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:
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:
9 Comments
I'll just say I agree with most of that tho I honestly didnt find much of a problem with the swimming controls. For an n64 game they arent bad
Now that you point that out, I actually agree. I think I got swimming controls mixed up with the wing cap, which was my real issue with "controls" in Mario 64
Tbf, like all the levels the wing cap is in I didnt really have an issue with but its definitely not as fun as the Cape for example. So I can see other people not liking it
I was also gonna say I saw you liked sunshine more than this. Sorry in advance for when you see my sunshine replay review because I remember liking it a lot less lol
I think for me, I just can't really wrap my head around how it works too well, I've never been good with it. The cape is one of my favorite power-ups, but it trivializes a ton of the game if you can use it well, so it's in a weird spot. With that said, I do find it more satisfying than Wing Cap, but I also just think it's unfair to compare since it's a 2D power-up to a 3D power-up. Especially since Mario 64 was the first of its kind, they weren't going to get everything right, unlike Super Mario World which had plenty of games before it to have a strong understanding of the formula at that point.
No, you're fine. I'm extremely biased to Sunshine because it was the game I grew up with rather than 64. If I actually looked at the game for what it is, I'd 100% agree with you it has a ton of problems and probably isn't better than 64 in a lot of ways. I'll be looking forward to reading that though!
I forgot to mention my small gripe with then spitting you out every time you get a star. Might add it now
*them
QuentTheSlayer
6 months ago
I agree with you on the 64 OST, I myself went back to listen to it not long ago, and found I enjoyed almost every song, even if I do herald Galaxy's as like a top 5 soundtrack ever made. The atmosphere of Mario 64 as well is very unique, it's really good at being colorful and bright, but also very dark and foreboding like Big Boo's Haunt. I guess that strong dichotomy is why so many creepy pasta's and Mario 64 hacks revolving around horror exist to such great effect a lot of the time.
As you said, this was many people's first 3D game, definitely a lot of people's first 3D platformer, which is why the start of the game in the opening garden is so well designed. It's a large space free of obstacles or hazards so people can understand Mario's capabilities before jumping into an actual level, it's very well done.
I actually find Galaxy better and worse than 64 in a lot of ways, even if I find Galaxy to be a masterpiece. Better in pretty much every aspect you can think of besides open-level design like 64. While 64 definitely had levels that introduced objectives not previously attainable (like Koopa the Quick) you could really do any star in any order, which gives it very strong replayability. Even if I think Galaxy is just as replayable personally, 64 definitely has a stronger case for that to be the case.
8/10 is a good score, I'm somewhere in that camp as well, maybe 7.5 for the swimming controls lmao.
No Gay Bowser is unreasonable and drops the game to a 6, I don't make the rules.