Well, yeah. It was in our gamer's club earlier this year, right...unless I'm losing my mind, lol.
It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
-
isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1319
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
-
isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1319
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
2) Kuon (PS2)
I've been a survival horror fan since I first played a game in the genre and a rabid FROM fan ever since I played King's Field IV on the PS2. (What an incredible game! Please make another, in first person, alongside Soulesbornekiroring please!) So it was only natural that I'd be drawn to Kuon, FROM's frightful offering of that generation. I bought it years ago, and it sat sealed forever until the prices got so ridiculous that I couldn't justify opening it, and so I sold it for a ridiculous amount a while back. But I knew I would have to play this sooner or later, if only to satisfy my curiosity of the marriage of one of (if not the) my favorite developers with one of my favorite genres. And so in 2023, I sorted myself out and emulated it. (Yay PC! You can play literally *everything*.) And I must say it was virtually flawless in my experience on PCSX2.
The horror genre, when well crafted, and regardless of medium, has so much potential for emotional investment. As Lovecraft noted, ‘the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown’. It's very natural to become engrossed in fearful things due to the very nature of survival and and how those primal urges have rooted that awareness within us. We have had to be, as a consequence of this game of survival, ever-vigilant against threats both perceived and imagined, and when the right notes are struck within a creative format focusing on this essence, therein resides the potential to be utterly spellbound. And so, this genre is forever in my rotation of experiences within various formats, seeking that heightened sense of presence that comes in a particular flavor when in the face of danger - if only within the imagination, the ultimate domain of all experience.
One advantage Kuon immediately has over some examples of this genre is the fact that it is already rooted (for a non-native) in the unfamiliar - within Japanese history and culture. There's just an exotic mysticism to foreign horror, being so far removed from typical Western experience, and even more so when we delve into the ancient past. And the symbols and iconography add this subtle layer of horror and strangeness just by virtue of being different from Western themes. You're in a horror setting as well as in an unfamiliar environment, horrors aside, and that really serves to unsettle in a unique way as you not only come to grips with the obvious and universally understood terrors, but also attempt to integrate the culture-shock aspect of wide-ranging and fundamental differences from your own personal norms. (Part of what I really loved about Fatal Frame as well.) And Kuon uses this aspect to natural and powerful effect. Things take place in Fujiwara manor, a wealthy private estate that has become overrun with demons and various monstrosities. The plot is unraveled from the viewpoint of three separate protagonists that the player experiences as three distinct “phases” - the yin phase, the yang phase, and finally the “kuon” phase. Even so many years after release, I'm leery of divulging much of the narrative, a tale that I found engaging throughout. But in brief, Kuon is an interesting and chilling narrative of the search for power and immortality (nothing new under the sun), the dark side of familial relationships along with some corresponding dark arts and twisted mysticism centering on betrayal, death and resurrection, astrology, silkworms and the legendary and mysterious mulberry tree. There are bits of narrative shared throughout the three unique perspectives that gradually culminates in the revelation of the roots of the horrors, and they are sprinkled about at an effective pace, leaving the player ever more curious until the climax. At the risk of being slightly spoilery, I will say that I love the idea of intelligences that surpass our own understanding despite our general dismissal of their capabilities. If you enjoy existential horror that brings the loss of humanity to the fore, both physically and psychologically, you'll likely be pleased here. Shivers! Narrative aside, the mood was excellent. Think creepy chanting children (twins), spooky bells, moaning and the like. It's safe to say that if you're fond of the genre, the mood and tale are worth experiencing.
In terms of visuals, I found the artwork to be typical of FROM with evocative historical structures from the region and era, along with an attractive collection of natural-world assets. The characters were well-animated (and attired) both in and out of cut scenes. And the voice work offered the selection of either English (the default) or Japanese voice. I will say, that despite knowing better, I gave the English voice a chance (even knowing I would switch it) out of morbid curiosity. Knowing the history of voice work, both in the genre and the medium of video games in general, I was not disappointed. (it was very bad, lol.) But the Japanese voice work fared much better, if perhaps only because of my lack of familiarity with the language and all its subtleties and intonations. But I was beyond grateful that there was at least the option to play with setting-authentic voice.
