Contributed to by N-Europe's Staff.

Do you think that any Mario game could ever match the legacy of Mario 64? N-Europe staff members discuss - and invite you to share your thoughts...

Dean "Cube" Jones:

Super Mario 64 is the game that turned me to Nintendo, the game that made me buy a N64. However, it wasn't perfect - Rareware took the platformer one step further and produced three platformers on the 64 that I prefer over Super Mario 64.
I'm already confident that Super Mario Galaxy will surpass not just Super Mario 64, but also Banjo-Kazooie - the game looks better than both in most aspects. The game runs more fluidly and at a better pace, the levels look wonderfully designed and unique, it looks more epic than any platformer before it.
The basic gameplay stays the same, which is a massive plus (Sunshine was a ten mile walk backwards with a gimmick glued on), but the innovation is all in the levels. Which is really one of the most important aspects of a platformer. Super Mario Galaxy looks like it could be a lightyear ahead of any other platformer before it. The problem is... what could they possibly do next?

Joao "Hellfire" Lopes:

No Mario game will ever live up to Mario 64 and no Zelda game will live up to Ocarina of Time, regardless of how awesome the future games will be. People just let the past cloud their minds and can't see these games with clear eyes. Most of us were kids when Mario 64 came out and even for those that weren't, it was such a revolution that the game was carved into our minds and everyone will forever remember Mario 64 as THE 3D Mario, no other will compare.
There's no denying that so far, it's the best 3D Mario (since Galaxy isn't out yet at the time of me writing this) and it won't be easy to replicate its quality without simply copying the game. But this is a very big problem Nintendo faces with all of their franchises: living up to the legacy, even if sometimes the legacy isn't as great as people remember it to be.
To me, it's indifferent, as long as they keep making fun games that aren't carbon copies of each other, I'll keep playing them and so far, Mario has been delivering. On with Galaxy, I say!
But what's in store for Mario next, now that the sky isn't the limit anymore?

Iun Hockley:

Mario Galaxy will never be considered as good as Mario 64. Why? Because Mario 64 was a once-in-a-lifetime event, not just for gamers, but gaming as a whole. Mario 64 was the first and best true 3D platform game to be released and it brought with it the analogue stick.
Both of these were epiphanies in gaming that can never be repeated. The transition from 2D to 3D can only ever happen ONCE and then it is done. No repeats, no retries, no continues, just once. True, developers can have multiple tries at getting the formula right, but the first 3D game from a series will never happen again. Not to say that Mario was the best 3D platformer, because Banjo-Kazooie was much better in terms of gameplay, graphics and level design. But Mario 64 was the beginning of a new dawn that will never ever happen for any subsequent generation: 3D has been done, so that is that chapter closed.
No other Mario game will make the same transition: there may be motion controls, there may be voice controls but the character will be in 3D. Perhaps in the future we may see the return of Virtual Reality or some kind of Total Immersion gaming, until then though, 3D is all we have.
The analogue stick was another factor in the success of Mario 64. For the first time home console gaming was pressure sensitive with the strength of your controller tilt translating into character action on the screen. From the company that brought you shoulder buttons and practical portable gaming came the newest innovation to grace the scene. No longer would running be controlled with the "B" button and now our first person games would finally be bearable on something other than a PC! Hooray!
Mario Galaxy will probably be better than Mario 64 because the developers will have improved on past mistakes and there will be more fun than ever before. But in the collective mindset, it will just be the latest Mario game to not fully live up to the legacy of Mario 64 for not reinventing the way we play games. That's a hard thing for many people to hear, but the fact is most gamers and reviewers will not be rating the game based on what it isn't, rather than what it truly is.

