PixlBit

Sorry, couldn't find a good fanart this time.

Super Mario 64:

The first game I had ever owned.

Before I delve into my personal part, let's us look at how this game changed video games industry.

For starters, it's not the first 3D game ever made, but it's the one that made a big step for not only 3D Plataformers, but for 3D games as a whole. The key reasons for this were: non-lineriaty and freedom the game gave to players, the chance to make players control the camera themselves without any fixed position or angles, and fluid and precise movements thanks to the analog stick that allowed for more freedom than the standard D-Pad. We might take for granted those things now, but that's because they all come or have an inspiration from this game, as those things became the standards for future videogames to come. Think about it and you'll know how important this game was in the development of future 3D games and how it helped it advance into the following generation. 3D in videogame simply wouldn't have evolved acordingly if it wasn't for Super Mario 64.

As I said before, this is the first game I had ever gotten. Yeah, i've seen video games when I was around 4 or 3 years old and I do remember having vague memories of playing Duck Hunt, Street Fighter II and Pac-Man, but I really didn't know that those things were called video games and though I did watched with awe, I also didn't got involved with them a lot.

Then came my 5th birthday and one of the gifts I received came from an associate of my father. The gift? A Nintendo 64 that came with Super Mario 64. I think I even learnt that same day that those things were called video games. Just when we installed the console and set the game, we were treated with the then impresive image of 3D Mario. Then when the game started, and I could control Mario, I was simply amazed. I mean, I could almost move anywhere and there were no boundaries.

After that, I was pretty much set with the Nintendo 64 and Mario. I kept playing and being impressed by everything and the cousins I mentioned in my Halo blog also whent gaga with the Nintendo 64 and Mario and even helped me to advance the game a little.

I kept playing Mario with other titles I had on the Nintedo 64, even when I got an Xbox, but sadly I was obligated to give away my Nintendo 64 with all my games because my parents wouldn't let me have more than two consoles (not only I had an Xbox and a 64, but also a GBA SP). However, I was glad to discover that I could play from time to time Mario 64 thanks to an emulator of Nintendo 64 games, which thankfully had the game.

However, I stopped after a while because I felt it didn't quite match the feel and experience of the original and I wanted to play in a legal way, which even if I wasn't strict with piracy, I still wanted to support Nintendo. However, I received a Wii on the Christmas of 2008 and the years after when I finally had Wi-Fi and learned how to buy games on WiiWare, I knew I would return to Super Mario 64. Indeed, once around 2010 or 2011, I bought Super Mario 64 on the Virtual Console.

Now, what do I think of the game right now?

Nostalgia is a funny thing. It can make people blind to accept the present, but those who do embrace the present, often find the things they used to love were not quite as good as they were or find that they did it better in the future. To simply put it, things get dated once we start growing up.

For example, Sonic Heroes was my first Xbox game and my first 3D Sonic game and I used to play it countless of times, but when I returned to it last year, I started seeing its flaws and discovered how convulted the control scheme is, how the movement is messy and how annoying the voice acting is.

Super Mario 64 is by now a very old game, so there was always a chance that unless one were blind with nostalgia, I could find that the game got dated. However, there's always cases where some games still do hold up and can give modern game a run for their money, such as Chrono Trigger, the Halo games I had already talked about, Super Mario Bros. 3, and so on, and even to some, games that seem dated to some are still fine in the eyes of others.

So, is Mario 64 dated? I think only in graphics, which doesn't bother me that much since I know that the Nintendo 64 wasn't much of a powerhouse when it comes to that and almost EVERY game is dated graphically someway and will in the future. To the rest, saying that it holds up would be puting things simple. It's more like OH MY GAAAAWD, I KNOW THE GAME IS AMAZING, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HOW AMAZING IT WAS UNTIL NOW!!!

Not only the game is as great as it was in my young years, but I actually enjoyed it more this time around. Since I knew better how to control the character, do actions and complete levels, I could for once experience the game as intended and once I aplied my experience I gained during the years, I managed to explore more of the game I didn't know existed and never got to play myself.

Inmersion played a big factor as well. Complete with what I said above, one aspect that helped me to also enjoy the game was the freedom and non-lineriaty. The only limit was getting the stars to advance to other parts of the castle, but other than that, you could go wild and do whatever zone you wanted and even just be there to explore the levels. It engaged the player into the game and with every mission, explore the levels the best they could and sploit the abilities of Mario or take advantage of whatever it was necessary to get a Star.

I also must say that thanks to the GameCube or one of the Classic controlers, the game controls better and it's more fluid than doing it with the original N64 controler. Other things I liked where the levels, which while limited graphically, still had interesting things going on, from the Mario standard fare like a haunted mansion filled with Boos, the desert or snowy levels, to things you wouldn't imagine like a room filled with only water (pictured above), the inside of a clock and and the weird dimensions were you must face off Bowser. It's all good because the Plataforming works and there's many options for movements and the few boss fights I remember being great, especialy the final epic confrontation against Bowser. And even after you beat the main story, there's still more secrets to finds and Stars to collect that go up to 150!

I wish to say more, but I feel that this covers atleast a fraction of why I love this game and I felt it still holds up to this day. In short, i'm happy that a pillar of my childhood is great and i'm glad to have experienced the game again.

Now, my clues for my second favorite game of all time:

- It was first released on the GameCube, but got shortly ported to the Wii.

- Its graphics mostly have a dark palette of colors.

- It had a sidekick that was actually competent and helpful.

- It stars a character I really like to use in a certain famous crossover fighter.

Well, that's all for today.