Topic: RetroActive 48: Super Mario 64

[Crimm]

Most of you are probably playing it right now anyway, so our 48th RetroActive will be Super Mario 64.

Comments posted here may be used in the relevant episode. Recording will happen late October.

[pokepal148]

Here are all the posts from the waiting room thread I made because someone took forever to post the actual retroactive thread. There's some interesting discussion in there already so let's get this started with a bang.

I'm playing through this on the DS version on the Wii U Virtual Console. It's been a real hoot. I like playing a version of Mario 64 wherere the camera isn't an absolute nightmare and the extra characters and stuff they added are real fun as well. I definitely want to dabble with the original more. I know I have a save from the Wii VC version that was in the castle's second floor that I could pull up to mess around with some of the later stages but honestly, the DS version having a functioning camera system really puts it over the edge for me.

The original game is impressive as hell for it's time, and I do feel it took a while for time to catch up with it, but as gaming has evolved more and more, it's age has started to show more and more.

This is why it's too bad we didn't get a full remaster that had both the original and DS version present.  The DS version has a lot of nice content added to the game, but the lack of analog controls is kind of a big deal.  For the most part I played the game just fine with the D-Pad until I got to the later levels like Rainbow Cruise.

I've been meaning to play the game on my 3DS someday to see if using that systems control stick might solve some of my issues.  Of course, you mentioning the Wii U Virtual Console is making me tempted to buy that version of the game since being able to use the Pro Controller analog stick might solve my issues as well.  Even if the game still doesn't have full analog controls, at least using a joystick to move Mario should hopefully work better then the d-pad on original DS was.

I've spent significant time with the DS version on both 3DS and Wii U, and while it definitely controls better, it's still not great compared to the real thing. I enjoyed the extra stars, but the character switching was pretty clunky at times. Having to go back to Peach's room anytime you wanted to switch got really annoying.

If you play as yoshi, you can select the character hat you need on the touch screen at the start of a stage.

Yeah, but if you get hit you lose it, which can be pretty annoying in certain situations. They should have just let you switch between them at any time when you're in the castle.

Getting back to the actual game, 64 has a really weird difficulty curve. Literally the first time it throws moving platforms at you is over a bottomless pit in Whomp's Fortress and the missions in the game are not always based on difficulty. Rainbow Ride is a really good example of this with how one of it's hardest Stars is the first one on the list.

Yeah, I've been grinding through the last stars in the Switch version and its been a lesson in patience and fury. Maybe its using a joycon that is the problem, but everything just missed the mark on fine control. The camera was much harder to manage, and moving while the camera auto adjusted led to a lot of falls and mistakes. I'n down to just two Rainbow Ride stars and the final Bowser star before I beat the game and I'm surprised to say the ending can't come any sooner.

How much does the DS Mario 64 go for because I may pick that up for a later play through since I never got to experience the extra content?

How much does the DS Mario 64 go for because I may pick that up for a later play through since I never got to experience the extra content?

The DS version of Mario 64 can be bought on the Wii U eshop for $10.  That's probably the cheapest and easiest way to buy it, and as Insanolord said, that version controls better then playing it on a real DS would.

I've been playing this on Switch, mostly in handheld mode.  I've been trying to do all stars for each world as I go along, and it's led to me getting into some frustrating situations where I'm fighting the camera and old game design instead of just moving on like I should.  The jarring thing to me is how the level design felt vast and invigorating as a kid, but now it feels lacking and limiting in places.  Getting through the levels is less fun while beating bosses is easier than ever.  Still, the nostalgia runs deep, and there is a good game under all the archaism.

But this is definitely a game that needed the remake treatment, even over a remaster.  The updated textures are appreciated, but the camera needs an overhaul.  They also could've also fixed the smoke effect bug; although, something like that is far from a big deal and the game is probably more nostalgic with the bug.  But other issues are more hinderance than charm.

