When you think of Mario, odds are two games come to mind: The original NES legend, and Super Mario 64. That is because those two games each pioneered a genre, and changed gaming forever. Super Mario 64 may not have been the first 3D platformer, but it was certainly the first one to get it right. Out of all games on the N64 (aside from Ocarina of Time), this game is easily the best, and is not only a revolutionary game, but an extraordinarily fun game as well.

Graphics
Compared to games now, you might think, "the graphics on this game are awful." Well, for that time, Mario 64 was actually quite advanced graphically. This game was among the first to utilize 3D graphics, and as such is an incredibly revolutionary title in that aspect alone. The game had some pretty locations, some advanced animations and cool looking characters for the time. Nonetheless, there are some games on the N64 (star fox 64, super smash bros, etc.) that put the visuals here to shame, not to mention the fact that the SNES had somewhat better looking visuals, if only for being 2D. 8/10

Sound
Music in Mario has always been upbeat and fun, but Mario 64 kicked it up a notch in the music department, bringing us some truly amazing themes. From Bob-Omb Battlefield, to Bowser in the Sky, there is no song in this game that doesn't give off that amazing Mario feel. However, if I had one complaint, a very minor one, it would be that the sound effects, such as Bowser stomping, Mario jumping, or whatever, sound just a tad unreal. However, in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing 10/10

Addictiveness
All Mario games are addictive, and contain a vast assortment of secrets and fun gameplay hooks that made us come back for more, but none were as big or as fun as Mario 64. The game not only featured over a dozen levels that were vast and fun to explore, but the sheer number of bosses, missions, and just random fun that you could behold would make you come back for more. Heck, the Whomp's Fortress was so good they put it in Galaxy 2, and lets not forget how much we all loved tossing Bowser into bombs, or ground pounding Whomp King, or just owning Bob-omb King... you know what, everything in this game is fun and addictive 10/10

Story
All Mario games may seem to have the same plot, but each adds it own twist to make it's game unique. Well in this game, there are plenty of twists from the normal story. Mario is heading over to Peach's for a date when he arrives at the castle, only to hear from the toads that Bowser kidnapped Peach again, this time however locking her inside her own castle, stealing all of the stars powering the castle, and even turning the paintings in the castle into portals to different parts of the Mushroom Kingdom, each one containing one of the stolen stars. Bowser even lures you to a trap several times before the final battle. The story is so original, Nintendo has actually made most subsequent Mario games follow this story. 8/10

Depth
Like i said before, most Mario games are riddled with secrets and have some real depth to them, but Mario 64 has more secrets than all of those games before it combined. A dozen worlds, an assortment of missions, and even some dandy secret areas aren't even the end to the amount of stuff to do in this game. Even if you fight Bowser, there are 120 stars in all, with many of these being secret stars hidden among the levels. you could literally spend days exploring this massive title. 8/10

Difficulty
Mario games aren't known for their difficulty, so it's no surprise that this game isn't the hardest game in the N64 library. However, if you want to find all the secrets, all the stars, find everything, and do everything, that is the difficult part. There are some tricky stages, and some confusing puzzles, but th secrets are what make this game hard. finding the stars can be like finding a needle in a haystack sometimes, with doing things as confusing as flipping several switches at once really proving difficult. If you aren't a perfectionist, however, this game won't be too grueling.

This game is one fun ride, and is also a revolution to the gaming world. This game, even now, can compete with most 3D platformers, and in many ways surpass them. This game is proof that games are works of art, and this game is a masterpiece that makes it the Mona Lisa of video games. This game gets a perfect 10/10, for being the absolute best platformer, as well as one of the best games period, in history

Wow, really nice review. I love how you went into a great amount of detail into everything concerning this game.

Super Mario 64 is a great game, especially for the N64, but I will disagree that it is the best for my own reasons. But to each, his or her own, right?

That is an awesome review. Super Mario 64 is one of my favorite Nintendo 64 games and it always will be.

That was an imense review.i play this game and think, "wow,for its age,these grahics are great."
I have it downloaded on my pc and i stretched it to the whole screen.still looked awesome.i was expecting this game for most revolutionary nintendo game.