VolcanicDynamo
1989
It's a Breakout clone for the Game Boy. It's pretty no frills - just piloting a paddle, hitting a ball into some blocks, and racking up a high score. You have some speed control by holding A or B, but there are no power ups or other player mechanics. The variety instead comes from the 24 main stages and 8 bonus stages. Every group of three main stages shares a layout across three variants (standard, moving blocks, and slowly descending), mixing things up in an otherwise short game. It's not fully enough to not feel a bit repetitive, though, a feeling heightened by those moments of your ball not being able to hit that one last block! Worth a try if you happen to come across it, and I'm sure this is more impressive as a launch Game Boy title, but there are better versions of this concept out there nowadays.
Perhaps the most notable thing about this one is the fact that it's technically a Mario game! Mario pilots the paddle, one of the stages arranges the blocks in the shape of Mario's head, and all of the bonus stages are based on Super Mario Bros. characters. It's a neat addition to an otherwise simplistic title.
Perhaps the most notable thing about this one is the fact that it's technically a Mario game! Mario pilots the paddle, one of the stages arranges the blocks in the shape of Mario's head, and all of the bonus stages are based on Super Mario Bros. characters. It's a neat addition to an otherwise simplistic title.
The first generation of Pokémon games are important titles, launching one of the biggest media franchises in the world. But the first go-around is definitely a bit janky and lacks more modern quality of life features. Game Freak themselves have remade these games twice for a reason! Fans have also taken it upon themselves to clean up these classics, though most of the biggest efforts focus on Red/Green/Blue. How about the version that stars the Pokémon mascot?
Enter Yellow Legacy, the latest in TheSmithPlays' series of hacks for classic Pokémon games. You got pretty standard quality of lfe improvements - all 151 Pokémon available, gender selection, running shoes, more inventory space, better access to rare items in end/postgame, that kinda thing. More significant are the efforts to rebalance the game. Certain Pokémon have received stat buffs (such as your Pikachu), moves have been tweaked to buff weaker types, Bug no longer beats Poison, Psychic is now weak to Ghost, learnsets have been updated across the board, and Pokémon availability is adjusted for more diverse team options at earlier points in the game. Battle mechanics are generally the same, in the effort to keep that Generation I feel, but the options made available to the player are improved. Trainers and especially boss fights have been updated to match this increased standard, with better movesets and tougher rosters, but this is not strictly a difficulty hack - just bringing things up to the options you also have at your disposal.
Pokémon Yellow offers a specific Kanto experience with its partner Pikachu mechanics and Pokémon anime inspirations. These aspects are retained in Yellow Legacy, and I think these are the reasons why (or why not) you should play this over other Generation I QoL hacks. While I usually will go for the more traditional Kanto experience, be that in Gen I or Gen III, this is now my preferred Pokémon Yellow experience.
Enter Yellow Legacy, the latest in TheSmithPlays' series of hacks for classic Pokémon games. You got pretty standard quality of lfe improvements - all 151 Pokémon available, gender selection, running shoes, more inventory space, better access to rare items in end/postgame, that kinda thing. More significant are the efforts to rebalance the game. Certain Pokémon have received stat buffs (such as your Pikachu), moves have been tweaked to buff weaker types, Bug no longer beats Poison, Psychic is now weak to Ghost, learnsets have been updated across the board, and Pokémon availability is adjusted for more diverse team options at earlier points in the game. Battle mechanics are generally the same, in the effort to keep that Generation I feel, but the options made available to the player are improved. Trainers and especially boss fights have been updated to match this increased standard, with better movesets and tougher rosters, but this is not strictly a difficulty hack - just bringing things up to the options you also have at your disposal.
Pokémon Yellow offers a specific Kanto experience with its partner Pikachu mechanics and Pokémon anime inspirations. These aspects are retained in Yellow Legacy, and I think these are the reasons why (or why not) you should play this over other Generation I QoL hacks. While I usually will go for the more traditional Kanto experience, be that in Gen I or Gen III, this is now my preferred Pokémon Yellow experience.
1987
This is the localized version of Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun. It is mechanically identical to the Japanese version (which is covered in my review of that game), but the original setting with high school delinquents (inspired by director and designer Yoshihisa Kishimoto's childhood of getting into fights) are replaced by an American setting with street gangs and mob bosses. The story, originally about saving a fellow student from a yakuza boss, has also been replaced with saving the lead's girlfriend, but while the Famicom game keeps the story in the game, the NES game lacks the intro and ending. This makes Renegade marginally worse than Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun in my eyes, but if you only have access to one of the two, this is a fine version to play.
Originally released as "Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun," this title was massively influential on the beat 'em up genre. It introduced staples such as belt scrolling, a bigger focus on combos, and urban environments. The reason I'm playing it, however, is because it is the first in the long line of Kunio-kun games, the birthplace of a favorite game of mine, River City Ransom.
