@RogerRoger What did you make of the rumours regarding MS buying Sega. Did you breath a a sigh of relief or did you think it was a load of hogwash anyway?
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
Mookysam’s Super Mario 64 Review, or, The Perils of Revisiting an Old Favourite
Time is a funny thing, reducing all in its wake to shrivelled, shambling husks, mere echoes of former glories. Of course, I’m not talking about politicians. Whilst other forms of interactive art - such as film or music - may continue to be revered for their aesthetic qualities decades later, gaming is almost uniquely subject to and bound by the technology of the day. In other words, many games find themselves quickly dated given the exponential rate at which computing technology has developed and how the state of the art of game design has been built upon.
Originally released alongside the Nintendo 64 in 1996 (1997 in Europe), this nascent 3D platformer was hailed as a masterpiece, a must-have for all new N64 owners. To be fair, the only competition at the time was Pilotwings 64 and Fog Simulator: Dinosaur Edition so pickings were slim. Playing Super Mario 64 as part of Nintendo’s Super Mario 3D All Stars collection has been a curious exercise; not only have I played the original many times in the past, I absolutely loved it and have consistently rated it among my all-time favourite games. It’s now been roughly 13 years since I last completed it and it is hard to pinpoint what exactly has changed, because the game certainly hasn’t. This is the same old Super Mario 64, warts and all. Except stacked against the likes of Super Mario Galaxy and Odyssey - and viewed through 2020’s delightfully harsh lens - those warts appear more like festering, necrotised appendages that have taken on some undead persona of their own.
One may ask if it is fair to be so harsh on such an old game and judge it by modern standards. Normally I would say this is a tricky question, yet here Nintendo has seen fit to release it as part of a three-game collection priced at £50. To provide a little context, Sony released the Nathan Drake Collection for £30, complete with substantial visual upgrades. Activision completely remade the first three Crash Bandicoot games and sold them together for £35. Nintendo have hobbled together three old games with pound shop sellotape, given the resulting collection a premium price, and sauntered away with a cackle. I am jolly well going to review it as such.
Waaaaah!
There are fifteen main levels in all, each accessed through paintings dotted throughout Peach’s castle. The main objective is to collect the 120 stars dispersed across the world, and later levels are inaccessible until a certain number of stars are obtained. Stars are usually found dotted across hard to reach areas in a level, or won by completing a specific challenge - such as collecting red coins or beating a boss. The levels themselves cover the usual platforming staples of “field-ish”, “icy death trap” and “fiery place”. There is also a vaguely Egyptian-themed level and haunted house thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately the most inventive level is also one of the most frustrating, taking place inside a giant clock and comprised of moving platforms suspended over a bottomless pit. Otherwise visual motifs are generally quite conservative, and it lacks some of the imagination found in earlier Nintendo platform games or later N64 platformers such as Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie. Music is another mixed bag, making sparse use of the N64’s sound capabilities. The jazzy tune that plays during “field-ish” levels is fun, though repetitive, and this theme, accompanying “watery death traps’ is a soothing favourite.
Then there is this wonder, that plays in a loop in the clock of doom.
The main issue with Super Mario 64 is a camera that refuses to work on a most fundamental level. There are two camera modes - one that frames the action from the viewpoint of a “friendly” Lakitu, and another that is supposedly behind Mario himself - with both having a “close-up” and “slightly less close-up” view. Neither mode works particularly well or offers the player an optimal viewpoint. For reference, Lakitu are the annoying enemies in the original Super Mario Bros. games that would float around on a cloud and throw spiked balls at Mario. It would seem they still hold a vendetta against him.
If you thought the main function of any camera would be to frame something from the most ideal vantage point, then Miyamoto and his merry band thought differently. There’ll be moments, flashes, really, where the player may be fooled into thinking it might just be on your side after all, only to swerve at the last moment like Pat Butcher on a particularly hectic bender. Thin ledge with chasm below? “I know!” Laughs the camera, a cruel twist barely perceptible on the corner of its thin lips. “Let’s jut in the opposite direction so that Mario can fall to his death!” And this dance replays countless times throughout the game. By Tick Tock Clock, a level Nintendo thought would be enhanced its maddening audio accompaniment, I became the husk and the game had absorbed what little remained of my essence.
Things are not helped by how the camera controls. Originally the camera was manipulated using the N64 pad’s “C buttons”. As modern controllers lack the requisite inputs, it is instead moved using the right analogue stick, which is to say a poor substitute when the game thinks you are still pressing buttons. If you manage to push the stick ever so slightly in the wrong direction, Lakitu and friends are not terribly forgiving.
Mamma mia!
