Super Mario Galaxy

I have had the Wii for quite some time now and realized that I have never given my thoughts on most of the games I have played for it. This includes one of my new favorite games, Super Mario Galaxy.

I have always been a Nintendo fan, especially a Mario fan, since as far back as I can remember. I've always loved platforming and running Mario through the different levels. Although I was part of the few who actually enjoyed Super Mario Sunshine, I realized that it was missing something. Too much of the level design was theme based and everything about the game had a tropical feel to it, due to the island setting. Super Mario Galaxy is a return to form for our favorite plumber. It puts him back in the kinds of levels we ran around in Super Mario 64. More random puzzles and levels filled with goombas and other familiar enemies.

To start off, the game looks beautiful on the Wii. The Wii may not be able to produce the best graphics of this generation, but Nintendo knows how to make their games pretty. Everything has great lighting and shading, and the world is filled with bright and rich colors. I found myself repeating levels not only because they were fun, but because they were so much fun to just stare at (specifically Gusty Gardens).

The new element that has been added into the mix is gravity. You'll find yourself having to run around spherical planets and levels. You'll jump straight up from the sphere and find yourself flipped upside down on the planet above it. This adds a great deal of fun to each puzzle. As much as I love just classic Mario platforming, this new addition of gravity made the game that much better that I can't imagine it without it. I'd like to see where they can go next. Adding a feature like that improved upon the gameplay so much that I am begging they do something similar, not necessarily gravity, with there other franchises. The Metroid and Zelda franchise, while still fantastic, could use a gameplay reboot.

Another great addition to Super Mario Galaxy is the ability to have someone play with you and collect all the star pieces around the level for you. This allows them to shoot the pieces at enemies and help clear paths for you. It sounds pretty simple and is probably meant for a parent to be able to play with their kids, but my girlfriend and I had a blast with it. She wasn't interested in the 3D platforming but still wanted to play the game. This "Co-Star" mode was a prefect addition for that.

Super Mario Galaxy: 5/5

I say that Super Mario Galaxy is one of my new favorite games simply because the style, level design, gameplay, and overall production value were through the roof. I've rarely had this much fun playing a video game. Some levels are a lot harder than others, and can prove stressful at times, but I had a big smile on my face just running Mario around in this new world. It reminded me why I like to play video games. I like shooters, RPGs, and racing games as much as every other gamer, but sometimes nothing can beat perfect platforming, and stringing triple jumps together.