Funny story. When I played the Super Mario 3D All Stars version of Super Mario 64, I had a lot of trouble making jumps and really struggled more than I should. I began to wonder if my skills had gotten rusty or if the controls were actually worse than I remembered. It wasn't until I popped in the original N64 version when I realized the whole time I had joycon drift.
@@grandmastermario3695 I beat Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, Ghost'n'goblins, Zelda 2, Punch out etc before i was 10... does that mean those games are easy?
@@gunnarkarlgunnarsson2775 no wow you should have your own game Chanel, but mario 64 is easy, people make a career from beating it collecting every star every single day, is an easy game.
You also have to look at the system too. I love n64 games, but growing up with a PlayStation I saw a lot of issues with it when over my friends house who had a 64. Crash bandicoot car out the same year and is also rough around the edges now, but for me is miles about Mario 64 in terms of control. You don’t play retro for control, though: you play it for the charm. At least that’s my view
That is, quite possibly, the absolute dumbest thing I think I've ever seen anyone ever say about a video game! Congrats, you took being an imbecile to a completely new level.
Early 3D cameras was always iffy at least till the GameCube but Mario 64 had some of the smoothest controls of the era, at least it wasn't tank controls.
Not only that, but it beat Bubsy 3D to the punch since that game was supposed to come out first and it was gonna be the game that would revolutionize 3D games. Thank god that didn't end up happening. xD
I hated the controls on GameCube. Everything was ass-backwards. And Super Mario Sunshine was just awful. I tried to like it for soo long but it's just not good.
This video makes me feel validated for once in how awfully this game has aged. I have 100% completed both Galaxy Games, 3D World, and Odyssey, and I enjoyed Sunshine, but haven't 100%ed it. But I have never even finished this game because it is so abysmally frustrating to play. The game just says FU every time you either make a tiny mistake or Mario walks off a cliff when you turn around trying to position yourself. And then you have to BORINGLY walk all the way back to where you were just to have a second chance at the jump, only to die because you were 2 meters off position due to the atrocious camera and have to watch the death cutscene and level kick, jump back in AGAIN, pick the level AGAIN and walk ALL THE GOSH DING DONG FORSAKEN WAY BACK AGAIN! This game makes me rage, and I don't even rage at most "hard" games, like DKC Returns, or Metroid Dread.
I love Super Mario 64. Even though the original version is the one I didn't grow up with, I always enjoy playing it every now and then. Imo, it holds up super well. I think if I had to guess my reason why the original version gets flak is with how much attention it gets compared to the DS version. 64 gets so much love and respect from all over the internet, yet DS gets dunked on because 'the controls suck'. I think those complaints on reddit might be a sign of changing attitudes, that now we are entering 2000s nostalgia, love for the DS version will become more widespread and open.
mario odyssey is the only game in the series that does not put you back into a hub world when you collect an item because it literally doesn't exist, the game progresses linearly instead of through a hub world and would make no sense to do so. The movement is fine, and the slow turn is only a thing when you're moving slowly, hence the name. there is still a skid animation for when you change directions abrupty while running. for the camera examples maybe try using Mario cam C-down? but I can already see the "wHy Do I hAvE tO kNoW cAmErA cOmBoS!?!?!?" its literally not that hard you just arent given a free cam like in other games, and it has axis. Mario cam always faces marios facing angle and doesn't move unless Mario is standing still. its literally the exact answer to every example you gave. The problem is that I'm sure these people are not playing on a Nintendo64 controller which is why their controls feel ass. the game was designed for the controller that has c buttons and one stick, not free cams from games with two sticks. You can say its aged, but not poorly. its literally skill issue the reality
I agree mario 64 is really not as difficult as people make it out to be. In fact it's easier than sunshine and oddessy. The only thing I think didn't age well is when you go back to the hub world every time you collect a star. And I will say the N64 controller didn't age well either.
@@Masters-hq1lz a lot of people say sunshine is hard (which I don't recall it being all that difficult as a child). But oddessy is definitely more challenging than 64. If people really think 64 is hard then at that point it sounds like a skill issue cause it's really not hard at all. Play mario 64 with a modern controller it'll feel better.
This is one of (or the one) my favorites games of all time. (Close to Donkey Kong Country 2, Shadow of the Colossus, TLOU1) Most of those complains are bullsh*t. 1- Backtracking isn't an issue as the levels are short and are fun to play. Some missions adds peculiarities to the map that could have a "conflict" to other missions, like the Koopa race on the first level, which ends on the Bob-omb arena. Of course this can be easily fixed, but the point is that the level is "fresh" again in a newer mission. 2- The controls are fine, it needs precision but it's responsive. Yeah, it's an old game, that there's not much mechanics to help the player, but being honest, I prefer this way than those stupid jumps on Uncharted for example. 3- The camera is bad, but the console doesn't has a second analog, so this way works. Even nowadays some games has bad camera positioning. Oh and we can't forget that if you press R the camera will stick just behind mario, so those bridges can be passed without issue. And a good N64 analog is really precise, if the player is used to, can pass running without issue from whatever angle, or simply jump through it by using Z+A. To me this game aged really well, much better than a ton of PS2/GC games, the low poly aspect of it makes it "palatable" to this day.
I didn't even watch the video because I don't care for people whining but the gist of it from what I gather- Backtracking is much less than most games out there and as you mention, it's not really a big deal; it's fun, colorful areas that feel welcome. Controls- I have never seen a problem with. Nintendo have been praised for literally decades based on Super Mario 64's controls. I loved the camera buttons. Of course they could have been fixed the clipping issues with it but I see mods these days giving it a "smooth" camera and I don't like it at all. Clicking to fixed positions helped keep you in on the action as you progressed rather than holding a button waiting on it to rotate to where you needed it to be. It's definitely one of the best games of all time. Unfortunately these days, we have people on UA-cam trying to create a negative legacy for their own personal gain.
7:25 my counter point to this is: any game with a decent control scheme *will* look and feel good to play if you’ve played it thousand enough times, like in speedrunning. Of course speedrunners will of mastered the game and understand all its quirks, but that still leaves casual players in the dust
The control is great, in some ways better than Sunshine (and in other ways not). Its the camera that's the issue. The boot out system is meh, Sunshine had the same thing and thats how most 3D games were at the time (Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, for example, did the same thing).
@@smh9902 my biggest problem with 64 is the camera of course, but with the actual controls, turning around is annoying on small platforms and long-jumping is annoying when you first start playing because you can accidentally ground pound instead of jumping. There’s just tiny things that add up for me Sunshine isn’t perfect either but I much prefer its controls, Mario feels more fun to play there imo. Playing without Fludd is pretty annoying in secret stages, but I almost garuntee you if you plopped sm64 mario into Sunshine’s secret stages it would be about the same difficulty if not harder
You do know that depending of the Star you're trying to collect, your mission in each painting if you want, the world changes? New enemies sometimes, new door open, etc. For the camera and the controls, yeah, I agree they were bad sometimes, but remember, it's from Lakitu's point of view ;)
I have zero nostalgia for this game (born in 1998) but my first video game ever was Super Mario Advance 2 (so basically Super Mario World) and I liked Mario ever since but just played the 2D titles. When the Switch released I played Super Mario Odyssey which I really loved and then I got the 3D Allstars Collection and thought to myself „I better start with Mario 64 or it will feel like a downgrade when I come back to it from the other titles“. And oh man I only heard people praising the game and was so disappointed. I have no problem with old graphics but the controls drove me insane. It is literally unbeatable for me, I can’t imagine ever playing through the entire game without breaking a controller. I wish I had played it back in the day to not have these issues and I kind of have the fear of missing out one of the most essential experiences in gaming history but if somebody bet me for a thousand bucks to get all 120 Stars in Super Mario 64 I would most definitely decline.
I didn't experience the camera issues in Mario 64 (or I just don't remember them), but the camera in Sunshine drove me *nuts*. There were certain locations where the camera would get stuck on the wrong side of a tall structure, making it impossible to see where you are. There was no way to right it without getting away from that structure. The octopus wheel in Pinna Park was awful for this; it could happen partway up the side of the building.
These are all valid. This is why Kaze's upcoming SM64 ROM UPGRADE is something I can't wait for. He's fixed the shit that was SM64 and brought in all the things that its sequel should've been.
This video made me finally realize why the controls are so bad. Whenever I watch others play it for the first time, it's unbearable to watch as they fall off ledges a lot. The camera is a major issue in this game. For some reason even though I know how to play Mario 64 well enough, I still got tired of playing it. Maybe it's because of the constant boot outs.
While I definitely prefer _not_ being booted out of a level every time I collect a star, there are a handful of instances where levels change upon completing certain objectives. Koopa the Quick wants to race you to the top of Bob-Omb Battlefield, but you can't while King Bob-Omb occupies the top. A tower in Whomp's Fortress does not appear until, again, you defeat the boss occupying the space. The poles to collect the 8 coins in Dire Dire Docks don't appear until after the submarine leaves. It's kinda neat that levels can transform in this way, and it usually isn't an issue retracing your steps, at least when objectives are scattered in different directions and levels are small. It's more of an issue in levels like Dire Dire Docks, Tick Tock Clock, or Rainbow Ride, where retracing your steps becomes a process. I don't find the controls or camera too frustrating, though admittedly they could be better. And I don't hate being booted out of the levels too much. The only thing I dread when playing Mario 64 are the 100-coin challenges. It's tedious, and one mistake could result in having to restart the whole thing all over again.
