Topic: About Mario 64, help!

Y’all, i don’t think i can do it. This games controls just make it really hard to play & as much as I want to say it’s just a skill issue on my end, i honestly don’t think it is; between the physics & controls, it just feels like i’m fighting the game itself instead of being challenged by its in-game obstacles. I’m using a custom controller similar to a pro controller - do you think i should only play this with a N64 controller, maybe gamecube? I want to beat this game because it costed me $55/switch online sub since it’s the only way to access the game without spending hundreds on the all star collection.

I played 3D all-stars Mario 64 with a Switch pro controller which worked fine for me. Obviously the camera in that game is awful and other aspects feel very non-modern but some of that is just intrinsic. A lot of people do say the controls are a little more natural feeling on the older controllers though.

@FishyS I just tried the joycons on the switch and they feel better to play than the controller i’m using. so is it the gameplay or just the controller i’m using that’s giving me a hard time? because i don’t have a regular pro controller , it’s a third party controller called oubang

@nomither6 Mario 64 is the first 3d mario game, from a time when navigating 3d worlds was still brand new. If I remember right, the game still works on like 8 axis steering/directional input, which makes it a bit clunky compared to today's standards.

With that said, I thougth it played well with the nintendo brand switch pro controller. I'm not sure the N64 controller as any advantage over it.

@nomither6 Probably a combination of the controls and controller. Some modern controllers map onto the weird N64 controllers better than others. I never tried it with joycons, but if they work for you, go for it.

@WoomyNNYes i’m aware it was the first 3D mario game , i figured that’s why i can’t use the d-pad either because they really wanted to show off this groundbreaking 90s jank in all its low poly goodness! 😆 i wonder if the original on 64 was playable with a d-pad.

anyway, thanks for the interesting info about its 8 axis directional input . i’ll just play with the joycons

@FishyS thanks

It wasn't.

Good luck!

@nomither6 I don't know about Mario 64, but I don't think any of my 3d-world games since Gamecube allow control with the dpad. I'd only expect a dpad to wrork for, maybe, a 2.5D game = a 2D style game rendered in 3D.

I know the topics basically done, but I really wanted to come back to give credit to how expressive mario is in this game. You can clearly tell how much they wanted to bring him to life in his first ever 3D game. All of his voice lines are so good and funny & i appreciate the attention to every detail that mario does; it’s a very charming and silly game. i can’t remember the last time i played a platformer where the character was so expressive, but it really does add to the experience.

edit - you could argue astrobot, but ehh …the bot doesn’t talk, so , points off. 😁 . crash not so much either. other than “woah!” and his end level celebration that’s pretty much it to him.