It would've been nice to get an up-port of the DS remake, but that version doesn't really feel "definitive".  Because they were once willing to go into the game and update the models for a remake, it's a bummer they haven't here.  Making the existing enemies look like their modern counterparts and doing things like turning Big Boo into King Boo (and having him sound like King Boo) would've been greatly appreciated, as they were for the DS version, but especially in HD.

I tried to do it in order as well, but ran into two issues. One was the necessity of the caps for some early stars and another was my patience. I cleared most of the first three worlds in order, but the need to unlock the caps threw me off, especially since I was refusing to look up help and only rely on the game itself and my memory and I had forgotten where the metal cap room was located. I then threw all attempts at going "in order" to the wind when I kept dying due to the finicky camera and twitchy controls causing me to waltz off ledges. In the end the last leg of the game turned into a real slog and I could not for the life of me toss Bowser into the mines when I remember having pin-point accuracy.

I'm glad I've finished and moved on to sunshine. The camera and controls of Mario are MUCH better in direct comparison. There are still a few odd quirks (I can't go into a near-1st person view to have Mario look around anymore?) but nothing as frustrating as the camera and controls in 64.

[ClexYoshi]

I may be retired from listening to Radio-Free Nintendo, but lucky you! I played Super Mario 64 earlier in the year because my Girlfriend had never really sat through anything more than 0 stars speedruns!


I ended up playing the game specifically using the SGI project, a set of model and textures for the DirectX12 version of Super Mario 64 that tries to make Super Mario 64 resemble the SGI-made renders that were made for promotional materials for Super Mario 64. It also incorperates a free camera that works perfectly with a right analogue stick or mouselook, if you're some sort of heathen who desires to play Super Mario 64 on a keyboard/mouse control scheme.


Obviously, though, I got a N64 for Christmas of 1996, after specifically seeing Super Mario 64 at a Toys R' Us that my dad and I went to on a lark during our usual bus route (at the time, dad had his license revoked for DUI, so we'd take the bus up to the mall or Walmart or such.) and having that outer courtyard that was effectively just this giant playground to mess around with Mario and the way he changed from his 8-bit and 16-bit incarnations was a brilliant choice. the ambience of the birds chirping and the waterfall added to this idea of being able to just... play around, like one might play around at the Jungle Gym at my grade school. the fact that this memory 24 years on is so vivid in my mind stands as a testament to how strong of a design choice hubs to run around in was.


and really, I'm not sure how I should approach discussing Super Mario 64. Should I hit on the powerful memories of a childhood that formed with Super Mario 64 as a basis? Should I talk about the game's eternal zeitgeist? the reverence to which people regard it and the ways people have peeled back the layers of it's depth and complexity? Should I talk about TASers like Panenkohek, who both created an insane meme and has helped educate many on the inner workings of Super Mario 64's coding? should I talk about how Cheese at the beginning of 2020 won a jackpot of $10,000 for being the first person to beat Super Mario 64 with 120 stars in under 1 hour and 39 minutes while at a speedrunning event with a stomach flu? Or should I talk about my thoughts of playing this newfangled version for PC, only possible thanks to tireless efforts of people who managed to decompile Super Mario 64 back into it's source code via reverse engineering efforts?


While I mull over this, I hope many people post here. I am interested to read what folks have to say about this game.

[Shaymin]

It took me about a week to get all 120 stars in the 3D All Stars, which is the first time I ever did it on a console (the last time I did it was on an emulator in like, 2007). Most of it is due to the sheer insanity of the stars on the top level: Tick Tock Clock, Rainbow Ride, and especially Wing Mario over the Rainbow.

It usually takes me a few attempts to get the red coins in the level where the Wing Cap unlocks, but I spent about an hour and a half on Wing Mario over the Rainbow because the flight controls in this game are inscrutable at best. I'm not sure if the N64 stick would handle it better, but the fact that you fall outside the castle when you blow the stage made it worse.