...well, sort of. This is the home version, freshly translated for the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle. This port makes some changes from the original, namely having less enemies on screen at a time and dividing levels into multiple segments. However, the aspects that made the original famous are still here.
Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun uses a two button attack system based on Kunio's current direction. B always makes you attack to the left while A always makes you attack to the right. Depending on where Kunio is facing, this means either a quick forward punch you can mash or a slower, longer ranged backwards kick. This also affects some of the other moves you can pull off. You can grab a stunned enemy, hitting them for more damage with the forward attack and throwing then with the back attack. You can pummel grounded enemies by pressing down and using the forward attack. You can dash forward and knock enemies down with a running punch. It takes time to get used to remembering the directional aspect of these moves. I initially struggled with crowds and bosses, relying heavily on save states in between levels and before bosses to survive. But with some time and practice, you can master spacing and crowd control, and I can more reliably get through the rest of the game without help.
There is one move I neglected to mention: the jumping kick, pulled off by pressing both buttons at the same time. This move is kinda busted. It stuns enemies in one hit, letting you go in for a grab. It knocks enemies down in two, letting you focus on another enemy or pummel the now grounded foe. It is the only attack to deal with motorcycle enemies in stages 2 and 4, and it is the best attack for dealing with bosses assuming your timing and spacing is good. Sure, enemies can duck sometimes, but most times, you can just...do it again to hit an enemy. Master this move, and the game can become a lot easier.
To further even the playing field, there are hidden power ups you can find by performing specific techniques. Bust open a wall at the right time to get health. Defeat the third enemy of each room with a pummel when the timer is even to get an extra life. Jump kick an enemy at the right time to get a power boost that lets you send your enemies flying in a single punch. A good reason to check the manual of any retro game you play - you get to learn stuff that isn't necessarily communicated by the game itself.
You'll need a bit of broken stuff, however, since these bosses are devious. Jump kicks are enough for the first two, but they're much tougher without it. The third boss can easily grab and drain tons of health quickly, requiring good spacing on your attacks. That final boss is the smartest brawler boss, bringing a gun to a fist fight that can instantly kill you, though good timing with jump kicks can leave him unable to use his weapon. It is these tougher fights and need for timing, alongside the maze in the final level, that help to maintain the difficulty even with the jump kick at your disposal. This challenge goes even higher in the second and third difficulty levels, which add more weapon wielding enemies and make the final level maze even tougher. I tried with level 2, but having to fight multiples of the third stage boss in just two minutes was extremely frustrating and I had to tap out.
If you're not interested in the history of the beat 'em up, you can skip Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun. This is a super short game with awkward controls and wild endgame difficulty spikes. But the nuances in mechanics that shined in the 80s still have merit today.
...well, sort of. This is the home version, freshly translated for the Double Dragon & Kunio-kun: Retro Brawler Bundle. This port makes some changes from the original, namely having less enemies on screen at a time and dividing levels into multiple segments. However, the aspects that made the original famous are still here.
Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun uses a two button attack system based on Kunio's current direction. B always makes you attack to the left while A always makes you attack to the right. Depending on where Kunio is facing, this means either a quick forward punch you can mash or a slower, longer ranged backwards kick. This also affects some of the other moves you can pull off. You can grab a stunned enemy, hitting them for more damage with the forward attack and throwing then with the back attack. You can pummel grounded enemies by pressing down and using the forward attack. You can dash forward and knock enemies down with a running punch. It takes time to get used to remembering the directional aspect of these moves. I initially struggled with crowds and bosses, relying heavily on save states in between levels and before bosses to survive. But with some time and practice, you can master spacing and crowd control, and I can more reliably get through the rest of the game without help.
There is one move I neglected to mention: the jumping kick, pulled off by pressing both buttons at the same time. This move is kinda busted. It stuns enemies in one hit, letting you go in for a grab. It knocks enemies down in two, letting you focus on another enemy or pummel the now grounded foe. It is the only attack to deal with motorcycle enemies in stages 2 and 4, and it is the best attack for dealing with bosses assuming your timing and spacing is good. Sure, enemies can duck sometimes, but most times, you can just...do it again to hit an enemy. Master this move, and the game can become a lot easier.
To further even the playing field, there are hidden power ups you can find by performing specific techniques. Bust open a wall at the right time to get health. Defeat the third enemy of each room with a pummel when the timer is even to get an extra life. Jump kick an enemy at the right time to get a power boost that lets you send your enemies flying in a single punch. A good reason to check the manual of any retro game you play - you get to learn stuff that isn't necessarily communicated by the game itself.
