Super Mario Galaxy Review

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Back in 1996, a revolutionary thing happened. Video games would never be the same again. Super Mario 64 was the first game ever to pioneer into the land of 64-bit 3D video games. It was a revolution in video games.

A few months later in 1997, Nintendo interviewed the game's director, Shigeru Miyamoto, who suggested that a Super Mario 128 may be in the works. And for years after this, the gaming world went wild.

And even so, Nintendo teased us. At Spaceworld 2000, they created a technical demo called, "Mario 128" which showed off the Gamecube's processing power. In 2001, there was an event match in Super Smash Brothers Melee called "Super Mario 128".

Finally, in 2007, Shigeru Miyamoto finally addressed what happened to Super Mario 128 over the years, at his keynote speech at the Game Developers Conference. He explained how one part of the project was to be able to manage large amounts of characters at once, which is what the Spaceworld demo ultimately was, and he also said that this piece of Mario 128, was put into a game called Pikmin for Gamecube. He said the rest of it, became what is now known as Super Mario Galaxy.

So yes, Super Mario Galaxy is Super Mario 128, and that means it may or may not have been in the works for the past 10 years. We may never know. But what we do know is this: Super Mario Galaxy is the only game that is worthy enough to be called a sequel to Super Mario 64.

But enough history, let's get into the game itself:

Story (6.5 out of 10):

Not to much thought was put into making the game's story. It is probably one of the most un-original storylines I have ever seen actually. And, it's pretty much the same as every single other Mario game that Nintendo has released. That doesn't make it bad, or make the game any less entertaining. But it's just the usual:

Well, every 100 years a comet soars over the Mushroom Kingdom and every 100 years the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom celebrate by throwing a carnival, of sorts. And of course, who else is going to come throw everyone off guard during this party? Hmm.... Perhaps, Bowser? Yeppers. So, this time Bowser generally comes to steal the princess, but not in the usual way. No. This time, he rips Peach's castle right out of the ground! Heh....

Deja Vu?

It's weird because I could've sworn that Paper Mario opened the exact same way.... Hmm.... Didn't Mario get knocked out by Kammy Koopa in that game, and once he awoke he spoke to a Star Spirit who told him everything that was going on? Isn't that exactly what happens here? Yes! Now, you see what I mean by un-original. XD!

That's all there really is to the main storyline. There's also an optional storyline that you can read about in a library later on the game. But this is rather boring. All it really does is tell about the life of a new character named, Roslina. Good thing, it's optional.

Fortunately, story is the weakest part of the game. It all goes uphill from here!

Graphics (10 out of 10):
This is easily one of the games strong points. Super Mario Galaxy, easily have the best graphics on the Wii. It can easily be said, the Mario has never looked so good, and here it is apparent how very under-rated 480p actually is! These graphics aren't just "good for the Wii". They're good, for any console!

Not to mention that the game runs very smoothly in 16:9 wide-screen the entire time! This game shows that there really isn't any excuse for developers who blame poor graphics on the fact that their game is on Wii.

In fact, along with the amazing and unique level design, you may find yourself awe-struck as you play.

Sound (10 out of 10):

It could easily be said that this is one of the better soundtracks to come out of Nintendo. Sure, people may complain there is barely any voice acting, but I personally like it better that way. It doesn't tarnish your own image of a characters that way. Besides, remember what happened when Bowser got a voice actor? *shivers*

Plus, Mario is still as cheerful as ever and the normal jump sounds and all of the basics are perfectly spot on.

And Nintendo did meet one demand this time around. This is one of the major complaints against Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess....

Almost every single piece of music in the Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack is fully orchestrated! And orchestrated quite nicely might I add. This is one of those soundtracks that you'll find yourself humming without even realizing it. It has the kind of music you'll get stuck in your head for days without end! And it's one of the few video game soundtracks that you could listen to straight without any sort of remix added to it.

It's that good! Of course, this soundtrack also features old and classic Mario tracks redone, remixed, and entirely revamped! And the new tracks do sound pretty also! :P

Presentation (10 out of 10):

This game will have you in awe from beginning to end. Every cut-scene from the introduction to the very last boss fight is done beautifully in a very action-packed cinematic sort of way.

Actually, go ahead, compare this with, Super Mario Sunshine. That opening cut-scene was with Mario idle, asleep, and dreaming about food. In this one, Mario is knocked unconscious while Peach's castle is ripped from the ground! It's intense! (Yeah, it may be unoriginal, but last time Peach's castle was ripped from the ground was, Paper Mario.... PAPER is the keyword! It feels so much more intense this time!)

Now, onto level-design. If you thought the whole gravity gimmick was how the entire game was going to play out, think again! It isn't just a 3D platformer, there are also times when it'll switch into being like a 2D side-scrolling platformer, and sometimes, planets will be so huge, that it'll feel like you're on flat-ground again. This is truly and simply a Super Mario 64 in space.

