T-Man's Games: From One Galaxy to the Next, It's Obvious Super Mario Galaxy is a Great Game

From One Galaxy to the Next, It's Obvious Super Mario Galaxy is a Great Game

Published Friday, December 28, 2007 by T-Man | E-mail this post

Greetings, Earthlings.

We have taken over T-Man’s Games.

We demand that you hand over all your money in an Internet spam-like manner to contribute to the invasion.

And if you don’t…

Then, Mario suddenly comes in and bounces off their heads, turning them into coins!!! GASP!!!

Mario: I’ve-a saved you, T-Man! (Unties me)

Gee, thanks, Mario! So, uh, tell us about the, uh, new game, Super Mario Galaxy. (Pulls a microphone out of no where and holds it up to Mario)

Mario: Well, I can’t say the guys a-back at-a Nintendo and I haven’t done a good-a job! What-a did you-a think about-a the game?

Well, read on!

Ahem. Christmastime had hit our eyes like big pizza pies, and with so few Wii games before Christmas, and so many I wanted, I was headed straight for the jackpot. I woke up at about 8:30 in the morning and got my parents and sister up, after which her and me ran to the tree and started tearing up the giftrap ferociously while foaming of the mouth. While a few presents had to be held off on since I was having a party that day with my dad’s side of the family, I was extremely content for the time being, and could hardly believe I was getting more. There was NiGHTS Journey of Dreams, a DVD of the entire Sonic SatAM cartoon, Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus, The Dark Crystal (a movie), Beyond Good & Evil (a game that I wanted because it was reviewed well, but suffered the same poor fate as Psychonauts, which I also have and love, and didn’t do well), Zelda Twilight Princess, a new Memory Card with a lot of space for my Gamecube to replace the one I lost, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, possibly among others that I got before the Christmas party that I can’t even think of right now. Oh, yes, I got everything I wanted, and even more. But, one of the most important things I got that day was Super Mario Galaxy.

The game opens with Mario getting a letter from good ol’ Princess Peach…again. That day is the day of the Star Festival, to commemorate the day that a shooting star passed by the castle one day and shot out Power Stars, which the Toads took to the castle to use as a power source (as you can see, this game establishes continuity in the Mario storyline, as the Power Stars that the Toads took to the castle were obviously the ones you had to obtain in Super Mario 64). After heading to the castle, it becomes Paper Mario all over again. Bowser lifts Princess Peach’s castle up off the ground and into space! Mario goes up into space to save her, but a Magikoopa sends him flying away. A group of the star-like aliens called Lumas abduct Mario, so he could help them with their predicament, and in return, they’ll help him save Princess Peach. Their Grand Stars have been stolen by Bowser, so Mario must travel throughout the galaxies to save them! The story is pretty interesting for a Mario game, but not Paper Mario-esque in plot development. Yet, plot is not what Mario is known for, so who cares???

When you play the first level, it becomes apparent that Nintendo wasn’t lying when they said that this game would offer the innovation that Super Mario Sunshine didn’t. While Super Mario Sunshine was essentially Super Mario 64 with tighter controls and a waterpack (though it was still a good game), Super Mario Galaxy takes what made Super Mario 64 great and just expands it like an elastic wasteband. You’ll be exploring a variety of galaxies rather than painting worlds and portions of a dolphin-esque island this time around. These galaxies each have a certain number of missions, like previous Mario levels. Since I have only done all three missions in one galaxy, I haven’t checked to see if more appeared. However, I don’t know if it was Gametrailers or IGN that said it had more, but whatever. Anyway, these galaxies have a bunch of planets, and you’ll explore more as you progress through the missions. These planets have their own gravitational pull, which means that you can be on top, on the sides, or on the BOTTOMS of the planets! Since this game has a space theme, most levels have bottomless pits replaced with black holes, which, of course, will kill you instantly.

Along your adventure, you’ll discover separate galaxies, which experiment with new gameplay styles. The first of these is a galaxy in which you surf on a manta ray to get a Power Star. While the control isn’t as tight as I’d have liked, it’s still really cool. Then there’s a stage in which you’re rolling a ball with a Star in it to the end of the level in order to obtain it. You’ll also discover a galaxy (there may be more like this) that is basically a 2-D Mario level reiterated in 3-D, and as you may have guessed, it’s really cool.

Another new gameplay element added is Prankster Comets. These comets will occasionally pass by galaxies, bringing a Star that can only be collected by completing its specific trial. So far, I’ve only experienced two, the Speedy Comet (gives you a Star if you complete the level within the given time) and the Cosmic Comet (gives you a Star if you beat your cosmic doppelganger, similar to Shadow Mario from Sunshine), but in the explanation, it says that there is a Daredevil Comet, which makes you run through a level without much health.