You'll need a bit of broken stuff, however, since these bosses are devious. Jump kicks are enough for the first two, but they're much tougher without it. The third boss can easily grab and drain tons of health quickly, requiring good spacing on your attacks. That final boss is the smartest brawler boss, bringing a gun to a fist fight that can instantly kill you, though good timing with jump kicks can leave him unable to use his weapon. It is these tougher fights and need for timing, alongside the maze in the final level, that help to maintain the difficulty even with the jump kick at your disposal. This challenge goes even higher in the second and third difficulty levels, which add more weapon wielding enemies and make the final level maze even tougher. I tried with level 2, but having to fight multiples of the third stage boss in just two minutes was extremely frustrating and I had to tap out.
If you're not interested in the history of the beat 'em up, you can skip Nekketsu Renegade Kunio-kun. This is a super short game with awkward controls and wild endgame difficulty spikes. But the nuances in mechanics that shined in the 80s still have merit today.
1999
Today's DualSense controller owes much to the original DualShock. While Nintendo and Sega placed single analog sticks onto their controllers, Sony's offering (itself an evolution of their Analog Joystick and Dual Analog controllers) offered two sticks and built-in vibration features. These now-standard features would be widely supported across many PlayStation games, but most games would not require the controller. But Sony's Japan Studio set out to make a title taking advantage of the dual analog sticks for innovative gameplay, cresting the first game to require the DualShock controller: Ape Escape.
Ape Escape places you in the role of Spike, a boy caught up in an Ape uprising. Specter, a monkey from the amusement park, has gotten his hands on a Peak Point Helmet, an invention that boosts his brain power - and his desire to conquer the world. He and his fellow apes have commandeered the professor's time machine to try and rewrite history, and it's up to Spike to travel through numerous eras and catch those mischievous monkeys.
Modern 3D platformers typically use the left analog stick for movement and the right analog stick to control the camera. Ape Escape takes a different approach. Camera adjustments are done via the directional pad and a camera re-center button. Instead, right stick is used to control the various gadgets you use on your quest, and you select these tools by assigning them to the face buttons. Need to catch a monkey with your Time Net? Tilt the stick in the direction of the monkey. Swinging your stun club? Tilt the stick, or spin it around for a spinning attack. Charging up your Sky Flyer or Super Hoop? Spin that stick. Have an RC Car to drive around? Move yourself with one stick and the RC Car with the other. This dual analog control extends to other aspects as well, from the occasional vehicle segment to the three unlockable mini games.
Even as someone who played the Ape Escape games as a kid, these controls took time to get used to again. Jumping initially felt very awkward (a combo of getting used to pressing a shoulder button and it being a little slow), and I wasn't getting the best view of my surroundings. Each gadget also required a bit of learning to get used to, something the game facilitates with its mandatory training rooms. In truth, I never got used to those vehicle sections, even as I improved. But as I played more, the rest clicked. While I wouldn't always get the perfect camera angle (mostly down to early 3D cameras more than the camera input), camera control on the move was as simple as pressing the re-center button to get my bearings and using the first person look if I wanted a specific angle. Jumping became easier to pull off, especially with the Sky Flyer gadget. And speaking of those gadgets - you get a fun selection to play with! Some are focused on catching monkeys or attacking enemies while others are focused on movement or puzzle solving. You have a solid balance of new abilities being introduced every few levels, and levels would have a good mix of level specific hazards and gadget specific sections (new and old).
Your main goal is to capture a specific number of apes each level. These simian sensations are a combination of enemy and collectible, fighting your attempts to capture them with various means. Banana peels, rapid swings, laser guns, missile packs, UFOs, all sorts of stuff. Sure, you can run upto an early monkey and catch them with a swing of the Stun Club followed by your Time Net, but you can often get better results by sneaking up on a monkey or using a specific gadget to stun or reach them. While Ape Escape does feature more traditional enemies to fight, the 204 apes you can capture are the highlight, making for a fun spin on the collectathon platformer that was so common in the era. And if collecting monkeys ain't enough for you, there are also 60 Specter Coins hidden throughout the game (collect at least 40 of them to unlock all three mini games).
When you capture the required amount of apes, it's onto the next level, and you'll steadily progress through the game's 19 main areas and two bonus races against your hypnotized best friend. That's all it takes to roll the credits, but if you want to take down Specter once and for all, you'll need to catch every single monkey in the game. While you can clear some levels as soon as they are available, others require the use of gadgets from later levels, including a gadget that unlocks in the postgame. Luckily, going back through levels with a fully decked out Spike ended up being pretty fun. You have all sorts of new tools at your disposal to nab even simple apes, and the postgame gadget excels at combat (dealing double damage and having more range than the stun club), exploration (opening new areas or shortcuts in existing areas), and monkey catching (the extra range makes stunning them a lot easier). And if you really want to go above and beyond, there are optional time trials to get that 100% rating on your file.