The boot out complaint is straight up Egoraptor tier, it takes basically no time to jump back into a world and go into the next mission. The reason you even get boot out is because many missions require their own assets, like the tower in Whomp's Fortress in every mission after the first one. Not being able to correct your jumps is a skill issue. Its a platformer, you're supposed to be punished for bad platforming. Do you complain about missing your shots and getting shot in return in a FPS? Also your own footage had Mario occasionally 180ing in the other direction.
People point fingers at the boot-out when the real problem is the level design. Most of the early stages work perfectly well with the boot-out system, it's basically just Tick Tock Clock that doesn't work with it, and also the few other instances where stars are placed close to each other. Removing the boot-out with hacks or via the decompilation is actually not as seamless as people would have you believe. Many stars are designed with the assumption that you're going to be kicked out of the level, and so they didn't bother to make it easy (or possible) to backtrack. It feels jank as hell to have to quit out from the pause menu to make progress, and honestly I'd rather be kicked out of the level than have to backtrack from stars like Wall Kicks Will Work and Quick Race Through Downtown. Without the boot-out, you lose the seamlessness of the Mario 64 gameplay loop. I feel like it would have been better if they made two types of Star: one that boots you out, and one that allows you to keep playing. That's exactly what Mario Odyssey does, and it works perfectly. Then add a checkpoint warp system, and suddenly the boot-out isn't a problem - because it was _never_ a problem.
Hating on the king of 3D platformers is a bit of an exaggeration imo. I mean sure, the game may not have aged well in some areas, mainly the camera, but it's the type of game you can easily pick up and play, even to this day.
The camera is the only complain, that I can agree with. But what I found weird, is that he didn't acknowledge the second camera mode in this game at all. Just press R and you get in Mario camera mode (instead of Lakitu), which does exactly what you want in that bridge situation in Tall Tall Mountain for example: It places the camera directly behind Mario and always faces his direction. It's not perfect either (in many places even unrecommended). It zooms in way to close to Mario until you push C Down, wich makes it much more bearable, but still not perfect for everything. I actually find myself using this camera mode more and more often, because in some places it totally fixes the issues with the semi-fixed camera angles of the Lakitu mode. You could see this guy using it in the video, but he didn't even once mention it for some reason. Lakitu even tells you about this feature at the very beginning of the game, so there is no excuse for people not knowing about it, unless they skipped the dialog, wich makes it their own fault. The main reason why I think, people may hate about the dropout thing is that people are getting more and more inpatient with their games. Everything has to be clearable as fast as possible and people are way whinier about backtracking in games than they should be. I never really minded this in any 3D Mario game. I mean, I grew up with 64, but even after playing Odyssey, where you can basically get almost everything at one shot, it doesn't really bother me to a point, where I would hate it. Now, people complaining about this games controls is a thing, that doesn't at all get through to me. I just can't see it. This was in '96 and it was pretty much the first of it's kind and I think they totally nailed it with the controls first try. Of course, later games would control better eventually, but never like a difference like night and day. Everything they did right up to Odyssey, was little tweaks to the already great controls. Find another game from this era, that still controls so fluidly and almost perfect. In general, I never heard of a single person, who hates this game (maybe the DS version, but not the original), so seeing this video title pop up was a complete surprise to me. I strongly believe, that Super Mario 64 is still one of the greatest games of all time, not only for what it did in it's day, but also for how well it still holds up today (wich is really rare for a game of that era, let alone being pretty much the first of it). It is likely, that not everyone would agree with me on this and that's fine. Everyone should have their own opinion. I just can't imagine anyone truly hating this masterpiece.
Something you gotta take into account is that most people nowadays are playing on a switch. The speedrunner you showed is on a n64. The n64 joystick was made for this game and they didn't update the feel for modern joysticks
I think the major problem is the the way to manipulate the camera, can't blame it though, since it is the first 3D platformer to become famous. The camera rotation through L and R buttons were way more practical, and yet, in 2023, I'm so used to turn the camera with the joystick, the L and R buttons became weird, confusing and clunky to use for that.
Should be noted the "boot out of level" mechanic is used by Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy too. Only Mario Odyssey drops the mechanic in favor of continue from the point that you collect a major collectible. So it isn't a flaw specific to Super Mario 64. The controls are a little stiff, but the bigger problem is how the game's engine was coded. Miyamoto and his team created redundant code in the game which moves Mario around in partial jumps multiple times per frame. This explains the janky and inconsistent wall collision detection, which always throws off wall jumps. This was a result of the rushed development of the game, Miyamoto and his team had to complete the game as fast as possible because he begged Yamauchi to delay the N64 for a few months so they could finish Mario 64 and so the N64 could have a killer app at launch and not languish the way the Virtual Boy did. With multiple programmers on the game who didn't always have access to other programmers' work, they had to make some redundancies in the code here and there to ensure they covered their bases. This is partly why Mario 64 is not as optimized as it could have been on launch if it didn't have to launch with the N64 (and why guys like Kaze Emanuar were able to massively improve the game's engine after months of reading and rewriting the code base). As for the camera, that was a universal problem of early 3D games. There didn't exist well-tested and carefully written edge-case handling 3D camera code yet, and as a result, you're hard pressed to find early 3D cameras outside of first-person that work well like modern cameras.
I think the control is not the biggest problem, the wall jump timing is a bit too tight, long jump will sometimes result in ground pound and bad turning. The camera problem is the biggest, the camera just don’t want to go though walls and this lead to a lot of inconvenience.
Problem is he misrepresents some of those shortcomings, that semicircle is only done while walking, a run leads to a 180 turn, that camera issue with the bridge is fixed when setting it to mario mode. Yes the game has flaws, the camera turns in a rather janky way and the bootout is needless in some cases (though some stars change the maps or are one way paths like the town in wet dry world) It's not a perfect game, but he's lying to make them worse for the sake of having a valid criticism.
I've played Mario 64 since the weekend it came out. I learned everything there was to know about the game, 100%-ed it numerous times, and still boot it up for a playthrough every so often. I always found controlling Mario to be pretty intuitive, and through most of my years playing, didn't mind the boot-out system, and the camera control complains are legit but have rarely cost me lives. However, These days when I start up a game, I lose the drive to collect everything on the upper floors. I think the game kind of fizzles out when you reach the second floor, and the stages become more of a slog to pick everything up, and I usually abandon the game before even going to the final Bowser Fight. I don't know if that's me just being older and getting tired of the game or because I"ve lost the "recency bias" of when it was something new and revolutionary. I totally understand people's complaints when talking about this game but I don't know how anyone could say it "sucks."
i only agree with the semi circle thing and the boot out. the rest of this game is pure Platform Perfection .. and the better you get in this game the more fun you will have! thank you
I mean, I grew up with this game, but, yeah, of course this game has its issues. It was one of the first full 3D platformers, so they were experimenting and also had to deal with system/technical limitations. It isn't a "bad" game and it pioneered full 3D movement for future 3D games. For example, I wouldn't say the original Super Mario Bros on NES is a bad game since it isn't as polished as future 2D games. Nintendo just set the bar and obviously other developers took that foundation and built off of it. However, I can see younger players who are used to a more polished 3D game trying to go back to Super Mario 64 and get frustrated by the jank. Mario 64 is dated obviously and you just have to kind of reset your expectations a bit. I will say that I would absolutely love to see Nintendo do a full modern remaster of Super Mario 64, though!
I'm sorry, the people who complain about Mario 64 have not really played Sunshine. Yeah, Fludd is a cool gimmick, but the level design and camera are even worse, and while it feels smoother, it also feels more slippery, making the controls harder to master. Also, the pacing in Sunshine is a lot slower, you're still booted out after you get a shine, and the missions themselves are either slow and tedious or have ridiculous elements that just pad out game time. And don't even get me started on the blue coins. 64 is harder to learn, but a lot more fun to master. While Sunshine is easier to learn, but mastering it is not fun.
Mario 64 isn't my favorite 3D Mario but I'd rather play it over 90% of the crap that comes out today. Many of these modern games look and perform well but aren't fun at all.
Modern games tend to become more "realistic" and it becomes a chore to get through them. This is why I like playing retro games because they are simpler and straightforward.