The other problem part was the 100 coins stars - Tick Tock Clock's was bad, but Rainbow Ride's required me to use the stick from the Split Pad Pro to complete it undocked (for the wall jumps after the blue coin switch). So of course, they made every shine in Sunshine as annoying as that.

The first three floors of the castle are still fun, but the top floor is enough to drive a completionist to drink.

[ClexYoshi]

I got my first 120 when I was a kid, with an assist from my cousin for Jolly Rodger Bay, as I was intensely afraid of the eel as an 8-year older. some of the 100 coin stars I do remember being pretty tight affairs as a kid, but... honestly?

Super Mario 64 is pretty cozy. Yes, Tik Tok Clock has some devious stuff in it if you're afraid of taking the spill all the way down, but Rainbow Ride is not nearly as bad as I remember it, 100 coins or otherwise. Granted, It should be noted that i played with the unlocked camera recently, so maybe the camera doesn't make it as cozy as I thought, but I seem to have only sharpened my skills when it comes to Super Mario 64, and it felt like death rarely would happen. I probably can chock this up to considerations the level designers made to accommodate this wild new 3D and general knowledge I have of the game.

Heck, I may have even showed off to my friends I was streaming for and performed a BLJ to skip the 50 star door and do some Tik-tok clock action early! (sorry to you suckers playing the Shindou version on your Nintendo Switch. )

[TOPHATANT123]

I completed the game for the first time today. I got it on Wii U a couple years ago and I've played the odd level here and there ever since.

There are some things I really like about it. The stars mostly feel unique and once you get one you have the urge to jump back in to get another you might have seen. The hints on the level name is a genius way for guiding you towards the next star. The cap is a fun addition despite feeling a bit erratic.

The game can be addictive but I also found it quite difficult. Grabbing onto ledges hurt me more than it has helped me, though I imagine back in the day it was a really cool piece of programming. Some more check points would be nice and wind can be absolutely infuriating, looking at you Mr Snowman!

Falling off the level is such a huge set back. You lose all your coins, red coins and all progress in terms of platforming. Had the game been easier I might be tempted to get 100%, but some aspects are just too frustrating for someone used to modern day Mario.

I got my 70 stars and went straight for the final boss. The final cutscene actually has voice acting which surprised me. Total playtime 21 hours

[pokepal148]

I think Peach was voiced by someone who worked for Nintendo Power or something like that.

Outside of Mario though, all the other characters feel like placeholders in terms of their portrayal. It feels like they weren't really sure how they wanted to portray Bowser and Peach yet so they kind of just feel off compared to how they're portrayed nowadays. Peach is very calm and soft spoken compared to her more modern, energetic portrayal and Bowser, while closer to his modern portrayal, is much more menacing and threatening.

[ClexYoshi]

I've... always seen Super Mario 64 as a pretty easy game. even when going for your 100-coin gauntlet on stages, the lack of checkpointing never bothered me, even on incredibly punishing stages like Rainbow Ride.

You might not savor Super Mario Sunshine if Super Mario 64 is grinding you down to the point where you don't think 120 stars is a reasonable ask, Tophat.


I kinda find talking about the game's actual contents akin to talking about Wolfenstein 3D, where it is such a genre blueprint that I'm so familiar with that I can't really go and remark on the game's substance...


But things in Super Mario 64's periphery are FAR more fascinating... like the story of how Argonaut ended up pitching a 3D platformer starring Yoshi to Nintendo in 1994 that Nintendo rejected, only for Super Mario 64 to show up at Spaceworld 1995 and Miyamoto approaching Jez San privately to apologize. apparently the dude is still pretty salty about Nintendo effectively poaching Dylan Cuthbert and other talent before throwing their big pitch out on the curb to become Croc: Legend of the Gobbos.

