The design, variety of controls and use of 3D gameplay received praise from video game publications. Maximum found its strongest points were the sense of freedom and its replayability, comparing it to Super Mario World and citing its similar gimmick of allowing access to new areas upon finding switches. One of GameFan four reviewers, E. Storm, cited the water levels as "overjoy[ing]" and showed how Super Mario 64 delved into an "entirely new realm of gaming". Official Nintendo Magazine called it "beautiful in both looks and design". Doug Perry of IGN agreed that it transitioned the series to 3D perfectly. Electronic Gaming Monthly discussed the levels in their initial review, praising them for their size and challenge, and later ranked it the fourth best console game of all time, arguing that it had breached the entire genre of 3D gaming while working virtually flawlessly.