Sam C. Gittins:

One small step for Mario, one giant leap for mankind... Ok, so Super Mario Galaxy is essentially Mario in space, and yes the motion senstive controls will add to the game, and yes it's graphically impressive, and yes it will undoubtebly be immersive. A bigger revelation than Super Mario 64? No.
As has already been mentioned, Super Mario 64 will not be surpassed or even matched just yet - the game did so much not only for the franchise but for the platform genre and gaming as a whole. Controlling Mario for the first time in 3D easily ranks up there in the hearts and minds of many a gamer as one of those sacred moments in gaming that is incredibly hard to beat by any other game ever, let alone a sequel.
Super Mario Galaxy will however be an amazing game in it's own right which has a lot to offer the franchise and it's fans through just being an incredibly well designed game. But to match the legacy of Super Mario 64? Quite frankly it's unthinkable and it won't be this latest installment that matches it in terms of being a true revolution, evolution yes but nothing more, one day Super Mario 64 may be matched or even surpassed but it certainly won't be any time soon.

Joby "Er-no" Stephens:

Mario 64 was at the right place at the right time and contributed everything that was essentially needed for the console generation of the N64. It was the first 3D Adventure Platformer. It was the first game on a console to make use of a 3D sensitive joystick. It was sublimely made. Super Mario 64 was perfect.
Mario Galaxy is coming into the market at such a different stage in the lifespan of the industry. No longer is the world amazed when they see Mario's hat come off or Yoshi appear. Indeed Microsoft and Sony have done whatever they can to rid the gaming world of 'fun' in exchange for graphics and grinding. It is a shame.
I can see from reviews that although Galaxy will be a beautifully fun game, its Nintendo beauty will be overheard against the background of first person shooters and fighters emerging from every other industry orifice. Galaxy will be great, but 64 was just perfect.

Simeon Paskell:

I think that the short answer is 'Yes'. Although matching the impact that Mario 64 had is probably nigh on impossible (it was, after all a genuinely ground breaking title), I see no reason why I cannot be bettered.
Mario 64 was and still is a (virtually) perfect game. From the controls, to the visuals (for the time) to the level design, Miyamoto and co created a game that blew gamers away, and almost single handedly created the rule set for all future 3D platformers. It's importance cannot be underestimated.
This being said, however good and significant a game is, there is always room for improvement and avenues that can be explored to further the experience, and I’m sure that Super Mario Galaxy will prove this. Whether or not it will surpass Mario 64 in terms of gameplay, we shall see, but I have no doubt that Mario 64 will be bettered at some point. Super Mario World refined and added to the basic concepts laid out by Super Mario Bros., and the potential is there for Super Mario Galaxy (or if not, whatever comes next) to do the same for Mario’s 3D adventures.

Tom "Tphi" Phillips:

Compare this debate to Ocarina of Time, and how many saw the already released Twilight Princess as the Zelda title to finally surpass its excellence. Overall, there was resounding apathy - people will always want to hark back to their favourites of the past. Kids TV is another example - how many people have heard the immortal phrase "they don't make it like it used to." Kids obviously enjoy TV today, though you may think that the shows you watched when you were a kid were far superior. I think Mario Galaxy will suffer similarly.
Will any Mario game be as fun as Mario 64 again? Yes. But will it ever match 64's legacy? Probably not. Because it was such a landmark title in the history of videogaming, people are always going to look back upon it with rose-tinted spectacles.

Adam "Flameboy" Ducker:

It's a case of the rose tinted spectacles at work here. It happens with everything; kids tv, so called classic films and now the same can be said for video games. Don't get me wrong Super Mario 64 was a defining game of it's generation and could still hold it's head up high against so many of today's indentikit platformers. But with every game since using this game for inspiration is it any surprise that we find ourselves with these games so similar. Arguably some more recent games take ideas from Mario 64 and refine them yet do not get the praise perhaps deserved. It is like how the first Halo is seen as the pinnacle of the series and despite great scores for it's sequels, it is never accepted that the single player is any better in 2 and 3 just that it refines the experience, but nothing will ever top the first time out. Look back to the N64 and people still regard Goldeneye as one of the best FPS' ever, when there have been numerous titles that do Goldeneye better.
Mario Sunshine received rave reviews upon release, but it was still made clear by all that it was not as good as Mario 64. Now however retrospectively it is viewed as an awful side step that got a lot wrong when in fact it did manage to get a lot right as well as adding a few new ideas to the mix.
Mario Galaxy looks set to add even more ideas to the mix, mostly revolving around gravity and new/revisited power ups (from what I've heard..I've been on a media black out for the last 2 months) whilst also providing a health portion of fan service, meaning this will likely be the second best 3D Mario title. But where does that leave us? There is no doubt it will receive numerous 10/10 5/5 40/40 A+ scores but will it be regarded as better than Mario 64? Doubtful. Instead it will likely be viewed as a title that offers a subtle blend of the old school fan service along with some fresh new ideas that help give us a reason to but Galaxy over completing Mario 64 for the 20th time..

