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Astros Playroom is on par with the last Mario game

Sony makes one good decent platformer, and now the Sony fans are acting as if their free pack in game is Mario 64.

I wasn't impressed with Mario 64 either, nor did I think N64 was a good console at the time. And I had an OG Game Boy, a SNES, and later a GC, so it's not like I had an axe to grind with Nintendo. I've owned most of their consoles.

I thought Sunshine did a good job at trying something new at least and had a consistent theme. Same with the Galaxies. But in the last ten years or so? What has Mario done? Players had to design their own levels because Nintendo is out of ideas.
 
If you think the packed in game with your PS5 is awesome, which it is, you should really sample the Astro Bot VR game.....It has been rewarded Game of the Generation by many outlets and is a whole other experience......You should definitely try it......PSVR 2 wireless should be bonkers, and the hardware works on PC, it should open the market even more......Astro is genuinely a tour de force in the platformer genre, the genre has not received such an injection for millennia....

I’ll def get psvr2 when that comes out. I only have pc vr currently.
 

SonicJams

Member
Yet Mario is a deeply complex character with such a diverse range of relatable motivations. LOL, Mario’s great but this is about about the strangest critique of one over the other I have ever the read.
I find mario boring for the same reasons. I enjoy his multiplayer games as the fun comes from player interaction, but odyssey lost my interest after a few levels of repetition. However Mario does shine more for me when there is interaction with bowser, luigi and other characters.
 

PooBone

Member
I haven't played the astro bot games but I hear they're very good.

It sounds like if they released a full game at retail. It could have potential to better Mario.

But.. from what I've seen of Atro Bot. It does rip off past Mario games..a lot.

That's not a bad thing per say but it does null and void any opinion that's it's better to me.

A Mario beater needs to be revolutionary and beat Mario at its own game.
In that regard, right now I’d say Astrobot takes the lead strictly by virtue of VR. Rescue Mission in VR was probably the last time i’ll ever have that feeling I had playing Mario 64 for the first time. It’s still the best VR game designed FOR VR I’ve played.
 

Alexios

Cores, shaders and BIOS oh my!
Some day Sony will make a fucking fantastic 3D or 2D platform game and nobody's gonna believe it cos you people have been claiming that mario killer shit since crash bandicoot (and often expanded the claim to third rate third party crap rather than decent first party productions), just stahp :d
 
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Klayzer

Member
Can't understand why you guys take that poster serious. Just look at his post historic. Will save time.
He pretty much has troll immunity on this site. Every topic when PS is mentioned, you can guarantee shitposts by Saltgoo.
 

Killer8

Member
Honestly i'd put the tightness of the mechanics and the charm on par with any recent Mario. It was an amazing experience and one of the first times that the PlayStation brand celebrating its culture didn't feel incredibly forced (the last time I remember them doing that with PlayStation All Stars felt hollow). Seeing the PlayStation Labo go from completely bare to bustling with life by the end after you've collected 100% of the items felt very nostalgic to me.
 
Sony fans ITT:

1575391819867.jpg
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
Its a really great game. Mario obviously wins by sheer length, and consequently more variety across that length

It deserves a full scale game next.

I still haven't played Rescue Mission but it's apparently even better? Almost makes me want to get VR

They should build on its massive success on VR and release a normal version of it along with a full length game to seal the deal as the true PS mascot.
 
Some day Sony will make a fucking fantastic 3D or 2D platform game and nobody's gonna believe it cos you people have been claiming that mario killer shit since crash bandicoot (and often expanded the claim to third rate third party crap rather than decent first party productions), just stahp :d
Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was a fantastic game and also Naughty Dog's best.
 
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Honestly i'd put the tightness of the mechanics and the charm on par with any recent Mario. It was an amazing experience and one of the first times that the PlayStation brand celebrating its culture didn't feel incredibly forced (the last time I remember them doing that with PlayStation All Stars felt hollow). Seeing the PlayStation Labo go from completely bare to bustling with life by the end after you've collected 100% of the items felt very nostalgic to me.

