As one of the most praised titles in gaming history, Sumer Mario 64 will never falter in bringing fans back to enjoy the ride. I did not grow up with an N64 and first played this title as a part of the 3D All-Stars Package deep into the void of COVID-19. Coming back now to complete the 120-star challenge on the Switch's Nintendo's N64 simulator my thoughts remain mostly the same. I like Super Mario 64, but I don't love it. I could never focus any of my complaints about this game on the developers. The game is a launch title transitioning a 2D franchise into a previously unexplored 3D world. The game was always likely to be too bold as a platformer for the tech backing it. One major technological fault is the game's camera system, which is, by far, the most obnoxious game-killing feature. Treated are we to such a freeflow selection of jumping moves in Super Mario 64 and objectives to challenge you to move in all directions. Access to such fluidity of movement is ideal until the user tries to make a precision jump with a handicapped viewpoint. Why are the viewpoints limited? The game's third-person camera does not sufficiently adjust on the spot. This occurrence happens at least at one specific map point on most levels. And as users progress to stages where they can fall easily off the map, they will be frustrated after the camera fails them. Some of the basic polygonal models to jump on or off of can also produce awkward results with some of the slipperiness of Mario's movements. Again, this is likely due to the fault of the system's technology and it not having the capacity to produce bigger maps with more complex models. What I love about Super Mario 64 is it is easy to pick up and complete on any given weekend. The design for the time is also creatively pieced together. The design model of providing different objectives amongst the same 3D course is fun and forces you to traverse every corner of the map by varying means (Some levels do this a lot better than others). The artistic detail in each level can lack a little beauty and flair, but usually, gamers returning to their stomping grounds will be too focused on the precision movements to care as much. I want to shout out the Dire, Dire Docks theme! What a serene banger. It made up for my lack of motivation playing both the aquatic-based levels. Super Mario 64's swimming mechanics are okay, but they don't match up to the movement satisfaction provided by triple jumping and wall kicking. The rest of the soundtrack is good enough to immerse you in the cornball world of Super Mario 64. The games' power-up mechanics could have been more fruitfully designed, but again, with the limitations of the N64, making this happen would've likely taken another year of development. I love the idea of the flying cap, but managing the flight controls is like trying to ride down a mountain bike path on a razor scooter. You don't know where you will end up despite your best intentions at maintaining control. Similar awkward mechanics are why Super Mario 64 will never be my go-to treasure of 3D platformers to pull from. It's fun adjusting to the movements and learning to traverse each level efficiently, yet little annoying moments remain around each corner that take you a bit out of the game. For the time, Super Mario 64 was probably one of the best compact games ever released. But I don't personally rate games on how they presented themselves in their era. I only have an opinion on how I enjoy them now. And as great as this game is, many other platformers, including in the Super Mario franchise, would be considered foremost as my deserted island option.