Super Mario Galaxy Review
Written by Nicholson on Monday, 3 of December , 2007 at 9:16 pm
When man finally popped out of the primordial soup of the universe he created Mario. Perhaps that statement was a bit hasty. As mythology has it, Adam, Eve and Miyamoto sat under the tree of knowledge every morning and late afternoon. One day Miyamoto stomped the shit out of Adam by jumping on his head and then had sex with Eve. Eve bore a pixelated baby named Mario and the world caught on fire by its awesomeness.
Mario seems to have been around forever, and for most gamers, he always has been. In this age of the gaming industry when the yearly search for that golden IP it is an unusual event for an IP to last decades. Not only has Mario games survived, but it has thrived on every platform ever introduced (minus that whole Virtual Boy thing. Fuck thermal goggles that play video games, right?) When Mario 64 was introduced, it ushered in an age of realizing what 3D space in video games could really be. Super Mario Galaxy attempts that same mold. With great gameplay and an even better expression of a 3D environment, Super Mario Galaxy is poised to be a game that transcends time just as much as Super Mario 64. Although Super Mario Galaxy is a tremendous game, there are still some minor flaws that are creepily akin to Super Mario 64.
Princess Peach is kidnapped again. Which begs the question, “What does Bowser do with her?” Certainly, there has to be some motivation involved. Does he just lock her up in a cell, cut off pieces of her hair and gently caress the strands while inhaling deeply? Is Bowser a sadist that likes watching Peach cry and send letters and mushrooms to Mario? Regardless, the opening scene features a brave Mario jumping to reach Bowser on his ship to no avail. Unfortunately, instead of keeping a terrestrial castle Bowser has decided to go intergalactic. Even though it really doesn’t matter, because its a Mario game, the rest of the story takes place on a space station that Mario needs to power using stars to try to reach Princess Peach.
Within that archetypal mode lies the gameplay. Just like Super Mario 64, players must traverse several different environments on the epic search for stars. One of the weakest points of Super Mario Galaxy is the fact that everything that can be done in the game has been done in Mario 64, particularly the level environments. First, the mechanics utilized to reach a level must be discussed.
In this rendition Mario is traversing numerous star systems systematically separated between initial point of entry as well as galaxies. The ship that Mario is stuck on has several teleporters in various points of interest in the ships. These entrances range from a kitchen to a bedroom. After gaining the appropriate number of stars to enter these areas of interest Mario is teleported to the star system associated with that entrance. From there the player can choose several different galaxies to go to, each of which have stars to gain by completing mission objectives. Hidden stars are also abundant in each of these galaxies, some of which can be accessed immediately while others require a bit of exploring in the ship beforehand. Once a galaxy is chosen, then the player has the ability to play in that level.
The levels are split up by which star the player chooses to go after. Once a star is achieved, the player can go back to the level and unlock different aspects of it to gain even more stars. Sounds familiar, does it? Each level has its own unique flavor, but all of them have a few simple aspects. Normally, the level has several different planets traverse. Planets are reached by either jumping, grabbing, or projectile. Also, practically every level emphasizes a certain mechanic of gameplay.
Mario is equipped with the usual gauntlet of actions. The game is controlled by both the Wiimote and Nunchuck attachment. The nunchuck controls ducking and moving, while the Wiimote allows the player to jump and shoot stars. Stars are practically the new coin, and they are positively littered throughout every level. They are collected by pointing the on-screen cursor directly over them. After pointing, the stars are automatically collected into the inventory. From there, Mario can shoot the stars with the “B” button at enemies and objects scattered throughout the game. Their effects are typically minimal (a minor stun, broken ice) but add a different level of gameplay unavailable in previous Mario incarnations. The wall jump, triple jump, spin, and butt stomp are all available through either button pushing or waggle movements with the Wiimote. The mechanics of Super Mario Galaxy are fairly intuitive to most players and should not provide a problem.
As previously stated, each level has its own unique look and feel within Super Mario Galaxy. Yet, it feels as if the completion of this game happened years ago. The ice and fire levels feel old and rickety. The underwater levels are still a pain in the ass, and even those fucking eels are back. The boss fights with Bowser in every system definitely conveys that someone at Nintendo ran out of ideas. The first few fights are just enhanced versions of the fights that every Nintendo 64 gamer ran through years ago. What makes everything feel a bit more fresh is this sense of enhanced 3D space. Mario can run upside around planets, jump and allow gravity to pull him to another planet. Initially, this is a big pain in the ass. The camera controls are not as helpful in this Super Mario Galaxy as it was in its predecessor. Rotating a camera while upside down is a confusing and somewhat bitter experience. Understandably, the controls invert while moving around objects and underneath planets. This certainly can cause some confusion for the player and several unnecessary deaths.
Included in this package is a very welcome addition – co-operative play. Even though Luigi does make an appearance in Super Mario Galaxy, the second player will never get to utilize him. This is not a traditional approach to co-op. Essentially, the second player can only point at stars to collect them for the first player and click on certain game elements. When the second player clicks on Mario, he jumps higher than typical. With a bit of timing, the second player can help in vital scenarios in which a steep ledge or new planet needs to be reached with a bit of a push. The second player can also click on enemies to stun them, as well as shoot stars. Overall, it is a fairly pleasant experience. It easily gives the second player the illusion of actually playing the game, so it’s great for bitchy girlfriends and children alike.
The graphics are very reminiscent of Mario 64. There are several instances of clipping throughout the game, and it can cause some infuriating incidents. Jumping through ledges as opposed to climbing them is not common, but definitely enough to notice the phenomenon. Often Mario’s hands will mystically travel through walls and enemies, thus creating another scenario of losing health for little reason. As an upside, the textures are wonderfully smooth and the framerate rarely stutters. Aside from Resident Evil 4, this is the best looking game on the Wii. Unfortunately, the graphics feel old. No-one expects amazing graphics on the Wii, but the game just appears to be so damn old. It would have been great to see a better variety of trees, Whomps, and Boos than the same models used in Super Mario 64.
At its core, this is a great game. It has tight gameplay, great physics, and excellent controls. It is everything I craved as a Wii owner. It’s nice to actually sit back and play a real game. I’m tired of seeing those bullshit party games filling up my local game store’s shelves. Unfortunately, Super Mario Galaxies offers almost nothing new in terms of gameplay. Yeah, co-op is fun and the star collection/shooting is new, but everything else has the feel of the series’ age. I would have loved to see a reorganization of the Super Mario series. This title is an excellent game, but it is certainly not perfect. I fully suspect the next Mario entry on the Wii to transcend this experience.
4/5 Stars
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Category: Wii Reviews
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