Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

40 to 100 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Masterpiece"

Super Mario 64 (N64)

Back when N64 was all the rage, my friend got one before me. It was a turning point. We both only had a couple of sports and fighting games for our SNES machines, the last time we saw Mario, he still had to run under Bowser to take the axe and cut the bridge, so you can imagine how our little minds were blown when we first booted up Super Mario 64.

What? Mario's face in 3D? What's this camera nonsense? What do I do? Yeah, for the time, 3D controls were a new thing for us, but I just can't believe that this game actually did it right from the first try. Replaying it again, it feels way better than some games that came throughout the years.
As far as the story goes, it's Super Mario. Princess Peach invites Mario for some cake, but upon arriving to her castle Mario learns that Bowser came there first and imprisoned Peach and her loyal servants with the power of stars, which Mario has to collect, defeat Bowser and save princess Peach. You explore the castle and enter, let's call them stages, through pictures scattered around, which contain obstacle courses and objectives that after completion reward you a star.

The levels are wonderfully designed; the overall atmosphere puts you in a cheerful mood, even on the worst days. It somehow manages to high wire a design line between being obnoxiously colorful and the maximum happiness capacity, while keeping a cool vibe about itself, but don't let those pretty colors and cute figures fool you, to collect all stars you have to think a little outside of the box. The puzzles are very creative, and again, Nintendo found a perfect middle ground to keep them on the right difficulty level for all ages.
I don't need to talk much about the sound design, since we're talking about Nintendo here. Anything they make come out of your speakers will have you hum tunes from the games for the rest of your life, and Super Mario 64 is no exception. I still have the jingle when you collect a star as my notification ringtone.

Pros:
• Excellent design
• Timeless mechanics
• Fun for everyone
This game is just another piece of evidence that Nintendo pretty much set the standard for all games that followed, but they also incorporated the perfect balance in design and mechanics, which is why their games are timeless. If you don't have it, get it, I guarantee fun with Mario 64.
Rating: 10.
-Petar
GameNTrade Ltd.