Super Mario Galaxy

"I'm going to stomp you into space bits."

Source // Nintendo

After the big drip that was Super Mario Sunshine, I would probably say that I wasn't eagerly awaiting the next 3D Mario instalment at all. I never really have, to be honest, and am only getting around to them because of this 1001 list.

The next up, though, promises to take us on a journey through the galaxy, navigating three dimensions in ways you never thought possible, or are at least new to a lot of people now in possession of a Nintendo Wii.

How will the one and only Mario make use of motion controls in Super Mario Galaxy? Let's stick some batteries in the damn thing and find out.

Source // MobyGames

Fun Times

Super Mario Galaxy kicks off more or less how you'd expect. Mario, a bunch of Toads, a castle off in the distance. But something isn't quite right, of course, because you're in control of a nunchuck and a Wiimote. The nunchuck steers our heroic plumber and the Wiimote points at things. Is that it? That can't be all it does. It's not even used to point to where you want Mario to go. Mario, you don't have a clue what motion controls are, do you?

There's a star festival of some sort going on, which is the perfect time for you know who to kidnap you know who and kick start our next thrilling adventure of saving her from him and saving all of that. You know the drill.

Source // MobyGames

I forget the rest of the setup, but basically, Mario ends up on an asteroid looking thing learning how to navigate in this galaxy, hunting down stars that show him the way. Here, instead of levels through the landscape, you'll be flinging yourself from planetoid to planetoid, running around entire objects in seconds, hoovering up stars for use in feeding things and shooting them at enemies in a game that is... dare I say it... turning out to be pretty fun.

Source // MobyGames

It's been a little while since I wrote these notes, so I'm going off memory here. Mario is tasked with refuelling a bunch of stars so that a spaceship/telescope can help him hunt down Bowser and rescue Princess Peach. Stars are brought back into the light by completing what we might as well call levels full of challenges involving gravity alongside all the usual Mario mechanics - jumping on enemies, collecting stuff and so on.

You might be able to imagine a 3D platformer where the character exists on a ball you can run around and around on. You might also be able to imagine how you can jump and stomp and flip and dive and do all the Mario moves in such an environment to make any sort of progress, and sure enough, Super Mario Galaxy feels like a 3D Mario game in these respects. So what's with the Wiimote?

Your main function with the Wiimote is to waggle the pointer to hoover up star bits. They're hiding in bushes and dotted like breadcrumbs, and have a couple of purposes. They're mainly used as a currency for feeding different types of stars which help you out by turning into launch pads to get you off one rock and onto another, for example. But far more fun is to be had shooting them back at the TV screen to bonk enemies on the head.

I don't think I quite got the full hang of controlling Mario in my left hand and star bit shenanigans in my right, but given time, the merging of these two controllers will make for a game like no other. Indeed, when the first mini-boss emerges, a giant Pirhana plant baby stomping around a planet, you have to make use of both the nunchuck to move Mario out of the way, and the Wiimote to grab and pull its tail to stun it if memory serves. It's almost a delight. Almost.

Source // Nintendo

Source // Nintendo

Source // MobyGames

The screenshots I have are frankly doing nothing to help sell Super Mario Galaxy here, but during my time I slowly found myself enjoying it more and more. Yeah, there were moments when I would curse at the fool for not running in the right direction, to the point where I wondered if it would actually be handy to use the pointer to tell Mario where the hell he needs to go, but these grumbles weren't commonplace.

I bounced my way around planetoids, flung myself through the stars, puzzled away at platform challenges that both feel familiar and yet have this galactic twist to them that makes them all seem so fresh and pleasing.

Yeah. That's a good word for it all. Pleasing. I was pleased by Super Mario Galaxy. I stopped playing, of course. I had things to do. But after Sunshine, Galaxy restored my faith in there being good Mario titles after all.

Source // Nintendo

Source // MobyGames

Source // MobyGames

Source // MobyGames

A smattering of screenshots from later in the game revealed even more colour and challenges for us to face. Many of them, perhaps sadly, looked a little too similar to previous games, or too flat compared to the early stages where you're often upside down and trying to work out which way you want to be facing.

Actually, that's as good a time as ever to say that my notes said the camera can feel a little awkward, as can spinning to hit enemies. That's right. You can't have a Wiimote game without a waggle mechanic, and waggling sends Mario into a spin attack that can stun enemies, but the timing was a bit of a faff for me. At least, I think that's what a Wiimote waggle did...

Has it already been long enough since making these notes that I've forgotten about Super Mario Galaxy and should play it again? Probably. I know P2 wants to play it. She looked at the disc and reacted in amazement that such a thing existed. Don't know why. Is the disc that interesting to look at? Does she even know of Super Mario Galaxy?

Source // Nintendo

Oh, look at this idiot. Now he's a bumblebee. Now there's even more of a reason for P2 to pick it up. I've no idea about the context of this image with the rest of Super Mario Galaxy. It looks it should be from a different game entirely.

Maybe that's what I really want. Something like this but without too much of the Mario. My notes kind of read like I was almost annoyed that I liked it, which is silly, really. It's fine to like Mario games, whether you're young or old. I may not understand why you do, but if an hour of Super Mario Galaxy is anything to go by, at least Nintendo put the effort in.

Though, surely they did that for Sunshine, too... Oh, I don't know.

Final Word

I played Super Mario Galaxy in a bunch with a load of other Nintendo Wii titles to make lots of notes before the batteries ran out, and I have to say that it was one of the better games of that bunch. You almost expect that by now. The Mario's and the Zelda's stand tall at the top of the charts, showing what the system is capable of, and then nothing else seems to ever come close and you wonder why you even own a Nintendo console.

That's not true, but even the poor titles in the Mario series often make more of an impact than other games. Luckily, Super Mario Galaxy doesn't look to be a poor title. Yet another one that involves Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach, yes, but what an adventure there is to restore Peach to the galaxy.

Puzzles that twist your brain into a new dimension of thinking. Bold environments to literally get lost in. Motion controls that don't make you look like a tit. Super Mario Galaxy offers you so much that it's clearly worth your time.

How will the plot unfold? Where will the galaxy take me? I'll just have to sit back in front of the TV and find out. Or watch P2 flounder and fall at the first hurdle like she usually does. I'm sure she prefers Sonic anyway. Leave Galaxy to the rest of us.

Fun Facts

The controls being split between Mario on the nunchuck and star bit stuff on the Wiimote allow for a co-operative experience for two players, making new players more likely to give Galaxy a go.

Super Mario Galaxy, developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo, first released in 2007.

Version played: Nintendo Wii, 2007.