I don't think you gave the camera the fairest test, since you didn't bring up anything about the player being able to change the camera position, or the Mario camera mode which puts the camera behind Mario, and doesn't do any auto moving of the camera. Also, I think new players hate the camera more because they end up trying to fight the camera wanting it to be a certain way, instead of working around the camera, like your Tiny, Huge Mountain example, instead of just holding UP on the control stick and falling, you see the camera move and you roll the stick to keep going where you want to. Also Fun fact: you use the camera a lot during a speedrun. Now yeah, the camera is out dated but it's not bad once you get used to it. And the getting booted out thing, sure it can be annoying on repeat play throughs, but 1) getting a star was meant to be a big deal, so it gives you not only the star dance but also Mario proudly jumping out of the painting. 2) it gives you a bit of down time, where you can go back in the level or go do a different one. 3) some will change the the level, so kicking you out means there wouldn't be any weird loading while in the level. And Sunshine and Galaxy 1and 2 also kick you out of the level. Also that the turn around issue that can be worked around, let the stick go back to neutral so Mario stops then move the control stick the direction you want to go.
the booted out part: would make the game feel to fast tbh, tall tall mountain has like 3-4 stars in the exact same spot, it would be to quick cuz of that the controls were made so that you can be really careful (aka u do a full stop), u could possition yourself perfectly and do a jump quite easilly, but if u want to do it fast, u need more skill the camera: c down is a very good camera angle and mario cam fixes that issue, especially with c down
and lakitu cam was made for huge open spaces, it succeeds at that, mario cam was made with precision in mind, u can use it in open spaces if u want too, mario cam is great if u know about it
I wanna see why people hate mario 64 ds it pretty much gave players everything they wanted to see in mario 64 Is it really just because D-Pad? I know it's also missing alot of the speed run strats too. But man I loved the ds version. I remember going to the website and seeing the cool clips lol
The "research" is based on random Reddit comments? Ok, so we're already starting out in cherry-picked opinion territory. This could be forgiven if you did a deep dive into the claims for every level and every star, but your tests were derived from cherry picked and incorrect data (Dire, Dire Docks and failing to do a U-turn which makes the side flip possible). Some of the camera criticisms are valid, but the joystick can be positioned diagonally for a reason, to make Mario move diagonally if need be. I know you don't have unlimited time, but since Mario 64 is a popular old game, it's been picked apart to insane levels (i.e. parallel universes). I honestly expected something more thorough to warrant the clickbaity title. And now I'm questioning the veracity of your DK 64 video which I watched before this one. You evaluated the backtracking time loss complaint in DK 64 based on the first level and assumed that future levels would be worse, but you evaluated Mario 64's boot out time loss based on the most egregious example (Dire, Dire Docks) and assumed that the other levels were just as bad. These testing methods are inconsistent. You expressed that you really liked Mario 64, which is something we have in common. And you said it was the game that made you fall in love with gaming. I went into this video actually wondering what would turn people off from this game that you called " a masterpiece." And I came away from the video disappointed. It was a good video idea with some decent editing and voiceover, but needed better execution in your research and testing methodology.
I personally don't like SM64 and as for why, It's the levels in the second half, Imo to me, SM64 was an amazing game up to the 7th world (Lethal Lava Land), After that the game took a complete 180, Many of the levels in the 2nd half are just copy + paste from the 1st half (Snowman Land copying Cool Cool Mountain, Dire Dire Docks copying Jolly Roger Bay, Tiny Huge Island copying Bob-Omb Battlefield) which just made the 2nd half feel slow and boring and ontop of that, some of the levels were just plain awful to me, Shifting Sand Land felt slow, Rainbow Ride looks ugly and its extremely slow, Tall Tall Mountain being bland and feeling like theres nothing important about it. I didn't think the controls were THAT bad (Outside of walljumping) but the camera is just straight garbage, I swear the hardest part about SM64 is the camera
My biggest complaint about this game but when you keep in mind it was one of the first if not the first to be 3d is the camera. Oh my lord is it bad at times but once again Mario 64 is one of the first 3d games so yeah I give it a pass in that area. Otherwise for me 100 out of 10 games. Will play this game any day, time, year, and timeline.
When I was a kid the one point where I finally realized the game was garbage with its boot-outs was when I fell off that one flying level and instead of reappearing at the area where I came from to try again, I had to walk ALL the way from the courtyard to the top floor.
I understand the hate about the boot out system, but people need to realize the only 3d mario game that didn't use the boot out method (that I know of) was odyssey. Every game up to that point used the boot out system to reload levels. I believe the only reason odyssey doesn't use the same method is because it was released and created during the huge craze for large open worlds. None of the other games were released during that time period and use the method to change parts of the world depending on the end goal and while they do have semi open worlds similar to Odyssey, they are still relatively small in comparison.
Why were you only showing lakitu cam saying "It's impossible to get the cam behind mario" I would have thought mario cam c down and left/right would put the cam straight behind mario.. Also, when you said you couldn't save jumps in mario and you had that example in HMC, you absolutely could save that with a well-timed long A press. In my personal best 16 star mario 64 time on my channel of 18;54 I actually saved a similar jump in HMC with a clutch wall kick side flip long jump mario cam. Anyway. I'm trying to say you missed a lot of the cam possibilities, there isn't just lakitu but lakitu cdown, mario cam, and mario cam c down as well all are unique analog mapping situations that should be considered when finding a way forward.
It was such a leap forward from Star Fox and Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. At the time it was incredible, and so much better than other 3D games like Jumping Flash. The issue is that Mario 64 controls is to Sunshine, what Super Mario Bros. is to Mario World. It feels so rudimentary to new, younger players. It was really such a good feeling to play at the time. In fact, this and Pilotwings 64 felt so different from the other consoles' games. It was a unique feeling to have those cartridge boxes, manuals, controllers, etc. You really had to play it on the N64 on an old TV when it came out to get it. The graphics and controls of it on a Switch are lackluster. Games like Blast Corp, Bomberman 64, etc. and especially the more rudimentary graphical elements of Mario 64 all haven't aged well, but the nostalgia is so heavy for them
Its weird to me how known of these are what I think is the biggest issue in the game by far is and thats how a lot of stars are essentially repeats or trivial to get. Youll have areas where youre expected to go to top of mountain and get star and then the next one is go to top of mountain and get star but its slightly different.
I can provide a reason for the boot-out system at least. If the game were to allow multiple stars to be collected at a time, that would mean that you'd have to have all star-specific props loaded into the level, which would be pretty bad for performance. Dire Dire Docks in particular would suffer from this because the sub is removed in the later stars. Then you also have stars where level design would conflict with itself, like the tower at the top of Whomp's fortress being in the way of the Whomp King boss fight.
Because of the amount of hate Mario 64 seems to get these days, I was surprised people ranked it highly in a top games collab I did in 2021. It was mostly due to nostalgia, but also that it even today is a good pick-up-and-play game. Are these criticisms valid? Yes, but I still go back to this game, including a recent no-coins run just so I don't have to get the frickin 100-coin stars.
I thought a complaint would have been the low poly graphics and primitive textures. Honestly these complaints aren't really a big issue. The game boots you out of the level to load in unique assets for some stars like how Whomp's Fortress changes after you beat the boss to reveal the tower. This is a design choice that has positives and negatives with or without the level reset mechanic. Just enjoy the game for what it is. The complaint about the controls and the camera is just being lazy. You do realize that you can put the camera close up behind Mario and you can also lock the camera in place. The game even allows you to crawl to be very slow and precise if you need to. Complaining that there's no safety net if you mess up a jump? The safety net is the outside castle area and the first level where you practice and learn the controls. The thing that makes SM64 such fun is actually mastering the controls. If you really want to have something to complain about playing SM64, play the DS version. Try controlling Mario and friends with the touchscreen as a substitute for an analog stick.
As someone who was born in 2008 and really got into the game like a year ago, I think Mario 64 takes time to get used to. It is a wonky game but for being one of the first 3D platformers ever made, it is fantastic!
I don't hate mario 64 by any means, but I do find it rather frustrating at times the weird turnaround thing is one thing, but the inconsistent nature of the dive/airkick is what really makes the game difficult to fully enjoy for me I know it's based on speed (kinda), but it can be really hard to tell when you're at said speed and when you're just below, making me often kick when I mean to dive, and vice versa If the dive just... had it's own button, this wouldn't really be an issue. Hell, maybe make diving mapped to jump midair and that'd fix the problem, or go the odyssey route and make dive be accessed by cancelling a ground pound, having them mapped to the exact same button under conditions that can be unclear at best just completely blows...
I still haven't played Super Mario 64, as I didn't have an N64 growing up, and whenever I visited friends who did have one, we would always play multiplayer games. Now that this is on Nintendo Switch Online, maybe I should try it out.
This is easily my favorite game of all time. Has it aged poorly? Yes, but also realize that wording, "AGED". Games like Mario Galaxy and Odyssey have the benefit of releasing on stronger hardware and didn't have the added pressure of modernizing Mario into the first 3D game in its franchise. Developers had the extra time through generations to find quality of life improvements such as not getting booted out of a level or doing away with lives and the game over screen. But what Mario 64 nailed was the camera and the movement. Let's start with that camera. Okay, not the easiest camera to return to after playing many modern games, but for its time it was revolutionary. It gave you two views an aim mode so you can use the joystick to see your surroundings and a way to snap the camera behind Mario again in case you were in closed spaces. For its time this worked way better than anything like it. The movement was even more impressive however. You can run, walk, sneak, crawl, punch, kick, back flip, reverse flip, 3 jumps that cover more distance if used in a row, a dive forward, another dive with your leg out, a ground pound and I'm sure many more that I can't think of off the top of my head. This versatile moveset was way ahead of its time, and levels were created with this toolbox in mind to give you the player infinite creative ways to run jump and get the star. What we have here is a masterpiece through and through. Even taking its flaws into consideration it was over a decade ahead of its time and it would take almost 2 generations for other games to imitate the blueprints this game left behind.
