Aussie Super Mario Galaxy 2 launch event report

Nintendo held a big, big launch event for Super Mario Galaxy 2 this week, and we were on deck to check it out

Intrepid lads Dave and Billy went to represent team Vooks aboard the Starship Sydney as Nintendo transformed the boat into a flotilla of Mario awesomeness with most of the country’s video game and entertainment media. There were some heavy hitters there. But enough about that, onto the impressions and of course the pictures. Yes, if you’re wondering, Nintendo held a launch for Super Mario Galaxy 2 a month in advance – that’s just how they roll. Also, yes, that is the name of the boat, pretty neat.

Billy’s recap – ’Blasting off once again with Super Mario Galaxy 2’

Mario’s upcoming adventure brings more memories and fun as he enters space once more.

"Nintendo themselves have invited Vooks to their Super Mario Galaxy 2 pre-launch party one month prior to the Australian release, and guess where it was held… on a boat. Coinciding with the game’s “starship” travelling through the game much like New Super Mario Bros., Nintendo held this event on the Starship Sydney. We even had a countdown to start off this majestic journey with Mario once more.

"We were presented with some of Mario’s new items, the Spin Drill, making Mario able to drill through the ground, the Cloud Flower allowing Mario to become lighter and generate cloud platforms, and also the boulder mushroom, making him become like a boulder ‘bowling ball’; all of this achieved with a flick of the Wii Remote.

"This game bears a very strong revival to the Super Nintendo title, Super Mario World, mostly with the introduction of Yoshi. Being scattered in some stages, Mario is able to team up with Yoshi and take advantage of the new possibilities that he couldn’t do in his last adventure. Yoshi can use his tongue to swing across gaps or grab items or even eat enemies, and possibly shoot them at other enemies.

"More to the new are the power-ups for not just Mario, but for Yoshi too. Throughout the galaxies, Yoshi is capable of eating special fruit power-ups that allows him to possess interesting outcomes. Eating a Dash Pepper makes him so hot he can run on water and up vertical walls; when he eats a Blimp Fruit, he inflates like a balloon and floats to new heights; and when he eats a Bulb Berry, he glows brightly and reveals a walkable path.

"All in all, the game brings a true sequel to Super Mario Galaxy and now with extra content and Yoshi, this is just one of the reasons to bring back that memory once found in Super Mario World, from Yoshi right down to the game’s soundtrack. Also included is the DVD that provides helpful hints and tips on how to become a skilled player.

"We thank Nintendo Australia for inviting us to the event, and can’t wait to pick up Super Mario Galaxy 2 when it arrives in Australia on July 1."

Dave’s recap

"To promote the upcoming release of Super Mario Galaxy 2, Nintendo Australia held a launch event in Sydney on Thursday night. Going with the space theme of the game, the event was held on a ship which cruised Sydney Harbour while guests had a chance to play the game.

"After a short introduction the cruise was off and hors d’oeuvres were served while Nintendo reps demonstrated and explained the game for a variety of mostly ’mainstream’ press (read: Kids TV, Pay TV ’stars’ etc, we’re not talking Kerry O’Brien here). From there on, there were a couple of hours to play the game on six screens, while a guy in a Mario costume walked around posing for photographs.

"One of the features of the event was DJ Goodwill ’mashing a mix of Mario tunes’. Turns out what this meant was largely your standard club mix, complete with re-mixed pop-starlet songs, with the odd coin or pipe sound thrown in. Three guests also won an Australian copy of the game in the lucky door prize.

"The game itself is pretty much what the box promises – more Mario Galaxy. Which you can also read as ’more best game of all time’. It is a bit weird to play a Nintendo sequel with this sort of ’expansion pack’ mentality, even though it’s commonplace for pretty much every other developer. The original kept the inventiveness going right up to the last star, and Galaxy 2 picks up that torch and keeps running with it. Every level is clever and unique, the new powers are cool, particularly Cloud Mario. But then you already knew all this from the dozens of reviews already posted online.

"All in all a pleasant and extravagant event by Nintendo, though odd timing given the release is a month away, and it’s not like there can be any breaking news about a game already released elsewhere. It was disappointing to see that Nintendo Australia already has fully produced local copies of the game on hand, and are merely sitting on it for a school holiday release, while the rest of the world is already enjoying it."

Vooks will have a full review of the game soon, but really, you know how awesome it is. Hopefully the wait will seem more bearable when E3 distracts us for a while in 9 days.