Everybody has their own defining moment in videogame history, but the arrival of the N64 and its focus on groundbreaking new control ideas married with solid, 3D visuals was my moment.
I’d been perfectly happy with my Amiga 1200 prior, but after seeing Miyamoto’s Super Mario 64, an amazing, brave new game running in the local branch of HMV I had to have one of these incredible new consoles and see for myself what this game was all about.
I distinctly remember the first time I sat down to play Super Mario 64 – seeing the plumber’s giant head on my TV with the game inviting me to play with it, spinning it around and pulling at various parts of his face – even before the game had started I knew I was in for something special. Nintendo had always innovated, but this was a step beyond anything I’d seen before and I happily messed around with the iconic image for a good 10 minutes, utterly engrossed.
The trick with Super Mario 64 is that you improve at the game at precisely the same rate the game expects you to. The first section you come across, a (at that time, at least) huge expanse of open land in the form of Princess Peach’s castle gardens. You’re left without a specific goal save for the looming castle ahead, but more importantly you’re given free reign of the grounds to explore and experiment at your own pace.
For a console that introduced analog control as standard, Mario 64 had to find some way to ease players in, and this initial area, with trees to climb (and leap off), water to swim in and plenty of space to just get used to the way a single stick could make you creep, walk and run was essential.
It was also one of the best, unguided introductions to a game I’ve come across, and once you’re ready for the castle, you already know about 50% of the moves.
The castle, split into three main floors and a back area, opens up gradually based on how many stars you’ve collected from the levels. This means that the player is never overwhelmed, keeping the aim focused but simultaneously, and slowly, offering multiple paths through the game. Each of the game’s worlds are accessed via paintings around the castle, and each level itself can be played multiple times with slight variations.
This highly structured mechanic means that it’s always clear what you need to do next, and a tap of the Start button lists each world you’ve visited alongside the number of stars you’ve collected from that particular world. All too often games get bogged down in trying to do much and the player is left scratching their head – not so with Mario 64, in fact I found the handy list of levels a bonus when trying to 100% the game.
The levels themselves are, for the most part, genius, and easily the best courses ever created in a platform game in the history of the genre.
From the opening grassy plains of Bom-omb Battlefield to the game’s mid-section of Lethal Lava Land and Shifting Sand Land right through the climactic (and devilishly difficult) Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride, Super Mario 64’s level design is pure genius.
Rarely a means to an end, these are levels that you want to explore – each one different from the last in terms of locale, enemies, technique and scale but each one part of a consistent approach to ensuring maximum playability. Each world’s distinctive music (Jolly Roger Bay being a personal favourite) fitted perfectly and the gameplay ideas behind some of the later levels, such as Tiny-Huge Island, literally broke all the rules.
They’re the reason I go back to Super Mario 64 on a regular basis – playing through the game is a pure pleasure from start to finish and never grows old, despite its age. The game is full of stand out, memorable moments like the first time you long-jumped the gap in Hazy Maze Cave, or figured out the water puzzles in Wet-Dry World, but it’s also humble enough to afford some simple delights, like the subtle splashing underfoot in the castle’s basement or the way the final staircase never ended if you weren’t quite ready…
Super Mario 64’s legacy lives on, and will continue to do so, in most genre games created since. Of course, analog control is now standard but the blend of puzzling and platforming can be seen anywhere you look, but you’d struggle to find a game of this ilk so carefully crafted, so wonderfully fluid and so utterly replayable from any other developer. Nintendo, back in 1996, were so far ahead of the game that just thinking about it makes my head spin.
Sublime, and absolutely a masterpiece.
freezebug2
I absolutely agree 100% with you on this, I have mentioned in a few threads on the forum that I think that this is the best game ever released on any console. I also had/have an Amiga 1200 (Birthday and Xmas present combined) with my Alien breed and Pinball games still intact…Wow! I installed a 2MB (not GB) hard drive in it as well lol. Super Mario 64 would be as fresh today if it was re-released as it was back in the day…a true masterpiece of gaming goodness that set the bar pretty high, in my opinion.
freezebug2
And beating heavily armoured Bowser on the final Boss level was a defining moment…he was tough lol.