Dominic "Domstercool" Sheard:

The simple answer would be no, but we don’t want to just see the simple side of things, we want to see more.
Mario 64 has stapled itself in gaming history because of the brilliant transition from 2D to 3D, yet still managing to be Mario and not something else. Having the power to move in 3D was something exceptional in the world of video games. Since then nothing has really had the impact of what 3D had. The Wii control system was close, but it still doesn’t feel as awesome as what seeing Mario in 3D for the first time felt like. I remember just wobbling on the spot as he moved around, controlling him how I wanted, opening doors, jumping around, sliding on his small little butt down the slide, those moments won’t ever be forgotten. It doesn’t mean they can’t be added to. Mario Galaxy by the sound of things is going to be brilliant and no doubt will add memorable moments to the Mario franchise. It just won’t have as big of an impact as what Mario 64 had. I can only really see Mario 64 been beaten from its crown when we move into Ken Kutaragi’s fourth space and we have totally new ways at looking at Video Games. Till then though, we will just have to enjoy a fantastic brilliant Mario game that shouldn’t be overshadowed by an older game that came out at the perfect time(Right place, right time, right game creator!) to become the best platformer ever made.

"Moria":

I personally feel Mario 64 was eclipsed before it was ever made. Super Mario World remains to this day one of the best games I have ever played, if not the best ever. In any case, it's certainly the best platform game I've ever played (with Mario 64 only coming second).

Jordan "Jam-jar" Khoviteri-Zadeh:

Mario 64 is still a pinnacle of 3D platforming, trying to match it is simply a fruitless excerise. Hense why Mario Sunshine was such a 'failure' to many fans and critics. So what do you do? Reinvent the genre.
Developers have previously tried tinkering with the forumlae that Mario 64 set out, with little to no success. All they ever did was make it needlessly complex or gimicky - for example the 'time control' of Prince of Persia (which became the 'oh crap..." button.) or FLUDD from Mario Sunshine. Why add something so pointless with the basic frame work is all you need?
I honestly think Galaxy has a shot at beating Mario 64. Its pure randomness of level design, its mix of nostalgic and new music and its new gravity elements just might do it... maybe.

Nathan "Tellyn" Whincup:

I wasn't brought up with a Nintendo 64, I was a Sony child (DUN DUN DUUUUN!), and my first experience of Mario 64 was on the DS. Despite this, I suppose I had the same sort of feeling that others had when they bought it for their Nintendo 64. I hyped myself up for months before the launch, soaked in every screenshot I could, and when the promised day arrived, I was not disappointed. The brightly-lit screen brought the Mushroom Kingdom to life for me in a way that Mario games on the Game Boy never could do. I felt immersed and astounded, so much so that I played the game almost non-stop for months, searching the land for any hidden secrets that I had not yet found.
I believe in Mario Galaxy. The concepts of hopping from planet to planet and using powerups such as the Bee Suit are truly revolutionary and more innovative than its predecessors. Mario 64 effectively took the original 2D platformers and made them three-dimensional. Galaxy has worked hard to give gamers a brand new experience, boldly going where no game has gone before, and I know will be unparallelled for years to come. Bring on Galaxy.

What do you think? Leave us a comment below...

