No such thing as a 100 coin star, at least not the way SM64 did it. I suspect trying to get 100 coins is impossible on most of the levels.
I was thinking of the purple coins star.
I thought the "minigame" levels were a welcome change in pace, intuitive, and neither too hard nor too easy.
While they worked well and did offer a change of pace I feel like it was just Nintendo throwing them in to say, "Look what else you can do."
Overall, I think Nintendo did an okay job of helping the player learn the essential moves, but in this case, it sounds like they assumed you'd remember that move from SM64.
Crazy thing, I haven't owned a Nintendo system since the SNES, and have barely done anything on my VC copy of Mario 64 because I keep playing Super Mario World. For first-timers to the 3D Mario some control tips weren't revealed until they absolutely had to be done, even though they could have been used earlier. Of course, maybe if I had cracked open the instruction manual....
It's okay, I had a similar moment when I completely forgot that I could use the spin to extend a jump's height (very necessary for some of the levels you'll encounter later).
Yeah, I've found a few levels where my life was made easier by a wall-jump spin.
For me, the camera worked just fine the vast majority of the time, with no fiddling (and I loved not having to fiddle with it). Once or twice, it got stuck behind a wall or on the wrong side of a planet.
I think for me it was more a case of when walking along I wanted the camera in a different place, but it wouldn't turn and so I would just slightly misjudge my distance and hit an electric barrier or get hit by an enemy. It was a minor issue that would occasionally result in a bigger problem.
I think the best solution to your problem would be to use the free look (up on the D-pad; make sure Mario is sitting still first).
Looking around to find stuff I have no problems with, but it is when moving and the camera wants to be in a certain spot, but I would prefer it somewhere else.
To get every star (120 again). If you do that and then beat the final level one more time, you'll get a better ending and a special bonus that may or may not have already been spoiled for you.
I am pretty sure it has been spoiled for me by now.
If I recall correctly, Luigi is stuck in a glass dome on the underside of one of those UFOs (the same level where you rescued a star from one of those glass domes).
Yep, found it last night. Getting those rockets (I know they have a name, but I forget) to follow me under the platform without hitting something on the way took some careful positioning and timing.
Tis a shame, I like flying. Still waiting to get my cape.
A. Because Bowser has always required a repetitive strategy in games where you face him multiple times (eg. the original NES game, Mario 64).
B. Because Nintendo wanted to let younger/less-experienced players "beat" the game (save the universe and see the credits roll), while challenging experienced gamers with the task of getting 120 stars (trust me, it's challenging).
See reason B. above.
There was just a certain point where I felt like I was playing Twilight Princess all over again. Same boss as before, same attack as before. You know it's bad when you would rather just play random levels than boss fights.
Luigi has always been the more-cowardly, less-successful, bumbling brother. Even the 1989 TV/cartoon show represented this.
Yeah, saving him from the "big bug" on Honeyhive by shooting him out of the tree was great.
But, but I like Yoshi. He's my favorite.
I think it's one of the best in the 3D platforming genre, if not the best. The controls are intuitive and responsive, the graphics are nice, the orchestrated music tracks are amazing, and it's flexible enough to let players of all skill levels enjoy it without getting overwhelmed or bored. To me, it's the only modern Mario game that has come anywhere close to matching the magic of the classic 2D games. That says a lot.
I can agree with most of this in that it is a very good 3D platformer, but I haven't had that oh my gawd moment yet that makes me want to just play it non-stop. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that my wife enjoys watching me play (even though she won't play co-op with me) so we don't have to fight over the TV I would probably be back in Warhawk right now. Heck, I've been replaying GT1 and have even thought about going back to that for a while.
I think if they threw in a very well flushed out story, like Zelda did, I would be more into it because a good story is a weakness that will make me play through an otherwise horrid game.
