The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker From ... - Douglas Wilson

The fully 3D worlds of Super Mario 64, by contrast, seemed almost limitless. As
game review site IGN raved in its initial review, “this game is exactly as one might hope
it would be: Mario in 3D. More freedom, more space, more options.” 21 No longer as
constrained by specific, predefined paths, players were given much greater autonomy in
the navigation of virtual space. Mario could now approach characters, objects, and
scenery from arbitrary angles, as well as venture to almost any space in sight, be it the
castle moat or a distant mountaintop. This newfound freedom gave players a more
personalized, memorable experience of presence.
Beyond just the Mario franchise itself, Super Mario 64 had a lasting impact on
3D game design. IGN went as far as to declare, “It must be stated that Super Mario 64 is
the greatest videogame to date, and one [against] which all games, regardless of genre,
will be judged henceforth.” 22 This is not to suggest that Mario 64 was the first, or even
most important 3D videogame. First-person “shooter” classics like Wolfenstein 3D and id
Software’s Doom had pioneered commercial 3D technology several years before. As
early as 1980, Atari’s Battlezone tank simulation had rendered interactive 3D
environments using rudimentary vector graphics. Nor did Super Mario 64 necessarily
stand alone in 1996. Several influential 3D games – including id Software’s new shooter
Quake and Eidos’ third-person adventure game Tomb Raider – were released around the
same time. Nevertheless, Super Mario 64 did play a leading role in introducing rich, user-
friendly 3D worlds to the console mainstream. It demonstrated that such technology
could potentially revitalize older gameplay ideas. As id’s own cofounder Tom Hall
remarked, “The next big thing will be applying the new, hot 3D technology to older
genres and breathe new life into them. Super Mario 64 is really incredible, what I’ve
played so far.” 23
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