In terms of practical interaction with Kuon, combat with enemies is handled via a combination of physical weapons - a variety for each character - and spell cards which serve as a type of magic in the game. These spell cards come in two varieties and in many forms. There are cards that fire projectiles or damage the demons in some other manor, as well as cards that summon “familiars” of various types that come to your aid to help fend off attacks on your behalf. The cards were interesting and the weapon combat functional, if a bit clunky - not atypical to the genre. Another interesting aspect is the fact that you can become more vulnerable as well as attracting more demons when your heart-rate gets too high from fright, injury or running. (I believe the game called this ‘Vertigo’.) While in this state, the screen becomes blurry and the use of cards is taken away, leaving you with only your weapon. This condition can be alleviated through the use of healing items, or if a safe space can be found, each character can meditate (with a button assigned to this activity) in order to restore equilibrium. I did like the fact that this aspect encouraged slower movement and a slow-burn type of tension which helped to root you and your avatar in a state of cautious fear in your ponderous and careful movements. Overall, however, the combat (on normal - ‘Insomnia’, I think) was very easy. I did die a few times, but it was only due to a stubborn refusal to use healing items even though I had plenty, lol. But I think it would have been more fun had I known how easy it would be and would have played on the hardest difficulty instead, in retrospect. There are also limited options to save a la the ink ribbons in Resident Evil. You can perform a cleansing ritual with a vessel at designated waterways. Granted, emulation can render that aspect moot, and you're provided more than enough vessels so that it shouldn't be an issue, but if you play it straight, it is possible to lose progress to an unforeseen death, making retreading your steps necessary.
In the way of negatives, there are a handful - mostly minor, but I always like to acknowledge ways in which games could have improved. One silly thing that is a problem in so many games, especially of the era, is artificial boundaries that make no sense. There were a few instances where movement was blocked in a direction by some simple scattered, moveable and low-laying debris / objects. I mean, the character could have *easily* stepped over the junk on the floor, but nope, too hard, lmao. Come on devs, at least make an attempt at believability. The camera angle could occasionally be problematic, as is usually the case with fixed-angles. There were a few moments where the perspective would change and rather than allowing the direction you *were* pushing to continue your movement in a forward facing manner relative to the character, it would instantly transition movement relative to the new perspective, flipping you back around the other way. That sort of thing is poor design and annoying. To be clear, it wasn't often, but there were some examples. Puzzles were also a bit hit and miss. One puzzle where you flipped tiles to arrange them in a manner where they were all highlighted seemed kind of complicated at first, and to be fair, you could easily paint yourself into a corner if you didn't recognize what it was doing. But once you realized the pattern, it was stupidly easy. Another of the puzzles in the beginning seemed impossible upon first encountering it (which it actually was at the time to be fair, lol), but after gaining access to more in-game hints/documents it wasn't nearly as inscrutable as it first seemed. In this puzzle, you had to move an arrow within a movable 3-ring board into the proper position and then, like a combination lock, rotate the other aspects until all things were properly aligned. The biggest problem was the use of Japanese characters, which are naturally more difficult to recognize and remember for those unfamiliar, but this was compounded by the lower resolution of the puzzle/console in general, making clear identification of the Japanese characters a bigger challenge than it would have otherwise been. To be fair, it was a fun puzzle that required the acquisition of a few documents and then implementing those hints to solve, but it could have been better with a higher fidelity presentation of the image containing the characters. And there were only a handful of real puzzles, which was a bit disappointing, and only the one that held some intrigue and a bit of resistance. To be clear, it's unlikely you'd need a guide for Kuon unless you just got really stuck on one of those two. I was never tempted to consult one, but I could see it being possible in a couple of instances, depending on your patience and observation. But just a little attention makes them really easy, in retrospect. There are a few other minor puzzles that hardly merit the term, and are really just busy work of collecting x and moving it to y - stuff like that. There were also a handful typos / translation errors that dulled a tiny bit of the shine on an otherwise very polished game. They weren't abundant, but stuff like that can and does diminish the sheen a bit. And typical of much of FROM's work, no attempt was made at lip-syncing or movement / motion capture. It honestly didn't bother me, and I'm used to it with FROM, but that's not to say it wouldn't have been nice to see for some added realism and immersion. Additionally, within two of the three phases, there is some significant repetition between characters. Despite simply covering much of the same ground, there are also some identical story beats and scenes. And though it makes sense narratively in retrospect, and while I appreciate the aspect of having essentially 3 campaigns to explore, it did make things feel just a bit punitive and bloated rather than expansive and varied, even if there ultimately was plenty of differing content when all was said and done. I think it could have been pared down just a bit to avoid some of the repetition. Finally, the most egregious annoyance was the fact that there were *way* too many loading transitions. There were numerous instances where you might load into a new area and depending upon your next move, might encounter yet another loading screen mere steps from your position. The graphics were good relative to the hardware, but this felt like poor optimization and design, and was certainly my biggest complaint, even if it didn't mute the overall enjoyment too much.
