Review: Super Mario Galaxy for Wii

REVIEW
Super Mario Galaxy
Wii
Nintendo EAD

Mario soars through space in the best Wii game yet!

Reviewed by: Eric Leamen

The amount of hype surrounding Super Mario Galaxy before release was enormous! Mostly among Nintendo fanboys, but none the less, it was definitely one of the most talked about and most anticipated games of the year. Once November 12th (14th for us here in Canada) finally arrived, Mario fans and Wii owners worldwide were blasting off into space to once again rescue Princess Peach.

Every hundred years, a comet passes over the mushroom kingdom, and the residents throw a wonderful party, called the Star Festival. This year, however, Bowser is ready to cause an uproar, as he crashes the party with his brigade of flying ships. Mario, seeing this, immediately rushes to the castle to the aid of Princess Peach. However, he arrives too late, Bowser has already ripped Peach's castle right out of the ground, and knocked Mario out, sending him hurtling into the depths of space.


Mario awakens on a small planet, known later as the Gateway. Once he catches all three of the "Luma Rabbits" (as I call them), Mario is introduced to a celestial Princess, named Roselina. Roselina explains that he has landed on her "Comet Observatory", and that with the power of these little stars, called "Lumas", Mario can save Princess Peach and defeat Bower. Roselina gives Mario a gift, a small off-white Luma that gives him the ability to use his spin attack, which is a vital new move in Galaxy.

There is also a side story, the background of Rosalina. Where she came from, how she ended up as the "mother" to the Lumas, etc. You can read this side story by going to the Library, one of the many rooms in the Comet Observatory.

As in any other Mario game, Galaxy features a hub world, the Observatory. Here, Mario can enter a variety of "domes" which allow him to fly to various Galaxies. When you first enter the Observatory, only one dome will be lit up. You'll need to defeat the boss level in the first dome to light up the second dome, and so on, until you've unlocked all of the domes. Super Mario Galaxy features over 40 different Galaxies, with around 4 stars to collect in each Galaxy (some have more, some have less). Some of the first Galaxies Mario encounters are the Good Egg Galaxy, where you'll hope around on very "earthy" feeling planets, Honeyhive Galaxy, where Mario gains to ability to turn into a bee, and Loopdeeloop Galaxy, where Mario races on top of a stingray to earn a star. Like previous 3D Mario games, Galaxy's main objective is to collect all 120 stars, defeat Bowser, and save Princess Peach. For those Mario fans that find the thought of collecting all 120 stars a little daunting, the game can be beaten with only 60 stars. However, collecting all 120 stars and beating Bowser will unlock the best surprise in the game, which I'll reveal later in the "spoilers" section.

Mario Galaxy controls very simply. You move Mario around using the analog stick on the Nunchuck. A soft tilt will result in Mario walking, and a full tilt will make Mario run, which is what you'll use most of the time. Continuing on with Nunchuck controls, C will center the camera which can be useful sometimes when you're in the water, or on a large planet. Z will make Mario crouch, and when partnered with A, Mario will do a back flip. Or, if you're running, press Z and A at the same time to do a long jump. This becomes a vital move that you'll use quite a lot on your adventure. To do the ground pound (more affectionately known as the butt bounce), jump once with A, then press Z. You can also do a "homing" ground pound, by jumping once, spinning the remote, then pressing Z. The Wii Remote controls are very simple as well: A to jump (twice to double jump, three times to triple jump, or press and hold to swim), shaking will perform Mario's spin attack (the main form of attack in Galaxy), press and hold - to bring up the menu, and use the d-pad for additional camera controls (up to go into first person view).

Throughout your journey, you'll collect tiny "Star Bits", glowing colourful gems that are found all over the place! You'll usually find them just hanging around, but sometimes they come flying out of the sky like small meteors! Star Bits can be collected by simply pointing at them with your Wii Remote. You can also shoot star bits at enemies by pressing the B trigger on the Wii Remote, this lets you stun an enemy, giving you ample time to run up and kill him. Star bits become more of a collectible in Galaxy than coins. You'll find them a lot more often, and collecting 50 star bits gives you a 1-UP! Coins are still in the game, but serve their main purpose as a way to regain health.

One of the greatest technological advancements in Galaxy is the in-game camera system. Because of the spherical worlds in Super Mario Galaxy, Miyamoto was concerned that a user-controlled camera interface wouldn't work because you would constantly have to adjust it. So, they developed a fantastic new camera control system that, for the most part, works great! Although you can move the camera with the d-pad, or re-center it with C, you will seldom need to. The camera system just works. It knows when you need to see something up close. It knows when to zoom out, giving you full view of a boss or world. It "revolves" around certain elements, like a boss, so that you never find yourself wondering "Where'd he go?". It just works.

Galaxy contains a ton of new in-game elements, as well as some older, more familiar power ups. Launch stars are used to catapult you from planet to planet in a Galaxy. All you have to do is stand underneath one and spin! Sling Pod's are little grey "cactus" looking things that you use to slingshot Mario through space! And the pull star, a Blue sphere that will suck Mario into an orb and allow him to float from star to star.