Ape Escape definitely feels of its era, in both good and bad ways. We have some really charming 3D art, but we also have a pretty short draw distance. We have a delightful DnB/electronic soundtrack by Soichi Terada, but we also have some not so great voice acting in the U.S. dub. The control scheme is creative and innovative, but it isn't the modern standard and it definitely takes getting used to. But this is an adventure worth getting used to and one I recommend to any 3D platfomer fan who doesn't mind a little PS1 novelty and jank.
Ape Escape places you in the role of Spike, a boy caught up in an Ape uprising. Specter, a monkey from the amusement park, has gotten his hands on a Peak Point Helmet, an invention that boosts his brain power - and his desire to conquer the world. He and his fellow apes have commandeered the professor's time machine to try and rewrite history, and it's up to Spike to travel through numerous eras and catch those mischievous monkeys.
Modern 3D platformers typically use the left analog stick for movement and the right analog stick to control the camera. Ape Escape takes a different approach. Camera adjustments are done via the directional pad and a camera re-center button. Instead, right stick is used to control the various gadgets you use on your quest, and you select these tools by assigning them to the face buttons. Need to catch a monkey with your Time Net? Tilt the stick in the direction of the monkey. Swinging your stun club? Tilt the stick, or spin it around for a spinning attack. Charging up your Sky Flyer or Super Hoop? Spin that stick. Have an RC Car to drive around? Move yourself with one stick and the RC Car with the other. This dual analog control extends to other aspects as well, from the occasional vehicle segment to the three unlockable mini games.
Even as someone who played the Ape Escape games as a kid, these controls took time to get used to again. Jumping initially felt very awkward (a combo of getting used to pressing a shoulder button and it being a little slow), and I wasn't getting the best view of my surroundings. Each gadget also required a bit of learning to get used to, something the game facilitates with its mandatory training rooms. In truth, I never got used to those vehicle sections, even as I improved. But as I played more, the rest clicked. While I wouldn't always get the perfect camera angle (mostly down to early 3D cameras more than the camera input), camera control on the move was as simple as pressing the re-center button to get my bearings and using the first person look if I wanted a specific angle. Jumping became easier to pull off, especially with the Sky Flyer gadget. And speaking of those gadgets - you get a fun selection to play with! Some are focused on catching monkeys or attacking enemies while others are focused on movement or puzzle solving. You have a solid balance of new abilities being introduced every few levels, and levels would have a good mix of level specific hazards and gadget specific sections (new and old).
Your main goal is to capture a specific number of apes each level. These simian sensations are a combination of enemy and collectible, fighting your attempts to capture them with various means. Banana peels, rapid swings, laser guns, missile packs, UFOs, all sorts of stuff. Sure, you can run upto an early monkey and catch them with a swing of the Stun Club followed by your Time Net, but you can often get better results by sneaking up on a monkey or using a specific gadget to stun or reach them. While Ape Escape does feature more traditional enemies to fight, the 204 apes you can capture are the highlight, making for a fun spin on the collectathon platformer that was so common in the era. And if collecting monkeys ain't enough for you, there are also 60 Specter Coins hidden throughout the game (collect at least 40 of them to unlock all three mini games).
When you capture the required amount of apes, it's onto the next level, and you'll steadily progress through the game's 19 main areas and two bonus races against your hypnotized best friend. That's all it takes to roll the credits, but if you want to take down Specter once and for all, you'll need to catch every single monkey in the game. While you can clear some levels as soon as they are available, others require the use of gadgets from later levels, including a gadget that unlocks in the postgame. Luckily, going back through levels with a fully decked out Spike ended up being pretty fun. You have all sorts of new tools at your disposal to nab even simple apes, and the postgame gadget excels at combat (dealing double damage and having more range than the stun club), exploration (opening new areas or shortcuts in existing areas), and monkey catching (the extra range makes stunning them a lot easier). And if you really want to go above and beyond, there are optional time trials to get that 100% rating on your file.
Ape Escape definitely feels of its era, in both good and bad ways. We have some really charming 3D art, but we also have a pretty short draw distance. We have a delightful DnB/electronic soundtrack by Soichi Terada, but we also have some not so great voice acting in the U.S. dub. The control scheme is creative and innovative, but it isn't the modern standard and it definitely takes getting used to. But this is an adventure worth getting used to and one I recommend to any 3D platfomer fan who doesn't mind a little PS1 novelty and jank.
As the name of this hack suggests, this is Super Mario World...in widescreen! I played the extrawide mode in pixel perfect mode, meaning we had a 50% boost in horizontal resolution on a 16:9 display. This in and of itself is a grand technical achievement and is worth trying just to see it in action.
