Mario 64

Josey Wales · 31-01-2011 10:36pm #1

So Mario 64 is one of those games that everybody lists as one of the greatest games of all time but I've never played. I never had an N64 so I missed out on most of those games. My friend had one but he never got Mario 64 for it.

I always see it on lists that gaming websites make to get traffic, i.e. top 100 of all time etc...

How has this game held up over time? Was it really that good? I'm a big Mario fan but more so of the 2D games than the 3D ones. I'd rate New Super Mario Bros. Wii ahead of Mario Galaxy for instance.

Should I download Mario 64 from the Virtual Console or would I be better off playing Galaxy 2 that is lying on my pile of shame?

Any opinions?

thenightrider · 31-01-2011 10:40pm

If you have a ds i would get it for that i love playing it on the ds

Dozen Wicked Words · 31-01-2011 10:42pm

thenightrider wrote: »

If you have a ds i would get it for that i love playing it on the ds

Its good on the DS alright, but its better IMHO on VC. Cracking game either way.

Retr0gamer · 31-01-2011 11:09pm

I think the DS version is a pretty poor port of the game. I plays alright but what irked me is that I ran into a bug that didn't let me collect all the stars in it and the new areas and stars are crap. The controls were also knid of poor compared to the analogue controls of the original.

Anyway Mario 64 has held up extremely well. Most N64 games like Goldeneye and the like have aged really badly due to pushing the hardware much too hard, going for a realistic look that hasn't held up at all and with serious frame rate issues that ruin the playability. Mario 64 goes for a stylised look that still looks great and runs at a very stable and smooth frame rate. It's also a fantastic game! You could play it on an N64 but the PAL N64 port is not the best. It runs at close to full speed and has reduced borders but they are still there. The main problem is the PAL N64 doesn't RGB so can only be played at best in AV composite which looks atrocious on a SD TV and even worse on a HD TV. You might be better off playing it through an emulator with an analogue pad (PS3 or 360 will be fine) since it will look a lot better. The other alternative is an NTSC machine with the game in s-video but that's a big investment of time and/or money.

Edit: actually playing it through VC is a great idea since it supports RGB or 480P through Component and is a perfect port and a decent price.

Menengroth™ · 31-01-2011 11:19pm

played through it in it's entirety a few months back on emulator, it's held up pretty well, still a great game. fantastic gameplay.

quarryman · 31-01-2011 11:23pm

Retr0gamer wrote:

Goldeneye and the like have aged really badly

Ever consider getting a tattoo of that?

Retr0gamer · 31-01-2011 11:36pm

quarryman wrote: »

Ever consider getting a tattoo of that?

It wouldn't hurt as much as the truth :P

Mr. K · 31-01-2011 11:37pm

Josey Wales wrote: »

Should I download Mario 64 from the Virtual Console

Do this.

Retr0gamer · 31-01-2011 11:43pm

Mr. K wrote: »

Do this.

And then play mario galaxy when you are finished! Both amazing games.

K.O.Kiki · 31-01-2011 11:52pm

Plus if you play it on emulator/VC, you won't have to deal with wobbly N64 sticks.

Funny thing though: I was curious and found this listing of N64 controllers -- turns out the "Super Pad" controllers are the ONLY controllers that had good METAL sticks, and you can still find them cheap.

Grayditch · 31-01-2011 11:55pm

Mario 64 is such a good game.

I'm currently completely addicted to Mario Galaxy 2. The people that made it have seriously brilliant imaginations.

Retr0gamer · 01-02-2011 12:04am

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Plus if you play it on emulator/VC, you won't have to deal with wobbly N64 sticks.

Funny thing though: I was curious and found this listing of N64 controllers -- turns out the "Super Pad" controllers are the ONLY controllers that had good METAL sticks, and you can still find them cheap.

I've 4 N64 controllers and all of them bar 1 have knackered plastic sticks

Kinetic^ · 01-02-2011 2:34am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

And then play mario galaxy when you are finished! Both amazing games.

Mario Galaxy is anything but amazing.

Retr0gamer · 01-02-2011 2:46am

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Mario Galaxy is anything but amazing.

Have you no soul?

FearDark · 01-02-2011 2:54am

Mario 64 was the game I got with my N64 on launch, was and still is one of the best games ever. And Retr0gamer is right about GoldenEye, played it recently and the graphics and frame rate issues completely ruin it, still didnt stop me playing the thing solid for about two years when it came out first!

To answer your question, N64 + 21" CRT TV + Mario 64 = Profit.

Grayditch · 01-02-2011 3:03am

If you don't like Mario Galaxy, GET OUT OF GAMES!