That's right; Croc was supposed to be a Yoshi game, and Jez San believes that Miyamoto might have committed plagiarism against them.

to quote the Eurogamer interview;

"Miyamoto-san went on to make Mario 64, which had the look and feel of our Yoshi game - but with the Mario character, of course - and beat Croc to market by around a year. Miyamoto-san came up to me at a show afterwards and apologized for not doing the Yoshi game with us and thanked us for the idea to do a 3D platform game. He also said that we would make enough royalties from our existing deal to make up for it. That felt hollow to me, as I'm of the opinion that Nintendo ended our agreement without fully realizing it. They canned Star Fox 2 even though it was finished and used much of our code in Star Fox 64 without paying us a penny."

[TOPHATANT123]

I don't intend to play Sunshine haha

[Grimace the Minace]

3D All Stars has turned out to be the best official way to play Mario 64 aside from actually digging out the original hardware. The virtual console versions all did a terrible job emulating the N64's analog stick, and while 3D All Stars isn't perfect, it's by far the best official emulation yet.

That said, Mario 64 really frontloads its best content. You might as well consider Bowser in the Fire Sea to be the final boss because it's all downhill from there. Every world upstairs is mediocre at best, and god damn Rainbow Ride at worst. Early worlds like Bob-omb Battlefield, Whomp's Fortress, and Big Boo's Haunt all feel like they take advantage of the structure and engine that's been set up fantastically, and barring one or two bad stars (I'm looking at you Snowman's Lost His Head) they have a good balance of legitimate platforming challenge without costing you a lot of time if you mess up.

Worlds like Wet-Dry World and Tall, Tall Mountain cost you a lot of time if you make a mistake. One bad jump means climbing the whole mountain again, and you'd better clear your calendar in case you slip and fall in Tick Tock Clock. It kind of sucks that as the platforming challenges get more demanding, they also get much more frustrating.

Soundtrack is 10/10 though.

[Grimace the Minace]

I think Peach was voiced by someone who worked for Nintendo Power or something like that.

This is also 100% true, and as a fun fact Peach is voiced by a different person in each game in Mario 3D All Stars.

In Mario 64 she's voiced by Leslie Swan, who was the localization manager at Treehouse as well as Senior Editor for Nintendo Power. In Sunshine she's played by Jen Taylor, who you may also know as Cortana in Halo. Mario Galaxy introduced us to Samantha Kelly, an actress with no other major roles who's local to Washington where NoA is based.

[ClexYoshi]

I find Tiny-Huge Island and Wet-Dry World to be pretty fun, actually! the nervousness I feel playing Tik-Tock clock can also feel very rewarding, in my opinion. They are much stronger levels than Lethal Lava Land, Shifting Sand Land, or Dire Dire Docks. I've seen SM64 hacks that demand far more and push SM64's loose controls to their limit, unfortunately.

That being said, if you really don't like the upstairs that much but still want to beat the game, you could always BLJ OH WAIT 3D ALL STARS IS BASED ON THE GREEDO SHOT FIRST OF MARIO, THE SHINDOU VERSION AHAHAHAHAHAHA

I suppose if you're willing to build speed via a series of frame perfect wall jumps, you can skip the 50 star door and the staircase that way.

[regmcfly]

Firstly I should say I refuse to play the DS version again - the game that Donkey Kong 64-ified a perfectly tight playformer with the incessant character swapping. Shan't.

Having not played 64 in about half a decade I found a lot of the memories of the stars, particularly the first half of the game (up until Dry Dry Docks) pretty straightforward to get. The back half of the title was a little less memorable, although much more enjoyable. Tick Tock Clock remains my overall highlight of the time (sorry) I spent with it.

Two criticisms, however. I eventually realised that the most incessantly frustrating enemy in the game was Lakitu. The inability to continually turn the camera one direction indefinitely was a real source of frustration, and one which I hope any subsequent re-release addresses.

But the main issue, the crime of the title, lies in the fact that there is one whole world which is so full of bile, hatred and animosity to the player, that I feel it outdoes anything Sunshine dares to throw their way.

Shifting
Sand
Land

A level so devoid of personality; a level with a meagre overall coin count, necessitating a near perfect run; a level with an unstoppable vulture who steals the player's hat for no discernable reason other than they are a bad bird; a level with a tower, part of a required star to get 100%, that is so fiddly to climb, surrounded by instadeath quicksand.