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Comments

Nintendo-master2 Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 06:59 || Total Comments: 1527

wow! im surprised no-one has written a comment yet! O.O anyway, very nice read. Lovely points here and there. I have to say though that i have never played mario 64 (only the ds version) and i havent watched barely ANY videos about mario so i may think that galaxy will be brilliant unlike my high expectations for zelda: tp which was dissapointing. well im off to Limerick right now to go get mario galaxy! :D bye :P

Otto_spooky Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 07:14 || Total Comments: 22

Videogame publishers will develop ideas based around aspects of Mario Galaxy, repeat it ad nauseum and put a £40 price tag on it. The game's legacy, like it's grandfather SM64 and its great grandad Mario on the NES, will be that it spawned a squillion games of varying quality. In terms of whether we are witnessing epoch-making stuff remains to be seen. Hanging around in anti-gravity is pretty fun, but it still feels warm, comfortable and like Mario. Which is great. If the game is as good as this, who needs a legacy anyway?

Diddy Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 08:11 || Total Comments: 190

Here is an idea for Galaxy to surpass Mario 64: After you beat the game, Peach castle returns to Mushroom Kingdom. Peach invites Mario to her castle and she bakes him a cake to thank him for saving her. Bowser kidnaps Peach and you have to collect the 120 original stars from the redesigned original courses. And as a bonus option, when you finish these stars too (240 total), you can collect them again with Wario, Luigi and Yoshi alla Super Mario 64 DS.

Rob_BWFC Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 08:22 || Total Comments: 42

IMO Mario 64 has already been surpassed by many games, both from Nintendo, and also on other consoles too. The camera in Mario 64 is awful - truly, truly bad. And anyone who thinks Sunshine's camera is worse must be a pretty awful gamer. It's so simple - just move the yellow stick a little and you can nearly always get a fantastic view. Whereas in Mario 64, I constantly ask - why can't I move the camera any more than that, and swear with frustration when it moves where I don't want it to. A good example is when you are inside the volcano - I want to position the camera so I can jump accurately from one pole to another, but it won't let me!! It's terrible! That's not to say that 64 was a bad game, far from it, but it has been surpassed loads of times. Granted, no game will ever have the same impact 64 did, but looking at it through rose tinted specs is stupid. It's like saying that the original 80s arcade game Out Run is better than something like PGR4. It's seriously flawed, but understandably so, because nobody had ever done anything like it before.

Rob_BWFC Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 08:30 || Total Comments: 42

Oops, pressed post by accident when I wasn't finished there!! To answer the question though, even though the game has been bettered many times, the legacy probably won't be. Just look at Twilight Princess. Much bigger, and better than OOT, but Zelda 64 is still revered as an all time classic, whereas Twilight Princess is barely mentioned even a year on. Time will tell though, as legacies take years to build.

Otto_spooky Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 09:26 || Total Comments: 22

There used to be a show on ITV which can only be described as a UK version of the US's 'That Seventies Show'. I remember absolutely nothing about the programme itself, apart from that it was a crock of crap. What I do remember was a certain trailer advertising it, featuring the series' family, with their big hair and flares, looking all seventies (for that's when the show was set) playing Pong. Someone remarks something along the lines of 'It'll never get any better than this!' the irony being that look at us now - of course it's got better. It's come on leaps and bounds. That's what we were all thought when we first picked up the now very archaic looking N64 controller and played SM64. I urge you to download it on VC after playing a few levels of Galaxy. Look at the difference. What looks like scraggy, chunky, and unfinished to us now was once revolutionary. Super Mario 64 will always remain the better game, however because of how we remember jumping from 2D to 3D all those years ago. Although old enough to be excited, I was never old enough to remember any kind of reaction when Super Mario World was released on the SNES (and of course we didn't have the opinions of the masses through the internet then) but chances are it's very similar one to how we're all feeling about Galaxy. Although the Wii does things that no other platform has done before, the gameplay is still familiar to us. I doubt we'll feel as though we did about when we played Mario 64 until we're actually dragged into the TV and immersed in the gamepay. Virtual reality used to be the future - it still might be for all we know.

