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Your initial impressions playing Mario 64?

I initially missed out on the PSX and Saturn (didn't get a PSX until sometime after Goldeneye) And I never owned a PC. So I went straight from games like Donkey Kong Country 3 and Yoshi's Island to Mario 64. And the only thing I can compare it to was like playing a video game again for the very first time. Everything felt new and fresh and to a 12 year old it was the best god damn thing in the world.
There have been games since that are way better then Mario 64 and I've been there when the wheel has been reinvented over the years. But no game has ever made me feel the way I did when I experienced Mario 64 for the first time.
 
I was blown away by how it looked, then frustrated by being unable to make the precise jumps that I was used to making, then after adjusting to that, I was drawn in by the open, discovery-driven levels, in exactly that order.

It's one of the games that made me feel like games had reached a level that I never would have dreamt of as a four-year-old kid playing Bowling on Atari 2600.
 
I played with a japanese imported N64 the same week it launched, and before that I tried to reach that moment as virgin as possible: no pics, no magazines, no previews... çman, the impact was unforgettable!!

'Am I really controlling THIS??? This is not a video??' were probably my first phrases...
 
Aeana said:
I was really blown away. I first played it at a demo kiosk at Toys R Us before the system was actually released, and I spent the entire day there playing it with my mouth agape. I'd never played anything like it, and it was so fun too.
Click to expand...

^^^ Exactly this.

I was probably around 13-14 at the time. My friend/neighbor, who could drive at the time, and I would go to Toys R Us a couple times a week to play the kiosks they had, I think they had 3 or 4 setup. The first time seeing it we must have played it for 2 plus hours in pure amazement. I have yet to feel such "wonderment" in gaming since. Ocarina of Time was close.
 
Thing I remember most was that Mario would start sleeping if you put down the controller for a while. It made my whole family chuckle the first time.
 
Overall, I remember it being pretty magical. I was 21 or 22 at the time, and I'd imported a Japanese N64 and SM64... I can't remember how much it cost, but it was probably ridiculous, like $6-700?

Anyway, the first thing that struck me was the draw distance, none of the polygons/textures stretched like they did early on in the 32-bit generation, and the analog smoothness of Mario's controls was eye-opening. Little details like Mario laying down to sleep as an idle animation also added to its charm.

The wavy effect on the paintings and the liquid metal Mario stuff was also quite impressive to me visually.

By the same token, things about the camera's limited movement bothered me, and obviously, not being able to read most of the game's text probably took away a little bit from the clarity of objectives and story.

The actual geometry in the game never impressed me though either, since I'd already been playing superior 3D games on PC for years, but in the context of consoles, it was a wonderfully iconic moment for me. :)
 
jres80 said:
ik49VlPshlPIz.gif
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First post nailed it.

This is exactly how I reacted after seeing it for the first time. I'll never forget being at this local game shop where I live called Game Bros.. The owner imported N64s from Japan and had one hooked up with Mario 64 running. There was probably about a dozen of us or more gathered around the TV watching him play it. Seeing Mario in a 3D world for the first time was jaw-dropping. I was in awe. I've never had that same sort of reaction to a new console/game that equals that moment since then.
 
TheMagician said:
What did you find difficult? You just held the middle handle if you were using the analogue.
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Young me really wanted to use the DPAD at the time since it just had been how things always were. That and I've never liked the N64 controller, it just didn't feel good in the hands to me having half of it unused.
 
i was a younger kid obviously
i didnt think it was anything special
i grew up with the snes and genesis but the visual leap didnt have much of an impact that i can remember
games just went from 2d to 3d one day and that was that

i preferred (and still do prefer) Banjo Kazooie
 
Aeana said:
I was really blown away. I first played it at a demo kiosk at Toys R Us before the system was actually released, and I spent the entire day there playing it with my mouth agape. I'd never played anything like it, and it was so fun too.
Click to expand...

Bro fist. My exact experience. I was so awestruck that I refused to give the controller up and I remember a Toys R Us employee coming over and forcing me to hand it over.

It is the single most awe-inspiring game I have ever played.

EBE said:
i was a younger kid obviously
i didnt think it was anything special
i grew up with the snes and genesis but the visual leap didnt have much of an impact that i can remember
games just went from 2d to 3d one day and that was that

i preferred (and still do prefer) Banjo Kazooie
Click to expand...

I mean this in the nicest way possible but......


What the hell was wrong with you
 
My memory is a bit fuzzy because I first played the game at age 5 or 6, but it was a mind blowing experience. One of the first console games I ever played and one that will always stick with me. My friend and I had to spend a good few hours just exploring outside the castle and being amazed we could climb trees.
 
EBE said:
i was a younger kid obviously
i didnt think it was anything special
i grew up with the snes and genesis but the visual leap didnt have much of an impact that i can remember
games just went from 2d to 3d one day and that was that

i preferred (and still do prefer) Banjo Kazooie
Click to expand...
You played Banjo Kazooie before Super Mario 64?
 
I first played it at a demo kiosk at Toys R Us. The 3D looked very clean, but I was more into PC games (Quake 1 had just released) and the PlayStation. Mostly I just felt confused as to why they'd put Mario in an open 3D world. I also remember thinking that the controller for the N64 had way too many buttons. My general impression was, Mario had become way too complicated and had diverged too much from 'classic' tightly-orchestrated Mario gameplay.

I probably still have the same opinion of it. Though I respect the innovation and the daring to try something different.
 
Got an N64 for my 17th birthday, my upgrade from the SNES.

My jaw dropped and I've never had a game do that to me since.

