Super Mario 64 was one of the first video games released for the Nintendo 64 and was the console's flagship killer application. It debuted in Japan on June 23, 1996 and in the U.S. on September 29, 1996. As the first 3D game in the Mario franchise, Super Mario 64 defined the 3D platformer, much as the franchise's original game, Super Mario Bros., defined the 2D sidescrolling platformer. In leaping from 2D to 3D, Super Mario 64 replaced the linear obstacle courses of traditional platform games with vast worlds where the objective is to collect special items — in this case stars — which are awarded for exploration or successfully carrying out tasks. While doing so, it managed nonetheless to preserve the feel of earlier Mario games, including many game play elements and characters from them. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest games of all time.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1606: Guy Fawkes was executed for his involvement in the Gunpowder Plot against the English Parliament and King James I. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes)

1747: The first clinic specializing in the treatment of venereal diseases was opened. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexually-transmitted_infection)

1876: The United States ordered all Native Americans to move into reservations. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American)

1946: In Yugoslavia, a new constitution established the six constituent republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslavia)

1961: Aboard Mercury-Redstone 2, Ham the Chimp became the first higher primate in outer space. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury-Redstone_2)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe... No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." -- Winston Churchill (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Winston_Churchill)