Looking back, we can objectively assess the phenomenon of Mario as a character that largely personifies video games as part of the mass culture of the late XX – early XXI century. Like Charlie Chaplin’s The Tramp in movies or Mickey Mouse in animation, Mario is a hero in the gaming industry who is not tied to a particular work. Even when we go through the next game with his participation to the very end, the story does not end, Mario does not disappear, but continues to live outside time and space as a kind of eternal, stable image, recognizable by the silhouette or the smallest detail of the costume.
Without going into the past, we note that until 1996 the series Super mario was a well-known archetype of a two-dimensional platformer, and Mario himself has not yet acquired a three-dimensional appearance, as well as the already familiar voice and a set of lines. The transition to a three-dimensional dimension was a moment of truth for Nintendo, which ultimately determined not only the fate of the Japanese company, but the entire industry as a whole. In this regard, the release Super Mario 3D All-Stars in the year of the 35th anniversary of the mustachioed Italian has a symbolic meaning.
It is important to understand that this re-release is not an attempt to update the classic parts to the level of modern games like Super mario odyssey, which is the reason for the absence of any improvements in the graphic design, except for the tightened resolution up to 1080p in the docking station and 720p in a portable version. Even Super Mario 64’s aspect ratio is close to the original aspect ratio, which is why you will see black bars on the sides of the screen on modern TVs and monitors. The collection of Super Mario 3D All-Stars is, first of all, an excursion into history, allowing players to experience firsthand how the series has evolved over the course of about ten years: how new game mechanics were born, how graphics progressed, how the design of levels and their complexity changed, what developers have tried unusual experiments with gameplay, and so on. Any changes introduced to these games would now simply destroy the historical integrity of the originals and blur the correct perception.
Opens the collection Super mario 64released in 1996 as a launch project for the console Nintendo 64… It was Mario’s debut in full 3D and arguably the most important and fundamental 3D game ever. Every project created in 3D, up to the present day, somehow borrows the experience of this Nintendo masterpiece. For the first time, players were able to freely control the camera, looking at the character and the environment from different angles, with the exception of some moments, such as narrow corridors. It was necessary to control Mario’s movements with the help of an analog stick – such a familiar and necessary element of a gamepad in our time was then truly revolutionary. Even somewhat late with the release of the new console, Nintendo once again knocked out competitors in the face Sony and SEGA, forcing them to rush to develop their own version of the controller with a stick. The technology was not yet fully refined, but, nevertheless, the character control in Super Mario 64 has reached a whole new level, allowing you to add a variety of mechanics. For example, to defeat Bowser, the player must grab him by the tail and throw him out of the arena by quickly spinning the stick in a circle.
In addition to the stick, the authors have significantly expanded other mechanics and capabilities of Mario. Shigeru Miyamoto separately noted a variety of tricks that helped skilled players to overcome obstacles in locations much faster. Abilities included a triple jump, back flip and side rolls, a long jump forward, and the ability to slide down slopes on the stomach. Later, this arsenal of acrobatic sketches migrated to almost all subsequent parts of Super Mario in 3D. Moving away from a two-dimensional perspective also posed particular challenges in terms of building locations. Miyamoto focused on non-linear structure, inspiring the player to explore the world over and over again in a free manner, discovering new secrets each time. The end of the level now did not rest against the finish flag – the main task was to find the carefully hidden special stars. Collecting the required number of stars and defeating bosses, the player opened new doors of the castle and could move further towards his cherished goal – to save Princess Peach from Bowser’s claws. Some things never change.
Large open locations with an abundance of detours and caches are intelligently diluted with linear bonus levels, where Mario slides at full speed along an ice chute or passes obstacle courses saturated with traps, more like two-dimensional parts. This change of pace makes the gameplay as versatile as possible, without causing the player to feel monotonous. You should also pay attention to the complexity. Of course, for a comfortable passage you will not need to give all your best, but, nevertheless, the developers are not going to unfold the red carpet in front of the player. Each star earned is perceived as an achievement, and you gradually feel how your skill and confidence grow in managing Mario, even in especially difficult places.
For some, a remaster of Super Mario 64 may seem like a museum piece that has been shaken off the dust, but do not make premature conclusions and underestimate the truly ingenious level design and rather demanding complexity, thanks to which the game stubbornly refuses to age, as if reminding us that with due quality of gameplay, graphics really recede into the background.
Perhaps, even considering the tremendous success of 2D Mario games, it was Super Mario 64 that turned out to be the most influential and breakthrough Nintendo project, on whose shoulders a good half of modern games, or even more, still stand.