Maybe VR will be the next thing to do that to me.
 
I was so young and had had so little experience with video games prior to playing Super Mario 64 that I honestly didn't even realize what a big deal the game was. I really liked it though. While I had played several games previously, even other Mario games, SM64 was probably the very first game I actually beat. Definitely the first game that I got really hooked on at least, and the one that got me very interested in video games.
 
I didn't like it at all, and still don't. It was revolutionary, but I didn't think of it as a good game.

But then again I've never been a Mario fan, and of the Mario games I've played SMB3 and SMG are the only two I'd call truly great games.
 
I was 7 and played it at a friend's house and I was absolutely enamored with it. IIRC the only console I had played prior was an NES I got at a garage sale

Ended up getting an N64 and Mario 64 for my birthday and I played it every minute I could until I got 120 stars
 
Jumping flash? really? lol. Even looking back now, when all of the tiny differences between those games that seemed so huge at the time are compressed to nothing, that game looks like poop (though honestly I can barely stand to look at any PS1 game, they're pretty bad).

Better graphics may have been had at arcades, but the whole point is that you get to have that in your home. It's like not being awed by the first clear big screen TV because you've been to a movie theater before.

To answer the question, I think all N64 games blew my mind initially. I had a friend with a huge projection TV and I'd hang out there after school and soak in everything I could until that christmas when I finally got my own N64.
 
It was the most amazing thing I'd seen in my 12 years of existence. Though I like other games more, I've never had a "wow" moment like that with another video game since.

Oh, and the first time I saw it was with that N64 preview tape from Nintendo Power. THREEEE SIXTYYYY

then I played it at Toys R Us
 
Aeana said:
I was really blown away. I first played it at a demo kiosk at Toys R Us before the system was actually released, and I spent the entire day there playing it with my mouth agape. I'd never played anything like it, and it was so fun too.
Click to expand...

Same here. I was sad that day that I had bought a PlayStation and hadn't waited for the Nintendo 64. Looking back fhough, I have no regrets.
 
My friend got an N64 on release day here in the UK, but I didn't get mine for another 4 weeks (until my 15th birthday). At that age, every day felt like a year waiting until I could get my hands on the next generation of gaming.

I'd seen him flying around Bob-omb Summit briefly on day 1 and couldn't believe the upgrade from my little SNES.

My tiny mind was well and truly blown
 
It was blurry. And hard to control. I also remember being angry all the time for not having a N64. Spyro had to be its replacement for me.
 
I didn't like it. Gone was the precision jumping. Why couldn't I just jump on the goombas? Also, why was Mario throwing punches? And a life bar? "Wtf is this shit? Why won't the camera hold still and allow me to see what I want to see?!?"

Playing it more has changed my opinion, though it's still my least favorite 3d Mario game. I can enjoy it now, but have never fully gotten over those first impressions.
 
antitrop said:
You played Banjo Kazooie before Super Mario 64?
Click to expand...

around the same time
i did not own an n64 at launch although i likely played Mario at a friends house or something

i think something about mario's more realistic visual style put me off from liking it as a boy
mario was a bit more abstract and cartoony in 2d. in 3d he looked kinda scary and off putting (that weird face morphing/pulling thing didnt help either, although it was undeniably neat)
 
I was 15 when the game was released. Played it at a Future Shop kiosk and I didn't really know how to hold the N64 controller at first. But once I got to gripes with that the game controlled like a dream. Just the level of degrees of motion and the nimbleness of Mario was more than impressive.
 
I'd already owned a PS1 and been really into some of the 3D platformers like Jumping Flash, but upon playing Mario 64 for the first time, my first basic impressions were "Wow. This is great. I love Jumping Flash, but this is something completely new and different. It doesn't play quite like the 2D Marios, but that's okay. Exploring and collecting these stars and experiencing NEXT-GEN SUPER MARIO is so much fun. I guess I need to own this console too now. This Italian Mickey Mouse voice is not what I was expecting after watching so much of the early '90s Mario cartoons."
 
The music and sounds are what really brought this game to life for me.

Walking in an amazing vibrant 3d world has made insanely better by the sounds and music.

I couldn't believe what I was playing at the time.
 
I had a PS1 and never got the N64. Didn't get to play this game at release, but did years later. It still impressed then, just for design alone.

What we did get back then on PS1 though, just a few months later, was the first Tomb Raider. That was similarly mindblown.gif worthy.
 
I played it as 6 year old and hated it; that convinced me I didn't like Mario games. Then I played sunshine when I was 9 and realized I love Mario games. To this day I still have more fun with sunshine then I ever did with 64. Not that the latter is a bad game, I just really loved the setting, atmosphere, and mobility of sunshine.
 
Dunno. I never played Mario 64 due to Next Generation claiming it was "The Greatest Game Of All Time."

I didn't want to be spoiled for all other gaming.
 
Played it first at a Wal-mart display.

It was pretty great. I wasn't a fan of Playstation at the time and I don't think I ever touched a PS1 Analog controller but the N64 controller and Mario's camera system, compared to the PC standard at the time, were revelatory to me. It was like playing a PC game but on the console that was faster and responsive!
 
I received a Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 for my birthday when I was, I dunno, 12 or whatever. I can't be bothered to math right now.

So we hooked it up and started playing it at my birthday party, aka I had a few friends over.

Except by "we" I mean "me", and I didn't want to let anyone else play and threw a tantrum when my mom made me let other people play. Then she made me sit in the corner, unable to watch, for like ten minutes.

...I think I liked it??
 
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