Current Events > What is the definitive ranking for Mario 3D games?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Some day I want to invest time in these games.

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i recall Galaxy 2 being ranked about the same as Galaxy

Sunshine and 64 were about tied for me, but i never actually beat either of them

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There isnt one because opinions cant be definite

however 64 is definitely last

Galaxy 2 > 3D World > 64 > Odyssey > Sunshine

Galaxy 1 is about the same level as 64 imo, but Galaxy 2 just surpasses it in every which way that you don't need to even play it.

I haven't played 3D Land.

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64 seems so dated if you played it recently. It still feels great to play and the gameplay is solid as ever but the small levels and the objectives to get stars have aged quite bad. I mean, the game is over 20 years old, give it a break, I get it.

Sunshine, Galaxy, Galaxy 2 and Odyssey all at least have strong theming that ties the game together.

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Sunshine > Galaxy 2 > 3D World > Galaxy > Odyssey > 64

I played 3D Land but don't remember it much...

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Odyssey > Galaxy (and 2) > 64 > Sunshine > 3D Land > 3D World


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It's actually rather remarkable that Mario 64 is still playable, considering the state of 3D gaming (especially platformers) in 1996.

Early 3D was... Rough, to say the least. It's why the 16-bit era seems far more refined and playable in retrospect.

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DarkRoast posted...

It's actually rather remarkable that Mario 64 is still playable, considering the state of 3D gaming (especially platformers) in 1996.

Early 3D was... Rough, to say the least. It's why the 16-bit era seems far more refined and playable in retrospect.

Banjo kazooie still holds up

MICHALECOLE posted...

Banjo kazooie still holds up

BK was Rare at its peak. I still think it's a better game than Mario 64, even though mechanically it's rough around the edges.

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So far from what I've played (re-played all these relatively recently, 100% all of them):

Sunshine > 3D World > 64 >>>>>> Galaxy

I cannot fucking stand Galaxy, the only one of these that I almost quit playing towards the end

DarkRoast posted...

BK was Rare at its peak. I still think it's a better game than Mario 64, even though mechanically it's rough around the edges.

Its aaaaaalways been better than Mario 64, but at the time I can see why people would have preferred Mario just because of how quickly and smoothly he moves, plus with the slide levels and turtle races and things like that, really made the game seem faster than it truly was.

but at the end of the day we all know BK is better in basically every way

From best to worst:

Odyssey
Galaxy 2
Galaxy
3D World
3D Land
64
Sunshine

It was a tough choice between the top 2 and bottom 2, but I think that's what I'd go with.

MICHALECOLE posted...

Banjo kazooie still holds up

Idk, I tried it a few years back and it was boring.

Perhaps Mario 64 nostalgia is getting the better of me but at least in Mario 64, Mario himself moves a lot better and the objectives are shorter and sweeter. Banjo just felt like I was running around with some nerfed Mario just backtracking across a map just to collect shit. I didn't really like DK64 either.

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Master Kazuya posted...

Idk, I tried it a few years back and it was boring.

Perhaps Mario 64 nostalgia is getting the better of me but at least in Mario 64, Mario himself moves a lot better and the objectives are shorter and sweeter. Banjo just felt like I was running around with some nerfed Mario just backtracking across a map just to collect shit. I didn't really like DK64 either.

Thats fair. BK bored me as a child, but I thought it was way better as an adult.

DK64 was always like wow this is so much worse than DKC

SrRd_RacinG posted...

Some day I want to invest time in these games.

Odyssey
3D Land
3D World
64
Galaxy 2
Galaxy 1
Sunshine

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Master Kazuya posted...

Galaxy 2 > 3D World > 64 > Odyssey > Sunshine

Galaxy 1 is about the same level as 64 imo, but Galaxy 2 just surpasses it in every which way that you don't need to even play it.

I haven't played 3D Land.

I'm close to this. But I say play Galaxy 1 then 2.

Galaxy (1 and 2) > 3D World > 64 > Odyssey >= Sunshine

I really did not care for Odyssey. It has like no challenge, but then again sunshine was pretty rough too, I think the only thing that would make me rank it equal to Odyssey is nostalgia.

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BTW anybody ranking Odyssey first is bad at mario.

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joe40001 posted...

I really did not care for Odyssey. It has like no challenge,

Beyond no challenge, I think the real problem is that it has no creativity. The possessions are just boring to use. Which is jarring compared to the TONS of moves Mario has. And the challenges given with those possessions usually go no further beyond "do the only thing the possession could possibly do". There are a handful of Moons that introduce something potentially interesting, but it doesn't build on those concepts as much as Mario games are capable of, and a handful of Moons in a game with 1000 Moons is a very small percentage.

Even with just base Mario, there aren't many segments where you feel like your movement is being utilized fully. It just feels like you're skipping parts of levels. Odyssey was fun for the playthrough but wasn't satisfying.

