Whether you like this game or you hate it, you have notice its legacy in gaming!
Story: Well it's like any other Mario story the princess has been taken by bowser and to get to her you must collect power stars to progress through the castle and defeat bowser, yeah it's not too great of a story but who honestly plays Mario games to hear about the story.
Presentation: The presentation is fantastic, The art style in this game is truly amazing, from the lush appearance of the outside of the castle to the aquatic beauty that is Dire Dire Docks or even Jolly Roger Bay this game makes for a pleasant feel to the eyes. The music in this game is also breathtaking I wouldn't say it's the best in the series but for the time the musical score was one of the best yet. All the levels are original and have their diverse look and you will never think these levels get old because of this. The presentations great and for the time it was truly a beautiful sight to see.
Gameplay: This is where the game is really great but can be a bit of a frustration at sometimes too. First of all let's talk about the controls they are pretty damn good for one of the first games on Nintendo's first full 3d game console, they could be much worse but for what they are they are pretty good, my only problem with them is that some of the harder moves can feel a little bit delayed sometimes and another problem is the camera and the controls are incorporated around it or at least felt that way for me it seemed when the camera would move Mario would jump with the way it moved, maybe it was just my imagination but it was completely annoying and it honestly just pissed me off. Which brings me to the next problem of this game, the camera as I mentioned in my Banjo Kazooie review these were some of the first games in 3d gaming so obviously the camera's not going to be that great due to this, but there is a way around this know your limitations, which clearly Rare had no idea with on Banjo Kazooie, but with Mario 64 they did do that for the most part, most levels don't make for too much trouble due to the fact that most of them aren't too dependent on the camera for the most part so most of the game you will not have to worry about the indigent camera but then there are parts that you will and those parts will drive you psychotic like I remember in one level there was a simple concept of getting the star just jump from wall to wall, on to a platform to get it, but the wall was so close that the camera would block you view and make it nearly impossible to pull off the move cause you couldn't see what you were doing, if the camera was done a little better it would make this game quite a bit better.
I would also like to talk a little bit about each level. Bob-omb Battlefield: The first level you experience and probably the easiest out of them all, this level is remarkable and an honest joy to play, to the first great boss of King Bob-omb to racing Koopa the quick for the first time this level is a joy to play. Whomps Fortress: This is one of those levels that everybody remembers as a kid they remember the wood grown fortress to defeating Whomp King, it's truly a great level. Jolly Roger Bay: This is another level most people will remember for the beautiful music that was in the level, but the thing I will always remember about this stage is that freaky looking eel that was in this level, sure he's laughable today but at the time when I was a kid I used to hate playing this level just because of him. Cool Cool Mountain: This level for me was alright sure it's an appealing level but some of the missions on this level drove me crazy like the slide race without cheating, it's so hard to move really fast and beat the giant penguin and then have to be careful around the turns! And there were a lot of other missions that I didn't really care for in this one. Big Boo's haunt: As a kid this was another one of those scary levels for me especially that damn Piano with the teeth that comes after you geez that thing used to always scare me, playing the level now is awesome most of the stars are pretty simple to get and make for a good time in this level and obviously the atmosphere is a plus. Hazy Maze Cave: This level is pretty fun but not one of the most memorable ones besides riding on Dory as a kid I didn't like getting too close to her but now I think she is the one thing I liked and made me remember this level. Lethal Lava Land: this was another interesting level there is so much things to do on this one and I loved being able to access the volcano in this level. Shifting Sand Land: This is the one of those levels where I hated back as a kid, and I still hate now there were just so many levels in this where I just hated in this level especially when you have to scale the inside of the pyramid and the indigent camera literally make this part nearly impossible and this level just drives me crazy. Dire Dire Docks: This level is amazing also the atmosphere of this level is truly a sight to see, there isn't a whole lot to say about this level but it's honestly just a memorable fun level. Snowman's Land: this one is pretty good but nothing too memorable but I did like climbing to the top of the snowman's head, other then that this level is pretty good. Wet Dry World: This one is probably the one I dislike the most and what a surprise it's a water level why do all water levels have to suck seriously! But the problem with this level is that you must continually change the water level and the problem is that it is way to tedious too keep changing them and there is one star on this that I mentioned is simple to get but you fight the camera and It makes getting this star way too frustrating! The best thing to do with this level is just skip it I hate it. Tall Tall Mountain: This level is also pretty lame the camera again is horrid in this level and I just hate some of the stars in this level again this one is a pain to go through. Tiny Huge Island: This one is alright and the concept is pretty cool but it's a bit lackluster nothing too new and just feels about the same as any other level. Tick Tock Clock: this one is pretty cool at least the concept nothing too much to say about this one but it's a good level. Rainbow Ride: This one is pretty cool to the atmosphere is nice and makes for another fun level.
After you collect 75 stars you can go take on Bowser in a final bout it's an amazing boss fight and once you defeat him peace is restored and Princess Peach will back you a cake and there will be amazing music with the staff credits, and after the staff credits Mario will say that Iconic phrase everybody knows about Thank You For To Playing My Game, sure maybe this may not be the perfect ending but it makes you recollect about the time you played and how memorable the game was and to me that is how an ending should be made.
Overall maybe Mario 64 may not be the perfect game, but for what it did for gaming and just even what it was at the time was something that was before it's time and that's what makes this game so special to me it was my honest first time playing in a 3d world and what a memorable world it was, everyone should experience this for themselves.