All things Super Mario Bros.

[Roy42]

The difference between Nintendo and other developers is that Nintendo only ever needs one shot to get it right. Give them one go at a new piece of hardware and they'll make a classic (and if they make something less good like Sunshine, even the moment-to-moment gameplay is still lots of fun). Give them multiple goes? Super Mario Bros. 3, Yoshi's Island, and Galaxy 2.

In every conceivable way, the first Galaxy knocked it out of the park. It looks amazing (not looked, looks), has a beautifully orchestrated soundtrack that conveys the sense of scale that travelling across galaxies should, is packed with course after course, all unique in aesthetic and plenty of fun, as courses in a Mario game should be, and, most importantly for a platformer, controls damn near perfectly. It's iteration over the course of ten years from Mario 64, but with a brand new physics engine, they only needed try to make Mario control like you always wished he did; and like your nostalgia for the previous games would tell you that he always did. Nobody else does that with any game.

Galaxy 2 is certainly the most iterative Mario sequel to date, not counting the "New" games, and yet it still brings in enough new gameplay features to keep things fresh, and amps up the challenge to a satisfying degree as well. The hardest part is making a lot of the levels feel unique and exciting, despite most of them being similarly themed as the levels from Galaxy 1, and I think it pulls it off far better than a lot of other platformers faced with this challenge do. What you end up with is a game so tightly packed of excellent gameplay that it's every bit as good as the first game; something that, I think, is too easily taken for granted.

The only real problem I have with the Galaxy games is the one I brought up about Sunshine. 64 managed to get a great balance of having structured linearity in levels while also being playgrounds for the player to explore, not restricting them to getting just the star they had picked from the course intro screen most of the time. Sunshine makes its levels completely linear, where you have to get each star in turn and can't deviate from what you've selected, and the Galaxies do this as well. For how grand and epic it looks to fly from distant planetoid to distant planetoid, you're only ever going down a single path. Sometimes I just want to explore these beautifully crafted worlds; I want there to be planetoids that you don't need to go to to get the star; I want to be able to go a different direction and get the second star before the first one; to enter the door on my right when the narrator tells me that Stanley is supposed to go to his left, if you will.

But that's not the game that has been made, and to criticise it for not holding to a design decision of a previous game would be ignorant of me. The Super Mario Galaxies are fantastic 3D representations of classic Mario left-to-right gameplay, the first in particular a master class of game design that is easily one of, if not the best game of the last console generation, able to stand next to Mario 64 as its equal. Just one year into the Wii's lifecycle, Nintendo put out an instant classic that's almost faultless and made it look easy. No one sets and raises the bar like that; that's the difference between Nintendo and other developers.

[chase210]

To me the Two Mario Galaxy games are proof, along with all the other great games, that at their best, nintendo are untouchable in game quality.
I received Galaxy as a birthday present, and the first thing I was struck by was the look, and that beautiful soundtrack. Its a perfect transition from mario 64, the spin attack is such a handy little move, the level design is magnificent, putting it in space, where the rules of the level can change every time was genius, none of that awkward motion control stuff that blights many a Wii game (even the good ones like metroid prime 3) and even now, 7 years on, it looks great.
Mario Galaxy 2 therefore, was a day one purchase, and I loved it just as much. Yoshi was fixed from his lacklustre appearance in mario sunshine, I love the little callbacks to older marios, the worlds were just as bright and colourful, the levels still incredible, with just the right amount of challenge (apart from later on when it gets much harder)

Of course, its just another Mario story, bowser kidnaps peach, etc. But its never about that for me. People who might complain about a bad story, miss everything else about these games, the explosion of joy in these levels, the amazing and inventing power ups, zooming from planet to planet collecting star bits, its magical. Fantastic games, maybe the best in series.

[Buskalilly]

A pair of games that are so incredible I felt compelled to stop lurking and contribute.

These are games which transcend consoles and generations, development teams, fandoms and debate. Galaxy has the most perfect controls, a direct link between player and plumber which has not been surpassed. It has physics which make perfect sense no matter how insane and incredible the situations Nintendo invents.

Super Mario Galaxy even defies attempts to fit into its own series. Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine before it featured vast levels and hubs with an emphasis on exploration and figuring out how to get stars and shines. 3Ds Land and World after it featured linear assault courses more akin to the earlier 2D games. Yet somehow, Galaxy is a perfect amalgamation of the two different series. It defies the very laws of space and time. It was fun, revolutionary, innovative and constantly inventive. It defines Nintendo.

As for Galaxy 2, it feels less like a series and more like the first game simply continued on for another disk, which was no bad thing!

[ratsoalbion]

Welcome, former lurker - and what a fine post to debut with!

[DomsBeard]

Never played Galaxy 2, I think I need to sort this out.

[Sinclair Gregstrum]

Super Mario Galaxy holds some of my favourite gaming memories. A wonderful concept beautifully realised with pitch perfect gameplay that despite its relative recency gives me the warm fuzzy nostalgia buzz that is generally reserved for games of my youth. Glorious imagination hits you at every turn on every level, with more ideas on one stage than some games have in their entire length. The game is also an audio visual treat, with my favourite ever Mario soundscape of tunes and effects coupled with visuals that, despite the modest power of the Wii, have a timeless quality that shines through to this day over 6 years after release and will for many years to come. I must confess that I've not actually got round to playing Galaxy 2, despite owning a copy since release. This may sound obtuse, but I actually fell in the love with the first game so much that I've almost been nervous to try the second, and I've always found excuses not to get stuck in. Whether I'll ever get round to it now is questionable given the number of new platforms, games, and other demands of life in general, but my memory of the original Super Mario Galaxy is so sweet that I'm happy to live with that as my last experience of the series and not worry too much about what I've missed!

Three word review: My Favourite Mario!

[ratsoalbion]

We're concluding our (first) Super Mario shows this week with a round-up and review of all four (and a half?) of the New Super Mario Bros. games (DS/Wii/3DS/Wii U 2006 to 2013).

We'd love to hear your opinions of any or all of the games in the series in good time for the recording which is scheduled for 8pm (BST) this coming Thursday, 15th May.