Your initial impressions playing Mario 64?
- Thread starter Phediuk
- Start date
Alaskanbullworm
Member
The demo at Toys R Us had a 7 minute limit then reset and wipe your progress. I would try to get through as much as I could in that time, and I was literally floored at how great that constant minutes was. Luckily my orthodontist a bit later on had a stand with Mario 64 and you were aloud to play through the whole game. Actually made me very much ok in going there. Didn't mind my mouth all mangled up, this game was the shit back then.
I then got it for my birthday the following year. Still my favorite console and still the absolute best launch title
I then got it for my birthday the following year. Still my favorite console and still the absolute best launch title
8/10 because now you are trying too hard. Read up a couple of posts to see what CB devs said themselves.
Ok bye.
JordanN
Banned
My post got burried last page.
Straight from the devs themselves: Mario 64 pushed the limits of the N64. No game could be open world with the same detail as Mario at the time. PS1 couldn't do this.
Crash was was more corridor like but could push higher polycounts. The N64 couldn't do this.
Compare the boss battles:
Crash
Mario 64
Straight from the devs themselves: Mario 64 pushed the limits of the N64. No game could be open world with the same detail as Mario at the time. PS1 couldn't do this.
Crash was was more corridor like but could push higher polycounts. The N64 couldn't do this.
Compare the boss battles:
Crash
Mario 64
Huge Succeeded
Banned
man you are way out of your element
Eddie Griffin
Banned
My post got burried last page.
Straight from the devs themselves: Mario 64 pushed the limits of the N64. No game could be open world with the same detail as Mario. PS1 couldn't do this.
Crash was was more corridor like but could push higher polycounts. The N64 couldn't do this.
Compare the boss battles:
Crash
Mario 64
Really? To make such a claim would mean not even later ps1 games could be technically better than the N64. A claim we can all after is false.
It's already been called out, but please tell us more about how you know more than Naughty Dog themselves did about their own game vs the competition:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=129888587&postcount=348
PeakPointMatrix
Member
Wonder. Magic. The visuals and music combined really created a world that filled you with a curiousity and whimsy as to what awaited you around the corner. I have yet to play a Mario game that similarly evokes these feelings. Hopefully they'll revisit the Mushroom Kingdom one day, and reinstate the sense of an interconnected world that you know like the back of your hand by the end of the adventure. I really believe a free roaming 3D Mario holds the key to this.
I long for that feeling of not knowing
I long for that feeling of not knowing
biggersmaller
Banned
Incorporating that small analog stick and a free-roaming 3D environment was a technical achievement, not a fucking anecdote. You discount it because more technically demanding titles pushed more polygons, however in doing so you're missing the forest for the trees.
Eddie Griffin
Banned
Did you really just day an open game was no possible on the ps1? So what are the 3 Spyro games then? Rayman 2? Gex? Not open?
gigantor21
Member
I thought it was incredible. It wasn't like any other games I'd played before. I enjoyed just roaming around and exploring the castle and the various worlds.
As far as 3D games went, it just felt right in away that nothing I'd played on the PS1 by that point was able to manage. It made me realize just how important a proper analog stick was.
As far as 3D games went, it just felt right in away that nothing I'd played on the PS1 by that point was able to manage. It made me realize just how important a proper analog stick was.
Eddie Griffin
Banned
you mean the call out saying ps1 can not run open games yet has larger open games?
I'm stunned how many people first played the game in Toys R Us, exactly how I did!
Words can't describe how it was to people of this generation. To try and summarise the years of playing 2D games and then see a 3D image that you could interact with, move the camera around the character and that character being Mario, who had been a 2D Icon...
I don't think we'll ever experience that giant leap again. Virtua Racing was shocking, stepping out of the sewers in Elder Scrolls IV was awe inspiring, Super Mario 3D Land came close to that initial shock but not in the same way.
Super Mario 64. What a perfect game.
Words can't describe how it was to people of this generation. To try and summarise the years of playing 2D games and then see a 3D image that you could interact with, move the camera around the character and that character being Mario, who had been a 2D Icon...
I don't think we'll ever experience that giant leap again. Virtua Racing was shocking, stepping out of the sewers in Elder Scrolls IV was awe inspiring, Super Mario 3D Land came close to that initial shock but not in the same way.
Super Mario 64. What a perfect game.
JordanN
Banned
Edit: The comments came from 1996. They were speaking specifically of that time.
