There are many people who speculate about how games from over 15 years ago compare to games today, like how they look, how they feel, and if older games from the past are still fun to revisit or even discover for the first time. Especially when you consider how many good games are being released or are already released and available to purchase right now. You might think there is no reason to go back but here is a game that should give most people a reason to do just that.
Story:
Super Mario 64 has a story much similar to the other games in the Super Mario franchise. Bowser the king of koopa's has kidnapped the princess and this time has her sealed inside the castle and the only way to save her is to collect enough power stars to make it to the top of the castle, defeat Bowser and save the princess once again. (fingers crossed you actually get some real cake this time for your effort)
The Impact:
The amount of things to point out what this game does right will simply take forever. However what sticks out the most is how well the game has aged. In the mid to late 90s games were just getting into 3D and honestly not every game translated well from 2D to 3D. The main reason why this game was recognized as a revolutionary game at the time it was released was because of how much it surprised gamers. Most people were reluctant to believe 3D could work in a video game especially seeing other attempts at 3D from other games go so wrong. This game in particular did 3D so well that even after 19 years it is still a game you can have no problem getting into even if your someone who is into more recent games. Now there are not as many 3D platformers being released now then there were back then to compare, however that might just be a good reason to play this one if you missed the chance to do so up to this point.
Control:
Most of the control for this game is simply spot on. Being able to use the Nintendo 64's analog stick to move Mario around makes the game easy to navigate. You of course also have the option to jump, punch, and kick your way through this game among other things. The only thing that you may have trouble with is the camera. Sometimes you can get into situations where the camera simply doesn't cooperate and can take time to move yourself through complex parts of levels in the game where changing the camera angle is either necessary or helpful. Overall problems in the controls are far and few in between so there is no need to worry on that.
Graphics:
Now i am sure we are all aware that this game doesn't do outputs of 1080p at 60fps however if you take a look at the date of this game you cant judge based on the graphics of today's games, but you can compare it to other games made around the same year and see how much of a difference this game makes over its counterparts. If there is any game that stands up even a little bit this game is definitely the best in its time. The verdict is that the graphics are colorful, easy to plan a route to play though the game and being able to enjoy the game without worrying about getting lost and end up going off track from the games main objective.
Overall:
In the end there isn't a good reason to pass this game up it might even be worth a revisit one day to help yourself think back in time when a game we can make look so old be so new for its time. Another good thing is that finding this game wont be difficult. Your two main options for getting this game are either buying the actual cartridge and a Nintendo 64, if necessary of course. Or downloading the game from either of Nintendo's virtual console store's. Both the Wii and Wii u's virtual console store can offer you a up to date version of the game with up-scaling of the game's graphics, faster loading times, less lag, and for the Wii u version you can of course play on the Wii u game-pad. This is a game you have to play at some point in your life to appreciate gaming for how far its come since the early days.