Yeah I mean this is also true. Look it’s not my preferred genre so I dunno maybe my opinion isn’t like the most educated on it but it feels very comparable to the last mainline Mario game to me. Maybe it’s derivative, I’m sure it is - I mean it’s Mario it’s like the most popular platformer/videogame series in history. All I can honestly say about it is that it’s more fun to play for me, and feels like it does what Mario does for Nintendo but does it in its own way for PlayStation - and in some ways does it better. I dunno man I’m not on any side of the console war this is just my honest opinion. Legit was not my intention to start a whole thing I just was playing it and was genuinely surprised it was as fun/more fun than Mario Odyssey. Christ
 
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SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
I wasn't impressed with Mario 64 either, nor did I think N64 was a good console at the time.
So you are telling us you weren't impressed with Super Mario 64 when it was released in 1996? Is that right?
 
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SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
When I got mario odyssey, I thought that I just cant enjoy from platformers anymore, as I experienced it as fucking boring & tedious piece of boredom & feeling somehow "depressed". Like it were the opposite of joyful game, and just leeching life from me. worst game I have played in 10+ years. I know it sounds weird but that is how I experienced it, Huge dissapointment.
lmfao
Mario Odyssey did warn you. It warned you to get away from 3D platformers as you evidently don't know how to appreciate them.
 
lmfao
Mario Odyssey did warn you. It warned you to get away from 3D platformers as you evidently don't know how to appreciate them.

I mean this possibly could be the case for me, like I’ve repeated I’m not super into the genre. I also had a way better time with the Mario galaxy series than odyssey.
 
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SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
I mean this possibly could be the case for me, like I’ve repeated I’m not super into the genre. I also had a way better time with the Mario galaxy series than odyssey.
Sounds more like you into linear 3D platformers in the likes of Crash or Super Mario Galaxy and 3D World.
Odyssey is a platforming sandbox.
 
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trikster40

Member
So its on par with Alex the kidd, on the master system then

God no, way above that. Astro’s wasn’t designed to be a full-fledged platformer; it’s basically a demo that has 4 levels that you can literally beat in about an hour. Alex Kidd was a full-fledged pack-in game just like Super Mario Bros, Super Mario World, Altered Beast, etc.

I do personally like AstroBot better (based on what they did In VR) but you can’t compare apples to oranges with Playroom to Mario Odyssey.
 
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So you are telling us you weren't impressed with Super Mario 64 when it was released in 1996? Is that right?

That's right, I had a PC at the time with 3D games. N64 was a huge letdown for those of us old enough to drive to the store and buy it with our own money, especially considering how good the SNES was. I thought PS1 3D graphics looked bad at the time too, but they were much better than N64's. Nintendo built a ton of hype for it only to totally drop the ball with crap graphics, cartridges, and a ridiculous controller designed for non-human hands apparently.

We're not all 20 year olds here :messenger_beaming:

Edit: I didn't mention anything about Mario 64 gameplay! Basically, I thought it was a logical extension of the series into 3D space and a novelty to see, but I found it pretty awkward to play. I didn't think it was bad per se, just wasn't blown away. Many years later I gave it another try in emulation given how revered it is now, but I think I still stand by my initial impression. That said, the analog stick control was an innovation in those early days and I can respect that.
 
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SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
That's right, I had a PC at the time with 3D games. N64 was a huge letdown for those of us old enough to drive to the store and buy it with our own money, especially considering how good the SNES was. I thought PS1 3D graphics looked bad at the time too, but they were much better than N64's. Nintendo built a ton of hype for it only to totally drop the ball with crap graphics, cartridges, and a ridiculous controller designed for non-human hands apparently.

We're not all 20 year olds here :messenger_beaming:

Edit: I didn't mention anything about Mario 64 gameplay! Basically, I thought it was a logical extension of the series into 3D space and a novelty to see, but I found it pretty awkward to play. I didn't think it was bad per se, just wasn't blown away. Many years later I gave it another try in emulation given how revered it is now, but I think I still stand by my initial impression. That said, the analog stick control was an innovation in those early days and I can respect that.
Please mention the 3D games you've played that released before Super Mario 64. Doom and alike doesn't count.
 
Please mention the 3D games you've played that released before Super Mario 64. Doom and alike doesn't count.

We already had fully 3D games like Quake and Descent in 1996. It wasn't a foreign concept at all. Plus the PS1 existed like I mentioned. And you're forgetting that at launch, many of us just saw stills in magazines; YouTube didn't exist and so it took some time to see it in person at a kiosk or at a friend's house.
 
