What's So Great About Super Mario 64? - A Hop, Skip, and Jump Into 3D
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• What's So Great About ...
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#nintendo #gaming #supermario64
I was 9 years old in 1996. This game was magic. It was completely unbelievable; at the time it felt like the future had arrived.
Same. I was 10. I collected all the video game magazines and counted down the days until Mario 64 was released. One of my fav magazines showed all the possible movements he could do. It was sooo exciting! I was poor so I didn’t get it until like 8 months later when my mom won on a scratch off.
I was 11 in '96, and I don't think any game will ever capture what this made me feel when I first saw it. The first time I laid eyes on it was a demo reel being played with Mario 64 and Waverace 64 on a TV in a games booth at a local flea market. Coming from a Genesis to seeing this, I felt like what I was seeing was impossible; Like it had to be some kind of trick
@@silverwolf761 Waverace 64 was so cool when the system premiered. I remember my cousin getting a Nintendo 64 early after release and sitting around playing Waverace with him really was mind blowing
I was 11 and I was floored the first time I turned the corner to a toy store and saw a n64 demo station with Mario 64 for the first time... It litteraly blew my mind
Waking up on xmas and unwrapping a n64 with this game is a core memory for a generation. It is hard to describe how crazy it was. We all ran in circles for a good 5 min lol
this is one of those games I return to every couple of years. Amazing soundtrack, as well
I remember playing this first at a kiosk at Toys R Us and just having my little 8 year old mind blown. It's still amazing how Nintendo nailed movement in a 3D space with their first 3D game.
This channel is really good at explaining what we oldies felt as kids, that magic we lived through. And for SM64, graphics may suck today, but damn if Mario’s movements isn’t insanely good even by today’s standards.
i feel like odyssey REALLY improved on 64’s moveset
HA!!!! The princess promised him cake! 🎂 My adult mind has FINALLY connected the dots! 😆
I like how this game communicates so well, even being one of the first attempts to translate a franchise into 3D.
Great video analysis 🧡
Criminally undersubbed.
Yes, let us help it grow
Agreed!
Still true
Truth. But this channel is gonna blow up within two years. Something is wrong with TH-cam.
I absolutely don't understand how this channel was just suggested to me
Been gaming since the 1970's, love all the classic Sega, Nintendo, Atari games etc. Played the crap out of Sonic and Super Mario World. Love the amazing Nights into Dreams. But as far as gaming memories go, nothing compares to my first experience of playing Super Mario 64. I was so lucky to play this in a Toys R Us in the UK, about a month before the N64 launch. I can barely put into words the impact this had on me. I could scarcely believe it was real. When I finally got my hands on the system for myself and put serious time into the game, it did not disappoint, and is still a game I play pretty much every day even now. Nothing has topped it either before or since for sheer impact, on me at least. Thanks for this great video appraisal dude!
So many good memories from the console booths at Toys R Us, Comet, etc. ahhhhh.
Youve analised these games so thoroughly, its very impressive. No stone unturned. Like the fact the pause menu shows the whole level in the background and can be used almost like a map. I dont even think i though about that when playing it back in '97, but its a very clever idea and a great spot!
Ive owned systems in all 9 generations of video gaming consoles at the time of their release. Playing Super Mario 64 is in the Mt. Rushmore of "Holy Sh*t" moments in my 45+ year history of playing video games.
Unfortunately this video misses the single most important breakthrough of Mario 64: It was the game which first introduced modern third person controls. Previously, third person games had so-called tank controls. But modern vs tank controls has nothing to do with analog vs digital controls. You can have analog tank controls (some PS1 games) and digital modern controls (some PC Games or Mario 64 DS).
The difference is this: Before Mario 64, when you press "up", in a third person game (no matter whether with stick or d-pad) the character would move forward *in the direction it is currently facing.* In modern controls (again, regardless of stick or d-pad), the character would instead move in the direction *the camera is facing.* In Mario 64 all other directions of the controller are also relative to the camera direction, no matter in which direction the character is currently facing. If the character has to turn, it turns instantly. In tank controls, pressing up or down generally moves the character forward or backward (from the character perspective), while pressing left or right (more or less) slowly rotates the character in place. So if you e.g. press up-and-right, the character moves in an arc.
It turns out that the modern Mario 64 controls are much more intuitive than the old tank controls, because if the movement is relative to the camera direction, it is also relative to the direction the player is looking (because he is looking toward the screen).
The difference can be seen in PlayStation games that switched from tank controls to Mario 64 controls, e.g. in Croc 1 vs Croc 2, or MegaMan Legends 1 vs MegaMan Legends 2.
Lara Croft was difficult to control because they kept the tank controls till Tomb Raider 4. I'm not sure whether some of those games supported analog tank controls with the new analog PlayStation controller, but that wouldn't make much difference anyway. They tried to make the controls to be more intuitive by forcing the camera to always stay behind Lara. In this way moving forward and moving to where the camera is looking is the same. But left and right still only turns you in place with a certain limited speed, which makes controlling the character relatively slow and difficult. It feels a bit like controlling a racing game.
