Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) Review
How does one review Super Mario Galaxy? After all, what you’re looking at is without a doubt the most anticipated Wii title to be released this year and the game is surrounded with enough hype to go toe-to-toe with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Super Mario Galaxy was shown off at E3 in 2006 and from right from the initial trailer to my first hands on experience it was always clear that it was going to be something quite special. Despite the fact that development had not yet been completed, Galaxy was almost instantly toted by many gamers as the true successor to Super Mario 64. You see, Super Mario Galaxy has a lot of expectations placed upon it based on its pedigree, especially after the often criticised Super Mario Sunshine for the Nintendo Gamecube.
Sunshine wasn’t a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, but a great many aspects of the game had already been done by its generation older cousin Super Mario 64, leaving some fans disgruntled at the lack of originality in the title. Such fans will be happy to know that Galaxy is going to be the new benchmark not only for Wii and platforming games, but for all games for years to come. To no surprise, the story of Mario Galaxy is a familiar one. The game begins with a letter from Peach containing an invitation for Mario to join her in front of the Mushroom Kingdom castle to attend the Star Festival. However, before Mario makes his arrival Bowser and his minions feel the need to once again kidnap Peach, and if that wasn’t trouble enough, they take the entire castle as well. Mario leaps and grabs onto the Castle as it flies into orbit but a Magikoopa knocks Mario off allowing Bowser and his minions to escape into space.
After drifting through space for some time, Mario awakens on a planet inhabited by Luma which are small star shaped characters who play a pivotal role throughout the game. The Lumas then take Mario to see Rosalina, the watcher of the stars in her observatory, which also act as the games hub. Rosalina tells Mario that Bowser has stolen a number of Power and Grand Stars that power her ship so it’s now Mario’s job to travel the vast corners of space to get the stars back in order to power the spacecraft in order to save Peach who is held captive at the centre of the universe. The story is, and never has been, a big factor in the Mario games, but it does helps to stitch the game together nicely enough. What better to start this review off than with the game’s graphics? To get this right out of the way straight away, the graphics in Galaxy are easily the best that the Wii has offered so far. In fact, no game has even come close to matching it thus far. The game is not only rich in detail of the various worlds Mario visits but the lighting effects excel to the point where the graphical differences between Galaxy and an Xbox 360 playing in standard definition are difficult to notice with an untrained eye.
While space in reality may be a bland and dark place, the worlds in Galaxy shine. Bright and colourful designs are aplenty and everything feels alive, with this liveliness of the individual planets and characters absorbing and drawing you in as the player. It’s not just the technical achievements of the graphics that are great; everything from the art style to the presentation and design of the simple and easy to use interface is great as well. Characters are all modelled in great detail and each is unique, with some even undergoing a mix around between different levels. The variance in levels is great too with the game offering many different looking environments, from dark rock space junk fields to bright and sunny beaches; it all looks a treat. The frame rate is rock solid 99% of the time, with the Wii only failing to keep up on intense lighting on occasion. But even though the graphics are great the sound, controls and gameplay are even better.
Super Mario Galaxy’s magical experience continues to be shown in the sound and music. The game’s entire score is completely orchestrated, with each level proving to have a suitable tune for the environment with some of them being remixes or re imaging of old retro tunes to completely new music. The music also changes and mixes up with the action going on and the music underwater changes to a mellower version of the song playing. The score is also varied, such as the change to dark and foreboding music when a boss appears, or to a more metallic and harsher tone on industrial levels. In the more colourful and outdoor levels you get the more natural sounds, with the Caribbean type level being a personal favourite of mine. Words cannot really describe the music, but I guess I’ll have to try. Its cheerful uplifting nature simply makes the game that much more of a joy to play. To compliment the music Nintendo has included a set of speech (what little there is), quasi speech and sound effects in game. The voices in the game are what you would expect from a Mario game with no deep and meaningful dialogue, but it’s not really required. All characters, both new and old, return with their trademark noises and each character has a different and unique sound, with the Lumas’ body language and noises being beyond cute.
The Observatory that I mentioned earlier acts as the game’s hub. When you begin only one world is accessible and most of the observatory is unpowered. As you get more stars more areas and galaxies become available for you to explore. With the smaller number of stars per galaxy compared to the 10 star totals for each world in Mario 64 it never feels like you don’t have anywhere to go. If you can’t get one star on one world there is always a multitude of other places to go. This is good if you are getting frustrated but also a reason why the game sometimes feels easier then it is. Because you can go where ever you please picking up ’simpler’ stars to progress, things may seem a little too easy early on. The other thing that makes the game easier then Mario 64 is the checkpoint system. Fall off a platform or die and you’ll respawn at a set checkpoint you have unknowingly passed through. No more going back to the start of the level, but it’s a double edged sword for some players who may want a greater challenge.
Controls in Mario’s adventures since his 64 outing have been perfectly suited to the respective device. The N64 and GameCube controllers were perfectly designed and suited to controlling Mario in both 64 and Sunshine. With the split controller design of the Wiimote I am happy to say that it works well once again. All the old moves are back again for another spin and handling of your favourite plumber is just as accurate and tight as always with flawless execution. The game wouldn’t be complete without some new techniques that take advantage of the Wii remote though. The bigger of these two additions is the spin move which is enabled with a quick shake of the Wii Remote or the Nunchuck.
