I disagree about the camera. It took me quite a bit of time (like two decades lol) to understand how you are supposed to play with SM64s camera. But once you get it, the game really makes much more sense, and has a unique experience that is really fun and I wouldn't never change it to be just like the default/generic camera that we have in every game these days.
What is more interesting about the camera, is that it is not a matter of it being hard and the player having to take a lot of time to actually be able to play with it. It is much more a matter of understanding how you are supposed to play with the camera, like, if someone explains to you how you are supposed to use the camera, you kind of start playing well with it instantly.
So what I would really love in a Super Mario 64 remake, is a much better tutorial about the camera, with actual tutorial levels explaining it.
I don't know about any videos specific about that, but I think if you watch any video of a player that knows how to play really well it becomes pretty clear how the game is supposed to be played.
For example, the camera is not really something that is supposed to be moved all the time and used as part of the movement all the time. It has some limited angles and most of the levels elements align perfect to the angles that you can set with the camera. So there is this little puzzle of trying to find the correct angle to set the camera for the section that you are playing, with some sections where you kind of set and forget, and other sections with much more camera changing.
I think this kind of make SM64 much easier to play even than modern 3D Mario Games, like Super Mario Odissey, as you rarely needs to change the camera and move at the same time on SM64, and due to the fact of the camera having a limited number of angles when changing, the character is always perfect aligned to the levels elements making the movement much more precise. For example, when you are moving left on a thin plataform, you don't have to adjust the movement all the time due to it not being aligned with the platform.
I mean, personally I couldn't really play it until I changed my view on how it is supposed to be played. Maybe this is just my experience then, but seeing how many people complain about the camera of the game, I believe that more people have a experience similar to mine. One thing though, I disagree that the camera is janky for SM64, it is just different from current modern cameras.
See I grew up with the 2D then early 3D era, so was used to it. But the Mario camera is actually better than most. As you said, it was more a cinematic camera, as evident by it being controlled by Lakuti, and you'd only use First Person when walking across a plank, to ensure you were walking in the middle. And you'd tiptoe, so he would grab the ledge if he fell, not walking or running as then he may run or glitch off into the drop
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u/jfickrow Jul 29 '26
Super Mario 64