Dringo Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 09:47 || Total Comments: 67

Mario Galaxy is better than Mario 64. Mario 64 is the Super Mario Brothers, the original and the most influential 3D game ever. Mario Sunshine is Super Mario Brothers 2, the wild card, criminally underrated, but not quite as good as its predecessor. Galaxy is Super Mario Brothers 3, the peak in the series, truly amazing refinement of a brilliant formulae. Roll on World.

NintendoRevo Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 09:56 || Total Comments: 51

Mario were always superb 2D platformers...2D is the key word imo. When Mario 64 came out (the first game that nailed out the 3D world so much) it was so revolutionary that we all going to remember it. In fact it was so revolutionary that Nintendo Had to use more buttons than A, B. Mario Galaxy (until now) is an awesome FANTASTIC game. Its controls make it great but it remains a 3D platformer. In my opinion if Mario 64 was a game of 10/10, Galaxy is a game of 9.9999999999/10. Not that Mario 64 was better...but it was more revolutionary. It changed the industry. Super Mario 64 will be surpassed. But only when his "daddy" decide its time for 4D/VR or something like that. Now if you don't mind i am gonna play some Mario Galaxy! Now sssssh

Evilslayer Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 11:33 || Total Comments: 192

Mario 64? Yeah, right. The TRUE Mario legacy is Super Mario Bros. 1 through 3.

UKhellyeah Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 11:44 || Total Comments: 14

In my opinion, it would be pretty awful NOT to beat Mario 64. And it has. This, to me, is what Mario 64 never was. Great, enthralling, top of it league platformer.

Rob_BWFC Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 12:44 || Total Comments: 42

The fourth dimension is time, so games can never be 4D, but I know what you mean

Hellfire Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 15:44 || Total Comments: 713

"n my opinion if Mario 64 was a game of 10/10, Galaxy is a game of 9.9999999999/10." That's pretty much my and most of the other staff point. What does it matter if it was revolutionary at the time? What matters is if the game IS BETTER OR NOT. You say it yourself: "Not that Mario 64 was better". We're not judging if a game is a revolution or not, we're judging if it's better. Not that it matters, but, you know what I mean.

Solitanze Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 16:01 || Total Comments: 1617

97.8%... Super Mario Galaxy currently is the highest rated game of all time, quite considerably exceeding my expectations of a 96% average ratio. But is it really deserving of this average ratio and what has been the reasoning behind the issuing of high scores from editorial reviewers? I'll firstly start off by say that, regardless of review score aggregates indicating otherwise Mario 64 > Super Mario Galaxy in terms of what it did for gaming. As already mentioned, Mario 64 was a groundbreaking game in which changed the face of gaming forever with its 360 degree directional control. But on the surface Super Mario Galaxy is just Mario 64 1.5 with better visuals and essentially is a new coat of paint fun experience in a radically different environment. Why has it achived the scores it has you say if its only Mario 64 1.5? The reason is simple to which no other person has yet to mention, Accessibility & Universal Appeal stemming from the titles accessibility. The game geniusly designed with both regular and non regular gamers in mind. With the virtually 0 time learning curve, any player can pick the title and within seconds, be performing gravitational long jumps, spin attacks, the works. The level designs are genius in that they are extremely linear in nature and do not allow the level of freedom of exploration you had in Mario 64. To some regular gamers, this is a serious drawback and enough of a reason to prefer Mario 64 over Galaxy, but think about the implications of the level design for the non regular gamer. When you have a "specific" linear route you must travel to collect a star, it makes the objectives a lot more achievable for the non regular gamer rather than having to explore huge confusing worlds. Couple this with an achievable cut off point for non regular gamers at 60 stars, while having the more challenging and satisfying cut off point of 120 stars for regular gamers, and the final product is one of the most "accessible" and "universally appealing" games of all time. So the moral is this, Galaxy is essentially Mario 64 1.5 on the surface, but it is so ingeniusly designed that it has managed to achieve what very few games has ever done, in being able to fully cater to both sides of the gaming market, which is almost a revolution in itself...