Shifting Sand Land is the nadir of Mario gaming. And I include when it was 'all about the gold in that.

Aside from that, pretty good game.

[Papasmurff]

I just finished getting all 150 stars in the DS version. Not sure why I felt compelled to do it, but I did. I played the original a ton growing up so I figured I’d give the DS version a whirl. This was on my 3DS, and controlling the game with the circle pad actually wasn’t too bad. I was able to get the hang of it eventually.

The DS version has more content, sure, but I’m not sure it really adds anything to the game other than bloat. The new stars in each world are all pretty forgettable. I guess some of the added levels and bosses are pretty cool. Playing as Luigi, Yoshi, and Wario is cool the first time as a novelty, but the need to switch characters gets old fast. The original is just overall a better and more condensed experience.

One thing that feels lacking in the game is the lack of actual platforming challenges in the game. I guess I have been spoiled by the Galaxy games and Mario Odyssey in that regard. And the worlds in 64 are really quite small compared to what is found in Odyssey and even Sunshine. Super Mario 64 was my first Mario game and it holds a special place in my heart. It was obviously revolutionary for the time and still holds up as a great game. But after this replay I think it does slot in at the bottom of the totem pole in terms of the 3D Mario games, behind Odyssey, the Galaxy games, and yes, even Sunshine.

[ClexYoshi]

Wowie, PapaSmurff, That's some biting commentary! I feel like in the case of the original game that some of it can be forgiven because of the limitations of the hardware and lack of ease with 3D controls.

As someone who's played a few Super Mario 64 Romhacks, though, the control simply isn't quite tight enough to make straight platforming challenges viable for the average consumer. even with adding a lot more smoothness and control to the games, that didn't really become viable (look at some of the rage at sunshine's jank that occurred in the RetroActive on that game 3 years ago. What ever happened to the rule on keeping Retroactive from looking at multiple games in the same franchise anyway?)

Now, granted, Super Mario 64 DS eliminates some of the jank. it has a real camera, there are more aids to movement (digital inputs for walking Vs. Running, Yoshi's Flutter Jump, Luigi's various platforming tricks, Mario sliding down walls he can jump off of Vs. having a 5 frame window when you bonk to jump again), and other little bug fixes that alleviate jank, but by 2004, I think Nintendo was clearly not willing to risk adding something to Super Mario 64 that would give it the qualities that frustrated people about Sunshine. At that point, the team at EAD Tokyo would be lead on a crusade to streamline Mario design in such a way that they could start to build levels as obstacle courses more than playgrounds.

[pokepal148]

Most of the added stars in the DS version can feel kinda bloaty. I'm rather fond of the Switch Stars since it adds a bit of a time trial element with how you have to get to the star before time runs out which is something that the original game lacked but the Silver Star missions are kind of hit and miss. Some of them are kind of interesting but some of them just feel like another set of red coins. There are actually only 8 of them in total. Pyramid Puzzle is a silver Star mission in the DS version because they realized how **** it was on the original game and two of them have little stages devoted to them but even with that in mind the silver stars kind of just lost their charm.

[ClexYoshi]

I doubt I'm going to stimulate further discussion on Super Mario 64 by posting further, but I believe I've reflected on my thoughts on the game and fired it up to mess around a bit more to really pin down a final statement here.


Super Mario 64 is brilliant and fun in almost any form you choose to play it in. There's a flexible, toy-like quality to it where so many people can approach it in so many different ways, and that's the game's real brilliance. it might not result in the same sort of cascade of non-linearity that maybe certain CRPGs on PC were doing at the time, but being so accessible and provide that sort of freedom is a heck of a balancing act to nail in design space that was so uncharted outside of maybe like... Jumping Flash.


