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.