Super Mario Galaxy RULEZ! (1 Viewer)

A must have for Wii owners. The pace is faster than Mario 64 or Sunshine, and the planetary physics allow for inventive and trippy gameplay design. The game frequently pretzel bends your mind and you constantly need to reset your bearings. Graphics, music, and controls are top notch.

Would a first grader enjoy Super Mario Galaxy?

If that first grader were good at videogames, yes. But it does require a high level of coordination and spatial processing. For instance, I grabbed 20+ stars in about 4 hours of play. In that time, my wife got 4. Her biggest issue was working out spatial relationships between objects.

The more I play, the more impressed I am with the game. It's actually not like Super Mario 64 -- it's much more linear and platform oriented, and it moves at a very brisk pace.

Just to add: unlike SM64, there is a lot of falling and dying in SMG. Not for the easily frustrated.

A second player can help out the first player using the Wii Remote, so that role would be perfect for a first grader.

I'm liking it a lot. I wasn't a big fan of Mario 64 (motion sickness had something to do with it), but this one is a lot more like the 2D games for me.

The music is really good.

~T

"Just to add: unlike SM64, there is a lot of falling and dying in SMG. Not for the easily frustrated."

I'm with you on that, just finished the "candy" galaxy question, and I died probably 10 times in that short level.

Brent

Only 10 times? You must be good. I think I died 20-30 times. It's hard to tell because there's a 1up loop if you can get to the midpoint, and I kind of lost track. So much dying.

I've got 38 stars and opened up all the observatories, and I have to say that this game is still getting better and better. SMG has that hallmark of superior game design where a you're faced with a seemingly insourmountable obstacle or foe, but through repetition you figure out the proper technique and finally defeat the enemy.

My only complaint is that some of the levels are too short/easy. For instance, finding Luigi on the roof posed absolutely no challenge

Also, while the swiming mechanics are better here than in Zelda:TP or SM64, I still hate the swimming levels.

While I got queasy on occasion during SM64 and Metroid Prime 3 made me nauseous a few times, SMG has been absolutely motion sickness free, with is surprising considering the constant shifts in perspective and being upside down and whatnot. I think it's because it was designed to not have the camera whipping around so much.

Just wanted to update for anyone sitting on the fence (and to tempt anyone who has the game under the tree and not in their Wii):

After you open up your fourth observatory, the game just becomes AMAZING. I mean, the first 20-30 stars are fun, but starting with the Kitchen Galaxy,
the levels become long, complex, and require both problem solving skills and good to great reflexes. I loved Mario 64, but SMG is a whole 'nutha level -- this is easily the greatest 3D platformer ever made, if for no other reason it feels more like a 2D platformer with 3D elements rather than the usual exploration and collect-a-thon that almost all 3D platformers are nowadays. The level design is absolute genius -- I am constantly muttering, "that is *bleeping* amazing" all the time when I play because the cleverness just gushes off of the screen. The ingenuity is endless, and there are some levels that have 3 or 4 moments where your admiration almost distracts you from the task at hand.

SMG is not meant to simply be beaten. You owe it to yourself to at least try every level, because it's a despicable waste to get just enough stars to beat the game and then leave all that untapped genius untouched, especially when the better levels open up after you have the minimum amount needed to reach the ending. Don't worry that this game is too short. It will only be short if you cheat yourself out of the privilege of trying every single level.

SMG is one of those games where the hype is totally justified. And it should be believed.

I used to be a big videogamer. The last system I was truly into was SNES. Since then I've had 3DO, Saturn, PS1, Gameboy Advance/SP, PS2, and N64. For those systems, I never had a game I was really excited about and made me glad to own that system, except probably Final Fantasy 7 for PS1. Mario Galaxy is the first game that I've felt that way about.

~T

I just played the level where you roll around on top of the ball. So much fun!

The level design is indeed genius, and it doesn't sound like I've reached the really great ones.

~T

I'm patiently waiting to play this on Nov 30th, when my 10 day paid vacation starts. Along with Paper Mario from the VC collection.(which I've NEVER played)

FWIW--I believe there is a Best Buy $10 off video game coupon floating around (I know it's legit 'cuz I used it to buy MLB Power Pros for the Wii this past Saturday--which BTW got favorable reviews and is on sale this week at BB for $19.99...LOL I had to go back to get my 110% pricematch because I bought it before it went on sale), so if you were looking for another incentive to buy SMG...that should get you off the fence.

www.dealcatcher.com and search for the BB coupon. Expires 11/28

I played SMG a little too much this weekend, and a thought struck me. I hope they continue this theme of "Local Gravity Effects" into the new Mario Kart. I think that could make for some interesting and challenging Kart Courses, driving upside down, and making vertical Hairpin Turns. Could be sweet.

How would you rank SMG compared to the other Wii games? I want to like the Wii, and I've talked with my wife about buying one. But everytime I play one, I'm disappointed and find it a dull affair. My experience is limited: Wii Sports and Big Brain Academy. But what little I've seen are cute (Golf), sedentary (Bowling) and dull-and-doing-3rd-grade-homework (BB Academy).

Is SMG the "killer app" for the Wii? I'd like to find a new game system my wife and I could enjoy together.

At this point, SMG is easily the best Wii game, ranking ahead of Zelda:Twilght Princess and Metroid Prime 3. I have heard great things about Zak & Wiki and RE4 is also very cool.

Still, SMG is ahead of the pack for graphics, sound, and gameplay. By god, the gameplay is ludicrously good.

The nice thing about SMG is that it appeals to 3 levels of gamers -- for the less coordinated, a second player can assist with star collection, freezing enemies, and higher jumps. For medium skilled gamers, 40-50 stars is doable. But you have some skillz, the game is mind-blowingly awesome. Some of the levels are very challenging.

Cool. A friend is probably getting it soon; I'll make him let me play to try it out

If you are a fan of Mario, then yes, get the Wii for Mario Galaxy.

~T

Well, my vacation has started and have started Mario Galaxy as well.

SO MUCH FUN!
The level design is great and it's almost a little scary to go off edges and such, cause you have to get use to gravity and staying on the planet.

How's everyone else doing?
any farther?

The best Mario yet.
Now, I just need to play my VC Paper Mario

I am at 108 stars, and it's getting more frustrating than fun. I'm not sure if I will be able to get all 120 and get the last unlockable.

However, stars 40-100 were fantastically fun. SMG is not only the best game on the Wii, it's better than anything I've played on the Gamecube and as a matter of personal preference, I enjoy this slightly more than Super Mario 64, only because it's so much faster paced and less exploratory than SM64.