Yeah, you'll have your same typical variety of levels. You'll have your sand-world, lava-world, water-world, ice-world, and all the basic worlds you've seen from other Nintendo games. But then you'll also have amazingly unique levels that you can't even categorize and the wide-assortment and variation of these levels is so awesome that no two levels will ever be alike. It feels like a fresh-new game with each new galaxy you explore.

Aside from level-design, you can also team-up with a buddy in a sort of co-op mode. But I'll talk more about this in the gameplay section of the review.

Throughout your adventure you'll collect Star Bits. These Star Bits act as both the game's form of currency and as weapons. This time around coins are here only fro the purpose of healing yourself and getting high-scores in levels (as in the original Super Mario 64).

On the note of high-scores, you can take screen-shots of your high scores, achievements and mini-game records, post them to your Wii Message Board, and send them to your friends over WiiConnect24.

When you first begin your adventure you'll start in the Comet Observatory, this acts as a sort of Overworld in your quest (like Princess Peach's Castle was in Super Mario 64). And here, you can't die. Try it, go ahead, jump off! You'll get dragged back anyway! This will help stop embarrassment if your friend is watching you play. :P

And as in any Mario game, there is also a nice share of power-ups here. These power-ups include classics like Fire Mario from the original Super Mario Brothers to reiterations of old power-ups like a new form of the Wing Cap from Super Mario 64, to power-ups that are new to this game altogether like Bee Mario and Boo Mario, as most of you have seen from the E3 videos. Though, I bet nobody expected an Ice Mario or a Spring Mario! All and all power-ups aren't ever overused and are very satisfying!

The overworld is a bit smaller than Peach's Castle, which is a good thing, as it will be easier to travel between different world's this way. All of the levels are divided into Solar Systems, each Solar System has a set of galaxies you can play along with it, along with those few mini-games and special galaxies that you can play (in Super Mario 64, these types of levels were called "Castle's Secret Stars"). In all, there are over 40 galaxies to explore!

As in Super Mario 64, the main objective is to collect 120 power stars to restore power to the observatory. But you also have to collect 6 Grand Stars to beat the game (these would be the equivalent of castle keys in Super Mario 64). Technically, you can beat the game by collecting only 60 power stars, hard-core gamers will want to collect the full 120).

By taking the easy way out, and getting only half of the power stars, it'll take about 12 to 15 hours, on a difficulty that goes from easy to a bit challenging.

If you want to collect EVERYTHING, it could take around a nice 40 hours or so! And you'll find that after you collect the 1st 60 power stars, the last 60 stars are significantly harder and more challenging to find. And yet, the further you get into this game, the more enjoyable it will be!

You will find it incredibly hard to put your Wii Remote down once you start playing. But it isn't a game anyone would want to rush through. Take your time.

Gameplay (10 out of 10):

Ah, yes, gameplay. This is what I find is the most important part of any game. And this is where Super Mario Galaxy really shines!

Yes, it is on the Wii, but it doesn't abuse the Wii Remote like other games do. You control Mario by using the analog stick on the nunchuck in one hand, and in the other hand you have your Wii Remote, which you will use to do certain motions throughout the game, but for the majority of the time, you will be using it to collect Star Bits via an on screen cursor. As previously stated, your Star Bits act as both a currency and as weapons in the game.

Each time you complete a level, your Star Bits will be added with the rest of the Star Bits you have collected throughout your adventure, so each time you start a level you'll begin collecting star bits from scratch. Which you'll have to keep in mind as you are using them to attack enemies.

You use your Star Bits as weapons, point at an enemy via the on-screen cursor and press B, a star bit will shoot out and daze an enemy, so now all you'll have to do is kick that enemy to destroy them and get your reward of more Star Bits!

So, enemies will release either Star Bits or coins, depending upon how you defeat them. Defeat them with a Star Bit to get more Star Bits, defeat them any other way to get coins.

Now, for other "Wii-specific" controls. Shaking the Wii Remote will cause Mario to do a spin-attack, this is Mario's main method of attack throughout the game. Of course, you can't just keep spinning rapidly and such, so you'll have to keep in mind that there is a 3 second "charge time" of sorts before you could release another spin attack.

Though getting Star Bits and using spin attacks is what the Wii Remote will be primarily used for throughout the game, there are also certain levels where there are very Wii-specific controls. These, are pretty much for mini-games. All of the mini-games found within Super Mario Galaxy have their own unique control scheme which works and is perfected beautifully.

A surfing race is done by holding the Wii Remote straight forward while you turn the control right and left, as if you were turning a key in a door. In another mini-game, you'll be rolling a giant ball to the finish line, in which you'll hold the Wii Remote, like a joy-stick on an arcade machine. And no matter which mini-game you come across every control scheme works very well. And as with everything else in the game, there is no repetition to be found here.