As for how it affects the game, it makes the game both easier and harder. Increased visibility makes certain hazards and platforming challenges easier to anticipate, but enemies spawn in sooner and that can crowd the screen. Add in a touch of emulator lag (I played it on the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro via Retroarch) and I might have had a more difficult time on the whole?
I don't think this replaces the original in the same way that, say, the widescreen Sonic 1/2/CD remakes or Sonic 3 A.I.R. do, but this is still a great version of Super Mario World that doubles as an impressive hack.
As for how it affects the game, it makes the game both easier and harder. Increased visibility makes certain hazards and platforming challenges easier to anticipate, but enemies spawn in sooner and that can crowd the screen. Add in a touch of emulator lag (I played it on the Retroid Pocket 4 Pro via Retroarch) and I might have had a more difficult time on the whole?
I don't think this replaces the original in the same way that, say, the widescreen Sonic 1/2/CD remakes or Sonic 3 A.I.R. do, but this is still a great version of Super Mario World that doubles as an impressive hack.
2019
Nonograms Prophecy is a broken game. There are multiple puzzles that do not work, whether because the game won't let you fill the grid or because the grid itself is loaded incorrectly.
Unfortunately, even if these glitches were amended, Nonograms Prophecy is still a rather weak nonogram game. While there are plenty of puzzles on offer, most of them are extremely simple, relying straight lines and simple shapes to make underwhelming images. Others have unclear solutions, making it difficult to solve using the logic inherent to a nonogram. Despite having a potentially novel Ancient Greek theme, Nonograms Prophecy does nothing with it for its puzzles. Instead we have the simplistic shapes of typical objects - or in some cases, rip offs of existing game characters.
On Nintendo Switch, there are many better options for nonogram games. You have Jupiter's numerous Picross titles, all of which have great quality of life features and consistently strong puzzles. You have games like Murder by Numbers or PictoQuest or Pixel Puzzle Makeout League that mix genres with the traditional puzzles. Even if you don't mind simplistic puzzles, a game like Piczle Puzzle & Watch Collection does a stronger job of matching its theme in its Piczle Cross mode. You might see this one going for really cheap or for free - the publisher likes to do events like that to drive downloads of their games on the eShop - but even then, it's not worth it for a game that is overly simplistic at best and impossible to properly finish.
Unfortunately, even if these glitches were amended, Nonograms Prophecy is still a rather weak nonogram game. While there are plenty of puzzles on offer, most of them are extremely simple, relying straight lines and simple shapes to make underwhelming images. Others have unclear solutions, making it difficult to solve using the logic inherent to a nonogram. Despite having a potentially novel Ancient Greek theme, Nonograms Prophecy does nothing with it for its puzzles. Instead we have the simplistic shapes of typical objects - or in some cases, rip offs of existing game characters.
On Nintendo Switch, there are many better options for nonogram games. You have Jupiter's numerous Picross titles, all of which have great quality of life features and consistently strong puzzles. You have games like Murder by Numbers or PictoQuest or Pixel Puzzle Makeout League that mix genres with the traditional puzzles. Even if you don't mind simplistic puzzles, a game like Piczle Puzzle & Watch Collection does a stronger job of matching its theme in its Piczle Cross mode. You might see this one going for really cheap or for free - the publisher likes to do events like that to drive downloads of their games on the eShop - but even then, it's not worth it for a game that is overly simplistic at best and impossible to properly finish.
This is a great example what happens when you have the structure of a good game but your publisher really wants a release for the holidays.
While the core tennis mechanics are as solid as ever and the character graphics delight, there is very little to Ultra Smash. No tournament mode, replaced by a simple knockout challenge. Only one simplistic mini game. Unlockable courts are here, but they're just swaps of the same basic arena instead of truly unique locales. The online is barebones, with no proper options to play with friends. Perhaps some more interesting original mechanics would have pushed this game forward, but the jump shot and Mega Mushroom add very little. Ultra Smash is a hollow experience. It is not bad on a technical level and the base tennis game play is still fun, but too much feels missing to make this one worthwhile.
I do find it cute that the green Sprixie Princess from 3D World was an unlockable character, though. A shame she's stuck in this game and not included in Aces.
While the core tennis mechanics are as solid as ever and the character graphics delight, there is very little to Ultra Smash. No tournament mode, replaced by a simple knockout challenge. Only one simplistic mini game. Unlockable courts are here, but they're just swaps of the same basic arena instead of truly unique locales. The online is barebones, with no proper options to play with friends. Perhaps some more interesting original mechanics would have pushed this game forward, but the jump shot and Mega Mushroom add very little. Ultra Smash is a hollow experience. It is not bad on a technical level and the base tennis game play is still fun, but too much feels missing to make this one worthwhile.
I do find it cute that the green Sprixie Princess from 3D World was an unlockable character, though. A shame she's stuck in this game and not included in Aces.
