Okay Geek Farm
Wii Review - Super Mario Galaxy 2
Ricardo Trejo
It’s rare to find a game that symbolizes perfection, and it’s even harder to find one that is considered that good unanimously across the board amongst all of its players. The first Mario Galaxy did just that back in 2007. So when Nintendo announced Galaxy 2 during E3 of last year, gamers everywhere were scratching their heads wondering just what else could the Big N add to their flawless title that would merit a whole new game and purchase? Well, apparently they had so much extra content still up their sleeves that somehow this game even surpassed the original in terms of originality and overall wonder. I don’t know how they did it but… well, actually I do know how. And I’m going to tell you about in my review following this break!
Story
Mario Galaxy featured an epic tale of a straight to business Bowser, who tried to take over the universe using the power of the grand stars. Well, this time around in Galaxy 2 Bowser’s up to that exact same thing, except for in this game it’s all set up as if everything in the original didn’t happen. So think of this as an alternate retelling of that same story. The plot, or whatever you want to call it that gets Mario going on this galactic mission, in Galaxy 2 begins with our Italian plumber making his way to the Mushroom Kingdom castle to snag himself a slice of delicious cake, made by none other than his sweetheart, Prince Peach. Disaster strikes, however, when seemingly out of nowhere come those pesky, yet all too familiar, air ships along with Bowser and his whole posse. In usual Mario fashion, King Bowser kidnaps the Princess, but this time we get a reason for why he wants her; so can bake him a galactic sized cake all to himself - probably one of the most interesting motives I’ve ever heard to kidnap somebody. And so Mario must then travel the cosmos in search of his damsel in distress once again.
It’s short, sweet, and to the point - everything a Mario title needs. I mean, in Mario Galaxy the plot seemed to come off too thick with all the talk from Princess Rosalina, so I’m glad they kept all of that out of this one and made it much more streamlined, giving it that Super Mario Bros. 3 kinda feel. Although I could’ve done without having to come talk to the Purple Luma every single time I was back to the ship! If Nintendo were to have set up the game to be more like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where there’s pretty much no text reading at all, then I would’ve been a happy spaceman - but this a small complaint in an other wise much improved style of storytelling.
Gameplay
If you’re a newcomer to the series or just a veteran Galaxy player looking to find more stars, Galaxy 2 literally throws you into the action as soon you begin the game. A short tutorial is explained to the player as you navigate a 2D styled level similar to NSMBW, which I thought was a really awesome idea from Nintendo’s side of things, y’know, for players who may have migrated from that game over to this new experience. The majority of the gameplay in galaxy will be handled much like in the original; navigating planets and finding the objective star in the end, all while making proper use of gravity, enemies, and obstacles new to this game alone. And as the stages progressively become more complex and introduce new methods of exploration, new power suits begin to emerge. The first Mario Galaxy showcased the Bee Suit, Ghost Suit, Spring Mario, Ice Flower, and Purple Cap, and while they all make a return in Galaxy 2, sans the Purple Cap, there’s are few originals thrown in there too, like Drill Mario, the Boulder Suit, Cloud Suit, and fan favorite, the ability to ride Yoshi.
My own personal preference is the Cloud suit since I could make platforms wherever necessary to either avoid obstacles, reach new heights, or otherwise just speed on through a level. And as for Yoshi, he is back and better than ever. The last time we got to fully use him wasn’t since Mario Sunshine nearly 8 years ago. Well, it’s been a long time coming but the green dinosaur we love so much now has his moves in Galaxy 2 - eating up baddies and turning them into starbits, using his tongue as a means to swing from bar to bar, and also that hover thing he does is quite convenient as well. You can’t carry over Yoshi from level to level like in Super Mario World, rather you’ll use him specially designated levels that are meant for his abilities - which is a smart thing considering there are tons of stages that change up the usual gameplay so much that Yoshi would be rendered useless in those circumstances.
