Not since the disastrous Mario Sunshine has Mario undertaken an adventure in the third dimension. That is, until now. Released just a few weeks ago, Super Mario Galaxy was Nintendo’s effort to pull itself out of the small rut it has been stuck in for the past few years.
Let’s face it: Of all the titles of the GameCube, none were truly remarkable, with the possible exceptions of Super Smash Bros. Melee and Paper Mario 2. Luigi’s Mansion was fun, but just too short, Mario Kart Double Dash lacked the great track designs of its predecessor for the N64, and Sunshine… well, you already know about that, right?
Even these past Wii games have been rather sub par. Super Paper Mario, while it provided some interesting new innovations, is probably the least enjoyable of the Paper Mario series; Mario Party 8 had its own glaring flaws; and as for Mario Strikers Charged, just read my Review of it.
Galaxy has the chance to change all of that. Boasting fully orchestrated music and new and improved graphics, Galaxy was Nintendo’s best shot of reigniting the gravy train, a throwback to the glory days of the SNES and the N64. Does Galaxy land among the stars, or does it sputter and fall back to Earth… or, rather, Plit?
All ratings are out of five. You know the drill.
Story: 4/5
By the time I
finished up the game, I was quite impressed with the storyline. During
the Mushroom Kingdom’s annual Star Festival, celebrating the centennial
passing of a comet that rains stars upon Plit, Bowser launches a massive
air raid of Toad Town. The Mushroom Kingdom’s capital city is leveled,
and Peach’s castle is torn up from its foundation and lifted into space
and hauled all the way to the center of the universe. Mario, following
Bowser into space, is knocked unconscious and awakes sometime later on
one of Plit’s moons.
Mario is taken to the Comet Observatory, a large spaceship that turns out to be the “comet” that passes over Plit once every 100 years. Rosalina, captain of the Observatory, explains to Mario that Bowser snatched not only the princess but the Power Stars that power the Observatory. Mario’s task is to gather the Stars that have been scattered throughout the universe so that the Observatory can travel to the center of the universe; here, Bowser plans to establish a galactic empire and rule every corner of the universe. I won’t spoil anything, but the end of the game features a surprise twist in the plot.
Really, you’ll only find a better storyline in an RPG.
Characters: 3/5
Standard fare
here. You’ve got Mario, Peach, Bowser, Bowser Jr, the aforementioned Rosalina,
a brigade of Toads, and Luigi even tags along to help Mario recover some
Power Stars. Nothing too special, and I would’ve given it just a 2 were
it not for Luigi, who, despite being my favorite, was nowhere to be found
in either Super Mario 64 or Sunshine. There’s also a Magikoopa called Kamella,
who apparently is Bowser’s head Magikoopa.
Graphics: 5/5
Wow. These are
truly the best graphics in a Nintendo game yet. They’re better than Melee’s,
better than Luigi’s Mansion’s, even better than Twilight Princess’ graphics.
Everything is smooth, shiny, and full of color and life. The skies above
the planets look great, and when you’re hopping from planetoid to planetoid
in outer space, you’ll never see just a plain, starry backdrop; brilliant
nebulae and star clusters really show what the Wii is capable of.
Sound/Music: 6/5
6/5? Is that
even possible? If the graphics are impressive, they’re nothing compared
to the music. Most of the music here is orchestrated, except for the classic
Mario tunes, which were kept synthesized for nostalgia’s sake. The music
fits the galaxies perfectly: The Melty Molten Galaxy, which is filled with
erupting volcanoes and lava jets, features dramatic, dangerous-sounding
music. The Beach Bowl Galaxy has a great tropical theme, and the music
that plays when you must grab 100 purple coins in a limited amount of time
just screams “Hurry Up!” The music that plays as the credits roll is probably
the best in the game, because it sounds just as an ending music should:
Victorious, with an air of finality. Up until now, I’ve always felt that
Super Mario RPG had the best soundtrack ever. But it’s time for SMRPG to
stand aside, because the rightful owner of that crown has arrived.
Controls: 3/5
Super Mario Galaxy
is truly the most disorienting game you’ll ever play. In space, if you,
say, jump off of a platform, you won’t fall to your death (usually not,
at any rate), you will simply gravitate towards that platform or another
one with a larger gravitational force. It’s a great concept, and I love
it, but you do have to get used to the idea of moving around in 360 degrees.
Rather than jumping, you perform your main attack, a spin, by shaking the
Wii remote, thereby stunning any enemies you make contact with. Also, in
grand Mario tradition, the camera tends to change angles on you mid-jump,
oftentimes leading to death by falling into a black hole. Overall, the
controls are very responsive, but they take a lot of time to get used to.
Gameplay: 5/5
If you played
Super Mario 64, then this’ll be nothing unexpected. Flying to galaxies
and collecting Power Stars is the fundamental principle. Each galaxy houses
several Stars, and is broken up into several different episodes. The more
Stars you collect, the more of the game you unlock; defeating a main boss
results in a Grand Star, which greatly increases the power to the Observatory.
Prankster Comets also enter certain galaxies, forcing you to replay certain
Stars but with perhaps a time limit or one measly wedge of health (these
are evil; get hit once, and you must start all over again). Throughout
the game, you can collect small, multicolored Star Bits that can be used
to buy certain rewards, or you can just throw them at enemies to daze them.
Other than that, there’s really not a whole lot more to say; textbook gameplay
format here.
Levels: 5/5
Wow, another 5/5! There are over 40 galaxies to explore in the game, all of them wildly different. Some will place you on a full planet with its own atmosphere, while others are simply loosely connected planetoids floating in outer space. There are two galaxies in particular that I want to draw your attention to: the Dreadnought Galaxy, which is a large battleship complete with all kinds of turrets on its outer hull; and the Space Junk Galaxy, which, as the name implies, is a large flotilla of trash floating around in space.
Items/Powerups:
3/5
You’ve got a
decent selection here: The classic Fire Flower allows you to throw fireballs,
the Ice Flower allows you to create icy platforms over water, and the Rainbow
Star makes you invincible (there are more, of course). Somehow, though,
64’s caps were more fun to use. The items all work very well in general,
but good luck controlling that spring.
Difficulty: 3/5
Noticing a pattern
here? Yes, Galaxy seems to be split between 5/5 and 3/5. The 60 Stars needed
to face Bowser are very easy to get, and the bosses are quite easy. Getting
all 120 Stars, on the other hand, is a considerably more difficult. A few
missions will strain your skills, but the game is just a little too easy
for my tastes.
Replayability:
3/5
Another average
score. There are two sides to this story: On one hand, getting all 120
Stars is relatively easy (it only took me a little over a week), and once
you’ve gotten them once, it isn’t so hard to get them again. On the other
hand, once you beat the game with all 120 Stars, you are presented with
another, slightly more difficult challenge. Galaxy’s one of those games
that you’ll beat, put away for a while, then come back to when you’ve forgotten
about some of the Power Stars and the experience is more fresh.
Fun Factor!: 5/5
Super Mario Galaxy
is simply a joy to play. The diverse levels and innovative gameplay makes
this a game that you will truly hate to put down. Once you start playing,
I guarantee you’ll be hooked.
Overall: 5/5
Congratulations,
Nintendo, you did it! Super Mario Galaxy is the greatest game to be released
since the days of the N64. It’s not perfect, but it is about as close to
perfect as you can get. Is it better than SM64? No, but it’s not worse,
either. Galaxy’s incredible-ness makes Sunshine seem like less of a disaster,
and more of a slight hiccup. This is the one game that should top everyone’s
wish list during this holiday season!
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