disclaimer: played the unofficial pc version
it's pretty interesting playing this game for the first time in years. and man... it's aged weirdly. good in some areas, it's a game ahead of it's time and when the game is good, it's damn good. but there are just a couple places it's aged like milk.
like in some areas. the camera is a bit of a problem, but it's mitigated if you just switch it to mario mode and zoom out. lakitu mode is... it tries to be semi-fixed at times, and im wondering if early on they wanted a fixed camera, and for one of the earliest 3d platformers, i wouldn't be shocked if nintendo toyed with the idea. that all said, switching to mario view and then tapping c-down a couple times every time you want a good camera is a bit annoying, but it's better than just not having mario view i guess
the controls are great, this is, for the most part, one aspect where the game excels. but i feel that some of the momentum just... doesn't feel right and it could use some tweaking. maybe im just too used to later mario games, and later platformers in general. although that said, there is one thing about the controls that bothered me the whole game. okay so if you're standing still, then try to go the opposite direction of where mario is facing, he'll just snap to that direction and go. if you're running and go the other direction, he'll quickly skid and start running to the new direction... if you're not running at max speed, he'll take his sweet time moving forward and then do a wide U-turn to go the direction you wan't him to go. on smaller platforms, this is a nightmare and caused many of my deaths
i got all 120 stars in this game for the very first time. how bout i just give you a rundown, level by level of my quick experiences and thoughts of each level
1. bob omb battlefield: a quaint introductory stage. it's a good first tutorial stage (of 3) and allows you to get to grips with this (at the time) next generation game along with preparing you for bowser and allowing you to use the games tools in a sort of sandbox environment
2. whomps fortress: does a good job slowly ramping things up for the player with the introduction of a level surrounded by bottomless pits. it may just be another tutorial stage, but its a good one
3. jolly roger bay: its a water level. you swim. its lame.
4. cool cool mountain: i almost want to call this the real first level in the game as there's actual challenge to it at times. getting down the mountain is easy, but getting up the mountain, a little more thought and carefulness goes into that. it also introduces sliding, something i feel could have maybe been in another level or 2. and it gives you some more mellow exploration based stars to do. it's a good level
5. big boo's haunt: eh its okay... it's a rather small level and it ends with a mini boss against big boo a little too often for its own good, and some stars are just painfully easy. it's a whatever level.
6. hazy maze cave: this is probably the first weak level that doesn't involve water. as the name implies, it is a maze, but it's kind of a bad one. you start with 2 paths. one takes you to a pit with boulders falling down, and then a lake. the other takes you down some construction site with red coins and then the real hazy maze. it's a maze filled with toxic gas that does damage to you so long as you're in it unless you're wearing the metal cap. the solution to the maze is pretty annoying. there are all these high up square holes in the walls at some parts, and like 2 of them have a door. but you can barely see the walls. this level is actually more or less the first "hope you bought the strategy guide, kid" that the game has. there's actually another moment in that level to have that strategy guide problem. there's one point where you have to blindly wall jump to a random spot to get a star
7. lethal lava land: this is another fun level, just abusing the movement to get stars, it feels great. there is a harsh penalty for screwing up a jump, but it all feels right.
8. shifting sand land: NERVE WRECKING PANIC ATTACKS
9. dire dire docks: another water level: now with more water and a red coin section thats literally just waiting around
10. snowman's land: ehhhhh this one is okayish, but it does showcase how jank the platforming can be
11. wet dry world. this is the only good water level in the game, and its because you're almost never in the water
12. tall, tall mountain: despite having the most memorable music, it's probably one of the more forgettable levels in the game
13. tiny-huge island: this is the level where the controls will feel their most jank, and i think its because of the wonky slope-filled level design for this area. it's a good concept but this level just kinda... sucks
14. tick tock clock: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA FUCK FUCK FUCK
15. rainbow ride: slow... boring... why is the final level just a slow magic carpet ride and why do i have to do this at least 6 times?
