SunkCF
1996
While I had spent years watching various Super Mario 64 content (Speed runs, let's plays, Half-A-Press videos), I had never taken the opportunity to actually play it for myself. Then, when Nintendo released the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection in 2020, I completely passed over SM64 in favor of playing Sunshine for the first time and completing Galaxy for what had to be the 10th time. I finally got around to sitting down and completing Super Mario 64 this past week, and I may have a relatively controversial opinion about it...
It's good.
The thing about playing classics for the first time decades after they were first released is that it's difficult to put yourself in the mindset of someone who was playing the game when it was released. That being said, you can tell from playing it that Super Mario 64 had such a monumental impact on Mario games, platformers, 3D gaming, and video games as a whole, and its influence should never be overlooked when discussing this game.
Playing it for the first time in 2024, however, the shortcomings and limitations of the game are a lot more prevalent. First off, the camera is abysmal. It was clever and all to give the camera a character in order to contextualize it within the gameplay, but controlling it is an absolute chore, and led to more than one irritating death on my part. The controls are slippery as well, it sometimes felt like there was no rhyme or reason as to why Mario was going a certain direction, and it was even worse while airborne. The controls and the camera made some stars that should be simple end up taking several attempts and a decent amount of my sanity (I'm looking at you, Pyramid Puzzle). As for a complaint that isn't a result of hardware limitations, I also felt like the game stumbled across the finish line in terms of Course quality. Wrapping up your adventure with Tick-Tock Clock, Tall, Tall Mountain, and Rainbow ride really made me want the game to end a lot sooner than it actually did, especially after such a strong start. If I hadn't made it a goal to complete every course, I would've skipped the last third of the game the second I got 70 stars. However, in spite of all those things, Super Mario 64 keeps a pretty good score from me because, while it has its bad parts, the good parts are so. darn. GOOD.
The sandbox/exploration aspect of the majority of the worlds is just plain fun and engaging. There's rarely any wasted space in these courses; if none of the stars send you down a certain path or to a certain area, there's additional secrets to be found there. You're rewarded for learning the course layout in order to complete stars and missions faster, and, while I really disliked the 100-Coins stars at the beginning of the game, by the end, I felt like I knew each course inside and out, because I HAD to in order to collect every coin possible. The power-ups, while a bit annoying to unlock, do a great job at shaking up the gameplay and adding some variety into each course. The myriad of bosses across the courses make each area feel alive and give a decent challenge to conquer before taking on the rest of the missions. And above all else, the soundtrack for this game is BEAUTIFUL. It might be my favorite soundtrack of any Mario game (Behind Galaxy 1 & 2 of course).
At the end of the day, despite its shortcomings, I definitely regret not paying attention to Super Mario 64 sooner. It may not have aged in the best way possible, but the core foundation of the gameplay is absolutely timeless.
It's good.
The thing about playing classics for the first time decades after they were first released is that it's difficult to put yourself in the mindset of someone who was playing the game when it was released. That being said, you can tell from playing it that Super Mario 64 had such a monumental impact on Mario games, platformers, 3D gaming, and video games as a whole, and its influence should never be overlooked when discussing this game.
Playing it for the first time in 2024, however, the shortcomings and limitations of the game are a lot more prevalent. First off, the camera is abysmal. It was clever and all to give the camera a character in order to contextualize it within the gameplay, but controlling it is an absolute chore, and led to more than one irritating death on my part. The controls are slippery as well, it sometimes felt like there was no rhyme or reason as to why Mario was going a certain direction, and it was even worse while airborne. The controls and the camera made some stars that should be simple end up taking several attempts and a decent amount of my sanity (I'm looking at you, Pyramid Puzzle). As for a complaint that isn't a result of hardware limitations, I also felt like the game stumbled across the finish line in terms of Course quality. Wrapping up your adventure with Tick-Tock Clock, Tall, Tall Mountain, and Rainbow ride really made me want the game to end a lot sooner than it actually did, especially after such a strong start. If I hadn't made it a goal to complete every course, I would've skipped the last third of the game the second I got 70 stars. However, in spite of all those things, Super Mario 64 keeps a pretty good score from me because, while it has its bad parts, the good parts are so. darn. GOOD.