But even with those gripes, most of them being pretty minor, I absolutely loved Kuon. Not only was it an excellent horror game, it was an excellent horror experience regardless of format. I wouldn't put it alongside Silent Hill - my personal favorite series in the genre, but make no mistake, it's outstanding in its own right and deserves to be played by anyone interested in survival horror. And it certainly deserves a larger audience than it ever received upon release. It's just a damn good game and fairly lengthy for the genre. In my natural tendency to play things slowly, I clocked in at a little over 14 hours, and I'm grateful to have finally played it so many years after the fact. 5/5
I've been a survival horror fan since I first played a game in the genre and a rabid FROM fan ever since I played King's Field IV on the PS2. (What an incredible game! Please make another, in first person, alongside Soulesbornekiroring please!) So it was only natural that I'd be drawn to Kuon, FROM's frightful offering of that generation. I bought it years ago, and it sat sealed forever until the prices got so ridiculous that I couldn't justify opening it, and so I sold it for a ridiculous amount a while back. But I knew I would have to play this sooner or later, if only to satisfy my curiosity of the marriage of one of (if not the) my favorite developers with one of my favorite genres. And so in 2023, I sorted myself out and emulated it. (Yay PC! You can play literally *everything*.) And I must say it was virtually flawless in my experience on PCSX2.
The horror genre, when well crafted, and regardless of medium, has so much potential for emotional investment. As Lovecraft noted, ‘the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown’. It's very natural to become engrossed in fearful things due to the very nature of survival and and how those primal urges have rooted that awareness within us. We have had to be, as a consequence of this game of survival, ever-vigilant against threats both perceived and imagined, and when the right notes are struck within a creative format focusing on this essence, therein resides the potential to be utterly spellbound. And so, this genre is forever in my rotation of experiences within various formats, seeking that heightened sense of presence that comes in a particular flavor when in the face of danger - if only within the imagination, the ultimate domain of all experience.
One advantage Kuon immediately has over some examples of this genre is the fact that it is already rooted (for a non-native) in the unfamiliar - within Japanese history and culture. There's just an exotic mysticism to foreign horror, being so far removed from typical Western experience, and even more so when we delve into the ancient past. And the symbols and iconography add this subtle layer of horror and strangeness just by virtue of being different from Western themes. You're in a horror setting as well as in an unfamiliar environment, horrors aside, and that really serves to unsettle in a unique way as you not only come to grips with the obvious and universally understood terrors, but also attempt to integrate the culture-shock aspect of wide-ranging and fundamental differences from your own personal norms. (Part of what I really loved about Fatal Frame as well.) And Kuon uses this aspect to natural and powerful effect. Things take place in Fujiwara manor, a wealthy private estate that has become overrun with demons and various monstrosities. The plot is unraveled from the viewpoint of three separate protagonists that the player experiences as three distinct “phases” - the yin phase, the yang phase, and finally the “kuon” phase. Even so many years after release, I'm leery of divulging much of the narrative, a tale that I found engaging throughout. But in brief, Kuon is an interesting and chilling narrative of the search for power and immortality (nothing new under the sun), the dark side of familial relationships along with some corresponding dark arts and twisted mysticism centering on betrayal, death and resurrection, astrology, silkworms and the legendary and mysterious mulberry tree. There are bits of narrative shared throughout the three unique perspectives that gradually culminates in the revelation of the roots of the horrors, and they are sprinkled about at an effective pace, leaving the player ever more curious until the climax. At the risk of being slightly spoilery, I will say that I love the idea of intelligences that surpass our own understanding despite our general dismissal of their capabilities. If you enjoy existential horror that brings the loss of humanity to the fore, both physically and psychologically, you'll likely be pleased here. Shivers! Narrative aside, the mood was excellent. Think creepy chanting children (twins), spooky bells, moaning and the like. It's safe to say that if you're fond of the genre, the mood and tale are worth experiencing.
