NOTE: some text has been added to the original review (2/9/08).
Short answer: yes.
Long answer: Super Mario Galaxy is one of the greatest games I’ve ever had the good fortune to play. The core gameplay is absolutely flawless, and all the other details have been polished to a mirror shine. If it weren’t for a few (very) minor issues, I would consider Galaxy to be perfect. Read on to find out why.
Because I always do, let’s start with the story. At the outset of the game, Peach finds herself captured by Bowser once again, and before you even have time to wonder who actually governs the Mushroom Kingdom most of the time, you’re blasted onto a tiny planet by a Magikoopa. After some tutorials, you’re introduced to Rosalina, who oversees the Comet Observatory with a bunch of star-shaped creatures called Lumas. Her Power Stars have been taken by Bowser, and you need to collect enough of them to get the Observatory up and running again, so you can get to Bowser and rescue Peach. There’s also a bit of an optional sidestory going on featuring Rosalina and the Lumas, which you can explore at your leisure; I recommend doing so unless you don’t feel like becoming depressed, because that story is fairly depressing.
The story’s pretty simple, but it does its job, which is to provide some exposition onto why you’re in space and then never interfere again. The few times it does come into play (essentially the beginning and end of the game), it’s done through very nicely done cutscenes, which apparently take some pointers from Twilight Princess in the high level of quality cinematography. The voice acting is highly limited; Bowser makes growling sounds, and there are some snippets here and there from the main characters. Others have complained about the lack of full voice acting, but I have always had an aversion to it being in big-name Nintendo titles like Mario and Zelda. There are definitely games that are intended to have full voice acting; Metal Gear Solid is one of them, Galaxy is not.
Still, the story is but a vehicle for the gameplay, and the fact remains that Galaxy has the best 3D platforming of any game, ever. The gravity effects seen at E3 felt to me like they may just be a gimmick that would wear off quickly, but what Nintendo has managed to do with them is nothing short of extraordinary. The creativity present in each level is boundless, and just when you think they’re all out of ideas, you’re wrong. For the first time, it really feels like the cleverness of the old-school 2D Mario platformers has fully transitioned to 3D, a feat that no game I have played before has accomplished.
The level design in Galaxy is really something to behold; the notion of traveling from galaxy to galaxy, as opposed to having one unified world, allowed for the developers to make galaxies of all shapes, sizes, and themes, and it works. While you have a collection of miniature planets with their own gravity effects in some galaxies, other galaxies will be fully-functional, enclosed planets of their own; while they might not be as large and exploratory as some of the levels from Super Mario 64, they’ll still satisfy. In the same vein, some worlds will present you with a very straightforward path of where to go, but it never feels claustrophobic, and it’s always fresh. Other worlds leave you to explore and solve some sort of puzzle in order to advance, but you’re never left scratching your head annoyed. Some galaxies have only one or two stars, while many others will have up to six, and goals can change depending on whether there’s a secret to be found, or whether or not a certain comet is orbiting that galaxy. The variety is truly mind-boggling. Not to mention the main hub is well designed as well, especially due to the fact that it’s much smaller than in the previous two games, and you can get from point A to point B with less hassle.
The powerups that litter this game are amazingly fun as well. There’s the Bee Mushroom, which turns Mario into a bee until he gets hurt or touches water; there are Fire and Ice Flowers, which give Mario those respective powers; there’s the Boo Mushroom, which transforms Mario into a Boo, allowing him to float around and pass through certain walls; there’s the Spring Mushroom, which encases Mario in a large spring that lets him jump astoundingly high; and later on there’s a red start that lets Mario fly, and actual flying this time, as opposed to the gliding sort of mechanic that was present in SM64. Each of these are used an appropriate amount, and they’re all a kick to play with.
It helps that the controls are pretty much spot-on, as well. Mario runs, jumps, and (later in the game) flies without a hitch, and while running on the underside of a planet may take some getting used to, it will come naturally before too long. You use the Wii Remote pointer functions to perform actions like collect Star Bits and activate Pull Stars, and you shake the remote to make Mario spin. On occasion, the game will use the Wii Remote a little more intricately, as in the manta ray surfing, but they’re space out enough that they don’t feel forced, and they’re always entertaining. They’re a little simplified from SM64, and certainly from Sunshine, but they’re very fluid and it’s excellent to control. The auto-camera is incredible, as well; with the exception of some of the purple coin levels, I don’t think I ever had to adjust the camera for my own uses.
As I said before, everything else is polished to a mirror shine. The graphics are amazing, and the art design is even better; every single level is a treat for the eyes, even the background on some galaxies like the Toy Time Galaxy (one of my personal favorites). It runs just as well in 16:9 and 480p; unlike other titles like Twilight Princess, which was prone to jaggies, Galaxy looks amazing from start to finish. The music is also absolutely top-notch; much of it is orchestrated, and some tunes, like the theme for the Bowser levels, will have you replaying some galaxies just to hear the music again.
Normally, this is the part of the review where I list the things that Galaxy does wrong, but I’m honestly coming up short. This game has a distinct goal in mind, and it accomplishes it with gusto. I could point out some minor details, such as the difficulty I had trying to jump out of water, or how Peach’s voice is a little annoying in the intro, but I would be redefining the word "nitpicking". As cliché as it may be, I can’t think of anything bad to say about Galaxy.
[ADDENDUM (2/9/08): Upon playing through the game 100%, there is one problem that does stand out, and that’s the bosses. Some of these bosses are highly clever, such as the Megaleg seen in E3 videos, but others mostly involve flinging an enemy’s projectiles back at them. Bosses are also reused a fair amount, especially the boss battles of domes, to the point where I think they could have done better, especially given the variety in the levels.]
What most amazed me about this game is the fact that, for me, it never got old. Even as I went to collecting all 120 Power Stars, the game continued to amaze me in its variety and cleverness, and when I was done I still wanted more. Fortunately, there was more; after you beat the game as Mario, you unlock Luigi, and the game really does become a bit of a different story. Luigi is faster and jumps higher (try his triple jump – holy cow), but has less traction, so you’re going to have to be more careful. Additionally, some of the challenges, such as the Cosmic Luigi races, have been serious amped up; once you unlock Luigi, you’ll definitely find yourself wanting to get all 120 stars once again. And once you do that, you’ll unlock the final galaxy, and the chance to get one last star. The replay value here is through the roof.
I absolutely cannot recommend this game enough, and it gets a thousand times Yay! from me. If you’re a Mario fan, or just a Wii owner, you owe it to yourself to get this game; if you don’t like platformers, I don’t particularly care, buy this game anyway. This is an experience unlike any I’ve had in years, and it’s sure to be years before we have another like it.
