Poll of the Day > Super Mario 64 Sucks... And Here's Why

(+) Yeah! (+)

LeetCheet posted...

I've lost count on how many times I've gotten all 120 stars in SM64 over the years.

Oh so that's how many stars it has? I would have looked it up before I started playing it but now I've no need. Thanks!

DragonClaw01 posted...

I doubt it. I see stacks and stacks of this game at my local Best Buy and it is a top 15 best selling Switch game. I mean it is already down to $40 on Ebay it is so common. I would be surprised if this game is worth a lot.

It could for brand new copies as they are going to be stopped being made. I picked up the physical version with a Switch due to the game stop being made by the end of the month. I hate this kind of practice but eh it's a worth while collection for me. I do wish it had Galaxy 2 on it but that'll probably be sold later.

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I think I got just over a hundred stars at one point but thats as many as Ive ever bothered to get

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It isn't too time consuming to get all 120 stars in 64 IMO.
It takes a lot longer to do it in Sunshine and Galaxy.
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LeetCheet posted...

It isn't too time consuming to get all 120 stars in 64 IMO.
It takes a lot longer to do it in Sunshine and Galaxy.

This is true. The levels in it aren't too big. Even if you're not a speedrunner, you can usually get a bunch of stars really quickly...
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When I went back and replayed SM64 for the first time since childhood, I was really quite surprised at A) How quickly I racked up stars, and B) How thoroughly I remembered where every single one of them was.

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A lot of the early 3d titles from that generation have aged poorly to be charitable.

Not enough processor to push that many polygons. That's just math.

But as far as sprites go, that gen was probably about as good as it gets.

So many titles from that era were gameplay gold and ugly as it gets, but that was a Seldon Crisis point for gaming where everyone wanted 3D, but the hardware just wasn't quite there yet.

Look at games like Parasite Eve or Alundra, or Bushido Blade, or Original FF7 or Legend of Legaia.

Then look at games like Suikoden, the BoF games from that era, and even the sprite based games of the later SNES era.

Most of the early pushes into 3d have aged terribly whereas the sprite and cell shaded games of the same general time are still amazing.

Visually, you can't even compare games like Link to the Past or Super Metroid to games like Goldeneye or Syphon Filter.

Gameplay and nostalgia aside, so many early attempts at 3d are downright offensive to the eye now.

A few games got it right. The early Spyro games, Banjo Kazooie, maybe the early Tony Hawk games...but even squeenix went back to sprites for FF9 after 7 and 8.

Can you really look at the OG tomb raiders with a straight face after playing modern ones, or even the first Uncharted?

Look at mario64, and then go play mario 3.

Mario 3 is a timeless masterpiece. Mario64 is nostalgia and terrible triangles everywhere.

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Dikitain posted...

I always felt it sucked, but I am pretty sure my reasons aren't even addressed in the video. I think it sucks because I think every 3d platformer from the 90's and early 00's suck. They all have the same problems: Slower gameplay than their 2D counterparts, difficulty based solely on camera angles, formulaic boss fights, and an over-reliance on "open" levels with multiple objectives.

Camera angles, you got that one, but the absolute center of a 3D collect-a-thon platformer is to have an open level with multiple objectives. See; Banjo Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee, Hat in Time, Mario Galaxy, Mario Odyssey.

The biggest part of these games is never the boss fights but yes they are pretty formulaic.


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ArvTheGreat posted...

alls arv hears from all this is "wahhh i suck at the game so it must suck"

Neither of us where saying they where hard. They are actually easier than most 2d platformers. They are not fun to play, they are a series of slow and tedious collecting of things.
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deoxxys posted...

Camera angles, you got that one, but the absolute center of a 3D collect-a-thon platformer is to have an open level with multiple objectives. See; Banjo Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee, Hat in Time, Mario Galaxy, Mario Odyssey.

Actually, Galaxy was the start of 3D Mario's shift to being more platforming-oriented. Each world was smaller and more linear than in 64 or Sunshine, with more focus on interesting platforming than exploration. Galaxy 2 took that a step further, then SM3D Land and World were basically pure platformers. Odysssey then took the subseries back to being a collect-a-thon.

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adjl posted...