In terms of visuals, I found the artwork to be typical of FROM with evocative historical structures from the region and era, along with an attractive collection of natural-world assets. The characters were well-animated (and attired) both in and out of cut scenes. And the voice work offered the selection of either English (the default) or Japanese voice. I will say, that despite knowing better, I gave the English voice a chance (even knowing I would switch it) out of morbid curiosity. Knowing the history of voice work, both in the genre and the medium of video games in general, I was not disappointed. (it was very bad, lol.) But the Japanese voice work fared much better, if perhaps only because of my lack of familiarity with the language and all its subtleties and intonations. But I was beyond grateful that there was at least the option to play with setting-authentic voice.
In terms of practical interaction with Kuon, combat with enemies is handled via a combination of physical weapons - a variety for each character - and spell cards which serve as a type of magic in the game. These spell cards come in two varieties and in many forms. There are cards that fire projectiles or damage the demons in some other manor, as well as cards that summon “familiars” of various types that come to your aid to help fend off attacks on your behalf. The cards were interesting and the weapon combat functional, if a bit clunky - not atypical to the genre. Another interesting aspect is the fact that you can become more vulnerable as well as attracting more demons when your heart-rate gets too high from fright, injury or running. (I believe the game called this ‘Vertigo’.) While in this state, the screen becomes blurry and the use of cards is taken away, leaving you with only your weapon. This condition can be alleviated through the use of healing items, or if a safe space can be found, each character can meditate (with a button assigned to this activity) in order to restore equilibrium. I did like the fact that this aspect encouraged slower movement and a slow-burn type of tension which helped to root you and your avatar in a state of cautious fear in your ponderous and careful movements. Overall, however, the combat (on normal - ‘Insomnia’, I think) was very easy. I did die a few times, but it was only due to a stubborn refusal to use healing items even though I had plenty, lol. But I think it would have been more fun had I known how easy it would be and would have played on the hardest difficulty instead, in retrospect. There are also limited options to save a la the ink ribbons in Resident Evil. You can perform a cleansing ritual with a vessel at designated waterways. Granted, emulation can render that aspect moot, and you're provided more than enough vessels so that it shouldn't be an issue, but if you play it straight, it is possible to lose progress to an unforeseen death, making retreading your steps necessary.
In the way of negatives, there are a handful - mostly minor, but I always like to acknowledge ways in which games could have improved. One silly thing that is a problem in so many games, especially of the era, is artificial boundaries that make no sense. There were a few instances where movement was blocked in a direction by some simple scattered, moveable and low-laying debris / objects. I mean, the character could have *easily* stepped over the junk on the floor, but nope, too hard, lmao. Come on devs, at least make an attempt at believability. The camera angle could occasionally be problematic, as is usually the case with fixed-angles. There were a few moments where the perspective would change and rather than allowing the direction you *were* pushing to continue your movement in a forward facing manner relative to the character, it would instantly transition movement relative to the new perspective, flipping you back around the other way. That sort of thing is poor design and annoying. To be clear, it wasn't often, but there were some examples. Puzzles were also a bit hit and miss. One puzzle where you flipped tiles to arrange them in a manner where they were all highlighted seemed kind of complicated at first, and to be fair, you could easily paint yourself into a corner if you didn't recognize what it was doing. But once you realized the pattern, it was stupidly easy. Another of the puzzles in the beginning seemed impossible upon first encountering it (which it actually was at the time to be fair, lol), but after gaining access to more in-game hints/documents it wasn't nearly as inscrutable as it first seemed. In this puzzle, you had to move an arrow within a movable 3-ring board into the proper position and then, like a combination lock, rotate the other aspects until all things were properly aligned. The biggest problem was the use of Japanese characters, which are naturally more difficult to recognize and remember for those unfamiliar, but this was compounded by the lower resolution of the puzzle/console in general, making clear identification of the Japanese characters a bigger challenge than it would have otherwise been. To be fair, it was a fun puzzle that required the acquisition of a few documents and then implementing those hints to solve, but it could have been better with a higher fidelity presentation of the image containing the characters. And there were only a handful of real puzzles, which was a bit disappointing, and only the one that held some intrigue and a bit of resistance. To be clear, it's unlikely you'd need a guide for Kuon unless you just got really stuck on one of those two. I was never tempted to consult one, but I could see it being possible in a couple of instances, depending on your patience and observation. But just a little attention makes them really easy, in retrospect. There are a few other minor puzzles that hardly merit the term, and are really just busy work of collecting x and moving it to y - stuff like that. There were also a handful typos / translation errors that dulled a tiny bit of the shine on an otherwise very polished game. They weren't abundant, but stuff like that can and does diminish the sheen a bit. And typical of much of FROM's work, no attempt was made at lip-syncing or movement / motion capture. It honestly didn't bother me, and I'm used to it with FROM, but that's not to say it wouldn't have been nice to see for some added realism and immersion. Additionally, within two of the three phases, there is some significant repetition between characters. Despite simply covering much of the same ground, there are also some identical story beats and scenes. And though it makes sense narratively in retrospect, and while I appreciate the aspect of having essentially 3 campaigns to explore, it did make things feel just a bit punitive and bloated rather than expansive and varied, even if there ultimately was plenty of differing content when all was said and done. I think it could have been pared down just a bit to avoid some of the repetition. Finally, the most egregious annoyance was the fact that there were *way* too many loading transitions. There were numerous instances where you might load into a new area and depending upon your next move, might encounter yet another loading screen mere steps from your position. The graphics were good relative to the hardware, but this felt like poor optimization and design, and was certainly my biggest complaint, even if it didn't mute the overall enjoyment too much.
