It has to be Mario himself, of course – manoeuvring him
felt every bit as ‘right’ as it did in 2D, his capabilities
delightfully expanded to give him the freedom to
triple-jump and side-flip around his alluringly spacious
surroundings. A nod, too, to cameraman Lakitu,
somehow managing to keep up wherever Mario goes.CLASSIC HERO
W
ithout an ounce of
overstatement, Mario’s
3D debut was and is one
of the most important
games ever made. It’s hard to fathom
the pressure Nintendo must have been
under – it not only had to sell consoles,
but also convince players that its
mascot could be equally at home as in
his side-scrolling outings. How do you
translate a 2D series into 3D? Super
Mario 64 was the textbook answer.
More than that, it set the agenda for
3D gaming as a whole, such that it’s
hard to think of a game released since- especially sandbox games – that
doesn’t owe Nintendo a debt.
Quite apart from defining an era, it
happened to be a brilliant game in its
own right. A gloriously inviting and
secret-packed castle hub hid wonderful
virtual playgrounds behind each of its
doors (and sometimes in its walls and
floors, too). All were fun to explore, with
many hosting tricky platforming runs
that required all of Mario’s expanded
moveset to conquer. Some would say
Nintendo has never bettered it; either
way, it remains one of the medium’s
true masterpieces.