Super Mario 64
Reviewed by Stryker
Probably the most anticipated video game of all time, Super Mario 64
was expected to carry the Nintendo 64's opening run. And it has done
so excellently. Mario 64 is the best all-around game on any system.
Mario once again must rescue Princess Toadstool, now called Peach,
from Bowser. There are a whopping 120 stars to collect 90 stars that
are regular, 15 stars from getting 100 coins in the 15 worlds, and 15
secret stars from varied tasks.
Graphics 10 out of 10
Smooth, neat graphics. It's the tops. Mario 64 is like a perfectly animated
Disney cartoon without all the crap in it. There's perfect colors in all the
levels with perfect graphics. All of the levels are perfectly colored and
animated. The Bomb-Omb Battlefield, for instance, is a wondrous plainsland
full of cheery, cute enemies. There's a Koopa that you can grab his shell and
surf on, four cannons, and fun goals. First you have to beat the boss, then
you'll need to win a race, collect the 8 red coins, hit a star box on a floating
island, grab the 6 coins in the center of the six coin wheels in the sky, and
pounding the chain-dog's stake. It's family fun at it's best. And it all has
beautiful graphics and tons of camera angles. Perfect. Nothing matches this,
not even 007's realism or Extreme G's fantasylands.
Music and Sound 10 out of 10
The music never fails to be cheery when necessary. There's also the
peaceful track used in the sea levels, the dramatic tune in the three
Bowser mini-levels, the weird music in the desert and lavaland, the
jinglebells in the two snow levels, the nicely-done haunting house music,
and it's very nicely done. The music bytes never fail to amuse. From Mario's
regular chants like "Here we go!" and "Yahoo!", there's also the muttering of
"Mama Mia" and "Ahh Ravioli" during his sleeping. The enemies who talk don't
really talk, but they do make sounds when you meet them. Somehow none
of this is annoying.
Game Challenge 8 out of 10
I beat this game in 23 days. Being a video game veteran, that's less than
most games and more than Mario Kart 64. The puzzles were very challenging,
and it would have taken much more time if I wasn't playing three hours a
day and five hours on weekend days. The puzzles are hard when reaching
into the depths of the games. The secret stars range from simply gathering
8 red coins in some secret levels, then through finding secret levels, then
races, and etc. Near the end of the game, after obtaining the second key
and going upstairs, you'll reach some very puzzling levels. Wet/Dry World's
series of water controls and strategy is the best level, and Tiny/Huge Island
has a very similar strategic effect. Tick-Tock clock is very strategic too,
because the point when you jump in makes a difference in how fast the
clock is moving. It's pretty hard. But notice something scary. The Mario
games keep getting easier from Super Mario 3. Then they adapted
battery-backup for the SNES. Geez. It's getting easier each adventure.
Game Play-Fun 10 out of 10
It's great. It's fun on your runs to get enough stars to go through doors,
etc. I don't know how it manages to be so fun without multiplayer. But it
does. It was worth the wait. Believe me.
Frustration
Well, there's no real frustration. All games have frustration when you're
trying to get stars. There's the weird thing where you can see through walls,
and in stars where you need to do a sequence of stuff to get the star it's
annoying. Other than those gripes, it's perfect.
Replayability 10 out of 10
I find myself going back to the game even after getting 120 stars. There's
so much to do. Surfing on shells, racing best times, beating coin records,
looking for more secrets, disproving all those Luigi 64 people, there's just
so much to do! Well, it's not like other games which are boring from your
beating it up till you buy a new game. I've owned it for a year and I still
keep going back and doing stuff off and on.
Game Value 10 out of 10
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. It's the regular price. All the truly 5-star
games are on 60 dollars.
Overall 100 out of 100
The best game ever.