1996
While not the first game of its kind, Super Mario Bros. would set the standard for the 2D platforming genre with its momentum based running and jumping, strong level design, and plentiful secrets. It paved the way for a highly successful series of games and influenced the creation of many other games like (and unlike) it. Few franchises have the reputation for codifying a genre in the way Super Mario Bros. did. Even fewer can say that they did it more than once. Much like how its 1985 predecessor broke ground for the 2D platformer, Super Mario 64 would do the same for the 3D platformer.
As the franchise progressed through the late 1980's and early 1990's, the Super Mario platformers began moving towards more open forms of progression. Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced world maps for multiple potential paths through an area, and Super Mario World expanded on the concept with secret exits in courses and even more branching paths through Dinosaur Land. Meanwhile, the otherwise linear Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island would remove time limits and encourage exploration through its many hidden collectibles and more open courses. Both of these lines of thought come to roost in Super Mario 64, a game which embraces open progression and play in a 3D space.
From the moment you start up a file, Mario is allowed to let loose with an expansive set of acrobatic abilities. Gone are the days of just one or two ways to jump. We now have double and triple jumps to leap high while on the move, long jumps to cross gaps and go fast, wall kicks to scale vertical surfaces, side somersaults for quick airtime after changing your direction, and a backwards somersault that's perfect for performing at a standstill. Each of these gives Mario more ways to traverse his environments and more ways to move at different speeds and situations, something made all the more relevant thanks to the analog controls this game helped to pioneer. Walking, running, turning, all of these are dictated by how far you push the analog stick. A quaint concept nowadays, but one that is pulled off exceedingly well in this first attempt. To this day, Mario feels inherently fun to control, one of the keys that makes playing even the most simple of areas enjoyable.
Super Mario 64 is mindful of the fact that it is one of the first 3D games, and the philosophy of acclimating its players to this new form of play permeates throughout its design. Beyond being a hub for accessing courses, Peach's Castle is a peaceful playground where Mario can practice his moves. You pull off all of Mario's jumps, climb treats, swim in the moat, pretty much anything a player needs to get used to the play controls. The punch and kick mechanics give an option for fighting enemies that can avoid potential depth perception issues, and the dive move is as useful a way to damage and grab objects on the go as it is a way to get an extra burst of horizontal movement. The camera, a concept we generally take for granted in modern games, is turned into an actual character, and moving it is made akin to moving the in-universe cameraman. Courses start as more wide-open spaces so that players can acclimate to the controls whereas later courses incorporate more challenging platforming segments. It's these touches that made such a new experience accessible, and while modern games can assume more players are aware of these concepts, Super Mario 64 made the right decision for the time in a way that I highly appreciate.
Power Stars are your primary goal in Super Mario 64, replacing the course clearing of prior entries. Power Stars are found by reaching specific areas of a course, completing challenges, collecting coins, and defeating bosses. Rather than visiting a course once and being done with it, the 15 main courses each have multiple objectives, encouraging players to visit multiple times and giving plenty of opportunities to learn their layouts. This is complemented by smaller, one-off sections that generally focus on shorter challenges or linear platforming. Some repeated objectives, such as the many missions involving collecting eight red coins, give new areas a sense of familiarity - even if you don't have your bearings, you at least have one objective to go for while you adjust yourself. And if any one level or mission is too much, you can always try going somewhere else - only 70 of the game's 120 Power Stars are needed for completion, meaning that there is a lot of room for forging your own path - it's the Super Mario World map philosophy pushed into a new direction. Of course, even the 120 Star run is satisfying in its not too long, not too brief length, though it does take some time and practice to nail it just right.
Super Mario 64 exudes a particular atmosphere that feels born from its nature as an early 3D game. Peach's Castle is both this safe home base and this weird structure, more art museum than castle. You got your bright and cheerful levels mixed with levels floating above voids, serene water courses followed by whimsical snow levels followed by a stark desert, a pool of lava seeming to stretch near infinitely with platforms to bounce around, more surreal levels in clock towers and across elevated platforms in the sky. It doesn't quite have the sense of place that, say, a Sunshine or Galaxy or Odyssey might have (not even a 3D Land/World, and those games were deliberately more game-y!), but it ends up memorable on its own merits. This is complemented by Koji Kondo's wonderful score - I often associate each area just as much with its level design as I do its song in terms of the atmosphere it sets, and most of these songs scratch my nostalgic itch like nothing else.
