Super Mario 64

Super Mario 64 is a platformer developed and published by Nintendo as a launch title for the Nintendo 64 in 1996. It reinvented the Mario series, and the platform genre as a whole, by moving it into fully three-dimensional space, built around the console's analog control stick and a then-novel movable camera operated by a Lakitu. From a hub inside Princess Peach's castle, the player dives into paintings that lead to open, explorable worlds, collecting up to 120 Power Stars by completing objectives, races, and puzzles rather than simply reaching an exit. Mario's expanded moveset, including the triple jump, long jump, wall kick, and ground pound, gave players an unprecedented sense of freedom and physicality. Several of its worlds lean summery, from the sunken ship of Jolly Roger Bay and the underwater caves of Dire Dire Docks to the sun-warmed sandbox of Tiny-Huge Island. A massive critical and commercial success and one of the highest-rated games ever made, it defined how three-dimensional games would be built for years afterward. Its lasting image, of Mario standing on the open castle grounds under a wide blue sky with nowhere he has to be, captures the feeling of an unstructured summer afternoon better than any level ever set out to.