Super Mario 64 Remake Suggestions (Part 6)

[Alolan_Apples]

I am back with more suggestions on making a Super Mario 64 remake a better game. We might go through caves, lava worlds, or even lava caves, whether or not they're in a volcano. That's right! Haze Maze Cave and Lethal Lava Land are on my list today. Both worlds will need graphics remakes and expansions as well.

Haze Maze Cave:

Cave levels existed in Mario for a while before Super Mario 64 came out. There were a few underground levels in the original SMB as well as the Vanilla Dome in Super Mario World. But this is the first 3D cave level. To be honest, I don't really like the parts in games where you have to go through caves. Unless if they are ice caves, but I get scared of cave levels. But Super Mario 64's cave level didn't scare me at all. But it does need expansion with graphics updates. Along with that, here are the nitpicks of the toxic cavern.

1. Make the first cave more interesting - a path to the cave with a boulder? Check. A path to the mine? Check. Bottomless pits? Check. A map of the entire cave? All present and correct. However, there should be more than just all that. First of all, the first cave Mario enters should be a small cave. Once he goes through the door, he will appear in a larger cave (which is the first cave from the original version). This cavern, should be bigger with more scuttlebugs, more pits, miner tools, crystals, and more beautiful-looking lamps. At the same time, they should change the rocky surfaces from green to gray and remove the torches since that would be an overkill.
2. Redesign the scuttlebugs - the scuttlebugs in this level and Big Boo's haunt aren't as bad, but I prefer to see their SMG2 versions instead.
3. Add more props to the mine - do you remember the room with the platform that moves if you press the arrow buttons? That same room should turn into an actual mine. There should be crystals, gold, dynamite, minecart tracks, minecarts, and mine tools. Instead of the arrow platform and moving platform in the air, there should be minecart tracks and minecarts to ride. You can catch red coins while in the minecarts.
4. Enlarge the Haze Maze - the hazy maze is confusing enough to begin with, but it should be even larger with more maze elements. I also recommend moving the blue coins to the mine rather than this poisonous grotto.
5. Add more platforms in the room with a bottomless pit - when we expand rooms, I'm not talking full dilation. I'm talking about making them bigger with more obstacles to go through. The large cave with a bottomless pit where boulders go down would be a lot more interesting if we did this. They can also add more decorative props and special platforming elements like rollers.
6. Make the cave with water more interesting - you know the cave with some loch ness monster, right? If they expand this cave, they could use the same elements and props like I suggest for the other caves. They can also make the cave with the third star bigger, the island with the first star into a series of islands that the beast can help you reach only one, and the green switch course.
7. Fix gripping controls - this would have to be the most important change. For this level and future levels where Mario can hang from bars, he should be able to do it without you holding down on the A button. I like Super Mario Sunshine's gripping controls more than this game's. You press A to get on, and press B to fall off. I know it was a test for the time, but now it needs improving.

Lethal Lava Land:

Lethal Lava Land is my least favorite level in Super Mario 64, in terms of difficulty and frustration. I also felt that it was poorly done, especially by today's standards. But even this level needs improvement.

1. Replace architecture and machine platforms with stone textures - this needs to take effect first. To me, it doesn't even seem like a real lava land. All I see is just some damaged buildings with brick platforms over a small pool of lava. They should change the lava to yellow, orange, and red with an opacity of 100%. The platforms, should be rock instead. So when you reach the metal platform with a drawbridge, it's just a rocky platform with some rock drawbridge. The brick rotator is just a floating stone rotator (stone as you see in a volcano). When you get to the Bowser tiles, it would look like stone tiles with Bowser's outlines carved into it. I also don't like the volcano's interior. To me, it looks like a wooden cone with orange countertops and a whole bunch of fruit punch poured on the ground. They should use my suggestion on the lava part and make it like Melty Molten Galaxy's lava while the volcano and rocky platforms are all like real rocks.
2. Reduce the severity of the lava damage - damage done by lava and fire is much worse in Super Mario 64 than in other games. When you fall into the lava in some games, you lose a hit point and get stunned for like five to ten seconds. Once your stun is over, you take damage again as long as you're in the lava. In Super Mario 64, you don't even get temporary immunity to losing hit points when falling into the lava. What upsets me even more is that you lose control of him when you take damage. I think you should have more control of Mario when you take damage from lava and fire. I also prefer the damage factor dropped to two hit points rather than three and make it where you don't take damage for seven seconds after taking damage. I'm okay with the freezing water in Snowman's Land doing it, but not the lava and fire in any level of this game.
3. Add more obstacles to Lethal Lava Land - Lethal Lava Land is one of these oddball cases like the Bowser Stages where the level size is measured based on the number of obstacles. There needs to be more obstacles and platforms to get to the ring with the volcano, more obstacles and platforms to get to the bully from the the left side, more obstacles and platforms to get to the bullies on the right side, and more obstacles and platforms to get to the log.
4. Fix repetition issue - just like in Big Boo's Haunt, you have to fight a big bully twice. The first time, it should be even bigger and scarier while the second time, you don't face a big bully. You just fight more on one platform.
5. Revamp the volcano - other than my graphical redesign suggestion, I think there needs to be more platforms to climb inside the volcano. There should also be more platforms to reach that sixth star. I'm not specifying on what platforms I'm looking for, but it needs more platforms to make it challenging.

That's enough for today. Tomorrow is all on Shifting Sand Land.

 

[xSuperMario64x]

For Hazy Maze Cave, they should keep the arrow platform, but the one you ride to get the 4 red coins could definitely be turned into a mine cart. I agree that they shouldn't make it so difficult to jump across the platforms in the bottomless pit room. Also, I've never heard of that technique for gripping controls, but it definitely sounds better than what was used in this game.

For Lethal Lava Land...

1. A lot of the unrealistic textures you're talking about are probably due to the N64's hardware limitations. Though, I would like to see the edges of the level be blocked off by a wall. I mean, something like a "floating level" is not okay when lava is present.

2. The uncontrollability after hitting lava is present in pretty much every other 3D Mario game. In SMG2, while he doesn't continue to lose health after he is hit, he is uncontrollable for a few seconds. Luckily it only lasts for about 3 seconds. I agree that, while he is uncontrollable, he should be immune to damage.

3. This could be elaborated really well with visual detail. I can't picture more obstacles in my head for some reason.

4. Well, I agree they should add a different boss to the level to make it more interesting. Perhaps Lava Piranha? He is underrated.

5. Unfortunately, I think that the volcano is challenging enough. But, that might be mostly because of the controls of the game itself. It would be nice if there were more platforms to stand on in the volcano.

It's funny because Hazy Maze Cave and Lethal Lava Land are my two least favorite levels in this game.

 

[Alolan_Apples]

I enjoy your responses to my blogs. But what would you say about Shifting Sand Land and Cool Cool Mountain suggestions?

 

[xSuperMario64x]

I enjoy your responses to my blogs. But what would you say about Shifting Sand Land and Cool Cool Mountain suggestions?

I'll look at them tomorrow.