The first real 3D Mario platformer in over 10 years, and it delivers!
To put it simply, Super Mario Galaxy is absolutely stunning. Every corner of the game can take your breath away. The way the game works, the way everything is designed, everything is just fantastic. The concept of the game is simple. You play as Mario, obviously, and you travel to different planets, big and small, all around the universe. Sounds interesting, right? Well it gets better.
So with that being said, why the heck is Mario in space, how did he get there, what exactly is he trying to achieve. If you think it has anything to do with Bowser and Princess Peach, then you're exactly right. Mario receives a letter from Princess Peach (sound familiar?), inviting him to join her for the centennial Star festival. Just as Mario is about to participate in some festivities, Bowser swoops out of the skies, in the airships from Super Mario Bros. 3, no less, and executes his plan to kidnap the Princess, along with her entire castle! He uses a giant saucer to do so, and escapes to outer space with Princess in hand. Whilst trying to stop Bowser, Mario ends up getting sent flying, and lands on a strange distant planet.
After a quick tutorial level, Mario eventually meets Rosalina, the Lumas, and begins his quest. This is where the game really begins. There really isn't much in the way of story in Super Mario Galaxy. During the course of the game, not much really happens. Eventually you can unlock Rosalina's library, where you can read a story book describing the mysterious Princess' past and purpose. That's about it, but it is a Mario game, so the story isn't really too important, is it? No, the game play is the most important part. So how is it? Once you get to the Observatory, you'll find out.
The Observatory is the main hub of the game, which is run by the new character Rosalina. The observatory itself has a few different sections, and most of these sections contain portals which allow you to travel to the game's different galaxies. When you choose to go to a galaxy, each one being unlocked by collecting a set number of stars, you can choose which mission you want to play for that galaxy. You then blast off to that galaxy and attempt to complete the goal you chose. The whole system works really well, and is somewhat similar to how the paintings worked in Super Mario 64.
Each galaxy, and the planets they contain, usually has its own theme. You'll find yourself on planets covered in lava or frozen in ice, like most games with themed levels. However, there are a few creative ones as well, like a whole level made of desserts or one composed of gigantic toys. The diversity in the level design tends to be quirky and beautiful simultaneously.
Some of the planets are extremely small, which you can completely traverse in a matter of seconds, while other are pretty large, and can take quite a while to complete. Once you finish discovering each nook and cranny of a planet, you fly to the next by hopping into a launch star and shaking the Wii remote. Each galaxy has a few different missions to complete, each with its own star to get, and a few hidden stars here and there. There are plenty of different mission types, such as getting to the end of the level, defeating a boss, racing Shadow Mario around the area, and a lot more. Occasionally, different "comets" will appear in a galaxy, which give you a special goal with a few strict rules, like dying in one hit or having to reach the goal in a certain amount of time. Each one manages to keep the experience fresh and exciting, so you are never doing the same thing over and over again.
So now I bet you're wondering, "Since this game is on the Wii, aren't there some sort of cool, crazy motion controls?" Well, the answer is yes. Although, which is what's great about this game, is that they are kept to a minimum. The only to time you really use motion controls are for performing the spin attack, pointing to shoot star bits, shaking the remote to fly from a launch star, and to perform any special attacks that come with the game's power-ups. Speaking of power-ups, there are quite a few of them. All of them are pretty cool, and fun to use, and there's even the classic Fire Mario form, which, of course, allows you to shoot fireballs by shaking the Wii remote.
The rest of the controls in the game are fairly simple. You press A to jump and swim, press the B trigger to fire star bits, press the Z button to crouch, and use the analog stick to move around. Most of the actions you perform require no motion controls, which was the smart choice to make. I mean, no one wants to jump by flicking the Nunchuk upwards. (I'm looking at you, Ninjabread Man.)
On the technical side of things, there is a lot going on with this game. Graphically, the game is absolutely wonderful, especially because it's a Wii game. The whole universe of the game, and I mean that literally, is covered from head to toe in bright colors, great lighting and particle effects, and smooth looking models. The art style is beautiful; it's simple, yet effective. I found myself going "whoa…" on multiple instances, and would stop to just take in how great everything looks. Eye candy galore!
As for the audio, it's honestly some of the best sound design ever. The worlds are supported by beautiful orchestral scores. There are new tracks and remixes of old songs, which sounds completely awesome. In addition, most of the classic sound effects are used here and there, so that is really nice. The speaker in the Wii remote is also used to some extent, although that speaker has never been that great, so it still sounds a little grainy.
Really though, the most technically impressive aspect of the game is neither the graphics nor the sound. It's the physics engine. Every planet has its own gravitational pull. On smaller planets you can jump great heights and distances, sometimes even leaping over the whole planet in one go. On the other hand, larger planetary bodies can have a greater pull. The physics on these are much more realistic. If it were not for the wonderful implementation of the physics, this game would not be nearly as good as it is.
You only need to collect 60 of the 120 stars to gain access to the final boss, but you can keep going after you defeat him. After you collect all 120 you can replay the entire game as Luigi, which is cool because Luigi usually has a different jump than Mario, and that stays true in this game as well. There's also a neat little multiplayer mode that allows a second player to help the first player by performing certain tasks with their own cursor. The thing is, that's the only thing they can do, and it's fairly boring for the second player. Additionally, there a few more features you can play around with like taking a picture of you scores for each planet and sending them to your friends or posting them to the Wii message board.
The only real problem with the game is that it's too easy. I mean, it is way too easy. It's almost to the point that where some levels are completely laughable. But that really is SMG's only flaw, and that doesn't ever prevent it from being fun.
There's a lot to do in this game, and it will last you quite a while. I would go as far to say that it's almost not even a game; it really is its own experience. So does Super Mario Galaxy deserve the title as rightful successor to Super Mario 64's revolutionary legacy? Yes, yes it does.