Grand Theft Scratchy
Banned
Very interesting video focusing on the development of Super Mario 64.
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Super Mario 64 - DidYouKnowGaming?
- Thread starter Grand Theft Scratchy
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Very interesting video focusing on the development of Super Mario 64.
notseqi
Member
Just out of interest, have you seen the AGDQ-speedrun of Blast Corps? Might be interesting to you, if you like this kind of stuff. It had commentary by one of the original developers
I think it's fascinating how they designed games to be run on these consoles 25 years ago.
Kokoloko85
Member
One of gaming’s biggest moments.
I remember Starting the game and being wowed
I remember Starting the game and being wowed
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Entroyp
Member
SM64 is the second most anticipated game of my life. I devoured all information I could get my hands on prior to release, bought as many game magazines as there were available with info about the game.
IMO it did deliver on the hype, I enjoyed every second the game had to offer. Thanks for sharing this.
My most anticipated game of all time was MGS2.
IMO it did deliver on the hype, I enjoyed every second the game had to offer. Thanks for sharing this.
My most anticipated game of all time was MGS2.
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Beer Baelly
Al Pachinko, Konami President
SM64 was mindblowing
EruditeHobo
Member
One of my favorite moments in all of gaming.
I remember downloading some low-res videos of gameplay from IGN or whatever the equivalent was at the time, just watching them over and over. Rabid to see as much as possible. One of very few games which absolutely delivered on seemingly insurmountable hype.
Spukc
always chasing the next thrill
thanks for posting this m8 watching this right meow
jigglet
Banned
This game was stunning. I remember my first introduction to 3D gaming was Tomb Raider which even at the time and zero hindsight to work with, it still felt BAD. What makes Mario 64 amazing is it didn't just do a good job, it literally nailed it out of the gate. Even to this day, the transition animations, the controls, the z axis movement, almost everything was perfected from second 0. The only other two mechanics to be refined in later 3D games were z camera centering, and improved camera controls in general. But otherwise it set such an amazing benchmark that even 24 years later many games still haven't caught up in control responsiveness (e.g. play a modern Rockstar game, they feel like fucking dumpster trash).
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RAIDEN1
Member
This game wiped the floor with the competition, both the Saturn and PSX couldn't come up with anything close to this game.....yet the story could have been very different had Sega taken up the chance to work with Silicon Graphics for the engine of the Saturn, we may just have got a Sonic 64 instead....definitely an improvement over Sonic-X I think...
Grand Theft Scratchy
Banned
It's interesting they said Miyamoto started development on Mario 128 shortly after finishing Super Mario 64 and even had a prototype with Luigi as a playable character. A sequel where Mario was no longer "just for kids". I wonder what it would have looked like utilizing the remaining 40% of the
Nintendo 64
hardware?
Nintendo 64
hardware?
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KuraiShidosha
Member
Of course it holds up, why wouldn't it? Because the graphics aren't up to par for today's standards? The controls are still super tight same as they always were, the worlds are vibrant and fun to explore. The star puzzles vary from super easy to really difficult to manage (for a given skill level.) It has wonderful music, some of the finest in all of gaming's history. I really don't see any reason why it shouldn't still be considered a great game.
-Arcadia-
Banned
It's interesting they said Miyamoto started development on Mario 128 shortly after finishing Super Mario 64 and even had a prototype with Luigi as a playable character. A sequel where Mario was no longer "just for kids". I wonder what it would have looked like utilizing the remaining 40% of the
First of all, damn you for pulling me out of my mini-vacation with this fascinating thread.
Secondly... probably like this, sans that DS/PS1 look? Note Bowser especially. Maybe not quite that good, but I feel like a sequel would have looked way less rudimentary and more in line with later N64 stuff like Ocarina and Majora.
jigglet
Banned
First of all, damn you for pulling me out of my mini-vacation with this fascinating thread.
Secondly... probably like this, sans that DS/PS1 look? Note Bowser especially. Maybe not quite that good, but I feel like a sequel would have looked way less rudimentary and more in line with later N64 stuff like Ocarina and Majora.
Because Zelda used more realistic textures I think the better game to look at is Banjo. That came one software generation after Mario 64 and it was a huge step forward. I remember being impressed at how clean the textures were.
Grand Theft Scratchy
Banned
Well, both games were on the N64, but Banjo used very large textures for its backgrounds split into 64x64 pieces which caused memory fragmentation issues that they addressed by reshuffling the memory.
Mario 128 might have released on the 64DD but interestingly the director of the GameCube tech demo, Yoshiaki Koizumi, would go on to direct Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. Always cool to read about how these ideas and concepts were more or less in development for years before the technology was just right for them to create games out of it.
Mario 128 might have released on the 64DD but interestingly the director of the GameCube tech demo, Yoshiaki Koizumi, would go on to direct Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. Always cool to read about how these ideas and concepts were more or less in development for years before the technology was just right for them to create games out of it.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
There’s never been another 3D platformer with the same moveset, versatility and level design. No other game plays like Mario 64, not even other 3D Mario games (where Mario has to use gimmicks to achieve his full range of movements). As far as pure gameplay goes, it’s a completely unique game that nobody ever really tried to even compete with. You can see the goal was to make just moving Mario around as enjoyable as possible, and they nailed that perfectly.