But even with those gripes, most of them being pretty minor, I absolutely loved Kuon. Not only was it an excellent horror game, it was an excellent horror experience regardless of format. I wouldn't put it alongside Silent Hill - my personal favorite series in the genre, but make no mistake, it's outstanding in its own right and deserves to be played by anyone interested in survival horror. And it certainly deserves a larger audience than it ever received upon release. It's just a damn good game and fairly lengthy for the genre. In my natural tendency to play things slowly, I clocked in at a little over 14 hours, and I'm grateful to have finally played it so many years after the fact. 5/5
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
-
isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1319
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
1) Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)
Few, if any, game series are more iconic than Super Mario. It could be argued that he was a big (the biggest?) reason for the salvation of gaming, rescuing it from the brink of arcades dying and waning console interest post Atari-VCS which resulted in that brief gaming crash. To be fair, if it wasn't Mario and Nintendo, someone else would have likely stepped up, but it would have nonetheless *NOT* been the same. Nintendo elevated this medium, both in terms of quality and content, and for that, I'll ever be respectful and grateful to that heritage. Long may it live. Importance aside, however, Super Mario has always been just plain fun. I've never played a Mario platformer that I didn't think was well made and worth playing, and most every one I've enjoyed has a place in my own personal gaming hall of fame. Unfortunately, I have missed some along the way. But, as they say, it's never too late. When the N64 was announced and in development, I was already firmly committed to the PS1, and I saw no need to add another console at that time. (I did pick one up after that generation concluded.) But that doesn't mean I didn't notice the great games that Nintendo was producing in the battle against Sony's new machine. And I did have an urge to pick up that machine because of that exciting software, but held off due to how engaged Sony's device was keeping me. So, I missed out on a fair number of excellent titles. I've gone back and righted some of those wrongs since, really loving Majora's Mask and Paper Mario in particular. This year, I decided it was time to finally play Super Mario 64, and wow am I glad I did!
I tried to approach this with the mindset of the time, with the understanding that this was the earliest days of 3D gaming and the titles of this era were just trying to figure things out in terms of mechanics and interaction. I wanted to temper my expectations a bit, knowing that both world creation and character movement within these new worlds (along with camera control) were in their formative and awkward stages. It was a wide open frontier in the world of gaming, and everyone was just trying to come to grips with the fundamentals of the added dimension. However, I also knew that Nintendo was highly praised for their approach to this new realm of gaming, and that Super Mario 64 has been lauded throughout the years. Rose-tinted perception or not, I was about to find out for myself. I expected some jankiness to the experience, all things considered, so I *did* go in with a bit of a forgiving attitude.