Super Mario Galaxy also marks the first time we get to use the Fire Flower in 3D. Other power ups include the Bee Suit, which lets Mario buzz around like a bee. The Boo Mushroom, which turns Mario into a Boo allowing him to float and move through walls. The Ice Flower gives Mario the ability to freeze and walk on water. The Spring Mushroom turns our hero into a bouncy spring, and let's him jump to enormous heights! The Koopa Shell allows Mario to speed through water! And the Rainbow Star, making Mario invincible for a short period of time.

Before launch, Super Mario Galaxy was praised for being the most graphically pretty game on Wii. Well, yes and no. Yes is the sense that, if you've got the right stuff, it will look great. No in the sense that, out of the box, Galaxy doesn't look as good as it could. The first thing you'll want to do is turn down the Sharpness on your TV. This will make all of the outlines a lot nicer looking. Secondly, you need Component Cables. No questions asked, just buy em!


Aside from all that, Galaxy is the best looking game on Wii. Nintendo's EAD studio took cell-shading to the next level, and pulled off some amazing visuals! Bottom line, this game could not have been pulled off on Gamecube. Starting off with character design, everyone in this game looks great. If you stand near a character and go into first person view, you can really see that they look really well designed, and there is no "jaggedness" to be seen. Nintendo EAD has also pulled off some amazing textural effects. One of my favourites is water, which is just so awesome to look at. And the Queen Bee, who's body actually looks fuzzy! Same goes for the level design. The dirt, grass, clouds, lava, reflections, everything looks so real! The one thing that EAD did right, is instead of trying to achieve a photo realistic world, they chose a cartoony style and pushed that to it's limits. So instead of trying to hard and making a crappy game, they chose an art style that they could make look good.

The main quest of this game is to traverse all of the Galaxies and find 60 Power Stars. However fans who want more can compete in a variety of other challenges, that you must finish in order to obtain all 120 stars! These special challenges are known as Trickster Comets. The Fast-Foe Comet speeds up the enemies, making it harder to complete the level. The Cosmic Comet enters you in a Cosmic Mario race, where you'll have to race a shadowy version of yourself to get a star! The Speedy Comet sets a time limit for you to complete the level. Daredevil Comets leave you with only one life and sticks you right in the middle of a boss battle! The comets will randomly appear, orbiting a certain galaxy. But be warned, you'll have to play them right away, because they will disappear if you play a different level. There's even a special comet, called the "Purple Coin Comet", where you'll have to enter a level and collect 100 purple coins, resulting in another Star Get!

There are also a number of secret galaxies that you can unlock by feeding Hungry Lumas. If a Hungry Luma appears, feed it a certain number of star bits and a new galaxy will be born! These unlockable galaxies usually only have one star to collect, but they are some of the most creative and imaginative levels in the game, so they're really fun to play over and over again! In one level, the Loopdeeloop Galaxy, Mario races a top a giant sting ray, which is controlled simply by pointing the Wii remote at the screen, and tilting left or right. And in a couple of other galaxies, you'll ride on top of a giant glass ball, maneuvering Mario through dangerous, high-in-the-sky levels! The ball is controlled by holding the Wii remote upwards, like a joystick, and simply tilting! These levels are just another form of innovation that Nintendo has displayed in Super Mario Galaxy.

Mario Galaxy takes video game music to a whole new level! The entire soundtrack for the game is orchestrated! The music is so catchy, you'll find yourself humming the music from your favourite level and not even realize it! Plus, Galaxy features tons of remixed Mario classics, like Bowser's Castle, and the original Mario Bros. theme song! Charles Martinet has done his best work yet, adding an entirely new "celestial" side to Mario, even though he never says an actual word! Plus, the game features some amazing sound effects, like the Sling Star, Pull Star, Spin attack, the list goes on. Sound wise, Super Mario Galaxy is the picture of perfection!

Nintendo's new "audience expansion" philosophy has resulted in a nifty "Co-Star" feature being added to Galaxy. A second player can, at any time, pick up another Wii remote, press A, and join in the fun! A second cursor will appear on screen, allowing player 2 to freeze enemies in their tracks, stun them with star bits, collect star bits, or even help Mario jump extra high! It's a great feature, and is incorporated so seamlessly.

Since Wii seems to be a very online-oriented system, Nintendo has included a couple of WiiConnect24 features in Galaxy as well. You'll receive mail from the Mailtoad, alerting you that a certain someone is in need of help! You can also take a quick snapshot of your stats and send them to a friend via. the Wii Message Board.

Although the quest for 60 stars is a bit easy, and can be completed in about 10 hours, true Mario fans will want to go for all 120 before they complete the game! You will have to complete the final battle at least once before getting all 120 stars though, as you need to beat Bowser for the Purple Star Comets to appear, and they make up a good 10 stars out of the total 120. Trust me, hardcore Mario fans will definitely want to go for all 120 stars, as it results in the unlockable of all unlockables, providing even more gameplay hours for you to enjoy!

The bottom line is this: Super Mario Galaxy is definitely the best Mario game ever made, it's the best Wii game released so far, and it definitely deserves to be named one of the best video games ever made. If you own a Wii, you need to own the wonder and pure joy that is Super Mario Galaxy.

Gameplay: 9
Graphics: 9
Controls: 9
Re-playability: 9
Tilt: 9

Editor's Score: 9.8/10