This appreciation deepens when you realize how Nintendo came to some of these design decisions. SUper Mario Bros. has always been about exploring about for secrets, but games like Donkey Kong (game boy) and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island represent both the exploratory nature and the puzzling nature of each of Super Mario 64's challenges in a duality. I do not think it any sort of coincidence that much of Mario's moveset from DK94 would find it's way into the 3D Mario games.


I do think the cracks show a bit when you hold details up to scrutiny of a modern eye. the N64 controller is incredibly uncomfortable to hold and that middle prong of it that my hands are too thick to hold properly is the star of the show here. while a tool of unrivaled precision in it's day, the analogue controls are only as strong as that camera can support, and the restrictions on lakitu and his stiff pans and how hacked-together it feels lets Super Mario 64 down. likewise, I do not find the gameplay of giving Bowser the Cesaro treatment to be compelling and to this day I am incredibly inaccurate at doing the bomb tossing. There's also some Very, VERY questionable logic with collision, particularly when it comes to attempting to grab 2D objects like Bob-ombs or Chuckya. I would say the lack of checkpointing is problematic, but the levels are small and compartmentalized enough to where it theoretically doesn't become a real problem until it comes time for some of the late 100 coin stars.

Presentationally, it holds up SO much better than many of it's N64 contemporaries due to smartly deciding to be somewhat minimalist with textures. the fact that the suspender buttons, the eyes, and the Emblem on Mario's hat are the only textures on him give that low-poly model an ageless aesthetic that can't be said of link's cheese wedge hands or banjo's... everything. yes, objects are texture mapped, but everything is kept to minimalist details as to avoid calling attention to them. The Score by Kondo-San, while certainly not anywhere NEAR my favorite, is the sort of iconic and memorable fare that you'd want. shout-outs to Koopa's Road and the Jolly Rodger Bay/Dire Dire Docks being pretty far removed from the jazzy rag-time sorts of compositions one might associate with a Mario game.


There's a very, VERY good reason that Super Mario 64 is positioned on the pedestal it is on today, why people have come together in grand academia to study in great lenghs it's level design, it's engine quirks, it's physics and created grand conspiracies about it. there's a reason it supplanted Quake and Super Metroid as THE video game for speed running competition. there's a reason that Super Mario 64 is responsible for me adding "Gay Baby Jail" to my vocabulary. There's a reason Super Mario 64 is a game I would even remotely consider playing in 2020 even when I do not have very high opinions of many 64-bit era video games, particularly the polygonal ones.

[willmcdono]

Two thoughts I'd like to share.

That's one cooky camera. Lakitu has a mind of his own, stubbornly insisting on a particular angle of view or worse, suddenly changing it! Although Lakitu will kill you without batting an eye, the game designers also use the restricted controls to hide stars from initial sight and to add challenge to platforming sections that otherwise would literally be too straightforward. We’re forced instead to lead Mario tip toeing in wickedly subtle non-cardinal directions, across narrow platforms while dodging hazards like orbiting “shock ballz” (that's cannon right?). If you don’t fight the designers, the crooked camera angles crank up the tension and make some stars more gratifying than would be otherwise.

One thing I would like to hear you all discuss is the level selection/mission objective freedom that Nintendo introduced to Mario titles with 64. Finding a warp pipe selection screen, or navigating about the world map to skip a stage was pleasing in the 2D games but the freedom of choice here was for me a novel delight. Were there other contemporary games offering this kind of structure? Where did the openness originate?

"Thank you so much a-for-to playing my game!"

[ZFallen]

So I am the PS2 guy from ResetEra. Except, I'm not all that successful. Turns out my PS2 has hidden itself in fear and refuses to be found. You get off easy this time James.

So instead I thought I might briefly share my thoughts on the Wii U and All Stars version differences, as they are the ones I have played most recently and I feel as though my thoughts on the greatness of this game is well represented in others thoughts.

