The original Super Mario Galaxy was a massive hit for Nintendo. It is no wonder that the creative team at the beloved game company was already hard at work on delivering a follow-up shortly after the first game’s release titled Super Mario Galaxy 2. This would not only be the second Mario Galaxy but also mark the fourth 3D Mario game ever created. By the time this game came out, I was just entering 7th Grade. I remember being blown away by the intricate level designs, orchestrated soundtrack, and unique gameplay combining new and old ideas. Even though today I don’t quite see this sequel to be quite as showstopping as the original, it still is an excellent game on its own. It does a lot of amazing things that help push the franchise forward.
In the Mushroom Kingdom, the star festival is taking place, and Princess Peach invites Mario to share some cake with her while they watch the stars rain down on their home planet. Mario starts to head toward the castle when he discovers a lost Baby Luma, who decides to stick with Mario until he can find his mama. Suddenly, Bowser, now gigantic, appears out of nowhere, steals Princess Peach away from Mario, and flies into space. Two yellow Lumas witness the events and help Mario by one Luma transforming into a launch star that also sends Mario into space. Mario comes across a group of Lumas on a planet spaceship led by a big purple Luma named Lubba. Luba and Mario strike a deal that if he recovers their stolen power stars and grand stars, he’ll help him reunite with Princess Peach. The Lumas transform the planet spaceship into a faceship resembling Mario’s head. It’s up to Mario to travel to different galaxies to collect power and grand stars so he can confront Bowser and his minions.
The Story takes a backseat in this game, so the gameplay and graphics can take the forefront. It's a good story, and it does get the point across. Still, compared to the first game, there were a lot of subtle complexities and interesting character arcs that made the first game feel more well-rounded. In this game, the story has been simplified. Now, Nintendo is notorious for mostly refusing to have deep and complex stories in their Mario games cause the primary focus for those games was mainly the gameplay. However, I did like the story’s simplicity and how no filler drags things along. Some cutscenes are presented just like a storybook, which shows excellent attention to detail. I miss the subtle complexities, like Rosalina’s backstory in the last game. However, overall, I still enjoyed how this story was straight to the point and surprisingly holds up despite its lack of complexity.
The Characters are charming and cute, with old and new characters showing their stuff and having well-defined personalities. The Lumas are as adorable as ever, and the new Luma character Lubba is such a laid-back character with a calm demeanor that it's almost impossible not to fall for his charm. Bowser is still a great villain. His conquest for universal domination and marrying Princess Peach never seems to get old, no matter how hard he repeats himself. A stand-out character called The Chimp often challenges the player to admittedly tough side quests and has a very outgoing personality. Mario will come across many characters in his journey who are just as charming and cute as they were the first time around.
The Gameplay will be very familiar if you remember how the first game worked. It experiments with the concepts of gravity and running around spherical planets that hone their gravitation force like last time. The main goal is to grab as many Power Stars and Grandstands as possible from challenges and boss fights to reach different galaxies. Some stars will be challenging to receive, but the challenge is fair, and it never feels like the game is cheating the player. You can get to other galaxies using the Starship Mario in a map layout much better crafted than Rosalina’s spaceship in the previous game. Mario’s moves are the same, and he’ll come across many different powerups that are either completely new or have been repeated from the last game. Old power-ups like Bee Mario and Spring Mario make a triumphant return. New power-ups will also help Mario get to some places in the galaxy. Cloud Mario will allow the player to create three clouds from thin air that Mario can walk on. Drill Mario enables Mario to carry a drill and use it to dig through areas of Earth on certain planets to get to different regions and climb high Earth structures. The main gimmick the game likes to push is the ability to ride on Yoshi. Yoshi’s mechanics are enjoyable to play around with as he can flutter, jump, and use his tongue to reach areas Mario can’t reach otherwise. He also has special powerups, such as dash pepper, allowing him to go faster and blimp fruit that will make Yoshi turn into a balloon. Yoshi can also help swallow enemies in Mario's way or hold bigger enemies, such as Bullet Bills, so he can shoot them at objects or enemies. This game also fixes some of the common minor issues in the previous entry. For example, you can now play as Luigi more often rather than completing the whole game as Mario before getting to play the game all over again as Luigi. An autosave feature also saves you time, so you don’t have to save every time you get Power or Grand Star. While the game might lack a little storytelling, Super Mario Galaxy 2 absolutely demolishes its predecessor in creating a gameplay experience that is just as great and even improves upon what the last game started.
The Graphics are just as beautiful as before. Though some of the level design might rely on older ideas, plenty of new ideas also help balance the game to keep things fresh. Like before, they play around with the idea of a planet’s gravity and make great use of how Mario needs to use his powers and abilities to make it through every level. The layout of the levels is crafted with great care and pushes the envelope of the concepts the first game introduced. Even at 480p, the details added to make the galaxy feel diverse and interesting take front and center to create an experience that is hard to forget. The character designs are still very appealing, and the backgrounds have tons of color to enchant the player to explore the environment further. Just like the first game, these graphics are colorful and timeless. They will be sure to delight gamers of any age.
The Music brings back the symphony of orchestrated tunes from before. The orchestrated soundtrack by Mahito Yokota, Ryo Nagamatsu, and Koji Kondo triumphantly returns, and in addition to all new music tracks, they even bring back some old remastered music from the original game, which combine to make for a grand experience. According to Nintendo, the game went almost without any orchestrated music due to recording issues; in the end, they pushed to keep the orchestra to create new lovely melodies such as Yoshi’s Star Galaxy theme and Starship Mario theme. I’m glad they did cause, just like before, each piece of music is memorable, and fun, and would go on to inspire many more soundtracks for future Mario games.
Sequels usually take a lot of work to get right. Thankfully, Super Mario Galaxy 2 proves that it can make the magic of hopping from planet to planet as fun as last time, thanks to its loveable characters, engaging gameplay, beautiful, timeless graphics, and a great orchestrated soundtrack. True, it may be lacking in storytelling, but with so many things this game manages to get right, that is a small price to pay for a game that is just as outstanding as its predecessor in almost everything else. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is still a great game and worth playing, especially if you love the first game as I do. It may have gotten a few downgrades, but it's still wildly entertaining from beginning to end.
(Final Grade: A)