Super Mario Galaxy Review
Finally, the time has come, i actually have the time to review the game i had been planning to review since November 12th, and this is officially the first game i have had to write down notes for (In my other reviews, it was literally all free-styling). I remember distinctly on November 16th, the date it came out in England, and my anticipation was way higher than any of my friends, you have to remember that the last Mario game we had was Super Mario Sunshine, and that was 5 freakin' long years ago. So i got it on the very first day, pre-ordering it from amazon, and it was almost as if i was a 5 year old kid again, i remember exactly how i felt when i played Super Mario Brothers 3, and just a bit of that excitement came back to me for this game.
Super Mario Galaxy is the direct-successor to Super Mario Sunshine, which appeared on the Gamecube in 2002. Previews of the game were showed at E3 2006, and Demo's were also shown, all of which recieved very positive reactions from practically all major Gaming Businesses. Mario Galaxy has practically had its @s* Humped by professional critical reviews, stating Mario Galaxy to be one of Mario's greatest adventures yet, wether it be in the main series, or any of the spin-off series. It has won "Game of the Year" awards a-plenty, and has been voted game of 2007 on numerous occasions.
So many things about Mario Galaxy, if you are an old school Mario gamer, are going to catch your attention, and make you smile for months, i call these the "Retro Features", these include: Warp Pipes play a bigger role in the game than they did in Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine, playing a bigger role rather than the minor ones with the games i have mention above. The Question Block has finally made its long-awaited return to the series, unlike Mario 64 and Sunshine, although the Question Block only gives Star Bits (This will be explained later), not any Power Ups, or Coins. Ofcourse once again the Goomba's return, were Goomba's in Sunshine? I cant remember, but from what i CAN remember, no i dont think they were (By the way, i do not think it has been this much fun to stomp the s**t out of Goomba's before this). Stars are also used instead of Shine Sprites, i guess another blow towards Sunshine and another return to form with the N64 style. Later on in the game you are going to find out about something called The Trial Galaxies, and these to me are very reminisent of The Star Path from Super Mario World. Suits are used frequently in this game, having more power ups than all of the 3D games so far, which is great for me, because i loved SMB3 style, having to use loads of suits frequently, and to rap it up, There are bosses in each dome, so whichever dome your getting stars from, your always going to go against a boss at the end.
Now onto the controls, and what can i say, there perfect. There amazingly fluid, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuck work like a charm together, you'll actually be asking yourself how you hadnt used this control scheme in Mario 64 and Sunshine. Whats even more awesome is your not just using the same system of controls all the way through the game, there are different ways of using the Wii Remote through the domes, stuff like Ray Surfing and using a huge ball and the Wii Remote as an arcade stick (sort of) to control where Mario is going, or even having Mario in a bubble, and using the Wii Remote to move Mario around, kind of like a fan. All of these things are amazing fun to do and they never over-step what there trying to do. It almost feels as if the Wii-Remote was revolving around this game when they were creating it.
Talking about the Graphics, they look just great, simply stunning for what the Wii can do, and it also shows that the Wii can pack much more than what its actually showing us right now, this game, and games like Sonic and the Secret Rings are prime examples of what creators could do Graphically with Wii games if they tried. This game definately shows some, or THE best Wii Graphics to date. And just how colorful, and detailed the backgrounds, Characters and alike are in the actual game is just amazing, the Cinematics, and the in-game graphics look breathtaking. Even small, inconciderate things you wouldnt usually bother to look at such as Star Bits, or Coins, look just great.
Throughout the Mario universe in this game, your going to notice the obvious music change compared to games like Mario 3, or Mario 64. It seems that Nintendo had hired there own Mario Galaxy Orchestra to do the soundtrack to this game. Now, this may not be a bad thing, sure it sounds pretty cool, and its a change, but for me it feels as if its lost that kind of "Midi" soundtrack charm that the Mario universe is so famous for. So yeah, its feels as if Mario has lost the Midi department, but otherwise its all good, the soundtrack is listenable, and sometimes catchy.
I think the big thing that Mario fans are going to figure out eventually is that Mario Galaxy goes straight back to the sidescrolling basics of the earlier games, such as Mario 3, or Mario 64, Mario World etc. The general mission of getting a star by following a straight foward path, and stomp Goomba's and pick up Power Ups on the way, and once more i think Mario fans are really going to appreciate this back-tracking, because from where im standing Mario may have gone back, but hes taken a step in the right direction once again. Another thing is that it feels as if the Mario Galaxy creators hit the X Mark on the difficulty, they have taken care of this so well, because it seems to have the perfect balance of difficulty for both begginner Mario players, and advanced Mario players.
This isnt to say that Mario Galaxy doesnt have its flaws, the Camera Angle isnt half as good as the Mario 64 Camera Angle, am i picking? sure, but thats what i am, im a critic. The Camera Angle generally is decent to you, but sometimes you will just get to an angle that it just doesnt like, and it wont let you change the angle. Also, the 2 Player is kinda Douche Bag'ey, thats all im saying on that. Also one more thing that annoys me is the fact that it doesnt save the freakin' 1Up Mushrooms when you go to open your file, like it does the Star Bits and Stars. We have to collect about 50 freakin' thousand every time we play the game, we could of atleast had a life count! ofcourse all of this stuff is just a minor flaw, but still.
I would say that Mario Galaxy is good value for your money, i mean if your just completing the game with 60 stars your missing out anyway, but if you complete it with Mario AND Luigi (*Insert Spoiler Here*) and get 121 (*SPOILER ROFLCOPTER*) Stars, then your in for a real value treat, i had it since November 2007, and i completed it around April 2008, i mean sure im really damn slow at stuff, but thats besides the point. Also, if your a freak like me and you completed 9999 Star Bits with Mario and Luigi, then your in for a LONG ride, i advise that Good Egg Galaxy, or the first one in which you become Bee Mario/Luigi.
All in all, Mario Galaxy could well be (with Mario 64) the best 3D Adventure/Platforming game ive played so far. This game is just so much fun to play, you will actually find it hard to put down the NunChuck and Wii-Mote. Mario takes one step back, and then twenty five steps foward in this game, and this is how much Mario evolved from Sunshine. When i finally completed the game, i was actually pretty sad, as i had just ended an era which probably wont be around for another five years, and that will be on Nintendo's new console after the Wii. This game is the Wii's greatest accomplishment, 2007's greatest accomplishment, and it just pushes Mario back to form once again. Lets hope that other games on the Wii can hold on to that sense of awesomeness that Mario Galaxy has.
