Super Mario 64 Review by: iN008 - 8.8/10
Mario 64 Super
Super Mario 64 - Nintendo 64A review by iN008.
As I said, what can be said that hasn't already been said about this game, it was a game changer, a revolutionary game from plat forming to camera controlling. Mario had been around gaming for quite some time during the time of this games release, 15 long years had passed since his grand debut in arcade classic Donkey Kong and over that time many changes were made within the gaming system, each game that came out brought a lot to the table, such as Super Mario Bros. Setting the standard of gameplay to Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario Worlds large improvements in the system. The same rule was not missed with the release of Super Mario 64.
Known for its brilliance. Super Mario 64 was one of the two launch titles for the Nintendo 64 (one of the three in Japan) and became the best selling Nintendo 64 game, becoming Critically acclaimed along the way. It became known for it's innovation in graphics, the music and even setting the basis of camera control as we know of it today. Being one of the first 3D Mario games it has now aged quite a lot, but it did eventually lead to later 3D titles including that of Super Mario Sunshine. The game however didn't go without it's fair share of criticism, from how fast it aged, to the camera being a bit jerkish. However I never found these to be a problem as nostalgia is a very large influence. Even playing the game on the DS still triggers nostalgia. So your probably wondering what I think of the game. Well I have a my own share of nit-picks and a lot of thumbs up so lets continue into this review shall we.?
Graphics and Design : 10/10 Super Mario 64 was one of the launch titles and it really did set the standard for graphics in games to come. The graphical design is near perfect in Super Mario 64. First off Mario looks great for his first time ever in 3D, his model set the standard amongst the other models within the game and many of them were just as good. The colors used on the models were bright and colorful, pleasing to the eye which was great. Enemies were also just as good in 3D, heck even Bowser looked pretty good. Of-course the graphics didn't just consist of models, so yeah... models aside... The levels within the game were all fantastic and colorful, each of which seemed to sport a color theme, for example Shifting Sand Land featured a lot of yellow and brown colors, this was pretty awesome, another example would be Dire, Dire Docks which featured mainly blues and blue-greys. Overall the levels looked amazing and they were all quite pleasing. So all in all the graphics and design within the game were amazing, they rarely had any faults and set quite the standard for games to come. It's definitely deserving of a 10 out of 10.
Sound : 10/10 The sound within Super Mario 64 is by far one of the best in any Mario games up until Sunshine. The soundtrack was composed by Koji Kondo and he did a fantastic job on it. It was just pure fantastic, featuring many upbeat and enjoyable soundtracks within. Heck I'll go as far as saying Super Mario 64 has my favorite soundtrack for any of the Nintendo 64 games. Each track is unique and upbeat. All of which are enjoyable. Most levels feature their own track which I find extremely charming. Even more is the fact that all of the tracks sound great even today, they don't hold up as well as that of Chrono Trigger, but still holds up extremely well today. The sound effects used are pretty decent in all regards. Ever jump slide and etc sounds pretty good and is practically flawless, there are a few nit-picks I want to make however, I myself find Mario's voice pretty annoying, but besides the occasional "woohoo" it never really bothered me all that much so I think I'll say it's pretty decent. My favorite track without a doubt at all has to be Piranha Plant's Lullaby (
Link), it is such a beautiful little track full of charm. It's soothing and is by far the nicest of all the tracks within the game. I like how it picks up a bit more memento during the middle and it really does sound like a Lullaby which, even though it sounds easy to accomplish, has been done awfully so many times before. So I will say this the sound is by no mean bad, heck is practically perfect, each track is unique and enjoyable, some tracks stand out from the rest but are still great. So I do indeed feel that the sound deserves a solid 10.
Addictiveness and Replay-ability : 9/10 The game offers quite a lot when it comes addictiveness and Replay-ability. From it's general addictiveness to the times you can replay the game. So what exactly does it offer on those regards? Well firstly the game has quite the replay-ability factor, there are 120 stars in all and it does revisit locations frequently however that doesn't stop you from replaying the game, it's still fun regardless of how many times you've done so before. Heck with the re-make for the Nintendo DS it adds a lot of extra stars so it's worth buying for that system if you want a even bigger replay-ability. Of-course the original can still be replayed as you can set yourself challenges, speed-runs and even finding secrets to finishing the levels faster. Every play-through allows you to learn something new and that statement remains even today. Replay-ability is definitely there. As for Addictiveness the game is extremely addictive it encourages you to play more, to get all the stars, to find the secrets it's just that addictive, be it that satisfaction of completion or just getting a star the game is just fun to play and enjoyable. Your attention can drift into the game and you can even lose track of time. It's just fantastically good and really offers so much more than a lot of the Nintendo 64 titles. I found it far more enjoyable and time-consuming when compared to that of Star Fox 64 or even dare I say it, Ocarina of Time. So with all that said, I definitely say it deserves a solid 9, of-course your wondering why I'm knocking a point of? Well sometimes the game can be a little tedious such as the 100-coin missions. But besides that it's definitely a 9 without a doubt.
