Weird question. Mario 64 and it’s not even close. Most game devs agree that Mario 64 is a masterpiece. Bonus points for being on a platform that had just launched in a completely new paradigm.
Super Mario 64.
Less experimental, solid controls, and on a system most people actually knew about. There's a reason why the Saturn failed hard.
Less experimental? The N64 controller has 3 prongs (for our 2 hands) because they wanted a backup plan if the whole 3D gimmick never took off! Lol
"solid controls" - shakes fist at camera angles
Do people really think Nights is on the same caliber as Mario?
People have different tastes so to some people Nights is a better game.
I don’t want Mario and I don’t want 3D platformers. I don’t think Nights is a great game but I’ll give it 5 minutes at least.
I'm going to say Mario 64 just because it was a really good game that I enjoyed back in 96 and I've never heard of Nights Into Dreams until this post right now lol
Edit: after looking up the game I'm going to say a LOT of people probably don't know Night Into Dreams because it was released for Sega Saturn and not that many people actually bought that system at the time.
Same here, therefore Mario is by default a better game
You're going to have a hard time making the case that ANY other game that released in 1996 was better than Mario 64.
Pokemon red/blue are contenders if you count the JP release.
for me, NiGHTS 100%. SM64 is good but was definitely feeling the growing pains of 3D gameplay, whereas NiGHTS was the cumulation of all of the 2D gaming that came before it while also utilizing the new technology available to it's fullest. as an arcade score-attack style game it also has near infinife replayability, and the soundtrack is one of if not the best of all time. i guess it's kind of apples to oranges, though- farer to compare two arcade style games like NiGHTS and Star Fox 64 or two 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 and Burning Rangers
suprised to see how many commenters here haven't even heard of NiGHTS. a remake of the original game is dirt cheap on Steam and definitely worth taking for a whirl. it is a truly amazing game
a remake of the original game is dirt cheap on Steam
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Came with a special controller also, the NiGHTS controller was my controller of choice from that point on with the Saturn. I didn't get the Christmas NiGHTS gold edition tho, which I consider a personal failure.
I own Nights into Dreams and Christmas Nights and, frankly, I never understood the point of either of them.
I was a Sega kid in the Genesis generation. A friend of mine got a Saturn and I so desperately wanted to like Nights because it was the thing for Saturn. I didn't like it at all. It felt hard to control, hard to understand, and was just not pleasant for me.
Meanwhile, a different friend and I had a blast trading off playing Mario 64. Hands down, way better for a 9 year old me.
At the time I was like "Sooo... you fly around in circles so you can fly around in circles and then fly around in circles? Not much of a 'game' there."
So when Balan Wonderworld came out a few years ago "from the maker of Nights!" I was like "Yeah, hard pass."
Super Mario 64 was more important to the gaming industry as a whole.
Seeing as this is the first time I'm hearing about Nights into Dreams, Mario is obviously better.
Having been alive when both games were released I can say without any uncertainty Nights into Dreams had more hype around it but Mario 64 definitely was the one that has the legacy.
Edit when I went to Walmart with my mom and rushed to the electronics section to play video games the nights display usually had a crowd compared to mario64. But the mario64 display stayed up much much much longer.
I'd have to say its the one that I've heard about and played
Mario 64 not even close lol. What made you think Nights was nearly as popular?
The question wasn't about popularity
SM64 was definitely more influential in the gaming industry. I haven't actually played Nights into Dreams, so I can't speak to its quality, but SM64 sets a high bar. I played it again recently, and still had a ton of fun (despite some frustrations)
Wow. What a question. Its hard for me not to be dismissive.
I'm going to have to go with Mario 64 by a country mile.
Appreciate the thought experiment though.
What the fuck is Nights into Dreams?
Sonic Team's follow-up to the Sonic franchise. Released on the Sega Saturn, so despite it being one of the Saturn's better-selling games, few people played it back when it was new. It has a decent cult following of fans and seems to be generally regarded as a good-but-not-spectacular game (like a solid 7-8 out of 10), but it's nowhere near Mario 64's caliber.
For real tho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQnClqCSIfk
vintage bit
Crash Bandicoot.