Knowing how the game looked from its pervasive discussion and presence online and in print publications, I was primarily interested in evaluating the controls in the beginning. If I were to be as succinct as possible, I would say that Nintendo managed to create an incredibly fun 3D play space in this initial attempt, and that the joys of simply moving and bouncing about were thoroughly engaging and simply joyful in their sensations. The timed three jump into a super jump mechanic was not only innovative and playful, but it also was useful in level navigation, helping the player traverse otherwise unreachable areas, or do so in a more efficient fashion. And Mario's movement just felt very intuitive overall. Momentum, angles, various maneuvers, and tons of general agility make Mario 64 special and worthy of the term "next-gen", even revolutionary, at the time of release, and still stands head and shoulders above so many 3D games in terms of control, games that have followed all these years later. Mario 64 had a weight and gravity to the world and character that felt "realistic" and really helped the player to feel grounded and connected to the world at large. Trying to appreciate what this game did in terms of input, I find myself at a bit of a loss for words, given what has transpired in the interim. It's very hard to overstate the finesse and skill employed in this entry of Nintendo's flagship series as we entered a major shift in the world of gaming. Chef's kiss.
Another aspect I really loved was the bite-size aspect of acquiring stars and how the structure lends itself nicely to both a sense of consistent accomplishment and measured play sessions. There was always something to do, whether it was seeing a star in the distance and wondering how you were going to get there, solving a puzzle to release one, or simply collecting enough to open up new areas. The layering of small rewards within the context of a bigger goal really flowed nicely and kept things fun and engaging without ever feeling overwhelming or frustrating. And simply acquiring a new star felt consistently satisfying. As you finally reached that goal and celebrated with Mario, there was a real sense of joy and accomplishment, particularly so in terms of the more challenging ones.
In terms of presentation, I also found things to be attractive. I've never been very fond of the N64's visuals overall. Things always felt muddy and had that "smeared in vaseline" look that you may have heard expressed. I generally always preferred the less powerful but more detailed PS1 visuals afforded by the use of a larger storage medium. But Mario 64 was clean and crisp in most cases, full of color and variety and just pleasant in terms of aesthetics, hardware limitations acknowledged. There were some less attractive areas to be fair, but overall, I found the visuals a treat, and an exception to the more common look of many of the console's other titles. Musically, it was typical Nintendo/Mario, but I have no issues with their playful, chipper approach that suits the franchise just fine, and there are also some darker, if playfully so, more moody pieces that accompany certain areas for a sense of variety.
I certainly will acknowledge some areas where improvement was possible with this iconic title. In the first place, I will say that the camera wasn't awful, but it could surely be a bit awkward in certain spots as you tried to configure your view for optimal traversal. It is surely a reflection of this early attempt at mastering the 3D space, but as close as Nintendo got to "perfection", they surely flew awfully close to the sun, and amazingly so given the fact that this was a pioneering epoch in gaming. I also didn't like the "notches" for horizontal camera control. I would have preferred a smooth allowance of adjustment, but it worked as presented. Also, as good as the controls were, Mario's momentum coupled with some of the aforementioned awkward camera bits could make controlling him feel a bit unwieldy in some spots. 2D Mario is better in terms of pure platforming action, even if I don't always prefer it to some 3D entries. Additionally, there's a few needlessly obtuse or difficult requirements for some stars. I don't always feel the need to 100% Mario games, but it is nice that there's always that sense of plenty of “extra” on offer. And if you finish the game without having collected all the stars, it's truly game over, so you'll want to do everything before the climax since you're locked out of any post-game content. I will also say that I prefer Sunshine, which is no indictment of 64, but to be fair, Sunshine felt like an iteration on the foundation of 64, and so was less impactful or "important" in the bigger picture. The cap (flying) controls could also feel a little loose for my liking. Sometimes there was pop-in with coins and that could mess up your navigation when going for red coins. And while the camera was generally passable, even in the less ideal spots, there were rare instances where it would refuse to rotate when there was no reason for it not to be able to adjust or spin around in your desired direction, and those rare occurrences could be infuriating.
But all the flaws are incredibly minor, taken in context of the time as well as in relation to the overall experience. Nintendo walked up to the door of the world of gaming's new horizons, kicked it in and said, this is how it's done bitch! They nailed the fundamentals and gave us a world with nuanced character control that just begged you to play and experiment with what was possible. It invited you to consider both your own and the game's potential and to use your imagination to try new ways of interacting with the world. And as mentioned earlier, it still easily surpasses so many games of today in terms of character control in a 3D space - close to *30 years* later. Mind blowing. Not only did it manage to innovate, but it did so without losing the core of what makes so many Nintendo (and Mario) games great - it was just pure fun. I ought to have my gamer card revoked for waiting so long to play this classic. 5/5 and my 2023 game of the year.
