Super Mario Galaxy (Wii - 2nd completion)
I first played Super Mario Galaxy in 2009 and posted the review to my old Yahoo blog on November 19 that year. I didn't have the scoring system then so I'm providing it below and as you can see, the game has a near-perfect score! It ties with Super Mario Bros. 3 (in this case, the SNES All-Stars version) as my highest rated game since bringing in the scoring system. This playthrough was with Luigi, which made the game considerably difficult as he tends to have momentum problems compared to Mario - essentially not stopping on a dime when you need him to and tends to feel slippery.
I've copied and pasted the old review (all in italics) and the scoring below so this will be a different style review. My opinion of the game hasn't changed and I still had a blast replaying it 9 years later:
Yesterday I completed Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. I am absolutely blown away by how great a Mario game this is as I was quite skeptical of it, but Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto and the folks at Nintendo can still wow us even after over 20 years of games. I have gotten all 120 Power Stars and put in many hours of gameplay.
The story begins with Mario responding to an invitation from Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom to attend the centennial “Star Festival” as a comet was about to shoot across the sky. King Bowser arrives to crash the party with his fleet of airships and he summons a flying saucer which rips up Princess Peach’s castle and takes it into the galaxy. Failing to rescue her, Mario is flown across the universe and wakes up on a small planet. With him is a mysteriously beautiful woman named Rosalina with little cute star creatures called Lumas. She lives on a mobile space observatory and while she is willing to help Mario rescue his “Special One”, the observatory is powered by Power Stars which are scattered across various galaxies and planets. Bowser had stolen the Stars and Mario must search for them to power the observatory so he can find Bowser in the center of the universe. Mario will be aided by the Lumas, the Toad Brigade (subjects of the Mushroom Kingdom), and even his brother Luigi to save Peach and the entire universe.
To see the entire game, go here or below:
Click to viewAll of Super Mario Galaxy’s levels are interconnected from the observatory. There are rooms that are scattered all around that connect you to different galaxies so you can collect stars. Usually there are 3 major galaxies with about 5 stars to collect plus one or two separate galaxies with just one plus one galaxy with a boss battle. When you are victorious in a boss battles, you earn a Grand Star which counts toward your Star quota. Grand Stars power a section of the observatory and advances you toward another room to explore new galaxies. As you progress through the game, galaxies can only be accessed if you meet its quota so you won’t get very far if you are only getting a minimal amount. Once you meet or exceed its required amount, the galaxy will reveal yourself and you can fly to it for Star searching. Periodically, there will be a comet in a galaxy which creates a challenge to collect a star. You may have to defeat a mini-boss without getting hit once, race Mario’s doppelganger to the star, or complete a level within a time-limit.
Lumas are in various places in both galaxy levels and the observatory. Some offer you tips, others will boost you to different areas, and others need to be fed with Star Bits so they can transform into a planet or galaxy. Star Bits are these coloured rocks that appear almost everywhere and act as a kind of weapon for Mario (though hardly needed) but it is mainly to feed hungry Lumas. You can collect them by running up to them or using the star cursor on your Wiimote which makes it a breeze. Every 50 Bits (or coins) collected earns Mario an extra life.
The graphics in Super Mario Galaxy are incredibly superb and not too far from looking HD. While expectably cartoony, the detail and colour is very immersive with the added benefit of some texture. The game’s best feature has to be its level design! It is incredible! It also reminds me of Super Mario 64’s levels that blew us away back then and what it did for the Nintendo 64. The amount of imagination and design is top notch considering the different themed galaxies and planets you visit. A major help in this category is the way physics and gravity are manipulated in the galaxies. When you run under spherical shapes, you will appear upside down or on the side. Of course, not all planets and areas are spherical. You can still fall off of platforms and either get sucked into a black hole or simply keep falling to your doom. There are also 2D levels/situations thrown in which are a lot of fun and take advantage of the changing gravity.
I was really surprised on how well composed the music was! Instead of the usual style of music that we are used to in Mario games, most of the music was done by a symphony orchestra with some synthesizer thrown in. I would certainly buy the CD Soundtrack if it were available (it is available on Ebay from sellers in Japan but they are limited and expensive due to only being available to "Club Nintendo" members). A lot of the new tracks are really great and some of the remixes of classic Mario tunes are cool too (especially one of the level songs from Super Mario Bros. 3). There isn’t much in terms of voice acting as expected either than a word or two thrown in for emphasis. Charles Martinet once again voices Mario though I found a couple of his lines in the game’s ending out of place. Like in Super Mario 64 he says, “Thank you so much for playing my game!” though I liked how it sounded in 64. The classic sounds effects are very good and the sci-fi synthesized sounds fit very well.
