9 January 2026

I Finally Replayed One of Gaming’s “Untouchable” Classics—It Didn’t Age as Well as We Pretend

By newsgame

I remember the first time I sat down to play Super Mario 64. It was Christmas Eve 1996, and 9-year-old me had just received a brand-new Nintendo 64 bundled with the acclaimed platformer. Once I was finally allowed to play it, I opened the box and set it up on the living room TV, and right away, I was enamored. I couldn’t believe how amazing the graphics were—going from Super Mario World on SNES to this was a major upgrade. The world was massive and beautiful, not to mention 3D and more interactive than anything I had experienced before. I was immediately convinced that Super Mario 64 was the greatest game in history and that nothing would ever come close to topping it.

Well, that was then. Now, I’m in my late 30s, and while I and many others have often considered Super Mario 64 to be an untouchable classic, I just replayed it for the first time in decades. Simply put, it hasn’t aged well at all. In a full-circle moment, my wife bought me a handheld emulator from Gamelab for Christmas. I ultimately requested it for the classic Pokemon games it has, but it also includes various N64 titles like Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Zelda: Majora’s Mask, and Super Mario 64. The kid came out in me as I booted up the latter, but it only took about 5 minutes of playing it before I was essentially forcing myself to keep going out of obligation because I just wasn’t all that interested. Sometimes, nostalgia is enough to keep me invested, but that feeling wore off rather quickly due to Super Mario 64‘s severe lack of timelessness.

I Spent More Time Fighting Super Mario 64’s Antiquated Design Than Goombas

When it comes to gameplay, Super Mario 64‘s simple platforming design is solid and is an accurate reflection of what Super Mario has always been and will likely always be rooted in. However, that foundation is constantly undercut by design decisions that feel firmly locked to the mid-90s.

Why Super Mario 64 Ultimately Hasn’t Aged Well

CLUNKY CAMERA SYSTEM — The camera often moves on its own, gets stuck, or doesn’t give a good view.
OUTDATED CAMERA CONTROLS — No dual-stick control makes adjusting the camera frustrating.
IMPRECISE CONTROLS IN PLATFORMING — Mario’s turning and movement can feel floaty and unresponsive.
RUDIMENTARY LEVEL DESIGN — Many stages rely on simple floating geometry and isolated challenges rather than fully realized environments.
DATED VISUALS — Blocky, low-polygon models and simple textures are hard to appreciate through a modern lens.
FRUSTRATING HAZARDS AND DEATHS — Some platforming sections feel more punishing than clever because of camera or control shortcomings.
CLUNKY MISSION STRUCTURE — Being booted out of a level after collecting a star and vague mission objectives feels unintuitive by today’s standards.

One of Super Mario 64‘s biggest, most frustrating downfalls is its clunky camera system, which was, ironically, groundbreaking at the time of its release. Despite being one of the first games to give players control over a 3D camera, its camera plays into at least 80% of its issues because it creates problems where there might not have been any otherwise. Platforming sections that should have been straightforward are made more irritating by the camera system, and the fact that it moves so often on its own means you’re constantly fighting it while trying to make it through each level without dying. It’s interesting that it was seen as revolutionary for the control it gave players when, the whole time I played it, I felt like I had almost no control over it at all.

Then there’s the level design, which is incredibly (but understandably) rudimentary in comparison to what gamers are spoiled with today. Rather than giving me a fully realized world with natural obstacles, Super Mario 64 was a product of its time, where platforming challenges came down to simple, out-of-context floating geometry that felt forced rather than organic. The visuals didn’t really serve this part well either, as what once looked like the most realistic graphics I had ever seen are now clearly blocky, low-polygon models and textures that have almost no resolution whatsoever. There’s still some charm there, and I’m one of those who can generally push past dated graphics as long as the gameplay holds up, but that’s the thing—Super Mario 64‘s gameplay just doesn’t.

One of Super Mario 64‘s biggest, most frustrating downfalls is its clunky camera system, which was, ironically, groundbreaking at the time of its release.

Jumping into my first painting in the game, I had forgotten how clunky the mission structure is compared to what I’m now used to, even in a Super Mario game. I would enter a level with a specific objective in mind, only to accidentally trigger a different star, get kicked out, and have to replay large portions of the stage just to attempt my original goal again. If Super Mario 64 were developed today, I’d probably get the chance to stay in a level as long as I wanted to, collect as many stars as I felt like, and then head to the next major level at my discretion. On the contrary, my recent time with the N64 classic just reminded me of how restrictive games were back then, especially given how many developers aim for freedom these days.

Nostalgia Truly Is a Deceptive Beast

If nothing else, this just goes to show how deceptive a beast nostalgia truly is. When I booted up Super Mario 64 on my Gamelab, I even squealed in excitement at what I was seeing. Watching Mario pop out of that pipe in the game’s intro, hearing its pleasant soundtrack and ambience, and then performing my first triple jump really brought me back. However, that excitement didn’t last, and that’s the real takeaway.

Those first few minutes were enough to remind me why Super Mario 64 meant so much to me growing up, but they weren’t enough to carry the experience forward. Once the familiarity wore off, I was left playing a game that simply doesn’t feel very good to play anymore, and no amount of fond memories could change that. I did continue pushing myself to play the game, logging around 20 hours or so. Still, most of that time, while it had some high moments, felt like a slog, and I don’t think I’ll be picking it up again anytime soon.

Super Mario 64 Still Matters, Even if It Doesn’t Feel Great Today

Some classics are simply best remembered for how they made us feel when they showed up, not necessarily for how they hold up when we try to relive those moments decades later.

Even with all these criticisms, I’m more than willing to recognize how important Super Mario 64 was and still is to the gaming industry. It helped set a new standard for what 3D platformers could be—a standard that countless games would borrow from for decades and proved that Mario could survive the jump into a new dimension when that transition was anything but guaranteed. Without it, games like Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Odyssey, and even entire genres outside of platformers would look very different today. Its influence is undeniable, and its place in gaming history is completely secure, regardless of how it feels to play today.

Let me be clear that replaying Super Mario 64 didn’t erase my love for it, but it did force me to separate what it meant to me from what it actually is now. As a kid, it felt limitless, magical, and untouchable. As an adult, it feels stiff, frustrating, and firmly anchored to its era. Both of those things can be true at the same time. Nostalgia didn’t lie to me about how important the game was, but it did shine a bright light on how much the game design has evolved since then. And maybe that’s the real lesson here. Some classics are simply best remembered for how they made us feel when they showed up, not necessarily for how they hold up when we try to relive those moments decades later.