Played on Switch Online
My only prior experience with Super Mario 64 was playing the hell out of the DS version as a kid. This both reinforced how good Mario 64 is at it's core while also showing me how far 3D Mario games have come since.
The sheer ambition on display is apparent from the very beginning in the castle. The concept of jumping into portraits and focusing on a star during each visit is brilliant but also leads to situations where I wanted to get more than one star. So it was kind of annoying to get kicked out each time. Also, the camera is brutal. It works well enough for the early levels but as soon as the difficulty ramps up, it becomes unmanageable imo. Just pure chaos. Likewise, I think the levels deteriorate in quality as the game progresses. While they become more interesting thematically (Tiny/Big World comes to mind), the level design is just not as interesting as cheap instant death scenarios become the norm. Mario still controls very well for the most part on the 64 controller though and the feeling of discovering secrets carries the experience.
Favorite thing: Rewarding exploration
Least favorite thing: Bad camera
My only prior experience with Super Mario 64 was playing the hell out of the DS version as a kid. This both reinforced how good Mario 64 is at it's core while also showing me how far 3D Mario games have come since.
The sheer ambition on display is apparent from the very beginning in the castle. The concept of jumping into portraits and focusing on a star during each visit is brilliant but also leads to situations where I wanted to get more than one star. So it was kind of annoying to get kicked out each time. Also, the camera is brutal. It works well enough for the early levels but as soon as the difficulty ramps up, it becomes unmanageable imo. Just pure chaos. Likewise, I think the levels deteriorate in quality as the game progresses. While they become more interesting thematically (Tiny/Big World comes to mind), the level design is just not as interesting as cheap instant death scenarios become the norm. Mario still controls very well for the most part on the 64 controller though and the feeling of discovering secrets carries the experience.
Favorite thing: Rewarding exploration
Least favorite thing: Bad camera