Controls are another issue. Mario himself has a very wide turning angle, which at times works to make precision platforming much harder than it needs to be. I could swear that the controls were tighter using the N64’s more precise analogue stick, but am unfortunately unable to verify this. Mario also loves to slide off almost every surface with a greater than twenty degree incline. In the icy levels I suppose this makes sense, yet grass, sand or rocks are also bound by these bizarre physics. Strangely, the obelisks that dot Shifting Sand Land are not, and Mario can walk straight up them. Given that this is a platformer, camera and controls are hugely important components of the gameplay experience - perhaps even more so than in other genres. That they are so frustrating here undermines Super Mario 64 at its core.
It’s-a-me Graphical Glitch!
In all, Super Mario 64 plays like some surreal Pavlovian nightmare version of the game I once loved. With each successive level I wondered what horrors the game held in store. It reminded me of how, when I was ill with encephalitis, I thought I had died and somehow become stuck in purgatory. I shan’t judge it for being ugly - thought it is lamentable that it has only been upscaled to 720p - or that it runs at only thirty frames-per-second. It is a solid 30fps, after all. But if that is the only real positive thing I have to say about a game stacked with design issues, then we have a problem. Mario - and wider gaming - has changed immeasurably over the past 23 years. Of course this a wonderful thing, but it has come at the cost of dating into the Mesazoic those titles we once revered as masterpieces. It is therefore hard to recommend Super Mario 64 to today’s audiences. Arrive derci.
@mookysam Nice review. I was going to write out a long comment, but, now that I'm at 118 stars, I realize I'll probably want to write a review of some sort for this (and I imagine even more are incoming), so I'll save my material.
All I'll say is that it's vindicating to finally see other people acknowledge how poorly this clunky nightmare of a game has aged. Although, in your case, I'm sorry that it probably spoiled what were probably fond childhood impressions of it. Sometimes it's better to leave stuff in the past.
@Ralizah You’ve totally overtaken me but I’ve been playing Hollow Knight and Assassin’s Creed to rid my mind of Tick Tock f***ing Clock. Urgh, I feel ill.
Cheers @Ralizah and no need to be sorry. I still value it for the memories from 1997, but it has indeed aged horrendously. It's interesting how for years many people were insisting it was of divine origin and no other platformer could possibly stand up against it. When did you first play it? Good luck with those final two stars and I look forward to your review. (which I hope judging by that is vicious!)
There’ll be moments, flashes, really, where the player may be fooled into thinking it might just be on your side after all, only to swerve at the last moment like Pat Butcher on a particularly hectic bender.
Okay, I'm calling it. @mookysam just won the topic. Shut it down, folks!
In all seriousness, superb review. I'm no stranger to revisiting an old favourite, only to have to constantly wrestle it to the ground in order to force its compliance. The overall arrogance of the 3D All-Stars situation aside, it's a shame that Nintendo didn't give 64 any extra care or attention before shoving it out on Switch. I'd imagine that, as you continue to play through the "remastered" (ahem) trilogy, things will improve as you skip from generation to generation, and analogue sticks became common tools for controlling the camera. I sincerely hope that's the case, at least.
It's becoming a catchphrase of mine, but context is everything. Don't let Nintendo's laziness here tarnish the fond nostalgia you have for the original 64. Back in the day, it knocked your socks off; just because it can't do the same today doesn't change the fact that you were once a very happy, sockless fan. That's an awesome memory to cherish, so do so!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@mookysam 2009? 2010? Something like that. After it released on the Wii VC. While I did own an N64 as a child, I almost exclusively played terrible Pokemon games on it (ahhh, so many hours spent with the overexpensive Hey You, Pikachu!, yelling at the electric rat and getting pretty thoroughly ignored by it; an experience eerily mirrored years later by the dog in Nintentogs, who also ignored my commands). Although I have since tried it on an N64, and I can confirm that the plumber does control better on an N64 stick. Probably because Mario's littlest motions are tied to slight changes in the orientation of the stick, and the N64's stick is tall and brittle, so controlling Mario is more like handling a plane in a flight sim, frankly. Playing Mario 64 with joycons, or on anything other than an N64 controller, is like playing a flight sim with a broken joystick where you can only make extreme alterations to the movement of the plane. It is technically possible to move Mario slower and more deliberately, but it requires muscle memory after countless hours of making the wrong move and sending the plumber flying to his death, because the world of Mario 64 is, I'm convinced, made entirely out of textured ice, which is the only way I can explain away Mario's tendency to slide on dirt, grass, and stone like he does.
Did you find any of the levels to be more or less well-designed than others?