Few, if any, game series are more iconic than Super Mario. It could be argued that he was a big (the biggest?) reason for the salvation of gaming, rescuing it from the brink of arcades dying and waning console interest post Atari-VCS which resulted in that brief gaming crash. To be fair, if it wasn't Mario and Nintendo, someone else would have likely stepped up, but it would have nonetheless *NOT* been the same. Nintendo elevated this medium, both in terms of quality and content, and for that, I'll ever be respectful and grateful to that heritage. Long may it live. Importance aside, however, Super Mario has always been just plain fun. I've never played a Mario platformer that I didn't think was well made and worth playing, and most every one I've enjoyed has a place in my own personal gaming hall of fame. Unfortunately, I have missed some along the way. But, as they say, it's never too late. When the N64 was announced and in development, I was already firmly committed to the PS1, and I saw no need to add another console at that time. (I did pick one up after that generation concluded.) But that doesn't mean I didn't notice the great games that Nintendo was producing in the battle against Sony's new machine. And I did have an urge to pick up that machine because of that exciting software, but held off due to how engaged Sony's device was keeping me. So, I missed out on a fair number of excellent titles. I've gone back and righted some of those wrongs since, really loving Majora's Mask and Paper Mario in particular. This year, I decided it was time to finally play Super Mario 64, and wow am I glad I did!
I tried to approach this with the mindset of the time, with the understanding that this was the earliest days of 3D gaming and the titles of this era were just trying to figure things out in terms of mechanics and interaction. I wanted to temper my expectations a bit, knowing that both world creation and character movement within these new worlds (along with camera control) were in their formative and awkward stages. It was a wide open frontier in the world of gaming, and everyone was just trying to come to grips with the fundamentals of the added dimension. However, I also knew that Nintendo was highly praised for their approach to this new realm of gaming, and that Super Mario 64 has been lauded throughout the years. Rose-tinted perception or not, I was about to find out for myself. I expected some jankiness to the experience, all things considered, so I *did* go in with a bit of a forgiving attitude.
Knowing how the game looked from its pervasive discussion and presence online and in print publications, I was primarily interested in evaluating the controls in the beginning. If I were to be as succinct as possible, I would say that Nintendo managed to create an incredibly fun 3D play space in this initial attempt, and that the joys of simply moving and bouncing about were thoroughly engaging and simply joyful in their sensations. The timed three jump into a super jump mechanic was not only innovative and playful, but it also was useful in level navigation, helping the player traverse otherwise unreachable areas, or do so in a more efficient fashion. And Mario's movement just felt very intuitive overall. Momentum, angles, various maneuvers, and tons of general agility make Mario 64 special and worthy of the term "next-gen", even revolutionary, at the time of release, and still stands head and shoulders above so many 3D games in terms of control, games that have followed all these years later. Mario 64 had a weight and gravity to the world and character that felt "realistic" and really helped the player to feel grounded and connected to the world at large. Trying to appreciate what this game did in terms of input, I find myself at a bit of a loss for words, given what has transpired in the interim. It's very hard to overstate the finesse and skill employed in this entry of Nintendo's flagship series as we entered a major shift in the world of gaming. Chef's kiss.
Another aspect I really loved was the bite-size aspect of acquiring stars and how the structure lends itself nicely to both a sense of consistent accomplishment and measured play sessions. There was always something to do, whether it was seeing a star in the distance and wondering how you were going to get there, solving a puzzle to release one, or simply collecting enough to open up new areas. The layering of small rewards within the context of a bigger goal really flowed nicely and kept things fun and engaging without ever feeling overwhelming or frustrating. And simply acquiring a new star felt consistently satisfying. As you finally reached that goal and celebrated with Mario, there was a real sense of joy and accomplishment, particularly so in terms of the more challenging ones.
In terms of presentation, I also found things to be attractive. I've never been very fond of the N64's visuals overall. Things always felt muddy and had that "smeared in vaseline" look that you may have heard expressed. I generally always preferred the less powerful but more detailed PS1 visuals afforded by the use of a larger storage medium. But Mario 64 was clean and crisp in most cases, full of color and variety and just pleasant in terms of aesthetics, hardware limitations acknowledged. There were some less attractive areas to be fair, but overall, I found the visuals a treat, and an exception to the more common look of many of the console's other titles. Musically, it was typical Nintendo/Mario, but I have no issues with their playful, chipper approach that suits the franchise just fine, and there are also some darker, if playfully so, more moody pieces that accompany certain areas for a sense of variety.