Don't forget, levels sometimes change depending on what star you pick. I know it would have been good if Nintendo gave us the option to, but I don't think it would be as easy for the younger audience to realise they have to go out the level and select the star they want for it to change.
The bootout isn't so bad considering some levels are reset in a specific way. Not to mention how quick the missions relatively are. The controls, really? It's like an evolution from this game to the later ones like Odyssey. It's like being mad as SMB for being different from SMB3. The camera I can totally agree, it's very janky and that might be why people complain on the controls.
Anyone that hates this game does not understand it's charm or how important of a game it is, and likely wasn't even born when the game launched. All of these criticisms are only valid in today's games. Comparing to Odyssey and modern 3D Mario games.. are you joking? Why is this video even in my feed? This guy just doesn't understand SM64 at all. The "flaws" set this game apart and give it the charm. Fortunately the "flaws" are consistent in this game. It's very obvious you were not around when this game was out to compare it to all the other 3D bullshit in the 1996 era. All these points made are invalid. Oh, and it's MARIO not Merrio
Recently replayed Mario 64 along with Sunshine and Galaxy and two main things stuck out to me. First, the camera really is terrible. Yes, I know it was good for it's time, but it aged like milk. It takes so much work to get it where you want, if you even can at all. This is coming from someone that beat Mario 64 100% multiple times as a kid on both the N64 and DS, so I can't imagine how kids without that experience felt. Second, it's honestly insane just how much smoother Sunshine is and how much better Sunshine looks despite being only a few years apart. Sunshine really aged well. All that being said, Mario 64 is still a classic and is an amazing game that has left a bigger impact than almost any other game in history.
I'd play this game over Odyssey any day of the week. I might have adhd, but I don't need the constant gratification of getting a moon every minute. Besides I prefer being booted out of the stage for 120 stars instead of having to sit through over 1 hour of "You got a moon" for 880 moons.
I'd still play classic 2D Mario games and then Sunshine and Galaxy etc. Mario 64 as a push into 3D gaming was not the worst attempt. But it lacked all the class we have had with previous entries to the franchise. Mario 64 feels too distracting with its level gimmicks. And playing some levels now makes me scratch my head and wonder how we figured shit out when we were younger. Even streamers now playing this game "for the first time" do have the chat constantly helping out. Most things are too cryptic. I just wonder what aged more bad. Mario 64 or those 3D Gex games on PSone.
The title is extreme I never heard anyone outright hate this game but it does have some issues mostly due to it's age but it's still a masterpiece and considering it eas one of the first 3D platformers that's incredible
I didn't grow up with the N64 (PS kid here). My wife LOVES this game and after watching her play it, I think some of the design choices were SO weird. Like... why did they not use a million of their already established environments/characters and abilities? Like... you are inside of a clock... why? It just seems like a different game with Mario attached to it. Sure, I mean, I am happy that Mario 3D games aren't completely tied to the 2D Mario world characters and settings, but Mario 64 seems completely random.
They really improved the camera in oot if you played oot first and then played sm64 you feel how janky the camera and controls are. It's not the N64 controler or hardwares fault it was sm64's design
There is a time for everything and it is a fact that Mario 64 was best, when it was released. I recently played it again, along with other N64 games that I loved in my youth back then and I have to say everything seems so small, simple, too easy and overall like a child's game. And I'm not even a boomer playing the latest games these days. In fact, I almost don't play anymore. Hands down, I think people who still praise it and are adults (boomers) are stuck in time and don't want to grow up. The nostalgia in someone's head is greater than the short "Hey!" moment, you'll get by heating up such old games again. The only thing that really stayed with me, is the soundtrack of several games. A lot of great covers were born that way. The rest is a waste of time and only be useful if you have kids (in case they even care).
This game is a good game however it's not my favorite 3d mario but it's fun game The controls aren't bad they work fine there's some inconsistent moments in the long jump can sometimes be a ground pound instead of the long jump the controls are good but there's one thing I don't like about this game the camera is sooo bad it's a constant fight it makes some levels like rainbow ride a way worse stage to play (especially 100 coins dear lord its a nightmare)some levels from the second half of the game are bland or obnoxious it's not hard because this game is easy but it's just annoying however overall it's one of the better mario games I will say at least
idk man theyr'e too slippery imo . i know you can play arround it but you can also play arround dr jekyll and mr hyde for nes controlls that doesn't make it excusable.
It's definitely very dated. Controls/Movement are lacking the precision and smart features like better ledge snapping that became the norm. Free roaming cameras are the standard now as well. Shame Nintendo didn't add these optional features in the remake. It's nice that new players experienced the same game from back then but back then it was the most advanced 3D game and that's why it was impressive, new players won't be able to see the amazing game that lies under the dated mechanics.
The people who hate it weren't alive when this came out. Also the times were different. Nobody really knew the boot out system. Yes the next gen mario games are better but only because of trial and error but SM64 is GOATED
great document but you probably need some tolerance when it comes to old games, cause it's out of context, of course it can't compete with nowadays gameplay, 3d was complex, it's a miracle that games like this were not worse, cause this era got lot of horrible games.
My biggest complaint is that it’s extremely hard to know what some missions are based on just the title of the mission. There’s no clues are hints. I didn’t own this game as a kid, so if I’m wrong, please let me know! I’m assuming that mission descriptions were in a player’s guide that kids would get at a school book fair?! Haha
The missions tell you what it is you're meant to do (albeit a bit vaguely) without showing you where the star for that mission in question is. Unlike Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy which show you where a shine sprite/power star is prior to beginning the mission, the game leaves you to your own devices to locate or trigger a star, which might seem like an issue, but stages are condensed enough that figuring out what you're meant to do is never an arduous task in of itself.
I had this problem too, but along the way you'll find other things that need done and unlock the titles to others. Soon enough it all becomes relevant. Sometimes even unlocks. It was all about the discovery aspect without being too harsh on the players.
honestly, the star names are more the game pointing in a vague direction and it's up to you to find out what it means by exploring the level. However, there are some that don't even give a clue, like Cool Cool Mountain's star "Wall kicks will work" which doesn't give anything about where the star is, but at the same time you only need 70 out of 120 stars to beat the game, so not figuring out where some of the stars are isn't the end of the world.
Funny story. When I played the Super Mario 3D All Stars version of Super Mario 64, I had a lot of trouble making jumps and really struggled more than I should. I began to wonder if my skills had gotten rusty or if the controls were actually worse than I remembered. It wasn't until I popped in the original N64 version when I realized the whole time I had joycon drift.
😂 yea the sticks suck
Just get a Q tip.@@J_Nephilim
It's funny, every time I hear about Nintendo it's either about their abusive business practices, or their faulty hardware.
That version sucks. Any version with no BLJ automatically is trash
I've never heard anyone say they hated this game.
Hate no but i have heard many complaints about it, i love it and have beaten it many times but i can see the faults.
Anyone can beat this game I'm not even that good at games and I've beat it so many times I first beat it when I was 12 its easy.
He just made a bs thumbnail to get people to watch
@@grandmastermario3695
I beat Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, Ghost'n'goblins, Zelda 2, Punch out etc before i was 10... does that mean those games are easy?
@@gunnarkarlgunnarsson2775 no wow you should have your own game Chanel, but mario 64 is easy, people make a career from beating it collecting every star every single day, is an easy game.
You also have to look at the system too. I love n64 games, but growing up with a PlayStation I saw a lot of issues with it when over my friends house who had a 64. Crash bandicoot car out the same year and is also rough around the edges now, but for me is miles about Mario 64 in terms of control. You don’t play retro for control, though: you play it for the charm. At least that’s my view
Except for Crash 1, that definitely has worse controls imo
That is, quite possibly, the absolute dumbest thing I think I've ever seen anyone ever say about a video game! Congrats, you took being an imbecile to a completely new level.
Early 3D cameras was always iffy at least till the GameCube but Mario 64 had some of the smoothest controls of the era, at least it wasn't tank controls.
Not only that, but it beat Bubsy 3D to the punch since that game was supposed to come out first and it was gonna be the game that would revolutionize 3D games. Thank god that didn't end up happening. xD
I don't think he was even born or understood how good the controls were back then.
@@bankruptsee can't tell if you're talking about me
I hated the controls on GameCube. Everything was ass-backwards. And Super Mario Sunshine was just awful. I tried to like it for soo long but it's just not good.
@@TheGoldenJiggy talking about the video creator
This video makes me feel validated for once in how awfully this game has aged.
I have 100% completed both Galaxy Games, 3D World, and Odyssey, and I enjoyed Sunshine, but haven't 100%ed it.
But I have never even finished this game because it is so abysmally frustrating to play. The game just says FU every time you either make a tiny mistake or Mario walks off a cliff when you turn around trying to position yourself. And then you have to BORINGLY walk all the way back to where you were just to have a second chance at the jump, only to die because you were 2 meters off position due to the atrocious camera and have to watch the death cutscene and level kick, jump back in AGAIN, pick the level AGAIN and walk ALL THE GOSH DING DONG FORSAKEN WAY BACK AGAIN!
This game makes me rage, and I don't even rage at most "hard" games, like DKC Returns, or Metroid Dread.
Sunshine is way better and more fun😊
@@brandonow82 I so agree. Sunshine while not a perfect game was indeed a great experience.
