cost of innate mechanical intrigue. Games like Galaxy or 3D World are great fun, but that mechanical strength comes from the contextual abilities granted by level design, not something the player is capable of doing at a moment's notice. Even the Mario game that skews closest to 64 - Sunshine - is not immune to this; yeah, Mario basically retains his full moveset, but the F.L.U.D.D. is such a crutch that you're only likely to lean into it when you HAVE to.
Of all things, I also found myself really drawn into the game's writing this time around! The game is strangely quotable, despite how little focus it gets. "Wall kicks will work", "GHOSTS... ...DON'T... ...DIE!", and "Keep that control stick smokin'" have long been personal favorites, but I really found myself taken in this time by the Lakitu Bros.' action news report (what a fun way to contextualize a 3D camera for a gaming public who had never used one before), Whomp King's "I won't gravel... err, grovel", Mama Penguin's panicked "(They say she has my beak...)", and Big Penguin's boasting. I also love the feeling of reverence you get from collecting a 100 coin Star, and the narration says that you gain more power from the castle. These are all little things, but I love what they add to the experience.
I've always found criticism of the camera overblown. It's not a recent conversation - people have objected to it since I entered the fandom years and years ago. I do think a remake could benefit from full camera controls - inevitably, there are points where I'd find myself fighting against Lakitu - but it's serviceable, and for a first pass, it absolutely knocked it out of the park.
Mario 64 is a game that still holds up in my book. I don't expect that to be the case for everyone, and that's okay. 3D Mario has drifted away from the example this game set, and that's okay, too. But for me, it will probably always remain one of my favorites.