No mentioning of a new hop and bop 3D platformer for Mario just leaves a sour feeling inside. Yeah, there's another Super Mario Bros. side-scroller coming out, but that doesn't interest me much. I was spoiled by Mario 64. Even now, I'm trying to play New Super Mario Bros. on the DS and struggling to finish even a few levels at a time. Outside of having Mario occasionally Godzilla through half a stage, what reasons do I have to continue reliving my childhood days of Super Mario on the NES and SNES? "This one has better graphics, an item holder, and you can wall kick!" It still feels like one of those old games I burned myself out on long ago, but now it's retardedly simple. 1-ups galore makes trying to survive feel trivial. If any of them, I wouldn't mind playing Yoshi's Island again. I never did get around to finishing it and, back then, I thought the game provided a decent challenge. Still, without any information about a new, unique experience to be expected on the Wii U, my only first-party hopes for owning the system any time soon would be on Pikmin 3 and the next Smash Bros title. I don't know about that, either. Who is Namco going to add to the roster of fighters? Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man? Dig-Dug and Mr. Driller? I really have no desire to see legitimate fighting characters in the game, like the cast of Tekken. Regardless of those chosen by Namco (and all of this will sound a bit silly for me to read again in years to come), I can't seem to care as much as I did with the previous games. Bascially, my bitching is just more proof of how much I enjoyed Mario Galaxies 1 and 2. Once I've beaten Bowser and collected all the stars, I began to crave more from the series. I actually make the effort to look up news about it. It seems like that desire for information is commonplace for a lot of other gamers, but I usually just concern myself with what's available at the moment. Play it, beat it, and find something else for $20 at Gamestop to pass the time: This is how it usually goes for me. I don't like selling the games I've purchased, so I have a halfway decent library of them, but few manage to find a place in my heart that leave me wanting to play them again. Maybe I'll force my children (if I ever have the misfortune of raising some) to live through my pitiful youth by exposing them to the wonders/blunders of the 80s and 90s. Maybe I'll add salt to the wound with music from those days, as well:
"Straight up, now tell me is it gonna be coins, shrooms, and flowers?
Oh oh oh! Or are you collecting rings?"
I'm no expert on graphics, but the bright colors and cheery enviroment always managed to stave away my ADD. Essentially, it was the usual Mario-esque atmosphere that would make for one more glorious attraction at a SMB theme park, which would be part of a Nintendo-themed resort, that executives of Nintendo will probably never support unless they are under the effects of huffing a large dose of paint fumes and chlorine tablets.
Translated to English: "I'm serious about it! If we do this right, it'll be a huge success! Best of all, there isn't any real competition out there to cut into the profit!"
The game continues the trend of avoiding any sort of actual story involving Peach's rescue, which is fine: Bowser kidnaps her, gets cornered, fights, fails, and Mario/Luigi is thanked with a cake while the rest of us endure an unavoidable and lengthy credits sequence. What Galaxy does provide, however, is a backstory for Rosalina, a new character who helps Mario reach Bowser with her observatory and provides additional support through the aid of her children, the Lumas. The player learns more about her as she reads from a book that talks about her life. What I found odd was that her book omitted the parts about when she found time to learn how to drive a kart and motorbike. Another odd detail is that she is a deceptively big person. Rosa has a similar look to Peach, but she's got more inches on her than Waluigi. I like tall women, but it's still funny to realize that she shares a weight class with Donkey Kong, Wario, and Bowser on Mario Kart. Bowser Jr. returns, but not the other Koopalings, and he periodically battles Mario in some sort of oversized contraption that he probably pieced together himself, though I couldn't imagine why he wouldn't utilize Iggy's genius in the mechanical creations. Dr. Gero and Dr. Myuu worked together to create the android Super 17 and look how long he... lasted... nevermind. Still, if one is trying to create his own galaxy and seize control over the entire Mushroom Universe, Bowser should have incorporated all the help he could muster. Hell, he recruited the Whomp King and that boss is literally meant to be stepped on!
The problem many players had with Super Mario Sunshine was that it lacked a strong variety of places to run, bounce, and climb around, because everywhere Mario went had to be related to what one might see and visit on a tropical island. I found the change to be refreshing. If nothing else, it made sense. As a kid, I thought it was a little weird to go through SMB3 and SMW moving from one stage to the next and the adjacent environment would be completely different. The setup for Galaxy is as perfect for stage diversity as the painting gallery portals are in Mario 64. As you fly from one galaxy to the next, you are guided first by Rosa, then later by Lubba. Obviously, I preferred being welcomed back by Rosalina aboard her observatory than I did being greeted by an obese Luma slapping his stomach in front of me while riding on top of a ship shaped like my character's face.
"Cheeee.... seburger!"
Cloud, Bee, Spring, Boo, Ice, Rock, and Drill Mario are all interesting transformations for the plumber, but, when he has to actually ride something, things get a bit irritating. I had more trouble with steering the star ball than I did with surviving Galaxy 2's The Perfect Run (though only slightly). Floating around in a bubble, surfing on the manta ray, and even controlling Yoshi all required a bit more patience than I would have expected. I adore Yoshi, but I groaned each time I arrived at a new galaxy and saw that dash pepper sitting in front of me. It brought back formerly-repressed memories of Turbo Tunnel, the third stage of Battletoads.
Still easier than Ghost'n Goblins.
I bump into one thing with Dash Yoshi, and that's it! Even if I don't fall to my death, I still have the pleasure of trying to hover him back onto the platform and starting all over.
Yeah, both Galaxy games can have their moments of frustration, but it never reaches the point of ragequitting. If anything, I found myself taking short breaks, convincing myself that I just needed to relax a little before continuing. Even Lubba makes this suggestion once in a while. I commend Nintendo for this, because I've played many other titles where I would sooner believe the developers screwed up before admitting I was at fault. Proof of this can be found in the NES library where many games included "fake difficulty" to help extend their replay value at the cost of the player's enjoyment (see "Not quite Ghosts'n Goblins" for examples).
Lastly, I love the music. Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo are geniuses! If they weren't, I would have muted these games a long time ago in favor of the playlist of trash I actually listen to on my iPod. My favorite tracks are Grass Beach ~Undersea~, Yoshi Star (Yoshi), Wind Garden, and especially Puzzle Plany Galaxy, but I could just as easily enjoy hearing any track from the Mario Galaxy Orchestra.
I know it's only a matter of time before I read/hear news of a new game for the Wii U that doesn't involve 2.5D platform gameplay, but even if I were to do so right now, that would still involve, at least, a few years of agonizing wait for it to be finished and released in the states. As for a wrap-up score of both Galaxy games, I'd say it deserves a number out of another number, possibly of equivalent value, because the only real flaw I can account for are the (very) few moments when the camera didn't keep up, like while riding the star ball. If you've got a Wii, play the games, collect all the stars, and join the 484 Club with me!
Now, more insight with Huffing Iwata:
