There’s no doubt that it was a hugely important game. For a long time, it was easily the best transition from 2D to 3D. I’m frankly afraid to revisit it these days, because I have fond memories I’d rather not risk. I feel that way about most of the 3D games from that era. I wish Nintendo were remaking that instead of making Link’s Awakening look worse for example.
My advice would be to revisit it
but if you can, cleanse yourself of any expectations, of recent experiences with more modern games, maybe read an interview or two regarding the production of the game, and allow some of the nostalgia to sweep over you. Also try and not judge any sentiments produced by the clunkiness of the thing. It is a goofy clunky game as much as it is so finely crafted.
I view something like this as not only a landmark title but also something to be appreciated within a particular context. To me much of the charm here (and with other Miyamoto games on the system) is that it is cart based gaming in a cd-governed world, with cart related limitations but also characteristics which made for a type of gaming we where more used to (the cart as a solid object "containing the game", no load times). It's an audacious and strange game full of little challenges and puzzles in a relatively limited small playing field. The fact that there is nothing random about this small world makes it all the more intriguing, it's like it was made by an architect or engineer, to be enjoyed at the micro as well as the macro level.
From Wikipedia:
He (Miyamoto) guided the design of the Nintendo 64 controller in tandem with that of Super Mario 64.
That kind of blow my mind, Mario 64 was an experiment, a concept as much as it was a game, and the controller was tailor-made for this particular game.
The Zelda games where directed/produced by Miyamoto and used a modified Mario 64 engine.
When you watch a film such as The Birds, you kind of have to sink into it a little, like getting into a very hot bath. But it is no way inferior to anything made since, just because it is in black and white with a different pacing and audience in mind.
By the way, I know I am exaggerating a little.