Paper Mario is the first entry in the now famous Paper Mario franchise.  What seems to have been a spiritual sequel or a soft reboot to Super Mario RPG which was released on the previous generation, this game has a completely different artstyle, fighting mechanic, and just overall story that separates it from anything before it.  You follow Mario as he tries to save Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser [surprise!] and try to rescue the star spirits he’s kidnapped [what a twist!].  You get witty banter, insane characters, and fun setpieces which are the standard that the Paper Mario franchise has had from the very beginning.

Visuals:

At the time, this game had a wonderful look.  I would say it’s unique, but a lot of games at the time were toying with the 2D cutout look but I feel Paper Mario is probably the most well known and one that has had the longest legs.  All the characters look like cutouts but they’re really just sprites in a 3D world.  It’s nice to see Nintendo using sprites on the Nintendo 64 because all the characters look wonderful and have a nice design to them.  The worlds not so much.  The 3D portions of the game just look rather bland and boring.  

Audio:

I want to like the music in this game but it is just SO repetitive.  You’ll hear the same, what seems like, 5 second loop of the battle music CONSTANTLY!  I’m sure it changes throughout the course of a level but it just seems like it’s on repeat.  Luckily the battles are short, but there are quite a bit of them.  There isn’t any voice acting so everything is all pantomiming and background music.  The songs for the worlds are different but, like the battle music, it’s just repetitive because of the limitations of the N64.

Completion:

I’m still working on this game.  I just beat Tubba Blubba and got my third [I think] kidnapped star.  As much as I like the game, it isn’t hooking me like Super Mario RPG, or even contemporary RPGs of the time, did.  The game seems overtly simple which makes sense considering the demographic it’s going for.  Doesn’t mean it can’t at least try to be somewhat difficult.  There just seems to be too much whimsy.  I want to see this through, though, so I can knock this game off my list of games I’ve never beaten.

Update: 04/12/2026

I soft locked the game. I can’t complete it because I can’t get beyond the Level Up screen due to maxing every thing out early. I was in Bowser’s Castle in Chapter 8 when this happened. I dunno what I’m going to do but, for the time being, I’m done with this game. PAH!

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Mario has moved into the third dimension with Super Mario 64.  In this game you’ll navigate the plumber through worlds on the quests for stars.  It all starts when Princess “Peach” Toadstool invites Mario to the castle with the promise of cake only to find out she’s been kidnapped, again, by Bowser.  In each world you’ll have to gather enough stars to access Bowser’s Dark World in order to face him a few times to ultimately defeat him.  You’ll have to go through Bob-omb battlefields, snowy scenery, super hot desert and lava lakes, a ghost house, clocks, and many more.  Man this game just takes you everywhere.  Not to mention moving Mario in this world is just smooth as butter with never any frustration of him not doing what you want him to.  The only bad part will be the camera but give it some slack, this was released in 1996 and was kind of the first of its kind!

Visuals:

How is it the first game released for the Nintendo 64 is, not only, one of its best controlling games but also one its best looking games?  Sure the game isn’t employing super detailed models or hi-res textures but what the game has is style.  Mario 64 takes the world we had grown to love on the previous consoles and faithfully translates it into the next dimension with everything looking the way it should.  The levels are all super unique and bring their own charm and pratfalls to the table.  The enemies are all fun and zany as always but there aren’t enough of them.  The character models all have that early 3D look to them but they never look too absurd.  Man this game looks sharp!

Audio:

The same can be said with the audio.  It takes everything we love about Mario games and adds another notch to them.  The music for each of the levels is so memorable which will cause you to just randomly hum the tune.  They’re that catchy.  All the sound effects are great as well and they never outstay their welcome.  It’s also weird to think the voice acting, what little there is of it, is pretty good and doesn’t come off too cheesy.  I can’t tell you how many times I heard the “Dear Mario,” portion while playing this game but I always love the little “Peach” she adds at the end.  Mario’s voice also is great with all the jumps and bonks of his head that’ll happen throughout the course of the adventure.  A little shoutout to Bowser’s theme.  That shit just slaps!