Pookiablo Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 16:17 || Total Comments: 157

Obviously Mario 64 will always be remembered as a revolutionary piece of work - it made such incredible leaps for its time. Mario Galaxy doesn't as such but that's not to say that it can't be a better game. If it improves upon the original concept then surely it can therefore also be better?

Oldguy Says:
November 17th, 2007 at 18:41 || Total Comments: 19

Well, given that we're dealing with a "legacy" and the question wasn't about the next earth, or galaxy shaking revolution and paradigm shift in gaming, of course a Mario game can continue AND enhance, bolster, and augment the "current" legacy. I think Super Mario Galaxy, which we have by the by - being North 'Mericans living in Canuck Land - will manage to cement the legacy quite nicely thank you. Now, as to the next "stand-the-gamin-world-on-it's-head" advance in the industry, that's another matter entirely. Haven't a clue what it could be but I look forward to it's advent. That said, I can see where people will, with fondness and a certain nostalgia remember the first time one was able to stand Mario on his head in the water with his legs kicking in the air...among other things, and possibly find it hard to come across a more recently released game that can match that experience. But, don't forget, for some people, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a lot, THIS Mario will be their foray into the Nintendo Mario world and will generate in THEM, the same sense of fun, glee, and dare I say it, flat out wonder did for those a generation or so back and they'll be comparing FUture games to Super Mario Galaxy. Einstein was right you now, it's all relative.

TheTingler Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 05:30 || Total Comments: 213

This argument is getting a bit samey, so I'll throw my tuppence into the ring. Super Mario Galaxy IS better than Super Mario 64. It is just simply more fun. I really wish you'd held off this discussion a week so everyone could finish Galaxy first and THEN discuss whether it's better. It IS, simply because it is hands-down more fun and less frustrating - yet not at the expense of challenge. When a game challenges you and allows you to have enough fun that you're laughing even when you fail, well, that's special. Then again, I find Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker a more fun game than either Ocarina of Time or Twilight Princess.

Rummy Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 05:51 || Total Comments: 182

I actually feel like taking Moria's PoV, but I'm not sure whether it's due to my age at the time of playing clouding my vision like Hellfire suggested. There's a certain amount of magical nostalgia I get with both games, but it just seems stronger with SMW than SM64, and I think the same goes for LttP over OoT.

Hellfire Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 07:19 || Total Comments: 713

It's great to see you comments people we appreciate it, so keep going and thank you.

LuWiiG Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 08:04 || Total Comments: 5

Mario 64 was a landmark in gameing, because of the revolutionary conversion to 3D. However, what Galaxy does might even be more important. It brings back the emphazis on fun. It's that simple, Galaxy reminds me how much fun gaming can be, and i keep coming back for more. On a sidenote, I loved Sunshine, and Fludd was a brilliant piece of gameplayenhancement.

Knirfie Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 09:03 || Total Comments: 45

Mario Galaxy has beaten Mario 64 in my book :)

Moria Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 12:17 || Total Comments: 35

Whoops, completely forgot about this. I meant to write more than that but didn't have time when I first started. Can't remember what I was going to say... (I still don't/probably never will have Galaxy btw :P)

