November 07, 2007
Super Mario Galaxy
A game so good I had to play it now!
On November 12th, Nintendo's premier franchise debuts on the Wii in one of the most anticipated games of the year. Originally intended as a launch title, its surprising absence (making it one of the only Nintendo consoles to not have a Mario near launch) and year's delay have begged the question "has Nintendo rediscovered the innovation that made Mario the platform king or have they given us another Mario 64.5 (ala Sunshine)? This past weekend I was lucky enough to obtain a fully playable version of Super Mario Galaxy and I could not pass up the chance to give our CyberMonkey readership the lowdown on the Wii's fall blockbuster.The story centers around a space-faring Bowser who has "invited" Princess Peach to the opening of his new galaxy. In a fit of pique over being snubbed you, as Mario>, must travel the Galaxy looking for stars to power your orbiting space station for a trip to the center of the Universe and a final smackdown with Bowser. Simple enough for even me and not really different from previous installments yet to Nintendo's credit the simplicity works. Immediately you know the objective- get stars to unlock the end- and we're off. No complicated storyline or fifty characters to keep track of or lengthy cutscenes. Kidnapping, adventure, revenge. Totally works. Jackie Chan (just awesome by the way) made a whole career with a similar formula (kid knows no kung-fu, town/family is menaced, kid learns ass-whoopery, revenge) and he too is recognizable world-wide. Not to disparage the tale at all, it's there if you want it including unlockable storybook pages done in the style of de Saint Euxpery's Little Prince but concept wise it's jump in and play.
Where the game makes it's biggest impression is playability. It's very reminiscent of Mario 64 with large elements of Paper Mario thrown in in terms of layout, character abilities and angles of motion. The way the controller makes full use of the gyroscopic functionality adds a whole new level of fun with Mario having to shake the remote for spin attacks and hold it upright and twist for races. On gravity-friendly levels you have 360° of movement around any platforms you may be on. Mario will also be called to walk on walls and on ceilings, which can be disorienting and it takes a while to acquire the ability to change the camera (in some cases that is also not allowed due to the fact that they want you to finish the level upside down and sort of side-scrolling, jack, so just do it). Wall jumping, which you seem to be either good at or not, is very easy this time around but side jumping is harder than it needs to be. And water levels still suck.
Graphically the game looks good. The environments are lush and the backgrounds show many details with no problem in draw distance. Like Mario 64 (you'll get sick of that comparison, I promise you) the thrill of discovery draws you in and this game is all about discovery. Stars unlock new areas in the various "galaxies" and there are star crystals to collect which have replaced coins as the free-life givers, rewarding the player with a new Mario every 50 gathered and for the most part these things are everywhere. Mario can also shoot star crystals at enemies to stun them and you can feed them to star sprites encountered who will help you discover new areas...if fed to a point-total satisfaction. Coins haven't disappeared so don't fret. They will heal an injured Mario who comes with a 3 hit point meter, giving you some leeway on harder areas. There are 7 stars per "galaxy"-more solar system really, but they're called galaxies so there it is, for a grand total of 120 stars obtainable in the game. It only takes 60 to unlock the final battle however so the game is a perfect balance for new and hardcore gamers alike. I never ran into a problem that took more than fifteen minutes and a few deaths to solve so there's nothing too complicated through enough stars to open the end; however, comets may appear which give new stars to "galaxies" which re-mold levels with harder objectives such as "beat the boss with 1 hit point" or "finish the level in 3 minutes" which is the challenge hardcore gamers are looking for. I'm pretty average and I finished the game in 15 hours with 65 stars so with the other 55 stars I'd say roughly 30 hours of gameplay to be had which is terrific in today's $50/10 hour game market.Fun, however, is what it's all about and Mario brings it in spades On the level "Dirty Tricks of Major Burrows", Mario must force a giant space worm to eat space apples while traversing it's back as a bridge to the next objective. Team Nintendo has also given Mario some costumes to help him on his way including a bee costume which allows him to fly; a boo costume for the first time in franchise history; an ice costume to allow you to walk on water and "Wall Jump Up Waterfalls"; a spring suit and another flying suit which makes you the Mario of Steel. References abound throughout the game to other series. Our old friends the Octorocks from Zelda show up throughout and a Poké Ball of sorts appears on the "Buoy Base Galaxy" level. The "Beach Bowl Galaxy" utilizes Wario World-like spin puzzles and an overshield straight out of Halo gives Mario three additional hit points throughout the course of your adventures. Team Nintendo also gives clever nods to old Mario levels such as the ghost house ("Ghost House Galaxy"), the underground levels and Bowser Worlds, including musical cues.
There is so much more to say about this gem but I'm very worried about spoiling what should be a serious contender for game of the year. With Halo 3 and Bioshock on shelves, this fall is a great time for gamers - but Super Mario Galaxy is preparing to hit with the force of a freight train. The minimal flaws in the game prevent a perfect score but the game is an easy 9 .5 out of 10 and total justification for the purchase of the most innovative game system since Microsoft changed the rules and added a third console to the party. With continued releases like this (and another rumored Zelda by the end of next year) Nintendo may be on top for the rest of this generation.
Tron rarely knows what he's talking about but trust him on this one.