3D Platformer Analysis – Summary

I regret to inform you that I will not be blogging as much for the rest of the year. I tend to plan a lot, but because of how much is going on, I missed a few days, got bored, and decided to stop. Now I will post blogs sporadically. But for the next two weeks, I’ll be going over six classic 3D platformers, what the best levels, the best missions, and what each game was best.

The six 3D platformers in review are, from oldest to newest, are Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Tooie, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. I also split them into two different parts. Side A is where all of the Mario games are, as they are part of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation. Meanwhile, Side B is where the three Rareware N64 platformers are part of, including the two games on the famous bear and bird duo and the final entry to the original Donkey Kong Country series. Some of you may praise four of them while harshly criticizing the other two, but to be honest, all of them have some flaws that are really bad. For Super Mario 64, the game has aged very poorly. For Super Mario Sunshine, artificial difficulty is the main problem. Even Shigeru Miyamoto regrets making it that hard. For Super Mario Galaxy, the game is too linear, and I don’t want to offend you, but I do not like the gravity mechanic. For Banjo-Kazooie, the note collection is the most frustrating part of the game while the game expects near 100%-completion to beat the game. For Banjo-Tooie, there’s a lot of backtracking, and the game is too dark and depressing compared to Banjo-Kazooie. For Donkey Kong 64, there’s way too much collecting, and backtracking is the main mechanic just like how Cappy is the main mechanic of Super Mario Odyssey. However, I would like to say that these games are better than most video games today. Even though Yooka-Laylee, A Hat in Time, and Super Mario Odyssey were great tributes to older 3D platformers and helped revive the genre, they aren’t as good as the older games. They also won’t be up for review.

3D Mario Platformers:

So let’s start discussing Side A, the games starring the famous Italian plumber who saved the princess from a turtle. One thing that all three games had in common that distinguish the difference between them and the other platformers up for this month’s review is that collection and exploration is more like agency rather than adventure. In every level, you’re on a mission to look for the hidden star (or shine in case of Super Mario Sunshine). Once you collect the star, the mission is complete, and you’ll go back to the hub. There is more than one mission in every level, and you got some bonus missions from outside the levels.

The collecting aspect and the replenishments are also a lot simpler. Rather than having a whole bunch of collectibles to find, you don’t have as much. There are also very few kinds of replenishments (in particular, coins and star bits) throughout your whole adventure. It’s like this: one person has very few possessions to keep him/her entertained, not just when they stay at home, but also when they go across the world. They don’t have a large house or a large car. But they can travel to other places, eat out, and stay at hotels. Even so, they look for the minimum expectations that satisfy them so they can focus on the real value of tourism.

Another major difference is the moves. While you do have some special ones, which are the caps, FLUDD’s other nozzles, and costumes, nearly every move you use in the game are available from the start. You can learn new moves by reading the signs, but if you already know them, you can use them at square one. After all, Mario has a lot of acrobatic moves, and he can defeat enemies by simply jumping on them.

Speaking of enemies, the types of enemies are a lot weirder and usually out of place in respect to the level. You’ll at least see a couple enemies based on animals or inanimate objects in the other three platformers, but the ones in Mario, make even less sense. And the only reason why the make sense is because of how long they have been ingrained into video gaming. The bosses are also a lot more memorable. None of them really have the same battling schemes, as they all attack differently, and you attack them differently. As for the main antagonist, you face off the main antagonist a few times before the final boss (typically, you have to battle Bowser three times each in two of the games, while in the other, you hunt down Shadow Mario several times).

Now one flaw with the Mario games is that they are a lot more repetitive than the Banjo games and Donkey Kong 64. While the missions are different, they are essentially repeats of previous missions. In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, all levels have at least one 100-coin star and at least one red coin collection quest (Some levels in Sunshine have two), as Super Mario Galaxy also has a prankster comet where you have to collect 100 coins. For Super Mario 64, the game also gets repetitive when you have a couple “secret” missions (where you have to look for five different spots), have two or three of the same kind of mission (like in Big Boo’s Haunt and Lethal Lava Land), and copying a few levels over again. Super Mario Sunshine may be the worst offender here, given all of the times you had to battle Shadow Mario, how many times you have to complete a course without FLUDD (with an additional red-coin stage during the repeats, adding two more levels of repetition), and the 24 shine sprites that require collecting blue coins to obtain. The game even gets repetitive at the beginning. And for Super Mario Galaxy, there’s one repeat mission in every level (via prankster comet), and even two or three repeat galaxies (I’m talking the main levels). And don’t even get me started on Super Mario Odyssey.

