Transitioning into 3D meant that the gameplay emphasis was no longer reaching the end of a linear stage within a time limit. So what made Super Mario 64 such a standout title, selling over 11 million copies in this new era of gaming? Lots of things. How could it fail? Mario is great in everything! Ok, well, maybe not everything… Alright, fine, so he’s had a few… low points in his career… And now, Mario would again set the standard for a new generation of gaming in 3D as he stepped into this new, polygonal realm. He built the modern gaming industry on his hairy, Italian shoulders after the video game crash of ’83. I stood there and watched Mario’s giant head spinning in the void, the star circling around him, over and over and over again as he beckoned to me with all the power of temptation to press start.īut really, what else should the world have expected? Everything Mario touches turns to gold. The product itself was every child’s 360-degree gameplay dream come true. Nintendo didn’t even need to market it to little me. The neon colors, the sounds of glee, and the seemingly endless, free-roaming, three-dimensional world of Super Mario 64 were in a word: alluring. I had just turned eleven when the N64 came out in the States and I actually have a very vivid memory of walking into a Costco and seeing it in the electronics section on display. Not exactly a bunch of timeless classics.īut in a show from Nintendo proving that they were indeed the reigning champs (for a moment), the N64 launched with Super Mario 64. Consider some of the launch titles for the PlayStation: Ridge Racer… The Raiden Project… Rayman… Battle Arena Toshinden… Wipeout… 3D Lemmings… even a loser like Street Fighter: The Movie. If that depresses you, I’m sorry, but remember it’s just a first-world problem.Įven though the PlayStation was already out by ’94 and the N64 wouldn’t be released for another two years after that, I think it was for many people the N64 that was the more memorable foray into 3D rather than the PlayStation. That means Super Mario 64 is too, since it was a launch title. In case you haven’t been anywhere else on the internet for the past week, let me be the one to inform you that the Nintendo 64, the console that spawned a next generation of gamers and was a major contender in bridging the way into 3D graphics, is now 20 years old. There’s no way to overstate the amount of cultural impact Mario 64 has had. The cheerful iconic voice of the red-hatted plumber serves to introduce one of the most widely recognized and beloved video games of all time: Super Mario 64. “Hello!” the rubbery, disembodied head beams in salutation. Do what gives you joy and expresses the love that you have for life in your work, y’know.
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