 When I turned 25, I wrote a blog covering my top 25 games of all time. My number one game at 25 was Super Mario 64 and I would likely still choose it today as it forever cemented my love of gaming. While I’ve regularly replayed Mario 64 over the years, I can’t say the same for the rest of the 3D Mario games even though they are thoroughly excellent and some of my favorite games of all time. While Mario 64 has made regular appearances on multiple Nintendo platforms, the same cannot be said about every other game which has made replays less convenient. As part of Nintendo’s plans for the 35th anniversary of Mario, Nintendo put out a collection on the Switch that contained Mario’s first three 3D platformers, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy, and separately they ported Super Mario 3D World with a new game included, Bowser’s Fury. The Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection bizarrely omits the superior Mario Galaxy game, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and I was determined to fully replay it with my digital copy on the Wii U if I was going to enjoy all the prior games. I realized then that the 35th anniversary was a perfect opportunity to replay every 3D Mario game as I would only have to dig out my 3DS to replay Super Mario 3D Land and then just replay Super Mario Odyssey again on the Switch. From September 2020 to March 2021, I played all eight 3D Mario games to 100% completion and I’m excited to share my fresh impressions of every replay and my thoughts on the new Bowser’s Fury. My thoughts on some of the games have definitely shifted with these fresh back to back playthroughs and they helped shape how I feel about Bowser’s Fury. I haven’t written about many of these games at length so I have decided to divide this blog into two parts. Part 1, which you are reading now, will cover Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy 2, while Part 2 will cover, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Odyssey, and Bowser’s Fury. I have a lot of thoughts I’m excited to share, so let’s get to it!  Super Mario 64 (1996: N64, Wii, Wii U, Switch) Super Mario 64 is the game that truly cemented why I love video games. While I grew up enjoying amazing games on the Super Nintendo, seeing gaming jump to 3D with Mario 64 was a magical, transformative moment that proved video game’s endless potential for evolution and their ability to offer truly personal experiences beyond what other media can offer. While the Mario games that succeeded it have stronger designed levels, the original Mario 64 remains unmatched in celebrating the joy of movement in a 3D space as the simpler objectives and more open levels pair with an elegant move set to allow you to most easily and confidently express yourself. I’ve played Mario 64 many times over the years. In general, I seem to replay it every other year or so. As a result, playing Super Mario 64 on the Switch was mostly a smooth experience that once again reaffirmed my core opinion of it. However, at launch when I played it, Nintendo made the baffling decision to un-invert the camera. Thankfully I could get used to it because my preferred option for a double inverted camera isn’t always supported in other video games, but it was disappointing since Super Mario 64 first taught me how to manipulate a camera in a 3D space! Mario 64 actually explains why the camera performs as it does because from the start it is presented as Lakitu hovering behind Mario to document the action with his camera. When you move the camera in Mario 64 you are actually controlling the cameraman himself! If he moves left behind Mario the screen itself shifts right and similarly when Lakitu moves backward the view expands which made perfect sense to me. An options menu was patched in to correct this flaw, but it was very frustrating that Nintendo backtracked on its own legacy here when the rest of the package barely features any updates for better or worse.  Quality of the port aside, I had an absolute blast once again playing Super Mario 64 and my latest playthrough became the first time I ever claimed all 120 stars in one sitting. I’ve always had a great memory for maps and directions and this skill translates to games as I know all of the Mario 64 maps, including coins and enemies, like the back of my hand. While I’m not a speedrunner, I enjoy tackling the objectives efficiently and always try to make wild long jumps and wall jumps to skip past obstacles. The middle of the game, including Big Boo’s Haunt and the basement levels, prove the most satisfying to me now as they strike an interesting mix of deadly obstacles and open world spaces. In Big Boo’s Haunt for example, with clever wall jumping you can easily reach the second floor at any time and skip navigating the library entirely. Lethal Lava Land and Bowser In The Fire Sea on the other hand can offer a true rush if you long jump and speed through the limited platforms separated by a sea of lava that makes mistakes costly, but not necessarily fatal. While I used to dread the 100 coin stars because they are the increasingly toughest stars in the game to claim (especially Rainbow Ride’s), I think they are now some of my favorites as most of the levels are open ended enough that you have flexibility in not just choosing your route, but which coins to grab entirely. It’s a shame then that aside from Sunshine which also features 100 coin stars, no other Mario game features objectives that function like them. When I replay Mario 64, I’m always amazed that I still discover new things when I play it. My big discovery in this playthrough was learning there is actually a reward for taking out the seemingly endlessly respawning Monty Moles that appear in a few levels starting with Hazy Maze Cave as they eventually drop a 1-Up Mushroom if you take enough out. A separate thing I’m continuing to discover