2: Super Mario 64
It’s incredible how many times Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto have revolutionised the gaming industry. From Mario’s first appearance in Donkey Kong, to the first Super Mario Bros which set the template for all 2D platformers to follow, to their efforts on Super Mario 64, which not only started the 3D platforming genre to a large degree, but also nigh on perfected it.
There is literally no reason to have expected that Nintendo would be the ones that would revolutionise by 2D and 3D games like this. Because even if they did it with Super Mario Bros, any other company could have come along and did what they achieved in the 2D realm and done the same thing in 3D. But no, it was Nintendo again.
Super Mario 64 was the perfect introduction to 3D games for many, with it’s revolutionary use of analogue controls, to it’s brilliantly devised 3D camera control method and level design that encouraged exploration of the 3D worlds. This was so far ahead of competition such as Crash Bandicoot or Tomb Raider, which both excellent in their own ways had limited camera control if any and would often depend on your repositioning the character to hope for the best view of jumps and threats in the games.
One of the most impressive things about Super Mario 64 is the variety of levels and challenges that change with them. Tiny Huge Island is a brilliant example of how the developers were looking at ways to make the environments interesting as you could explore the same locations at different sizes. Levels set around following the path of a magic carpet or sand, fire and ice worlds which each brought changes to the way Mario could interact with the world around him.
This game also had loads of secrets and easter eggs, such as Mario being able to have his hat stolen, the still impressive way you can manipulate Mario’s face on the intro screen and the appearance by Yoshi at the end of the game.