Early this year I started playing the Wii U emulated edition of Mario 64, played it for 5 minutes and immediately hated the darkness filter. So a few days (and guides) later, I began playing the Wii U version with the darkness filter removed (as it's applied by the emulator) - much better. In short, I played 120 stars and had an awesome time. This is one of my all time favourite games, but I did feel as though the age was starting to show. I thought Mario felt responsive enough to do the job, but he also felt a bit 'slow' to respond and not quite the zippy zoomy quick responding plumber I remember. It was only when I started a new save when 3D All Stars came out that I began to understand why I felt this way.

Input lag on the Wii U is ass.

I'm not the most technical guy - I find when people complain of image quality/input lag in games, I'm not always the best judge of these things. But the second I booted up 3D All Stars and could pull off wall jumps and side flips at the drop of a hat I felt as though the control was much closer to both my memory of Mario 64 and even my memory of Mario Odyssey.

In short, Mario 64 is awesome partly because of the way Mario controls. Wii U is a good time, but in terms of feel 3D All Stars blows it out of the water and to me is the superior way to play.

[doug]

With Super Mario 64, I’m not here to win; I’m just here to have fun.

That’s the magic to me. Collecting stars and coins is something to do, but the reward for playing is the joy of jumping and flying and riding green shells. Other 3D Mario games are similar, but the fun seems purest and simplest in 64. Interestingly, I don’t really get this feeling from 2D Mario games.

Flying in this game is basically the best thing. It’s exhilarating because it’s just the right level of out-of-control.

I’ve been playing on Switch, and this is a great portable game. Just like in Odyssey, you can drop in for even a few minutes and make concrete progress while having fun.

Quick wish list if there was ever a remake:

• Fluid camera that’s less automatic. Some of the platforming would be trivial with a good camera.
• Faster retry loop and remove the life count. Being careful isn’t fun. I much prefer running around with abandon.
• Avoid running in a little circle when changing direction from being stationary.
• Revised swimming controls. It’s no joy with tank controls.
• Longer draw distance.

But these have all been resolved in future games.  Overall it’s remarkable just how much Mario 64 did right.

(I should note I’m early in the game on this play though. Perhaps I’d weigh the negatives more strongly if I was on the more tricky levels near the end.)

[nickmitch]

With Super Mario 64, I’m not here to win; I’m just here to have fun.

That’s the magic to me. Collecting stars and coins is something to do, but the reward for playing is the joy of jumping and flying and riding green shells. Other 3D Mario games are similar, but the fun seems purest and simplest in 64. Interestingly, I don’t really get this feeling from 2D Mario games.

The green shells actually represent a problem I have with the game: they don't regenerate! One of the reasons I gave up on getting 100 coins in Lethal Lava Land was because you need it to get most of the coins.  Backing out of the level repeatedly for the 100 coin star on that one was too much so I moved on.

Speaking of:

I've been playing this on Switch, mostly in handheld mode.  I've been trying to do all stars for each world as I go along, and it's led to me getting into some frustrating situations where I'm fighting the camera and old game design instead of just moving on like I should.  The jarring thing to me is how the level design felt vast and invigorating as a kid, but now it feels lacking and limiting in places.  Getting through the levels is less fun while beating bosses is easier than ever.  Still, the nostalgia runs deep, and there is a good game under all the archaism.

But this is definitely a game that needed the remake treatment, even over a remaster.  The updated textures are appreciated, but the camera needs an overhaul.  They also could've also fixed the smoke effect bug; although, something like that is far from a big deal and the game is probably more nostalgic with the bug.  But other issues are more hinderance than charm.

It would've been nice to get an up-port of the DS remake, but that version doesn't really feel "definitive".  Because they were once willing to go into the game and update the models for a remake, it's a bummer they haven't here.  Making the existing enemies look like their modern counterparts and doing things like turning Big Boo into King Boo (and having him sound like King Boo) would've been greatly appreciated, as they were for the DS version, but especially in HD.

I'm on Wet Dry World now.  It might be one of the levels that's just as fun as I remember.  I like the risk/reward that comes with lowering the water level and the uphill climb to get the water back up.  It could be that I really didn't like Snowman's Land all that much because of the excess sliding, the one turtle shell that if you miss the two enemies you can't get to, and that one ledge that just needs to be a little wider.