is just how useful the “Mario camera” can be. The camera in Mario 64 is especially wily by today’s standards, but I appreciate that you do have a lot of control over it by swapping between two different modes, a “Lakitu camera” that gives a large view of the action and a “Mario camera” that is placed right behind Mario. The Lakitu camera definitely covers 95% of the action with minimal fuss especially if it is zoomed out, but the Mario camera definitely has its uses. The very top of Big Boo’s Haunt for example is too zoomed out in the Lakitu camera, but is simple enough to navigate with the Mario camera. That prominent example I knew prior, but I definitely felt more comfortable and more successful swapping between the two cameras in this playthrough when I felt it might help and it often did. I came away from my latest playthrough still in awe of Super Mario 64. It’s still my favorite 3D Mario game and my favorite game of all time and I’m looking forward to the day I inevitably feel it’s time to replay it again.  Super Mario Sunshine (2002: GameCube, Switch) The game I was most looking forward to replaying on the 3D All-Stars Collection was Super Mario Sunshine. It had been well over 10 years since I last played it at any length and I was really looking forward to finally 100% complete Sunshine for the first time. My GameCube copy of Sunshine was one of the ones that sadly suffered from a glitch that would crash the game whenever you tried to grab a specific blue coin in Nokia Bay (it’s in that square cut out of the cliff face pictured above). The glitched coin prevented me from achieving 100% completion and ever since my last GameCube memory card died I sadly had even less incentive to revisit Sunshine. The Switch version at launch suffered from the same un-inversion issue as Mario 64, including aiming the FLUDD, and also suffered from the lack of Gamecube Controller support since the Switch controller lacks analog triggers. This removes the ability to finely adjust FLUDD usage depending on how fully you pressed down the trigger so instead FLUDD’s functions are awkwardly split across two buttons. Thankfully the patch for 64 fixed both issues in Sunshine and most importantly for me the infamous blue coin glitch was absent from the start. I’ve always held Sunshine in high regard especially because Mario’s move set in Sunshine is the most advanced across the 3D Mario games thanks to the introduction of Tornado Jumps combined with the fun possibilities offered by each FLUDD module. The standout abilities of the FLUDD are hovering, rocket jumps, and rocket dashes, but its primary ability to spray water ahead of you can be used to zip around environments as you can rapidly slide forward on wet surfaces which is super fun. I obviously thus disagreed with the relentless discourse against Sunshine, that it is the black sheep of the 3D Mario games, but it still weighed on me so I was very eager to see how it held up myself. After this replay I actually came away even more fond of Sunshine.  There are roughly two types of 3D Mario games, those that are more open and those that are more structured, and like Mario 64, Sunshine is more open in structure. It doesn’t really matter in my case since I always aim for 100% when I play Mario games, but Sunshine has the strictest requirements in playing levels in set orders. You can’t necessarily grab the sixth Shine in a level when you are in the episode for the first shine in a level and more frustratingly certain blue coins are unavailable to collect as well because each episode is actually a distinct world state. There are advantages to this approach as enemies and obstacles change between episodes and most amusingly NPC’s have unique dialog to each episode which offers evolving insights and stories. Since you can see other levels from a distance and NPCs occasionally travel between locations, Delfino Island becomes the most realized setting in a 3D Mario game which is super cool and something not seen again until Mario Odyssey. Incidentally, a further comparison arises between the two games with the new addition of Blue Coins. There are usually 30 in each level, spread across episodes in sometimes interesting and other times frustrating ways. Like Odyssey’s moons, the Blue Coins offer rewards for more thorough exploration. I wasn’t afraid to dig out my old strategy guide when I almost exhausted an area, but I found it satisfying now to rediscover and finally claim every Blue Coin. There are some rough levels in Sunshine, no question, alongside the majority of great ones. One in Pianta Village where you are encouraged to navigate the grates on the underside of the city without the FLUDD was incredibly frustrating as Mario feels locked to grates when trying to transfer between them yet can comically easily be knocked off grates by enemies. Still, I found a majority of the most infamous levels discussed online and ones I had struggled with in the past to not be anywhere near as bad as I remembered. I don’t believe it was cleaned up in any way, so I was surprised the clay boat and lilly pad levels where you shoot the FLUDD to ride them across dangerous waters didn’t give me any grief this time for example. I also successfully navigated the big water melon down to the shack in Gelato Beach on my first try. The hotel levels, which I’d still consider the weakest overall aside from the awesome Manta Ray showdown, proved more enjoyable to me this time as a unique change of pace. My favorite levels are definitely the more open ones including Delfino Plaza (which is my favorite Mario hub world), Bianco Hills, Rico Harbor, and Nokia Bay. These levels are especially fun to navigate with Tornado Jumps and the FLUDD especially as they remix the environments in interesting ways across episodes. Another standout are the FLUDD-less challenge levels which put your platforming skills to the test. I like how they point to the creativity in linear challenges that the 3D Mario team will spend time refining in future games. I had a blast tearing through Sunshine in three days and finally achieving 100% completion which had eluded me for 18 years. Its well realized setting and awesome move set for Mario help it stand out from the rest of the 3D Mario games in a positive way. I’m so glad I finally replayed it and solidified my opinion on the game.  