Completion:

I have never beat this game.  I got pretty close a few times but never sealed the deal.  This could be because I never owned it when the N64 was the current generation so I never got to sink too much time into it.  I think I may have beat it when it rereleased on the Nintendo DS but I can’t remember.  So far I’ve beaten one of the Dark World levels and I’m currently just amassing more stars to take on the next one.  This game is just so good.  It feels good to play.  Looks amazing and, as always, just sounds timeless.  This is a perfect game and was the first to release on the Nintendo 64.  A strange and crazy feat!

Update: 02/03/2026:

I FINISHED THIS GAME! After 30 fucking years I finally beat it! Take that Bowser, you punk! I can finally cross this off my list and eat my cake!

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Christ.  Where to even begin with this game.  The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is, and even then, considered a classic of the formula.  In the game, you take the control of Link (or whatever you name him) to go on a quest to save the world of Hyrule from the clutches of a vile man from the desert, Ganondorf, who wants nothing more than to bend the world to his will.  Throughout the quest you’ll tackle dungeons, collect cool items, meet interesting people, fight screen filling bosses, and so much more.  There is really so much to say about this game but it would just be treading over so much trodden ground, I’m just going to agree with the masses and say this game is probably the best ever made.

Visuals:

You may not think it, but when this game came out in 1998 it was quite the looker.  It faithfully took the Legend of Zelda franchise to the third dimension.  The land of Hyrule looked amazing and still does.  While there are the very noticeable boundaries which prevent you from going too far, in the end the hub feels just right and doesn’t become boring going from zone to zone.  The characters may be low polygon but at least they really aren’t trying to make them look too realistic.  There is a stylized and overexaggerated vibe to everyone and it works quite well.  The dungeons are also each so unique from each other with none really overstepping their bounds.  I just wish there was quite a bit more enemy variation because you do see the same enemies, throughout the length of the quest.

Audio:

Perfect.  

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME!  Back in 1998.  So many times.  When I got this game on launch day it was a Saturday and my mom took me to Best Buy to pick up my preordered gold cartridge.  I got home and immediately started playing it.  It was a bummer that we had to go on a trip that day to move my sister but I took the Nintendo 64 and kept playing it all throughout the night.  I must have beaten it within the week or not too much after but I wanted nothing more than to keep playing.  My main save did everything in the game and collected everything.  Eventually I would start new saves where to see if I could beat it without dying.  Beat it without collecting any additional hearts.  Etc.  I was hooked on this game and it still has not died down, even almost three decades later.  

Update: 01/28/2026:

I FINISHED THIS GAME…again! When I got my Analogue 3D I wanted to beat this game again and I did! It’s still an amazing game and it brings me such wonderful memories. Now, there’s a new one added to it and I couldn’t be happier.

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I feel like over the years there have been a lot of “-tris” games that try to reinvent the formula of the original Tetris.  There are many hits but there are probably more hits.  I feel Tetrisphere is one of those BIG hits that really doesn’t get the chops it deserves.  What makes this game unique is that you’re not making towers only to eradicate them with lines but, instead, you’re dropping pieces to obliterate a sphere to get to the lower levels, at least in the Search and Rescue mode.  You’re having to move fast because the ever ticking clock will automatically drop your piece and give you a skull.  Get three skulls and the game is over.  It’s a really groovy game.

Visuals:

There really isn’t much to see here.  The sphere is made up of tetriminos all jumbled together with the upcoming pieces showing on the left and the powerups, combo, and clock on the right.  Visually it’s a very lackluster game but in the heat of a level you’re not paying attention to anything but the falling blocks.

Audio: 

I said this game was groovy and the audio is where it shines.  The music in this game, although very simplistic, is cool as fuck.  It gives off just the right amount of ambiance as well as sounding menacing when the clock is about to tick down.  Very gut wrenching.  The sound effects are amazing.  The drops of the pieces are great.  The loss of a life is very hurtful.  The powerups all give off a nice little jingle when you get them.  The best is the sounds they make when they activate.  It’s a very deep bass and makes you feel accomplished when they go off.  The little robots bleeps and bloops are also pretty cute but you’ll rarely hear them.

