Super Mario Galaxy

[Macawmoses]

Platform: Wii
Rating: E
Players: 1-2
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Platformer
Release Dates: November 12-14, 2007  (US, CAD)

Gaming has developed a lot over the twenty or so years it has been part of the mainstream market. One of the oldest veterans is Mario, and he's been their every step of the way. The Mario series is the best selling video game series of all time, the fat-man in red is more well known than Mickey Mouse, and titles like Mario Clash were among the first to delve into the third dimension. Now, after years of success, the platforming Mario has returned in a totally new environment, and on the system code-named "Revolution". Fitting. But would SMG hold up to the legacy of its predecessors? Or would it go down the tubes?

Galaxy starts where most Mario titles do; with Peach being abducted. As Mario is enjoying a Star Festival, he makes his way towards Peach. But as everyone knows, the Mushroom Kingdom can't ever have a happy event. Bowser descends from the heavens, plucking not only Peach, but her entire Castle. Trying to thwart the attempt fails, and Mario ends up on another planet. Far out. With the exception of the planetary shift, it's the same old, same old.

Changes start to be made on the planet, though. Mario meets up with a stunning Princess named Rosalina, whom needs his assistance. Her beloved Observatory, and home of the Luma race, is in danger of running out of power without the Power Stars that Bowser has stolen. It's up to Mario to get them back. By no means is this revolutionary, but it is fresher than the basic premise of "your princess is in another castle". The story unfolds through various "story books" positioned through the game, and of course, dialogue.

Oooh, pretty.

Carrying on with the story, Mario ends up going after the Power Stars, while in the mean time he looks for Peach. This alone shows you that the story is bland in many regards, failing to transcend that of prior titles. Really, SMG comes down to its platforming, far more than its story.

As a game, not a book, nor a movie, Galaxy shines. It takes the Mario universe we all know and love, and adds nothing but good aspects. Moves such as long and wall jumps return from Super Mario 64, while shooting star bits (the food of your little star friends) can stun enemies. Add that with gravity, twirls, and the like, and conquering planets and enemies is truly interesting.

Power ups are plentiful, too. 1 Up mushrooms, which provide you an additional life, are extremely common, taking a level of difficulty off of the title. Other such power ups, like the Bee Suit and Freeze Mushroom are around too, each limited to one level or section. These add a unique spice to the game, and an unprecedented flavor. Clinging on to walls and flying around as Bee Mario is more than fun, while walking on (frozen) water is almost biblical.

Part of Galaxy, though, is transversing the galaxy itself. One can't simply jump off of a planet to reach the next; that's an act that will send you into a black hole, and down a life. Finding Launch Stars, magical stars that "shoot" you, is part of the necessity in travel. Likewise, within regions of space, travel comes "grabbing on to" blue orbs with gravitational pull. Collecting Power Stars and Star Bits are extremely important, too, as they open up new areas to explore. Really, it's traditional fare, and it shows that aspects of the title are dated, but at least semi-unique.

I Can Fly Higher Than A Paratroopa. Because you are the launch star, beneath my feet.

Within the galactic adventure are a number of interesting mini games. Waggling the Wii remote to control a stingray, for instance, makes an interesting diversion. These type of distractions contribute to the overall adventure, which is definitely a bonus. One qualm, though, is that the Wii Remote and Nunchuk are extremely reactive on some aspects, and fail to register your commands during others. Frustration obviously ensues, and televisions get smashed. However, that issue aside, they generally add more depth to SMG.

The issue noted with the controls of the nunchuk/remote combo occur from time to time in the main story, too. A lot of Galaxy is precision, and these kind of nuisances aren't needed, nor wanted. Generally speaking, the controls feel natural. Shaking to do a spin is right up there on the scale of best use of the remote, but some controls, like horizontal jumps make heavy use of buttons, and grow tiresome after a while. In spite of the shortcomings, the controls are still fluid. I'm not sure how, per se, but they are.

