A new regular feature I have decided to add to the blog is a retrospective look at some of the games and films that have influenced me or that I have particularly enjoyed or connected with over the years. Often these may not be critically impressive, but each has impacted a certain part of my life in a very real way and looking back it is interesting to see what games and films have such an impact upon me and how they have shaped the person I am now and to share those memories on this site.
Back in 1997 Nintendo released the Nintendo 64 games console, off the back of the massive success they had with the SNES. However this was the generation that Sony would enter the console race releasing their Playstation console a year and a half previously. Whilst the N64 was more powerful it struggled with its choice of cartridges over CDs and to match Sony new and fresh take on the industry. However it was the release of Mario 64 with the console that brought it worldwide attention, simultaneously re-inventing the platform game and exemplifying the potential within 3D worlds the game was a landmark title and one that proved to be my real introduction to console video gaming. Whilst my family had owned an Amiga back in the day the first console me and my brother ever got was the N64 for the Christmas of 1997, almost 10 years ago. Until the point I had no particular bias to choose Nintendo over Sony, the only reason I can think of choosing it was that the games appealed to me more, and I distinctly remember playing a demo of Mario in a local shop and deciding that was the game I wanted to play.
So Christmas rolled around the N64 and Mario was turned on and I was hooked. It’s easy now to look back and forget what was so revolutionary about Mario 64 at the time, it was the first game to really take advantage of the concept of 3D worlds but retained the tight platforming and level design that made the older Mario games such classics. What remains amazing about the game today is how much it accomplishes that had never been done before. The game is huge with 15 distinct worlds each with their own challenges, enemies and secrets. Add to this the castle which was the perfect ‘hub’ world and showcase for the graphics and controls. Rather than walk you through a 20 minute tutorial on how to the play the game Mario 64 brilliantly lets you work it out for yourself at the start as you simply explore the landscape. It is an inspired idea and something that, even now, few games tend to implement successfully.
What makes Mario stick in my mind so much is that it is one of the few games I continue to go back to. There is something wonderfully fun and enjoyable about the game that I find myself itching to play it every now and again, not just play it mind, but complete it. It is just the right side of challenging and the collecting element of the game allows you to decide between completing the game, or continuing to get everything before the big finish. The game is also remarkably solid in design and feel, there are a few glitches but generally the rigorous testing that Nintendo employ is visible in the sheer quality of the game. In a way it is sad to look back nearly ten years on from Mario 64 and see that the platform game has not greatly evolved or changed in that time, in fact platform games are much less common these days with more realistic shooters and racing games prevailing as the dominant genres within gaming. But, largely due to this single game, it will remain a type of game I always have a soft spot for, and as a result of this the reason I still look back at the N64 with such fond memories.
Nowadays platformers seem to be the easy choice for film tie-ins and it seems once again it has taken Nintendo to really play about with the conventions in the upcoming Mario Galaxy which is due for release in November and which may be the first game in all this time to eclipse Mario 64. Of course nothing can really replace the change that Mario 64 represented within the industry or the impact it still holds today. It was the first console game I ever owned, played and completed and remains to this day one of the best. If you have never played it I urge you to check it out either by buying an old copy or downloading it from the Wii’s Virtual Console, like good films and music great games will always remain great despite the primitive graphics and technology and there is no finer example of this than Super Mario 64.
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