Topic: Is Mario 64 over-rated?

It has the base controls of all 3D Mario games to come before it and it is fairly lengthy. Most of the level designs are still good (except for the stupid sunken ship, which was ALWAYS stupid). That being said, if you liked the original Star Fox(Wing), you will really like Star Fox 64 (Lylat Wars) because its a remake of the original but with multiplayer and junk.

It's wonderful. It was revolutionary when it was first released and it has aged brilliantly over the years. I would still rate it as one of the best games you can play today. It may have been technically - and in many ways creatively - superceded by Galaxy, but that's no excuse to not play it.

It's a relatively old game now, but there is lots to appreciate for someone who never experienced it first time round. The levels and challenges are very well considered, brilliantly paced and nicely varied. There is lots to seek out without the game ever getting dull. The difficulty curve is perfect. It's an adventurous game and I think that still comes across, even in 2013.

The camera is a little unconventional on the GC and classic controllers, as although it uses the right analogue stick, the game originally used the N64 pad's c buttons and could not be manipulated on the y axis.

This is coming from a guy who did not play the game in the day, so I have no nostalgia bias or anything like that.
The following contains opinions.

I consider the game to be highly, highly overrated. We can sit here and say it was revolutionary all day and all night, but what does that say about the actual quality of the game?

First off, this is the only time I have ever had serious problems controlling Mario. Sunshine had some hiccups for me, but I honestly cannot control Mario for the life of me. His turning radius is so large (comparable to that of a John Deer tractor's), I have to go through every level with so much caution, it's not even fun. And just for the record, I can control all of the past Marios just fine.

The camera, while I know it was Nintendo's first foray into true 3D gaming, to be fair, is just a mess. It never sticks when you need it to, it constantly jerks around, you can never adjust it how you want, and loves to do Sonic '06 movements when you're on tight platforming.

The level design also lacks, and coupled with poor controls which made some levels a chore, towards the end of the game I found myself just trying to find the easiest ones possible to complete the game. Now I know this is personal taste, but I really don't care for Mario 64's non-linear levels. It just didn't feel like good platforming to me.

It's probably time for me to go lay low until this thread finds it's way into obscurity, I think.

This game was the first game I have ever played....about 7 years later I got it on the Wii VC and played it there. The controls and camera feel really weird but it still retains that perfect gameplay and music that brought me to play other kinds of great gaming experiences that I still cherish to this day ;D.

Every game tries to be a little bit better than its predecessor. And, yes, newer games are better than Mario 64 in graphics, scope, physics, AI, and multiplayer. But that doesn't take away from the fact that it's a really good game, and still very much enjoyed. Just don't go into it with the mindset that it's greatest masterpiece of all. Just enjoy it for what it is: a fun 3D platformer.

Overrated by majority, or underrated by minority. Either or, whatever you think.

Yes, it is over-rated, it should be rated KO for Kiddies Only.

You can't really compare 64 to the Galaxy games, they were released a full 10 years apart.

But I love 64, I was 7 or 8 when I first played it so that would have been back in '97-'98 and it was awesome, it was a revolutionary game for it's time and really established 3D open world gaming on consoles. So I would say it deserves every bit of praise it gets. I actually picked up a N64 recently along with Mario 64 and a few other games such as Mario Party 2, Gex, Glover, and a few others and I've definitely been playing Mario 64 more than the others. But it just holds a special place in my heart, so I guess that's the nostalgic factor for me. If you don't have the nostalgia that goes along with it I would think it would be a bit harder to get into, but I would say yes you should get it, it's an awesome game and an important piece of video game history.

@thatguyEZ (high fives)

It was the first game (and the first QUALITY game) in full 3D. I don't think so. It's very important in video game history.

While it's an amazing and revolutionary game, I do think it's overrated. While not as generic as NSMB or 3d Land, it does still feel generic Mario. However, while Sunshine and the Galaxy games are superior, they wouldn't be there without Mario 64.

No. Anyone who says otherwise is Wrongy McWrongerson, mayor of Wrongtown.

First of all No this game is not overrated, it was good for its time and back then it truly was unique. I don't recommend the game for u because whether you will want to admit it to yourself or not you'll be too used to the newer Mario games. What people like @ClockworkMario dont understand was that back then games with 3D environments required u to constantly move the camera which is what the yellow C buttons were for and the R button automatically made the camera turn behind the character or in Zelda's case it locked on. You can't go into a 64 game and expect the camera to be as great as it is in current gen games. If you don't mind the old mechanics of the 64 you'll have fun.