Depth : 10/10 This game as stated before offers a lot, and I mean a lot. It has so much to it and it's just great all together. The game is quite long at 120 stars, and offers a lot of content, for example it really gets a lot out of each stage, many of the stars can take a good amount of time get and I feel as if the length is pretty good in that retrospect, however some missions are extremely short and this is one of the downsides when it boils down to the games overall length. However the game does offer quite a bit of choices, you can choose which level you want to tackle, if you can get passed one mission you can go elsewhere meaning if you get stuck you can simple go to another painting and continue playing, this is pretty great as the hub usually has two or more paintings or portals close-by to each other. There is more choice within the game, you see you have the ability to get stars for missions that you are not currently on, this to me was pretty cool as it added a hidden layer of choice. Finally the experience you gain from this game is by no means lacking, heck it's practically phenomenal. You can challenge missions and boss fights at your own pace. You never feel rushed to do anything, this is quite a change as many of the previous Mario titles where extremely linear, even in Super Mario World you eventually went down through all the paths. This game just allows for so much more choice and that's why it felt so much more innovative. Your experience surely won't be anything short of phenomenal that's pretty much all I can say there.
Story : 7/10 Well this is really where the game falls short, as it is widely known, Mario is not known for extraordinary stories, this game is no exception, it does throw in some changes into the system but it really isn't anything that much. Starting off you receive an invitation from Princess Toadstool (Peach) to come and get cake. Yes.... cake.... Isn't that something? You arrive at the castle to find out browser has kidnapped the Princess and Lakitu is now your camera... but the same old story starts, you set off to save the princess, how original Nintendo. After a lot of star collecting you eventually have the final fight, beat Browser and save the Princess, and you finally get that cake. So all in all the story is pretty lack-luster, this was pretty much the standard up until Sunshine so I'm not going to say anything against the formula. It works after all. But it wouldn't hurt for some change. Besides the story, the atmosphere felt different, being in the castle it felt different, I really can't explain it all that well but it just felt, weird, sure it's still the same story and it's not unusual for Bowser to take control of Peach's castle but it still has an eerie aura to it. So sure yes the story was over-done, over-used, over-everything, but it still worked one last time, it was okay and to be honest it really is what you would expect from Mario at the time. So overall I do think a 7 out of 10 is fair on those grounds. Sure it had lots, and I mean lots of room for improvement, but the regular old formula worked so I'm glad they kept it there but still at the same time disappointed at it.
Difficulty and Gameplay : 7/10 I wouldn't say the game was in anyway difficult, however it was still challenging at times. The gameplay itself was pretty solid, the game was easy enough to control in the 3D environment and the controls supported this. There was some nice mechanics through-out the game, along with some one-offs like the whole time stuff with Tick Tock Clock. This was pretty cool. Besides the one-off mechanics the level designs themselves were extremely good, offering a lot of exploration, most of them were of reasonable size so getting lost wasn't that difficult as you would eventually find your way from A to B. I like the fact there was quite a few secrets here and there which added quite a lot of mystery when going into a level which was really great and enjoyable. As for battle mainly with Bowser it was pretty so-so. It was nothing epic but it worked, getting harder each encounter, usually this would get a bit boring but the battle itself was pretty fun, the last battle had the stage collapse around the edges and added so much more intensity it was just so much fun. But as for the difficulty itself, levels got harder the further into the game you were, Rainbow Road was much harder than Bomb-omb battlefield. The difficulty curve was just perfect in my opinion and it allowed for those of all ages to get into the game and complete it. The controls themselves was pretty good, sure the camera would every so often jerk but it wasn't that bad, and the controls were pretty solid all round. The difficult and gameplay is getting a 7, it feels as if this is the right score as the difficulty is so-so and the gameplay has it's twitches, it's pretty good overall.
Overall : 8.8/10 This game is just fantastic, however you want to play your will more or likely enjoy it if your into plat-formers. Heck if your looking for a game to introduce you to 3D platforming this is a pretty good one to play, I would recommend playing the remake for the Nintendo DS as it offers more stars and more challenge than this one, but if you can't get that then this one will do. If you want a fun game then this one is for you.
Graphics
10 Sound
10 Addictive
9 Depth
10 Story
7 Difficulty
7
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