Tomb Raider eventually adopted Mario 64 controls in part 5. The Resident Evil series adopted it with Resident Evil 4, making it the last prominent franchise to make the switch. Basically all third person games (except racing) use Mario 64 controls nowadays.
He mentioned the tank controls
crazy how nintendo invented the d pad and it worked so well that everyone just forgot about joysticks for a hot minute.
Very interesting points throughout, so much I never really thought of or would have realized otherwise.
Correction: Giant Land in SMB3 is World 4 :)
7:23 TIL what the D in D pad means… how have I gone this long without questioning it?
Directional pad
I'll never forget the one night in 2008 when I played _Super Mario 64_ on my Wii for over 7 hours straight...right until 5 AM when the sun had already started rising again. I went to sleep quickly after realizing how long I'd been up for only to wake up an hour later feeling perfectly rested and ready for another day. The particular sense of adventure _Super Mario 64_ provided me was exactly what I needed at the time and, every once in a while, beckons me back.
Man, how come you don't have way more subs? Love your videos and the effort you put in them. Keep up the good work, thank you so much!
The graphics were timeless.
The soundtrack was awesome and catchy.
The overall vision for the game and N64 was unified.
The camera and controls were intuitive.
The gameplay was fun.
The leap from 2D to 3D was seamless.
What else is there to say?
Oh yeah, Wario in the DS remake.
Since it’s been so long would you be able to do another “What’s so great about” Pikmin or even do a updated version of your video from 6years ago… your channel is so underrated and so high quality that’s it’s insane how small you are. You definitely deserve more eyes on your videos.
This game forever has it's place in my heart!!!! it was 1996 when my dad surprised me with N64 and this game for Christmas!!!!
You make really great, well made videos!
Crushin it my man!
This channel needs more subscribers and views
Man, what a trip through memory lane. Your videos are so much fun to just chill and watch! Thanks so very much 😄
This video is fantastic - naughty TH-cam for only just recommending it to me today.
Just subbed and looking forward to seeing more.
Couldn't believe the sub rate when i saw it this is professional work right here keep it up bro
3:26 I was hoping you'd also address the fact that Bob-omb Battlefield's melody is reworked into the Snow and Slider themes. Bob-omb Battlefield, Cool Cool Mountain, and Slider are all three different versions of the same tune. This is similar to what composer Koji Kondo did in Super Mario World, where the main Overworld melody was reworked into every single level theme of the game and is something he would again do in Super Mario Sunshine.
this game will always hold a special place in my heart. probably was the first game I've ever played as a kid
One thing I liked about the game is that there is more to the game than just going from A to B. You have to collect all the Power stars or just enough to be able to reach Bowser. I don’t see a lot of that in Video Games these days and you just go A to B in the level.
🤔…one day I hope someone sends me a letter promising cake ☺️ great video as always 👍
Me too, brother/sister. Me too.
I mowed so many lawns in 6th grade so that I could buy an N64 and this game (along with the strategy guide and a 3rd party extra controller). It was so worth it. This is still my favorite N64 game and still fun to play on original hardware today (unlike Goldeneye)
Still, even back then we knew that the real villain in this game wasn't Bowser but the camera. Could be so frustrating at times.
Great video as always!
These videos are amazing. I can’t believe you don’t get more views. TH-cam’s algorithm is screwing up!
Edit: This was probably already brought up, but Charles Martinet voiced Mario before Super Mario 64, most notably in the CD-rom version of Mario Teaches Typing and Mario's Game Gallery. I think the first instance of him voicing Mario was in a pinball game, but I'm not 100% sure on that one.
Original comment:
While Super Mario 64 wasn't the first 3D platformer, it was one of the first big successful mainstream 3D platformers, and unquestionable the most influential. In fact, it could be argued that both this and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time had a bigger influence on 3D video games than any other game; the games that have been made since these two were built on the foundations they set up. It's also intriguing in that Super Mario 64 doesn't feel like a pure transition of mainstream Mario gameplay from 2D to 3D. It does in that there's a goal you need to reach and that basically qualifying as a "level cleared", at which point you're brought back to the "map", but the similarities end there. The developers zeroed in on the idea of exploring a 3D space and made that the primary focus of Super Mario 64; thus, rather than having a variety of levels to complete in a linear fashion, there are instead a comparatively smaller pool of levels in which you have to accomplish multiple objectives within, and clearing those objectives meant using Mario's robust poll of movement options to explore those levels and find everything their is to do in them... Kind of, a lot of the Stars in the game can't be obtained unless you select the specific mission for them, but otherwise you can find the stars in any order you please. It truly was a new trend-setting for how Mario games are structured, which is why it's fascinating to see 3D Mario games get progressively more linear up until Super Mario Odyssey took the formula Super Mario 64 set up to it's next logical step.
This is also one of those games that get a lot of push-back whenever it's stated to be one of the greatest games of all time, moreso than Ocarina of Time I feel, mostly because there is quite a bit of jank in this game (in fact, I find the jank part of the game's appeal). It might not be the smoothest 3D platformer, especially where the camera controls are concerned, but it definitely still is fun to play even know, at least in my opinion.
