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bccutler's mario 64 (N64)
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| [October 5, 2009 09:10:33 PM]
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Gameplay
During my second session with Mario 64, I was able to get up to 15 stars and enter the special world where you get the feather hat. The feature hat is the coolest feature of the gameplay to me in Mario. For a couple minutes while you have the hat, you are able to fly, after performing a triple jump to launch yourself. Flying in the original Mario games was always the best part, but in the new 3d Mario, flying is completely different. You can actually steer Mario, and he handles like an airplane would. Once you have the feather cap you can load yourself into a cannon and shoot yourself into the air, at which point you have a huge amount of kinetic energy to use up flying around all over the place.
The gameplay is very transitional in that you can switch the types of challenges you are doing by switching the level. There are levels that have traditional style puzzles, where you navigate a path that is complicated and has pitfalls. There are racing elements of levels where you slide down huge slides against other opponents in the game. There are challenges that depend on lots of coordination to control fine motor features and steer Mario through a tight space, and there are levels where you just wander around and look for items to collect. There are bright levels with sun, blue skies and grass, and there are winter levels, underwater levels, levels on boats, levels in clouds, inside ghost houses, and many more, so basically there are different levels for all different moods you could be in when you sit down to play.
Design
One thing I feel this game is lacking is support for two players. Mario games to me are about being able to play with a friend. The earliest Mario on NES allowed you to take turns as you progress through the Mario world, essentially working together to complete all the levels. Starting with Mario 64, it is strictly single player, with the only option being to pass off the controller, which no one likes to do.
The most interesting part of this Mario game is how the levels are physically organized. From the beginning game perspective, you start outside of a large castle, where you can play around in the courtyard, and some of the levels can actually be accessed from outside of the castle. The bulk of the game however is inside the castle. Every room has a painting that represents the level associated with it, and when you want to start a level, you jump into the painting of the level. Also, the different sets of levels are separated into the different wings of the castle. The easy levels are in the lobby, medium levels in the basement, and hard levels are upstairs. In order to progress into a new wing of the castle, you need to have a certain number of stars.
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| [October 5, 2009 09:10:01 PM]
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Summary
Mario 64 is one of my all time favorite games. It is a continuation of the Super Mario series, and is the first in the series to offer 3d graphics. The first thing you notice about the game is how easy it feels to play. It can be entertaining for a while just to explore the environments and control Mario in a 3d environment because there is a very good match between this game and the Nintendo 64 controller. In Mario 64 you are in a cartoonish pipe world where plumbers eat mushrooms and set off to collect stars and coins, with the ultimate goal of saving a princess from a mutant lizard named bowser. The main goal in Mario 64 is to take advantage of 3d environments to solve puzzles.
Gameplay
When I’m playing Mario 64 I feel like a kid again, because this is one of those brightly colored happy go lucky games where you spend more time exploring different worlds than actually doing anything that requires coordination. I think the characters in the game are ridiculous, which is nothing new, I have always thought the story behind Mario is a bit questionable. I never understood how a plumber could take it upon himself to rescue a princess.
This game is fun to play for years. The controller is perfectly matched to the actions in the game, and it is effortless to maneuver Mario. The way Mario 64 sets up the reward structure keeps you motivated to play for a long time also. On a small scale, you can challenge yourself to collect coins within individual worlds, and by collecting 100 coins you earn an extra life. On top of that, if you collect the 8 red coins in each level, you earn a star. Stars are how you measure your progress in Mario, and you need at least 70 in order to beat the game.
The star system is complicated in that there are several different sub goals when collecting stars. You need one star to open certain doors in the castle lobby. Only the door to the castle and the door to the first level can be opened without stars. Once you have 15 stars, you are able to get the flying cap, 30 opens the second half of the game etc.
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bccutler's mario 64 (N64)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Monday 5 October, 2009
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