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME!  At least I think I did.  I don’t know exactly how many levels there are and I did finish level 5 but then the game kept going.  I’m not complaining since this has now become my defacto nightly puzzle game.  I really love this game and everything about it.  I know I played it back when it came out in 1997 but I didn’t appreciate it then because I just wanted to play ALL the games I could.  

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Have you ever thought that you would want to play a terraforming game in which you try to create puddles of water and do your best to try to dam said puddles?  If you’ve always wanted that well then have I got a game for you in Wetrix.  Now you may think that it’s a silly premise, which it is, but I’d be damned if it didn’t make good on its gameplay mechanic.  It’s an isometric view of the map and you only have to deal with a small little square patch of land, but in that little patch it does go all types of crazy.

Visuals:

For such a simple premise you do get a simple type of presentation.  You start out with a flat square and every time you drop a shape the ground juts up.  The square patch is 9.5 squares squared so it gives you ample room.  The main visual treat is in the name.  The water effects look amazing and give off the feel that they are just running water.  The water pools depending on the terrain and all the little droplets just makes everything seem wet.  Then you get a nice little rainbow when you’re doing great.  Be careful with the bombs though as they’ll fuck up your monuments you’ve been making.

Audio:

Gosh, everything also SOUND wet.  The water sloshing around and dripping off everything just makes you feel like you’re in the middle of it.  Basically what I’m trying to say is the game nails the sound effect portion.  I also love the announcer’s booming voice just saying what’s going on.  Then you get the little icons in the beginning saying what everything is.  The music is also relaxing enough while also pushing you to surge ahead and go fast.

Completion:

It took me a while but I feel I may have gotten the hang of this game.  I started off with the practice and just kept losing over and over.  There isn’t a tutorial in the game [that I could find] so I went in blind.  I then moved to the classic mode and failed over and over again.  It was probably on the tenth try when it all actually clicked and I understood the assignment.  My previous scores were in the mid 80s to low 110s.  After I knew what to do I jumped all the way to 16k and ranked 2nd on the leaderboards.  This really was a fun and unique little game.  Really well done!

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I have been trying to play this game for almost 30 years and I finally got around to it. The main premise of this game is like any other Castlevania games out there in which a vampire hunter is out to kill the resurrected Dracula from the land of Transylvania. Except it’s in 3D! You can select out of two characters who traverse the world in different stages with different weapons and powerups.

Visuals:

For a game made in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 the game does have some charm to it. When it came out we all criticized the way it looked compared to the 2D powerhouse of Symphony of the Night. Over time, though, I think this game looks great. I’m really surprised how well the game looks for a 64 game and love how the stages and characters all look different. If I got my head out of my own ass, this game probably would have been one of my all times!

Audio:

I fucking love the music in this game. It just sounds like a traditional Castlevania game through and through. The whips, background noise, soundtrack, etc. all give the vibe [pretty well. There are even some really good jams in this game and, since they aren’t CD tracks, don’t have a noticeable loop in them. The opening song is also pretty beautiful.

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME! I really couldn’t put it down once I decided that I was going to give it a fair shake. I loved all of the levels and found they hit the original feel of Castlevania which has been bastardized by other installments. I’d love to see a remake of this one cause I feel it gets a bad rap but I’m really glad I gave it the time of day. You done well Castlevania (64).

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Dr. Mario is a puzzle game where you’re combining colors to eliminate blocks/viruses. I played the story mode so you had a little bit of a setup telling you how Wario and Mad Scienstein are trying to get Mario’s megavitamin for nefarious purposes. You are then thrust into a battle with Wario.

Visuals:

There really isn’t much stuff going on in this game. The graphics are kind of bland with no real animation or effects going on in the background. There are better examples of this style of game on other systems from earlier in the years but you take what you can get at this point for the Nintendo 64.

Audio:

Like the visuals, there isn’t much going on here either. There isn’t anything memorable and everyone is just making little grunts depending on how you do while you play.

Completion:

I am FUCKING TERRIBLE at Dr. Mario games. I have one for the Game Boy and, like this one, I don’t get very far. It took me a few tries to even beat the first character and, when thrust into the second match, I lost there too. I had to give up after a while just because of how gawd awful I am. It’s a competent game but I just can’t do it.

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