Using the Circle Pad made no difference to me on the DS. It still controlled like ass. And it still controls like ass on N64. Nothing you say will change my mind on that. It's pretty clear you've spent quite some time with it and are used to its controls. But that doesn't mean they aged well
I think Galaxy 1 and especially 2 require a good amount of precision, especially in later segments. I tend to prefer those over the collectathon 3D platformers which dominated the N64 even though I like both. It's why I'll always insist Crash Bandicoot 2 and 3 are better than Mario 64
I didn't mind it. Think outside the occasional bonus level, they kept a very minimalist approach with it
I thought I put the Land games up pretty fairly. 1 was bad, 2 was good, 3 was great
Knew you'd bring up Kirby
Sunshine had a lot going for it, but also a lot going against it for me.
They're some of my all time favorite games
The thing about the first Wario Land is it did adhere to the Mario formula still in a way future Wario games did not. There was still dying, power ups were lost when you got hit rather than sometimes gained if done a certain way. It's kind of a bridge between the two series, belonging in both at once before Wario did his own thing.
Everything you say about 64 doesn't change how poorly the controls have aged. And I did play the DS version. It controlled even worse. My opinion of it is from a reassessment of it I did this year. It's just what I think. I think you are just looking at it with rose tinted lenses too much.
The best Mario game you can get on the 3DS is Super Mario Bros 3.
