Super Mario Galaxy 2

Review from Starks - Thursday, 19 August 2010 @ 11:09pm

I never got the opportunity to play the original Super Mario Galaxy and despite Phil’s review giving me goose bumps, I simplyo didn’t get a chance to buy it. As I played the sequel, I realised just how much of a mistake that was. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Henceforth SMG2) is a wonderful game filled with nostalgic moments, innovative gameplay and a heart that runs through it which epitomises why I started moving animated characters on TV and computer screens with funny controllers and something called a mouse.

It truly seems to me that there are franchises and titles that Nintendo take seriously and this title is, for me, a great example of Nintendo sitting down and working through a game with not just your average pleb in mind but also the hardcore gamer.

Let me begin with the control scheme. This is one of the more thought out and well-implemented that I have found on the Wii. Using the nun-chuck for movement and the remote for aiming seems like a fairly simple idea, but one clothed with complexity and always an issue should you get it wrong. I would say the control scheme is intuitive, except it isn’t. It’s more natura, than intuitive. When playing through the game I found the controls didn't mimic what I wanted so much as they were how I would have designed them. That’s what I mean by natural – It played more like something I would have sat down and created. From the outset, I could tell that this had been thought through well.

The game has its scene set very early as it follows the same thread of story as almost every Mario game has for the past 300 years. This is one of my few gripes. Bowser steals Princess Peach, Mario goes to the rescue – While it is a throw back to the NES and SNES storylines, it does tend to make me wonder ‘Why don’t they try something different?’ So, in order to prove my point, I decided to write an awesome storyline for Nintendo to use should they make Super Mario Galaxy 3.

So much stuff happening!

Mario, destitute and poor due to his chronic gambling problem and incessant need to get coins, finally decides to pay a visit to his ex girlfriend Princess Peach and ask for some help to get him back on his feet. As he arrives at the castle, he looks through the window to see his good friend Luigi getting it on with his ex girlfriend on the kitchen bench. Sighing in despair, he knocks on the door.

Luigi and Peach, now back together, have a kid and name him Mario Junior, thereby ending this somewhat sad but incredibly awesome storyline.

Of course, nobody plays a Mario game for the story, but if they used that then I reckon it would be pretty cool and add a level of intrigue to the game.

Moving on, the level design itself is what makes SMG2 stand out like a gem in what has been a fairly bleak 2010. Showing some incredibly awesome physics, new and diverse enemies and enabling excellent interaction via the control scheme, I was seriously enthralled by the game's variety. On one world, I’m playing in a traditional Mario environment with lots of green and pretty flowers. On the next, I’m in a ‘dig’ world where I get a wicked cool massive drill and can drill through to the other side – almost as if they designed the game with The Doors ‘Break on through to the other side’ in mind. Then again I’m flying through an interesting ‘flip’ world with the massive bullet thingies (I can never remember what those bad boys are called but they’re always seriously cool) and I need to jump from red to blue platforms which you need to flip up or flop off in order to get to the end.

It was like I was 12 again and playing through on my mate's SNES only with much better graphics, a better control scheme yet still with the same addictive nature. I won’t detail any of the other maps as I don’t want to ruin the surprises you get, but at point you move from 3D to 2D platformer. You only realise what they're doing when you stop to reflect on it, and that is a monumental achievement by Nintendo.

I'll grant it ain't Everest...

People may say ‘Yes, but is it just ‘all fun and games’ but without any level of difficulty?’ To which I say ‘Disbeliever! How dare you?’ and smack them across the face with a duelling glove.

OK, maybe I’m getting a little too silly, writing about the game makes me excited to PLAY the game and that’s something I haven’t had for a very, very long time – Particularly a game on a Nintendo console.