Not all of Super Mario 64's elements have aged gracefully. The camera controls are mostly responsive if a bit rigid, focusing on fixed angles in its default mode and not always giving you the best angle for the situation. Mario has some great jumps, but the turn around he sometimes does when changing your direction can get in the way of the otherwise smooth controls. Bosses focus on teaching 3D control and moveset fundamentals and can come off as too simple. Not every mission is a winner, involving you finding obscure hidden spots on the map or very tricky platforming in a linear space or having very tight 100 Coin requirements. Even something as simple as being forced out of a course when you collect a Power Star or die without many checkpoint opportunities can be aggravating. But some acclimation to the game's expectations can help alleviate some of these. Experimenting with the two different cameras can give you a better perspective depending on the situation - I found myself using Mario cam pulled backwards when I wanted a more traditional "following behind the player" camera, in particular. The numerous missions take the pressure off of the harder challenges. I can pick and choose which Power Stars to go for without a particular objective walling my progression, and I can do them in a variety of orders. Sure, you start each course from the start every time you enter, but this gives you more chances to learn the layouts and the controls, letting the 100 Coin missions serve as the sign that you've mastered that course, much like getting a perfect 100/100 score in Yoshi's Island.
It took me until 2020 to really appreciate Super Mario 64. I always acknowledged it as an important game in my childhood, but I had this perception that it aged worse than it did. I beat the DS version in the 2000's, and I started the N64 version many times, but I had never done a 100% run or even seen beyond the basement for myself on Nintendo 64. But a chance playthrough around MAR10 Day gave me a different perspective. I gave myself the time to learn these courses, to get used to the controls, to understand what made the title tick. And it finally clicked. It's not without rough patches, but Super Mario 64 is a masterpiece, a revolution in its day that remains satisfying to this very day.
As the franchise progressed through the late 1980's and early 1990's, the Super Mario platformers began moving towards more open forms of progression. Super Mario Bros. 3 introduced world maps for multiple potential paths through an area, and Super Mario World expanded on the concept with secret exits in courses and even more branching paths through Dinosaur Land. Meanwhile, the otherwise linear Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island would remove time limits and encourage exploration through its many hidden collectibles and more open courses. Both of these lines of thought come to roost in Super Mario 64, a game which embraces open progression and play in a 3D space.
From the moment you start up a file, Mario is allowed to let loose with an expansive set of acrobatic abilities. Gone are the days of just one or two ways to jump. We now have double and triple jumps to leap high while on the move, long jumps to cross gaps and go fast, wall kicks to scale vertical surfaces, side somersaults for quick airtime after changing your direction, and a backwards somersault that's perfect for performing at a standstill. Each of these gives Mario more ways to traverse his environments and more ways to move at different speeds and situations, something made all the more relevant thanks to the analog controls this game helped to pioneer. Walking, running, turning, all of these are dictated by how far you push the analog stick. A quaint concept nowadays, but one that is pulled off exceedingly well in this first attempt. To this day, Mario feels inherently fun to control, one of the keys that makes playing even the most simple of areas enjoyable.
Super Mario 64 is mindful of the fact that it is one of the first 3D games, and the philosophy of acclimating its players to this new form of play permeates throughout its design. Beyond being a hub for accessing courses, Peach's Castle is a peaceful playground where Mario can practice his moves. You pull off all of Mario's jumps, climb treats, swim in the moat, pretty much anything a player needs to get used to the play controls. The punch and kick mechanics give an option for fighting enemies that can avoid potential depth perception issues, and the dive move is as useful a way to damage and grab objects on the go as it is a way to get an extra burst of horizontal movement. The camera, a concept we generally take for granted in modern games, is turned into an actual character, and moving it is made akin to moving the in-universe cameraman. Courses start as more wide-open spaces so that players can acclimate to the controls whereas later courses incorporate more challenging platforming segments. It's these touches that made such a new experience accessible, and while modern games can assume more players are aware of these concepts, Super Mario 64 made the right decision for the time in a way that I highly appreciate.
Power Stars are your primary goal in Super Mario 64, replacing the course clearing of prior entries. Power Stars are found by reaching specific areas of a course, completing challenges, collecting coins, and defeating bosses. Rather than visiting a course once and being done with it, the 15 main courses each have multiple objectives, encouraging players to visit multiple times and giving plenty of opportunities to learn their layouts. This is complemented by smaller, one-off sections that generally focus on shorter challenges or linear platforming. Some repeated objectives, such as the many missions involving collecting eight red coins, give new areas a sense of familiarity - even if you don't have your bearings, you at least have one objective to go for while you adjust yourself. And if any one level or mission is too much, you can always try going somewhere else - only 70 of the game's 120 Power Stars are needed for completion, meaning that there is a lot of room for forging your own path - it's the Super Mario World map philosophy pushed into a new direction. Of course, even the 120 Star run is satisfying in its not too long, not too brief length, though it does take some time and practice to nail it just right.
