In the context of the time it released (which is how games need to be judged in my view) it’s Mario 64, hands down. While it may feel dated to play it today in comparison to a modern 3D Mario, it still holds up remarkably well as a game in its own right, with a wealth of inventive levels and endless variety in its challenges. But it’s the influence it had on gaming that makes it deserving of the title.
- It was the game that showed how 3D games could and should work, nothing that preceded it came anywhere near and were largely awkward affairs. There are 3D games before Mario 64, and then everything else after it.
- It delivered the solution for how all 3D games have on consoles worked since, with directional controls for the character and cameras – albeit with digital ‘C buttons’ rather than a second stick, and it may have offered 90 degree turns of the camera rather than full free control, but the basic blueprint of separate controls for camera and character was laid down. From here it was a step to Goldeneye, which offered a control scheme whereby the C buttons controlled walking forward, backwards and strafing while the analogue stick controlled look/turn, and from there we simply replace the C buttons with a second analogue stick.
- It invented the ‘hub world’ mechanic which is still one of my favourite game structures today, and arguably is still one of the best implementations of it to date, with the hub world being a level in its own right with secrets to uncover. The levels each holding multiple levels and secrets to go back in for was a great innovation too.
I don’t know if any game before or since felt quite as revolutionary, as much of a massive leap over everything that had done before as this game felt. It was a truly special experience to play it for the first time. An all time masterpiece.