There are also Powerups. The only ones I’ve come across so far are Bee Mario, which allows you to fly and climb on honeycombs, and a special mushroom that doubles your max health. There are also Boo Mario and Fire Mario (making a return from the good ol’ days), but I haven’t found those yet. It’s these varying gameplay styles, freshness of the normal worlds, varied level design, as well as a moderate difficulty--not too hard, but not too easy (which is weird because old Mario games are usually too hard and the newer ones too easy)--that keeps the game from getting repetitive or old.

OK, now I’m sure you all have been asking the same question (if you’ve never played the game, that is): HOW THE HECK DO YOU GET FROM GALAXY TO GALAXY?!!! Well, another new concept of the game is Sling Stars. The large ones that shoot you from place to place are the most common, while the smaller ones that shoot you shorter distances also appear. To get to a galaxy, you must enter an observatory dome from the central hub, get in the Pull Star, then choose a galaxy and then you’re off. When finding them on the field, however, you must jump into them, then spin the Wii Remote, and then you’re off to another planet! This Sling Star system really works, and, plus, how else wouldja get from place to place? Some Sling Stars are actually broken, and you have to find five Star Chips to fix them, and sometimes, you have to do something special to activate them.

So, now that that’s out of the way, you may be asking what you use the Wii Remote for aside from Sling Stars. Well, there is another interesting concept I haven’t gotten into detail on: Pull Stars. They look like small, blue versions of Sling Stars. By touching one with the Wii Remote cursor, it will pull you into it. This is used to get to previously unreachable areas, get to the galaxy select screen when in a dome, and even get through an entire section of one of the levels.

Of course, that’s not ALL you use the Wii Remote for. There are strange, meteor-like objects of different colors called Star Bits, and you can move the Wii Remote cursor over them to collect them. While you can also just touch them to collect them, getting them with the Wii Remote is much more fun, if you know what I mean. There is also a special move that you get in the beginning of the game, inspired by Mario’s up and B move from Super Smash Bros. (where he spins around with fists extended), that you can use by simply quickly spinning the Wii Remote.

Also, remember when I said that this game allows you to surf on a manta ray and control a ball? Well, those use the Wii Remote, too. In manta surfing, you hold the Wii Remote sideways (I think?) and tilt it left and right to control it. Again, this is not as tight as I’d have liked, so expect to fall out of the track MANY times before getting the hang of it. The ball is also a bit wonky, but, hey, you’re rolling a ball, and it needs to FEEL like you’re rolling a ball! Anyway, when controlling the ball, the front of the Wii Remote should be facing you, and you tilt it left and right to move in those directions. Again, since you’re rolling a ball, the control is a bit off, so, once again, expect to fall many times before getting the hang of it.

So, what are these Star Bits for? Do they replace coins? Coins still appear in the game in the same vain as Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. They help you recover health, and, possibly (I haven’t tried it yet), collecting 100 of them will get you a Star. Star Bits are more common, and have a more limited use. By pressing B, you can throw Star Bits as a weapon, but there are also hungry Lumas (star people) with sticks with Star Bits on them that look like cheerleader pompoms. If you feed them enough Star Bits (Lumas consider Star Bits a delicacy), they’ll “burst with snacky happiness and transform” (yes, they say that) into a Sling Star or, once (as far as I’ve seen), a *galaxy* (uhh…yes).

So, yes, we know it’s an awesome game, but how does it fare in categories besides gameplay? Well, we’re about to find out! Graphically, the game is a work of art. The worlds are colorful and diverse--no two galaxies are alike. The character models have received a decent upgrade from Super Mario Sunshine, but the surroundings are the most improved. In levels with water, the water looks very photorealistic--even with ripple effects! All in all, it’s one of the best-looking games on the system.

Sound-wise, it’s Mario, all right. Charles Martinet reprises his roll as Mario, and with good results. While the game’s voice acting is mostly limited to gibberish with subtitles, the actors are still doing a good job. As far as sound-effects go, I have no problem. The music is good and Mario-esque. That’s all we need.

Now, seriously, you were probably going to buy this game before I wrote my review, or you got it for Christmas. I mean, it’s a MARIO game, for Pete’s sake! But still, for those of you who have not cared for Mario games thus far, I must recommend you rent this game and make your decision from there, as this is BY FAR the best Mario game ever created in the history of the world.

-----------------Summary-----------------
Story: Pretty Good. It’s Mario, all right, and pretty interesting at that, but plot development-wise, it’s still not Paper Mario in 3-D.
Gameplay: Pure Greatness!! There’s too much of it to describe in one sentence!!
Graphics: Pure Greatness!! Some of the best on the system.
Sound: Awesome! Just like the story, it’s Mario.
Overall: Pure Greatness!! The best Mario game to date. I already hereby proclaim it better than Super Mario Galaxy 2 (if that even comes out, heh).