Super Mario 64

Well here we are again. Princess Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser, again. This time however, Bowser is trying something new. Instead of taking the fair princess to his rundown castle, he just takes control of hers and the 120 Power Stars protecting it. Your job, as the suave Italian plumber Mario is to rescue the Power Stars, defeat Bowser, and save Princess Peach just like the good ‘ol days. This Adventure/RPG takes you through all the many rooms of Princess Peach’s castle and through their various paintings to rescue the Power Stars from Bowser’s minions. 

The Breakdown:

Storyline (out of 20):

The time it will take you to play through this game and actually save Peach is shorter than completing the game as a whole. The play time you get from just saving Princess Peach is around 35+ hours. To complete the game fully is closer to 60+ hours. The game takes you through the various stories and paintings of Princess Peach’s castle. Bowser has animated the pictures and hidden Power Stars in each one and guarded them by his weak but faithful minions. Your job is to beat the minions, if necessary, and return the Power Stars to the castle. After obtaining specific amounts of Power Stars you unlock new levels to the castle and when you have enough Stars you can access special levels where you have to fight Bowser himself. The levels take you through many creative environments. From the intense heat of Lethal Lava Land, the underwater expanse of Jolly roger Bay, all the way to the freezing peaks of Cool, Cool Mountain. These levels will always have you interested in this game. After defeating Bowser for the third time you rescue the Princess and win the game. For this extensive and unique storyline I give Super Mario 64 an amazing 18 out of 20.

Character Evolution (out of 5):

Throughout Super Mario 64 Mario does not change whatsoever in his appearance, but he does acquire a few new skills throughout the games. Hidden in each of the painting worlds there are several distinct color blocks in shades of Red, Green, and Blue. The Red block, after being unlocked fairly early in the game will allow Mario to take flight after being shot from a cannon, or doing a simple triple jump. The Green block allows Mario to turn metal and practically invincible, along with giving him the ability to survive underwater, and breathe in noxious gases. The Blue block allows Mario to become transparent and travel through grates and makes him invincible. Besides the blocks Mario does have the ability to lose his hat at points during the game but he can always find it with a helpful Toad still waiting in the halls of the castle. Due to its lack of decent Character Evolution I give Super Mario 64 a 2 out of 5 for Character Development.

Game Difficulty (out of 10):

Note, I combined the Boss Battles and Game Difficulty categories for the prevention of duplicity in my review. Due to the pure length of the full game Super Mario 64 is fairly difficult. Also some of the puzzles required to save the Power Stars are very hard to figure out. The boss battles unfortunately are nothing to worry about. I didn’t find the need to try more than once to complete any boss battle, which disappointed me. Due to the lack of difficulty in the boss battles I give Super Mario 64 a 6 out of 10 for game difficulty.

Graphics (out of 5):

During the time this game was made, one other very well remembered game was. Everyone remember Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time? Probably not, it wasn’t that great of a game ;), just kidding of course. Regardless they both used the same type of graphics and game design. They were the first games for the Nintendo 64 to integrate 3D graphics. They were colossi of their time for Graphics. They used Polygon Graphics to create free roaming and expansive environments. They both also used advanced dynamic camera angle software so allow for a smoother transition between camera angles without you having to constantly mash one of the buttons on the controller. Due to the advanced graphics system on this game, it receives a perfect 5 out of 5 for Graphics.

Nostalgia Factor (out of 20):

Simply put I give Super Mario 64 a 16 out of 20, enough said.

The Score:

18        20

2          5

6          10

5          5

31 out of 40

Super Mario 64 gets a great 31 out of 40 on the Retrometer scale. This is by far one of the first games you have to play when you get a N64 or if you have a N64 already.