Why are Mario 64 and Zelda: OoT so "great"?

[danholo]

There are of course thousands of great games I've never touched but what's up with Mario 64 or Zelda: OoT? They're regarded as some of the 'best' games, well, ever.

I've played them a little and never cared to go really that far. Mario 64 I've played a few levels, and OoT maybe until the mountain dungeon. I just don't care to return to them. Why are they regarded to be so good, exactly? I understand that they are ground breaking, but so what? Nostalgia? I totally missed on the N64, find it a completely uninteresting system anyway, and I'd even consider myself to be a Nintendo fanboy of some sorts: The SNES is my 'favorite' system and SMBW and Zelda: LttP some of my favorite games of all time. For one, I simply hate the 'foggy' graphics on the N64 (maybe it was the composite). But when it comes to collecting, I've never even considered getting an N64. None of th games interest me and the 'best' are already ported to other systems: GC, DS or 3DS (Could be said for many SNES games too) On the other hand, I've started to hypothesize about the fact that most of our interests come from nostalgia from childhood. I feel like my gaming hobby is an attempt to fill the fact that I was 'deprived' from games on some levels as a kid, but that's another topic.

I was thinking of getting OoT for the 3DS to finally beat it but am scared of getting bored of it... I have it for GC but meh.

[Golgo]

I just got OoT for the 3DS and it is utterly glorious and magical. Do it. (Never played it on N64 and didn't care for it on Wii VC as the graphics dated it horribly.) Mario 64 I think is great not for nostalgic and game-tech historical reasons but because the level design is so amazing (amazingly complex, challenging and odd, that is).

[Pikate]

I love them both but subjectively they've been bettered (Wind Waker and Okami or Super Mario Galaxy, arguably even as early as Banjo Kazooie) and looked at in the context of what's come since they're undoubtedly over-hyped because of their impact and the fact they're Mario and Zelda games. I don't think they're ageing as well as the SNES games from those same franchises either.

But here lies the issue, games were never the same after Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, those two were so much more advanced than their contemporaries and predecessors and so innovative that most things we play today feature mechanics first seen by the masses in SM64 and OOT (also Goldeneye although you could argue the impact of that was lessened by Doom and Wolfenstein) in terms of gameplay though both OOT and 64 hold up as slightly dated "modern games" today whereas SNES Mario/Zelda are blatantly from a bygone era (which is their charm).

[MisterBubbles]

There classics cause their both 90+ games? , sorry Pikate couldn't resist.

[Pikate]

There classics cause their both 90+ games? , sorry Pikate couldn't resist.

99 and 94 THE SYSTEM WORKS!

[kryss]

Mario 64 is fun but Galaxy is better. OoT is very overrated but still a very enjoyable game and one that I still need to work through on 3DS again.

For reference I did not like Majora's Mask.

[rmoxon]

Mario 64 is well over 15 years old now yet it still plays as well has any other game like it. It was a launch title on the first ever system to have an anologue stick as standard and you could argue that nintendo reached perfection on their first attempt. It is still an absolubte joy to play to this very day. The level over control over mario has never really been improved upon, it simply didn't need to be.

The ammount of imagination and creativity in the level design is absurd, the game is a wonderful journey from beginning to end and it could be argued that its still the best structured mario game, with the main hub opening levels up as you collect stars. Yes it's been done many times in games since, but never better, no game has ever flowed so well.

Its simply a Marvelous game and one of the absolubte best ever.

[MisterBubbles]

For reference I did not like Majora's Mask.

You can hand back your Nintendo membership now, and never darken theses halls again.

[H-Man]

Mario 64 was the first game to add a 3rd dimension that really blew me away. There were some pc fps that had come close, but nothing like this. Especially when coupled with analogue control. Nudging the stick to tiptoe, or make him sprint and hop around - it was amazing simply moving him around and it felt like he'd jumped right out of 2D game! Gameplay wise Nintendo kept what I loved about the 2D games - a huge achievement in itself - and added to it. I especially liked being able to control the camera which essentially lets you be a director for your own little Mario movie. Jumping towards the screen and rotating mid jump never got old for me and has been sorely missed with the later Galaxy games. Mario 64 is still the best example of a 3D platformer for me in terms of control and challenge.

OoT was great for many of the reasons above, but Mario 64 was the daddy. Golden Eye and Perfect Dark deserve a mention too. I walked into a pub in brighton the other day and in the corner they had an N64 with Golden Eye and 4 pads setup. I expected it to be eye bleedingly awful, but an hour of single player later and it still puts most of what we play today to shame! CoD single player is like bowling with training wheels in comparison. To this day, 4 of my top 10 games of all time are N64 games

[moonwhistle]

I can appreciate that Oot was incredible for the time and I can remember staying up all night playing it. However, now I would just think of it as influential rather something I'd ever want to revisit. The same goes for Mario 64 although it has alot more replay value. The confusing level access system means that you really have to finish it in a few sittings which I really hate as a design structure. Neither of them would come anywhere near my favourate games of all time.

[kryss]

I'm going to echo H-man. Perfect Dark and Goldeneye. Mmm.

[charlesr]

SM64 is also quite hard in places. But fair. It's a challenge, unlike lots of other platformers that just go through the motions.

[25.05.2005]

Recently completed OoT for what must be the 20th time...this time via an N64 emulator on my phone.

Sure it holds an awful lot of nostalgia for me...my parents brought it for me the Christmas it came out, and I literally couldn't wait to get started. Played it non-stop throughout that Christmas period. I suppose playing it evokes those great memories again...especially when I play the very same game on my N64.

But, in no way is my love for that game entirely nostalgia based...the game is a marvel, it looks and plays awesome even today, and the story is just superb. Simple yet enthralling, and the world is brilliantly realised with its distinctive areas spread apart in a world that was at the time, unparallelled in size.

It's classic Zelda in its execution and setting - it thoroughly wipes the floor with the N64's other outing, Majora's mask. My favourite will forever remain A Link to the Past on the SNES, but OoT is definitely the 2nd best Zelda ever.

I have the 3DS version unopened on my shelf, awaiting the moment I purchase a 3DS, can't wait to see what they've done with.

[briareos_kerensky]

A bit of background: I considered for a long time Mario 64 my favourite game. Since Galaxy 2 came out, I'm undecided which of the two is the best. About OoT, I think a it's a good game, but I find it inferior to Mario 64 and other Zelda titles.

What makes Mario 64 great for me is the level design. You can spend time going around Peach's Castle without collecting starts, and at every new world there's something new that keeps the game constantly fresh. It wasn't just as Mario gained a new dimension, it was the natural evolution from sidescrolling to "free" platform jumping, the third dimension wasn't simply attached to the game, it was the game: movement, camera, level design: everything revolved around this. It's possible to argue that even the two Galaxies don't use the 3rd dimension as well as Mario 64, favoring 3D visuals coupled with what is essentially 2D sidescrolling in some of their segments.

[danholo]

Hmm... I don't have an N64, so what should I play SM64 on? I have the DS version actually, but I didn't care to play it much. Is it the "definitive" version?