Magill · 01-02-2011 10:28am

I got mario64, mario kart and goldeneye and the console for christmas.... best christmas ever.

Kinetic^ · 01-02-2011 1:40pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Have you no soul?

Grayditch wrote: »

If you don't like Mario Galaxy, GET OUT OF GAMES!

It was extremely boring to play and nothing new. Meh I say.

speedboatchase · 01-02-2011 1:51pm

Hi Josey. One of the reasons Mario 64 is so revered is that there really wasn't anything that had came before it. The SNES was 16-bit and on its last legs as the 32-bit Saturn and Playstation had taken over the market. There was some 3D platformers on the 32-bit systems but most were fairly linear. At the same point, the character of Mario had nowhere near the same status as he had today - Donkey Kong was the biggest platforming hero after the Donkey Kong Country games and even the SNES' last hurrah, Yoshi's Island, put Yoshi at the forefront rather than Mario.

So when I first seen Mario 64 on television (it was the old Gamesmaster TV show reporting on the first software demonstrations of the 'Ultra 64' in Japan), it was incredible. A giant polygonal Bowser, using the analogue stick to swing him around (even the inclusion of an analogue stick) - Nintendo had somehow managed to come up with the most unbelievable looking game and a brand new gameplay experience - a full 3D platformer. I still don't think any generaitonal leap has been as big in video gaming and Mario 64 may be the best launch title of all time too. That's why it made such an impact and the it was so superbly designed was a bonus - people couldn't imagine how games could get any better - it was getting 100% and 99% in some Nintendo magazines at the time. Games would get better, a year later with Ocarina of Time but I digress

Whether or not you should play it today kinda depends - it's impossible to fully appreciate the impact it made at the time and the structure of the gameplay (stars for each level, collecting red coins) is a little archaic - I even felt that about Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii. In the same way someone might play Goldeneye 007 on N64 today and wonder what the fuss was all about, you might get a similar reaction. Hard to say and it's up to you - though stay away from the DS version, the lack of an analogue stick cripples the game

wayne040576 · 01-02-2011 2:00pm

Kinetic^ wrote: »

It was extremely boring to play and nothing new. Meh I say.

Nothing new?
There was nothing like it when it came out.

Edit -
Sorry, just realised you were talking about galaxy.

eddhorse · 01-02-2011 4:36pm

This is one of the games i completed fully, all 120 stars. Very fulfilling.

Such an awesome game.

As for Goldeneye, couldn't complete the last level.
It was great at the time and now it looks pants !

youcancallmeal · 01-02-2011 5:01pm

OP I was the exact same as you. Never had an N64 so could only admire Mario 64 from afar all those years ago. Few months back I remembered how much I always wanted to play it so got an emulator and gave it a whirl. I literally lasted 5 minutes! It looked horrible and blocky and not how I remembered it at all!

Retr0gamer · 01-02-2011 5:09pm

youcancallme>al wrote: »

OP I was the exact same as you. Never had an N64 so could only admire Mario 64 from afar all those years ago. Few months back I remembered how much I always wanted to play it so got an emulator and gave it a whirl. I literally lasted 5 minutes! It looked horrible and blocky and not how I remembered it at all!

Screw how it looks, the controls are great and it's loads of fun.

James Howlett · 01-02-2011 5:38pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Screw how it looks, the controls are great and it's loads of fun.

Are you refering to Mario 64 or Goldeneye?
That statement could apply to both:)

Retr0gamer · 01-02-2011 5:57pm

James Howlett wrote: »

Are you refering to Mario 64 or Goldeneye?
That statement could apply to both:)

No it couldn't. Mario 64 plays nice and smooth with a stable framerate and anyway the graphics haven't as bad as people are making out. Goldeneye on the other hand suffers from some terrible control issues caused motly by framerate problems in the game, it's it's biggest problem amongst a lot more that I won't go into yet again. It's also not all that much fun in an age where first person shooters have leave it feeling so dated.

eddhorse · 01-02-2011 6:18pm

I remember this level being hard !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z60jiGldX48

Now that i look at the video, the controls were brilliant.
And the fact you could move the camera around with the 4 yellow arrow buttons was genius.

James Howlett · 01-02-2011 6:34pm

The presence of the "

" meant I was joking.

For my own two cents the controls of Mario 64 are indeed what make it fun. Walk kicking your way to the top of a path, running around a circle and doing a backflip out of it... these never get old as they are tremendous fun.

