Take walking in a straight line, for instance. In moving from the lowest plateau to the second highest to the third highest and then eventually up the mountain, numerous core concepts of the game are introduced and tested with slightly ascending difficulty as the player reaches the level’s apex. By starting the player off at the level’s low point, the vast majority of the level is concealed from view, meaning that all upward movement not only leads closer to the goal but also to uncovering what lies ahead, serving as a visual barrier much like the right side of the screen in 2D Marios. The basic design of Bob-omb Battlefield, pictured in an inaccurate but cute and conceptually adequate figure above, is comprised of a few flat plateaus of slightly different altitudes, a small canyon that cuts between them, and a mountain with an upward spiraling trail. Of all fifteen courses in the game, Bob-Omb Battlefield seems the most explicitly concerned with translating the Mario universe from two to three dimensions, and it’s Mario-ness effuses from the aesthetic, level layout, and enemy selection. While the hubworld allows the player to explore Mario’s moveset at their own pace, Bob-Omb Battlefield is the first time the game mandates a goal and emphasizes direction.As the first course in the game, it serves as an introduction to of the game’s core mechanics and overarching design philosophy. In this installment, I’ll be taking a look at Course 1 – Bob-Omb Battlefield.Īs the only course with a zero-star requirement to enter, Bob-Omb Battlefield is the mandatory first level of Super Mario 64, minus the castle hubworld. With the upcoming Super Mario Odyssey being only the third Mario game in the same vein as Super Mario 64 (following Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine ), it is high time to reexamine one of the evergreen staples of the video game canon.
In this continuing feature, I will examine each of these fifteen courses in detail, attempting to pick apart each course and evaluate its accomplishments and inadequacies. Over twenty years later, Super Mario 64 remains a top-notch example of bravely innovative and masterfully fluid game design not only for its groundbreaking three-dimensional gameplay that was a tipping point for the entire industry but also for the design of its intricately crafted and sweepingly diverse fifteen courses.
Editor’s note: Join us over the next two weeks as we look back at the most outstanding and influential games of 1996.
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