I Finally Replayed One of Gaming’s “Untouchable” Classics—It Didn’t Age as Well as We Pretend

I used to think Super Mario 64 was a perfect game, but recently I replayed it after many years and was surprised by how much it hasn’t held up. My wife got me a handheld emulator for Christmas – I wanted it for the classic Pokemon games, but it also had several Nintendo 64 titles, including Super Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Zelda: Majora’s Mask. I was excited to start playing, but after just a few minutes, I found myself playing out of habit rather than enjoyment. While nostalgia can sometimes keep me engaged, in this case, it quickly faded because the game just doesn’t feel timeless.







