Super Mario Galaxy Review
by sean09
by sean09
Title: Super Mario Galaxy
Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: November 12th, 2007
Genre: 3-D Platformer
Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: November 12th, 2007
Genre: 3-D Platformer
Mario has been basically the iconic symbol of the video game industry for the past 25 years. With him we have saved princesses, defeated Bowser, raced go karts, gone golfing, even had a few parties. Now, we join Mario in, of all places, outer space. And believe me, you do not want to miss this journey.
Story
Mario games have never been known for their epic stories, emotional characters, and stunning plot twists. Super Mario Galaxy isn't an exception. Just like the previous 2 Mario 3-D platformers (and the dozens of other games before it), the evil Bowser has kidnapped Peach, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. Our overall clad hero is invited to the Star Festival, which commences every 100 years for the comet that passes over the Kingdom. Bowser and his son crash the party by taking the castle and making off with it into outer space. Mario tries to save the Princess, but he fails, and is instead launched into space himself by a Magikoopa.
Picture courtesy guide2games.org
He awakes on a small planet, and eventually meets Rosalina, who runs a spaceship called the Planet Observatory. She lives there with her army of Lumas and fly across the cosmos. She agrees to help Mario save Peach, but they cannot go anywhere, because they need the fuel of the Power Stars, which, Bowser has conveniently taken as well. So, off Mario goes, to find the 120 (even though only 60 are needed to complete the story) Power Stars and the 5 Grand Stars.
Gameplay and Controls
The gameplay and controls in Super Mario Galaxy are nothing short of absolutely amazing. For the controls, they make perfect use of the Wii remote, not making it extremely obvious and gimmicky like a lot of other Wii titles do, and they implement what you do with them perfectly into the game. For instance, using the Wii remote as a fan to blow Mario while he's in a bubble, or using it to collect star bits (which you can feed Hungry Lumas with to open new planets, or stun your enemies with). On top of the 3 regular jumps he had in the previous Mario games, he can now do a spin when he jumps, which comes in handy a lot. As for gameplay, it is also superb. Galaxy's gameplay sets a new bar for all games that will ever follow it, combining both classic and newly developed experiences for gamers who have been gaming since the NES days, as well as children who's first game console is the Wii. The difficulty is perfect. It's not extremely difficult to the point where it feels like the games idea of you having fun is giving you a punch to the jaw, but not exactly a cakewalk either. There are a few gripes I have with Galaxy though. One of them being some of the power ups. A few of them, such as the Boo Suit, Fire Suit, and Bee Suit are fun, creative, and just a blast to play as. But, another couple of them I really hated (I'm looking at you, Spring Mario). The controls were horrible, it's hard to control, and it kind of makes you wonder what the developers were high on while they thought of the idea. And, even though it's not part of the gameplay, another con I had about the game was the complete lack of story what so ever. All we've been doing for the past 25 years is save the princess, a change just to spice things up would be a welcome addition to the Mario series.
Graphics, Sound, and Design
Picture courtesy of game-boyz.com
The graphics of Super Mario Galaxy push the Nintendo Wii to it's limits. The colors, character models, and environments are stunning. Nintendo EAD Tokyo went above and beyond with the visuals of Mario Galaxy. Even more beautiful and memorable than the graphics and level design is the purely amazing music. A fully orchestrated OST remarkably done by Mahito Yakota and a symphony of talented musicians. The music heard in the galaxies, the Comet Observatory, and even the theme song are wonderful. All of the music in Super Mario Galaxy is wonderful, my personal favorite being ?Family? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dbZkJ3_mnU]. The level design in Super Mario Galaxy is great as well, with varying themes from beaches to junkyards to airships. Flying through space as Mario, just looking at the planets and the environments around you is extremely entertaining. Super Mario Galaxy rivals Xbox 360 games in terms of visuals, and nothing is even close to it in terms of sound and level design.
Closing Comments
Long story short, Super Mario Galaxy is a gem. It should not be missed, under any circumstances. Anyone from a hardcore FPS fan to the casual child gamer will love this game. If you own a Wii, buy Super Mario Galaxy, and if you don't buy one, and then buy Super Mario Galaxy. This game will no doubt go down as one of the greatest games ever made, and will be remembered for decades even after this generation ends.
