I have not played the N64 version to 100% completion for a couple of years now and going back to it and doing it all over again was a treat. So yes, it still holds up surprisingly well after all these years. Its not without its problems of course and the problems that do exist become noticeably worse with each subsequent playthrough but overall, its quite amazing what the development team accomplished in 1996.
The best thing about it is primarily how well Mario controls the amount of moves Mario can do add just layers of fun. Nintendo could have developed the exact same game just with all those extra mechanics removed and the game probably would have been just mediocre by todays standards but thankfully they didnt and it really elevates this game above many other platformers to this day.
The other great thing is the structure and progression system. Many people are quick to point out that Mario 64 is a collecthaton a game where you just run around do light platforming and collect things. Its true but there is one noticeable difference that makes Mario 64 have a huge advantage over most games in this sub-genre. That is that the number of collectible types Mario must collect to beat the game. There are only two types in Mario 64 Stars and Coins. The coins are completely optional unless you are going for a 100%. Coins have different variations but they all go in the exact same collection slot. This is an important distinction to make when talking about this game because when compared to pretty much every single other 3D collecthaton platformer which usually had much more things to collect for seemingly no reason. At its absolute worst games like DK64 had a seemingly endless check list of useless stuffs that they wanted the player to find and it made some collectibles restricted based on what character the player was using. Honestly it was a textbook example of how not to do a 3D platformer game like this. Thankfully Mario 64 avoids most of these pitfalls where most other games in its genre fell right into and because it was the first game of its kind its quite amazing.
The levels are somewhat a mix of good and bad though. All the bigger and more outdoor type levels like Bomb Omb Battlefield, Thwomp Fortress and Cool Cool Mountain are some of the games highlights, since the camera does not tend to be a huge issue in those levels and the mission objectives tend to be the most fleshed out in those worlds as well. The problem is that most of these levels are frontloaded in the game. Later levels like Hazy Maze Cave, Tick Tock Clock and Tiny Huge island have major camera issues because they require you to be in a tightly confined space or just have you do precise platforming where the camera can get stuck at geometry or make it difficult to gauge depth.
Mario 64 has generally the worst camera when compared to pretty much every single other 3D Mario game and that is not surprising since the N64 did not have a second analog stick for god knows what reason. As a result, the camera must be awkwardly shifted with the C buttons, assuming it does not get stuck on another piece of geometry or just flat out refuses to work at all. Another problem with the game is just how basic some of these mission objectives are. Some stars can be obtained roughly in thirty seconds to a minute at most and I wish I was exaggerating but some of these missions start and end so quickly that the game can be beaten rather quickly making it the shortest 3D Mario by a significant margin. This is one aspect just like with the camera the sequels improved upon immensely. Not to say that the mission is not fun to complete they are but some are much weaker than others. In most Worlds, the first two or three missions seem to be the one that the most development time seems to have gone through. Because the rest in each world feel very filefish by comparison. Same goes for the bosses they are so underwhelming. Was Nintendo to scared of designing more complex bosses because they were afraid of people might be too dumb to comprehend the 3D space at its fullest?
The music is nice. Tracks like the Castle, Dire Dire Docks and the credits send me straight back to my childhood like nothing else.
Anyway Mario 64 is still a fun game. One everybody should at least check out at some point or another and beating it just made me want Odyssey even more.
