Review: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

Platform: Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Release: November 2007

Super Mario Galaxy is a divine, awe-inspiring title that deserves your attention more than any other release this year.

Every generation there’s always at least one title that shocks you with just how marvelous it is. I was wondering when I’d find that in the next-gen. Sure, there’s been plenty of great releases on all of the current consoles up to now – but none have truly amazed me with their quality. Enter Super Mario Galaxy, a wondrous, highly-imaginative title that shows us that clever level design and spectacular game play are the true reasons to game in the next-gen.

I honestly wasn’t desperately excited to play this one at first. Super Mario Sunshine managed to earn positive reviews as well, but that title failed to truly impress me (with it’s rather derivative game play and somewhat yawn-inducing design). On the Wii, however, it’s a whole new experience.

The Wii controls work beautifully here. Save for one or two special levels where they’re somewhat finicky, they’ll become second-nature within minutes of playing. The camera has always been a major complaint for 3D plat formers, but I have to say, I really didn’t have an issue with it in Galaxy.

With oodles of levels to explore and stars to collect (and a rather swell secret for those skilled gamers who manage to get ‘em all), you’ll definitely feel like you’ve got your money’s worth with Galaxy. The great thing about it is, every planet feels like a whole unique experience – not one minute during this title did I feel bored, and that’s not something you can say very often about a video game. It’s incredible at how imaginative Galaxy is – not only in the visuals (they’re far below the other consoles in terms of raw graphical power, but in terms of overall design, they’re way ahead of many games on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360) but in terms of new power ups, level design, and game play challenge variety.

Difficulty-wise, I’d say Galaxy is just right. It’s easy enough for your little cousin to beat it – but not without retrying some of the more challenging levels over and over again. More games should strive to have this perfect difficulty balance.

Overall, if you haven’t experienced the sensation that is Super Mario Galaxy, you should immediately get off this website, run to your nearest retailer, and purchase a copy. It’s a divine, awe-inspiring title that deserves your attention more than any other release this year. Although that may sound like a rather tall claim, once you immerse yourself into the wonder that is Galaxy you’ll never be able to put the Wii remote down.

Rating: 9.7 (out of 10)

Super Mario Through the Years

Although choosing the best Mario game for many can be debatable (not for me, however – I happily proclaim Super Mario World as the definitive title in the entire series), there’s no arguing that the graphics in the series have improved over time. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane (and later, when we get to the upcoming Wii adventures, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Paper Mario, the future, as well) and compare the visuals found throughout the Super Mario adventures.

The 2D years (in chronological order)

The 3D Years


I did not include any handheld Mario adventures, as I am not quite such a die-hard fan of those and I did not feel that they were essential to this list.

Also, here's a quick update on Super Mario Galaxy: Although a specific release date has not been confirmed, it's definitely slated for release this year. So far early versions of Super Mario Galaxy have been receiving great feedback from players. All I know is that more Wiis are bound to fly off shelves once this monster of a title hits... I hope it makes up for 2002's rather dissappointing Super Mario Sunshine...