They never said open world couldn't be done, they said open world with Mario's fidelity wasn't possible. One more time:
Eddie Griffin
Banned
smh, not much tech kn before 05 here.
Anyway Mario 64 was a decent early 3D attempt. Sadly only really rate ever improve on it my a significant margin. I think that old nintendo and rate having different tools than 3rd party rumor was true.
I was disapointed that there were such a small number of big platforming attempts.
Anyway Mario 64 was a decent early 3D attempt. Sadly only really rate ever improve on it my a significant margin. I think that old nintendo and rate having different tools than 3rd party rumor was true.
I was disapointed that there were such a small number of big platforming attempts.
TwEE-N-Toast
Banned
I was blown away. Other then someday using a VR set I don't think I'll experience something that mind blowing again.
Now that I think about it, it's pretty weird that I was blown away by it when Im pretty sure I've played 3D games before that in the arcade and on PC.
Now that I think about it, it's pretty weird that I was blown away by it when Im pretty sure I've played 3D games before that in the arcade and on PC.
Origami Superman
Member
I was about 11 or so when it came out. It was incredible. Even today I still find it more enjoyable than many new releases, it has held up incredibly well.
Eddie Griffin
Banned
*excuse me, I meant rare.
They were really the only star dev pushing the Nintendo hardware. Back then I found that strange and disappointing. But im starting to wonder what Tp dev tools were like.
Odd than there wasn't another 3Rd Mario either. But if dinosaur planet claims are true maybe they were scared of competing with Rare.
They were really the only star dev pushing the Nintendo hardware. Back then I found that strange and disappointing. But im starting to wonder what Tp dev tools were like.
Odd than there wasn't another 3Rd Mario either. But if dinosaur planet claims are true maybe they were scared of competing with Rare.
doctordoak
Member
This was my experience exactly!
Neff
Member
I can't imagine anyone but staunch Sony/ND guys agreeing with this.
Mario64 was a religious experience when I first played it. It was the first time I ever stood up all night. It was 14. It was mind blowing. But as I went through the game, for some reason, I started liking it less and less. By the end, I remember thinking Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros 3 were better.
One thing is after the visuals wore off I realized liked the platforming twitch gameplay better and didn't like that 3D Mario was a treasure hunt. Magazines made me believe the freedom of exploration was almost limitless. They said you could see a tree or mountain and way the distance and then go to it. But the game worlds were actually kind of small. So I didn't get the platforming I'd come to love and worlds were a bit small for me to love the exploration aspect. Finally, the camera angles were incredibly frustrating and the cause of most deaths.
For these three reasons, I actually loved Mario Sunshine though. I thought it was considerably better than Mario64 and a lot of what I originally thought Mario64 was going to be. The challenging platform stages felt like the 2D Mario games. The worlds were bigger. It no longer felt felt like a closed in box and claustrophobic. And being able to shoot the water cannon to propel yourself upward meant bad camera angles were no longer a problem. If you missed a jump from a bad camera, you could save yourself. It was never a frustrating experience.
To sum up, Mario64 is bad, nice first attempt, but Sunshine was great.
One thing is after the visuals wore off I realized liked the platforming twitch gameplay better and didn't like that 3D Mario was a treasure hunt. Magazines made me believe the freedom of exploration was almost limitless. They said you could see a tree or mountain and way the distance and then go to it. But the game worlds were actually kind of small. So I didn't get the platforming I'd come to love and worlds were a bit small for me to love the exploration aspect. Finally, the camera angles were incredibly frustrating and the cause of most deaths.
For these three reasons, I actually loved Mario Sunshine though. I thought it was considerably better than Mario64 and a lot of what I originally thought Mario64 was going to be. The challenging platform stages felt like the 2D Mario games. The worlds were bigger. It no longer felt felt like a closed in box and claustrophobic. And being able to shoot the water cannon to propel yourself upward meant bad camera angles were no longer a problem. If you missed a jump from a bad camera, you could save yourself. It was never a frustrating experience.
To sum up, Mario64 is bad, nice first attempt, but Sunshine was great.
timetokill
Banned
what are you even talking about, lol.
for one, dinosaur planet was a Zelda type of game, not a platformer. furthermore Nintendo was pushing it plenty on their own. plus, you had other devs doing a lot of amazing work, including factor 5.
it's hilarious that you keep insisting Mario 64 was this heap of garbage btw.
Eddie Griffin
Banned
I never said DP was a platforming, you read out of context.
Also I never said the game was garbage. I said the game is running bad and it was not technically great.
