I remember Mario 64 felt so mindblowing when it came out, like walking into a whole new world.

Yes, and I think the haptics of walking into that castle hall to explore the different tasks drove it home so well that it was a new experience!

I was confused why you mentioned haptics, as the Rumble Pak did not exist when the N64 launched. But Wikipedia cites EGM as saying later versions of the game had Rumble Pak support: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumble_Pak