Moreover, Galaxy succeeds where many Wii titles don't, the artistic side. Graphically speaking, they are among the best on the Wii to date. They have a certain cutesy appeal, on the character models anyways, and the backgrounds are breathtaking. In fact, water effects are even in place, which isn't common on the Wii, even today. Lighting is in place too, brilliant lighting too. The locales go from underwater (and quite vibrant) to deep space and gloomy. This is another instance in which the graphics haven't had to be stellar because they perfectly suit the title.

Wario gets all the good stuff....

Music is absolutely the best part of the title, though. Space Junk Galaxy and Battle Rock Theme are both oddly eerie. Other songs are upbeat, while others yet are brisk and lively. There is music for every situation in Galaxy, and some will go down in Nintendo's history as most memorable, much like the Star Wolf Theme from Star Fox 64, or the traditional Mario theme. Furthermore, the grunts, cheers, and lovely voice acting are only matched by the beauty of a meteor shower. Yes, I'm serious. In terms of SFX and voice acting, these are incredibly polished on SMG. The sound department should be awfully proud of themselves.

Sadly, not everything lives up to spec. Multiplayer is half baked, letting a second player take control of the adorable Luma hiding underneath Mario's' hat, shooting star bits at foes. It seems undeveloped, really. Wifi, too, would have been a nice addition. Giving players the chance to show records on the mini-games, or co-operative work from afar would have both worked. Sadly, SMG lets you down in this regard. It's a fulfilling experience in terms of single player, but a lot is left to desire if you want to play with friends.

In fact, a lot is left to be desired in terms of playing back through it. A harder difficulty is presented, but there is no real accomplishment for getting each and every star. No true multiplayer also wrecks this, throwing SMG into a black hole. Even the wildly variant difficulty, in which babies could play some levels while seasoned gamers will cringe at others, throws Galaxy into uncharted regions. Regions left best unexplored. Going through Galaxy is awkward enough once, but you can validate a second trip. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no reason to do it a third. Really, lasting appeal just isn't present.

Rock...paper....scissors.

Mario Galaxy heads out into new frontiers, taking Mario into space. While the music, graphical prowess, and gameplay really deliver, the multiplayer, story, and appeal all go down the tubes. No part of Galaxy is bad, by any means, but the Mario team just didn't give their best here. Surely they'd realize a googol lives is unnecessary, and that fans want a deeper multiplayer experience. They didn't. Luckily for us, they did answer the call of 360/PS3 owners, whom are used to quality in terms of sound and graphics. Many aspects of SMG are rehashed to an insane extent from prior titles, but if it ain't broke, why fix it? My numerous issues with Super Mario Galaxy are clear, but Galaxy is still a shining star in a system starved for light. It delivers what is expected of Mario; a deeply satisfying platformer anyone can enjoy. Nothing more, nothing less.

___

Notes:

NS2 RT Round IV Entry.

Exclusive Property of NSFCD.com and Mackormoses.

Constructive Criticism welcome.

[ThePowerOfOne]

Eh. I thought the game was alright. Not the best Wii game ever like everybody was saying when it came out. I guess i'm just not that big of a Mario fan.

[Macawmoses]

Eh. I thought the game was alright. Not the best Wii game ever like everybody was saying when it came out. I guess i'm just not that big of a Mario fan.

I agree. Out of ten, I'd give it an 8, at best.

[SkyMyl]

That basically sums up the entire game.

[Nayrman]

Too easy, too short, not enough fun.
Good overall but nothing spectacular. If it wasn't for the pointless FLUDD stuff from Sunshine this would easily be Mario's weakest game....

[shadowmarioguy]

The game itself was good, but it didn't seem to live up to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine.  This was the first time it wasn't much of a challenge for me to collect all 120 stars.

[Macawmoses]

Most definitely. Mario Clash was better....yeah/

[Ron]

This pretty much sums my total thoughts on the game into a perfect review.
Gotta agree with you on pretty much everything.

However, I would change the release date to 2007, not 2008.
:P

[Macawmoses]

Whoops, thanks.