I was 9 when this came out. Was mind blowing
People today have no idea of the leap that game was for gaming. It's like asking "what was so great about the Ford Model T"
The N64 is one of th best consoles and had some of the most groundbreaking games and nothing changed the game more than Mario 64.
As much as I love SM64, even as a kid it was never in my top 5 favorite N64 titles. That being said, of all the N64 games ever made SM64 is easily the most important one of them all. It made gaming what it is today.
I demo this game in Sears and it blew my mind
The game still holds up today
A question for anyone reading this... have you ever picked up a book that seemed like a bit of a struggle to get through, but then once you finished, you felt an immense feeling of satisfaction and knew you would one day revisit it? That is how I felt about this game. When I first started seeing pictures and screen shots of it, I genuinely, at age 10, thought "ugh... what is this blocky ugly mess of a mario game? *This* is Nintendo's big reveal??"
But once I started, I got lost in the exploration. At that age, there were stars that I genuinely had trouble finding. I couldn't get them all until I'd spent hours exploring (or my friend pointing out a few... okay... a lot lol). One that always comes to mind is the one in the Hazy Mazy Cave right above where the rocks fall. Without my friend I don't think I'd ever have found that one. Needless to say, wow what a great feeling it was finally finishing the game. Hats off to Miyamoto.
What is so great about this game...is that I managed to get at least 70 stars and complete the game with no coins [as a Let's Play challenge]. I partially kid, of course this game, while somewhat aged poorly, is important, revolutionary and fun in equal measure.
Great Video as well. :)
Tomb Raider came out the same year, created by 6 kids. Shortest end credits ever.
"After receiving a letter from Princess Peach with a sweet promise of cake..."
I wonder if "cake" is code for something else. Doubt that Mario would go through all that for a slice of cake.
Shoutout to Croc on ps1
I just 120 star it for the first time and the only bad thing about this game was the camera which was a first in video game, an amazing tittle that stood the test of time aside from that camera.
What was wrong with camera
World 4 was giant land in SMB3. not 7
Everything!
I kid you not. Im watching video at my job, the person that doesn't know what I'm watching on my phone ( for obvious reasons) he said (woo! Hoo!) right on time as mario jumps. I turnt around like 😮. Only if he knew. 😅
As far as 3D platformers, especially Mario ones, 64 is STILL my favorite because it has good balance of being open ended and compact. Super Mario Galaxy was too linear and therefore more boring, and Mario Odyssey had levels that were WAY too big with WAY too many collectibles making the pacing way slower than it should.
This game is one of the goats!!!
I liked this way more than the 2D mario games
I play also Sunshine and Odyssey but they both pale in comparison to 64, like they lost the magic. Does any other 3d Mario game has the magic 64 has which Sunshine and Odyssey do not have?
For me, Nintendo was a means to an end. Meaning I was never their greatest fan. I got my Nes and Master System in 1986. My Genesis in 1989 and Snes in 1991. Around that point, I became very disillusioned with Nintendo as they kept doing some very bad things in the industry. I lived through both their illegal, predatory practices of the 3rd generation, and when they tried to convince congress that all mature games should be banned, it ...not cool, Nintendo.
I ran out and got both a Playstation and Saturn on 9/9/95 (long story). I loved them both so much that I wrote off the Ultra 64/N64 almost immediately. Especially when it was announced that it would be cart based (this is going somewhere). I made fun of it so much that it almost became a part of my persona. My best friend and roommate got his N64 the day it released, and I bought Tekken 2 that same day. I made fun of him so badly....oh, the little kid is playing his Mario game on his cheap kiddie console. What a dork. I fired up Tekken while declaring he wishes he could be playing something as graphically stunning as it....
Then I saw him running around in the castle courtyard in full freaking 3d?! I immediately jumped up and flew back to the store in my Trans-Am (I was going well over 100mph as I knew, I messed up). Unfortunately, they were all sold out, and it was my turn to hear how stupid I was. I found an N64 roughly 6 months later and begrudgingly bought it.
Addendum- I know it was 6 months as my buddy put up a calendar right on my side of the living room. On it, he kept track of the days, weeks, and months I hadn't got an N64 yet. On the last day (the day I got it), he wrote "lesson learned," don't let it happen again. Although I got him back when I pointed out how the Playstation merc'ed his N64 in sales. It was a back and fourth thing we still do to this very day. ;)
I respect this title for the revolutionary Masterpiece it was but as a kid I never truly enjoyed it. Jumping felt weird, textures were plain and Worlds felt empty/lifeless compared to Zelda OoT or Banjo or even DK64.
The N64 was DELAYED because he asked for it. Damn, what a 🐐
World 4 of super bros 3 not 7
They took, back then, 3 years to make this. This is why gaming sucks now.
5:36 wait, what? The N64 was far from the first gaming hardware capable of rendering “true 3-dimensional models in real time”.