For many, Super Mario 64 or even Super Mario Sunshine was their first experience playing a Mario 3D platformer. My first experience with a 3D Mario Platformer was Super Mario Galaxy, released for the Nintendo Wii in 2007. I remember playing it for the first time in middle school and being blown away by its jaw-dropping visuals, creative gameplay, and fantastic music soundtrack, unlike anything I’ve ever heard in a video game. Over the years, I’ve played this game multiple times, and every time, it always feels like I’m playing something fresh and new whenever I start a new game. I still find this one of the best 3D platformers I’ve ever played, and while it is arguable to say whether or not this game is perfect, Mario has never peaked as much as when this brilliant game came out. Sure, there is room for improvement in a few areas, but even almost a decade and a half later, this game has aged very well and is one of my all-time favorite video games.
It is the night of the star festival in the mushroom kingdom, and everyone is preparing for the big celebration. Suddenly, Bowser barges in and once again kidnaps Princess Peach, but this time, he uses his UFO saucer to lift Peach’s castle into the air. Mario follows in pursuit as the castle leaves the world of the mushroom kingdom and flies directly into space. One of Bowser’s minions throws Mario off course, and he lands on a strange planet where he is greeted by floating stars called Lumas and their mother/leader, Queen Rosalina. Rosalina takes Mario into her starship, which is in the middle of space, and explains that Bowser and his minions stole their power stars and grand stars needed to power the ship. So it’s up to Mario to recover all the stolen power and grand stars by flying from galaxy to galaxy so that they can use them to power Rosalina’s ship to fly to the center of the universe to confront Bowser and save Peach.
The Story takes the beloved Italian plumber and brings him to new heights by using a simple story while leaving room for more minor complexities. Sure, it does have the typical Bowser kidnaps Peach-like plot, but it still feels fresh and exciting as there are many twists and turns in the overall narrative but nothing too out of left field. There is also a smaller and more emotional side story about Rosalina and how she became the mother of Lumas, which is heard whenever it is time to enter the library in the game. That story is cute and can play with your emotions when you least expect it to. This overall story is simple in many areas but leaves room for impressive worldbuilding to make a full-rounded experience that few Mario games have ever done.
The Characters are as fun and cute as they should be, considering it is still a Super Mario game. Mario and Princess Peach have very few character momments, but other characters, such as the Luma’s Bowser and Rosalina, have a ton of screen time and are bursting with personality. The stand-out character is Rosalina, who, as mentioned before, has a bittersweet backstory and is just magical and mysterious. These characters don’t need much complexity to be iconic because sometimes, being simple can make a big difference.
The Gameplay experiments with different ideas that few other 3D platformers have ever tried. It plays around with the concepts of gravity and running around different spherical areas that hone their gravitational force. The game does put up a good challenge, but it’s not ultra-difficult to complete, which is a good thing because a lot of the levels are designed with great precision, and even the ones that aren’t still had a lot of thought and creativity put in. Mario starts with a few lives and will often find himself in the hub world, Rosalina’s Spaceship. It is there that Mario can explore the hub as well as use the hub to go to different galaxies in the game. The levels are mostly linear, with a power star or grand star to grab at the end of each level. Most main-level areas house up to six power stars, while the Bowser boss areas host only one grand star. The power stars are earned by completing a specific objective in a level, such as traversing a level or fighting a mini-boss. In contrast, some are earned by finding them in hidden locations or beating a comet challenge at any given level. Mario controls very well and moves like a long jump, wall jumping, and a new spin attack, help in traversing the creative levels. The Wiimote is used to do the spin attack, collect star bits, and even perform multiple motion control tasks throughout the game, such as ball rolling or ray surfing. Mario will also have the aid of new Power-Ups that will be useful on many levels, such as Ice Mario, Bee Mario, Boo Mario and so much more. Flying from place to place using a launch star is satisfying and fun, and it's a unique experience to run and jump on platforms with their gravity. One nitpick I will admit I have is that it sucks that once the game is completed while playing as Mario, you’ll have to then fully complete the game again as Luigi to finish the whole game, which seems like a cop-out after working so hard, to grab all the power stars only to do it again as Luigi and play all the same levels all over again. Despite that, the gameplay is still excellent either way and may have some of the most inventive mechanics that have ever come out of a Mario game.
The Graphics still look just as colorful and impressive now as they did when shown back in 2007. To have a Mario game set in space is new territory for the franchise. It may be a Wii game that initially had a resolution of 480p, but I still stand by it; it’s still one of the best-looking Mario games ever made. The character designs are fantastic, as both old and new characters feel more alive than ever before. The real stand out, though, is the creative galaxy-level designs, which are very ambitious for the time, and each of them has a distinct theme and color platelet to help make each of them memorable. It is easy to tell the level designers at Nintendo were given a lot of creative freedom to design these levels while keeping in mind the gameplay mechanics of using gravitation forces to traverse the levels. This visual feast helps elevate this Super Mario game into artistry and would undoubtedly inspire many future Mario games.
The Music stands out from the other Super Mario games at the time as it was the first to have a full-on orchestrated soundtrack by composers Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo. Combining a traditional orchestra with American synthesized sounds helped make this game’s music stand out from the competition. I am still blown away by just how epic-sounding each music piece is. It can also be relaxing or bouncy when it’s not epic, which fits in well with the rest of the soundtrack. Each piece of music is very memorable, and much like the gameplay, it would further influence many future Mario games in the following years.
Super Mario Galaxy is still one of the best games Nintendo ever created. Even my problems with it are minor nitpicks because this is still a fantastic 3D platformer, unlike anything seen in a Mario game beforehand. It has a great story, lovable characters, top-notch graphics and gameplay, and an epic and lovely music score. It is the most cinematic of all the Mario games from a narrative and visual point of view, and you can see the influence of this game’s impact in many more Nintendo projects released since then. Even playing this game years later still reminds me why this game is one of my all-time favorites, and each playthrough makes me feel satisfied and inspired. Nintendo has introduced some great games on many different consoles. However, it is undeniable that Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii is still one of their best.
(Final Grade: A+)