Ganepark32 Says:
November 18th, 2007 at 14:05 || Total Comments: 610

I would say Mario Galaxy is much better than Super Mario 64. My reason for saying this is that, even though first impressions of the game were a little disappointing, it quickly picks itself up and gives you this truly unique gaming galaxy to explore at your own pace. Yes, there isn't exactly huge freedom in the worlds you play in but would you really want it? The levels are all genius from what i have played from. They take the basic formula that Mario 64 implemented and improves on it hugely. For that reason, I have been playing it more and more since I've got it and found myself enjoying it incredibly, much more than when I played Mario 64 on the N64. Speaking as a person who didn't really play mario games properly until just before the millenium, I usually have pretty low expectations for Mario Games, other than Mario Kart. New Super Mario Bros. in my opinion was awful and was nowhere near as good as the Super Mario Bros. games that preceeded it. Mario 64 just didn't feel right playing it for me. It was a good game but I just didn't get a feeling for it. And Sunshine I enjoyed even though it was a little difficult for me at the time. But yes, Galaxy has surpassed what Mario 64 paved before it. Mario 64 left the foundations for 3d mario games. Sunshine was more like the tree planted 15m away from the house to make sure it doesn't interfere with what is already there. Galaxy is the walls to the house of 3d mario games. Where the series goes from here and how it betters itself, on can only imagine

Pookiablo Says:
November 19th, 2007 at 04:06 || Total Comments: 157

Damn I want Galaxy so bad! Been playing through Mario 64 DS over the past few weeks and although it's awesome I can't help but think that Mario Galaxy is gonna be unbelievably amazing in comparison. I've never been one for 3D platformers and I've always prefer the 2D side scrollers (or 2.5D ones such as the underrated, yet incredible Mystical Ninja 2 starring Goemon for N64 - check it out!) but Galaxy just looks like it's really got something special going for it! Not even Mario 64 seemed that appealing to me when it was first released, and Mario Sunshine went totally ignored by me when it was cropped up on Gamecube. I think Nintendo could be returning to the "glory" days of the N64 (in terms of game quality - in my ever so humble, yet controversial opinion). Just look at Brawl as another example!

OOADDCAMOoWii60DX Says:
November 19th, 2007 at 10:58 || Total Comments: 68

Plain and simple like what has been said time and time again Mario 64 was a once in a life time event Ocarina. It terms of gameplay and level design though what I have seen of Galaxy so far is superior. Bottom lines is both games should be appreciated on their own merits!

TheTingler Says:
November 19th, 2007 at 12:43 || Total Comments: 213

Ahhh, there it is. Good news everyone, I was worried for a while, but Super Mario Galaxy has finally pissed me off enough to throw down the controller and swear a lot. And you can't have a Mario game without that happening at regular intervals. Kudos! Now then Toy Town, let me pwn you or the Wiimote gets it!

JXCgunrunner Says:
November 19th, 2007 at 15:27 || Total Comments: 52

heres what will happen the kids that are the age we all were when we first played mario 64 will look at it as being the best platformer ever when they get to be our age so when the next mario game comes out they will all gather on the internet and discus how mario X cant surpass galacy

Sheikah Says:
November 19th, 2007 at 18:29 || Total Comments: 79

The general feeling will always be that OoT and M64 were always the best 3D incarnations. It's a sad fact to face, but people discriminate largely against new contenders while holding the old games in high regard, smothered in nostalgia. I think a large amount of deciding on a favourite is to do with a person's position at the time. Often people were young (or at least, younger) and more easily influenced, thus more likely to accept the game's as their favourite. I actually preferred Majora's Mask to OoT, and FFVIII over FFVII. 'Favourites' can be hard to explain. Lots of people have the feeling that they aren't the best, but then there's always a large solid group of people who love them to bits.

Auntnadia Says:
November 20th, 2007 at 06:03 || Total Comments: 708

it's hard to imagine what the world would be like if a certain incident hadn't occurred, but i'm quite sure that the gaming world would be a different place if it wasn't for mario 64. it changed 3d gaming in the way that doom or streetfighter 2 or even space invaders did. it set the standard template for how a 3d platformer would be for the next ? years. in terms of legacy, well aside from the stream of 3d platformers, we were given the ability to walk or run depending on how hard we pushed the control stick. this itself has to be more important than any other part of the games design.... we also had for the first time (?), a free roaming camera, which even now has rarely been bettered in its execution. like i said, it's hard to imagine what would have happened if these weren't in there. would someone else have invented them? yep, sunshine and galaxy are better games of course. they're both improvements of the original. but they are just part of the legacy and wouldn't exist without mario 64.

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