When I returned to the game, I tried to get the red coin in what I call the "storm cloud" (the grey cloud that you can't land on) but I kept missing it. What eventually killed me (well, kicked me out of the stage; you can't die there) was that I tried a little triple skip off the starting cloud so as not to overshoot the cannon platform, but I ended up not making it off the starting cloud.

The next time, I tried getting the storm cloud coin first. I got it right away, and got the other coins fairly easy. The final coin was a low one, so I had to take a cannon back to the starting cloud. I got a little hasty when I approached the cannon platform, and buttslammed before it was fully under me. (That's something that's very easy to misjudge, in my opinion). So, that knocked me out again.

On my next try, I got all 8 red coins and collected the star.

So, that's the last castle secret star.

I was talking to FO about the flight controls. She said that she can't believe that anyone thinks the flight controls are easy.

I didn't have too much trouble getting the 8 red coins in that stage, so I made an analogy. It might be kind of abstract, and maybe even not very appropriate, but I said that the flying controls kind of reminded me of the controls in the Tony Hawk games, in an abstract way. They're perfect when used perfectly. It is possible to fly straight towards the coins, and that, naturally, is the best thing to do to get them. But if you miss them (say, the storm cloud coin, which is the easiest to miss, for me), it is almost impossible to maneuver in any way to turn yourself around. The best thing to do is probably go back to a cannon and try again.

I guess the reason I thought of the Tony Hawk games is that it's possible to create really huge combos, just driving all around a stage, grinding on everything, doing tricks everywhere, and the control feels perfect. Then, when you have to do something simple, like just turn yourself around, it can be kind of awkward.

Ah, it's not a very good comparison. Oh, well.




Another general comment:

One issue relevant to SM64 is game length. One thing I wrote about in a Lunar review draft was that game length has no inherent quality. It is an intensifier. A great game that is long becomes greater by giving more. A bad game that is long makes itself more of a chore.

But what I hadn't thought about before is, what about a game my feelings are more moderate towards?

Well, one fact is that I picked this game up again in earnest last Sunday, so I've been playing it for about a week. So, it has given me over a week's worth of entertainment. I don't think I've ever dreaded returning to it (lately, anyway), and have often looked forward to it (as the work day drew to a close).

So, that's all to the good. Also, just playing the game so much breeds a lot of familiarity. Whether a game's control is perfect or not, if you play it this much you're bound to get used to it. And when you play a game that lasts for a while, parts of it might start to seep into you. I can visualize almost all the stages in my head. I have some memorizes of the harder to earn stars.


One downside, though, is that I'm looking forward to the game wrapping up. After playing the game for so long, I'm getting near to overdosing on it (I'm not there yet -- and can even imagine replaying it -- but I'm glad there's not another 30 stars to earn).

Also, the game never really got much better after any point. My rate of earning stars has seemed pretty much constant. Of course, I still have a few more stars to earn, but I've earned several in the final stages with not much more effort that I put into earning earlier stars.

I said that part of the reason Donkey Kong 64 was addictive was because you knew if you played a little more, you'd make a little more progress. That seemed true for SM64.

I still think SM64 is at least a little better than DK64, though. DK64 is mostly about exploration (ie., just run around a stage and you're bound to pick up tons of bananas and stuff that's just lying around) while SM64 is more about puzzle solving (ie., How do I get to that platform with the shell in Snowman Land?) I think I used my brain a little more in SM64.