The Game of the Free: Super Mario 64

 Every now and then when I try to immerse myself in another next-gen gaming experience I come to think of Super Mario 64, you probably like this game, its hard not to, everyone probably played it in their youth and if they didn't they should have. The game itself is a masterpiece, I can't imagine how it could be any better, though rating a 14-year old game with the immense amount of nostalgia involved can be deceiving, it's not what I'm gonna do, after all I have a problem rating older games for this very reason, I end up labeling them "classics" and sticking a 10 on each one and call it a day. Still, I feel like I need to pay a tribute to this game, one of the most important games of all time.

For me, every time I think of it some aspects pop into my mind, first, the simplicity fun it proportionates, just get the controller and control Mario, at the time it was top class, and it still is if you can overcome the aged graphics. But the main aspect would be the freedom it hands out to the player, you're at a castle and you go exploring, a somewhat small overworld suddenly gets bigger while you're playing, no one minds the backtracking, it doesn't exhaust the player. The world inside the paintings are what shines the most in it, it's pretty much a whole bunch of stars thrown in together in different spots and up to you to find them, you don't go in to find the star, you go to find a star, you don't need to follow the right path to reach them, maybe you can just fly up to a high above star, or go climbing your way up with no fear of what you might encounter, maybe taking different routes, it doesn't matter, what matters is actually get the star. When I play many games today I feel like I'm not playing the game, I feel like the game is playing me: "go there, now go there, kill this, get your reward, let's start the next mission". A feeling I never had and never will have with Super Mario 64, you're in control, all the time.Good old times with platforming madness in stages like Wet-Dry Land, held in a small game space, but complex within, everything contained is used in its fullest for gameplay, nothing "just for the sake of design" or overdoings. I can see how some stages with this kind of approach can be seen as bland today, but when it comes to actually play, there's nothing like it.

The controls are also what makes this game so great, it almost feels like they perfected 3D controls in its primordial, maybe they were just overly naive to think 3D should give more freedom, and not the other way around. Mario's repertoire would make some developers go nuts these days: "How could they do that? Mario has too much control, it will break the game!". Well, a little, after digging deep in its gameplay mechanics more experienced players can shape the star-hunt based on their level of experience, but it doesn't break any game, it simply gives opportunities. Mario's movements are loosy, but also tight, in the sense that the game gives you complete and fast control, but never let you lose it. I wish more platformers could be like it, it never restrains you, never holds you down, never feels like the game is limiting you and constantly reminding "Hey, this is a game", Super Mario 64 goes beyond a game, it's an experience, an experience that uses gameplay as its primary tool for immersion, in keeping you busy thinking how you're gonna overcome the next task, in creating several types of moves for Mario to perform. It doesn't need a deep story to immerse the player at all, it doesn't need high definition graphics, it simply needs a 3D world full of opportunities.