Wii Super Mario Galaxy, possibly one of the best 3D platformers in existence

Damien Lee

Damien Lee

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Super Mario 64 on the N64 was truly a landmark title. It really set the bar for 3D platformers so high that it was difficult for competitors and even Nintendo to follow up with a game that was even better. Super Mario Sunshine on the GameCube was impressive but it's still lacked some of the magic of it's predecessor.

Then the Wii came along with it's unique controller and promise of great Nintendo franchises. When I first saw early screenshots and videos of Super Mario Galaxy, I was intrigued by the orb-like environments. However, it's when I first bought the game and started playing it that I could truly appreciate what Nintendo managed to do with 3D platforming. In a way, they revolutionized and reinvigorated the genre with their out of the box thinking.

Super Mario Galaxy, especially the first one remains one of my personal favorites to this very day. I consider it a unique and amazing platformer that is heads and shoulders above it's peers.

What are your thought on this?
 
I agree 100%. Nintendo never ceases to amaze me with the way they manage to keep pushing the envelope with their games. When you think about Super Mario Galaxy, jumping between planets and such, it doesn't sound like it would necessarily be that amazing... But it is! Somehow their games are just fun. I like how they added that a second controller can help you by blasting stuff on screen. It's a small addition but it's great when you want to play with someone around, or a smaller child that may not be able to play the full game but can still be part of the experience.

SMG is one of those Wii games that I actually bought and played a lot, and now you've reminded me that it's time to hop back into it.
 
I actually found the original hard to get into. That's not to say I don't like it, but it always turned me off a little bit. However, the sequel is my second favorite Mario game of all time (right behind 64) as well as my favorite Wii game.
 
I completely agree! Almost instantly I was absorbed by the games complexity in terms of the 3D platform. Nintendo fluidly incorporated their classical icons in this new setting. It has been a while since I played but I can vividly remember some of the levels.

I am not a big fan of the Wii remote but I have to say this game utilizes it very well.
 
Super Mario Galaxy was a good game, but (I was little at the time, so it might have just been because of that.) I found the game confusing to find the right levels. Then I made the big mistake to sell the game! :confused:
 
I'm going to fire some shots and say, the game was innovative, but it wasn't as good as Mario Sunshine. I'd just put it a touch above Mario 3D World Wii U.

No offense. I can understand why others might like it. But it wasn't quite my cup of tea.
 
Super Mario Galaxy is a masterpiece of the most beautiful kind, the music, the physics, the gameplay, all of it was perfect. But I have to say that people who are saying that Sonic Lost World is a rip-off of Super Mario Galaxy, it isn't they had this planetary physics thing way back before Super Mario Galaxy was even made.

The first example is the cancelled Sonic X-treme but that doesn't count. The most notable example is Sonic Adventure 2, but the physics are kinda bad. So maybe... Super Mario Galaxy is a rip off of Sonic Adventure 2? Hmmmm....... Nah. That's just a coincidence.
 
Just a few trivia about Super Mario Galaxy:

It received a 9.5/10 review rating from Gamespot labelling it "Superb". It received universal acclaim from Metacritic, with a Metascore of 97/100 making it one of the highest rated games of all time. It won the 2007 Game of the Year award, which is the best award a game could ever get, from several review sites including Gamespot, GameTrailers, IGN and many more.

Even before you play it, just reading that makes you realize how awesome this game is going to be. And it was truly awesome indeed. It took platforming to an entire new level.
 
Yes Galaxy is awesome, but i still think it is very different to 64. Galaxy and Galaxy 2 are more like 2d Mario as you are given a level and you win it. Where 64 feels more like a world. I still remember every world and lots of levels from 64. The only level in Galaxy 1 and 2 i remember is Throwback galaxy. (Which is a remade 64 level.) I think they are both wonderful just quite different. I probably prefer 64 but i would have to agree Galaxy is still one of the best Platformers of all time.
 
It's a great game, a solid 3D platformer overall, but in many ways I felt this was inferior to Super Mario 64, and, let's face it, it really IS Super Mario 64 with a new coat of paint, new levels, and a few other things. Like Super Mario 64, you run around 3D worlds looking for stars. Unlike Super Mario 64, there isn't much "searching" - where the stars are is a little obvious, and the levels are far more linear than those of its predecessor. This is somewhat of a let-down against the game, as part of the fun of Super Mario 64 was the exploration.

The other issues with this game were its controls and its camera. The controls were pretty similar to those of Super Mario 64, and were mostly fine, the exception however came in conjunction with the camera. Down should be down and yet, oftentimes, you are walking on the walls or ceiling relative to the camera, as well as in various other awkward positions. This is incredibly annoying, as suddenly your controls are reversed or otherwise strange. If you're running around a round planet, how about having the camera follow me? The loss of camera control in many sections of the game is also annoying.

The biggest upside of the game were the comets - they put a twist on the worlds. Unfortunately, many of these were just repeats. Overall, the game had a lot of repetitive elements in it - one world is just a mirrored, palette-swapped version of an earlier one, and several stars are not new stars but rather old ones you have to redo either in a limited amount of time or with only one hit point.

The game was fun, but it had some issues which made me love it less than Mario 64. If you liked Mario 64 then it's an enjoyable adaption, but IMHO it just isn't up to the level of its predecessor.
 
Nomekop said:
Yes Galaxy is awesome, but i still think it is very different to 64. Galaxy and Galaxy 2 are more like 2d Mario as you are given a level and you win it. Where 64 feels more like a world. I still remember every world and lots of levels from 64. The only level in Galaxy 1 and 2 i remember is Throwback galaxy. (Which is a remade 64 level.) I think they are both wonderful just quite different. I probably prefer 64 but i would have to agree Galaxy is still one of the best Platformers of all time.
Click to expand...

This.
 
I prefer 3D world over it. Never cared much for Galaxy
 
I thought Galaxy had more to it than 3D world though. Maybe I'm biased from the lack of an over world.
 
Galaxy had one of the best game soundtracks I've heard in a while as well. Hearing the songs still brings back memories.
 
I loved galaxy so much. What impressed me about it was how uniquely and richly it fit into the Mario franchise without necessarily feeling like a clone of the better games - there was so much about the game that made it have its own feel and possibilities that it sucks it wasn't more widely recognized as a beast of a title.
 
I loved it. I really did not think about the ties to Super Mario 64 but now that you mention it that makes perfect sense. I love Super Mario Galaxy and while I do not necessarily think it is the best game game out there, meaning that the story and all of that are really nothing too special, you have to recognize how different it is and appreciate that.
 
Yeah galaxy was pretty special. Out of the 3d mario platformers i'd say sunshine is my favorite, just because it was the first one I played. Gives me that fuzzy nostalgic feeling every time I play it.
 
@Heigw yep, me too. They're all great, Odyssey is awesome too but i always go back to Sunshine. Just something about it, aint there?
 
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