Going into Super Mario Galaxy I was a little afraid that it would be another Super Mario Sunshine.  I was afraid it would go with the space theme throughout the entire game, and that it would stray farther and farther from its roots, Super Mario 64.  Unfortunately there was no midnight opening, so I had to wait the 10 grueling hours until my local GameStop store opened to go and purchase the game, but it was worth the wait.  From the first seconds that I started playing the game I knew that this would be a revival of Mario as the king of platforming.

Now we all know that Mario games are not too big on storyline, and this game is no different, but they do add some nice twists that make it seem very fresh.  The basic premise is that Bowser is back (again) and wants Peach (again).  This time he takes it to the next level.  He doesn’t just steal her from the castle or take over her castle, he rips the entire castle from its foundation and brings it into space.  And you can pretty much figure out the rest from there.  Nothing too over the top, but it is a formula that has worked for Mario games all the way back to the 8-bit era. 

Mario games have some of the best controls of any platformer in the business, and I have to admit I was a little curious if Nintendo was going to give Super Mario Galaxy some gimmicky controls because of the Wii’s motions sensing capabilities.  But Nintendo surprised me by creating some very fluid controls that almost feel more right that a traditional control pad.  You move around using the analog stick like always, and jump by just pressing the A button.  Mario’s standard punch and kick moves are out and spinning is in.  Just waggle the Wii-remote side to side and Mario will launch his new spin attack.  Much like in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, this movement is very easy to pull off, and becomes second nature.  The controls are more perfected that ever and will set the standard from platformers on the Wii from now on.

Many reviews for Wii games talk about how a game has good graphics “for the Wii”, but I am here to tell you now with Super Mario Galaxy.  This game has some of the most gorgeous visuals seen in any video game on any system.  All the various worlds that Mario will go to in Galaxy will be just as beautiful as the last, and each have there own theme, just like in Super Mario 64.  You won’t even get tired of looking at these worlds, even after multiple times playing though the game.  The sharp and clean looking graphics set a new standard for all games on the Wii.

If you are a diehard Mario fan and have been there from the very beginning or if you are a younger fan and have played Mario games on the Gameboy Advance, you will be very familiar with all of the tunes you will hear in Super Mario Galaxy.  Many of the scores from the older Mario games are back and better than ever.  They sound fantastic, and make you want to play the game that much more.

Multiplayer in the game is not much to be said for, but it really is just an extra and not a core part of the game.  A second player can join in the game with another Wii-remote and be the star pointer on the screen for the first player.  You could almost call this feature spectator interaction. Instead of someone just watching you play, they can “join in” and have a very small part in your experience.  It is a nice add in, not really a full on multiplayer experience, but what would you actually do in a Mario multiplayer?  For a series that has never really had multiplayer, this is the perfect start.

This game like Super Mario 64 has you retrieving Power Stars, and you will need 60 out of the total 120 power stars to complete the core game, and for the average game can take you anywhere from 15 to 20 hours to complete, but if you want to collect all the stars then it will take you considerably longer.  And just a suggestion, you should do this because there is a nice surprise waiting for you at the end.  This surprise will add even more time with the game.  All of the content is a well worth the $50 you will spend on this game.

Overall Super Mario Galaxy has redefined what a Wii game can be.  After playing this latest iteration of Mario you will be begging for more, and so is everyone else.  Hopefully third party developers will get with the picture and learn from what Super Mario Galaxy has to offer, and that is THE BEST EXPERIENCE ON THE WII…PERIOD.

Storyline 10/10
Game Play 10/10
Graphics 10/10
Sound 10/10
Multiplayer 10/10
Life Span 10/10

Overall Score: 10/10