Before I begin, I’d like to note that despite being the highest-rated game of this, or indeed, any year, and despite being a years-awaited entry in the most sacred of Nintendo’s long-running licenses, Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii is still selling at a disappointingly low rate. To those out there who still don’t own it, I implore you to get off your ass, buy it, then get back on your ass and play for 10 hours. If you’re not completely satisfied… there might be something wrong with you.
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Ten years ago, the Nintendo 64 launched with what some consider the greatest game ever produced headlining its lineup. Super Mario 64 isn’t held in that high a regard because it’s a great 3D platformer; to me, it’s held in that high a regard because it was first of its kind, and it still hadn’t been surpassed in its sheer level of perfection until Monday, November 12th, 2007, with the release of its greatest successor, Super Mario Galaxy.
To be clear on my previous statement, I’ve always felt that the reason Super Mario 64 holds up as well as it does, is because the concepts it introduced had never even been attempted before, and any one misstep in any small area could have absolutely crippled the gameplay structure. But Nintendo pulled it off, flawlessly. Now, a decade and two home console generations later, Galaxy proves that the Big ‘N still has the manpower, the know-how and the commitment to introduce shockingly new concepts and execute them without remarkable fail. In a sense, Galaxy doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it instead makes you see dings and dents in the wheels that came prior to it, and forces you to wonder how you got along with what you’ve had for so long.
As I take you through my thoughts on the game, I’d like you to keep in mind that I am, indeed, one to use many superlatives and grandeur of language. That being said, I’d also like to express that every single thing I’m about to tell you is 100% truthful, unexaggerated and expressed in as plain language as I can bring myself to use. I hope you believe me.
GAMEPLAY:
I honestly have no idea what to say here without sounding deliberate, so I’ll opt to do so. The gameplay in Super Mario Galaxy is lucid and fresh, while still retaining a sense of familiarity and intuition that long-time players of the Mario series (3D or not so) have come to expect. The game just feels right. You’re positive you’re gonna make this jump, because whether the planetoid you’re on is upside-down or under the guidelines of some other crazy stipulation, by the time you’re 5 minutes into the game you’re completely accustomed to the control scheme and the rules of what can and cannot be done. Sometimes you may find yourself not focusing on Mario himself and rather where he’ll be in a few moments, since you’re absolutely positive of where he’s gonna be.
The basic attacks and maneuvers are all here, with the traditional punches and dives being replaced by a spin attack, intuitively mapped to a quick shake of the Wii Remote. The idea behind this is genius; since you’ll often be in situations that would make difficult to attack in any one direction, the spin attack allows for an ease which would have never been present, had the older Mario 64-type attacks been kept intact. What makes this attack so unique, though, is that it can be used as a natural extension of your jumps. Go that extra little bit farther or higher, or get onto ledges that would otherwise be totally inaccessible (in more than the most obvious ways). By the time you pick up your second star, you’ll be manipulating the spin in ways that you won’t even think about before trying. It’s really, really cool.
Beyond just controlling Mario, an important aspect of the way the game is played is the level design itself. I’d like to be blunt for a moment, and state that this is simply the greatest level design in the history of the genre. If that falls on deaf ears, I’ll elaborate:
Each galaxy is made up of several quests for stars, many of them, individually, composed of several smaller structures where an objective must be ascertained by you, the effectively wondered player, and executed to proceed. Sounds pretty basic, sure, but when you take into account that there are thousands of these individual tasks and they’re all at least somewhat unique to one another, things become a bit more grand. In many cases, the smaller goals wouldn’t even necessarily have to be in the levels they’re in, as they could easily be altered with a paintjob. Don’t take this as a negative remark, though, as Metallic Cube Structure in Metal Land (not a real level) might be structurally similar to Grassy Cube Structure in Grass Land (also not a real level), but the differences between the two are accepted without question while you’re figuring out what to do wherever you are. It’s one of the many subtle tricks Nintendo’s designers use to draw you into their world, and it works on a purely awesome level.
This game also marks the return of Mario’s ability-changing suits. This time around, he can be a bee or a Boo or spring. Yeah; a spring. Some folks are complaining about the spring, saying it’s too hard to control effectively and such. To them I simply ask, “Do you honestly believe Nintendo would force you to be a human Slinkee to do anything other than piss you off or make you laugh?” The Spring Suit is only used on 3 or 4 levels, and it presents a rather inspired new challenge to the player. It’s hilarious to try to maneuver around fireballs and the like by slowly bouncing and bounding, and since it’s not even close to being overused, the novelty stays fresh when it resurfaces. The Bee Suit can be a bit tedious since you move so slowly, but it also is used fairly sparingly, as is the Boo Suit, so there’s really no cause for complaining.