Dany2Step
id say it probably defines my n64 gaming experience.
at the time it was a different class.
but then playstation came along and spoilt me.
zander14rfc
this and pokemon blue are probably the reason i became a gamer, absoulutely perfect game and it even moved on to the ds so swiftly you could hardly tell the difference
Peter Rushton
i might be only 16 but i can safely say thank god i wasnt born to witness such crap, i mean honestly its like films, you look at an old film and think how the hell did people find that shit intresting and my kids will probably do the same in the future… hoenstly
cc_star
WTF?
Mario 64 was released in ’96
If you’re going discount any of the amazing films or games made either around that time or before, simply because they are ‘old’ then you’re crazy and have missed out.
Thousands of movies, thousands of songs, hundreds of games released then or before are great.
mynameisblair
Wait, what?
Legend of Zelda: OoT is still my favourite game of all time, and that was released when I was 5.
Mario 64 was honestly amazing too.
They might not look good nowadays graphically, but god damn the gameplay was and still is the best around.
Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio
The 5th generation was awesome I’m sure you had played that kind of game right?
Ryan1991
Please tell me you still think the original Star Wars trilogy is good?
aerobes
You’re having us all on aren’t you? A high quality post and the best laugh I’ve had today.
3shirts
I’m not sure if this is trolling or what but I’ll bite anyway.
If I never watched, listened to, or played anything from before my own time I would have missed out on some of the most defining influences of my life.
I agree that a lot of ‘old’ stuff dates badly either due to ageing effects or out of date references but you mustn’t discount everything, for your own sake. It’s all about context/filtering.
zander14rfc
i hope you are trolling cause if you aint then your just plain wrong and ignorant
Charmed_Fanatic
Never played it until the ds version came out … didnt get the controls … i feel left out :(
Dan Lee
Yeah the DS controls weren’t great – try the original, or via the Virtual Console on the Wii.
stingraz
I never liked any of the Mario games, they were just too boring. Jump on this mushroom, get this coin, save this princess …
I was more into games like Turok. Walk over there, shoot this thing, shoot this thing, walk over there, shoot this thing… :D
bunimomike
Same here, fella. Never liked them. It wasn’t the game as much as it was the game-type. Every time I watched a friend play I sat there bored shitless. I then had a go and thought “riiiight… so this is it?”. Then again, it HAS to be the game-type as so many people swear by this game.
3shirts
Driving games are: drive round this track fast
FPS’ are: shoot this person and run to this place
You can play the ‘trivialise’ game all day long
bunimomike
It does sound simple when you break things down. Certain genres float my boat. Certain ones make me want to euthanise people! :-)
I love stuff like LBP but could never get on with Sonic, Mario, platformers in general. Weird as I had the right systems for the legendary games people speak of.
cc_star
Weird, I love Sonic (well 1, 2, 3 & S&K) never got on with 2D Mario (and never played a 3D one) and although I marvel at the imagination in LBP… both from Media Molecule in their levels and also the top community creator’s levels… but I think the gameplay outside of this wonderful imagination is decidedly average, and as a platformer it’s actually rather weak.
As usual, horses for courses and all that
aerobes
Absolutely on board with you cc regarding the LBP stuff. I find the SP stuff very weak too, It’s the community that keeps the title alive … which, of course, was the devs intention from the very beginning I imagine.
ghost5
I’ve just fired this up and re did the first couple of levels. It is a brilliant now as the first time I played it, a true master piece. But I have only just realised Frank Bruno got a voice acting part as bowsers laugh!?
aerobes
Superb piece, nofi.
Despite always being a Playstation gamer first and foremost (I’ve owned all kinds of consoles), some of my most memorable moments were with the N64.
From utterly stunning, genre defining games to that initially wacky pad we all (Ok, maybe not all) came to love, there was much to be happy about with that machine and while sales-wise, the PSone had the better of it, It was, and remains to be, a stunning piece of kit and probably has more killer games than the PSone IMO.
Mario 64 … Ahhh, How I love thee. What can I say that hasn’t already been said elsewhere. Suffice to say I like it … A lot.
Thanks for the memories and I’m loving the fact the site is grabbing a touch of coverage concerning the big N recently. :)
3shirts
It’s bob-omb by the way, not bom-omb
IIVIIOJICA
My first game was donky kong 64 but I also love Mario karts and super smash bros and Zelda oot I will never forget those memories;)