Level design has all the limits of a first attempt at the genre and I have to admit I never enjoyed SM64’s actual missions that much. I had a PAL N64 so the game’s speed was a joke compared to the JP and US version, so the basic point of the game - just having fun moving Mario around - was impaired and everything seemed harder to do and more sluggish. Maybe this is one of the reasons I enjoyed Rare’s collectathons much more back in the day. But while the mission design is definitely a product of simpler times, full-speed SM64 is still one of the solidest examples of game design and good gameplay ever made.
carlosrox
Banned
I was 9 going on 10 when I first saw/played this at a Toys R Us kiosk before the game released.
First thing I remember seeing was the crowd around the kiosk and someone just starting the first Bowser stage as I got close enough to see the game. I'll never forget that turn wheel platform, incline, and fire trap as being the first things I saw. I could hear the music ever so faintly too.
I didn't know how to hold the N64 controller at the time and reached across the controller from the left handle to access the analog haha.
I remember watching/playing it til the Toys R Us closed and when it did the lights were literally going out in the store and I was in the aquarium room right before Jolly Roger Bay. I did NOT want to leave that store.
I'll always remember my bros telling me it was time to go as the lights were getting shut off.
First thing I remember seeing was the crowd around the kiosk and someone just starting the first Bowser stage as I got close enough to see the game. I'll never forget that turn wheel platform, incline, and fire trap as being the first things I saw. I could hear the music ever so faintly too.
I didn't know how to hold the N64 controller at the time and reached across the controller from the left handle to access the analog haha.
I remember watching/playing it til the Toys R Us closed and when it did the lights were literally going out in the store and I was in the aquarium room right before Jolly Roger Bay. I did NOT want to leave that store.
I'll always remember my bros telling me it was time to go as the lights were getting shut off.
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Grand Theft Scratchy
Banned
I don't really understand why PAL would be any slower than US and JP. Seems like such an unusual oversight.
Soodanim
Gold Member
It's to do with resolution and refresh rates. If games weren't converted from NTSC's 480p 60hz to PAL's 576p 50hz properly, the game ran slower.
Neff
Member
I am so, so glad I was well into my import-only years by the time N64 was released. That was one great Christmas. Truly mindblowing game.
IIRC the console itself didn't even release until the following year here in the UK.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
Import was expensive as heck and I didn’t have a multistandard TV at the time anyway, so even if I’d bought a US N64 my TV wouldn’t have been able to display games in color. You’d need a SCART RGB connection for that, but N64 wasn’t RGB compatible without a mod anyway, so a new TV would have been necessary. Suffice to say I was sensible enough to not even think about asking my parents for all that shit. I loved the slowest N64 games to death even in PAL, but boy, NTSC Super Mario 64 was a completely different game.
Lionel Richie
Member
Yes, the movement is pitch perfect and most of the levels are top notch. It holds up significantly better than most of the games from that gen.
Neff
Member
Yeah I got a modded Hong Kong model N64 so I could run it in RGB. I was fortunate enough to be working at the time so I could eat the significant expense without regret. I even bought a bigger 21" Trinitron to commemorate the event. It was probably the single most exciting gaming event of my life so it was more than worth it.
notseqi
Member
Electricity in Europe runs at 50Hz, US and JP run at 60Hz, which is part of the reason PAL and NTSC are so different.
Okamiden
Member
To be honest I tried to play Mario 64 several times for the past 5 years or so on emulator and always was frustrated by level design, where you have too much space around and almost no tight, satisfying platforming like in classic 2d mario games, which I absolutely adore. I guess I need to mention that it was first couple of levels or so, maybe it gets better after that, but I was really struggling to find an appeal in that. Hopefully I'll find it when remaster releases on Switch.
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nkarafo
Member
It still has the best controls of any 3D platform made so far.
MacReady13
Member
I was all in on PlayStation 1 (having been a Nintendo fan my whole life). Was adamant I'd not get the N64. I saw a kiosk running Mario 64 and sold my PS1 the next day (Unfortunately having only just started working and not having close to enough money to have both consoles, I had to sell 1 to get the other).
Mario 64 met and exceeded expectations. Still a top 5 game of all time for me. The wonder of seeing Mario in 3D was simply 1 of those moments in gaming I'll always remember.
Mario 64 met and exceeded expectations. Still a top 5 game of all time for me. The wonder of seeing Mario in 3D was simply 1 of those moments in gaming I'll always remember.
NeoIkaruGAF
Gold Member
Understandable.
It doesn't really change that much after that. It's a game about exploring the areas. It still has more emphasis on precision platforming than most 3D collectathons though. Banjo, Spyro, DK64 etc. all have floatier jumping and many ways to make jumping less tight, such as rolling or gliding. SM64's jumping is still one of the closest 3D ever got to 2D platforming.
Neff
Member
This.
The fact that they were able to apply those physics in 3D, whilst retaining the kind of precision feedback associated with 2D, and do it better than anyone ever did before (or since imo), astounds me to this day.
I love Tomb Raider, but SM64 is several superhuman leaps ahead. The difference I think is that while Lara's methods of traversal and interaction were amazing for their time, and the world she's in impressively huge, it was a game you had to struggle to be competent with. And even when you get good, she's still stiff and unwieldy.
In comparison, controlling Mario for the first time in SM64 was just the most liberating fucking thing. After three generations, it's easy to take analogue movement for granted, but in 1996, moving in three dimensions suddenly became the most natural, effortless interaction ever. When you saw people playing it, it was a shock. It was unusual to see 3D gameplay so fluid, and seemingly so easy to control. You wanted to try it immediately.
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