The sandbox/exploration aspect of the majority of the worlds is just plain fun and engaging. There's rarely any wasted space in these courses; if none of the stars send you down a certain path or to a certain area, there's additional secrets to be found there. You're rewarded for learning the course layout in order to complete stars and missions faster, and, while I really disliked the 100-Coins stars at the beginning of the game, by the end, I felt like I knew each course inside and out, because I HAD to in order to collect every coin possible. The power-ups, while a bit annoying to unlock, do a great job at shaking up the gameplay and adding some variety into each course. The myriad of bosses across the courses make each area feel alive and give a decent challenge to conquer before taking on the rest of the missions. And above all else, the soundtrack for this game is BEAUTIFUL. It might be my favorite soundtrack of any Mario game (Behind Galaxy 1 & 2 of course).
At the end of the day, despite its shortcomings, I definitely regret not paying attention to Super Mario 64 sooner. It may not have aged in the best way possible, but the core foundation of the gameplay is absolutely timeless.
This review contains spoilers
I never owned a GameCube as a child, so I missed the boat on The Thousand-Year Door when it first came out. It wasn't until my sophomore year of college in 2018 when my roommate brought to school with him his Wii and his GameCube library that I was able to give it a shot, and boy am I thankful for that.
I immediately fell in love with the Paper Mario art style the second Mario stepped off the boat into Rogueport. Goombella and Professor Frankly were excellent introductions to the wacky characters we'd be meeting on the journey. The battle system was simple enough to pick up, but complex enough that it was rewarding to put time into mastering it. I love exploring the environments to collect hidden items and upgrades, and the puzzles in the overworld that make use of Mario's signature abilities and the skills of his partners made the world feel built for this scale of adventure. The enemies are varied, the bosses are engaging, and the story grips you from the very beginning and doesn't let go until the credits roll. Not to mention the side content with the Pianta Parlor, the Trouble Center, the Pit of 100 Trials, the revisit to the Glitz Pit, there's tons of hours of gameplay on a single file, and with the Badge system and myriad of ways to approach combat, I can already see myself returning to the game with self-imposed challenges in mind.
As for upgrades included in the remake, I have almost nothing but good things to say. The visuals are stunning and give a nice revitalization to the original art style without stripping it of its charm. There are also plenty of quality of life improvements, like the partner wheel, the pipe in Chapter 4, increasing the size of Mario's pockets from 10 to 15. It makes the game more convenient to play without stripping it of its difficulty. I'm sure that those who grew up with the GameCube version would have more to say about the comparison, but for someone who has only played each version once, the Switch remake is more than faithful to its source.
There are very few negative things to say about this game, but it still has its shortcomings. The main one being that this game is wordy. VERY wordy. There's so much dialogue, and while it is usually interesting, funny, clever, or some combination of the three, my eyes kind of glaze over after reading the exposition during a longer session. Also, the Peach and Bowser interludes kind of drone on between the Chapters. It's interesting to see what the series mainstays are up to during the adventure, but do we really need to have Peach create an invisibility potion and run through a 15 second Super Mario Bros level with Bowser? I wish these segments were optional; it would make playing through the game again a lot more bearable.
But that small negative aside, this game is absolutely astounding. If you're a fan of Mario, it's a must play. If you're a fan of RPGs, it's a must play. If you own a Nintendo Switch, it's a must play. At the end of the day, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door stands tall as the best spinoff game the plumber has been featured in.
I immediately fell in love with the Paper Mario art style the second Mario stepped off the boat into Rogueport. Goombella and Professor Frankly were excellent introductions to the wacky characters we'd be meeting on the journey. The battle system was simple enough to pick up, but complex enough that it was rewarding to put time into mastering it. I love exploring the environments to collect hidden items and upgrades, and the puzzles in the overworld that make use of Mario's signature abilities and the skills of his partners made the world feel built for this scale of adventure. The enemies are varied, the bosses are engaging, and the story grips you from the very beginning and doesn't let go until the credits roll. Not to mention the side content with the Pianta Parlor, the Trouble Center, the Pit of 100 Trials, the revisit to the Glitz Pit, there's tons of hours of gameplay on a single file, and with the Badge system and myriad of ways to approach combat, I can already see myself returning to the game with self-imposed challenges in mind.
