Super Mario 63

Super Mario 63 (not to be confused with Super Mario 64, I might add) is a fanmade platformer flash game that is meant to combine all the most famous Mario platformers, namely Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, and to a lesser degree, New Super Mario Bros.

Since today is my birthday, I wanted to do a speical review for a favorite game of mine. Now, at first, I was planning to do something like LEGO Star Wars, but I remembered that it has been months since I'd done a flash game; the last and only one I'd ever done was ''Super Smash Flash 2. So because of the massive level of fun I had with Super Mario 63'', I decided I'd take a look at that today.

Now, the first thing I want to point out about this game is how impressed I am with its creators. Bear in mind, this game is fanmade. It has no material support from Nintendo at all. Yet clearly, the designers knew exactly what the were doing, and they did a flawless job of integrating elements of each of the official 3D games with the 2D format. For example, the greatest case in point is the use of the F.L.U.D.D, which you could collect as an item throughout the levels. The water jet from Sunshine was used almost as well as in the original title, except for the fact that you really didn't get much of a boost from it, which is among the things I disliked.

Another thing about this game I really like is the many other ways in which the games cross over with each other. A lot of the music, at least in the early levels, was from Super Mario 64, which has spawned some of my favorite Mario music. The enemies show this sense of unity as well; you have the standard Goomba and Koopa Troopa, but you also have the Giant Goombas from New Super Mario Bros., and King Bob-Omb from 64.  I thought this was a great feature, because it meant to essentially every moment of gameplay reminds you of at least one great classic title.

But aside from the music, the enemies, the crossover action, and everything else, let me get to my definite favorite thing about this game: the awesomely bizarre physics. The jumping and spinning mechanic is like the mechanics from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where you could perform triple jumps by jumping right as you hit the ground, and hover for a split second in midair by shaking the Wiimote. Except in this game, those features are essentially on steroids.

Instead of the realistic (well, Mario type realistic) jumps of New Super Mario Bros. Wii, this game gives you what are like mini-Hulk jumps where you fly temporarily, and you can hold down the spin attack button to glide down to reach a ledge or stomp an enemy on the noggin. This was easily some of the mot epic platforming I've ever done, because it meant that basically any place at all was reachable somehow (not necessarily in one way, either), and you didn't need any special items like the F.L.U.D.D to make your way through the level; in fact, I would typically do levels without the F.L.U.D.D to see if I could make the massive jumps myself.

So what's my opinion of this game? I can recommend this game hands down to all Mario fans or those who love platformers in general. The only way you can save your progress, however, is by downloading the game (as far as I know), but I think as long as you're willing to do this, it's quite worth it.