Which game best translated a franchise from 2D to 3D?

[Valigarmander ASS]

For Super Mario Bros., it was Super Mario 64.

For The Legend of Zelda, it was Ocarina of Time.

For Metroid, it was Metroid Prime.

All three of these games took a Nintendo flagship franchise and successfully translated them from 2D games into 3D games. Super Mario 64 threw Mario into the third dimension with massive worlds to explore, an immersive storyline to follow, and tons of brand new things to discover, and still retained that same coin-snatching, enemy-stomping, super-jumping gold that made the original Super Mario Bros. such memorable games. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time gave Link a whole new level of control and an incredible storyline along with the traditional dungeon crawling and Triforce hunting. Metroid Prime ingeniously morphed the Metroid game into a 1st-person shooter-adventure, giving the Metroid "find a powerup then another" scheme another layer. It also helped flesh out the Metroid universe with the introduction of the Scan Visor, which could be used to find out near anthing about Samus' surroundings.

So, my question is, which of these games was the absolute best transfer of the oldschool 2D games from our early childhoods to the 3D revolution of the N64 and Gamecube? Which most successfully gave the franchise a brand new level of exploration while still retaining the memorable aspects that made the original games stand out? You decide.

[I am nobody]

SM64. Because I haven't played MP and liked it better than OoT.

[Chunky Kong12345]

DK64.

[The Famous Mr. Horsehead]

Originally Posted by Chunky Kong12345

DK64.

DK64 can barely be considered a sequel to the DKC games. It was basically Banjo-Kazooie 1.5. The only elements from DKC they brought in were the vine swinging and bananas.

Of these 3, I'd have to say OoT was the worst translation, with its boring-as-hell overworld. That is not to say it isn't a bad game, but every other Zelda game up until that point was downright treacherous getting from level to level...OoT wasn't.

Seriously, though, I can't vote--Metroid Prime and Mario 64 both did great jobs of translating their great 2-D gameplay into 3-D platforms. Metroid Prime kept the great exploratory and confusing status of Super Metroid, and Mario 64 kept a very Mario-like feel to a very unlike-Mario (at the time) game. And lest we forget, SM64 was one of the first games of its kind.

[Rayman FREAK]

It's hard to argue against the impact SM64 had on 2D - 3D translation as a whole. Though I don't believe it was technically the first 3D platformer (Crash Bandicoot may have preceded it, I just don't know), it was the first free-roaming 3D platforming environment of its kind. Some first person games like Doom allowed 360 degrees of lateral motion and jumping before SM64, but SM64 wrote the book on 3D third person platforming.

OoT used the transition to incorporate greater freedom of motion, and introduced lock-on combat (I think...), and the transition was very smooth. In terms of the way the game was played when compared to LttP, much less changed than did with Mario's gameplay between SMW and SM64 (I hope that was a sentence). There are advantages and disadvantages inherent in this observation, and I think it's solely a matter of opinion regarding whether you like one transition more than the other.

MP was, in a way, a blend of both of the other transitions. The core aspect of the game was unchanged (a welcome relief to fans of the series), but the way the player experiences the game was completely re-done. The game controls like a very basic, almost watered-down first person shooter, albeit with excellent jump mechanics; however, the game's tasks were almost lifted right out of the Metroid archetype. Compare this with Super Mario 64, which turned the franchise from A-B platforming to a fetch-quest in a free-roaming environment. Additionally, compare the dramatic change in gameplay control with the very minimalist changes made from LttP to OoT (ignoring, of course, the lock-on fighting system). Again, I think whether or not you like the developer's choices is solely a matter of opinion.

Here are my basic sentiments: SM64 turned the franchise (and the genre!) on its head, OoT made very minimal changes in its transition, and MP did a little bit of both.

Personally, I prefer the decisions Retro made when taking Metroid into the third dimension to the decisions Nintendo made when doing likewise with Mario and Zelda. I think all three games are marvels in their own right, and the well-deserved influence of the first 2 titles on the gaming world speaks for itself. But in my own opinion, Metroid Prime was a better translation of the series from 2D to 3D than the other titles were for their respective franchises.

