Hah I can't blame you, I almost mentioned that as another example of his inventing a new genre. Technically, I think it's an RTS so I didn't, but it's such a unique experience that it really is its own sort of game.

Yeah it was difficult to pose my question clearly enough that it not be confused... I wasn't so much asking which was the most influential or which was the greatest, but rather which was his greatest achievement in regards to innovation, odds,  and difficulty.

For instance, even when looking at Ocarina of Time or Super Mario Bros, both had games to learn from and use as an inspiration. Really, Super Mario 64 flying blind in many ways, and as a result it's a game that one cannot say borrowed the majority of its ideas from another. In regards to the gameplay, Super Mario 64 was as inventive and original as I can think of off the top of my head.

It's why I mentioned those clever work-arounds Wolfenstein and Doom used to provide the appearance of a 3D atmosphere (it was actually 2D); Mario 64 is one of those games that really had no precedent and had to find ways of making a 3D platformer work without assistance from past titles.

Aonuma states that Miyamoto had a considerable leading role in the development of Ocarina of Time. He even said that progress went "slower" because of him.

Mario 64 > Ocarina

imo

I'd say so. SM64 established so much of what makes 3D environments fun, and so easily traversable with a controller.

I made the thread precisely because I knew it was a difficult choice, and when one contemplates the question one comes to realize just how much we owe to this guy lol

Also, I have to say that I love how many people are bringing up Pikmin! Honestly, in terms of atmosphere, charm, and just how unique the gameplay and experience is, it's definitely one of the most inventive franchises in the past couple of decades.

I'd still say Mario 64 was the grander achievement in terms of innovation, challenge, and lasting legacy, but I can't fault anyone for picking Pikmin... wonderful series :)

Well, he was a rookie on the prooving grounds, so I can see that. I think one of the greatest things Aonuma did for Ocarina was Z targeting after going to what was it...a Kabuki play? My mind is quite foggy at the moment.

Yeah, the remarkable thing about Miyamoto is that he's actually less involved in a lot of games than people would assume, but what involvement he had was often the decisive factor in producing a classic.

I wasn't as aware of this until I watched a long tribute to Iwata, and they described Iwata's early relationship with Miyamoto when the former was with HAL. Often, at Iwata's request, Miyamoto would be asked for advice, and when he'd look the game over he would decide all that was needed was cuter character sprites, better names, or additional challenges/obstacles etc to enhance the already-existing gameplay, and that would prove the difference between a game that wasn't selling and a game that suddenly sold like hot cakes.

Heck, even Kirby wasn't getting any retail orders until they went to Miyamoto, at which point he just changed the name of the game (it wasn't originally called Kirby or Kirby's Dream land), made a few subtle changes, and the franchise was a huge hit thereafter. I suppose that's why I admire the guy; it seems like a creative genius is often someone who finds the artistic choices/controls/gameplay styles etc that seem obvious and simple after the fact, but no one thought of it until they brought it about.

No. That would be Super Mario World.

Well it's certainly the greatest 2d platformer ever made (imo). Strange that I can say that and still feel it's not his greatest accomplishment lol

super mario world is by far the best mario, i played the 2d mario game on wii u and it didn't come even close to its greatness.