Another thing I am not fond of are the mini-games. While the Mario games aren’t without mini-games as part of the adventure or as a bonus, they play very little role in the games, while also not having the mini-game designation. The ones you’re most likely to see are racing missions.

To sum up the differences between the Side A games and Side B games, here’s what Side A does differently (including what’s not mentioned):

• There are fewer collectibles.
• Collection is mission-based.
• Missions and gameplay have more repetition.
• There is much less backtracking.
• Level selection allows sequence breaking, but not mission selection.
• There are more enemies, as enemies aren’t necessarily tied to the theme.
• There are way more bosses.
• Koji Kondo composed the soundtrack.
• There are limited lives.
• All moves are available at the beginning.
• Your health meter is fixed at the beginning.
• Special moves are opportunity-based.
• There are more levels and fewer missions per level.
• There are limited, if any, shortcuts in traveling across the worlds.
• All three games are from the same franchise, originating from three different consoles.

Rare Nintendo 64 Platformers:

Now let’s take a look at Side B. Although all three platformers in this part were on the Nintendo 64, the gameplay is more complex for the kind of games they are. One thing all three games have in common is that collection and exploration is much more adventurous. As the main collectibles are jiggies (Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie) and golden bananas (Donkey Kong 64), you can collect as many as you can before leaving the level. And all levels have an exit point.

Collection and replenishments are also more complex. Given that there are a lot more moves, there are more kinds of replenishments. In Banjo-Kazooie, aside to health, you had eggs for combat, red feathers for flight, and gold feathers for invincibility. In Banjo-Tooie, you have a whole variety of eggs (which I wish were in Banjo-Kazooie). In Donkey Kong 64, all Kongs have their own shooters and instruments, as they also have oranges as an additional attack, crystal coconuts to use barrel moves or their shockwaves, and film to capture banana fairies. Also, jiggies and golden bananas aren’t the only collectibles. You have a whole lot more with many various purposes. It’s like this: one person has a much larger house with a lot more luxuries. They won’t be happy if you take even one of their possessions. Home life has also became so comfortable that they don’t need to travel out of town.

You also have a lot more moves to use. Certain moves are required to collect certain jiggies or golden bananas, and you’ll have to unlock them before you can collect them. Some of the moves required to collect a main collectible require unlocking the next level to get. For example, Boggy’s second race in Freezeezy Peak can’t be completed without the turbo trainers, which you don’t unlock Gobi’s Valley. Heck, at the beginning of Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo doesn’t even have any of the moves except for walking (unless if you chose to skip the training).

Enemies are also more ordinary, with some levels having their own enemies. As silly the Banjo-Kazooie games are (with even simple inanimate objects like vegetables, spare parts, and explosive boxes), they aren’t that unrealistic. There are also fewer bosses, but the boss system is much more organized than in the Mario games. Banjo-Tooie introduces the bosses by revealing the names with a subtitle, and Donkey Kong 64 locks all bosses behind the Troff ‘n’ Scoff portals. And for the main antagonist, you don’t battle her (or him in case of K. Rool) until the very end. Gruntilda can’t even be defeated before the end credits.

Now one flaw with the Banjo games and Donkey Kong 64 is that they have a lot more backtracking. Banjo-Kazooie has the least, with the only backtracking required being between Freezeezy Peak and Gobi’s Valley. But there’s more of that in Banjo-Tooie and especially Donkey Kong 64. In those games, you will see missions that require unlocking a move that you don’t have access to until later. Donkey Kong 64 would’ve minimized it if you could switch Kongs on the go, which you couldn’t do. Thankfully, there’s warp pads and bananaport pads, which can minimize the amount of time needed to get to a certain collectible.

Finally, there’s a lot more mini-games (and in the latter two games, there’s bonus features accessible through the main menu). Banjo-Kazooie doesn’t have much, but there’s a lot more in Banjo-Tooie and Donkey Kong 64.