And the game is difficult because of the poor mechanics, not like say Dark Souls or Cuphead where you just have to get more skilled.
Should of mentioned the flight cap when you talked about bad controls. That thing is painful to use.
should have*
I love Super Mario 64. Even though the original version is the one I didn't grow up with, I always enjoy playing it every now and then. Imo, it holds up super well. I think if I had to guess my reason why the original version gets flak is with how much attention it gets compared to the DS version. 64 gets so much love and respect from all over the internet, yet DS gets dunked on because 'the controls suck'. I think those complaints on reddit might be a sign of changing attitudes, that now we are entering 2000s nostalgia, love for the DS version will become more widespread and open.
mario odyssey is the only game in the series that does not put you back into a hub world when you collect an item because it literally doesn't exist, the game progresses linearly instead of through a hub world and would make no sense to do so. The movement is fine, and the slow turn is only a thing when you're moving slowly, hence the name. there is still a skid animation for when you change directions abrupty while running. for the camera examples maybe try using Mario cam C-down? but I can already see the "wHy Do I hAvE tO kNoW cAmErA cOmBoS!?!?!?" its literally not that hard you just arent given a free cam like in other games, and it has axis. Mario cam always faces marios facing angle and doesn't move unless Mario is standing still. its literally the exact answer to every example you gave. The problem is that I'm sure these people are not playing on a Nintendo64 controller which is why their controls feel ass. the game was designed for the controller that has c buttons and one stick, not free cams from games with two sticks.
You can say its aged, but not poorly. its literally skill issue the reality
The camera can be pretty awkward, it’s still a classic tho
Also there is tons of signs that explains the camera and stuff, but I know like almost no one read them
I agree mario 64 is really not as difficult as people make it out to be. In fact it's easier than sunshine and oddessy. The only thing I think didn't age well is when you go back to the hub world every time you collect a star. And I will say the N64 controller didn't age well either.
@@driley1988Sunshine and Odyssey are both easier than 64. The controls are really bad and it looks awful.
@@Masters-hq1lz a lot of people say sunshine is hard (which I don't recall it being all that difficult as a child). But oddessy is definitely more challenging than 64. If people really think 64 is hard then at that point it sounds like a skill issue cause it's really not hard at all. Play mario 64 with a modern controller it'll feel better.
This was very first game I ever played and I was 2 years old. I am now 25 and still loving games 23 years later!
This is one of (or the one) my favorites games of all time. (Close to Donkey Kong Country 2, Shadow of the Colossus, TLOU1)
Most of those complains are bullsh*t.
1- Backtracking isn't an issue as the levels are short and are fun to play. Some missions adds peculiarities to the map that could have a "conflict" to other missions, like the Koopa race on the first level, which ends on the Bob-omb arena. Of course this can be easily fixed, but the point is that the level is "fresh" again in a newer mission.
2- The controls are fine, it needs precision but it's responsive. Yeah, it's an old game, that there's not much mechanics to help the player, but being honest, I prefer this way than those stupid jumps on Uncharted for example.
3- The camera is bad, but the console doesn't has a second analog, so this way works. Even nowadays some games has bad camera positioning. Oh and we can't forget that if you press R the camera will stick just behind mario, so those bridges can be passed without issue. And a good N64 analog is really precise, if the player is used to, can pass running without issue from whatever angle, or simply jump through it by using Z+A.
To me this game aged really well, much better than a ton of PS2/GC games, the low poly aspect of it makes it "palatable" to this day.
I didn't even watch the video because I don't care for people whining but the gist of it from what I gather-
Backtracking is much less than most games out there and as you mention, it's not really a big deal; it's fun, colorful areas that feel welcome.
Controls- I have never seen a problem with. Nintendo have been praised for literally decades based on Super Mario 64's controls.
I loved the camera buttons. Of course they could have been fixed the clipping issues with it but I see mods these days giving it a "smooth" camera and I don't like it at all. Clicking to fixed positions helped keep you in on the action as you progressed rather than holding a button waiting on it to rotate to where you needed it to be.
It's definitely one of the best games of all time. Unfortunately these days, we have people on UA-cam trying to create a negative legacy for their own personal gain.
Biased
@@androxilogin Biased 2
@@DemonDeathAmateur2000 you're just gargling fart water.
@@androxilogin Like yourself.
7:25 my counter point to this is: any game with a decent control scheme *will* look and feel good to play if you’ve played it thousand enough times, like in speedrunning. Of course speedrunners will of mastered the game and understand all its quirks, but that still leaves casual players in the dust
The control is great, in some ways better than Sunshine (and in other ways not). Its the camera that's the issue. The boot out system is meh, Sunshine had the same thing and thats how most 3D games were at the time (Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, for example, did the same thing).
@@smh9902 my biggest problem with 64 is the camera of course, but with the actual controls, turning around is annoying on small platforms and long-jumping is annoying when you first start playing because you can accidentally ground pound instead of jumping. There’s just tiny things that add up for me
Sunshine isn’t perfect either but I much prefer its controls, Mario feels more fun to play there imo. Playing without Fludd is pretty annoying in secret stages, but I almost garuntee you if you plopped sm64 mario into Sunshine’s secret stages it would be about the same difficulty if not harder
@@-awezomexd- The trick with long jumps is to always crouch before pressing A. Sunshine Mario feels a little slippery to me, but otherwise identical.
@@smh9902 yeah eventually I figured out how to consistently long jump, but it was annoying first learning the game
You do know that depending of the Star you're trying to collect, your mission in each painting if you want, the world changes? New enemies sometimes, new door open, etc.
For the camera and the controls, yeah, I agree they were bad sometimes, but remember, it's from Lakitu's point of view ;)
I've never heard anyone say they "hate" super mario 64. but then again, I don't casually chat with zoomers. Unsub for bad clickbaity content
I have zero nostalgia for this game (born in 1998) but my first video game ever was Super Mario Advance 2 (so basically Super Mario World) and I liked Mario ever since but just played the 2D titles. When the Switch released I played Super Mario Odyssey which I really loved and then I got the 3D Allstars Collection and thought to myself „I better start with Mario 64 or it will feel like a downgrade when I come back to it from the other titles“. And oh man I only heard people praising the game and was so disappointed. I have no problem with old graphics but the controls drove me insane. It is literally unbeatable for me, I can’t imagine ever playing through the entire game without breaking a controller. I wish I had played it back in the day to not have these issues and I kind of have the fear of missing out one of the most essential experiences in gaming history but if somebody bet me for a thousand bucks to get all 120 Stars in Super Mario 64 I would most definitely decline.
I didn't experience the camera issues in Mario 64 (or I just don't remember them), but the camera in Sunshine drove me *nuts*. There were certain locations where the camera would get stuck on the wrong side of a tall structure, making it impossible to see where you are. There was no way to right it without getting away from that structure. The octopus wheel in Pinna Park was awful for this; it could happen partway up the side of the building.
These are all valid. This is why Kaze's upcoming SM64 ROM UPGRADE is something I can't wait for. He's fixed the shit that was SM64 and brought in all the things that its sequel should've been.
This video made me finally realize why the controls are so bad. Whenever I watch others play it for the first time, it's unbearable to watch as they fall off ledges a lot. The camera is a major issue in this game.
For some reason even though I know how to play Mario 64 well enough, I still got tired of playing it. Maybe it's because of the constant boot outs.
While I definitely prefer _not_ being booted out of a level every time I collect a star, there are a handful of instances where levels change upon completing certain objectives. Koopa the Quick wants to race you to the top of Bob-Omb Battlefield, but you can't while King Bob-Omb occupies the top. A tower in Whomp's Fortress does not appear until, again, you defeat the boss occupying the space. The poles to collect the 8 coins in Dire Dire Docks don't appear until after the submarine leaves. It's kinda neat that levels can transform in this way, and it usually isn't an issue retracing your steps, at least when objectives are scattered in different directions and levels are small. It's more of an issue in levels like Dire Dire Docks, Tick Tock Clock, or Rainbow Ride, where retracing your steps becomes a process.
I don't find the controls or camera too frustrating, though admittedly they could be better. And I don't hate being booted out of the levels too much. The only thing I dread when playing Mario 64 are the 100-coin challenges. It's tedious, and one mistake could result in having to restart the whole thing all over again.
The boot out complaint is straight up Egoraptor tier, it takes basically no time to jump back into a world and go into the next mission. The reason you even get boot out is because many missions require their own assets, like the tower in Whomp's Fortress in every mission after the first one. Not being able to correct your jumps is a skill issue. Its a platformer, you're supposed to be punished for bad platforming. Do you complain about missing your shots and getting shot in return in a FPS? Also your own footage had Mario occasionally 180ing in the other direction.
But it is annoying and time consuming
@@kvj1989 if you have adhd sure I guess
@@kvj1989 I mean, it's probably close to 15mins out of the entire game.
People point fingers at the boot-out when the real problem is the level design. Most of the early stages work perfectly well with the boot-out system, it's basically just Tick Tock Clock that doesn't work with it, and also the few other instances where stars are placed close to each other.