And now, onto the co-op mode I mentioned briefly earlier. Here, any player can seamlessly enter the game at any time and take control of the on-screen cursor, which is a very nice addition to the game. And as Star Bits are so plentiful throughout the levels, the 2nd player will likely never get bored of collecting Star Bits and attacking enemies with them. And of course, the 2nd player wouldn't be required to use the Nunchuck.

And now onto the "gimmick" of the the game: gravity. How does gravity work in this game? Well, very nicely, that's how! The gravity work in Super Mario Galaxy is very intuitive, to say the least. And you WILL have to "re-wire" your thinking patterns for this one, to understand it. Here's an example: "I see another planet... Hmmm..... I wonder if my long jump can make it.... *long jumps* OH NO! I'm not gonna make it. AHHHH!" And then, at that moment gravity sucks you back in.

Actually, the only way you can possibly die by falling off a stage is if there is a black hole underneath you, so you'll need to check for that before you try any risky maneuvers. All and all the gravity adds loads to the gameplay and experience of Super Mario Galaxy. And every single planet or mass, no matter how small has some sort of gravitational pull to it. In fact, it's entertaining just to experiment and play around with the gravity effects alone. And like everything else in the game, it's very satisfying!

Lasting Appeal (9.8 out of 10)

Back in 1996, Nintendo didn't have much to work with when designing Super Mario 64, so for each mission you would find that you were ultimately taking and re-using the same paths to get all of the 120 power stars squeezed into that little N64 cartridge. Now, here we are, exactly 10 years later, where we find that there was by no means any sort of issue like that here. For each mission you'll find that you're taking a brand new path to reach the power star, and that you'll rarely be re-using anything on the quest to a Power Star, unless you choose to. So, every time you go on a new mission you'll be experiencing new planets within the same galaxy.

Everything in Super Mario Galaxy is "Super-sized", there are over 40 vast galaxies to explore, with dozens upon dozens of planets within each, on a quest for 120 power stars, that could easily take beyond 40 hours to finish (for best results: take your time playing this one, bragging rights aren't worth rushing through this game). Not to mention that even once the game is over, there are various side-quests and mini-games do add to the replay value.

And as far as mini-games go, you can even compete with your friends to see who has the best time by sending records back and forth over WiiConnect24. Also, aside from records and stats, the Wii Message Board is also utilized for you to receive messages from characters in the game.

In fact, the game is so addictive that once everything is said and done, you may find yourself wanting to go through the game again and again! And Nintendo obviously realized this when they made 12 game save slots! The replay value of this game is amazing, and you may find it will be taking over your life for a while, probably until Super Smash Brothers Brawl comes out! I know, you see, if we review or preview a game before it comes out, that copy of the game most likely isn't ours, and usually we have to send them back, but in this case, I'm actually looking forward to playing through the entire game again! It's just THAT fun!

Though I can't stress enough how much more you WILL enjoy the game by taking your time! (Or at least on your first run through the game)

Closing Comments

Super Mario Galaxy has been hyped like anything by Nintendo, from the tons of television commercials, to making statements as bold as this game being the only worthy sequel to Super Mario 64. And while, the storyline isn't anything to boast about, everything else about the game is solid, and has far surpassed my initial expectations.

This is finally the classic 3D Mario type gameplay we've wanted out of Nintendo. We were incredibly disappointed with Super Mario Sunshine (not that it was a bad game, but just that it didn't meet expectations...) and we were a bit skeptical when gravity was announced as a factor of Super Mario Galaxy. But now, we can put our minds at ease.

Previously on GamersCast, we discussed the possibility of Super Mario Galaxy being game of the year, but then we quickly ruled it out after comparing it to games like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4, but this was of course before we had our hands on the game. And now, it can easily be said that Super Mario Galaxy not only has some shot at Game of the Year, but a VERY good shot at that! Master Chief better watch his back!

Now, that I've played through the game, I can easily say that Nintendo was not bluffing when it came down to making the bold statements they have about this game. Yes, I am going to say it. This IS easily one of Nintendo's best games. This IS easily one of the greatest platformers I have ever set my hands on. This IS the best game out for the Wii. This IS better than Super Mario 64. AND, this IS truly the Mario 128 that we have been waiting for.

I originally only expected to give Mario galaxy a 9.6 at most, but now that I've played it, I couldn't imagine giving it a score any less than a.....

Final Score: 10 out of 10


Sub-Scores:

Story: 6.5 out of 10
Graphics: 10 out of 10
Sound: 10 out of 10
Presentation: 10 out of 10
Gameplay: 10 out of 10
Sound: 10 out of 10
Lasting Appeal: 9.8 out of 10




Final: 10 out of 10