Super Mario 64 exudes a particular atmosphere that feels born from its nature as an early 3D game. Peach's Castle is both this safe home base and this weird structure, more art museum than castle. You got your bright and cheerful levels mixed with levels floating above voids, serene water courses followed by whimsical snow levels followed by a stark desert, a pool of lava seeming to stretch near infinitely with platforms to bounce around, more surreal levels in clock towers and across elevated platforms in the sky. It doesn't quite have the sense of place that, say, a Sunshine or Galaxy or Odyssey might have (not even a 3D Land/World, and those games were deliberately more game-y!), but it ends up memorable on its own merits. This is complemented by Koji Kondo's wonderful score - I often associate each area just as much with its level design as I do its song in terms of the atmosphere it sets, and most of these songs scratch my nostalgic itch like nothing else.
Not all of Super Mario 64's elements have aged gracefully. The camera controls are mostly responsive if a bit rigid, focusing on fixed angles in its default mode and not always giving you the best angle for the situation. Mario has some great jumps, but the turn around he sometimes does when changing your direction can get in the way of the otherwise smooth controls. Bosses focus on teaching 3D control and moveset fundamentals and can come off as too simple. Not every mission is a winner, involving you finding obscure hidden spots on the map or very tricky platforming in a linear space or having very tight 100 Coin requirements. Even something as simple as being forced out of a course when you collect a Power Star or die without many checkpoint opportunities can be aggravating. But some acclimation to the game's expectations can help alleviate some of these. Experimenting with the two different cameras can give you a better perspective depending on the situation - I found myself using Mario cam pulled backwards when I wanted a more traditional "following behind the player" camera, in particular. The numerous missions take the pressure off of the harder challenges. I can pick and choose which Power Stars to go for without a particular objective walling my progression, and I can do them in a variety of orders. Sure, you start each course from the start every time you enter, but this gives you more chances to learn the layouts and the controls, letting the 100 Coin missions serve as the sign that you've mastered that course, much like getting a perfect 100/100 score in Yoshi's Island.
It took me until 2020 to really appreciate Super Mario 64. I always acknowledged it as an important game in my childhood, but I had this perception that it aged worse than it did. I beat the DS version in the 2000's, and I started the N64 version many times, but I had never done a 100% run or even seen beyond the basement for myself on Nintendo 64. But a chance playthrough around MAR10 Day gave me a different perspective. I gave myself the time to learn these courses, to get used to the controls, to understand what made the title tick. And it finally clicked. It's not without rough patches, but Super Mario 64 is a masterpiece, a revolution in its day that remains satisfying to this very day.
When it comes to Mario ports and remakes, there is usually some form of drawback. A lower screen resolution, a missing feature, or some other tweak may easily distract from the otherwise quality nature of the package. It means that oftentimes, I have to think about whether or not it is better to play the remake or the original.
Not here. With Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, I have almost no reason to return to the Wii U original.
Super Mario 3D World is already a great game, but this port address some of its core issues. Movement on the whole is improved, with faster character speeds and easier to pull off acrobatic maneuvers. You don't need to hold the run button the whole time to gain accepable speeds or perform sideways somersaults, and holding the run button down helps the larger, multiplayer oriented level design feel more appropriate. The new aerial roll, functioning like Odyssey's dive, is the surprise star of the moveset now. Secrets and shortcuts are all more doable with this new option, and its implementation across power ups adds a bit of balance between the offensive powers and the movement based powers. Online multiplayer is a much-appreciated addition as well. While some may prefer the slower pace of the Wii U original, it's hard for me to go back.
And then there's Bowser's Fury, a short but sweet side mode that challenges the separation between course clearing and sandbox exploration and says "Why not do both?" It's a fascinating look into a possible future for 3D Mario that is highlighted by (and in some ways held back by) the Fury Bowser mechanic, providing both danger and extra opportunities for platforming and secrets.
As a package, this is one of the best Super Mario currently has to offer.
Not here. With Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, I have almost no reason to return to the Wii U original.
Super Mario 3D World is already a great game, but this port address some of its core issues. Movement on the whole is improved, with faster character speeds and easier to pull off acrobatic maneuvers. You don't need to hold the run button the whole time to gain accepable speeds or perform sideways somersaults, and holding the run button down helps the larger, multiplayer oriented level design feel more appropriate. The new aerial roll, functioning like Odyssey's dive, is the surprise star of the moveset now. Secrets and shortcuts are all more doable with this new option, and its implementation across power ups adds a bit of balance between the offensive powers and the movement based powers. Online multiplayer is a much-appreciated addition as well. While some may prefer the slower pace of the Wii U original, it's hard for me to go back.
And then there's Bowser's Fury, a short but sweet side mode that challenges the separation between course clearing and sandbox exploration and says "Why not do both?" It's a fascinating look into a possible future for 3D Mario that is highlighted by (and in some ways held back by) the Fury Bowser mechanic, providing both danger and extra opportunities for platforming and secrets.
As a package, this is one of the best Super Mario currently has to offer.