Metacritic Games

Super Mario 64 (Nintendo 64)

The action begins when Mario goes to visit the Princess, but finds her castle eerily empty. Leaping through pictures hanging from the walls, he enters 15 magical worlds to search for 120 Power Stars. Mario has more than a dozen moves, including running, jumping, swimming, stomping and punching, and even performing a backward somersault! When troublemakers swipe Mario's cap, he'll have to grab it back! [Nintendo]

Nintendo
Action, Platform
Players: 1
E (Everyone)
Developer: Nintendo
Released September 26, 1996

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

94 / 100

Critic Reviews

100 Electric Playground
It has quickly grown to become the standard by which almost all other games are measured.
100 All Game Guide
As the first true 3D platform game, the game does everything right. Super Mario 64 is a masterpiece in the truest sense of the word.
99 Gaming Maxx
This is definitely a game no game collection should be without...Seriously!
98 IGN
Complete in every way, and the challenging experience of working toward each new level is far greater than the game's minimal flaws. Nintendo's craftsmanship and zeal for creating fantastically enjoyable games has never shown through more than in Super Mario 64.
97 Nintendojo
I haven't met anybody who hasn't wasted at least half an hour just running around outside the castle, sliding, jumping, stomping, diving, swimming... There are no enemies here and there's really nothing to do, but boy is it fun!
95 Electronic Gaming Monthly
There'll never be another Mario game that will make the same impact as Super Mario 64. [Jan 2004, p.189]
94 GameSpot
A game that rewards the curious, the original, and in some cases the bludgeoningly stubborn and tenacious.
93 TotalGames.net
The sheer scale of the achievement, in originality, variety and technological muscle earns it a 'Best Game Ever' acclamation through sheer muscle, almost regardless of its undoubted and typically Nintendo artistry.
90 Computer and Video Games
The graphics are so finely detailed that you'll soon forget you're playing a game - it's more like taking part in the best cartoon you've ever seen.
90 Games Domain
The five years it took to write have been well used and it is easily in contention for being one of the best games of the decade.
90 GameShark
It was the first game on the system, and regretfully, it was also the only great game for the system that could stand the test of time.
83 Game Revolution
While we've seen some more creative and impressive world design, no game yet has had this kind of crystal clear 3D graphics, remarkable texture mapping, absence of pixillation, and a frame refresh rate that makes your PC look like the toy.
80 Nintendorks
The distribution of power stars in the levels is horrendous. I think 7 stars in one level is more than enough, don't you think? I understand that there are memory constraints, but there either could have been less stars overall, or 1 (maybe 2) more level(s). Definately a problem.

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