Review: Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy 2

It's a rare occurrence to be blessed with several real Mario games over the course of a console generation, but Nintendo has certainly blessed the Wii with an abundance of high-quality Mario titles. Back in 2007, Super Mario Galaxy was heavily praised as one of the best Mario games ever made for unique and deep level design, beautifully conducted orchestrated music, and revitalizing the Mario formula with spherical worlds. In late 2009, Wii owners received another Mario title, but this time it went back to the roots of the series and entered the 2D side-scrolling realm. New Super Mario Bros. Wii continues to sell well throughout the world and for good reason; the game is old-school fun. The NES saw a few Mario titles release on it, but never have there been two 3D Mario game releases in a single generation and that's exactly what Nintendo did this time.

Back at E3 2009, Nintendo showed the world two Mario games. The first was New Super Mario Bros. Wii and the second was Super Mario Galaxy 2, the sequel to, arguably, the best 3D Mario game ever created. New Super Mario Bros. Wii graced the system in November 2009 and sold mountains of software over the holidays and continues that trend today. Appealing to gamers of all ages with a basic level progression system, New Super Mario Bros. Wii welcomed all Wii owners with fun gameplay and thanks to that, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is going to reach an audience of gamers that the original Mario Galaxy missed. By making the world map simpler and progression more linear, the ease of New Super Mario Bros. Wii has been implemented into the Galaxy world allowing for casual gamers the thrill of exploring vast 3D, spherical planets but still maintains the level design and challenge hardcore Mario players have come to love and expect with each new installment.

Treading the same yarn as previous Mario games, Princess Peach invites Mario to the castle for some cake, but before his arrival for this fabled cake, Bowser attacks the Mushroom Kingdom, kidnaps Princess Peach, and provokes Mario into trying to stop him. Unlike in previous Mario games, Bowser is obscenely huge and believes his new found powers will eradicate Mario and cease his interference once and for all. The story isn't too deep and it's easy to follow, though it's lacking when compared to the storybook feel of Mario Galaxy. Once again, though, Mario meets up with the Luma and they decide to help him in his intergalactic journey to save Princess Peach and stop Bowser from taking over the universe. That’s about as deep the story gets because there isn’t much else to tell. In order to travel through the vastness of space, the Luma allow Mario to pilot a spaceship that’s shaped like his head. This ship is powered by the stars you’ll collect and the more you collect, the further you can advance on the new world map.

Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy was stationed around observatories and new planets you would slowly discover based on the stars you collected, but some felt it was intimidating and a bit daunting. Well, that system has been replaced with a more linear and easier to navigate world map. Similar to that of what you would find in the 2D Mario titles, you'll pilot your ship to a new galaxy and complete a star-based objective while there. Instead of having a wide-open world map, the game is broken into individual worlds, each filled with around 7-8 unique galaxies. As you complete the galaxies in question, you'll advance the power of your ship and be able to travel to new galaxies in that world. This method is fast, simple, and welcoming to newcomers.

It may take away some of the scope the first Galaxy offered, but this method works remarkably well and it recreates a fit of nostalgia by bringing back the world ending boss castles and battles. You can revisit any of the worlds and go back to previous galaxies by visiting a greater world map and selecting the world you wish to return. With a better star and galaxy completion list in place, you'll know exactly where you want to go and the hunt for the last star is much easier than it was in Galaxy. The biggest knock against the world map is the lack of feeling and traditional Nintendo magic. It's basically a generic yellow line that guides you to the corresponding galaxies. There are no alternative paths to discover or secret routes hidden in the darkness. Compared to the rest of the game, it just feels terribly uninspired and lackluster.

At the heart of everything, though, Mario Galaxy 2 plays and feels very much like its predecessor. Planets have a unique theme to them, but they are much longer than what was found in Galaxy. Returning are the 'Check Point' flags, and many of the levels you'll go through will have several in-place. It may not sound like an extravagant amount of time, but some levels can take upwards of 15-minutes to complete. There are still some short levels to be found, but the ones that you’ll always remember are the longer, more intricate levels.

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