It is undeniable that in the video game sector Nintendo plays in another league. Its consoles do not bet on power to offer visually exceptional experiences due to their graphic quality, but they always try to offer unforgettable gameplay with its products or the titles it develops, something that those who have ever played the mythical Super Mario 64 can attest to.
It doesn’t matter that almost 30 years have passed since it went on sale in Nintendo 64, because great masterpieces are not affected by the passage of time and are still worth playing whenever they are. Without a doubt, that is what happens with this epic Mario adventure that at the time saw the light of day on the 64-bit console of the great N.
Since then it has received an adaptation for Nintendo DS with the name of Super Mario 64 DS and more recently it was part of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection that was temporarily sold on Nintendo Switch. Even so, thanks to the subscription of Nintendo Switch Online you can play this great classic whenever you want if you are pointed in turn to your expansion pack.
Mario’s leap from 2D to 3D
Why this installment starring our beloved plumber was so revolutionary is because until then the only titles in which we had seen him were 2D adventures, so Nintendo dared to bet for something totally different. Not only at a general level in the franchise and its consoles, but also in video games.
Compared to what we are used to today, at that time it was not so common to get to see any title in 3D. That is why this particular one is always so remembered for how it allowed us to move our character in any direction freely and not along some scenarios with a beginning and an end. Here even new types of jumps and ways of attacking were added that provided a greater variety of movements when controlling Mario.
In addition, it also meant a beastly leap at the technological level, because it went from 16-bit games on the mythical Super Nintendo to four times more powerful. These are details to take into account and for which there is no doubt that super mario 64 established a before and after in the world of video games.
In search of the 120 stars
Something that also made very different to super mario 64 The rest of his platform adventures is that we were used to having to overcome worlds one after another until we reached the end and rescued Princess Peach. Here instead, practically from the beginning you have the ability to go wherever you want and go completing the different worlds in the order that you most want.
More than anything because the purpose is to go collecting the 120 stars that have been scattered throughout Princess Peach’s Castle and also throughout 15 different phases, each with its own theme and challenges. As soon as you’re jumping on a stage with meadows and enemies like Bomb-ombs and Goombas, then suddenly you’re going to the snow with penguins and snowmen with very bad tempers.
Concretely, in each world there are seven different stars to obtain and some of them require that we have a certain amount to access them. For this reason, it is not necessary to finish one of them completely before jumping to the next one. What’s more, sometimes it is impossible because it is essential to have new powers thanks to the caps that Mario can unlock that give him special powers, such as flying through the skies, becoming metallic or invisible.
It must also be recognized that some of the stars are very well hidden and even require some skill from the controls to get them, although many of them are easy to reach. The truth is there is everything so that no one has an uphill adventure in no time, because the most complicated ones are usually in the final stretch and by then it is normal to have perfectly mastered Mario’s jumps, his punches, kicks, the bomb jump, bouncing off the walls and much more.
The gameplay is one of the greatest strengths of this adventure because of how fun it is and because how it hooks you when it comes to wanting to get all the stars in the game. Some of them are simply visible, but there are also others that involve defeating bosses, destroying blocks and elements on the stage, or collecting up to a hundred coins, which in turn invites you not to leave a single corner unexplored.
All this leaves us with a combination so that super mario 64 It is so entertaining from beginning to end and that it is one of those games for which you never find the moment to want to let go of the controls. Hence, it is understandable that on Metacritic it can boast of having an average score of 94 and of being one of the most exceptional games that Nintendo has developedHence, a similar proposal has been followed with Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy or Super Mario Odyssey, which does not mean that all of them also have their own characteristics that make them so special.
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