Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 31, 2005

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Super Mario 64 was one of the first video games released for the Nintendo 64 and was the console's flagship killer application. It debuted in Japan on June 23, 1996 and in the U.S. on September 29, 1996. As the first 3D game in the Mario franchise, Super Mario 64 defined the 3D platformer, much as the franchise's original game, Super Mario Bros., defined the 2D sidescrolling platformer. In leaping from 2D to 3D, Super Mario 64 replaced the linear obstacle courses of traditional platform games with vast worlds where the objective is to collect special items — in this case stars — which are awarded for exploration or successfully carrying out tasks. While doing so, it managed nonetheless to preserve the feel of earlier Mario games, including many game play elements and characters from them.

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