Also Nintendo got nowhere near Rare in pushing the N64. MM was their best attempt. Im talking about out put in general
Rare? Now there's some games with a legit garbage framerate.
actually, that was my reaction for Zelda OoT when going into hyrule field for the first time.
The first pictures from Shoshinkai 1995 did it for me. This was a revelation:
My brother gave me the Nintendo Power covering that show on Christmas morning 1995. We looked at it like we were looking at pictures of the Ark from Indy's book in Raiders. He said to me simply:
"We've got to get this"
I avoided the kiosk and my friend's copy like the plague. This, I knew I was getting. This I didn't want to spoil.
I ended up getting it after Shadows of the Empire, which took the wind out of its sails just a little bit, but only in the playing a 3D game for the first time kind of way. The game was worth the wait, worthy of the praise it had gotten, and altogether incomparable.
I replayed it last month and the game is still as great as ever. Galaxy may have improved on the scenario design, but nothing beats the freedom of SM64's worlds or its peerless game mechanics. I've probably spent more time not getting the stars in this game than I've spent properly playing any other save Goldeneye 007.
Unfortunately, we never got the sequel we deserved thanks to the pernicious influence of Banjo Kazooie and its subsequent impact on the direction of Mario Sunshine. And now we're into full Crash Bandicoot land with the series. A perverse irony for those of us who followed the development of the games at the time and bridled at any hint of a comparison between Naughty Dog's effort and EAD's masterpiece.
But I hope for better days ahead. For an end to the shackles of linear obstacle courses and 8 way controls. For a return to endless possibilities and perfect mechanics and beautiful worlds to explore. For a return to Super Mario 64. The once and future king.
My brother gave me the Nintendo Power covering that show on Christmas morning 1995. We looked at it like we were looking at pictures of the Ark from Indy's book in Raiders. He said to me simply:
"We've got to get this"
I avoided the kiosk and my friend's copy like the plague. This, I knew I was getting. This I didn't want to spoil.
I ended up getting it after Shadows of the Empire, which took the wind out of its sails just a little bit, but only in the playing a 3D game for the first time kind of way. The game was worth the wait, worthy of the praise it had gotten, and altogether incomparable.
I replayed it last month and the game is still as great as ever. Galaxy may have improved on the scenario design, but nothing beats the freedom of SM64's worlds or its peerless game mechanics. I've probably spent more time not getting the stars in this game than I've spent properly playing any other save Goldeneye 007.
Unfortunately, we never got the sequel we deserved thanks to the pernicious influence of Banjo Kazooie and its subsequent impact on the direction of Mario Sunshine. And now we're into full Crash Bandicoot land with the series. A perverse irony for those of us who followed the development of the games at the time and bridled at any hint of a comparison between Naughty Dog's effort and EAD's masterpiece.
But I hope for better days ahead. For an end to the shackles of linear obstacle courses and 8 way controls. For a return to endless possibilities and perfect mechanics and beautiful worlds to explore. For a return to Super Mario 64. The once and future king.
eddfromtheriver
Banned
Honestly?, i was at a friend's house and all i could think was... why is everything so angular?, why can't they do round objects?. That was pretty much it, it was the main reason i passed on the N64 and switched to the Sony camp after being a Nintendo hardcore fan.
My reaction was Where the fuck is the Zelda theme? Where are all the monsters?
Maybe I was a demanding teenager.
However I did have that reaction in FF7.
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
Same here. Was absolutely thrown for a complete loop back then. Couldn't imagine it was a real console. Waited and waited for it to be released after that demo. I remember just stumbling across that first flight minigame in the castle by simply looking at the sun because I was so enamored with the game and just soaking it all in.
Explain this please.
I felt that about everything on every console I saw in the lead up to and beginning of that whole gen. I was fully in the 2D looks better camp then. These days I have some nostalgia for low poly but I took some time to grow into that.
Mario 64 wasn't that game for me but I recognize it was a technical marvel at the time now. Its more impressive to me in hindsight then it was at the time.
Eddie Griffin
Banned
While a bit messy in executions. It was a good game. Although I believe they finally started to get it right with sunshine.
Of course, these days 3D platformers are not alive. What is there are hybrids.
Of course, these days 3D platformers are not alive. What is there are hybrids.
There were people that shared your view on that, but they were in the minority by far, look up the reviews.