Super Mario Galaxy (2007: Wii, Wii U, Switch) Across my seven replays, I definitely found elements I appreciated more and elements I appreciated less in each of the 3D Mario games. My Super Mario Galaxy replay, has the unfortunate distinction of being the only one that lowered my opinion of a still relatively amazing game. Super Mario Galaxy is the first of the four more linear 3D Mario games and sees Mario venture into space to rescue Peach from Bowser’s clutches. The glorious outer space setting frees the level designers to basically make whatever they wanted across planets both big and small. The atmosphere of Mario Galaxy is amazing in large part due to my favorite Mario soundtrack that introduces grand and beautifully orchestrated pieces to the series. The song “Super Mario Galaxy” aka, Credits Roll, is my favorite track in the soundtrack alongside the wonderful Gusty Garden Galaxy theme that was later remixed as Champion’s Road in Super Mario 3D World. Galaxy still looks excellent on the Switch thanks to stellar art direction and an increase in resolution. Unfortunately, the Switch version does have one compromise to the experience that can’t be fixed with a patch as the slick IR pointer of the Wii version, primarily used to collect star bits, is replaced with the incredibly unreliable Gyro sensor that loses calibration after maybe a second of serious use. While forever frustrating, thankfully it is a minor annoyance overall. Part of my disappointment in Mario Galaxy in this replay was further realizing just how much my previous criticism actually held it back. Mario Galaxy makes a strong first impression as Mario rockets into space and then has a comfortably laid back beginning for his adventure. The problem is that Mario Galaxy never properly ramps up in difficulty and it doesn’t ever ask you to make serious use of Mario’s move set. While Galaxy significantly simplifies Mario’s move set compared to Mario 64 and Sunshine (no dives or tornado jumps here :/ ) it does introduce one of my favorite mechanics for an extra jump to adjust your trajectory. Previously activated with a satisfying shake of the Wii controllers, on the Switch the spin jump / spin attack is simply activated with a more reliable button press. This simple addition is wonderful as it gives you so much added control in the air even if the actual increase to the height and distance of your jump is minimal. The attack portion of the move is also welcome as it introduces a simple way to give Mario a melee attack that doesn’t slow down the action. I’m happy this ability not only returned in Super Mario Galaxy 2 and as a move for Rosalina in 3D World, but an altered version that nixes the attack property crossed over into the 2D Mario games as well starting with New Super Mario Bros Wii. While I always knocked Mario Galaxy for being too easy, something I didn’t comprehensively notice in my original playthroughs is that you virtually never need to take advantage of this move or the returning long jump move from Mario 64 as a standard jump helps you leap across essentially every obstacle and gap. While the spin jump still has a place in the game, I wouldn’t adore it otherwise, the long jump in particular sadly serves little purpose which is a shame because it is normally such a fun form of movement.  One other issue stood out to me in this playthrough and that is how often Galaxy reuses content. While the previous 3D Mario games reused their big open worlds as they spread collectibles through them, Galaxy is significantly worse about it as a linear game. While the comets in the game contribute to this issue as they repeat challenges with a simple modifier, like a timer or one HP runs, I began to notice how certain planets are just straight up reused in different levels with minimal to no adjustments. The most egregious example is a robot top boss that no joke you actually fight four times with no relevant changes to his moves and both the arena and area leading up to him. I forgot too Galaxy is the first 3D game to force you to refight the final boss fight in order to keep unlocking new content. There are no notable changes to this fight and the language of what you’ll get when you recomplete it is blatantly misleading as it sounds like you’ll get to play a new level, but really you just unlock Luigi. In order to play the final level (which isn’t even cool), you’ll have had to fight Bowser four times! It’s an awesome fight to be sure (especially with the epic soundtrack) and leaves a great impression the first time, but it’s less awesome four times back to back. Incidentally, I did skip the Luigi playthrough this time. I know I have been super down on Galaxy so far, but I swear I still do really like the game for what it is! Jumping between planets to advance through levels is a wonderous idea that I hope will one day return. While Mario is less satisfying to control due to the simpler controls, it is still super fun to navigate him through the world and is relatively painless to do so since the camera is well equipped to handle itself for the first time. While I like a lot of my favorite levels because of the distinct moods they invoke, like the Gusty Garden Galaxy and the Space Junk Galaxy, there are still some standout levels for platforming including the Freezeflame Galaxy (which has slick ice-skating controls) and the delightful Toy Time Galaxy. The Bowser levels are also very fun and satisfying