Retro Battle of the 3D debuts: Mario 64 vs Ocarina of Time vs Metroid Prime

[Sumio Mondo]

Well the graphics were in 3D, but there wasn't a true z-axis. Some stages scrolled cylindrically and the camera took atypical angles for the genre to give a sort of 3D-esque impression, but it was still just a 2.5D platformer.

Huh, interesting. Kirby 64 was always one of the big ones on the system that I never got around to playing, for whatever reason but regretted later not doing so. Is it good?

It's difficult to describe exactly why but the same happened to me. Oot was released on 1998 and I just played it on early 2000, after playing a good amount of some other 3d N64 and PC games. One day I rented it because I liked the catridge logo and had the impression of hearing about the name Zelda before. I remember getting stuck on Deku Tree because I never imagined that I could put fire on a deku stick(didn't know english by the time).
After that I talked about this game I rented and was stuck within a circle of friends and then I discovered how popular it was. One of them lended me his catridge for a few months and I discovered bliss...XD. Game was pure magic. What impressed me the most was the gap between my expectations about what is possible within a game before and after Oot. After that no game brought me this feeling again, they always feel like an evolution in small steps.

Curiously I bought his Oot copy some years later.

Nice so you played it kind of after even more 3D classics released like Metal Gear Solid 1, Resident Evil 1, Majora's Mask, Deus Ex, Goldeneye, Quake etc. Ocarina of Time just had this immersive feeling to it, it's kind of hard to put into words. The closest thing to it after for me was MGS1, then Deus Ex 1. Everything just felt like one revelation after another back then, 3D gaming was such a new concept outside of the arcade games that SEGA were releasing (mainly arcade racers like Daytona and Namco's Ridge Racer). OoT though had what felt like the most epic boss battles ever at the time, as well. What a time to be alive the late 90s/early 2000s were for gaming.

 

[Rooster]

Huh, interesting. Kirby 64 was always one of the big ones on the system that I never got around to playing, for whatever reason but regretted later not doing so. Is it good?

It's been quite a long time since I've played Kirby 64, but from what I can remember, it was fun. You can combine two powers together, which was a fun gimmick. I remember one of the combos gives you a lightsaber, and another turns Kirby into a fridge.

I'd give it a play if you get the chance.

 

[Mekanos]

Huh, interesting. Kirby 64 was always one of the big ones on the system that I never got around to playing, for whatever reason but regretted later not doing so. Is it good?

It's a solid game, one of the more fun and memorable Kirby games. Not in the top tier of the series but up there I would say. It's not mindblowing or anything but it's good clean fun and the power combo stuff is really cool to experiment with.

 

[Dcubed]

They're all basically equally good; but my vote has to go to Super Mario 64 because OoT owes a massive debt to SM64 for blazing the trail it followed to begin with, while Metroid Prime owes its dues to both of them.

That being said, they all owe the biggest debt of all to Starfox 2. The amount of stuff that OoT cribs directly from SF2 is mindboggling; literally blew my mind playing it for the first time back in 2017! You can very clearly see where the inspirations came from in many of Nintendo's future titles!

 

[curl-6]

Ran this poll on three forums and the results were interesting, to me anyway.

Ocarina of Time won on all three forums, but while Mario 64 led Prime on here and on VGChartz, on IGN Prime was ahead of Mario significantly.

 

[Simba1]

I played both Mario 64 and Ocarina Of Time not long after launch back in 90",
Mario 64 was revolutionary and great game for that time, and was pure enjoyment to play it back than,
but Zelda OoT blow my mind away, it felt like fairy tale come to life, like I was in game itself.

I played Metroid Prime on Wii and definitely one best games ever, but I personally cant compare it with M64 and Zelda OoT.

 

[jnWake]

My favorite game of the 3 is Super Mario 64, it's always impressed me how much they nailed in their first 3D platformer. Some things, like the hub world, have not even been surpassed by future 3D Mario entries yet.

 

[tender]

imo mario 64 is so beyond the other two its barely worth discussing.

oot and metroid prime have both been improved upon by leaps and bounds over the past 20 or so years, but mario 64 still - to this day - plays better than the majority of brand new 3d platformers that come out. it's astounding really how well they nailed it on their first try. literally if they had a better camera system, it might not be beaten to this day.

 

[merp]

Has anyone else seen this?

It's worth the whole watch.

 

[Zeal543]

Has anyone else seen this?

It's worth the whole watch.

great vid, rare that I watch something that long in one sitting

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

I can't speak on Metroid Prime cause I haven't played it for more than an hour but for me Mario 64 is skies above Ocarina of Time.
Mario 64 is probably the best 3D Mario game, still to this day. Ocarina of Time set the foundation for Zelda in 3D but has been bettered many times since then.

 

[AngryAlchemist]

Has anyone else seen this?

It's worth the whole watch.

Yeah, that's a great video. I especially love the fact that he mentions that Ocarina of Time has a unique atmosphere of its own which often gets overlooked compared to other Zelda games (in his example, the 3D ones). I think it was a really interesting idea and thinking about it more, I think it's because Ocarina of Time set such a precedent for the 3D Zelda games, that each game requiring its own gimmick(s) to differentiate themselves also was followed by a punctuation in a very specific atmosphere to set themselves apart. Despite all of that, Ocarina of Time still has one of the greatest atmospheres in the series imo. It somehow does the building-blocks of an epic fantasy world in peril very, very well, so convincingly that it's still one of the coolest worlds in videogames. This, in my opinion, is probably its biggest accomplishment.



This is also a video I really recommend. Not sure if it's better than Running Shine's per say, but it was definitely my favorite Ocarina of Time review for a very, very long time and I think Matthewmatosis is simply the best video game critic out there (especially in some of his later videos).

 

[Suswave]

this is hard because all three really did great shit

Metroid Prime (and Prime 2) are the model I wish every lone sci-fi-ish adventure shooter were based off of. Instead we have… those two and then all other FPS games. Nothing is like those for me, and I really really love them.

but then Ocarina of Time made 3D Zelda really work and created the lock-on style which is my absolute favorite. plus the mix of puzzle and adventure and plot

but then Mario 64, holy fuck

yeah no idea, damn

 

[Zeal543]

Thinking about it more, with these three quality/revolutionizing is inverse with mario 64 being the worst but most revolutionary and prime being the best but least revolutionary with OoT in the middle of both. Mind you all 3 are still excellent games

 

[WhyS]

I voted for Ocarina of Time, but before I get into that, some words about the other two.

Sadly, Mario 64 never did much for me. I've beaten the game twice, and gotten every star once, but throughout the entire experience the game never rose about "fine" for me. I am not trying to say that I'm right and that the game is overrated. Personally, I hate it when people call something overrated and they follow up with nothing but their opinion. That doesn't mean a game is overrated, that just means your opinion is below the average opinion, which is literally how averages work. Everyone has opinions, some of those opinions will be above the average and some will be below the average, and using those opinions you create the average. If you want to call something overrated, you have to speak specifically to what caused it to be overrated. Yet, when people try to bring up reasons a game is overrated, they use thin arguments with no evidence to back it up. Really, most of the time someone calls something overrated, it's a way to invite a debate while also guaranteeing themselves a win, in their minds, because the other side instantly loses due to being blinded by whatever caused the game to become overrated, and therefore whatever they say is wrong. I could go on and on as I have so much more to say, but getting back to the point, Super Mario 64 is a great game, a masterpiece, but not to me because I'm a poo poo head that doesn't care for platformers, other than a few special exceptions like Super Mario World, Celeste, Sonic Mania, Super Mario Odyssey, and others.

Metroid Prime is a wonderful game, and my favorite in the entire Metroid series. It was also the game that made me comfortable with first person games. When I started playing Metroid Prime, it was a huge struggle for me to get used to that perspective, and progression was very slow. If I hadn't been having so much fun, I probably would have quit just due to it being in first person. However, I persevered, got used to it, and fell in love. As an aside, I never played the Wii versions of Prime 1 and 2, but if they control like Prime 3 does, I prefer the GameCube controls. Don't @ me! (Unless you really want to. )

Ocarina of Time is my favorite game ever. It was not my first Zelda game, that was Link's Awakening, which is objectively the best 2D Zelda game, and if you disagree with me you are wrong because your favorite 2D Zelda is overrated, but I am a superior being (Team January, btw) and know better than you and can safely tell you that you are wrong. Anyway, back to Ocarina of Time. My first experience with it was actually a negative one. I was over at a friend's house and his mom brought the game home as a surprise. My friend then played the game the rest of the time I was there, and I was upset because I did not come over to watch him play a video game. By the time my mom picked me up, I was very anti-Ocarina of Time. I would later play the game and enjoy it so much that without me asking for it, my parents got me an N64 for my birthday with Ocarina of Time. (It was the translucent green N64 that came with Donkey Kong 64, meaning I did not actually own OoT until 2000. Which was fine because the N64 looked cool and it came with the Expansion Pak, so I was ready for MM when I got that game for Christmas that year.) I played the hecking heck out of Ocarina of Time. I beat it so many times that I still have the game memorized to this day. I woke up early just to play it before school. It was my first love, and some would say my purest.

Just a few random notes. My favorite dungeon is seriously the Water Temple. I never had any issues with it and I always thought it was a lot of fun, plus it has the Dark Link fight. My least favorite dungeon is Jabu-Jabu. While I still find OoT 3D to be a wonderful 10/10 game, I consider it an inferior version of the game. There are a variety of reasons, but the biggest reason is that the game is unpleasant to look at. I despise the screen on the 3DS, and I don't like what they did with the art style of the game. A lot of people don't think about the art style of games from that era, but each game had a distinct art style, and they ruined it in the 3DS version. They made the game overly bright and colorful, and Link really sticks out like a sore thumb (maybe for 3D purposes, I don't know, but Link looks like he doesn't belong in that game). Also, I find the game uncomfortable to play on a 3DS. Again, there are other reasons I don't prefer the 3DS version, but those are the biggest and the simplest reasons.

