Super Mario Galaxy Fully Deserves the Hype

As a child, I didn't have a Wii console. Certainly, I tried Wii Sports plus various premier games during visits to relatives and companions during the 2000s decade, yet I lacked owning the console myself, meaning I missed out on numerous outstanding titles in Nintendo’s iconic franchises.

One of those games was Super Mario Galaxy, including its successor, has been freshly updated and transferred to the Nintendo Switch. The initial release also appeared as part of the 2020 collector's set Super Mario 3D All-Stars. I appreciated the possibility to play what many consider a top-tier Mario adventures created. I was quickly sucked in, and I confidently state it lives up to almost twenty years of anticipation. That said, it’s also made me realize how glad I am motion-sensing features have largely remained from previous eras.

The Cosmic Adventure Begins

Similar to most Mario adventure, Super Mario Galaxy begins with Bowser nabbing Princess Peach including her home. His armada of pirate-like space ships carry her to the cosmos, throwing Mario out amongst the stars in the process. Mario meets charming cosmic creatures known as Lumas as well as Rosalina atop her Comet Observatory. She tasks Mario with tracking down stars to energize the Observatory enabling pursuit of Bowser, and then we’re set free to go exploring.

Super Mario Galaxy’s platforming offers pleasure, requiring only experiencing a few missions to understand why it maintains excellent reputation. Players will notice similarities for those who tried three-dimensional Mario games, and the mechanics remain accessible and intuitive as Nintendo typically delivers.

Gravity-Defying Gameplay

Being cosmic enthusiast, the setting is right up my alley, enabling Super Mario Galaxy to experiment with planetary forces. Spherical platforms enable Mario to circle repeatedly surrounding them similar to Goku pursuing Bubbles in popular series. With nearby platforms, Mario can leap across being pulled through gravitational force of a nearby platform. Additional areas feature flat circular shapes, and often feature rewards underneath, where you may not think to look.

Rediscovering Classic Characters

What’s fun about experiencing this game 18 years later involves recognizing certain personalities. I didn't realize Rosalina made her debut in this game, nor that she served as the adoptive mother of the Lumas. Earlier in my gaming, to me she was just part of my regular Mario Kart World roster option. Similarly with Penguins, alongside whom I liked swimming during an early beach level.

Motion Control Challenges

The main inconvenience in playing Super Mario Galaxy today concerns movement inputs, which are used for collecting, aiming, and shooting cosmic pieces, vibrant items scattered around levels. Playing on handheld mode meant tilting and rotating the console to direct, which feels a bit clunky. Gyroscopic elements are prevalent in some platforming sections, requiring players to direct the stellar pointer at platforms to pull Mario toward them.

Missions entirely needing the motion controls are best played with the Joy-Cons detached improving control, including the aquatic gliding mission in the beginning. I rarely become a fan of motion controls, and they haven’t aged especially well in Super Mario Galaxy. Fortunately, by collecting sufficient stars via alternative missions, these motion control ones may be completely avoided. I tried the level requiring Mario guiding a massive orb across a path filled with gaps, then quickly abandoned following single try.

Enduring Gaming Quality

Aside from the cumbersome older motion controls, there’s really nothing to complain about within this adventure, while its cosmic stages are a delight to explore. While impressive games such as Odyssey have come after it, Super Mario Galaxy remains one of the best and creative Mario games around.