The glory of the game is in the well-veiled difficulty it hides to ensure the casual gamer is no off-put. Comet-Coins in difficult to reach places which require excellent jumping skills, Sewer Pipes that hold mini games that infuriate you with how deceivingly difficult such a simple task could be yet drives you mad with its addictive flavour – These little tid bits of gaming goodness give added depth and flavour to a game that has a series of layers that many games developers simply don’t even consider to include.

This isn’t to say the game is faultless. As I’ve indicated with my above alternative, the story stinks. Frankly, the fact that the games design, game play and depth is so great means it’s not an issue – I’ve said in the past that when you have an innovative game that makes up for a lack of story then you can get past it and play the game for the games sake. This is one of those in a way; A game you play for the sake of playing rather than for anything specific that you get out of it.

However, there are some additional issues that I noted. For one, the music was awful and nearly drove me mad. The fact I had to put it on mute was frustrating as it took away from the ambience of the game. At difficult points when you had hard enemies to beat, the ever-chirpy or just ‘not-seriously-evil-enough’ soundtrack made me feel like I was going to kiss and make up with the evil enemy once I knocked him off. I know Mario is designed to appeal for 8 year old girls scared of the dark, but I’m pretty sure that a good orchestra would be able to come up with a much better score to compliment the game than what was included. Dramatic music to create some tension would really have gone down well with me.

The only ‘flaw’ I could possibly see was the camera angles. Now, this is more an observation than a smack across the face to Nintendo. The games camera was probably the most difficult thing to generate as you can never really compensate for how a player will use a character. This in mind, I found it simply too close to the action. It should have been pulled out a little more to allow greater depth to the game and more awareness of the environment. Being so close meant quick movement in and around the focus point became somewhat nauseating and made fights with enemies more difficult.

This isn’t to say they got it wrong all the time; Actually, the didn’t. They had some levels where the camera was perfect, but at times it was just a bit… off. To me, it’s more a case of ‘continue to polish’ rather than ‘chuck out the baby with the bathwater’ if they do a 3rd instalment. I have no doubt it will get better but for SMG2 it did tend to become a barrier at times.

Woah! Who's a had a spicy meataball!

Finally, the addition of the Luma as a second player, in a role very similar to Tails in the Sonic games i.e. You’re more an assistant than an actual player – Everything relies on Mario, the Luma is simply a ‘nice to add’ makes me wonder if it was a really good idea. There’s nothing wrong with it, and although my wife enjoyed playing as the Luma, it seemed to play more as a last minute addition than anything specifically thought through.

Outside of this, the rest of the game reeked of polish and heavy amounts of fine tuning. I never noticed one in game glitch or error, never found an exploit and frankly this was absolutely refreshing. To me, the game was the epitome of professional games development – Something done well, done with pride and done with a lot of attention to detail. Nintendo really have done a swell job.

The additional throwbacks to past Mario’s, the whole ‘planet’ and ‘galaxy’ concept that was really another way of saying worlds in the old NES variant was pure genius. I love how you had your own little planet to stuff around on and practice things. I loved the stars and the fact you could fire them at people. The fact that you were rewarded for killing enemies by jumping on them with a coin brought a smile to my face and the fact that they included some new variations of Mario powers on top of existing ones was great and showed they were keen to continue to develop the genre.

Overall, this to me was a game that just screamed ‘enjoyment’ and ‘class.’ It’s the type of game that sets a benchmark so high that it becomes a nightmare for other developers as they will always be judged by this one title. It’s a benchmark and deservedly so. The fact that the final encounter with Bowser had me sweating with nerves and excitement is testament to just how much fun and enjoyment the game will give you.

If you own a Nintendo Wii, do yourself a favour and buy it. Just get it. It’s better than New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and in many respects makes me wonder why they developed that title when they could have spent the time on this and released it earlier. This will easily be one of the Top 5 games for 2010, and as such deserves a place on in your video game collection.

Pros

Wonderful level design. Unique approach to platforming that redefines the genre. Truly one of the most innovative games released in years.

Cons

Music will drive you mental. Non-existant story. Camera a bit strange at times.