As for upgrades included in the remake, I have almost nothing but good things to say. The visuals are stunning and give a nice revitalization to the original art style without stripping it of its charm. There are also plenty of quality of life improvements, like the partner wheel, the pipe in Chapter 4, increasing the size of Mario's pockets from 10 to 15. It makes the game more convenient to play without stripping it of its difficulty. I'm sure that those who grew up with the GameCube version would have more to say about the comparison, but for someone who has only played each version once, the Switch remake is more than faithful to its source.
There are very few negative things to say about this game, but it still has its shortcomings. The main one being that this game is wordy. VERY wordy. There's so much dialogue, and while it is usually interesting, funny, clever, or some combination of the three, my eyes kind of glaze over after reading the exposition during a longer session. Also, the Peach and Bowser interludes kind of drone on between the Chapters. It's interesting to see what the series mainstays are up to during the adventure, but do we really need to have Peach create an invisibility potion and run through a 15 second Super Mario Bros level with Bowser? I wish these segments were optional; it would make playing through the game again a lot more bearable.
But that small negative aside, this game is absolutely astounding. If you're a fan of Mario, it's a must play. If you're a fan of RPGs, it's a must play. If you own a Nintendo Switch, it's a must play. At the end of the day, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door stands tall as the best spinoff game the plumber has been featured in.
A PlayStation mascot-platformer classic, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus does a decent job setting up the character to stand tall among its contemporaries for the PS2 era. While the gameplay isn't anything special, the majority of the enjoyment from this game comes from its presentation. The varied environments as you go through the game keep the stealth and platforming from getting stale, and the members of the Fiendish Five have enough of their personalities sprinkled in throughout the levels that it makes defeating them at the episodes' end all the more satisfying. This game is bogged down by its short run time and its reliance on gimmicky mini-game levels, but as a first venture, Sly Cooper and the Theivius Raccoonus gets the job done and I would recommend for any fan of classic platformers.
A great revival of the franchise. While the story isn't exactly groundbreaking, it was fun to separate the usual duo like in ACiT and watch their individual selves develop throughout the journey. Rivet is an excellent addition to the franchise, and the visuals are simply gorgeous. The best feature, in my opinion, is the SUBLIME arsenal we get this time around. Just a few returning ideas, but the majority of the weapons are so unique and fun to use, I want to play the game again just to use them all more. This game loses points for being a bit too short, and for the Clank/Glitch gameplay segments being a snoozefest, but if this is the standard set for Ratchet and Clank games going forward, I'll be happily along for the ride.
2016
I'm doing my best to not let nostalgia influence my rating. On paper, this is a perfectly fine game. Decent story, beautiful visuals, a fun arsenal of the most iconic weapons from the past. However, as a re-imagining of the first game, it's hard not to compare the two products, and this game is just lacking. Ratchet shows very little personality, the duo barely even interact like friends, and every character not named Qwark is almost completely lifeless. The final boss being Nefarious seemed like unnecessary fan-service that did not service me as a fan at all. Objectively, this is a fun, decent game, but as a lifelong Ratchet and Clank fan, it left a sour taste in my mouth.
I need everyone who has written off Into the Nexus to give it another shot immediately. The negatives right off the bat, it's really short, the opening sequence is a slog, and the ending is sort of anticlimactic. But everything in between the very beginning and very end is absolutely delightful. The arsenal is extremely unique and fun, the planets, while there aren't many, are varied and fun to explore, and the Clank nether-verse segments are the second most fun Clank gameplay in the series behind A Crack in Time. I understand why people were disappointed when this game came out, but looking back, it was such a fresh relief after a trio of pretty mediocre spinoff games.
