Welcome to the debut article for Super Review 64. This will be a series of reviews for games for the Nintendo 64. With the N64 now in its 20th year of life, it's definitely a good time to start looking back at one of Nintendo's more bolder consoles. It took many classic franchises into the 3rd dimension, helped in popularizing genres like First-Person Shooters and in the case of one developer had a run of games that were truly Rare delicacies. But it's best to start at the beginning, and no better a start than with Super Mario 64.
Before we get to Mario, let's talk about the system first. The third generation of Nintendo consoles, the Nintendo 64 was first conceived in 1993 when Nintendo aligned themselves with Silicon Graphics Incorporated to work on what was then dubbed "Project Reality" a console focused on 3D games, as the industry itself was moving forward into a 32 Bit gaming industry. The system, later dubbed the Ultra 64 was then slated for a 1995 release, but due to multiple issues, had to be delayed until 1996, unfortunately leaving rivals Sony and Sega to have a good year into the market to gain momentum over Nintendo.
Finally though, in June of 1996, the Nintendo 64 was released in Japan and later in the rest of the world throughout 1996 and 1997. Among the new abilities of 3D gaming with more fully expansive worlds that had since been impossible to the console, the N64 also changed the concept of controls with its infamous controller and its analog stick. While, not the most intuitive device, the controller worked fine for what it was needed for.
Sales for the System were strong, capping about 32 million units from up until the system's discontinuation in 2003, giving the console roughly eight years of life, though in terms of time in the limelight, it was more like five years tops. And despite not having the strong backing of licensees as previous consoles (notably the loss of Squaresoft to Sony), the system chugged along and still managed to release a slew of classic carts. And among them was our game to review, Super Mario 64.
The concept of a 3D Mario game was something that creator Shigeru Miyamoto had in mind since the creation of the FX Chip for the Super Nintendo. But since the SNES wasn't strong enough to support a fully 3D Mario experience, he instead pushed the idea into the N64 as the game was in development alongside the console. As such, it was a launch title for the console. It would go on to be the best selling game for the N64 with over 11 million copies sold worldwide.
The story to Super Mario 64 is no different than any other Mario game. Mario is invited to Princess Peach's castle (the first time she was referred to as Peach in a game outside of Japan) for cake, but when he arrives in the castle, he discovers that once again Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser. To rescue her, Mario has to find the power stars that have been hidden throughout the castle. Once again it's up to Mario to save the princess and stop Bowser.
Super Mario 64 is a one player action platformer. You control Mario with the analog stick, can jump with A, attack with B, squat with the Z button and control the camera with the C-buttons. Mario has been equipped with more abilities than in any normal adventure. He can punch and kick, double and triple jump, can do backflips, do a long jump and even wall jump. It helps to make Mario feel more athletic and fun to play with than ever before. Controlling Mario feels smooth and responsive as it should.
The object of the game is to traverse the castle to find the power stars. Levels in the game are found in the many paintings scattered throughout the castle. Once entered into these stages, you have a set number of tasks to undergo to collect the stars in each level. For example in Bob-Omb Battlefield, you have to defeat King Bob-Omb for one star, then race Koopa the Quick to the top of the mountain for the next star, use a cannon to shoot to the island in the sky, and so on. Each world has six stars to collect in missions and one extra star collected for earning 100 coins.
What makes level exploration in Super Mario 64 so fun is that it's non-linear for the most part. You can often choose which order you want to collect stars in each level (unless you have to unlock a path in a stage). Each level brings back classic foes like the Goombas, Shy Guys, Bob-Ombs and Koopa Troopas, just to name a few. And the game relies more heavily on puzzle solving to earn those stars.
There are 15 worlds total, each with 7 stars to collect. The aforementioned Bob-Omb Battlefield, Whomp's Fortress, Jolly Roger Bay, Cool Cool Mountain, Shifting Sand land, The Tick Tock Clock, and Tiny-Huge Island just to name a few. Each with unique missions. From racing a penguin down a frost slide, to entering a pyramid and facing two giant hand bosses, there's enough variety to keep you interested in what challenge awaits you next.
Since this is a Mario game, there are power ups, but unlike prior titles, they come in the form of three hats you unlock during the game. The wing cap allows Mario the ability to fly in the air for a brief period of time. The metal cap turns Mario metal, allowing him to sink underwater and keeping him from being trapped in currents. Finally the invisible cap allows Mario to turn invisible and go through walls that often lead to treasure. Each have to be unlocked in their own levels hidden throughout the castle.
After collecting a set number of stars, you can enter one of three Bowser levels where after going through some tough platforming, you'll square off with the king of Koopas himself. The trick to beating him is grabbing his tail and spinning him around, throwing him into one of the spiked mines located around the arena. Beating Bowser the first two times get you keys that allow you to go further into the castle. After getting 70 stars, you'll face Bowser one last time to save Peach and end the game.
So, what do you get for collecting all 120 of the game's stars? You can open a canon that will allow you to shoot to the castle roof and meet with Yoshi, who will give you 100 lives, which you can use to play around in the castle with. Other than that, there isn't too much to getting the 120 stars other than the feeling of completion.
The game's soundtrack was done by the legendary Koji Kondo and he offers another amazing musical experience. All the songs are amazing, mixing the peppy and energetic sound of Mario games to some great fitting tunes like the hauntingly beautiful Jolly Roger Bay and the daunting Bowser levels. The game also features voice work, notably one of the first major appearances of Mario's voice actor Charles Martinet (who debuted prior in Mario's Fun 'N Games). He adds a fun slice of Italian stereotype to the character that just makes him all the more charming.
On a graphical level, the game looks great. Yes, it's blocky by today's standards, but when considering the console games of that era it still looks amazing. Worlds feel bigger and more expansive than in any Mario game before it and the characters are all detailed and charming. It feels like the step into the future that the Mario franchise needed for the time. I even love the minor details like being able to manipulate Mario's face on the title screen, or even certain events knocking Mario's cap off his head. It's nice details like that that add to the amazing nature of the game.
Overall, Super Mario 64 is still a great game that holds up fantastically. It has the right amount of challenge to it, never feeling too unfair, but never feeling too easy, especially in the last few levels of the game. It offers a great amount of freedom to the players and the levels are still a treat to play through and have fun in. It's easily one of the greatest launch titles in Nintendo history and is a must-play for any gaming aficionado.
Rating: A+
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