Now I know what you’re thinking. ’Stupid waggle moves making their way into Mario? Can’t we oh please Nintendo just have a normal Mario game.’ Well fret not. Yes you have to use the spin move as an attack in supplement to Mario’s normal range of attacks and around levels but it’s not a burden or a hassle. Unlike other games on the Wii you never feel like you’re using the Spin move just for the sake of using the Wii Remote. It’s surprisingly intuitive and its addition brings a new dynamic to the game. The second big addition to the game is the pointer function, which is again not another tacked on feature but another addition the Wiimote makes enjoyable. Using the pointer, the player can collect the latest form of currency in a Mario game called a star bit. These bits are used to feed Lumas to open secret (and often fun) worlds as well as to shoot at enemies. While not particularly powerful in that they will only render an enemy momentarily stunned, careful strategy can enable you to use the opportunity to deliver a finishing blow as you slam into the unconscious foe. Star bits are picked by pointing at them with the on-screen cursor and can pop out of enemies, breakable items or even fall from the sky. Controls for the number of power up suits in the game are handled rather well in addition, with some old favourites from past titles included along with some fantastic new ones.
As with most Mario games Galaxy is easy to pick up and play and with the Wii Remote it becomes even easier. Casual gamers will find the game moderately hard with the game picking up difficulty as you would expect in later levels. But fret not hardcore gamers as even you are in for a treat. Nintendo hasn’t dumbed down this game or made it blissfully easy for your hardcore self. While the first 60 stars come relatively easy, maybe due to the enjoyment that seeing the entire world’s first. When you past the first hurdle of the 60 stars the game doesn’t end there and you can continue on to 120 and above. Even then there is more. Mario Galaxy’s length is great, especially since the great quality of play is maintained throughout the entire experience.
The levels in Super Mario Galaxy are the real stars. (pun intended) Each level offers something different, whether it be a different environment or goal. Most levels are reused 3 sometimes 4 different ways and you always are amazed with the different paths through the levels when you set out to obtain that second or third star. Most planets have 3 base stars, along with a hidden secret star and a comet star that appears later on in the game. The size of each level is relevant for each individual star. Some people when they first saw Galaxy wondered how these smaller levels would compare to the expansive worlds of Mario 64 or Sunshine, but the smaller worlds lend better to the game. As you head out to each mini-hub in the observatory, then to each Galaxy, you are offered a choice of where to fly to. Each stage, as I mentioned earlier, is different and the refreshing feel and look that each Galaxy offers never lets up. Planetoids within individual Galaxies can comprise of small planets, toys, orbs and an assortment of many other fun and interesting things objects.
The main reason the game can get away with all these different and interesting levels is firstly because it’s a Mario game but secondly because it is in space. While in reality space is an awe inspiring yet ultimately boring place, combining it with the Mario world leads to all sorts of crazy places. Nintendo was really allowed to open the crazy jar when designing this game. The space theme also enhances 2D platforming sections of the game that are akin to New Super Mario Bros. Gravity effects bring an added twist to an even older platform formula as conditions constantly shift and change. While they don’t comprise the largest portion of the gameplay, these sections are just as individually varied as the main worlds. The boss levels also impress, with each one providing a different challenge based on a certain facet of the gameplay. You will be constantly amazed at how varied the levels are and continue to be as you go through the game. Gravity and space-esque physics play an important role in achieving this and also in enabling Galaxy to become more than just ’Mario 64 in Space.’ It makes a huge difference to the way the game is played compared to other more conventional platformers and is one of the main reasons the game feels so unique and special. When Satoru Iwata said you will say wow when you see the then Revolution in action he had already played Super Mario Galaxy. Guess he was right.
To add to its list of accomplishments, Galaxy includes one of the best camera systems in a platforming title to date. While at some points you can adjust the angle of the camera with the D-Pad, 99% of the time the camera does what you want and is rarely a hindrance. The camera is not 100% perfect though, as in one or two places in the entire game it may falter or hinder your progress. For the rest of the game though it needs no coaxing and performs well.
The much lauded and advertised portion of Super Mario Galaxy while having inherently wrong with it, is not much more than a feature that’s good for getting your nagging spouse off your back when they are inevitably drawn into the lure that is the awesome of Galaxy. Enabled at anytime by picking up a second controller, the Co-Star mode allows a second player to grab and halt enemies, collect star bits and aid Mario in his temporary altitude adjustment also called jumping. It’s a novel approach and can introduce someone to the game slowly but the game wouldn’t be anything less without it. Super Mario Galaxy is certainly not a completely perfect game, but no game will ever be. However what SMG is, is a complete package.
Nintendo seldom make games of this completeness and caliber as of late and SMG is the best game on all fronts to be released on the Wii so far. It’s possibly one of the best games of the year and yes, of all time. The game is a magical experience, one that won’t be replicated for a long time and certainly something that no Wii owner should miss out on.