Actually, Galaxy was the start of 3D Mario's shift to being more platforming-oriented. Each world was smaller and more linear than in 64 or Sunshine, with more focus on interesting platforming than exploration. Galaxy 2 took that a step further, then SM3D Land and World were basically pure platformers. Odysssey then took the subseries back to being a collect-a-thon.

And I think the big distinction of what made the Galaxies and SM3D Land/World way better then 64 or Sunshine was it made the camera much better. The player didn't have to control it, it was always in the optimal position to tell players everything they needed to know. Sure, you could manipulate it a little if you wanted, but you never had to stop every few seconds and re-adjust it.

Even Odyssey I can give a pass to because while it did kind of go back to the collect-a-thon, it at least did it in a fun way.

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adjl posted...

Actually, Galaxy was the start of 3D Mario's shift to being more platforming-oriented. Each world was smaller and more linear than in 64 or Sunshine, with more focus on interesting platforming than exploration. Galaxy 2 took that a step further, then SM3D Land and World were basically pure platformers. Odysssey then took the subseries back to being a collect-a-thon.

Galaxy had a lot of collectibles.
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Revelation34 posted...

Galaxy had a lot of collectibles.

I think it did, but I think it still felt a little different than the more open world collect-a-thons...
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LinkPizza posted...

I think it did, but I think it still felt a little different than the more open world collect-a-thons...

I never finished it but I remember you had to backtrack for some of them. Never played 2.
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it definitely shows its age in aspects, mostly related to the controls, but it is not a bad game at all.

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adjl posted...

Actually, Galaxy was the start of 3D Mario's shift to being more platforming-oriented. Each world was smaller and more linear than in 64 or Sunshine

True I didnt play much of galaxy but I know some of the worlds were open, it was a bad example in my lineup

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So I played Mario 64 for the first time last night. I agree with people that the controls are bad. More so the camera but there seems to be a weird hit box issue when I try to jump or attack a enemy. I have been playing this on the Switch as part of the All Star collection so I'd have hopped Nintendo would have gave it a little of a spit and polish but I knew they didn't going in so it's fine. I'm certainly going to go back on it later and give it a fair crack of the whip. Having not played a Nintendo console in years I'm enjoying the Switch and playing Mario.

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Revelation34 posted...

Galaxy had a lot of collectibles.

It did, but the worlds were generally smaller and more linear, placing more focus on platforming progression than on exploration. Galaxy 2 took that even further, then 3DL/W were just straight up platforming levels.

Dikitain posted...

Even Odyssey I can give a pass to because while it did kind of go back to the collect-a-thon, it at least did it in a fun way.

If nothing else, Odyssey's platforming controls were absolutely magnificent. It didn't have a lot of really challenging platforming unless you went out of your way to find shortcuts (though, at the same time, it did offer such shortcuts and whatnot to reward people who put in effort and played skillfully, which is just brilliant game design), but Mario was just an absolute joy to move around in that game, to the point where I spent no small amount of time just jumping around levels for literally no reason because of how fun it was.

deoxxys posted...

True I didnt play much of galaxy but I know some of the worlds were open, it was a bad example in my lineup

Yeah, it was very much an intermediate. I would say it did platforming better than 64/Sunshine, and focused more on it, but it did still have some open levels with some room to explore.

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I should get a really good tax return this year so maybe I'll buy a Switch and this game. I want Odyssey too. I still have my Mario cereal box I kept in case I ever got it.
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Revelation34 posted...

I should get a really good tax return this year so maybe I'll buy a Switch and this game. I want Odyssey too. I still have my Mario cereal box I kept in case I ever got it.

Fingers crossed you do. It's a blast!
I also made a pre-order for Hades on the Switch.

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wwinterj25 posted...

I also made a pre-order for Hades on the Switch.

Pre-order? It's already out...
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LinkPizza posted...

Pre-order? It's already out...

Probably means the physical edition that's coming out.

JigsawTDC posted...

Probably means the physical edition that's coming out.

Oh. I see. I heard about it. Tbh, I thought that was out already. Haha.
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JigsawTDC posted...

Probably means the physical edition that's coming out.

Yep. Probably should have specified.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVfvmL5OEZQ
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wwinterj25 posted...

I also made a pre-order for Hades on the Switch.

Have you played Hades before?

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