N-Philes

Super Mario Galaxy

Posted December 16th 2007 by Adam Glasgow.

Mario: How do you even talk about him, really? When Super Mario Bros. was released, he became central to the tipping point for video games in popular culture. To be sure, there were popular video games and consoles before the Super Mario Bros. and the NES, but the video game crash of the early 1980's was ending that period quickly, and many thought the games to be nothing more than a fad. Then came Mario in a game that was designed by an artist, not a programmer, which became immensely successful (obviously) and caused the industry to explode. Cut to over 20 years later and the industry is still constantly expanding and booming, thanks in no small part to Mr. Italian Plumber. In addition to single-handedly rejuvenating the industry, Mario also had a hand in rejuvenating the way games were played with the release of Super Mario 64 in 1996. Super Mario 64 was the most successful, most navigable, and all around best 3D adventure game of its time, and is still cited as one of the best games of all time. Just a decade has passed since Mario established the 3D adventure game, and the release of the Wii has come with a promise that the system and its games would be a "Revolution." So does Mario have it in him? Can he rejuvenate, reinvent, and revolutionize? What new territory does Mario have left to explore?

In more ways than one, Super Mario Galaxy is like the Super Mario World of the time, which was apparently obvious to the developer, given the naming of the game. Super Mario World was in a way the ultimate 2D Mario game, so logically, Super Mario Galaxy should be the ultimate 3D Mario game. Super Mario World looked at its predecessors, being Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3, and essentially perfected them. It was still the same type of game – a 2D action platformer – but introduced new ideas like the fan-favorite Yoshi, improved on established ones, and built a large, connected world for Mario to traverse through. In the same way, Super Mario Galaxy takes the 3D Mario games Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, amalgamates the best parts of them, introduces new ideas like the gravity gimmick and experimental control, and this time brings in large galaxies for Mario to explore. It remains the same type of game as the ones that came before it, a 3D platformer, but more fully realized and polished.

The craziest new thing brought to the table this time around? Wacky gravity. Mario flies from spherical platform to spherical platform (sometimes making stops at large robots and the like), each one having its own gravitational pull. This idea isn't brand new, although it's never been as widely used, either. Good examples of the use of the gravitational element came out a few years ago in the games Psychonauts and Yoshi Topsy Turvy, although it can be traced even farther back to the "Mario 128" technical demo shown with the unveiling of the GameCube, and even farther back to certain boss fights in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Indeed, Super Mario Galaxy feels like the game Nintendo has been slowly putting together for years, via miscellaneous elemental experimentation in previous Nintendo titles. Take, for example, Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, released a few years ago on the GameCube. This game, a platformer in which you control Donkey Kong with a bongo drum controller and claps, shares many design elements with Super Mario Galaxy. The way you jump, swing, and launch from platform to platform is fluid and very Point A to Point B, much like Galaxy. If you're not sure what I mean, take a few minutes and YouTube some videos from Jungle Beat, then play a some levels from Super Mario Galaxy. The pacing in Jungle Beat is a bit faster, but in terms of overall design and general platforming elements, the games are very similar. Spinning up and launching off vines, for example, is basically cut out of Jungle beat and pasted into Galaxy.

While in many ways Galaxy is a perfected Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine, the overall structure is dissimilar to its predecessors. Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine were basically playgrounds: Mario is plopped in the middle of an area, and you're left to explore it and complete different tasks to obtain the precious star for which you came. Super Mario Galaxy, in this way, is more a return to sidescroller roots, where the goal is more to get to an end point from a beginning point, maybe occasionally venturing off to the side to explore a hidden area. This is probably because simply playing around in a 3D environment isn't as exciting of a prospect as it used to be, since it's not such a new prospect anymore. This may also account for, at least in part, Mario Sunshine's mixed critical reception and fan reaction (compared to Mario 64). Gamers were done just goofing around in a 3D environment; they were now ready for more of a 3D obstacle course.

