Reviewed by Anna Slado
It’s hard to imagine what the gaming world, and community, would look like, had there not been a Super Mario Bros. to the NES in the mid 80’s. I came in contact with video games at a very young age, playing Donkey Kong on the classic Game & Watch system before I had even started 1st grade. When I was seven, a friend of mine got a NES as a birthday present. We sat in front of the TV, playing for hours, trying to beat the first Super Mario game. I can still remember how I acted in front of the TV. I was standing up, all excited, and when Mario jumped, so did I. When I wanted him to jump longer and higher, I stretched my arms as I held the controller, even though I was pressing the right buttons… I guess it just made me feel that my movements of the controller actually mattered.
Some almost 20 years later, I start playing the game that has been glorified in practically every game magazine and site. I did enjoy Super Mario 64 a whole lot, and I was eager to see what Nintendo and Mario’s father Shigeru Miyamoto had come up with this time.
After witnessing Princess Peach being abducted from the Mushroom Kingdom by Bowser and his minions, Mario is warped into space. The game slowly begins on a tiny planet, where you get to chase bunnies (quite the task on its own!), and become familiar with the remote. I realize that this is what I’ve been waiting for since I was seven. The controls are flawless. However, running upside down and in every direction possible is a bit confusing at first, and I notice I’m bending my head as to try to see things upright. I quickly got rid of that habit though, as it gave me a sore neck.
After catching all the rabbits, and saving the first Grand Star from the clutches of Bowser, you are blasted off through the universe to the Comet Observatory. There, Toads and star shaped creatures called Lumas are living together with Rosalina, also known as Mama. She will help Mario get to the center of the Universe where Peach is being held captive, as soon as he has collected enough Grand Stars, to make the Observatory mobile again.
Just running around the Observatory is an experience of its own. The more Grand Stars you collect, the more places light up and the music starts to change. In the beginning there are few galaxies to explore, but the more Power Stars you collect, the more galaxies will appear. There are a lot of hidden stars in the game, so even though the game is pretty short if you just play it through, there is plenty more to discover.
The controls are easy enough. You use the analog stick of the nun-chuck to control Mario, and with the Wii-mote you simply point at the screen. Why? The cursor, shaped like a star, is used mainly to collect star fragments, and it can do this even at a great distance which is super, really, no more running around having to catch everything with your body. Every 50 star pieces you collect you receive a 1-Up. It’s really very simple to get a lot of lives in this game, but you will also need them. The planets are all so different and you never know what to expect, or what can kill you. Sometimes, it’s really just trial and error. Star Pieces are also used to feed Hungry Lumas, these creatures can then change into new Galaxies. And of course, you can also shoot stars at enemies.
Attacking enemies is otherwise done in the normal fashion, jumping on them, but there is also a twist; spinning the Wii-mote. Just flipping it a little executes a spin-attack that is extremely effective. Just as in Mario 64, there are many shapes that Mario can take. He can for example turn into Bee-Mario and Boo-Mario. And this is really a hint to all the different themes for the Galaxies. There is such diversity it’s hard to believe it unless you see it for yourself. Lush green planets, planets made of steel or cluttered with honey, ice and fire planets, wooden planets and of course, water planets.
Now, I have always hated the water courses in every single Mario game there is. I just hate the way he’s slowed down by the water and the water is feeling like some sticky glue when you are trying to get out of it. I do think that this had improved somewhat for the 64-version, but I’m not really sure. In Mario Galaxy, it’s pretty much the same. I loathe the water courses, they make me so angry. Not only is Mario hard to control under water, with the spinning and the normal strokes and thinking about air, but the camera is not your best friend either, and this is really the only time. But still, playing that planet made me curse worse than a sailor, and I was bending and stretching, just as when I was seven, but of course it doesn’t matter and too wide gestures is really working against you when it comes to the Wii-mote. But I made it; it just took me a while.
There is really so much more that I could say about this game, but I honestly don’t wanna give it all away. It is much more fun if you sit down and experience this for yourself. Anyone who has played a Mario-game before (and who hasn’t?) really has to pick this one up. It is charming and lovable, not only because of the cute graphics, but also because of the music. The soundtrack is amazing! I’ve always loved the music for the Mario games, but I never imagined it could sound like this!
Super Mario Galaxy is challenging, but not too hard, fun and extremely addictive. Just discovering that you can jump on the Toads’ heads is a brilliant touch. Now it’s your turn, to jump, spin and blast yourself into the vastness of Mario Galaxy!