16. the bowser levels: these are good bc its just pure platforming with a boss at the end
so yeah that's like half the levels that are good. honestly if you've never played this game before, by all means do it, it's a must-play. just don't get all the stars. there are 2 things that will just ruin your experience when going for 100%. the first is a severe lack of checkpoints, which you really fucking notice when an entire level is just waiting on a magic carpet for 5 minutes and then you die at the end..... the second is, getting 100 coins in each level is a legitimately miserable and anxiety educing experience. plus while most the stars are great, there are some thats just a pain. go for 70, no one will think less of you. i won't say this game needs a remake, but a couple of tweaks probably would make this a far better experience
it's pretty interesting playing this game for the first time in years. and man... it's aged weirdly. good in some areas, it's a game ahead of it's time and when the game is good, it's damn good. but there are just a couple places it's aged like milk.
like in some areas. the camera is a bit of a problem, but it's mitigated if you just switch it to mario mode and zoom out. lakitu mode is... it tries to be semi-fixed at times, and im wondering if early on they wanted a fixed camera, and for one of the earliest 3d platformers, i wouldn't be shocked if nintendo toyed with the idea. that all said, switching to mario view and then tapping c-down a couple times every time you want a good camera is a bit annoying, but it's better than just not having mario view i guess
the controls are great, this is, for the most part, one aspect where the game excels. but i feel that some of the momentum just... doesn't feel right and it could use some tweaking. maybe im just too used to later mario games, and later platformers in general. although that said, there is one thing about the controls that bothered me the whole game. okay so if you're standing still, then try to go the opposite direction of where mario is facing, he'll just snap to that direction and go. if you're running and go the other direction, he'll quickly skid and start running to the new direction... if you're not running at max speed, he'll take his sweet time moving forward and then do a wide U-turn to go the direction you wan't him to go. on smaller platforms, this is a nightmare and caused many of my deaths
i got all 120 stars in this game for the very first time. how bout i just give you a rundown, level by level of my quick experiences and thoughts of each level
1. bob omb battlefield: a quaint introductory stage. it's a good first tutorial stage (of 3) and allows you to get to grips with this (at the time) next generation game along with preparing you for bowser and allowing you to use the games tools in a sort of sandbox environment
2. whomps fortress: does a good job slowly ramping things up for the player with the introduction of a level surrounded by bottomless pits. it may just be another tutorial stage, but its a good one
3. jolly roger bay: its a water level. you swim. its lame.
4. cool cool mountain: i almost want to call this the real first level in the game as there's actual challenge to it at times. getting down the mountain is easy, but getting up the mountain, a little more thought and carefulness goes into that. it also introduces sliding, something i feel could have maybe been in another level or 2. and it gives you some more mellow exploration based stars to do. it's a good level
5. big boo's haunt: eh its okay... it's a rather small level and it ends with a mini boss against big boo a little too often for its own good, and some stars are just painfully easy. it's a whatever level.
6. hazy maze cave: this is probably the first weak level that doesn't involve water. as the name implies, it is a maze, but it's kind of a bad one. you start with 2 paths. one takes you to a pit with boulders falling down, and then a lake. the other takes you down some construction site with red coins and then the real hazy maze. it's a maze filled with toxic gas that does damage to you so long as you're in it unless you're wearing the metal cap. the solution to the maze is pretty annoying. there are all these high up square holes in the walls at some parts, and like 2 of them have a door. but you can barely see the walls. this level is actually more or less the first "hope you bought the strategy guide, kid" that the game has. there's actually another moment in that level to have that strategy guide problem. there's one point where you have to blindly wall jump to a random spot to get a star
7. lethal lava land: this is another fun level, just abusing the movement to get stars, it feels great. there is a harsh penalty for screwing up a jump, but it all feels right.
8. shifting sand land: NERVE WRECKING PANIC ATTACKS
9. dire dire docks: another water level: now with more water and a red coin section thats literally just waiting around
10. snowman's land: ehhhhh this one is okayish, but it does showcase how jank the platforming can be
11. wet dry world. this is the only good water level in the game, and its because you're almost never in the water
12. tall, tall mountain: despite having the most memorable music, it's probably one of the more forgettable levels in the game
13. tiny-huge island: this is the level where the controls will feel their most jank, and i think its because of the wonky slope-filled level design for this area. it's a good concept but this level just kinda... sucks
14. tick tock clock: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA FUCK FUCK FUCK
15. rainbow ride: slow... boring... why is the final level just a slow magic carpet ride and why do i have to do this at least 6 times?
16. the bowser levels: these are good bc its just pure platforming with a boss at the end
so yeah that's like half the levels that are good. honestly if you've never played this game before, by all means do it, it's a must-play. just don't get all the stars. there are 2 things that will just ruin your experience when going for 100%. the first is a severe lack of checkpoints, which you really fucking notice when an entire level is just waiting on a magic carpet for 5 minutes and then you die at the end..... the second is, getting 100 coins in each level is a legitimately miserable and anxiety educing experience. plus while most the stars are great, there are some thats just a pain. go for 70, no one will think less of you. i won't say this game needs a remake, but a couple of tweaks probably would make this a far better experience