After a brief dip into the dunkey thread on the game I figured I'd take a more structure approach to this argument.
I'll preface this by saying that I completely understand why this game is so beloved. It pioneered 3D Platformers, and 3D games in general. Many people consider the game to control Perfectly, with Perfect levels and Perfect design etc. The game was a spectacular leap forward for our industry and I love what it has done for games as a medium and for the industry as a whole. I respect this game, but I don't like it. I think it is terrible. I hate it.
And obviously, obviously this is an opinion piece. I am not trying to convince people that this is an awful game but I'm just putting forward the reasons why this game, that is so universally revered, is not enjoyable to me (and maybe some others). So without further adieu:
1. The Context (Hub World and Stars)
Starting here makes sense to me. I don't like the castle, I think it is the root cause of a lot of my grievances about this game but just from a design standpoint I don't think it's very well implemented. Having this weird maze-like structure that is, in-universe, supposed to be some sort of place that people live and operate in always struck me weirdly. It felt like "Hey, Peach is a princess, she has a castle. Lets go with that." which led to "how do we get all these worlds in here?" which led to... paintings I guess. How do we get them to play the levels in order? "Uhhh... mario has stars right? Lets go with that. You need x stars for certain doors" etc. Its just excuse after excuse eithout any real reason apart from "thats the easiest way to get these things into the game". It's a small gripe but imo an important one because a game being contextual within itself is something that always draws me in and makes me care about the world even if it's an incredibly game-y world, the smallest touch goes a long way to making me feel better about how it's presented.
In SMB1 it's a mad dash through all the levels to reach the princess. You are left, Peach is right. Go get her. Mario is travelling from place to place hunting what he thinks is Bowser/The princess but it turns out to be someone/somewhere else. There's a sense of urgency that, at a very base level gives you context and drives you through level to level. It's barely there but it's something, and something is enough. In SMB3 it's the same but with an actual overworld which goes leaps and bounds into establishing the place that you're in. Again with Super Mario World.
In the games since SM64 you have Isle Delfino (Sunshine) which is a great hub world. You still have the slight obfuscation with how you get to the places but they are all depicted as actual places in the world that you're in, and the Shine Sprites are posited to be the power source of the islands and the source of their sunshine. Galaxy has the observatory which is powered by stars, and each level is a planet in a solar system. Odyssey has you travelling around the world collecting fuel for your ship. These are small touches but they ground the game in a way that I find Super Mario 64 to be severely lacking.
2. The Objectives
I cannot stand getting booted from the stage after every single objective. I think it is the most flow-breaking thing in any game I've played and it feels like its there purely to pad the length of the experience. Start the level with a vague hint, search the thing trying to find what its referring to, do the thing (which, in my experience, more often than not ended up being a poor/simple platforming exercise or a fetch quest under various disguises) and start all over again from the very beginning. Repeat ad nauseum. It didnt feel like the playground it was presented as, but rather a series of menial chores with a frustrating amount of repitition.
Now I understand that some of the objectives required minor redesigns to the stage but imo there are far better ways to implement those changes without needing to boot you every time.
3. The Controls
Mario just doesn't feel right to me. Maybe its the N64 analog stick, maybe its just not my style but in this game he has always felt floaty, sluggish and weird. I feel very similarly about the Donkey Kong Country Returns/Tropical Freeze games where they sacrificed snappy and responsive controls for more "realistic" momentum and it just does not translate to engaging moment to moment gameplay for me. Every action feels like too much of a commitment and takes too long to execute (which, combined with the aforementioned repetitiveness of tasks, is a brick wall in the face of good flow)
I think its probably a lot of minor things combining in just the wrong way. The scale of mario compared to his surroundings, the weight, the slightly too long it takes for any action to complete... it just all combines into something unsatisfying for me.
Combined with a camera that does not behave at all how I would like it to and it's every necessary component for a bad time
4. The Level Design
Hoo boy... now I'll start by saying that I dont hate everything. I actually think there are some real gems with lots of cool and interesting aspects (TinyHuge chief amongst them) but overall I find them to be really haphazard without a lot of thought put into them. They're rarely more than parts of a linear obstacle course abstracted out into a 3d space, then placed wherever with little to no relation to each other beyond the general "theme" of the world. They feel more game-y than SMB1. The best comparison I can make is a roguelike with premade rooms but random placement. Its yet another aspect of the game I feel had little to no thought put into making it feel ingrained into itself.
Conclusion:
I know almost everyone here will disagree. I get that. I absolutely respect that. I'm a weird guy, I have some janky opinions but I feel them with conviction. I believe in my heart of hearts that these decisions were bad ones. I feel they combined to make a negative experience, but thats from my own perspective. To get a little preachy, the game wasn't made for me, but it also isnt sacrosanct, and it feels like people want there to be some games (like SM64 BotW, etc) that are above criticism.