@Ralizah She’s in Eastenders over here, soaps are basically a breeding ground for gay icons in the UK cause they’re traditionally watched by.. less affluent mothers and while it’s a stereotype, the gays do love their mums. The trifecta would be Pat Butcher, Dot Cotton and probably Gail Platt from Corrie too. I actually found an article about this phenomenon from 1993 which is pretty cool, it’s so old it interviews Lily Savage before he made a career as just plain old Paul O’Grady, which probably won’t mean anything to you 😂
@RogerRoger Cheers, buddy. From what I remember of Mario Sunshine the camera is still something of a pain, and in Galaxy it’s automatic and thankfully doesn’t have many issues at all. It’s certainly a shoddy collection so far, but I’ve a feeling that Galaxy will be the real gem. It still doesn’t excuse putting out a few emulations for £50, but then I willingly bought it. The problem with the emulation approach Nintendo went with is it preserves technical issues such as pop-in. This is most apparent with 2D elements such as coins. Most platforms also lack shadows, so it is often hard to judge a jump in relation to Mario.
And yeah, as a said to Ralizah I still value and cherish the memories from when I originally played it. In 1997 it was a landmark release and I had never before seen anything quite as glorious. Coming off of a Mega Drive it was special.
@Ralizah I don’t think that Hey You, Pikachu! ever released here. Given my own experience with Nintendogs that was probably for the best! Good to know I’m not simply insane and the controls were slightly better on the N64. I suppose the only way to fix it would have been reworking how Mario responds to the analogue stick, but I don’t know how much work that would be.
As for the level design, it’s mostly pretty basic across the board. I prefer the earlier, simpler levels such as Bob-omb Battlefield and Whomp’s Fortress. They’re nicely themed and pretty iconic. Do you recall how Whomp’s Fortress was remade as a level in Super Mario Galaxy 2? My least favourite levels are Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Cruise because of how outrageously difficult they are. Others like Wet Dry World are surprisingly dull, despite having an interesting gameplay mechanic. I think Rainbow Cruise and the Bowser levels are almost vestiges of the original blueprint for the game, which would have been closer to what we now call 2.5D, and limited player exploration.
This thread has certainly taken a weird turn so I last checked in!
@RogerRoger Thanks for yet another write up of a Sonic game that I had no idea even existed and I am rather intrigued by it! As others have said, the background of the development for the game was also an interesting read.
@mookysam Thank you for your suffering giving such a fun, succinct read. The image headings got a little giggle out of me. And another +1 for the Pat Butcher reference which has reminded me of this "iconic" scene..
@mookysam Mario doesn't cast a shadow when jumping? Yeesh. That's a crime against platforming, I hate it when games overlook that detail. It's crucial to success.
@Thrillho No worries, thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed doing so!
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
@RogerRoger Mario himself does have a little circle below him, but doesn’t cast shadows on vertical surfaces. The platforms don’t cast shadows at all, which is rather irritating on some of the later levels where they are suspended over pits of doom. It therefore makes judging their own depth tricky.
@Thrillho Cheers. That Frank video is the stuff of nightmares. So cringy! 😂
@mookysam Ah, okay. Sounds like an awkward halfway house, but at least there's an indicator for where Mario's gonna land, I guess?
Sort of. Mario’s controls are not very tight and the camera likes to obscure the view, so when coupled with the slipperiness of many surfaces it results in a lot of landings being quite unpredictable. There may as well not be that little circle because I’m not sure it makes a whole lot of difference.
Super Mario 64 (Super Mario 3D All-Stars - Switch)
While many are taking the opportunity to 100% the game, I'll admit up front that I finished with 73 Stars, pretty much doing the bare minimum for completion. For reference, I had played it off and on as a kid via rentals, but this is the first time I've completed it (as a kid I only ever explored the worlds on the castle's first floor).
Gameplay:
A 3D platformer, and at the time of it's release the only one of it's kind, that introduced many design conventions that many games use to this day.
It takes place on the grounds of Peach's Castle, which acts as a hub world that connects the various worlds (which are housed within magical paintings, or other objects, such as a clock) you'll have to traverse in order to clear the game. The further you get, the more of the castle you get to explore.
There are 15 main worlds you're able to explore in the game, and each holds seven Power Stars to collect. These are the game's main collectable, and the more you collect, the more of the castle you're able to access. The game is pretty open ended in terms of it's progression, where even if you're playing one mission, if you find some other Star you're free to go after it instead, and there are nearly twice as many Stars in the game than required to beat it, so if you don't like a particular world or mission you don't have to push yourself to complete it (there are some exceptions of course, as if a world has a boss it'll usually only appear if you pick it's specific mission, and you need to beat Boswer stages to obtain keys to access different castle floors).
In addition to the to the 15 main worlds, there are also 3 Bowser levels (straightforward platforming levels that end with a boss fight with the big guy), 3 Cap levels (straightforward platforming levels centered around specific powerups, upon completion of which you unlock that power up for use in the main worlds, as some Stars require them), and the occasional hidden mini world which house 1 Star for collecting their red coins (Bowser & Cap levels also house a red coin Star as well). Along with a handful of Stars that are just given to you by Toads in the castle, there are lots of extras to find.
