Super Mario 64was a strong launch game with the Nintendo 64 and brought the plumpy plumber into 3D in ways that very few even imagined. The game was a blueprint for what 3D platformers would be moving forward, and in fact, it set the table for 3D games in general in many ways. PlayingSuper Mario 64on the Switch is a dream come true for many, and it also is a reminder of how another Switch 3DMariogame is arguably as good, that beingSuper Mario Odyssey.
Super Mario 64is one of the three games inSuper Mario 3D All-Starson the Nintendo Switch, a collection of classicMariotitles put together as a celebration forSuper Mario’s 35th anniversary. There’s little denying the pure fun in the package, and based on the love and nostalgia of the iconic Nintendo 64 game, many may run to playSuper Mario 64before anything else. But now that the Switch is home toMario 64 and Mario Odyssey, it is more clear than ever thatOdysseyis a perfect extension and evolution on theMario3D formula thatMario 64started.
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Super Mario 64
Perhaps a perfect video game in 1996 when it launched,Super Mario 64certainly has its quirks today. The game could have been updated for the times in various ways, which is part of the complaints in the otherwise stellarSuper Mario 3D All-Starscollection. Things like clunky controls for precision platforming and a pretty lousy camera can bog down the experience in 2020, but the foundation was laid for what a 3DMariogame could be.
While games likeSuper Mario GalaxyandSuper Mario 3D Worldare supreme titles, they are in some ways more of an evolution of the2DMariogames, with the gameplay having a more obstacle course focus and feel than anything. The 2DMariogames, likeSuper Mario World, are filled with puzzles and secrets, but the end goal is usually to simply go from point A to point B. This is very similar toSuper Mario Galaxy, for example, which is one of the other titles inside of theSuper Mario 3D All-Starscollection.
There is so much aboutMario Odysseythat feels likeMario 64, but improved on. Obviously, things like camera functionality, platforming gameplay, and feel (expected in a Nintendo game in 2020) are there as a big step-up fromMario 64, but those betterments are more on a technical perspective. From a gameplay perspective,Mario Odysseyprovides the same feeling of freedom and expression of exploration thatMario 64provided. Darn near perfect gameplay and freedom is part of the reasonOdysseyreviewed so exceptionally.
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Super Mario Odyssey
Just like it was remarkable to be plopped down in Bob-omb Battlefield and blast onto a floating island, climb to the top of the mountain to defeat Big Bob-omb, or unchain Chain Chomp for Stars,Mario Odysseyallows freedom of explorationin a level like Fossil Falls, where players can jump onto hidden floating isles, defeat Madame Broode on top of the mountain, and capture a Chain Chomp to burst open a wall for Moons. InMario 64,it was an absolute delight to find out that there is an entire pyramid to explore from the inside that is just as big as the level itself in Shifting Sand Land. Meanwhile, it is a wonderful surprise to find out that there is an entire underground forest underneath Steam Gardens inMario Odyssey.
InMario 64, players are limited to one single star at a time (other than a few exceptions like snagging the 8 red coins in a Bowser level). As fun as it is to explore, sometimes it can be frustrating to make it deep into a level and have to abruptly stop when one of the Stars are located. There is often the urge to keep going, keep exploring. Once a Star is found, however, Mario jumps back through the painting and into Peach’s Castle again. If the player wants to go back to the tip-top of that Tall, Tall Mountain again, they need to jump back into the painting and climb all the way up.
Mario Odysseydoubles down on that feeling of exploration. Instead of forcing a level to be restarted whenever a Power Moon is found,Odysseyallows players to continue searching and traversing the world. One thirty-minute session of running around inNew Donk Citycan result in 20 Moons being discovered, without any stoppage in the flow of traversal and investigation. There is nothing holding back the player from going deeper in the level. There are secrets around every corner and the gameplay is built so that the player will want to keep being delighted by discovery. The feeling of finding a Star inMario 64was one of euphoric surprise. It felt less like meeting an objective and more like true revelation. This is exactly what finding a Moon is like inMario Odyssey.
Super Mario Sunshine
There are some other games that attempted to follow-up on the formula ofMario 64.Super Mario 3D All-Starsalso comes packed withSuper Mario Sunshine, a delightful gamethat is a bit more in line with the exploration style 3DMariogames.Mario Sunshineis vibrant, creative, and special, as it cleaned up theMario 64experience. The gameplay is smoother. The camera issues are basically gone. And Nintendo was even able to implement gameplay ideas that it wanted to withMario 64but couldn’t, like a rideable Yoshi.
As wonderful asSunshineis, it really wasn’t overly innovative or new. The watery jetpack named F.L.U.D.D is a fun gameplay gimmick, but in general,Sunshineis basically a honed-in version ofMario 64. The same general formula is in place, that being that there are multiple levels to explore and specific challenges that result in Stars/Shine Sprites upon completion. The game is much more linear than it may seem, however, asSunshineholds the player back from true exploration by sort of forcing players to complete one pre-designed objective at a time.Sunshinedoesn’t expand on the idea ofMario 64;it simply attempts to perfect, in the same way that a game likeTwilight Princesscarries on the same exact formula ofOcarina of Time.
And to continue on with theZeldaanalogy, ifBreath of the Wildis the evolution ofZelda, compounding and expanding on the ideas of freedom and exploration from the original, thenSuper Mario Odysseyis the evolution ofSuper Mario 64.