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SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
We already had fully 3D games like Quake and Descent in 1996. It wasn't a foreign concept at all. Plus the PS1 existed like I mentioned. And you're forgetting that at launch, many of us just saw stills in magazines; YouTube didn't exist and so it took some time to see it in person at a kiosk or at a friend's house.
No FPS, please. There is a reason why Mario 64 is regarded as one of the most influential games ever. Not only for platformers but 3D games in general. The movement was entirely unique in 1996. Nothing could compare.


Edit:

There were about 4 or 5 3D platformers that year. Only ones that made a significant impact were Crash and Super Mario 64, with Crash being more like a classic 2D platformer with 3D perspective. Other than that there is only Jumping Flash (that's in first person though) and Bubsy 3D., unless you count Bug, which I don't.
 
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SpongebobSquaredance

Unconfirmed Member
Your post got me thinking and Jumping Flash came to mind. I didn't play it, but my Wife loved it.

It's a cool game, but I don't think it was all too influential for 3D games going forward tbh.
If you look at console games during the late 90s, the amount of first person games is rather small, compared to today. During that age you've seen first person games mostly on PC and Jumping Flash was just way to niche to make an impact.
What made Super Mario 64 thrive was its movement in a 3D environment while the character was constantly visible. Mario in first person may work but its simply not the same.
 

Resenge

Member
It's a cool game, but I don't think it was all too influential for 3D games going forward tbh.
If you look at console games during the late 90s, the amount of first person games is rather small, compared to today. During that age you've seen first person games mostly on PC and Jumping Flash was just way to niche to make an impact.
What made Super Mario 64 thrive was its movement in a 3D environment while the character was constantly visible. Mario in first person may work but its simply not the same.
Oh yea, I wasn't really trying to compare with Mario 64, I agree it was a pivitol moment in history, I'm just saying it came to mind when I thought about your question.
 
No FPS, please. There is a reason why Mario 64 is regarded as one of the most influential games ever. Not only for platformers but 3D games in general. The movement was entirely unique in 1996. Nothing could compare.

I agree with you here. It was definitely influential, especially with the mini analog stick, which was a real innovation. People wouldn't have ever used a full joystick for a platformer and I don't think that connection was made previous to Mario 64, especially with a free camera.

I'm just saying that we had enough experience with 3D at the time that it didn't seem like the game changer it maybe does today in retrospect. Cool, yes, but not head exploding.

My beef is more with Odyssey than 64 anyway. Mario 64 at least broke new platforming ground whether gamers loved it or not. Astro breaks new ground of its own with haptics, which I don't think is an exaggeration contrary to the dismissiveness in here.
 

pixelation

Member
Mario games have been beaten in the past as well, but it's such an old and reverenced IP that it somehow gets that Nintendo immunity.
 

Hawk269

Member
No way. Astrobot is good, but it feels like a giant marketing game with all the PS stuff all over the place. If it was like the Astrobot VR game, then hell yes. The VR Astro game is just pure magic. This game is good, but all the marketing/PS controllers/accessories and all that stuff takes away from the game itself. I really hope Sony gives the team the budget for a true PS5 platformer. But due to the marketing and making it a Dual Sense thing takes away from it overall.
 
I played the first part of it tonight, and it is definitely appealing to me a whole lot. I think the movement could use a little more complexity, since he doesn't seem to even have a run button, or any varied jumps.

But I absolutely love that there is another AAA platformer out there, and I hope Sony keeps pushing for Astrobot games without VR at a AAA level. I'd be ecstatic to have another platformer around.

Mario is better on lots of things, but Astrobot will have the more powerful system and push lots of impressive visuals. Both games are very polished, and a joy to play.
 

Hunnybun

Member
I think both games are fantastic and for what they aim for, about as good as you could possibly expect.

To me the great thing about Astro is it shows once again how ingenious Asobi are at designing around specific hardware. First VR, now the Dualsense. They seem to be incredibly creative developers.

I imagine they could do wonderful things with a full length, ambitious, Astro game. Certainly it's a great character and appealing world, and the things plays really beautifully.

But as of right now, they simply haven't had the chance to expand the concept enough to warrant a comparison with a full work of genuis like Odyssey.
 
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