The later ones fix the controls, the awkward camera, but this is still maybe my favourite 3D Mario platformer because every level is a puzzle with multiple solutions, a space to be explored instead of a route to follow directions. The atmosphere is palpable and strangely melancholy, abetted by one of the greatest soundtracks of all time. And Mario himself is a physical presence - he sounds like an easily terrified middle-aged man, all whoops and groans, and he plays like one too, e.g. using his whole body to turn. Which is funny, but also personable in a way that's since been lost. He's a corporate icon now instead of someone willing to endure immense physical pain in order to get laid.