Contributed to by N-Europe's Staff.

Do you think that any Mario game could ever match the legacy of Mario 64? N-Europe staff members discuss - and invite you to share your thoughts...

Dean "Cube" Jones:

Super Mario 64 is the game that turned me to Nintendo, the game that made me buy a N64. However, it wasn't perfect - Rareware took the platformer one step further and produced three platformers on the 64 that I prefer over Super Mario 64.
I'm already confident that Super Mario Galaxy will surpass not just Super Mario 64, but also Banjo-Kazooie - the game looks better than both in most aspects. The game runs more fluidly and at a better pace, the levels look wonderfully designed and unique, it looks more epic than any platformer before it.
The basic gameplay stays the same, which is a massive plus (Sunshine was a ten mile walk backwards with a gimmick glued on), but the innovation is all in the levels. Which is really one of the most important aspects of a platformer. Super Mario Galaxy looks like it could be a lightyear ahead of any other platformer before it. The problem is... what could they possibly do next?

Joao "Hellfire" Lopes:

No Mario game will ever live up to Mario 64 and no Zelda game will live up to Ocarina of Time, regardless of how awesome the future games will be. People just let the past cloud their minds and can't see these games with clear eyes. Most of us were kids when Mario 64 came out and even for those that weren't, it was such a revolution that the game was carved into our minds and everyone will forever remember Mario 64 as THE 3D Mario, no other will compare.
There's no denying that so far, it's the best 3D Mario (since Galaxy isn't out yet at the time of me writing this) and it won't be easy to replicate its quality without simply copying the game. But this is a very big problem Nintendo faces with all of their franchises: living up to the legacy, even if sometimes the legacy isn't as great as people remember it to be.
To me, it's indifferent, as long as they keep making fun games that aren't carbon copies of each other, I'll keep playing them and so far, Mario has been delivering. On with Galaxy, I say!
But what's in store for Mario next, now that the sky isn't the limit anymore?

Iun Hockley:

Mario Galaxy will never be considered as good as Mario 64. Why? Because Mario 64 was a once-in-a-lifetime event, not just for gamers, but gaming as a whole. Mario 64 was the first and best true 3D platform game to be released and it brought with it the analogue stick.
Both of these were epiphanies in gaming that can never be repeated. The transition from 2D to 3D can only ever happen ONCE and then it is done. No repeats, no retries, no continues, just once. True, developers can have multiple tries at getting the formula right, but the first 3D game from a series will never happen again. Not to say that Mario was the best 3D platformer, because Banjo-Kazooie was much better in terms of gameplay, graphics and level design. But Mario 64 was the beginning of a new dawn that will never ever happen for any subsequent generation: 3D has been done, so that is that chapter closed.
No other Mario game will make the same transition: there may be motion controls, there may be voice controls but the character will be in 3D. Perhaps in the future we may see the return of Virtual Reality or some kind of Total Immersion gaming, until then though, 3D is all we have.
The analogue stick was another factor in the success of Mario 64. For the first time home console gaming was pressure sensitive with the strength of your controller tilt translating into character action on the screen. From the company that brought you shoulder buttons and practical portable gaming came the newest innovation to grace the scene. No longer would running be controlled with the "B" button and now our first person games would finally be bearable on something other than a PC! Hooray!
Mario Galaxy will probably be better than Mario 64 because the developers will have improved on past mistakes and there will be more fun than ever before. But in the collective mindset, it will just be the latest Mario game to not fully live up to the legacy of Mario 64 for not reinventing the way we play games. That's a hard thing for many people to hear, but the fact is most gamers and reviewers will not be rating the game based on what it isn't, rather than what it truly is.