Removing the boot-out with hacks or via the decompilation is actually not as seamless as people would have you believe. Many stars are designed with the assumption that you're going to be kicked out of the level, and so they didn't bother to make it easy (or possible) to backtrack. It feels jank as hell to have to quit out from the pause menu to make progress, and honestly I'd rather be kicked out of the level than have to backtrack from stars like Wall Kicks Will Work and Quick Race Through Downtown. Without the boot-out, you lose the seamlessness of the Mario 64 gameplay loop.
I feel like it would have been better if they made two types of Star: one that boots you out, and one that allows you to keep playing. That's exactly what Mario Odyssey does, and it works perfectly. Then add a checkpoint warp system, and suddenly the boot-out isn't a problem - because it was _never_ a problem.
@@alfiehicks1 they did just that actually, 100 coin stars are designed to not boot you out
Mario 64 doesn't live up to modern standards because Mario 64 _established_ modern standards
Hating on the king of 3D platformers is a bit of an exaggeration imo. I mean sure, the game may not have aged well in some areas, mainly the camera, but it's the type of game you can easily pick up and play, even to this day.
The camera is the only complain, that I can agree with. But what I found weird, is that he didn't acknowledge the second camera mode in this game at all. Just press R and you get in Mario camera mode (instead of Lakitu), which does exactly what you want in that bridge situation in Tall Tall Mountain for example: It places the camera directly behind Mario and always faces his direction. It's not perfect either (in many places even unrecommended). It zooms in way to close to Mario until you push C Down, wich makes it much more bearable, but still not perfect for everything. I actually find myself using this camera mode more and more often, because in some places it totally fixes the issues with the semi-fixed camera angles of the Lakitu mode. You could see this guy using it in the video, but he didn't even once mention it for some reason. Lakitu even tells you about this feature at the very beginning of the game, so there is no excuse for people not knowing about it, unless they skipped the dialog, wich makes it their own fault.
The main reason why I think, people may hate about the dropout thing is that people are getting more and more inpatient with their games. Everything has to be clearable as fast as possible and people are way whinier about backtracking in games than they should be. I never really minded this in any 3D Mario game. I mean, I grew up with 64, but even after playing Odyssey, where you can basically get almost everything at one shot, it doesn't really bother me to a point, where I would hate it.
Now, people complaining about this games controls is a thing, that doesn't at all get through to me. I just can't see it. This was in '96 and it was pretty much the first of it's kind and I think they totally nailed it with the controls first try. Of course, later games would control better eventually, but never like a difference like night and day. Everything they did right up to Odyssey, was little tweaks to the already great controls. Find another game from this era, that still controls so fluidly and almost perfect.
In general, I never heard of a single person, who hates this game (maybe the DS version, but not the original), so seeing this video title pop up was a complete surprise to me. I strongly believe, that Super Mario 64 is still one of the greatest games of all time, not only for what it did in it's day, but also for how well it still holds up today (wich is really rare for a game of that era, let alone being pretty much the first of it). It is likely, that not everyone would agree with me on this and that's fine. Everyone should have their own opinion. I just can't imagine anyone truly hating this masterpiece.
you wrote a CER lol and i also totally agree
Something you gotta take into account is that most people nowadays are playing on a switch. The speedrunner you showed is on a n64. The n64 joystick was made for this game and they didn't update the feel for modern joysticks
I think the major problem is the the way to manipulate the camera, can't blame it though, since it is the first 3D platformer to become famous. The camera rotation through L and R buttons were way more practical, and yet, in 2023, I'm so used to turn the camera with the joystick, the L and R buttons became weird, confusing and clunky to use for that.
Should be noted the "boot out of level" mechanic is used by Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy too. Only Mario Odyssey drops the mechanic in favor of continue from the point that you collect a major collectible. So it isn't a flaw specific to Super Mario 64.
The controls are a little stiff, but the bigger problem is how the game's engine was coded. Miyamoto and his team created redundant code in the game which moves Mario around in partial jumps multiple times per frame. This explains the janky and inconsistent wall collision detection, which always throws off wall jumps. This was a result of the rushed development of the game, Miyamoto and his team had to complete the game as fast as possible because he begged Yamauchi to delay the N64 for a few months so they could finish Mario 64 and so the N64 could have a killer app at launch and not languish the way the Virtual Boy did.
With multiple programmers on the game who didn't always have access to other programmers' work, they had to make some redundancies in the code here and there to ensure they covered their bases. This is partly why Mario 64 is not as optimized as it could have been on launch if it didn't have to launch with the N64 (and why guys like Kaze Emanuar were able to massively improve the game's engine after months of reading and rewriting the code base).
As for the camera, that was a universal problem of early 3D games. There didn't exist well-tested and carefully written edge-case handling 3D camera code yet, and as a result, you're hard pressed to find early 3D cameras outside of first-person that work well like modern cameras.
I think the control is not the biggest problem, the wall jump timing is a bit too tight, long jump will sometimes result in ground pound and bad turning. The camera problem is the biggest, the camera just don’t want to go though walls and this lead to a lot of inconvenience.
Excellent topic. I love Mario 64, but not recognizing its (now) shortcomings, is being voluntary blind
Problem is he misrepresents some of those shortcomings, that semicircle is only done while walking, a run leads to a 180 turn, that camera issue with the bridge is fixed when setting it to mario mode.
Yes the game has flaws, the camera turns in a rather janky way and the bootout is needless in some cases (though some stars change the maps or are one way paths like the town in wet dry world)
It's not a perfect game, but he's lying to make them worse for the sake of having a valid criticism.
I've played Mario 64 since the weekend it came out. I learned everything there was to know about the game, 100%-ed it numerous times, and still boot it up for a playthrough every so often. I always found controlling Mario to be pretty intuitive, and through most of my years playing, didn't mind the boot-out system, and the camera control complains are legit but have rarely cost me lives.
However, These days when I start up a game, I lose the drive to collect everything on the upper floors. I think the game kind of fizzles out when you reach the second floor, and the stages become more of a slog to pick everything up, and I usually abandon the game before even going to the final Bowser Fight. I don't know if that's me just being older and getting tired of the game or because I"ve lost the "recency bias" of when it was something new and revolutionary. I totally understand people's complaints when talking about this game but I don't know how anyone could say it "sucks."
i only agree with the semi circle thing and the boot out. the rest of this game is pure Platform Perfection .. and the better you get in this game the more fun you will have! thank you
Grunty... that didn't even rhyme...
The camera complaint is almost completely fixed with the zoomed out mario cam although its not the default unfortunately
I mean, I grew up with this game, but, yeah, of course this game has its issues. It was one of the first full 3D platformers, so they were experimenting and also had to deal with system/technical limitations. It isn't a "bad" game and it pioneered full 3D movement for future 3D games.
For example, I wouldn't say the original Super Mario Bros on NES is a bad game since it isn't as polished as future 2D games. Nintendo just set the bar and obviously other developers took that foundation and built off of it.
However, I can see younger players who are used to a more polished 3D game trying to go back to Super Mario 64 and get frustrated by the jank. Mario 64 is dated obviously and you just have to kind of reset your expectations a bit. I will say that I would absolutely love to see Nintendo do a full modern remaster of Super Mario 64, though!
I'm sorry, the people who complain about Mario 64 have not really played Sunshine. Yeah, Fludd is a cool gimmick, but the level design and camera are even worse, and while it feels smoother, it also feels more slippery, making the controls harder to master. Also, the pacing in Sunshine is a lot slower, you're still booted out after you get a shine, and the missions themselves are either slow and tedious or have ridiculous elements that just pad out game time. And don't even get me started on the blue coins. 64 is harder to learn, but a lot more fun to master. While Sunshine is easier to learn, but mastering it is not fun.
Mario 64 controls and cameras.are way worse then sunshine and it's level design isn't even better stop being biased
Also why the fuck would I wanna master an awful feeling game like 64
There's a romhack of Mario 64 that gives it Odyssey's mechanics and removes the boot-out system
The level design is also mediocre in many stages. No more egregious example than Wet Dry World. That course was left in its beta state straight up.
Mario 64 isn't my favorite 3D Mario but I'd rather play it over 90% of the crap that comes out today. Many of these modern games look and perform well but aren't fun at all.
Modern games tend to become more "realistic" and it becomes a chore to get through them. This is why I like playing retro games because they are simpler and straightforward.
Really dude? There are some excellent platformers these days, games that make mario sixty snore look like a wet nappy🤣
@@kvj1989 yeah but they usually come from indie devs, not AAA companies
the boot out isn't a valid criticism, because sunshine and galaxy also boots you out making you have to backtrack
And Super Mario 64 is for Adolf Hitler.
Uuh I didn't grow up with this game, and I'm no speedrunner, but I control this game and the camera pretty well.
I don't think you gave the camera the fairest test, since you didn't bring up anything about the player being able to change the camera position, or the Mario camera mode which puts the camera behind Mario, and doesn't do any auto moving of the camera. Also, I think new players hate the camera more because they end up trying to fight the camera wanting it to be a certain way, instead of working around the camera, like your Tiny, Huge Mountain example, instead of just holding UP on the control stick and falling, you see the camera move and you roll the stick to keep going where you want to.
Also Fun fact: you use the camera a lot during a speedrun.
Now yeah, the camera is out dated but it's not bad once you get used to it.
