The action platformer genre has come a long way since 1996's Super Mario 64, but some still hold it up as the best example of 3D gaming (the "old" 3D gaming with three dimensions of movement, not the new-fangled 3D that requires expensive televisions and special glasses).  Can Mario's big Nintendo 64 adventure ever hope to be topped?  That is the question put forth to new gaming blog Gaming Succubus, and since one of the two succubi that run the place isn't much of a platformer fan, she deferred to me to figure this one out.  Here's what I had to say on the matter:

Super Mario 64 can definitely be topped because it just happened. Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes the Mario franchise to new heights that Super Mario Sunshine and the original Galaxy flirted with. 64 set the standard for 3D platformers with its intriguing level design and ease of control, but Sunshine attempted to graft a new gameplay gimmick where, in hindsight, it didn’t really belong with the FLUDD waterpack. Galaxy redefined the 3D Mario gameplay paradigm and is an amazing game, and it would be the holder of the title of Best 3D Super Mario Game Of All Time had Galaxy 2 not surpassed it with refined level design and clearer objectives. So, yes, Super Mario 64 has been topped.

The rest of this edition of "Ask The Succubi" covers The Legend of Zelda, while the comments section of the article spills into Castlevania.  I did not contribute to that part, but you really should still read it anyway.