As expected coming from Miyamoto and the folks at Nintendo’s EAD team, Super Mario Galaxy takes full advantage of the Wiimote and Nunchuck. The controls are somewhat similar to previous 3D Mario games but you will be required to shake the Wiimote to use a spin attack, use Launch Stars, unscrew large bolts, prompt Mario to skate on ice, etc. The control stick controls Mario’s movements while the “A” button has him jump or select things with the cursor. The “B” button in conjunction with the cursor, allows you to fire off Star Bits while the control pad moves the camera left or right or allow Mario to view things in first person (though some camera angles are fixed and renders the control pad useless). “Z” makes Mario duck, perform a back flip with the “A” button, or a long jump while he’s running when both are pressed at the same time. It’s very similar to past 3D Mario games. “C” is used for the centering the camera on Mario but doesn’t work in fixed spaces.
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There are some new and returning power-ups to help Mario progress. The "Fire Flower" finally returns as it wasn't in 64 and Sunshine. You can kill enemies, melt snow, and light torches as expected and you fire by flicking the Wiimote. A new addition is the "Ice Flower" that lets Mario produce ice under his feet on water surfaces so he can run or skate on. As for suits, there are at least three new ones. First is the Bee Suit which turns Mario into a Bee and lets him fly for a limited time though he can't sting (bummer!), but can crawl along honeycombs. His main weakness is water and will turn Mario back to normal when in contact. Second is the ghostly Boo Suit which turns Mario into a Boo. He can float around and pass through certain obstacles but has to avoid direct light and other Boos or he'll revert back to normal. Lastly, there is the Spring Suit which wraps around Mario and has him bounce all over the place and make really high jumps! It can be difficult to control and obviously he cannot stay in the same spot.
There are some mini-games that take advantage of the Wiimote though they can be frustratingly hard. One is a water course in which you ride a Manta Ray and you turn the Wiimote either left or right at a 90 degree angle to steer. I have died lots of times as you have to race against time and slow down at the right times to steer properly. Another is having Mario walk on top of a ball and your Wiimote mimic’s the strength of his movements. To make him stand still the Wiimote is held straight up neutrally and when you want him to move, you turn it in the direction you want to go.
As I said above, there are 120 Power Stars in the game - the same as previous 3D Mario games. You can only collect up to 105 as the final 15 can only be acquired after you defeat Bowser in the final battle. After the credits, you save your game and reload it to be issued the new “Purple Coins” challenge. Most galaxies (ones that had 5 stars) now have a Purple Comet on them which issues a challenging scavenger hunt for 100 purple coins in that galaxy. Some require you to search in every nook & cranny, others under a time limit, and others in obstacle courses. Beating the game with all 120 Stars unlocks a secret to replay the game from the beginning… (in this case, play as Luigi)
I should mention before ending my past comments of this review that there was in fact, 121 Power Stars in the game. I didn't know this back in 2009. Apparently, after getting 120 Stars and winning the final battle a second time, reloading your saved game and going to the "green star galaxy" (I forget the name but it's the one near Toad's spaceship on the observatory), there is a Luma that will take you back to the Mushroom Kingdom at the beginning of the game. You collect 100 purple coins and talk to the various NPCs before collecting the final star. I did it with Luigi first and then reloaded my 2009 Mario game and did it with him too. You don't get much from it either than a "Thank you" message from the game's developers and picture (of Mario and Luigi in their separate games) in the Wii Message Board. While nothing too great, it was a nice touch.
And now the final score:
Graphics/Art-10
Sound/Music-10
Music Samples:
Luma
Star Festival
To the Gateway
Good Egg Galaxy
Comet Observatory (1) (2) (3)
Honeyhive Galaxy
Blue Sky Athletics (originated from Super Mario Bros. 3)
Battlerock Galaxy
Bowser's Star Reactor (originated from Super Mario 64)
Beach Bowl Galaxy
Buoy Base Galaxy
Gusty Garden Galaxy
Toy Time Galaxy
Purple Coins
Bowser, Great Koopa King
Melty Molten Galaxy
Bowser's Galaxy Reactor
Final Bowser Battle
Final Bowser Battle (Choir)
Dawn -A New Morning-
Staff Credits
Control-9
Gameplay-10
Fun/Story/Misc-10
Total: 49/50 (Grade Level A+)
The Super Mario Galaxy main website is likely down for good but a small page still exists on Nintendo's website. The Wikipedia page is here and the old Gametrailers.com video review is here.
Next Game: Beyond Two Souls (PS3)
Currently playing: Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions (PSP)