And the getting booted out thing, sure it can be annoying on repeat play throughs, but 1) getting a star was meant to be a big deal, so it gives you not only the star dance but also Mario proudly jumping out of the painting. 2) it gives you a bit of down time, where you can go back in the level or go do a different one. 3) some will change the the level, so kicking you out means there wouldn't be any weird loading while in the level. And Sunshine and Galaxy 1and 2 also kick you out of the level.
Also that the turn around issue that can be worked around, let the stick go back to neutral so Mario stops then move the control stick the direction you want to go.
the booted out part: would make the game feel to fast tbh, tall tall mountain has like 3-4 stars in the exact same spot, it would be to quick cuz of that
the controls were made so that you can be really careful (aka u do a full stop), u could possition yourself perfectly and do a jump quite easilly, but if u want to do it fast, u need more skill
the camera: c down is a very good camera angle and mario cam fixes that issue, especially with c down
and lakitu cam was made for huge open spaces, it succeeds at that, mario cam was made with precision in mind, u can use it in open spaces if u want too, mario cam is great if u know about it
I wanna see why people hate mario 64 ds
it pretty much gave players everything they wanted to see in mario 64
Is it really just because D-Pad?
I know it's also missing alot of the speed run strats too.
But man I loved the ds version.
I remember going to the website and seeing the cool clips lol
The Incel Super Mario 64 VS The GigaChad Super Mario 64 DS
The "research" is based on random Reddit comments? Ok, so we're already starting out in cherry-picked opinion territory. This could be forgiven if you did a deep dive into the claims for every level and every star, but your tests were derived from cherry picked and incorrect data (Dire, Dire Docks and failing to do a U-turn which makes the side flip possible). Some of the camera criticisms are valid, but the joystick can be positioned diagonally for a reason, to make Mario move diagonally if need be. I know you don't have unlimited time, but since Mario 64 is a popular old game, it's been picked apart to insane levels (i.e. parallel universes). I honestly expected something more thorough to warrant the clickbaity title.
And now I'm questioning the veracity of your DK 64 video which I watched before this one. You evaluated the backtracking time loss complaint in DK 64 based on the first level and assumed that future levels would be worse, but you evaluated Mario 64's boot out time loss based on the most egregious example (Dire, Dire Docks) and assumed that the other levels were just as bad. These testing methods are inconsistent.
You expressed that you really liked Mario 64, which is something we have in common. And you said it was the game that made you fall in love with gaming. I went into this video actually wondering what would turn people off from this game that you called " a masterpiece." And I came away from the video disappointed. It was a good video idea with some decent editing and voiceover, but needed better execution in your research and testing methodology.
I personally don't like SM64 and as for why, It's the levels in the second half, Imo to me, SM64 was an amazing game up to the 7th world (Lethal Lava Land), After that the game took a complete 180, Many of the levels in the 2nd half are just copy + paste from the 1st half (Snowman Land copying Cool Cool Mountain, Dire Dire Docks copying Jolly Roger Bay, Tiny Huge Island copying Bob-Omb Battlefield) which just made the 2nd half feel slow and boring and ontop of that, some of the levels were just plain awful to me, Shifting Sand Land felt slow, Rainbow Ride looks ugly and its extremely slow, Tall Tall Mountain being bland and feeling like theres nothing important about it. I didn't think the controls were THAT bad (Outside of walljumping) but the camera is just straight garbage, I swear the hardest part about SM64 is the camera
The way you say "Mario" and "undoubtedly" makes me want to hack my ears off with a spoon.
Can i help?
@@kvj1989 Yeah, could you re-dub the video for me and not pronounce "Mario" and "undoubtedly" like someone who has no idea how to speak English?
I hate when people say ‘mar-rio’
My biggest complaint about this game but when you keep in mind it was one of the first if not the first to be 3d is the camera. Oh my lord is it bad at times but once again Mario 64 is one of the first 3d games so yeah I give it a pass in that area. Otherwise for me 100 out of 10 games. Will play this game any day, time, year, and timeline.
When I was a kid the one point where I finally realized the game was garbage with its boot-outs was when I fell off that one flying level and instead of reappearing at the area where I came from to try again, I had to walk ALL the way from the courtyard to the top floor.
I understand the hate about the boot out system, but people need to realize the only 3d mario game that didn't use the boot out method (that I know of) was odyssey. Every game up to that point used the boot out system to reload levels. I believe the only reason odyssey doesn't use the same method is because it was released and created during the huge craze for large open worlds. None of the other games were released during that time period and use the method to change parts of the world depending on the end goal and while they do have semi open worlds similar to Odyssey, they are still relatively small in comparison.
Why were you only showing lakitu cam saying "It's impossible to get the cam behind mario" I would have thought mario cam c down and left/right would put the cam straight behind mario.. Also, when you said you couldn't save jumps in mario and you had that example in HMC, you absolutely could save that with a well-timed long A press. In my personal best 16 star mario 64 time on my channel of 18;54 I actually saved a similar jump in HMC with a clutch wall kick side flip long jump mario cam. Anyway. I'm trying to say you missed a lot of the cam possibilities, there isn't just lakitu but lakitu cdown, mario cam, and mario cam c down as well all are unique analog mapping situations that should be considered when finding a way forward.
I really think that SM64 DS is better than SM64.
Wait. That’s illegal.
It was such a leap forward from Star Fox and Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. At the time it was incredible, and so much better than other 3D games like Jumping Flash.
The issue is that Mario 64 controls is to Sunshine, what Super Mario Bros. is to Mario World. It feels so rudimentary to new, younger players.
It was really such a good feeling to play at the time.
In fact, this and Pilotwings 64 felt so different from the other consoles' games. It was a unique feeling to have those cartridge boxes, manuals, controllers, etc. You really had to play it on the N64 on an old TV when it came out to get it.
The graphics and controls of it on a Switch are lackluster.
Games like Blast Corp, Bomberman 64, etc. and especially the more rudimentary graphical elements of Mario 64 all haven't aged well, but the nostalgia is so heavy for them
What?! Nah! This game was a masterpiece.
Its weird to me how known of these are what I think is the biggest issue in the game by far is and thats how a lot of stars are essentially repeats or trivial to get. Youll have areas where youre expected to go to top of mountain and get star and then the next one is go to top of mountain and get star but its slightly different.
There's no way people can hate this game, if anything, they should respect it because it create an entire new genre that is 3d games.
I can provide a reason for the boot-out system at least.
If the game were to allow multiple stars to be collected at a time, that would mean that you'd have to have all star-specific props loaded into the level, which would be pretty bad for performance. Dire Dire Docks in particular would suffer from this because the sub is removed in the later stars.
Then you also have stars where level design would conflict with itself, like the tower at the top of Whomp's fortress being in the way of the Whomp King boss fight.
Because of the amount of hate Mario 64 seems to get these days, I was surprised people ranked it highly in a top games collab I did in 2021. It was mostly due to nostalgia, but also that it even today is a good pick-up-and-play game. Are these criticisms valid? Yes, but I still go back to this game, including a recent no-coins run just so I don't have to get the frickin 100-coin stars.
I thought a complaint would have been the low poly graphics and primitive textures.
Honestly these complaints aren't really a big issue. The game boots you out of the level to load in unique assets for some stars like how Whomp's Fortress changes after you beat the boss to reveal the tower. This is a design choice that has positives and negatives with or without the level reset mechanic. Just enjoy the game for what it is.
The complaint about the controls and the camera is just being lazy. You do realize that you can put the camera close up behind Mario and you can also lock the camera in place. The game even allows you to crawl to be very slow and precise if you need to. Complaining that there's no safety net if you mess up a jump? The safety net is the outside castle area and the first level where you practice and learn the controls. The thing that makes SM64 such fun is actually mastering the controls.
If you really want to have something to complain about playing SM64, play the DS version. Try controlling Mario and friends with the touchscreen as a substitute for an analog stick.
As someone who was born in 2008 and really got into the game like a year ago, I think Mario 64 takes time to get used to. It is a wonky game but for being one of the first 3D platformers ever made, it is fantastic!
I don't hate mario 64 by any means, but I do find it rather frustrating at times
the weird turnaround thing is one thing, but the inconsistent nature of the dive/airkick is what really makes the game difficult to fully enjoy for me
I know it's based on speed (kinda), but it can be really hard to tell when you're at said speed and when you're just below, making me often kick when I mean to dive, and vice versa
If the dive just... had it's own button, this wouldn't really be an issue. Hell, maybe make diving mapped to jump midair and that'd fix the problem, or go the odyssey route and make dive be accessed by cancelling a ground pound, having them mapped to the exact same button under conditions that can be unclear at best just completely blows...
I can beat Super Mario 64 without moving the camera so what are other people's excuses?
If you don't like SM64 you obviously weren't 12 years old in 1996.
Donkey Kong 64 is better
I am 12 and I love this game, didn't grow up with it but I just love it, maybe it's my type of game.
You can play this game:
DK64
I still haven't played Super Mario 64, as I didn't have an N64 growing up, and whenever I visited friends who did have one, we would always play multiplayer games. Now that this is on Nintendo Switch Online, maybe I should try it out.
you forgot to say "in a parallel universe"
This is easily my favorite game of all time. Has it aged poorly? Yes, but also realize that wording, "AGED". Games like Mario Galaxy and Odyssey have the benefit of releasing on stronger hardware and didn't have the added pressure of modernizing Mario into the first 3D game in its franchise. Developers had the extra time through generations to find quality of life improvements such as not getting booted out of a level or doing away with lives and the game over screen. But what Mario 64 nailed was the camera and the movement.
