As we continue to clear out the backlog of games, Super Mario Galaxy found its way to the top of the list. The game received very positive reviews upon its release and, for the most part, I agree with them. It’s also pretty easy to lavish praise on the most iconic character in video games. The fan boys love it! I think the game is also well served by the fact that it’s one of the three or four Nintendo produced killer apps for the Wii that seem to be released annually.

On paper, Super Mario Galaxy is the Wii follow-up to the disappointing Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo Gamecube (a game I found vapid enough that I gave up playing it after an hour). For me, Super Mario Galaxy is more the spiritual successor to Super Mario Bros. 3 from back in the NES days. Being a child of the 80s and having seen The Wizard in theatres, I love Super Mario Bros. 3. Many of the levels in Galaxy have overtones similar to those in previous plumber adventures like deserts, water worlds, and of course lava filled dungeons. Where these levels really shine is in the gravity dynamic. Changing gravity and sticking to different surfaces adds a puzzle element to this platformer, something that was missing in previous Mario incarnations. The level design is stellar and I rarely found myself stuck with no idea of where to head next. Once a level is completed, you collect a star, of which there are 120 in the game. There is a reward for any completionist out there who has the determination to collect all 120. Without ruining the surprise, I’ll just say that doing so should make a future play through of the game a little…erm…different.

The story of the game also sticks pretty closely to the Mario games we’ve all played before. The princess is missing, Bowser is an evil jerk. You know how it goes. The graphics are pretty good considering the horsepower of the Wii but that’s the benefit that Mario’s cartoony style has over, say, the life-like graphics of The Lengend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Also on board are many of the Mario tunes from previous games both as background music as well as gameplay elements that play out as you chase down music notes. This game really is an homage to its former iterations.

Perhaps my favourite addition to the game is pseudo-co-op gameplay. Basically, all you need to do is turn on your second Wiimote and have a buddy help you pick up starbits and assist Mario with some otherwise difficult jumps. Collect 50 starbits and a 1Up is your reward. It’s a great addition for younger players who don’t just want to sit around and watch dad play Mario…they can join in the fun and help out.

There are a few things I would change about the game. First, and this is brought forth from the deepest depths of my game complaint centre, I would have like to have seen 120 unique levels. Some of the stars are gained by replaying a level with a time limit, only one hit point, etc. I always find this to be lazy game design. I’m not a big fan of time limits either but that’s another argument entirely. Another bothersome problem was the fact that the game, when saved, doesn’t save your lives. If you save the game with 32 lives, turn it off for the night and boot it up the next day…you start with 3 lives again. The penalty for losing these three lives? Waste 3 minutes of your life being booted all the way back to the intro screen and reloading your save, going back to the world you were in, loading the star you were trying to get and starting it all over again. Most of the time this isn’t a problem since levels have ample 1Ups and starbits but when you’re on a level like ‘Luigi’s Purple Coins’ you’ll know exactly where my frustration is coming from. There are little things here and there as well, just like any game, that I also found frustrating. More specifically, a camera complaint here and hair-pulling frustration with spring suited Mario there. At least he’s cute as a bee, I guess.

Enough complaining. Super Mario Galaxy is a great game. It’s not a revolutionary game by any stretch…but I don’t think it should be. It invents enough without completely changing what you would expect from a Mario game. Some other Nintendo franchises may want to try and imitate this same formula rather than releasing another cookie-cutter edition of their game…I’m looking at you, Zelda. I can see it now, Link in a bee suit…

As far as Sunshine goes, I think it’s a little heavy-handed to call a game you have never really played “disappointing”, but since I was no fan of the F.L.U.D.D. myself, I guess I won’t complain. Also, the elimination of the blue coins this time around was a plus for me.

Galaxy was the best Mario game since he went 3D. Any platformer is bound to have it’s frustrating levels, but it was really kept to a minimum in this one. Each world was well layed out, and the path you were supposed to take was clear and obvious. While staying true to the heart of the franchise, Nintendo still managed to make this game new and interesting. All the same old jump techniques were there, but they were complimented by new forms such as bee Mario, boo Mario, and (to Chris’s great frustration) spring Mario. This allowed for some new level elements that I thought were implemented really well.

As official 2P starbit collector, I can say that the co-op element was a welcome addition to the game. At first I was thinking it was kind of an unfair advantage over someone who had to play sans comrade, but that just isn’t true. In addition to the 2nd player being able to collect star-bits, and freeze enemies, they also have the somewhat unfortunate ability to accidentally make you jump to your death. Oops. I did this to Chris a few times, and with maybe 2 exceptions, he took it pretty well. The 2nd player can’t do anything that the first player couldn’t do alone with their own Wiimote, but having someone else take care of those things for you just frees up your concentration.

Alone or with a friend, I would recommend Galaxy to anyone who’s ever played a Mario game and liked it.

Also, I love Zelda just the way it is, so hush your mouth, Chris.