Retr0gamer · 01-02-2011 7:02pm

I think what I remember the most about Mario 64 was just that opening when you finally got control of mario in that field and running around it. It's going to be lost on people now but at the time Mario 64 was the first game that did control in a 3D world right and it was a revelation running around that area and having so much control over the character and it all feeling so right.

Canis Lupus · 02-02-2011 10:33am

I'd have to be a dissenting voice. M64 in its day was brilliant and I got all the stars and spent a significant portion of my youth on it but I did recently chuck it on an emulator and was pretty dissappointed. Don't feel it aged well at all.

Banjo & Kazooie however is still awesome

K.O.Kiki · 02-02-2011 11:04am

I don't understand you folks who emulate Mario 64 on your PCs with your high-def LCDs and expect it to look good.

It's a low-res game designed for CRT TVs.
Play it on that.

Retr0gamer · 02-02-2011 12:59pm

Canis Lupus wrote: »

Banjo & Kazooie however is still awesome

I like banjo kazooie but I don't think it's anywhere near as good as Mario 64. There's far too many trinkets to collect, some of the levels are appalling (most are great though) and over all I just didn't enjoy it much. Framerate is a bit crap as well but not enough to ruin the game like some of rares other work.

cherryghost · 02-02-2011 1:27pm

Kinetic^ wrote: »

It was extremely boring to play and nothing new. Meh I say.

My thoughts exactly. I just bored of SMG1 and didn't bother buying SMG2. Give me Super Mario 64 any day!

Chrizfitz · 02-02-2011 2:00pm

I'll just leave this here, watched the 1st hour last night. Crazy amount of shortcuts without cheating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5It-KXSai3s

briany · 02-02-2011 2:39pm

It was amazing graphically and stylistically. It introduced some bold innovations in platform gaming but it came as a shock to me to be playing a Mario game where you're sometimes left to your own devices and have to explore and work out puzzles every so often. At the time that was a major shock to me in gaming terms. This new world Mario found himself in was cold. Still it is a great game but my favorite Mario game will always be Super Mario World on the SNES.

eddhorse · 02-02-2011 4:52pm

Chrizfitz wrote: »

I'll just leave this here, watched the 1st hour last night. Crazy amount of shortcuts without cheating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5It-KXSai3s

Very Impressive finishing time

EDIT : I could watch this all day, better than going to the cinema.

richymcdermott · 02-02-2011 5:02pm

never been a mario fan i was a sonic guy growing up but its a good platform never the less just not for me

Menengroth™ · 02-02-2011 7:33pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

I don't understand you folks who emulate Mario 64 on your PCs with your high-def LCDs and expect it to look good.

It's a low-res game designed for CRT TVs.
Play it on that.

still looks great on emulator with right settings =P

Banjo Fella · 03-02-2011 2:29am

I absolutely love Super Mario 64 and I think it's aged extremely well, probably still my favourite of all the 3D Mario games. You just have so much control over your character... you get to fling him about the environments and kick him off of walls like a portly Italian ball of rubber, yet everything still feels so precise. I can't think of many other games where simply controlling your character is so enjoyable. No wonder you see so many parkour style Mario 64 free-running videos on YouTube.

It holds up well in other respects, too. It's a pleasant-looking game. It may be blocky, but the art assets are stylish and colourful enough that it's still charming. The music's delightful, too, especially the Slip Slidin' Away, Jolly Roger Bay and Bowser in the Dark World themes. Oh yes!

The only aspect that doesn't hold up quite as well are the water levels. While firing yourself into the water from a cannon on the other side of a level is great fun, the swimming feels a bit sluggish and the it's kind of a road block compared to bouncing and long-jumping and side-flicking your way around the game's other levels. It can be an enjoyable change of pace, but it might be jarring for some.

Anyway, it's a very fun game, and I'd recommend it highly.

I'd stay away from the DS port though, the controls just aren't as fluid without an analogue stick. Honestly, navigating a 3D environment using a directional pad, or a touch-screen with no tangible centre point? Not a good idea.

03-02-2011 2:44am

I have both the N64 and DS versions, have had the N64 version since launch. I still consider it to be the best 3D Mario game, while I have both Galaxy games I'm just not as set on them as I am with the older stuff. I think I just got cheesed off with "Luigi's Purple Coins" and ended up putting them both aside!

The idea of having a large area where you can mess around before getting into the nitty gritty was revolutionary at the time, in fact, SM64 set so many precedents for gaming as a whole, the idea of an analogue stick makes so much sense but hadn't been exploited before.

I much prefer the N64 version, the DS version just feels wrong with the D-pad and trying to tip-toe with the touch screen is just as wrong. If anyone hasn't played it yet I highly recommend that you do!

Mario 64

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