Topic: Super Mario 3D All-Stars

@NEStalgia Nah, I've made no secret I think Odyssey remains an amazing title, you're not alone. Perfect no, but definitely amazing.

I've been playing quite a bit of Galaxy, but it clearly wasn't designed for handheld play.

Having to rub the screen for star bits gets annoying. I would strongly recommend use of a stylus. It's nicer to play on the Lite for that reason, but I also hate missing out on that sweet rumble.

@damien33ad One day young padawan, one day...

@Bolt_Strike I think the level itself isn't that bad. Getting to the island with Yoshi is quite tedious, but mostly because it takes so long, and if you fail, it swimming back isn't fast either.

I fully believe the pipe at the end is bugged and was meant to take you back to the start of the level. Why else put it there? You can exit the level at any time anyway. But yeah, definitely the most annoying star. I have it memorised pretty well at this point, but that one floating coin gets me every time.

For the pachinko machine I recommend trying to learn the physics of it. FLUDD isn't the answer. Once you realise the pattern, it becomes manageable. If you jump and don't do anything, you will always land in the middle of the board, EVEN if you use FLUDD. And this is probably the reason why people think the physics are ''broken'', because FLUDD normally halts any horizontal movement by hovering. This doesn't work in the pachinko machine. You control the amount Mario gets flung to the right with the control stick. Tilt it all the way to the left and you'll land on the left side, and if you tilt all the way to the right you'll end up on the right side. You can use FLUDD to pinpoint your drop, but it's best if you rely on the control stick for most of the time. The bottom two coins can be obtained from the backside by running up the ramp and hovering over to them. So you only need to get the top three, and a last jump for the shine, if you don't feel comfortable with the mechanics.

Up to 47 stars in 64. The easiest world by far is Snowman's Land. Which is weird, since it's one of the later stages. Wet-Dry World is my least favorite world. Not infuriating or anything, it's just really bland. I do like the music tho.

@Octane I had to figure that out on my own. After using FLUDD and failing I ended up going to the middle board, then hovering to the others. Once I'm done with the top ones I go to the bottom. I hate the level not because it's impossible, but for how tasteless it is. Like, seriously? An inescapable death hole at the bottom?

However, it's not half as bad as the worst level in the game, which automatically goes to that Chuckster level. Now THAT is true living hell.

I just picked this up. Thank you Walmart for $50 games. Cheaper than anywhere else.

@Apportal, just started up Snowman Land myself today, and I found getting the Star on top of the snowman to be a real pain as I couldn't keep step with the penguin due to the slipperiness of the path (after climbing back up about seven times or so, I finally did it though). The only other Star I've done there so far is the Bully one, which wasn't too bad.

Up to 66 Stars myself, and now that I know where the Metal Cap is I'll go back & get it, as I should be able to get enough Stars from past worlds that need it to hit 70. So far I've found Jolly Roger Bay, Big Boo's Haunt, and Dire Dire Docks to be the easiest worlds (the water worlds in particular I'm finding to be pretty relaxing for the most part, compared to the rest of the game).

@Octane The problem with the level itself is it requires you to be fairly precise steering the lily pad in order to get the Red Coins. And then if you miss any, you need to be even more precise to navigate the edges back to the beginning (or you could just jump and hover from one edge to the other and get the coins that way). And the currents sometimes move you left and right and there's no visual cue as to when and where, which complicates things.

Yeah, the pipe taking you back to Delfino Plaza is curious, and it would make a lot more sense if it just took you back to the beginning of the level. That would make it easier for sure.

@RR529 That levels for sure a pain, but everything else is incredibly fair. Probably because of how small the world is. Half of the red coins are grouped, and the other half are near the start. The other stars are fairly easy to get too.

@Apportal, I'll definitely go back & try to get the rest, it's just that one kinda got to me, lol.

Anyhow, I have 72 Stars now, so will dedicate tomorrow to trying to beat the last Bowser area, but am kinda dreading that last platforming gauntlet before the fight itself (definitely going to stock up on extra lives in the Vanish Cap stage beforehand), as I found even the second one really tested me in spots.