Sam C. Gittins:

One small step for Mario, one giant leap for mankind... Ok, so Super Mario Galaxy is essentially Mario in space, and yes the motion senstive controls will add to the game, and yes it's graphically impressive, and yes it will undoubtebly be immersive. A bigger revelation than Super Mario 64? No.
As has already been mentioned, Super Mario 64 will not be surpassed or even matched just yet - the game did so much not only for the franchise but for the platform genre and gaming as a whole. Controlling Mario for the first time in 3D easily ranks up there in the hearts and minds of many a gamer as one of those sacred moments in gaming that is incredibly hard to beat by any other game ever, let alone a sequel.
Super Mario Galaxy will however be an amazing game in it's own right which has a lot to offer the franchise and it's fans through just being an incredibly well designed game. But to match the legacy of Super Mario 64? Quite frankly it's unthinkable and it won't be this latest installment that matches it in terms of being a true revolution, evolution yes but nothing more, one day Super Mario 64 may be matched or even surpassed but it certainly won't be any time soon.

Joby "Er-no" Stephens:

Mario 64 was at the right place at the right time and contributed everything that was essentially needed for the console generation of the N64. It was the first 3D Adventure Platformer. It was the first game on a console to make use of a 3D sensitive joystick. It was sublimely made. Super Mario 64 was perfect.
Mario Galaxy is coming into the market at such a different stage in the lifespan of the industry. No longer is the world amazed when they see Mario's hat come off or Yoshi appear. Indeed Microsoft and Sony have done whatever they can to rid the gaming world of 'fun' in exchange for graphics and grinding. It is a shame.
I can see from reviews that although Galaxy will be a beautifully fun game, its Nintendo beauty will be overheard against the background of first person shooters and fighters emerging from every other industry orifice. Galaxy will be great, but 64 was just perfect.

Simeon Paskell:

I think that the short answer is 'Yes'. Although matching the impact that Mario 64 had is probably nigh on impossible (it was, after all a genuinely ground breaking title), I see no reason why I cannot be bettered.
Mario 64 was and still is a (virtually) perfect game. From the controls, to the visuals (for the time) to the level design, Miyamoto and co created a game that blew gamers away, and almost single handedly created the rule set for all future 3D platformers. It's importance cannot be underestimated.
This being said, however good and significant a game is, there is always room for improvement and avenues that can be explored to further the experience, and I'm sure that Super Mario Galaxy will prove this. Whether or not it will surpass Mario 64 in terms of gameplay, we shall see, but I have no doubt that Mario 64 will be bettered at some point. Super Mario World refined and added to the basic concepts laid out by Super Mario Bros., and the potential is there for Super Mario Galaxy (or if not, whatever comes next) to do the same for Mario's 3D adventures.

Tom "Tphi" Phillips:

Compare this debate to Ocarina of Time, and how many saw the already released Twilight Princess as the Zelda title to finally surpass its excellence. Overall, there was resounding apathy - people will always want to hark back to their favourites of the past. Kids TV is another example - how many people have heard the immortal phrase "they don't make it like it used to." Kids obviously enjoy TV today, though you may think that the shows you watched when you were a kid were far superior. I think Mario Galaxy will suffer similarly.
Will any Mario game be as fun as Mario 64 again? Yes. But will it ever match 64's legacy? Probably not. Because it was such a landmark title in the history of videogaming, people are always going to look back upon it with rose-tinted spectacles.

Adam "Flameboy" Ducker:

It's a case of the rose tinted spectacles at work here. It happens with everything; kids tv, so called classic films and now the same can be said for video games. Don't get me wrong Super Mario 64 was a defining game of it's generation and could still hold it's head up high against so many of today's indentikit platformers. But with every game since using this game for inspiration is it any surprise that we find ourselves with these games so similar. Arguably some more recent games take ideas from Mario 64 and refine them yet do not get the praise perhaps deserved. It is like how the first Halo is seen as the pinnacle of the series and despite great scores for it's sequels, it is never accepted that the single player is any better in 2 and 3 just that it refines the experience, but nothing will ever top the first time out. Look back to the N64 and people still regard Goldeneye as one of the best FPS' ever, when there have been numerous titles that do Goldeneye better.
Mario Sunshine received rave reviews upon release, but it was still made clear by all that it was not as good as Mario 64. Now however retrospectively it is viewed as an awful side step that got a lot wrong when in fact it did manage to get a lot right as well as adding a few new ideas to the mix.
Mario Galaxy looks set to add even more ideas to the mix, mostly revolving around gravity and new/revisited power ups (from what I've heard..I've been on a media black out for the last 2 months) whilst also providing a health portion of fan service, meaning this will likely be the second best 3D Mario title. But where does that leave us? There is no doubt it will receive numerous 10/10 5/5 40/40 A+ scores but will it be regarded as better than Mario 64? Doubtful. Instead it will likely be viewed as a title that offers a subtle blend of the old school fan service along with some fresh new ideas that help give us a reason to but Galaxy over completing Mario 64 for the 20th time..

Dominic "Domstercool" Sheard:

The simple answer would be no, but we don't want to just see the simple side of things, we want to see more.
Mario 64 has stapled itself in gaming history because of the brilliant transition from 2D to 3D, yet still managing to be Mario and not something else. Having the power to move in 3D was something exceptional in the world of video games. Since then nothing has really had the impact of what 3D had. The Wii control system was close, but it still doesn't feel as awesome as what seeing Mario in 3D for the first time felt like. I remember just wobbling on the spot as he moved around, controlling him how I wanted, opening doors, jumping around, sliding on his small little butt down the slide, those moments won't ever be forgotten. It doesn't mean they can't be added to. Mario Galaxy by the sound of things is going to be brilliant and no doubt will add memorable moments to the Mario franchise. It just won't have as big of an impact as what Mario 64 had. I can only really see Mario 64 been beaten from its crown when we move into Ken Kutaragi's fourth space and we have totally new ways at looking at Video Games. Till then though, we will just have to enjoy a fantastic brilliant Mario game that shouldn't be overshadowed by an older game that came out at the perfect time(Right place, right time, right game creator!) to become the best platformer ever made.

"Moria":

I personally feel Mario 64 was eclipsed before it was ever made. Super Mario World remains to this day one of the best games I have ever played, if not the best ever. In any case, it's certainly the best platform game I've ever played (with Mario 64 only coming second).

Jordan "Jam-jar" Khoviteri-Zadeh:

Mario 64 is still a pinnacle of 3D platforming, trying to match it is simply a fruitless excerise. Hense why Mario Sunshine was such a 'failure' to many fans and critics. So what do you do? Reinvent the genre.
Developers have previously tried tinkering with the forumlae that Mario 64 set out, with little to no success. All they ever did was make it needlessly complex or gimicky - for example the 'time control' of Prince of Persia (which became the 'oh crap..." button.) or FLUDD from Mario Sunshine. Why add something so pointless with the basic frame work is all you need?
I honestly think Galaxy has a shot at beating Mario 64. Its pure randomness of level design, its mix of nostalgic and new music and its new gravity elements just might do it... maybe.

Nathan "Tellyn" Whincup:

I wasn't brought up with a Nintendo 64, I was a Sony child (DUN DUN DUUUUN!), and my first experience of Mario 64 was on the DS. Despite this, I suppose I had the same sort of feeling that others had when they bought it for their Nintendo 64. I hyped myself up for months before the launch, soaked in every screenshot I could, and when the promised day arrived, I was not disappointed. The brightly-lit screen brought the Mushroom Kingdom to life for me in a way that Mario games on the Game Boy never could do. I felt immersed and astounded, so much so that I played the game almost non-stop for months, searching the land for any hidden secrets that I had not yet found.
I believe in Mario Galaxy. The concepts of hopping from planet to planet and using powerups such as the Bee Suit are truly revolutionary and more innovative than its predecessors. Mario 64 effectively took the original 2D platformers and made them three-dimensional. Galaxy has worked hard to give gamers a brand new experience, boldly going where no game has gone before, and I know will be unparallelled for years to come. Bring on Galaxy.

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