IMO anyway.
I'll preface this by saying that I completely understand why this game is so beloved. It pioneered 3D Platformers, and 3D games in general. Many people consider the game to control Perfectly, with Perfect levels and Perfect design etc. The game was a spectacular leap forward for our industry and I love what it has done for games as a medium and for the industry as a whole. I respect this game, but I don't like it. I think it is terrible. I hate it.
And obviously, obviously this is an opinion piece. I am not trying to convince people that this is an awful game but I'm just putting forward the reasons why this game, that is so universally revered, is not enjoyable to me (and maybe some others). So without further adieu:
1. The Context (Hub World and Stars)
Starting here makes sense to me. I don't like the castle, I think it is the root cause of a lot of my grievances about this game but just from a design standpoint I don't think it's very well implemented. Having this weird maze-like structure that is, in-universe, supposed to be some sort of place that people live and operate in always struck me weirdly. It felt like "Hey, Peach is a princess, she has a castle. Lets go with that." which led to "how do we get all these worlds in here?" which led to... paintings I guess. How do we get them to play the levels in order? "Uhhh... mario has stars right? Lets go with that. You need x stars for certain doors" etc. Its just excuse after excuse eithout any real reason apart from "thats the easiest way to get these things into the game". It's a small gripe but imo an important one because a game being contextual within itself is something that always draws me in and makes me care about the world even if it's an incredibly game-y world, the smallest touch goes a long way to making me feel better about how it's presented.
In SMB1 it's a mad dash through all the levels to reach the princess. You are left, Peach is right. Go get her. Mario is travelling from place to place hunting what he thinks is Bowser/The princess but it turns out to be someone/somewhere else. There's a sense of urgency that, at a very base level gives you context and drives you through level to level. It's barely there but it's something, and something is enough. In SMB3 it's the same but with an actual overworld which goes leaps and bounds into establishing the place that you're in. Again with Super Mario World.
In the games since SM64 you have Isle Delfino (Sunshine) which is a great hub world. You still have the slight obfuscation with how you get to the places but they are all depicted as actual places in the world that you're in, and the Shine Sprites are posited to be the power source of the islands and the source of their sunshine. Galaxy has the observatory which is powered by stars, and each level is a planet in a solar system. Odyssey has you travelling around the world collecting fuel for your ship. These are small touches but they ground the game in a way that I find Super Mario 64 to be severely lacking.
2. The Objectives
I cannot stand getting booted from the stage after every single objective. I think it is the most flow-breaking thing in any game I've played and it feels like its there purely to pad the length of the experience. Start the level with a vague hint, search the thing trying to find what its referring to, do the thing (which, in my experience, more often than not ended up being a poor/simple platforming exercise or a fetch quest under various disguises) and start all over again from the very beginning. Repeat ad nauseum. It didnt feel like the playground it was presented as, but rather a series of menial chores with a frustrating amount of repitition.
Now I understand that some of the objectives required minor redesigns to the stage but imo there are far better ways to implement those changes without needing to boot you every time.
3. The Controls
Mario just doesn't feel right to me. Maybe its the N64 analog stick, maybe its just not my style but in this game he has always felt floaty, sluggish and weird. I feel very similarly about the Donkey Kong Country Returns/Tropical Freeze games where they sacrificed snappy and responsive controls for more "realistic" momentum and it just does not translate to engaging moment to moment gameplay for me. Every action feels like too much of a commitment and takes too long to execute (which, combined with the aforementioned repetitiveness of tasks, is a brick wall in the face of good flow)
I think its probably a lot of minor things combining in just the wrong way. The scale of mario compared to his surroundings, the weight, the slightly too long it takes for any action to complete... it just all combines into something unsatisfying for me.
Combined with a camera that does not behave at all how I would like it to and it's every necessary component for a bad time
4. The Level Design
Hoo boy... now I'll start by saying that I dont hate everything. I actually think there are some real gems with lots of cool and interesting aspects (TinyHuge chief amongst them) but overall I find them to be really haphazard without a lot of thought put into them. They're rarely more than parts of a linear obstacle course abstracted out into a 3d space, then placed wherever with little to no relation to each other beyond the general "theme" of the world. They feel more game-y than SMB1. The best comparison I can make is a roguelike with premade rooms but random placement. Its yet another aspect of the game I feel had little to no thought put into making it feel ingrained into itself.
Conclusion:
I know almost everyone here will disagree. I get that. I absolutely respect that. I'm a weird guy, I have some janky opinions but I feel them with conviction. I believe in my heart of hearts that these decisions were bad ones. I feel they combined to make a negative experience, but thats from my own perspective. To get a little preachy, the game wasn't made for me, but it also isnt sacrosanct, and it feels like people want there to be some games (like SM64 BotW, etc) that are above criticism.
IMO anyway.
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