Will definitely go back to Snowman Land at a later time (and I really want to try Tiny Huge Island too), but I'm so ready to put 64 behind me & tackle the more modern games.

@Silly_G
Playing Galaxy on a handheld seems just wrong anyway. A game that beautiful shouldn't be limited to a tiny screen. Plus i never liked touch screen controls. I'm not rubbing my fingers all over the screen to collect star bits. Smudges everywhere. Freaking gross!

@Bolt_Strike I hate the hell out of that level still have not done it.

The watermelon rolling still infuriates me. But the worst may be the ghost hotel level after the shadow mantas.

The hotel merely has the red ghosts as platforms to hit with water and jump on them to the top. I don't think that was designed to be challenging. But the dreadful physics, camera, and aiming make it challenging and frustrating. Actually anything requiring vertical ascent in sunshine is irritating due to camera and controls. But you get to the top only to get a fluddless platform level built by a sadist. It's too long after dealing with the ghosts and then most of it is donut lift sugar cubes... And the physics kill it. That camera.... And those floaty, skiddy physics....

@Bolt_Strike Yeah, it takes a few tries. The first four coins are easy. The first two require no spraying at all, just to in a straight line, and then steer a little to the left for the third and fourth. And the last one is a freebie as well. So it's mostly about getting the three coins in between. With a little practice it's doable. Having 10+ lives definitely helps though, because that's the thing with Sunshine, lives are actually difficult to come by.

@NEStalgia FYI, you can remove the cataquacks by having them follow you and run into one of those plants. They will get knocked back and you can launch them in the air by spraying the plant. And after that they're gone. So you can clear out the lower area of the beach around the cabin you have to bring the watermelon to.

121 stars (including the one after the final boss that doesn’t save) completed and I can say I thoroughly enjoyed my time with 64 again. I didn’t complete it as a kid (I think I got about 68stars on the original), but revisiting it I would say: yes, the camera and Wall/ledge hugging does slightly break the game. But it is a 24 year old game, and some of the skill you need to complete it is being able to manage the camera.

If you young ‘uns think it’s hard on the Switch, then you should try playing it on the N64 controller with three prongs and buttons to control the camera instead!

Off to play something not Mario for a bit before I try Sunshine for the first time ever.

I love the varied gameplay and episodes in Super Mario Mario Sunshine. Is the Chuckster episode when you have to save the Piantas? I didn't find that annoying once you know where they are. The pachinko level is not difficult if you do what Octane says, you can almost cheat. The problem with it, the watermelon, the blooper and the lily pad is that they control differently but I found them all manageable except for the lily pad level which is annoying because of how fast they sink but if you get the speed and follow an almost straight imaginary line then it's easier that it seems. The sand bird is difficult because of how far the camera is so you have to learn the stage by heart and some secret levels are difficult because you don't have FLUDD and are forced to make riskier jumps including triple jumps on rolling platforms but, if I remember correctly, there is only one secret level per world.

It's a big mistake trying to rush Super Mario Sunshine and get the 120 shine sprites quickly, it's a huge and challenging game and whenever there is a real challenge like the ones listed above, you should focus on one of them to get better. This is not Super Mario Odyssey where the transformations are gimmicks and the two mini games (rope challenge and volleyball) are as annoying as boring (I've beat them and everything else) but in Super Mario Sunshine, the challenges are unique and difficult but can be done with practice and skill. I urge you to enjoy the locations, soundtrack and each of the episodes because once it's all over you're going to miss a big part of it.

@BlueOcean Chuckster level is that one special level where you have to talk to Piantas to throw you. The last one is a bit annoying, because he keeps walking, and you have to talk to him at the right angle.

There are also 2 secret shines per level, 3 if you count the 100-coin star. Most of them are repeats of the special levels but with FLUDD.

I should know this by now but do the chests in mario 64 where you gotta open them in a certain order have clues somewhere nearby so you don't kill yourself trying to figure out the order? It just seems stupid to expect players to guess.

@BlueOcean That's wrong. Bianco Hills, Pinna Park, and Sirena Beach have two no-FLUDD secret challenges. These are all of the no-FLUDD challenges: