If the recent release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie reminds me of anything, it’s that I never completed Super Mario Galaxy. Because of that, I never touched its sequel, either. Super Mario Sunshine is also in the DNF pile. Super Mario 3D World was fun but left me cold. I recently saw Super Mario Odyssey through to the end for the first time ever, and it was…fine. Enjoyable, humorous, and well-designed, it was a fine game, but I’ve little desire to revisit it.

Could it be that I’m just not all that into 3D Mario games?

Yes, and no.

I consider the N64’s Super Mario 64, the game that first saw Mario and his world in 3D, an all-time favorite, having played through it many times over. When I had a Nintendo DS, that game’s port, aptly titled Super Mario 64 DS, was also a favorite to which I returned to time and again. I suppose there’s something to be said for the importance of feeling comfortable in and with a game, and I feel extremely conformable playing Super Mario 64, Big Penguin race and all.

Does this mean I’m uncomfortable playing other 3D Mario titles? I suppose the answer is yes when it comes to Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Sunshine. I never got along well with Super Mario Galaxy’s spherical traversal, or having to use the Wiimotes to navigate (since the game was on the Wii U). In Sunshine, the F.L.U.U.D., a water jet strapped to Mario’s back, while not terrible at first, eventually became my worst enemy. I found it very difficult and frustrating to control. Honestly, to this day, I’m somewhat amazed at seeing the F.L.U.U.D. so mastered by other players.

“Uncomfortable” isn’t a word I’d used to describe my time with either Super Mario 3D World or Super Mario Odyssey. In fact, I’d say both games were solid with great platforming and enjoyable levels. Mechanically, both games performed very well. They are perfectly serviceable, 3D, open-world(ish) platform games that focus on collecting.  Nothing wrong with that string of words on paper. The thing of it that’s all I really have to say about them. I guess I could get into an argument with myself over the notion that maybe I’d think Super Mario Odyssey, at least, was the best thing ever if I had played it upon release ten years ago. But I played Super Mario 3D World at its release, and it simply didn’t strike a chord. Adorable cat suits alone do not make a game great.

Looking back now on Super Mario 64, nostalgia is a heck of a thing. Could I honestly play it now and enjoy it, especially with Super Mario Odyssey’s smooth moves fresh in mind? No small part of me wants to find out (we no longer have an N64, but the game is on our still-working Wii), but…maybe the past is best left in the past. Unlike how Nintendo has evolved its line of 2D Mario game, to which I’m much more attuned (I might just consider Super Mario Bros. Wonder the greatest 2D Mario game of all-time), its 3D Mario games after Super Mario 64 have all felt lesser in some way. It’s obvious they have been improving the 3D formula in breadth and depth, and mechanically; but none of Mario’s recent 3D outings have captured my heart as strongly as Super Mario 64 did. It’s the one and only 3D Mario game for me.

Lede image: Screenshot by The Duck of Indeed.