Game Changers: Super Mario 64

Script written by Garrett Alden

Gamer Changers: Super Mario 64

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today we’ll be beginning a new series on our channel called “Game Changers,” in which we discuss the video games that changed everything. Today, we’ll be talking about “Super Mario 64.” A launch title for the Nintendo 64, “Super Mario 64” was the system’s highest selling game and is frequently cited as one of the greatest video games of all time, as well as one of the most influential. But what exactly made it such a game changer?

To find the answer, first let’s look back at where Mario and Nintendo began. After appearing in several Nintendo arcade games, Mario debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System in “Super Mario Bros.” This game not only helped define 2D platformers as a genre, it also became one of the bestselling ever made; helping Nintendo revive the home console video game industry. Mario also helped launch Nintendo’s Game Boy and Super Nintendo consoles, with “Super Mario Land” and “Super Mario World,” respectively. But even non-launch titles like “Super Mario Kart” and “Super Mario Bros. 3” proved massive hits and left big impacts on the industry. So, Mario and the company he represents had achieved unprecedented success in 2D gaming. But 3D gaming was a new frontier, and success was far from guaranteed.

3D games had been in development since the mid 1970s. Moving along more than a 2D plane was theorized long before it became a reality. Early attempts at the practice usually involved using tricks of perspective to fool the eye into thinking objects on screen were moving in more than two dimensions, such as by scaling sprites up or down. Then, during the ‘90s, with the advent of first-person shooter and arcade racing games, texture wrapping began to make 3D gaming feel more realistic. But it would be console gaming, particularly “Super Mario 64,” that helped make the great leap forward. What made “Mario 64” so different though?

Firstly, one of the most important things it did better was its camera. Most contemporary 3D games continued the trend established by 2D games – the camera was fixed in one place, and the characters moved around the screen’s space. Competitors released in the same year, 1996, like “Resident Evil” or “Crash Bandicoot,” definitely show their age more because of this inflexible camera. “Super Mario 64,” on the other hand, gave control to the players. The camera can swing around Mario completely and you can even tighten things to Mario’s perspective. This was so unprecedented that the developers even came up with the in-game explanation of having Lakitu follow Mario around with a camera. There were probably other games that had similar camera controls, but “Super Mario 64” undoubtedly popularized them.

The next major innovation the game delivered was one of movement. Mario feels incredibly fun to control in his first 3D outing. Part of it is due to the range of options in traversing your environment – you can long jump, triple jump, backflip, side flip, dive, and many other things besides. You have limited time power-ups that switch up your movement, like the Wing Cap or the turtle shell. But of equal importance is the precision at which you can move Mario. You can run, walk, tiptoe, or crawl and the transition between all these speeds is as smooth as butter. Mario’s movement in “Super Mario 64” is all about freedom, and the precision and variety make it clear to the player that if you screw up, it’s probably not the game’s fault.

The sense of freedom in “Mario 64” isn’t limited to how Mario can move either. The large and expansive level design also gave players a new degree of independence. Unlike 2D “Mario” games, “64” took a non-linear approach to the worlds Mario explores. Sure, there’s a “level 1” and each level has a suggested order of stars to collect, but you’re not obligated to do each level in the way the developers intended. “Super Mario 64” was one of the first games to really encourage exploration as a means of progression. Every huge level had plenty to discover and players didn’t have to worry about breaking the game because they deviated from what they were “supposed” to do.

Speaking of the game’s levels, each of them was full of things to discover, and more importantly, to collect. Collecting stars furthered progression in the game overall, while collecting coins and other items within the levels gets you more of those stars. While collecting hundreds of little items became a staple of most 3D platformers, it has also become a core feature of pretty much any 3D game of a certain size. Open world games with massive maps full of miscellaneous doodads to accumulate owe a lot to “Super Mario 64.”

In fact, many games have directly been inspired by “Super Mario 64.” While its influence on 3D platformers is fairly obvious, it has impacted many other games as well. Martin Hollis, the director of “Goldeneye 007,” has cited “Mario 64” as the origin for that game’s mission variety. Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura has claimed that “Mario 64” was a direct inspiration for “Kingdom Hearts.” And we’d agree with Rockstar Games’ Dan Houser, who claims that anyone who develops 3D games who says they weren’t inspired by “Super Mario 64” is lying.

“Mario 64” helped define 3D gaming in much the same way that “Super Mario Bros.” did for 2D gaming. Its camera, movement, scope, and details all became a benchmark for 3D games. Its legacy has lasted decades, with remakes as well as ROM hacks and fan games keeping interest in a game that has aged amazingly well. And its recent rerelease in “Super Mario 3D All-Stars” has given a whole new generation the perfect opportunity to experience its game changing gameplay for themselves.