So yeah, that's way too much about Super Mario 64, Metroid Prime, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Like, two people might bother to read all of this, but I enjoyed typing it and ranting a bit. It was a good time putting my thoughts into words.

#TeamJanuary

 

[Simba1]

Yeah, that's a great video. I especially love the fact that he mentions that Ocarina of Time has a unique atmosphere of its own which often gets overlooked compared to other Zelda games (in his example, the 3D ones). I think it was a really interesting idea and thinking about it more, I think it's because Ocarina of Time set such a precedent for the 3D Zelda games, that each game requiring its own gimmick(s) to differentiate themselves also was followed by a punctuation in a very specific atmosphere to set themselves apart. Despite all of that, Ocarina of Time still has one of the greatest atmospheres in the series imo. It somehow does the building-blocks of an epic fantasy world in peril very, very well, so convincingly that it's still one of the coolest worlds in videogames. This, in my opinion, is probably its biggest accomplishment.



This is also a video I really recommend. Not sure if it's better than Running Shine's per say, but it was definitely my favorite Ocarina of Time review for a very, very long time and I think Matthewmatosis is simply the best video game critic out there (especially in some of his later videos).

When I look back through all Zelda games, Zelda OoT stands out like perfect Zelda game without any flaw or weak part,
some other Zelda games have better exploration, dungeons, characters, quests, but in same time every other Zelda game have some flaw or weak point, for instance weaker music, atmosphere, or things that I mentioned and that I didn't mention like story, exploration, character, dungeons or quests, while OoT is truly great all around, and add to that point that you playing such a game first time in glorious 3D, you clearly getting probably best made game ever.

 

[merp]

Yeah, that's a great video. I especially love the fact that he mentions that Ocarina of Time has a unique atmosphere of its own which often gets overlooked compared to other Zelda games (in his example, the 3D ones). I think it was a really interesting idea and thinking about it more, I think it's because Ocarina of Time set such a precedent for the 3D Zelda games, that each game requiring its own gimmick(s) to differentiate themselves also was followed by a punctuation in a very specific atmosphere to set themselves apart. Despite all of that, Ocarina of Time still has one of the greatest atmospheres in the series imo. It somehow does the building-blocks of an epic fantasy world in peril very, very well, so convincingly that it's still one of the coolest worlds in videogames. This, in my opinion, is probably its biggest accomplishment.



This is also a video I really recommend. Not sure if it's better than Running Shine's per say, but it was definitely my favorite Ocarina of Time review for a very, very long time and I think Matthewmatosis is simply the best video game critic out there (especially in some of his later videos).

I'll check this out!

(Also, gonna make an Ocarina of Time thread for those interested.)

 

[merp]

great vid, rare that I watch something that long in one sitting

Same here. It's a great video in terms of telling the viewers what makes Ocarina of Time so good.

I created a thread about Ocarina of Time. Here it is:

Ocarina of Time thread (and maybe Majora's Mask; also, BOTW 2 should be more like them)

Hey, first thread here. I kinda ramble so be prepared. First, this video. Watch it. Take your time, but try to watch it as much as you can. Pause here and there, take breaks. Maybe have it on another tab while you do other things while it's playing and then come back to it every now and then...

famiboards.com

Also, you two might be interested:

@AngryAlchemist

@Simba1

 

[Skipper93653]

Metroid Prime

 

[Rareware]

I don’t know that any game will ever be able to capture that epic fantasy feeling and atmosphere that Ocarina of Time created. It was to video games what Lord of the Rings was to movies. Not sure how to explain it really, but anyone else who was there day one knows what I’m talking about it.

 

[curl-6]

Yeah, for me to Ocarina of Time created a feeling of epic adventure and grand scope that none of its successors were able to match until BOTW. The sense of place, mood, and stakes, is just incredible. It changed my perception of what a video game could be forever.

While there were definitely things that later games in the series improved upon, Ocarina just had a special magic all its own. Even all these years later, the world it creates and the journey it takes us on feel truly legendary.

 

[MondoMega]

Clearly the unpopular opinion, but OoT is the last one i'd vote for here honestly. Definitely the most faithful jump to 3D of the three (one could easily summarise it is "A Link to the Past with an extra axis"; it borrows heavily from the structure of the game preceeding it), but that just makes it pale in comparison to Super Mario 64 to me. That game was not only a true step forward for the Mario series, but a revolutionary step for the industry as a whole. Holds up better too if you ask me.

Prime is just kinda caught in the middle. Retro totally nailed what Metroid In 3D should be like, but it isn't really a monumental inspiration for many games following it in the same way SM64 and OoT were.

 

[Rockodile]

Metroid Prime is my favorite game of all time, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. I love both 64 and OOT however. The latter in particular I've actually grown to appreciate even more as years go by. There really is no wrong answer here, so it's beautiful to see the poll so close.

 

[RobFox64tm]

All great debuts, but something about Ocarina of Time will always stick with me. Even now I can boot the game up and still get the same feeling I did back in 1998.

 

[Aurc]

I recently went back to Metroid Prime, and it holds up remarkably well. Probably always will. I should make a RTTP thread for it.