to conquer. The Bowser showdowns that conclude them are easy, but they are my favorite showdowns in a 3D Mario right alongside Mario 64’s since it is one of the rare times you can directly strike Bowser himself. One last addition I have to mention from Mario Galaxy is the introduction of Rosalina to the series. Rosalina is special for being essentially the only major addition to the Mario cast in the last twenty years and she is one of the only ones to have a backstory (it’s tragic even!). She made a strong first impression and became cemented as one of my favorite Mario characters in later appearances in Super Mario 3D World and Super Smash Bros. As a result, she became my favorite racer in Mario Kart 7 and 8. Super Mario Galaxy may have lost some of its luster over the years, but it is still a fantastic game that made wonderful contributions to the series with the unique planet hopping gameplay, a simple, but powerful new move with the spin jump, a cool new character with Rosalina, and the most glorious soundtrack in the series. I’m happy I played it again and even though I imagine it won’t be for a long a while, I’m looking forward to the day I’ll play it again.  Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010: Wii, Wii U) I’m more than happy to report, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is still just as awesome today as it was when it came out and remains my second favorite 3D Mario game just behind Super Mario 64. Galaxy 2 offers an even more focused experience than the first Galaxy and is all the better for it. I’m still amazed how it regularly presents distinct ideas and jumps right to the core of what makes them fun, before moving on to the next great idea to repeat the process. Astoundingly, it often repeats this process multiple times per level! There are far more galaxies in general and every star inside of them (aside from hidden stars) are collected through unique paths in each galaxy which keeps Galaxy 2 feeling fresh throughout. The levels themselves are longer, far more complex, and thankfully more difficult than in the first Galaxy as well (long jumps matter again!) which makes the journey much more satisfying. While Galaxy 2 does reuse a few levels (and features a few classic courses/challenges), it does so with far more purpose and never more than twice until the Green Star post game victory lap that sticks new stars in hidden and hard to reach locations. I played Galaxy 2 with my digital Wii U copy which of course requires Wii Remotes. While I couldn’t enjoy the resolution bump, Galaxy 2 still looked great and I did get to use all of the original motion controls (including the rad IR pointer controls) which are more involved and more fun to use than in the first Galaxy. Beyond just the general excellence across the board, there a few elements that further help Galaxy 2 really stand out. The most prominent addition over the first Galaxy game is Yoshi who lets you clear out enemies with his powerful, lengthy tongue, and cross tricky gaps with his powerful flutter jump. Most interestingly, by eating specific fruit Yoshi gains access to his own specific set of power ups including ballooning up to reach tall heights and a red pepper dash that lets him scale up sloped walls. The more traditional power ups introduced in Galaxy 2 for Mario don’t disappoint either. The new drill item for example forces you to think about the full shape of the planet you are standing on as it lets you drill through the ground to pop out on the other side. My favorite new power up in Galaxy 2 and my favorite Mario power up of all time is Cloud Mario which lets you create three platforms anywhere in the world. Provided you don’t come into contact with water which disables your power up, you can spawn one cloud platform at a time whenever you decide to shake either Wii controller. It’s a lot of fun to plan your route carefully through a level and decide where those extra cloud platforms will be of most use whether it’s to reach otherwise out of place areas, to help cut across giant gaps, or for something else entirely.  A second element that helps Galaxy 2 standout is its absolutely fantastic bosses. The kid gloves from the first Galaxy come off again here as these bosses are generally more aggressive and require a little more thought and timing to conquer especially since you frequently need to use power ups to triumph. While the Bowser fights are a bit of a letdown in comparison, Bowser Jr. especially brings exciting colossal robots to dismantle including a tank that keeps increasing in height as you damage it so you’ll eventually need Cloud Mario to reach the top. One final element I want to discuss is that Galaxy 2 was the first Mario game to introduce a final extra challenging level for people who aimed for 100% completion. The Perfect Run is a gauntlet of challenging new level sections that test all of your skills including Yoshi and Cloud Mario. Taking one hit forces you to start over so it is a true test of endurance. My muscle memory carried me well so I didn’t have to try too much, but man it is still such a blast to conquer! I had an awesome time once again claiming all 242 stars in Super Mario Galaxy 2. I definitely need to make it a habit to replay it more often because it is such a joyful game that keeps a smile on my face from beginning to end. Even though it will lose the wonderful IR controls, I hope Nintendo ports Super Mario Galaxy 2 to Switch so more people can play one of Mario’s absolute best adventures. … That concludes the first part of my 3D Mario blog. I will return with Part 2 soon so please look forward to it! I always love hearing comments and feedback, so if you have any fond 3D Mario memories or enjoyed a recent replay yourself be sure to share with me on Twitter @JustinMikos. Until next time! Comments are closed.
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