I certainly will acknowledge some areas where improvement was possible with this iconic title. In the first place, I will say that the camera wasn't awful, but it could surely be a bit awkward in certain spots as you tried to configure your view for optimal traversal. It is surely a reflection of this early attempt at mastering the 3D space, but as close as Nintendo got to "perfection", they surely flew awfully close to the sun, and amazingly so given the fact that this was a pioneering epoch in gaming. I also didn't like the "notches" for horizontal camera control. I would have preferred a smooth allowance of adjustment, but it worked as presented. Also, as good as the controls were, Mario's momentum coupled with some of the aforementioned awkward camera bits could make controlling him feel a bit unwieldy in some spots. 2D Mario is better in terms of pure platforming action, even if I don't always prefer it to some 3D entries. Additionally, there's a few needlessly obtuse or difficult requirements for some stars. I don't always feel the need to 100% Mario games, but it is nice that there's always that sense of plenty of “extra” on offer. And if you finish the game without having collected all the stars, it's truly game over, so you'll want to do everything before the climax since you're locked out of any post-game content. I will also say that I prefer Sunshine, which is no indictment of 64, but to be fair, Sunshine felt like an iteration on the foundation of 64, and so was less impactful or "important" in the bigger picture. The cap (flying) controls could also feel a little loose for my liking. Sometimes there was pop-in with coins and that could mess up your navigation when going for red coins. And while the camera was generally passable, even in the less ideal spots, there were rare instances where it would refuse to rotate when there was no reason for it not to be able to adjust or spin around in your desired direction, and those rare occurrences could be infuriating.
But all the flaws are incredibly minor, taken in context of the time as well as in relation to the overall experience. Nintendo walked up to the door of the world of gaming's new horizons, kicked it in and said, this is how it's done bitch! They nailed the fundamentals and gave us a world with nuanced character control that just begged you to play and experiment with what was possible. It invited you to consider both your own and the game's potential and to use your imagination to try new ways of interacting with the world. And as mentioned earlier, it still easily surpasses so many games of today in terms of character control in a 3D space - close to *30 years* later. Mind blowing. Not only did it manage to innovate, but it did so without losing the core of what makes so many Nintendo (and Mario) games great - it was just pure fun. I ought to have my gamer card revoked for waiting so long to play this classic. 5/5 and my 2023 game of the year.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
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crimson_tide
- Posts: 468
- Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2019 5:07 pm
Re: It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
Always an eclectic list, Izzy! Thanks for sharing friend. Personally, I am no fan of Mario 64 but I get why it would top your list. You really liked the game club games you played like Aria of Sorrow and Kuon, they placed really high! We have to keep game club going. I will post mine...oh wait Infinite Wealth is out. July? November? We'll see 
Your Crystalis write really makes me want to give it another run...I do have one of those mini consoles, maybe it's time to figure out how to mod it...
Your Crystalis write really makes me want to give it another run...I do have one of those mini consoles, maybe it's time to figure out how to mod it...
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1319
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
Yeah, the game club was great, and I really enjoyed Windbound too. I'll happily hand over my gaming future to you guys again.crimson_tide wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 10:22 am Always an eclectic list, Izzy! Thanks for sharing friend. Personally, I am no fan of Mario 64 but I get why it would top your list. You really liked the game club games you played like Aria of Sorrow and Kuon, they placed really high! We have to keep game club going. I will post mine...oh wait Infinite Wealth is out. July? November? We'll see
Your Crystalis write really makes me want to give it another run...I do have one of those mini consoles, maybe it's time to figure out how to mod it...
Granted, everyone is picking from games we're already interested in, but still. Maybe we'll do it again when everybody is feeling it. And I'd love to see your 2023 list, but I know it'll probably be a few years. Yakuza doesn't play itself.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!
Re: It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
Great list as always, izzy. I appreciate the detailed write-ups for each game... very easy to determine whether something is for me (or not). I have a handful I'll check out at some point.
I also feel confident saying no one on this entire planet played a wider variety of games (styles, eras, platforms, hits to obscurities, etc.) Bravo!
I also feel confident saying no one on this entire planet played a wider variety of games (styles, eras, platforms, hits to obscurities, etc.) Bravo!
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isthatallyougot
- Posts: 1319
- Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:52 am
Re: It's 2024 already?!? What the heck man!
Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Dragon kick your a$$ into the Milky Way!