To sum up the differences between the Side A games and Side B games, here’s what Side A does differently (including what’s not mentioned):

• There are more collectibles.
• Collection is adventure-based.
• Missions and gameplay have less repetition.
• There is much more backtracking.
• Level selection does not allow sequence breaking, while collectibles can be collected in any order.
• There are less kinds of enemies.
• Bosses are fewer and more organized.
• Grant Kirkhope composed the soundtrack.
• Only Banjo-Kazooie has life limits.
• There are unlockable moves.
• Your health meter can be expanded over the game.
• You carry your unlocked moves everywhere.
• There are fewer levels and more missions per level.
• There are teleporting stations in the levels or the hub.
• All three games are on the Nintendo 64.

Similarities between the Mario games and Banjo games:

If there’s anything all six games have in common, it’s the basic mechanic of unlocking levels. You can explore levels as you please, but if you collected any of the main collectibles, you can unlock new areas. The more you collect, the more levels you’ll unlock. For instance, if you collected at least 5 Shine Sprites, you’ll gain access to Gelato Beach.

What’s different about unlocking levels is how they’re unlocked. In particular:

• The levels in Super Mario 64 alone don’t have individual star locks, but certain areas in the castle do. Once you unlocked a new area, you’ll have access to more levels.
• The levels in Super Mario Sunshine are unlocked by events in Delfino Plaza, which can be triggered if you collected a certain number of Shine Sprites.
• The levels in Super Mario Galaxy do have individual star locks, which can’t be unlocked until you collected enough stars. However, you can only unlock the galaxies in the observatories that are accessible. If you collected a grand star, you can unlock new observatories.
• Jiggies in Banjo-Kazooie are consumable like how money is spent. When you collect a jiggy, you have another puzzle piece to put on the picture. Complete the picture, and the level is unlocked.
• If you collected enough jiggies in Banjo-Tooie, you don’t unlock the level, but you unlock a jiggy challenge at Jiggywiggy’s temple in Wooded Hollow. Once you have completed the challenge, you will unlock the level the picture is set in.
• Donkey Kong 64‘s levels are unlocked in a similar way they’re unlocked in Super Mario Galaxy, but you’ll need both a boss key (to unlock the level lobby) and enough golden bananas (to unlock the level). It’s like two-factor authenticization.

The number of stars, shines, jiggies, and bananas are also more uniform among all levels. Not counting the 201st golden banana or the green stars, all levels have the same number of primary collectibles, each focusing on different aspects of the level. Take Bob-Omb Battlefield for example. While the first two missions require climbing the hill to complete the mission, there’s also focus on the floating island, the red coins, and the chain chomp. Or in Jolly Roger’s Lagoon. You got at least one jiggy in almost every area (the turtle beach, the polluted pool, under the UFO, everywhere).

Regarding the story, other characters getting kidnapped were the motivations behind the adventures of the game (except for Super Mario Sunshine and Banjo-Tooie, where Mario was forced to clean the island in Sunshine, and Bottles was killed by Grunty in Tooie). Donkey Kong had it even more in DK64, when almost all of the Kongs in his family were kidnapped and all of his golden bananas were stolen. But the reason why K.Rool did that was to distract him so he can destroy his home.

Going even further, there’s also a helper character in every game (even Super Mario 64, which the lakitu behind you may count). There was FLUDD in Super Mario Sunshine, Rosalina in Super Mario Galaxy, Bottles in Banjo-Kazooie, Jamjars in Banjo-Tooie, and the squawks in Donkey Kong 64. Bottles and Jamjars even teach the new moves, and FLUDD is not just a helper character, but also the game’s primary mechanic.

Now due the nature of the games, the missions are different. There’s even some unique missions that you can’t find in other games. Examples:

• In Super Mario 64, you can earn a star if you return the baby penguin back to her mother. Just don’t think about dropping her off the cliff.
• In Super Mario Sunshine, one of the shine sprites is over the pool, but the only other way in is through the ceiling, which is blocked by an enemy that only Yoshi can defeat. And Yoshi always requests the fruit that the fruit bar doesn’t have.
• In Super Mario Galaxy, there is at one prankster comet mission where you have to complete the entire level without taking damage.
• In Banjo-Kazooie, there is one jiggy you can earn by feeding crocodile statues in various locations.
• In Banjo-Tooie, there is a dark cavern that you can navigate by shooting fire eggs at the generators.
• In Donkey Kong 64, even though this is repeated, there’s a mission where you can fly as Diddy Kong to light the candles.

If there’s any kind of mission all six games have in common, it’s racing missions. If you finish the race first, you will earn the primary collectible.