Let's start with that camera. Okay, not the easiest camera to return to after playing many modern games, but for its time it was revolutionary. It gave you two views an aim mode so you can use the joystick to see your surroundings and a way to snap the camera behind Mario again in case you were in closed spaces. For its time this worked way better than anything like it. The movement was even more impressive however. You can run, walk, sneak, crawl, punch, kick, back flip, reverse flip, 3 jumps that cover more distance if used in a row, a dive forward, another dive with your leg out, a ground pound and I'm sure many more that I can't think of off the top of my head. This versatile moveset was way ahead of its time, and levels were created with this toolbox in mind to give you the player infinite creative ways to run jump and get the star.
What we have here is a masterpiece through and through. Even taking its flaws into consideration it was over a decade ahead of its time and it would take almost 2 generations for other games to imitate the blueprints this game left behind.
Don't forget, levels sometimes change depending on what star you pick. I know it would have been good if Nintendo gave us the option to, but I don't think it would be as easy for the younger audience to realise they have to go out the level and select the star they want for it to change.
The bootout isn't so bad considering some levels are reset in a specific way. Not to mention how quick the missions relatively are. The controls, really? It's like an evolution from this game to the later ones like Odyssey. It's like being mad as SMB for being different from SMB3. The camera I can totally agree, it's very janky and that might be why people complain on the controls.
Anyone that hates this game does not understand it's charm or how important of a game it is, and likely wasn't even born when the game launched. All of these criticisms are only valid in today's games. Comparing to Odyssey and modern 3D Mario games.. are you joking? Why is this video even in my feed? This guy just doesn't understand SM64 at all. The "flaws" set this game apart and give it the charm. Fortunately the "flaws" are consistent in this game.
It's very obvious you were not around when this game was out to compare it to all the other 3D bullshit in the 1996 era. All these points made are invalid.
Oh, and it's MARIO not Merrio
This guy is comparing Mario to Ratchet and God of War, that explains everything.
I always enjoyed the DS version more because it had better graphics and more content
I'd also say the Romhacks of Super Mario 64 is better then The actual game.
Excluding the crappypastas.
Me too.
Recently replayed Mario 64 along with Sunshine and Galaxy and two main things stuck out to me. First, the camera really is terrible. Yes, I know it was good for it's time, but it aged like milk. It takes so much work to get it where you want, if you even can at all. This is coming from someone that beat Mario 64 100% multiple times as a kid on both the N64 and DS, so I can't imagine how kids without that experience felt. Second, it's honestly insane just how much smoother Sunshine is and how much better Sunshine looks despite being only a few years apart. Sunshine really aged well.
All that being said, Mario 64 is still a classic and is an amazing game that has left a bigger impact than almost any other game in history.
I'd play this game over Odyssey any day of the week. I might have adhd, but I don't need the constant gratification of getting a moon every minute. Besides I prefer being booted out of the stage for 120 stars instead of having to sit through over 1 hour of "You got a moon" for 880 moons.
This game is never gonna get old
It's been aging like old milk
@@KiiBon better than Odyssey.
@@traviscunningham7062 At best it's better than like Mario Teaches Typing 2 ☠️
its aged kinda bad
I changed my mind weeks ago, Odyssey is better
I'd still play classic 2D Mario games and then Sunshine and Galaxy etc. Mario 64 as a push into 3D gaming was not the worst attempt. But it lacked all the class we have had with previous entries to the franchise. Mario 64 feels too distracting with its level gimmicks. And playing some levels now makes me scratch my head and wonder how we figured shit out when we were younger. Even streamers now playing this game "for the first time" do have the chat constantly helping out. Most things are too cryptic. I just wonder what aged more bad. Mario 64 or those 3D Gex games on PSone.
I love these videos, you should go into insane depth on one and let it run for an hour
The title is extreme I never heard anyone outright hate this game but it does have some issues mostly due to it's age but it's still a masterpiece and considering it eas one of the first 3D platformers that's incredible
To be fair I've never heard someone complain about the controls, it's the one thing that do hold up to this day
Looking forward to playing through this in a couple weeks for the first time 😮👌🏼
I didn't grow up with the N64 (PS kid here). My wife LOVES this game and after watching her play it, I think some of the design choices were SO weird. Like... why did they not use a million of their already established environments/characters and abilities? Like... you are inside of a clock... why? It just seems like a different game with Mario attached to it. Sure, I mean, I am happy that Mario 3D games aren't completely tied to the 2D Mario world characters and settings, but Mario 64 seems completely random.
thanks for explaining these things about mério 64
They really improved the camera in oot if you played oot first and then played sm64 you feel how janky the camera and controls are. It's not the N64 controler or hardwares fault it was sm64's design
Aged better then The Witcher 1, no cap
sounds like skill issues
These seem like fair points. I don't see why they would make people hate the game though 🤔
There is a time for everything and it is a fact that Mario 64 was best, when it was released.
I recently played it again, along with other N64 games that I loved in my youth back then and I have to say everything seems so small, simple, too easy and overall like a child's game. And I'm not even a boomer playing the latest games these days. In fact, I almost don't play anymore. Hands down, I think people who still praise it and are adults (boomers) are stuck in time and don't want to grow up. The nostalgia in someone's head is greater than the short "Hey!" moment, you'll get by heating up such old games again. The only thing that really stayed with me, is the soundtrack of several games. A lot of great covers were born that way. The rest is a waste of time and only be useful if you have kids (in case they even care).
The DS remake fixes the camera issues by allowing you to center the camera behind Mario by holding L
This game is a good game however it's not my favorite 3d mario but it's fun game
The controls aren't bad they work fine there's some inconsistent moments in the long jump can sometimes be a ground pound instead of the long jump the controls are good but there's one thing I don't like about this game the camera is sooo bad it's a constant fight it makes some levels like rainbow ride a way worse stage to play (especially 100 coins dear lord its a nightmare)some levels from the second half of the game are bland or obnoxious it's not hard because this game is easy but it's just annoying however overall it's one of the better mario games I will say at least
I didn't mention the boot out system because it's never been much of a problem in most of the 3d Mario's
The controls aren’t bad it’s the players who are bad.
The camera is understandable, but the controls are phenomenal
Common Gus W
Gus has the best video game opinions
They hold up so well that even when you use a keyboard you can do a lot of the more precise tricks.
idk man theyr'e too slippery imo . i know you can play arround it but you can also play arround dr jekyll and mr hyde for nes controlls that doesn't make it excusable.
I don't care what anyone says. This game will NEVER become outdated.
64 in 3d allstars was easy to hate... the n64 emulator they used was abysmally bad in terms of performance when it came to input timing
I like mario 64, but i think that mario 64 is the most overshot game of the mario's 3d games :)
It doesn’t control like a modern game. It controls better. It is also more difficult. The motion is so fluid. It’s freedom.
It's definitely very dated. Controls/Movement are lacking the precision and smart features like better ledge snapping that became the norm. Free roaming cameras are the standard now as well. Shame Nintendo didn't add these optional features in the remake. It's nice that new players experienced the same game from back then but back then it was the most advanced 3D game and that's why it was impressive, new players won't be able to see the amazing game that lies under the dated mechanics.
The people who hate it weren't alive when this came out. Also the times were different. Nobody really knew the boot out system. Yes the next gen mario games are better but only because of trial and error but SM64 is GOATED
It's Mario not Merio
Instant dislike for the bs clickbait
great document but you probably need some tolerance when it comes to old games, cause it's out of context, of course it can't compete with nowadays gameplay, 3d was complex, it's a miracle that games like this were not worse, cause this era got lot of horrible games.
Merio just adds a little unwanted flair
Do sunshine!
My biggest complaint is that it’s extremely hard to know what some missions are based on just the title of the mission. There’s no clues are hints. I didn’t own this game as a kid, so if I’m wrong, please let me know! I’m assuming that mission descriptions were in a player’s guide that kids would get at a school book fair?! Haha
The missions tell you what it is you're meant to do (albeit a bit vaguely) without showing you where the star for that mission in question is. Unlike Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario Galaxy which show you where a shine sprite/power star is prior to beginning the mission, the game leaves you to your own devices to locate or trigger a star, which might seem like an issue, but stages are condensed enough that figuring out what you're meant to do is never an arduous task in of itself.
I had this problem too, but along the way you'll find other things that need done and unlock the titles to others. Soon enough it all becomes relevant. Sometimes even unlocks. It was all about the discovery aspect without being too harsh on the players.
honestly, the star names are more the game pointing in a vague direction and it's up to you to find out what it means by exploring the level. However, there are some that don't even give a clue, like Cool Cool Mountain's star "Wall kicks will work" which doesn't give anything about where the star is, but at the same time you only need 70 out of 120 stars to beat the game, so not figuring out where some of the stars are isn't the end of the world.
I never saw Somebody say something bad about mario 64
Who the heck hate sm64?? Clickbait
😊😊
Mario 64 sucks