Super Mario 64 (1996)

Clearly the fact that this exists tells me that it appeals to people, but it feels like we've now hit the 3D equivalent of pixel over sharpening that happens with emulated 8- and 16-bit games. There's something off putting about this, maybe even uncanny. I think I prefer the original blocky look of N64 games, which is partially why I am glad the 3D All Stars version of Mario 64 isn't a remake or remaster. I have seen plenty of comments on articles featuring this video from people who wish the contrary. Because once again, some people would prefer playing a better looking remake than play the original game.

(P.S. I am in Old Man Yells at Cloud mode this week.)

This game was my uncontested GOAT game for a long time, mostly due to it being my number one childhood darling. After having replayed it, it's pretty clear that it's not as perfect as I remember it being, but it's still a damn great experience. It's impressive how such an old game can still be so fun to just sit down play. Even mindlessly running around in the area outside Peach's Castle or running through its halls feels good. Honestly this game still has some of the best movement controls in the entirety of gaming --- the Super Mario series has nailed the art of simply moving in a 3D, which I appreciate a lot when so many games even today feel so clunky and slow.

Things I noticed this time around that never bothered me as a child for some reason:

1. The obvious one, that camera. It's a real pain, and sometimes it seems to actively work against the player. Even in areas that aren't some off the beaten path places, just your regular paths to the star, there's always a wall or object getting in the way - I especially noticed in Tick Tock Clock, which is a shame because otherwise I really appreciate it as a straightforward obstacle course which had a clever star progression. Even in more open areas, sometimes you can't get the camera to let you look at the platform you want to jump to.
2. Some levels are just too slow-paced. Not specific stars, but the entire level itself seemingly conspiring so that traversing it will be as annoying as possible. It's a bit impressive how movement in the outer garden hub is so much fun but some of the levels, the main attraction themselves, feel so slow. This only applies to Dire, Dire Docks, Jolly Roger Bay and to a lesser extent Rainbow Ride, where you're stuck waiting for the carpet ride to reach its destination without much to do in-between. This is a Mario game, I want to jump and run and try to master my moves to travel even faster through the maps, not slowly swim towards red coins or wait until I'm on land to have fun again.
3. This is something that only came to mind after having played Odyssey, but getting kicked out of the levels really destroys the momentum of the gameplay. It mostly affects the 100 coins challenges, forcing you to go into a course for that challenge specifically as trying to do any other star during the coin collecting will kick you out of the level and reset your progress, so you'll have to go back through all the coins you collected once again. It's a real pain, and I really felt the differnce when compared to Odyssey's purple coins, which you'd find while exploring the level, and the game never forced you to go back and collected them again if you got interrupted by some moon or something.

Ordering non-bowser levels by how much fun I had playing through them:

1. Shifting Sand Land - Probable the largest level, with endless ways to travel through. Varied Star challenges, all being cool and interesting in their own way, a super cool boss battle, and has an inside and outside area, both of which are big and awesome to explore. The ideal level.
2. Whomp's Fortress - So many ways to climb the level, and it's always so much fun to move around it. As a child this used to be my favorite level to just go in and move/jump around, without any specific objectives in mind.
3. Cool, Cool Mountain - I used to not like ice levels as a kid very much because I had trouble with all the sliding and slippery surfaces, but after replaying it and trying the Green Demon challenge in this stage it became one of my favorites. Despite being a pretty tall course full of slides it's so easy to move around from the top to the bottom and back up again.
4. Wet-Dry World and Hazy Maze Cave - The most interesting thing about these levels to me is the way the stars are hidden, and how the player needs to puzzle things together to find them. It's a very special feeling zooming in and seeing a star hanging in the distance, or behind bars in a cage, and wondering how to find it. Exploring the level to find a way to reach it. These levels feel so mysterious, with several hidden areas that always made me feel like I was unearthing secrets every time I went through them.
5. Bob-omb Battlefield - A classic. It's the perfect introductory level for a new player to understand what it means to play this game, but it's still super fun to play and walk around in. It's easy and fun to traverse and gives you a lot of flexibility in how to proceed through the star challenges. It's just overall great. 3D Mario games are at their best when they give the player flexibility of traversal and movement.
6. Lethal Lava Land - A straightforward obstacle course. The lava adds a really interesting challenge element to the level, and the volcano is super cool. I love how after finishing the star challenges you unlock a koopa shell to zoom through the entire level freely. It feels really great.
7. Big Boo's Haunt - This course used to scare me as a child. I might still have some residue feelings of those times because I still get tense upon entering it despite there not being anything particularly dangerous in here, lol (no lethal falls or OHKO enemies). I love the sense of mystery it has, as is usual with boo houses.
8. Tall, Tall Mountain - I really like this stage. Somehow it feels so refreshing to play to me, even though it's designed in a way that you have to go through the same path several times it never felt tedious to me. Despite how linear and straight-forward it seems the stars are really cleverly hidden and I always had a challenging time puzzling through what I was supposed to do to get them. Made me really enjoy this stage. Also, the monkeys are super cute, I love them!
9. Tick Tock Clock - I love the idea of this level and how you can change the difficulty level by switching the clock's speed, with cleverly hidden stars that make you want to explore the level despite how linear it seems at first, but the camera makes it not very fun to go through more often than not, especially since you have to climb the clock tower several times.
10. Tiny, Huge Island - The gimmick didn't really work well imo, and going back into the level for a new star and having to go through the motions of leaving that first area always felt boring and annoying. Most of the star challenges sans the boss battle, red coins and koopa race felt really uninspired too.
11. Snowman's Land - I like the ice maze and some of the challenges, but it's pretty small all things considered, with really not much to do. What really damns this stage for me is that damn giant snowman blowing air on the bridge and the slow, slow penguin you need to ride to cross it. It's the worst every single time.

Worst levels:

1. Dire, Dire Docks - The worst level in the game. It throws you into the water and keeps you there most of the time. It's slow and a slog to go through from end to end. The 100 coins challenge feels slow and annoying since you're just swimming along from end to end.
2. Jolly Roger Bay - It's mostly the same as DDD, but it has more land areas, the star challenges are at least actually interesting to figure out and cleverly hidden, and hey, it at least has a cool looking sunken ship.
3. Rainbow Ride - It's not a horrible stage, but the long periods of waiting without nothing to do standing on the flying carpet make this otherwise challenging level feel like a slog for at least 4 of its stars. The stars that don't require the carpet riding are great though, and it's fun to find out ways to jump through the level without using the flying carpet.

Besides that, all Bowser levels are great, straightforward platforming challenges. All fun, especially when you factor in red coin collecting.

Also: Peach's Castle is the best hub world in any video game I've played. It's straightforward and easy to travers, but still has its own secrets and mysterious places and even puzzles for you to figure out, without it ever becoming a hindrance.

All in all, this mostly served me to realize just how much Mario Odyssey polished out so many of the flaws of this game, how much smoother it is to play, and how good the design of its worlds are. It never feels slow, it makes the coin collecting element amazing and interesting by keeping your progress and not forcing you to go through the same things you already did, traversing every world never feels like a hassle at all, going from end to end of a level always feels like a pleasure, like simple concentrated fun, it has its own separate platforming challenge rooms that don't interfere with the sandbox element, and the sense of adventure of looking at something in the distance and going there is always amazing. Mario Odyssey is really the uncontested best 3D Mario game.