Released in the US on September 29th, 1996, Super Mario 64 was the iconic plumber's first foray into the world of 3D and would pave the way for much of the industry and other 3D games to follow. At the invitation of the princess and delicious prospects of cake, Mario ventures to Peach's castle only to find Bowser's shenanigans at play once again, capturing both the princess and all the Power Stars of the castle. From the very opening moments of the game, players have free reign to perform all sorts of acrobatic moves and run around wherever their whims desire, creating an immersion into the world of Mario like never before. As players push the bounds of their curiosity, they'll notice many peculiarities that will require returned investigation. A door beneath the water's surface of the front moat. A ghost at the end of a long hallway. A painting that wavers at close touch. And then the magic happens. You decide to jump into the mysterious painting, and you're literally sucked into a whole new world of possibilities.
With only a vague hint of a titled mission-select screen, players are tossed into many a curious world to explore and determine the means of retrieving the hidden Power Stars. In many cases, these stars can be obtained out of order, encouraging experimentation and the innate curiosity to poke around these colorful sandboxes. Such freedom of play and discovery made for an incredibly refreshing and captivating experience; Having a sense of personal ownership to every accomplishment achieved, but still having a loosely threaded goal in which to strive for and keep the player on track. Princess Peach's castle also offers one of the most personal and memorable hubs to grace the medium of gaming. Each new section of the castle gives way to new mysteries and worlds to be discovered, often times offering new revelations upon repeated visits. How the water level can be determined by the height in which the player jumps into one painting. Or how the size of a painting correlates to the size of of one particular world. The joys and thrills of discovery are interwoven into every nook and cranny of these polygonal halls.
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| Early conceptual dioramas for designing the many worlds of Super Mario 64. |
Living up to its 2D pedigree, Super Mario 64 offers some of the most refined and fluid controls in which to enjoy having Mario chain jumps together. So much thought was given not only to how Mario moves, but how one interacts with the world around them, introducing concepts like wall jumps, long jumps, back-flips and more. Ensuring players are able to keep up with this action was a revolutionary dynamic camera system, which would intuitively follow Mario through these 3D worlds or allow players free control to adjust the angles as needed. This system has laid the groundwork for just about every 3D game to follow and few still seem able to master the grace and elegance that a 3D Mario adventure such as this has achieved. This is a game that not only has shaped the industry, but still stands as a masterpiece and joy to play to this day.
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