Super Mario 64

Super mario 64 in my opinion is the best game in the world. For any platformer fan, I give the highest recomendation to super mario 64.

Arrived earlier than expected and the game works perfectly :)

Still the best Mario since it went 3D

I recently bought this for my wife to play on my old N64, and it really hasn't aged at all. It's still the most wonderfully executed platform game I've personally played.It was the first game I got when I recieved an N64 for my birthday when I was 10 years old. I loved it then and collected all 120 stars. I will be doing the same (as long as I can con my wife into letting me play it).

Unfortunately when I tried to use this game on my N64, it didn't work.Tried it on a friends console and it didn't work on theirs either. Requested a refund.

Back in the 90's there was an outstanding and very entertaining video games show called GamesMaster on Channel 4. On a Christmas edition of the show in 1996, a level from Super Mario 64 was featured as the final challenge of that episode. A bandana-wearing chap by the name of Dave Perry attempted to play this game...and failed miserably. When the presenter, Dominik Diamond, asked him what went wrong, Mr. Perry simply replied that he had been set up. He didn't even bother to make eye contact with Mr. Diamond. To be honest, I don't know if it was scripted or if Mr. Perry was genuinely sulking. But I do know that Super Mario 64 is as epic as video games come. Along with Goldeneye it was certainly one of the best games on the Nintendo 64 at least.The game starts with a letter to Mario from Princess Peach. The Princess has invited Mario over to her castle because she has baked a cake for him. So far, so very nursery level story theme. But the first indication you get that this game oozes sheer brilliance is when the camera pans around Peach's castle just before you take control of Mario. It gives you an idea of how big SM64 is and how long you're gonna be kept occupied for, and we haven't taken a look around inside yet.So Mario shows up, enters the castle -which looks so posh and expensive even Bill Gates would struggle to keep up with the rent- and then...we hear the evil laughter of the overgrown lizard, King Bowser. You know what that means. Oh, Princess. That's such a terrible habit you have. Oh well, I guess Mario fans and Mario himself wouldn't have this story any other way.In order to rescue the Princess you have to enter levels by jumping through magic paintings (usually). At first you'll find that most of the doors in the castle are locked, so you'll have to go through the one door that is open to a painting, and that leads to Bob-omb Battlefield. Once you're in the level you have to collect stars which are required to unlock other doors to levels, as well as giving you the opportunity to come face to face with Bowser. You're actually given a description on how to get a star before you start the level.As you play through the levels the two major factors that make SM64 as epic and as iconic as it is become clear. First the levels are huge, and I do mean "huge!" The castle has three large floors worth of levels to find, but each level itself looks and feels bigger than a bus full of fat people. It can take a couple of hours to explore everything. At least that's what it feels like. But trust me, that's no bad thing at all. You can wonder around the grounds and see what's available; or you can climb up hills and buildings to get a good view from the top; or you can dive deep, deep, DEEP underwater and see what treasures lie at the bottom of the sea.But regardless of where you go there's always something to see; always something to do. There are hidden walkways that lead to extra coins; platforms you can reach when at first they seem unreachable; and secret shortcuts to other areas that'll benefit you in some way, shape or form.But not all of these areas are accessible at first, and you need to know the correct moves that'll help you tackle the challenges you're gonna be faced with. Fortunately the moves Mario knows for this game are very impressive. He has a triple jump move that would make Jonathan Edwards' jaw drop as well as help him reach higher platforms; a diving move to tackle certain enemies (which include the classic Goombas and Koopa Troopas); a long jump move to get over pits; plus many others. Mario can also use caps that give him special powers. For example: the red cap gives him the ability to fly and therefore allow him to reach for the skies. The blocks that contain caps need to be activated by pressing switches in certain levels; similar to the solid platform block switches in Super Mario World on the SNES.Well after all that I'm finally gonna talk about the second major feature that makes this game great, and it's the stars themselves. Like I said you need to collect them in order to unlock other areas of the Princess' castle, and there are many ways in which you can get your hands on them. Some of them are cleverly hidden away and require a high level of brains and skill to reach them. Others can be obtained by completing certain tasks, such as defeating mini-bosses in friendly races, or in the case of one star returning a baby penguin to its mother. The bottom line is the tasks that need to be completed in order to get the stars are widely varied. You'll never get bored whilst trying to collect as many stars as you possibly can; and with a maximum of 120 of them to collect there's no danger of completing this game in five minutes.The faults in SM64 are relatively minor. It's a 1-Player game only (although there are 4 save files, allowing you and your friends to have your own adventures); Luigi is absent which may be a heartbreaker for all the younger brothers out there that can relate to him; and the camera doesn't always work properly. Tsk, and that Lakitu thinks he's the world's greatest camera guy!I sing the praises of PSone games a lot, advising PSone collectors to buy this and that. But any N64 collectors who may have been getting annoyed by that habit of mine will be pleased to know that I'm finally making a recommendation for an N64 game. Super Mario 64 was heavily praised by games critics, and rightly so. There are many things in this game that I have not mentioned, but I'll let you discover those things for yourself. There are no other positive words I can use in this final paragraph that can do SM64 justice. All I can say is if you haven't got it already get it now.