One of the best levels (Tick Tock Clock) has Mario running through the inner workings of a giant clock. Super Mario 64 features more puzzles than earlier Mario games and since it was developed simultaneously with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, some puzzles were actually transferred over from that game in order to assist in having Mario 64 ready for launch. And like previous Mario titles, secrets play a huge part of the experience, and experimentation is integral to fully enjoy playing the game. There is just so much to explore and there’s never a dull moment to be found. The Wing Cap (red) allows Mario to fly, the Vanish Cap (blue) makes Mario invulnerable and invisible to attacks, and the Metal Cap (green) causes Mario to transform into Metal Mario, which allows Mario to walk through streams of fire without taking damage, avoid water currents, and easily walk underwater.Īlthough the level themes are standard video game environments (water world, ice world, lava world, etc.), the variety of these levels and the scale of each course is simply breathtaking. Surprisingly, the usual Super Mushroom and Fire Flower are absent in this game Instead, as the game progresses, Mario gains the power to wear new hats, in the form of colored Caps, with multiple abilities exclusive to each. Mario can also carry certain items in order to help solve various puzzles and help him cross certain obstacles, as well as swim underwater at various speeds. The player can make Mario punch, kick, kick jump, hip drop, triple jump, long jump, backflip, somersault, and even perform the wall kick like Ryu from Ninja Gaiden. The first course, for example, Bob-Omb Battlefield, is laid out in a way so that players will slowly become adept with Mario’s abilities which are far more diverse than those of previous games. Rather than the dull and time-consuming tutorials of many modern games, here the player learns as they go. The castle itself serves as a great place to learn and experiment with all the moves at Mario’s disposal. To reach the final battle with Bowser, 70 Power Stars are required – however, you need all 120 for 100% completion, some of which are nearly impossible to find without resorting to some sort of guide. In order to 100 percent complete Mario 64, players must explore everything, and I do mean everything.
Reaching the final Bowser and freeing the princess won’t take long for most gamers to complete, but getting all 120 stars and meeting Yoshi at the end, can take weeks depending on the skillset of the player. The game consists of 15 massive courses in which Mario can attain seven stars per course, with numerous secret levels and bonuses. The difficulty level is really up to the player and how many of the puzzles he or she wants to solve. And ever since, the game has left a lasting impression on 3D game design.Īs for the difficulty, Super Mario 64 is a game that anyone can play, but not everyone can finish. Mario sounded different, he looked different and he moved differently.
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Players heard for the first time, the now-iconic “It’s-a me, Mario!” (voiced by the delightful Charles Martinet) and watched Nintendo’s mascot emerge from a pipe to reveal a full view of the game’s 3D model. From the moment players turned on Super Mario 64, the differences were apparent.
The game established a new archetype for the 3D genre and showed us what the future of video games would soon look like. It was one of the earlier three-dimensional platform games, with degrees of freedom through all three axes in space, and featured relatively large areas which are composed primarily of true 3D polygons as opposed to only two-dimensional sprites. Nintendo set itself a nearly impossible task when creating Super Mario 64. Super Mario fined the standards for side-scrolling platform games in 1985, and with Super Mario 64, Nintendo took the franchise to a whole new level. Time Magazine called it “that rare and glorious middle-class Cabbage Patch-doll frenzy.” Nintendo’s third home video game console (nicknamed N64) was launched with two games outside of Japan: Pilotwings 64, and Super Mario 64, arguably one of the greatest video games to date, and one which all platformers would be compared to henceforth. The Nintendo 64 was in heavy demand upon its release in 1996.