This opinion is to say that you have never been really impressed by graphics on a console because generally PC or CGI film making or whatever has always been ahead of even new console launches. Especially during the early gens when arcades were prominent. Yet I was still impressed by many console games during those days.
Also beyond just the visuals is the game itself. It was by far and away one of the best 3D platformers of all time at its point of release. PC games included.
eddfromtheriver
Banned
I know, the PS1 had angular graphics as well but somehow... the graphics looked nicer to me (sans texture-warping issue).
decoyplatypus
Member
I was eight or nine the first time I played it. My brothers got to stay home from school after having some teeth removed, so my parents rented an N64 and Mario 64 for them to play. I had no idea until I came home later that day. My initial reaction was disbelief. The 3D graphics combined with the monumental unfairness of my brothers getting to stay home and play a new videogame system without me made the whole thing pretty hard to wrap my head around. Every cool new thing--a peguin! a slide! a koopa shell you can surf on!--made me so jealous that I begged to have a tooth pulled the next day.
If you look at Banjo Kazooie and Sunshine (in the main stages) you'll notice one peculiar thing: an almost complete lack of traditional platforming obstacles.
Rotating platforms. Spinning blocks. Sinking stands. Ground that slips away and falls beneath your fit. From what I remember of Banjo, it has almost none of this. Sunshine has a bit more, but it's few and far between, and it rarely places a series of them deliberately between you and your objective.
The (top part) of the Pianta village level is pure Banjo. A flat, square grid with a bunch of hills placed haphazardly around the map. No platforming obstacles . Certainly nothing resembling a path you have to take. Gelato beach is the same thing. It's as if Rare and then EAD decided to make a bunch of hub levels as the main levels.
Mario 64 on the other hand is an extremely clever little bastard. Many of the levels are spirals with strong vertical elements. A hilltop. A fortress. A snowy mountain. A tall tall mountain. A clock. It takes a star, and it puts it at the top, or sometimes at the bottom of the level. You've got to work to get it. You have to pass the traditional obstacles the designers purposefully put in front of you on an obvious path. Off the beaten path are opportunities for exploration and hence your other stars.
But, that's only half the story. The tight spiraling structure of a Whomp's Fortress or Tick Tock Clock means endless opportunities for creative platforming. And Mario's mechanics allow you to take full advantage of them.
Mario 64 never forgot it was a platformer. Maneuvering up and down Whomp's Fortress, with its vertical structure and obstacles and enemies which are all trying to kill you, is a lot more interesting to me than meandering around Gelato Beach with its static trees and static beach houses and static mountain path. I still think Mario 64 is the only game to get open 3D platforming stage design correct.
I didn't like Mario 64 at all. The controls always felt "off" to me. That probably has more to do with the N64's analog stick than anything, though. I bought it several years later for the DS, and I still didn't really care for it.
They got it right with Mario Sunshine, though. I really enjoyed everything from the GameCube and on. Galaxy was fantastic, too.
They got it right with Mario Sunshine, though. I really enjoyed everything from the GameCube and on. Galaxy was fantastic, too.
ReturnOfTheRAT
Member
Short story time.
Had it pre-ordered along with an N64 because it was launch time. My dad got the call from the local Software Etc. that it was ready for pickup. We went to the mall, picked it up and came home. I sat down and was ready to play, but couldn't. Why? because either the cartridge didn't fit the console or the cartridge slot itself was misshapen. We went back to the store twice as fast and told the employee who was there about it. We had to replicate the issue in the store and found out the console was the console was the problem. The game fit in their demo units and worked. My console was borked so another one was brought out, opened, and tested in the store. It worked, so we were on our way.
The first reply conveys my experience when firing it up at home. The music, the graphics, the flyby of the castle, all amazing.
Had it pre-ordered along with an N64 because it was launch time. My dad got the call from the local Software Etc. that it was ready for pickup. We went to the mall, picked it up and came home. I sat down and was ready to play, but couldn't. Why? because either the cartridge didn't fit the console or the cartridge slot itself was misshapen. We went back to the store twice as fast and told the employee who was there about it. We had to replicate the issue in the store and found out the console was the console was the problem. The game fit in their demo units and worked. My console was borked so another one was brought out, opened, and tested in the store. It worked, so we were on our way.
The first reply conveys my experience when firing it up at home. The music, the graphics, the flyby of the castle, all amazing.
B_Spooky13
Member
I was 11 years old when it came out... I saw previews of it in Nintendo Power... mind blown
Zuhzuhzombie!!
Member
Similar threads
- Featured