There's a lot of little frustrations with this game, many of them just signs of the time.  The game is rightfully an all-time classic, but Nintendo has gotten so much better at every aspect of the Mario formula.  And playing through Mario 64 again really shows.  I think most levels would've been incredible if Nintendo could remake the game in the Odyssey engine with some minor tweaks here and there.

[Mop it up]

I actually think some of the latter stages are amongst the best in the game, with ones like Wet-Dry World, Tiny-Huge Island, and Tick-Tock Clock being my faves. My only issue with Rainbow Ride is how slow the carpets move.

This is what I had posted in the other thread:

Perhaps it's because I grew up with Super Mario 64 and 3D games in general, but I've never had issues with controlling this game, and I still don't. With that said, I've played only the actual Nintendo 64 version, and not any of the various re-releases (DS version notwithstanding). The Nintendo 64 control stick is functionally different from the type of sticks used on modern controllers, so I wouldn't be surprised if that has a whole different feel to it and may not work as well.

For me, the main thing I find which makes Super Mario 64 feel dated is the camera, but even that isn't a big deal. It's one of those things I've accepted and learned how to deal with it; for one example I find using the zoomed-out Mario cam is better than the default on some levels. There are just a few select spots in select levels where I still run into a problem. I find myself to be forgivable of the camera, and one reason is because as far as I'm concerned, a 3D camera is still not a solved issue, even in today's games.

I still find this game surprisingly playable and enjoyable.

[ajhopwood]

Nostalgia goggles will forever weigh heavily on my feelings for Super Mario 64. I have fond memories of every trip to Toys R Us and Target in the fall of 1996, running to the video game section, grabbing the N64 controller and awkwardly placing my left thumb over the left grip and onto the control stick and literally losing all sense of time and place as I was captivated by the magical game world of Super Mario 64. Revisiting it 24 years later, I still love, love this game but it's not without it's faults.

What I love:
- the castle hub world. I let my kids play Super Mario 64 and they easily spent just as much time fiddling around in the castle gardens and they did in the actual worlds -- which mirrors my experience playing the game when I was a kid. A few things that stand out include the way that they modify the hallway size and painting size for the tiny and HUGE paintings for Tiny-Huge Island, the mirror "puzzle" to enter Snowman's Land -- and the way you get a view of Lakitu as your cameraman, the impacts on Tick-Tock Clock depending what time you jump into the level, the endless stairs before the last Bowser fight if you don't have enough stars, and getting Yoshi on the roof of the castle when you get all 120 stars.
- Tick-Tock Clock - platforming bliss

What frustrated me:
- some of the controls were not quite as tight as the later 3D Mario games. In particular, the side flip seems slightly less responsive. You need to actually be moving one direction, flick the stick in the other direction and have Mario move slightly in that other direction before jumping to execute the side flip. In later Mario games, you could side flip by jumping almost immediately after flicking the the stick in the other direction
- a handful of the star hints are very obscure, such as the "Blast Away the Wall" star at Thwomp's Fortress. Like how would anyone ever even figure this out, except by accident or by using a guide?
- Rainbow Ride - what a terrible final level. The magic carpet ride was so boring that I gave up after a few failed attempts and focused on just getting the stars that you can long-jump towards from the starting point

Looking forward to the RetroActive discussion!

[ClexYoshi]

See, I can never forget Blast Away the Wall because of cannonless and how that speedrunning trick nearly ruined the community for Super Mario 64 until people found consistent setups for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF-OOrGUriE

[Morningshark]

I don’t know anyone was supposed to figure out Break the Wall growing up. I remember stumbling onto it by luck as a kid. And when I it said to drop into the cage, I had to use the cannon and create an arc. Had no idea about that dang owl.

Game is still fun to revisit, but the third floor and onwards is where it gets a little tedious for me.