Wrapping up this section, I’d like to make it known that this game succeeds in what so many other do not: It forces you to improve, and does so without you knowing. There were 3 or 4 times in my first play-through where I said to myself, “Yeah, I’m never doing that, ever,” and completed the task without issue on my next attempt. This included the second Manta Ray Surfing stage and the ball-rolling levels – two seemingly impassable obstacles that now, 2 days later, seem akin to child’s play. This is what the game does better than most anything else: It’s rarely very frustrating, but rather it possesses you, dares you to try again. There’s a fine line there, and it’s treaded very, very carefully.
GRAPHICS:
You’ve no doubt seen the clips, read the raves, “The best graphics on the Wii!” “Proves the Wii can do more than PS2 ports!” Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s more than either of those things – much more. Galaxy utilizes a staggeringly beautiful art style that at once seems both hyper-realized and under-done. Looking at the character model for Mario, for instance, there’s really not much detail at all… but the aura of light that seems to outline him from several sources draws attention to him, and when he bends his knees, you don’t see the fabric on his overalls stretching, so much as perceive more than you’re seeing. It’s very difficult to explain the serene, underscored beauty of both the models and the environments, so you’re just going to have to buy the game to see them.
Speaking of the environments, they are breathtaking. From the lava that seems both flat and vividly alive to the flowers that gently rustle in the breeze, everything is far more eye-catching than you’d expect from such a “Weak console.”
Much like Twilight Princess’s enemies poofed out of existence in an almost cel-shaded swirly black mist, so too are the explosions and such of Super Mario Galaxy, which seem to be indecisive of whether to be photo-realistic or swooshy brush strokes. What materializes is a fusion of the old school of graphic design and the new that constantly had me shaking my head in [good] disbelief, even after I’d seen that same damn volcano erupt more than 20 times. Gorgeous.
Playing in 480p, I did notice the occasional jag, but it wasn’t ever serious or distracting. I’ll gladly take a flubbed character model here and there in exchange for the colors and aura of light that make up 100% of this game’s visual beauty. That’s all I’ve got to say on the subject.
PERSPECTIVE:
The camera in Super Mario Galaxy resembles the work of an Academy Award-Winning cinematographer (and remember what I said earlier about there not being any exaggeration here). The swooping, oft-changing perspectives not only look fabulous, but they add a whole new level of difficulty to the missions. I wish I could devote more time to this aspect, but I’m running my course quite long here as it is. So, I’ll just say that the camerawork here immerses me in the action about as much as that in Half-Life 2 did, and for a third-person platformer, I understand that that is saying a great deal.
SOUND:
Simply put, the orchestrations in the game are among the best the industry has offered in a long, long time. Wonderful, heartwarming renditions of long-known classics, as well as several new, very worthy additions to the Mario catalog. You\'ll hear new, fully-orchestrated versions of the Airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3, and so, so many more classic tunes that you haven\'t heard in years (well, at least not in an actual game).
The sound effects and voice samples are top-notch. Charles Martinet, once again, shines as Mario Mario, as well as some other familiar personalities. Every time you thwack a poor, helpless inbred Goomba in the face, you get a satisfying clash, and the sheer number of fitting sound effects, from the BOIOIOING of the spring to whatever else you can think of, it\'s all seriously fantastic.
THE MINUTE FAULTS:
Don’t roll your eyes; I’m not trying to trivialize a few missteps, and there is, indeed, a point here, if you’ll bear with me.
Even in a game that makes its contemporaries seem dated in comparison (which Galaxy most certainly does), there must always be some minor imperfections; it’s the way of life. So here they are:
First and foremost, swimming. It doesn’t seem as fluid or intuitive as the rest of the game’s dynamics, which is a shame. The swimming in 3D Mario games has never been an exact science – I’ve always had trouble with it, anyway – and while it does improve slightly on 64’s and Sunshine’s swimming controls, the level of improvement doesn’t quite match that of practically any other area of the gameplay. Unfortunate, since there’s a good bit of swimming in the game. Don’t be discouraged, though; it’s not like it’s “Bad,” [nothing in the game is] it’s just that it’s not quite as big an improvement, is all… which, I suppose, is its truest fault.
The only other minor issue I have is, that while the camera is fantastic most of the time, there are a few rare instances where it does give you a pretty lousy angle. However, it is merely cosmetic, as the few times it did happen [actually, it was almost solely on Beach Bowl Galaxy while underwater], I didn’t take any damage or put myself in any imminent danger. It just amounted to a little blemish on an otherwise stellar presentation, and that, perhaps, is a worse thing than death itself.
THE SUMMARY
There is a word that critics avoid as much as possible. This word makes us seem like sensationalists, rather than professionals. But damn it, right now, it has to be said. Barring the minor, minor complaints I had with the game over my 37 hour quest, playing through it twice in less than 4 days (Hint: There was a reason I did this.), I would have to say that not only is Super Mario Galaxy the greatest game I have ever played, ever, but also that it is as close to PERFECT as you are liable to experience in the videogame medium for years to come. I’d venture to say, even, that if you do not purchase and play through Super Mario Galaxy at least once in your life, that you are against the progression of art, and indeed, of humanity itself.
"Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)" is on sale November 12, 2007 and is rated E. Adventure.