The new approaches to gravity and structure aren't the only fresh ideas in Galaxy. In this game, Mario has access to a wide array of power-ups. Old classics such as the fire flower reappear alongside new items. An Ice Flower will cover Mario in ice, so that he freezes water or lava on touch. This power up is probably my favorite, since it changes the way Mario moves as he skates over the newly-formed ice. A white Boo Mushroom allows Mario to float around and pass through certain obstacles while a yellow Bee Mushroom lets Mario attach himself to honeycomb walls, land on certain things he'd otherwise be too heavy to, and fly for a brief time. Most of the power ups are fun to use, although some, like the flying hat unlocked late in the game, seem tacked on and are rarely used in levels. It's hard to say that the power ups are better or worse than old games, its more just that for the most part, they're simply different. The racoon tail from Super Mario Bros. 3 and the cape from Super Mario World basically did the same thing, and they both worked fine, but most everyone has a preference of one over the other.

Other new elements are introduced via the infamous motion detecting Wii remote with mixed results, although the length to which one enjoys these elements is more of a matter of personal taste than perhaps anything else in the game. On certain levels, the motion controls are used to surf on manta rays or roll around on top of giant balls. These are personally my least favorite levels of the game, but again this is more of a matter of personal taste, since I also know quite a few people who love these oddball levels. Only the test of time will tell for sure if these levels have meshed well in the fabric of the current gaming world, but for me they feel somewhat out of place.

Throughout Galaxy there is a new collectible. I'm talking about "star bits", which can be fired at enemies onscreen by the remote, and are also redeemed in the game to unlock new areas and galaxies. Star bits are swooped up either the traditional way (running through them), or by pointing the Wii remote at them directly. Using another remote, a second player can help out on collecting duty and even shoot the star bits to stun enemies for the first player, but that's not all.

At first look it all seems like a cheap way to let grandma pretend she's participating, but the second player actually has a huge involvement in managing Mario's world that nearly rivals the first player's. Basically, this is Nintendo's solution to the problem of making a game challenging for experienced players yet playable for inexperienced ones. There are only a few actions exclusive to the first player, as the second player can collect and shoot star bits, "grab" enemies and obstacles to stop them in place, and even make Mario jump or spin-jump mid-air. A name not inappropriate for the second player could be the "wingman." Someone more inexperienced can play wingman and feel involved without the pressure of their traditional history of sucking at games, and by contrast someone more experienced can take the helm of wingman and completely alter the game world to help guide the less experienced through the galaxy.

Perhaps my only other real complaint about the game, aside from the aforementioned "experimental control" levels, are the boss fights, specifically the Bowser show downs. These don't feel nearly as scary or epic as they did in Mario 64, which is a shame. Luckily they aren't all duds, and a few great bosses do shine through the mediocrity of the Bowser battles and give you something to want to play over again.

Much has been said of the visuals and music of Mario Galaxy, and appropriately so. Both parts of the game are beautiful and lush, which can plainly be seen and heard after only a few minutes of playing. The music in particular is quite incredible, and is the first Mario game to ever have an orchestrated score. Something that I haven't heard many talk about, though, is the story. I'm not talking about the part when Peach gets kidnapped by Bowser (woah spoilers), but of the Lumas (those cute floating star things) and their "mommy" Rosalina, a story which is told through a storybook you unlock chapter-by-chapter after defeating parts of the game. Now maybe I'm just being a wuss, but I thought the story was sweet and sad and altogether a curious but excellent addition to the game. Also, there are some strange but interesting ideas brought up after the completion of the game within the main story, which can be described as "borderline philosophical," something that no other Mario game, to my knowledge, has ever even thought about touching upon.

Heartstopper - The best game on the Wii, hands down, and arguably one of the best Mario games ever.

All in all, Super Mario Galaxy is a universally good game. It's not as big of a leap in terms of changing gameplay from 2D to 3D was, but much is to be said for this product of years of research, development, and experimentation. Despite very few, forgivable shortcomings, like some of the bosses, there is lots of fun to be had with Galaxy, and it's a new kind of fun that you shouldn't miss out on. There's lots to do, see and experience in this collection of levels, cleverly strung together as galaxies. Plus there's a bee suit.

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