Much like Deadlocked, it's important when considering this game to not expect it to have the same gameplay as its predecessors. I went into this game expecting exactly what was advertised, and I had a pretty decent time. Once again, the story is inconsequential at best, but the gameplay loop of racing through the battlefield, earning your weapons, placing your defenses, and warding off waves of enemies was VERY satisfying. Not a long game by any means, but as someone who never played it until marathoning the entire series, I was surprisingly pretty happy with the time spent.
It might surprise you to learn that All 4 One has the longest campaign in the series by play time. It didn't surprise me, however, because this game excels at dragging on. The story takes an interesting approach putting the squad on one planet and having the whole adventure be in once location, but I didn't care enough about the plot by the end of it to give a satisfying ending. The enemies all feel like sponges for most of the weapons, and there's very little reason to use anything but the Critter Strike once it's been upgraded. A mediocre experience that I'm sure is enhanced by playing alongside others, but definitely a spin-off that need not be revisited.
2008
Somehow worse than Size Matters. The story is complete nonsense, to the point where someone at High Impact had to specify in a tweet that it wasn't canon. Clank's arsenal is clever, but not very fun to use, especially when the majority of combat encounters in this game are stealth based. Ratchet gameplay is similar to Size Matters with an even worse arsenal, and the Qwark segments are good for little more than a light chuckle the first time. You change gameplay styles once every 20 minutes, and none are fleshed out enough to be interesting. This game suffers from a serious identity crisis, and I will not be picking it up again to help it figure itself out.
The pinnacle of Ratchet & Clank. Witty storytelling, genuinely fun and challenging time-based puzzles for Clank gameplay, an all-around excellent arsenal with new and returning weapons to utilize, great character development, a surprising twist ending, there is so much to love about this game. Only knock off a few points for the space exploration, which is really fun for 80% of the game, but definitely overstays its welcome by the end. Right up there with UYA, the best in the future franchise, and the last truly amazing Ratchet & Clank game.
Not quite sure why this was a standalone game. It wasn't bad by any means, but it felt like a director's cut extension of Tools of Destruction. Is that a good thing? I don't really know. Weapons were fine, story was a little weird but nothing to knock. If you liked Tools of Destruction, you'll have fun. If you didn't you can probably skip.
My first real disappointment of this retrospective marathon. It's clear that ToD is taking advantage of the new hardware in the PS3, but its good looks are about all that it improves on from the previous games. The story was surprisingly unenticing, the characters all fell pretty flat (especially Qwark), and the combat felt kind of slow and dissatisfying, not to mention being completely unbalanced, especially in Challenge Mode. Overall a surprising let down from the PS3 debut.
The first big bump in the R&C franchise, it makes sense that it came from a PSP spinoff title by a third party developer. This entry gets points for doing what they had with the unfamiliar hardware, and for introducing some interesting ideas, like the armor pieces that combine for various set bonuses, and gameplay elements like the Dayni Moon time cycles. Everything else, however, really falls flat. Boring story, flat characters, uninteresting and intrusive side content, and what is undoubtedly the worst arsenal of weapons in the franchise yet. Gonna put this one on the shelf and not pick it back up.
2005
Genuinely shocked with how much I loved this game this time around. Ratchet's arsenal is a bit stripped down in this one, but that allows every single weapon its time to shine, each one of them staying useful for the duration of the adventure. It was easy as a kid to be disappointed in this game, but allowing myself to separate it from the original trilogy has made me realize that the mission-based, combat-focused gameplay of Deadlocked is genuinely impressive, and an absolute blast to tear through. A bit on the short side, and the vehicle sections/missions are a bit lacking, but I'm happy to say that this was a pleasant surprise to revisit.
The third installment in the original R&C trilogy fully slides on the spectrum toward the "Shooter" half of Shooter-Platformer, but does so impressively well. A shorter adventure than the previous two, but one with fine-tuned gunplay, a more gripping story, and the best arsenal in the series yet. The characters are the best they've been, it's clear to see why Dr. Nefarious became a series mainstay, and the character development for Captain Qwark is some of the best we'll see in the entire franchise. Just left a bit to be desired in the exploration department, but an experience that I'm happy to revisit whenever I get the chance to.