Super Mario 64 is, without question my favourite game. Having it been my first experience with 3D environments and the amount of time spent growing up as I collected all those stars, I for one have been disappointed by the lack of effort to produce a true successor, and the recent new direction of the Mario series to have completely turned it's back on Mario 64 completely.
It's safe to say that the announcement of Super Mario 3D World had quite a mixed reaction. Those content with the linear style overjoyed, whereas those hoping on the next-gen Mario on the Power Star, packed big adventure were disappointed say the least. But recent quotes from Nintendo developers suggests that those disappointed may only have to wait until the next instalment.
If you ask me, if it meant getting a sequel to Mario 64, i'd be on the next flight to Kyoto to ask for it personally.
Discussion time!
First of all, there was the original direct sequel titled Super Mario 64 2 that was to be made for the Nintendo 64DD which was cancelled before even a single trailer or screen was even revealed. What we do know was that the game would have 2-Player Multiplayer, and Luigi would be playable, having not appeared in the original game at all. The game would have been released in 1999, however due to the lack of progress and the failure of the 64DD the game never saw the light of day. Then there was Super Mario 128, a game that for several years Nintendo insisted was in development for the GameCube. Unlike Super Mario 64 2, there is actual footage of the demo which consists of 128 Marios walking around a... Circular Monopoly Board or something:
Although the demo was more of a proof of concept, for 6 years we were led to believe that it would evolve into a brand new 3D Mario game. It was promised for reveal on several occasions, but not a single time did it ever actually make an appearance. But in 2007 we were to find out Nintendo were just pulling our strings the whole time. Miyamoto revealed that Super Mario 128 was simply a tech demo to show off the GameCube and it never was going to be a full game, despite Reggie having reported that the game was making steady progress a few years prior. But the idea of 128 Marios running around together was ported to Pikmin, so hey, not a total loss.
Super Mario Sunshine is probably the closest to a sequel Mario 64 has had. The game involved the same open-world style as Mario 64, it retained a goal of collecting 120 stars (though in this case it was Shine Sprites). But what the game failed to deliver to it's predecessor was the same character. The F.L.U.D.D. gameplay altered the gameplay far too much, and the diversity of content was not nearly as varied, every level was island-themed and many Shine Sprites could only be obtained through the mind-numbing Blue Coin hunt (which is practically impossible without a guide).
Super Mario Galaxy and it's sequel returned the gameplay to a more 'Mario' state, but the problem that was faced was that the world was no longer a sandbox, which was Mario 64's signature. The gameplay was restricted to a far-from-open path from A-to-B, per the 2D Mario games.
This 'linear' trend sparked a whopping 8 games in a row to ditch the open world theme that defined the first two 3D Mario's. And until recently, Nintendo has shown no intention to return 3D Mario back to it's playground roots. Until now...
Although the demo was more of a proof of concept, for 6 years we were led to believe that it would evolve into a brand new 3D Mario game. It was promised for reveal on several occasions, but not a single time did it ever actually make an appearance. But in 2007 we were to find out Nintendo were just pulling our strings the whole time. Miyamoto revealed that Super Mario 128 was simply a tech demo to show off the GameCube and it never was going to be a full game, despite Reggie having reported that the game was making steady progress a few years prior. But the idea of 128 Marios running around together was ported to Pikmin, so hey, not a total loss.
Super Mario Sunshine is probably the closest to a sequel Mario 64 has had. The game involved the same open-world style as Mario 64, it retained a goal of collecting 120 stars (though in this case it was Shine Sprites). But what the game failed to deliver to it's predecessor was the same character. The F.L.U.D.D. gameplay altered the gameplay far too much, and the diversity of content was not nearly as varied, every level was island-themed and many Shine Sprites could only be obtained through the mind-numbing Blue Coin hunt (which is practically impossible without a guide).
Super Mario Galaxy and it's sequel returned the gameplay to a more 'Mario' state, but the problem that was faced was that the world was no longer a sandbox, which was Mario 64's signature. The gameplay was restricted to a far-from-open path from A-to-B, per the 2D Mario games.
This 'linear' trend sparked a whopping 8 games in a row to ditch the open world theme that defined the first two 3D Mario's. And until recently, Nintendo has shown no intention to return 3D Mario back to it's playground roots. Until now...
It's safe to say that the announcement of Super Mario 3D World had quite a mixed reaction. Those content with the linear style overjoyed, whereas those hoping on the next-gen Mario on the Power Star, packed big adventure were disappointed say the least. But recent quotes from Nintendo developers suggests that those disappointed may only have to wait until the next instalment.
Shigeru Miyamoto said:
Yoshiaki Koizumi said:
Yoshiaki Koizumi said:
If you ask me, if it meant getting a sequel to Mario 64, i'd be on the next flight to Kyoto to ask for it personally.
Discussion time!