But speaking of varied gameplay, there’s just so many different and creative ways to play Mario Galaxy 2, because in nearly every single new galaxy, new planet, and new star you reach there’ll be something completely new to do that hasn’t been done before in the game up to that point. And that feeling alone is what makes this title so appealing, especially since most of us thought ther wasn’t any more we could possibly do in the Galaxy setting (boy, we were wrong). To explain, in one planet I was running around different sized spheres, using gravity to lunge myself from planet to planet, and before I know it I was in another stage holding the Wiimote like a paper airplane, trying to maneuver a bird through a death trap of a world, all while racing others birds to the end of the map and a finish line. And literally, that’s just two levels.
Sidescrolling stages, rhythm timed platformed, trial races, challenge galaxies that use every bit of your platforming know-how just to inch forward to get one more star - let’s just say that I never got tired of this game. Even after playing hours and hours in a single sitting I wasn’t bored in the least, and how could I when the game would continually unlock new inventive galaxies for me to traverse, as well as newly revealed missions back in previous galaxies to revisit? Oh and not to mention that each galaxy has a Comet Medal hidden somewhere that is necessary to find if you want all 121 stars to show up. It’s also a relief to see that the game has been tweaked so that the player doesn’t have to manually run and jump to hubs to access certain galaxies. I mean, sure that was fun, but having a world map in the same style as Super Mario Bros. 3 is lot faster and easier to handle.
The difficulty can be quite much for the casual player, but luckily for them that this game not only offers hint signs - reminiscent of Super Mario World - but also features a cosmic guide, which is exactly like the Super Guide in NWMBW. So if you’re ever stuck in a sticky situation with no feasible way for you to get out using your own skills, you can let the game take over so you can enjoy the game just as much as any another player. Some might think of this as cheating, but hey I don’t mind - though I never used it myself in the game. Also, the game offers 2 Player support similar to what was offered in the first game, with the second controller aiding Mario in nabbing star bits and stunning enemies.
Visuals / Audio
If it’s one thing that Galaxy 2 does exceedingly well is the way the whole game feels. And that all comes down to atmosphere, made up of both visual style and music. Every beep and boop that you remember from the older Mario games are represented here a hundred fold, with an orchestra themed soundtrack that transfers the entire experience into an epic adventure across the universe. The first Galaxy had the same treatment in terms of sound, and it as well was just as poweful, so it’s a great to see the pattern following into this game as well. There’s just something special about hearing those classic tunes so beautifully handled with deep respect when they were transferred over into this compelling soundtrack. You may have heard them over and over again for years, but you’ve never heard Mario sound like this!
And as for the looks, since it uses the same graphics engine as the first game nothing much has been altered. But then again, the original was no doubt the most well represented Mario game ever crafted, so there really are no complaints here. The only gripe comes from the Wii itself and not being able to output to proper HD setting, because with a game like this you just die to see it more clearly.
Final Thoughts
The interesting thing about Mario Galaxy 2 is that everything I touched upon in this review is just the tip of the iceberg, I must confess. Yes, in terms of controls and overall style, not much has changed since the original, but with raised difficulty, more variety in gameplay style, as well as new abilities and power ups, not forgetting Yoshi, this game kicks up up a couple of notches over the original. As I mentioned earlier, there’s just so much stuff to do that you’ll never do the same thing twice, and with that comes a ridiculous amount of replay value, especially when it comes to the star collecting! Because you see, after collecting all 121 stars you’ll receive the Green Star challenge which will have you searching the universe all over again for 121 new ORIGINAL stars. What exactly do I mean? I mean that these green stars have their own requirements separate from those you previously collected. Unprescedented? Yes. Awesome? You better believe it!
With a couple of surprises in store for players of the older Mario games in terms of retro levels making a return, 242 total stars to collect, and a million different game mechanics thrown into a single experience, Super Mario Galaxy 2 may just be Nintendo’s best Mario game to date. And to think that all of this comes for a game that never really needed a sequel, but perhaps that’s the reason why it did so well - it shattered expectations since people didn’t really have any to begin with. And yet out of this doubt comes a Mario title that blasts passed the competition, is available for all ages, and models itself as what video games really are: fun.