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LivingLegend posted...

Anyone who puts Sunshine last should be banned.

Sunshine was actively frustrating in some parts. Everyone knows the infamous bits but in my playthrough, it was legitimately buggy. I would do something for a Shine, nothing would happen, I would reset the level, do the exact same thing, it would work. There were random spots where I would awkwardly clip and it didn't work in my favor. I would be in situations where I just got combo'd to death for no reason at all.

Beyond that, I feel like one thing weird with Sunshine is being tied to this mechanic. Going from free movement to switching to shoulder-angle static shooting was very unnatural and broke the flow. Cleaning up shit and platforming didn't mesh well imo, they felt like some weird tacked on thing I was forced to do. It's not like Splatoon where the game is based on both spraying shit and killing squids. The tropical theme got boring eventually, a morning beach to an afternoon beach to an evening beach to a night beach isn't much variation. Pits are much better than falling into water. At least in a pit, you just die and restart, but falling into water means you have to swim your way back to land and then retry which is the same punishment but 10x longer. The design of platforming just means you jump and use a nozzle to adjust your jump every time. There's no reason to not have the hover nozzle most of the game and some of the gaps are wide enough where it expects you to use it, which just slows down the overall pace. Also why does the main gun look like me when I pee when my Super Soakers when I was 8 delivered more water pressure?

Some of these aren't as big flaws compared to others but they all work together, unfortunately.

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The 64 hate in here is disgusting.

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AFrench4 posted...

The 64 hate in here is disgusting.

Its a pretty bad game

and dont give me any of that it was revolutionary for its time crap, who fucking cares if it was, if it isnt as great now then it doesnt matter

Conflict posted...

Also did dude just say Odyssey has no creativity

Lol. That's the funniest thing I've read all year

The idea of controlling a Goomba is cool, but what do you do with the Goomba? Creativity has 2 applications here. There is a base idea, and then implementation of the idea. Everyone has cool base ideas but implementation is where genius truly lies. I think the base idea of controlling enemies in Mario is awesome. In a franchise that establishes itself on core movement and powerups, this fits super well. However, I don't think anything interesting was done with the idea.

The use for the Goomba is to stack them on top of each other to talk to Goombette. And this is something you do over and over. In what ways does this idea really satisfy a need to use a Goomba? When you were a kid and if someone told you in SMB3 "what if you could control a Goomba", would your first idea be to stack Goombas to talk to Goombette? Imagine a different Odyssey-like game where maybe a Goomba has a special forward dash that lets you dash across a spikey ground fast enough to not get damaged, or skirt through a crushing barrier or something. The base of this idea is that the Goomba lets you do something better than what Mario can do. That's the whole point of a powerup.

How about a Chain chomp. Wouldn't it be cool if you could fling yourself across the whole map, akin to a canon in 64? Maybe you crush the ground where you land. Or like Double Dash, be a giant monster and chomp through everything in your path. Maybe you have to do some chomp challenge where if you eat the fruit in the right zigzag motion, you get a Moon. Instead, you pull back and break the only breakable wall near you. There is one part where you have to bounce Chomps into each other, and that was legit cool, but there's only one instance.

How about Flygon? Why is the only place where Flygon's flight is explored at the 500-Moon end where you navigate through upwards torandos? The only thing you can do with the zipper possession is unzip in the only way the game allows you to unzip.

I'll challenge you. How about a Hammer Bro? Can you think of any other way to use a Hammer Bro other than, break apart the wall directly in front of you with hammers to get a Moon?

And these are just my possession complaints. If you look at everything else, the repeated Moons, the fetchquests, etc, Odyssey does not have a lot.

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Master Kazuya posted...

I'll challenge you. How about a Hammer Bro? Can you think of any other way to use a Hammer Bro other than, break apart the wall directly in front of you with hammers to get a Moon?

You can do the whole fucking level as a hammer bro and kill all the enemies with hammers I mean like holy shit have you tried having fun?

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Tyranthraxus posted...

You can do the whole fucking level as a hammer bro and kill all the enemies with hammers I mean like holy shit have you tried having fun?

Fun is all subjective anyway. We all have our own needs/wants for fun. Some people get fun building giant, pretty, intricate structures in Minecraft, some people like building giant towers to throw themselves off of over and over, some people create cages to lure all the Creeps in to blow them up, and some people don't enjoy Minecraft period.

I have a nephew and he really likes playing Lego Marvel, playing as Iron Man, and flying around pretending like he's Iron Man. He puts down the controller sometimes and roleplays a little as Iron Man while the game is idle. That's awesome. That's fun for him. Whether that's the game doing that or him creating his own enjoyment, who really knows or cares.

If you find it fun, find it fun and don't let my opinion of it ruin it.

Just the idea of using a Hammer Bro isn't enough for me. I think about stuff other than the fact that I'm a Hammer Bro. What am I doing? Would I rather be using Mario? What's fun about being a Hammer Bro other than that I'm a Hammer Bro? Is there anything that makes me feel connected to a Hammer Bro? Is it just a skin for Mario? Do I get to do cool things as the Bro? I want to do cool things. I want to throw hammers in cool ways. Other than looking like a Hammer Bro, do I feel like a Hammer Bro? I've felt like Mario before cause he jumps and I have to jump. If a Hammer Bro just jumps too, what is special about that to me?

Sometimes when I absorb media, I want to absorb it. If I watch a movie, I want there to be an ending, I don't want the movie cut out halfway and then the director tells me to fill in the rest in my head. Or a book with empty pages at the end. I don't always want to just write the ending myself. I have my own creative outlets where I fill in the blanks. I make music and play instruments. I even enjoy games where the game actually encourages me to find my own fun. I think GTA is a series that's super good at that kind of stuff. But some games, I want a reason to play it.

I'm sure you don't play every single game out there. You have tastes too. There are games you don't like which, if you HAD to, you could probably create your own enjoyment, but why bother? We do things to get experiences out of them. What do you even like? What do you dislike? How about travel? You could go to a desert and find your own fun stacking sand together, but is that your first choice? Wouldn't you rather go to a place you really like?

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DavidZ2844 posted...

Its a pretty bad game

and dont give me any of that it was revolutionary for its time crap, who fucking cares if it was, if it isnt as great now then it doesnt matter

This entire post is wrong. It's not a bad game.

You're just being a nasty ol' troll.

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Wii_Shaker posted...

This entire post is wrong. It's not a bad game.

You're just being a nasty ol' troll.

Alright fine, I was exaggerating a bit when I said it was a bad game. It was enjoyable and I had a decent time with it, but I stand by everything else I said in that post.

Beyond no challenge, I think the real problem is that it has no creativity.

Mario Odyssey was overflowing with creative energy


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DarkRoast posted...

Mario Odyssey was overflowing with creative energy

I really enjoyed reading through this post and all the points you made, I am completely convinced. Especially the word "overflowing", I think that word alone has changed my thoughts entirely, brought new perspective to the table, and most of all, offered something new and revolutionary compared to the other guy that also had the same idea.

>_>

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Mario 64 playable in 2021?

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SrRd_RacinG posted...

Mario 64 playable in 2021?

Yes but it's very short and not really a lot of content or variety.

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SMO>SMG2>SM3DW>SM64>SMG>SMS>SM3DL
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Conflict posted...

Odyssey > 3D World = Galaxy > 64 > Sunshine

3D Land and Galaxy 2 are unranked as I haven't played them.

Lmfao

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@Master_Kazuya in here dropping truth.

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Tyranthraxus posted...

Yes but it's very short and not really a lot of content or variety.

You ride around on a magic carpet, I mean have you even tried having fun?

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Master Kazuya posted...

You ride around on a magic carpet, I mean have you even tried having fun?

It's very fun. It's just also very short.

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64: historically significant for its role in shaping 3D video games, but showing its age 25 years later

Sunshine: I have a ton of nostalgia for it since it was my first real foray into 3D Mario, and Mario's moveset is as good and fun to use here as anywhere in the series. It also demands you make the most of that moveset in a way that the games since then really haven't. However, its quality is pretty inconsistent and many of the Shines are just tedious.

Galaxy: it's got a lot of really cool level ideas; I don't like the number of times it wants you to re-fight the same bosses, and Mario's movement isn't quite as fluid as before. But those are about my only complaints.

Galaxy 2: sadly haven't played

3D Land: it's very back to basics in terms of its structure, but I think it does that all really well, and I appreciate the focused level design.

3D World: like 3D Land, but with a bigger scope and variety of ideas. It's my favorite (but it's also my most-recently played)

Odyssey: Mario feels fantastic to move around again. I wish there was a greater focus on platforming here, but I also pretty much enjoyed a lot of the more exploration based stuff.

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Why is everyone ranking 3D World this highly? It was the least engaging 3D Mario I've ever played.

IMO

Galaxy 2, Galaxy 1, 3D World, 3D Land, 64, Odyssey, Sunshine.

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DavidZ2844 posted...

Its a pretty bad game

and dont give me any of that it was revolutionary for its time crap, who fucking cares if it was, if it isnt as great now then it doesnt matter

The difference is that 64 was good when it came out and Sunshine was never good.

galaxy 2>64>galaxy>sunshine>odyssey>3D Land

never played 3D world

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Ive played but havent beaten odyssey, but i had alot more fun playing Galaxy 1&2

1 in particular. I just really like it

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Galaxy> Odyssey> Sunshine> 3D World (if were counting that)> 64> Galaxy 2

Odyssey and Galaxy are neck and neck

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AFrench4 posted...

The 64 hate in here is disgusting.

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