What a conversation!
Hear is what I think. Great games are great for either one of these reasons:
1. They are revolutionary (Ocarina of Time, Pokemon)
2. They are evolutionary (Call of Duty, Donkey Kong Country)

If you don't see how a game improves the bar (evolution), or rethinks the bar (revolution), then it is sub-par.

Super Mario 64 was revolutionary back then. But all evolutionary games have to evolve from somewhere. Super Mario 64 was happy to volunteer, being the pioneer of 3D Games. It helped people evolve on its own format. And that is why some may not think Mario 64 was all that. They've seen it done before, and better than Mario 64.

Here's a good video describing it called "Really Freakin' Clever". Its conveniently recent, and the entire series is something to watch.

Eh, a little bit. It was pretty important though. I think the overatedness stems from the fact that Super Mario Galaxy improved 3D Mario in every single way possible. It has stood well, it's still very fun today. In terms of the Mario series, we have evolved since then. It's still a super revolutionary game and very fun. It's overrated, but only by a tiny bit.

Wow... are you serious? What does the game's rating have to do with anything?!

But I have to say, based on the comments here, I'm beginning to think my suspicions may be founded... Lots of people have again stated how important or revolutionary the game was, and that I do not dispute, but I'm not sure it's a wise choice for me personally with limited time and money. At the end of the day, Pong and Breakout were revolutionary, but I have no particular desire to play them today - and while those examples are a bit more extreme, I fear the same holds up here (I hardly played games between 1996 and 2008, and Mario Galaxy was my first 3D platformer after that lengthy break).

Maybe sometime I will get a chance to play it, but for now I think I'll stick with Lylat Wars...

No.

It really annoys me when someone talks about how great a game is based on what it was. Personally, it doesn't matter much in the present when discussing quality. I'll tell you what Super Mario 64 is though. Super Mario 64 is the 3D Mario game that offers the most freedom to the player and does the least to stop the player. By freedom, I'm referring mainly to the fact that you can be as out of order as you like within what you've unlocked. I'm not forced to get a particular star if I don't want to. By stopping the player I'm referring to content like D.E.B.S, Rosalina and Lubba in the other traditional 3D Mario games pulling the player aside instead of letting them move right on to the next Star/Sprite they wish to obtain. The traditional 3D Mario games have gotten progressively worse in this regard.

For the remake of Super Mario 64 on the DS, while there's more creativity there with all the new techniques with the expanded playable cast, there's also more hindrance as certain stars will require being a certain character barring if the chosen episode happens to have the right cap present. In not being all Mario centered, the game lost a bit of the original's excellent pace and freedom.

Short version: Super Mario 64 still stands as the 3D Mario that offers the most player freedom and is the best paced due to that freedom. If that's your preference, the game hasn't aged a bit and is far from being overrated.

THIS, THIS, and THIS ALL THE WAY!!! THIS is the one major thing I have seriously disliked about the new 3D Mario games. I loved the Freedom the Mario 64 game gave me. I liked that I could choose what mission to do or if I was in one mission I could do another one instead while I was still in that mission. This is the one thing Nintendo still hasn't managed to improve upon with the newer Mario games.

Super Mario 64 did not age well in some respects as it was the very first 3D platformer with that level of pure ambition. The N64 graphics in particular haven't aged well but remain pure Mario - before he got all cute with star sprites and cat suits. This was the last surreal, weird Mario. Later games would adopt an almost Disney cute tone.

Even compared to Banjo & Kazooie (which came out soon after), the enemy count was sparse and the worlds seemed somewhat empty. However with that music, feeling of exploration, sheer creativity on display, just the awesome way it flowed and was put together, it's perhaps the most nostalgic Mario as well. I would love to see a 3DS eShop enhanced remake with better populated redone worlds. An no, Super Mario 64 DS does not count as it lacked analog control and shoehorned in other playable characters. Call me a purest, but my memories where with Mario, not Wario, Yoshi, and Luigi. And with a Mario I can control with absolute analog precision.

Is it overrated? No. It was just amazing and completely unique at the time. Is it dated? Yes, but it holds up well enough to continue to be an essential purchase next to Super Mario Galaxy 1-2, 3D Land, and 3D World. Super Mario Sunshine felt too different with the water shooting mechanics. It was the Super Mario Bros. 2 of the 3D Mario games - fun, but not the droids I'm looking for.