(For the record, I came into this expecting to argue in favor of SM64, but changed my mind when I started talking about MP. Just goes to show you how hard a question this is to answer!)

[Bomby]

In terms of the quality of the game, OoT.

In terms of the impact, SM64.

MP was kind of disappointing to me.

[Chunky Kong12345]

Originally Posted by Horsehead XVI

DK64 can barely be considered a sequel to the DKC games. It was basically Banjo-Kazooie 1.5. The only elements from DKC they brought in were the vine swinging and bananas.

So what you're saying is you didn't like it.

[The Famous Mr. Horsehead]

I liked it all right, but it was too much like B&K to be considered translating DKC to 3-D. It was more like translating B&K to the DKU.

It's definitely not my favorite of games, though. Parts of it were tedious, and many many parts of it were just too slow.

[The Joker]

I'm sorry but the first time I played a zelda game with a 3D over view of Link I was hooked. If only for the fact that I'm a Zelda fanboy I voted for OOT.

[Chunky Kong12345]

Originally Posted by Horsehead XVI

I liked it all right, but it was too much like B&K to be considered translating DKC to 3-D. It was more like translating B&K to the DKU.

It's definitely not my favorite of games, though. Parts of it were tedious, and many many parts of it were just too slow.

So you're basically saying Conker's Bad Fur Day was just B&K, too.

[The Famous Mr. Horsehead]

...That's because it was.

Rare in the N64 years had a really bad lull of un-originality.

[Valigarmander ASS]

Originally Posted by Chunky Kong12345

So you're basically saying Conker's Bad Fur Day was just B&K, too.

Star Wars sucks.

[LinkManDX... FACE]

I'm having a tough time choosing between SM64 and MP. OoT to me didn't capture the feel of the 2-D games.

SM64 gave you pretty much everything that was in the 2-D games, and then some. It didn't confine itself to a 3-D SMW, but it still kept elements of the older games.

MP was pretty much one of the smoothest transitions. It was, in reality, Super Metroid in 3-D, which is a good thing because Super Metroid was awesome.

I'm gonna have to go with MP on this one.

[Señor Luigi]

I've never played OoT or MP, so I chose SM64! I can't say that I'm much of a Metroid fan, but I'm sure I'd like OoT.

[Serial Miller]

Originally Posted by Rayman FREAK

and introduced lock-on combat (I think...)

The lock-on combat was really only required because of the game's otherwise lackluster control system. 3D console games are only just recently starting to catch back up to 2D games in terms of accuracy of controls. I wouldn't consider it a special achievement as much as a handicap to the gamer's suspension of disbelief.

[Chunky Kong12345]

Originally Posted by Valigarmander

Star Wars sucks.

Quiet, you.

[Jace Mario]

Super Mario 64. Full of radness.

[NintendoNut]

Originally Posted by Horsehead XVI

Rare in the N64 years had a really bad lull of un-originality.

Banjo Kazooie, DK64 and Banjo Tooie remain some of my favourite games to this day.

I don't think Metroid Prime can really be considered in this kind of discussion; it was brought out in a time when new FPS games were coming out regularly, Halo for example had just come out at the time as well which meant that predominantly the chatter around MP was going to be whether it was better than Halo or not, 3D FPS games were a done thing, Prime did nothing to really separate itself from that crowd (although it was still a brilliant game, don't get me wrong).

In terms of the feeling of magic you get when you play the game, my vote has to be SM64. Each world, like the 2D predecessors, were carefully constructed masterpieces that just immersed you in imagination, it makes you feel like a kid again. Because this is how it felt to play the original Mario Bros game when it came out, SM64 has managed the transition from 2D to 3D seamlessly.

[L007 is Undecided]

The Tales of series. Which was Symphonia which broke the ground, of course.

For some reason, though, they decided that Tales of Rebirth should have a 3-Line system, despite coming out after Symphonia. And then, for some reason, Legendia went even further behind (At least it kept the fast-pace action).

Dammit, why don't they release Eternia, Destiny 2, and Rebirth onto the PSP in America?!!

[CuccoLady]

I'm refraining from voting because I've played all three games and they all kick ass, and because I've only played the 2D version of one.