Retro Game Spotlight: Super Mario 64 is as Awesome as You Remember
More than twenty five years later Super Mario 64 may still be one of the best 3D platformers to ever come out.
Every Friday after school in fifth grade I spent hours in my friend Coby’s basement playing Nintendo 64 and watching cartoons. He moved away sometime in sixth grade, to this day I can remember parts of our Friday nights so clearly. And one of those things is the penguin race in Mario 64. That 3D platformer doesn’t feel classic to me, but released in 1996 it turned twenty-six years old last month. I think the hours of fond nostalgia are worth a highlight for this game that’s old enough to rent a car.
The Basics
Super Mario 64 was a single player Nintendo 64 game from 1996. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the same multiplayer or party capabilities of some other Mario titles, but it was one of those games that was fun to play or watch. Which made trading off the controller with your bud less of a chore.
As far as gameplay goes, it’s your pretty standard Mario fare with a little more variety in actions. Walk, run, jump, crawl, climb, crouch, kick, grab, punch, and swim as well as combos and special jumps round out what you can do with Mario. Your health is measured in eights of a pie and you can replenish it by collecting various treasures. Y’know, normal 90’s video game stuff.
Why Super Mario 64 Was Great
I remember the graphics on this game being amazing. Of course it’s Mario and cartoonish art gives you a little leeway. But still, the 3D effects looked incredible. Looking back at twenty five year old stills and comparing to games that were released this year may make you think that the graphics weren’t actually that sharp. But that’s always going to be a losing battle, in 1996 this game was awesome.
The game itself took place entirely in Peach’s castle. Bowser is still the baddie, but the princess is in exactly the castle you’d think. She’s just being hostage in her own house and you need to collect enough stars from beating mini games and adventure worlds to break the curse. It’s a paper thin plot, but that doesn’t matter because the various worlds you need to play through are fun on their own, princess or no.
Reception
Some games you remember fondly from your childhood and find that they didn’t live up to your memory. They aren’t fun in replay and, as it turns out, they weren’t popular with critics either. Super Mario 64 was the not that game. In 1996 while we were all enjoying playing, so were critics, giving it nearly perfect scores across the board. Described as joyful, addictive, and just plain fun with graphics that were described as some of the most impressive of the time.
In my memory, Super Mario 64 was one of the all time greats. Compared to the more recent Mario offerings, it may be a bit simple, but this may actually be one of those stepping stones that show us how good games can really be and give us a glimpse of where they’re going.
Did you play Super Mario 64? What was your favorite level? What is your favorite Mario game of all time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