Thank goodness for it's open ended nature too, as the game is definitely rough in the gameplay department. Make no mistake, there's a great core here, and when things are going good Mario has a diverse move set that feels good, however the camera is finicky as heck & you often have to fight with it, and Mario is slippery as all get out which makes more deft platforming sections an exercise in frustration (also, the Wing Cap just flat out sucks. Great idea, a nightmare to actually try to controll unless launched via a cannon). I really think I did myself a favor by putting an end to it before reaching some of the later worlds which have reputations as absolute death traps. Granted, it apparently controls better on an actual N64 with it's stiffer control stick, but I'm not playing it on N64.
The top screen looks like a fair enough challenge, but as for the bottom? No thanks!
I personally had a really hard time with the Bowser fights too, as I just couldn't get the timing of when to throw him. I maybe could throw him into a bomb once for every 10 throws which isn't terrible for the first two fights which only require you to get him once, but you need to do it 3 times in the final fight, which really tried my patience (It probably took me 10 times to finally beat him).
To end on a more positive note, I actually found myself really enjoying the game's water worlds of all things (Jolly Roger Bay's eel mission notwithstanding). I generally had no issue controlling Mario under water, I thought they had generally good design, and they just seemed overall relaxing. Big Boo's Haunt was decent as well.
Audio/Visual:
While it naturally looks a bit rough these days, I think it looked pretty good overall cleaned up in HD. While they were probably impressive for their time, I don't think any of the worlds come across as anything particularly memorable today. I guess Shifting Sand Land & Rainbow Ride (and the other sky levels) were conceptually pretty neat looking, but they're some of the most irritating worlds from a gameplay perspective (Rainbow Ride in particular is one of those worlds that's so hard I really didn't try it). I guess I liked Hazy Maze Cave as a concept (and it had some of the trademark red scaffolding calling back to the original Donkey Kong arcade game), but it wasn't a particularly pretty world, even by SM64's standards. Again, I liked the relaxing vibe of the underwater worlds (even if Jolly Roger Bay looks a bit too drab when above water). There are some thematic stinkers though, such as Wet-Dry World (I think it's supposed to be a flooded city, but it comes across as a random jumble of floating platforms, which is a problem the first and last Bowser levels have too).
Some environments. I liked the underwater areas.
While it didn't particularly bother me, it's also weird in how "off brand" it feels in certain respects. While most of the iconic enemies (such as goombas, koopas, lakitu, and more) are present, as well as a few green pipes along the way, there are no "?" Blocks in the game (instead we get "!" Blocks), breakable bricks don't have their iconic brick texture, and series standard items like Super Mushrooms & Fire Flowers are nowhere to be found.
As usual, I don't have much to say about music. Guess it fits the game, though.
Story:
Mario gets an invitation to Peach's Castle only to find out that Bowser has taken over the joint and locked it up. Only by collecting the Castle's stolen Power Stars (which Bowser's minions have spirited away into magical paintings) can he further explore the castle & stop his old rival. Nothing more to it than that.
Bowser's at it again.
Overall:
There's definitely a solid core here, and it can definitely be fun when things line up just right, but there's definitely a lot of rough edges to cut yourself on along the way. Which begs the question, should Nintendo have given it a bigger overhaul? While their decision to make the collection as bare bones as it is was more than likely a decision based on frugalness, I don't think it's inherently a bad decision. If we are to posit that games are an art form, I think it's important that they should be playable in their original forms with minimal updates, warts & all (especially in a collection such as this, which is meant to show how the franchise has evolved over the years). Granted, whether you personally think that's worth the money is up for debate, but I think there's some merit to it, and should be tried out of curiosity's sake, even if you're just in it for the more modern titles.
I will say that as someone who only dabbled in the game during it's original release & hasn't much thought about it since, there was something satisfying & affirming about actually seeing it to the end, even if it wasn't the most positive experience at times.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
@mookysam Just read your rather superb review and yes - Pat Butcher quote was a classic.
Having been playing Sunshine (or best say 'revisiting') I think you are right to count this as a full remaster as opposed to a basic port (which it is). I think these games need the Wind Waker HD styler remake - keeping what worked and tweaking what didn't. However they didn't and I have not enjoyed Sunshine half as much as I did back in the day. I would have loved an Odyssey engine remake of these games but alas - not to be.
I love retro games but I have never agreed with some view that games can truly hold up to today's scrutiny and that's FINE. It is unfair for them to.
Now I may be an idiot, but there's one thing I am not sir, and that sir, is an idiot
@RR529 Nice post. I also like the diversity of screen grabs on display.
I agree there's a solid core underneath the INCREDIBLE amount of jank and frustration here. The platforming moves on offer are excellent as well, but the weird lack of traction that makes it feel like Mario's always barreling to his doom kinda ruined it for me.
You should revisit the later levels one day. You haven't known suffering until you're played through Tick Tock Clock multiple times.
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