Nov 15
Review: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Every once in a while, a game comes along that completely changes everything you know about video games. Super Mario Galaxy is not that game.
You could argue that its prequel, Super Mario 64 was the “game to end all other games” when it came out 11 years ago and completely revolutionized the 3D platformer, and you would probably be right.
Now, 11 years later, Nintendo has finally released a full blown sequel to Mario 64, after the disappointing spin-off, Super Mario Sunshine, on the Gamecube.
How does it fare? Hit the jump to find out.
The storyline, if you can even call it that, is some convoluted drivel involving Bowser capturing Princess Peach yet again, and bringing her to the center of the universe.
I’d advise you to just ignore this, because it’s clearly targeted at children under 5 and the writing is nowhere near the level of hilarity found in Super Paper Mario, which came out earlier this year.
Think about how Mario 64 was played. Add spherical mini-levels that make you nauseous into the mix, unnecessary motion controls such as a cursor on the screen to collect “star bits” and a “spin attack” that requires you to jerk off the Wii-mote only to not have it work half the time.
Next, Nintendo throws in some completely idiotic mini games such as stingray surfing, a Monkey Ball inspired ball rolling game, ice skating and what little fun there is to have with the game just melts away.
Without a doubt, Galaxy is the best looking game on the Wii, with a variety of enemies and galaxies to platform your way through, but even so, it still tends to look extremely jaggy and unimpressive at times on an HDTV through component cables.
Featuring remixed versions of Mario music we’ve heard over the years, I don’t think anyone is going to be disappointed by the music. As far as sound effects go, you’ll be hearing Mario saying “YIPPIE!” and “ITSAME MARIO” quite a bit. Unfortunately, Nintendo still refuses to embrace voice acting and you’ll be forced to read through a lot of slow text in speech bubbles.
Get this - Mario Galaxy features a 2 player co-op mode! What can you do in this co-op mode? Player 2 gets to have the time of their life controlling the the “star bit” cursor! Seriously, this mode is probably the most fun I’ve ever had with a game.
There’s also 120 stars to collect, which unlock a super secret green italian plumber related to Mario as a playable character when you find them all.
Meh.
Galaxy is essentially the exact same game we were playing 10 years ago on the N64, albeit with prettier graphics and dizzying space levels. This wouldn’t have been a bad thing if the entire experience wasn’t completely brought down by the convoluted storyline, frustrating motion controls and annoying minigames that do nothing but detract from the experience.
You’ll also find that there’s an utterly useless co-op mode that would completely bore the tears out of anyone you chose to play with.
+ Graphics are impressive for the Wii
+ Lots of fan service
- Unnecessary waggle
- Minigames aren’t very fun
- Nauseating levels
- Awful storyline
61 Comments so far
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Nice….
interesting.. well I’m renting it tomorrow and AC as well
I don’t really see how you can use “motion controls” as a negative feature… Controlling mario does not involve moving the wii-mote whatsoever. It isn’t like you have to hop the remote to jump or anything.
Also, there is voice acting in the game for the important parts… but do you really want to hear toad speaking “go over there” with every little text bubble?
Minigames? Did you play the whole game? I have a feeling that you didn’t actually play much of the game because minigames play no role.
As far as storyline goes, I don’t know what the fuck you are talking about… Do you mean theme? I can see how someone might say that they don’t like the space theme but to say that the whole game is bad because it takes place in space (and would have been better somewhere else) is quite stupid.
1. By calling the “motion controls” a negative feature, I wasn’t implying that the whole game was based around them, just that what was there negatively impacted the game for me.
2. Yes, I’d rather hear a cartoony voice than have to wait for boring text to scroll so I can press A.
3. I know most of the minigames are bonus galaxies, but that still doesn’t make them any less shitty and boring. Pushing a bubble through a maze of mines and fucking time trial-ing “sting ray surfing” is supposed to be fun?
4. I’m talking about the completely awful, targeted at children “Rosalina and the Lumas” hub world. And don’t get me started on that fucking storybook. I didn’t really mind the space theme, infact I actually did find SOME of the levels pretty clever.
Hope that clears things up.
I’m only four stars in, but I have a few things I can comment on.
I have had absolutely zero trouble with the spin attack. It works every time for me. I can’t imagine what your deal is.
The small spherical levels ARE disorienting, when the camera decides it doesn’t want to bother staying right side up with respect to the planet. And I don’t think the controls on these portions are necessarily intuitive.
However, there haven’t been many instances of that already, and there has already (like three stars in) been a really clever level with the manipulation of gravity. I was very impressed with it, and I had the “this is so cool” sense of wonder that Mario games seem to tap so well.
I played the 2-player co-op mode with a booth babe at E for All, and she actually seemed to be enjoying being the star bit collector. Certainly, it’s not something I would personally want to do for hours on end, but I could actually imagine playing this with my girlfriend, and even switching off control of Mario. Did you even try playing this with two people, or are you just assuming it’s bad from what it sounds like?
As far as audio, I do agree on the Mario voice. It’s iconic, sure, but it’s also obnoxious. You know when you click on the disc channel with a game in, and it shows the title screen with some music? Yeah, with this game, we get Charles Martinet screaming “SUPER MARIO GALAXY!” instead of some nice background music. As a super duper first impression of the game, it surprised me, but not in a good way.
All in all, I am having fun with the game so far, but I will have to get further before I pass final judgment. If things continue how they’re going so far though, I would expect to say that this game deserves more than a two out of five.
“I played the 2-player co-op mode with a booth babe at E for All, and she actually seemed to be enjoying being the star bit collector.”
No offense, Dex, but I feel like she’s paid to enjoy it. Just like I’m paid to enjoy Assassin’s Creed and Mass Effect.
Do both suck or something backflip?
I like the review.
I know, backflip, that’s why I felt the need to put “actually” in there. There were also booth babes who couldn’t hide their boredom. The one I played with was clearly anticipating me asking her out, and so she was trying very hard to impress me with her star bit grabbing skills.
…She told me I beat the hardest level in the demo, and she hadn’t seen anybody else beat that level yet. Do you think she was lying? (Probably.)
*deep Ace Ventura breath*…
“Galaxy is essentially the exact same game we were playing 10 years ago on the N64, albeit with prettier graphics and dizzying space levels.”
Except that last little bit is what differentiates it from the rest of the pack…the level design is really what makes this game what it is, the entire space element to it and how the levels really add a fresh element to what I consider solid gameplay to begin with. This is hardly the same thing as Mario 64…sure, it’s not completely different, Mario isn’t holding a gun in a first person shooter or anything, but to say that the level design only has a marginal effect on the game then you’d have to be kidding yourself.
That co-op bit is obviously sarcastic, but honestly, I don’t see why such a scathing remark is necessary to a feature that has been absent from virtually every Mario game ever. It’s an added feature that you aren’t forced to play through, and if you don’t want to use it, then don’t use it. They were damned if they do or don’t in this instance. I guess I don’t understand where giving this option can be such a deterrent.
What makes motion controls unnecessary? They are spot on, handle virtually better than the console controller. I mean, if you want to get down to it, all controls are unnecessary because video games are inherently unncessary, but that doesn’t make them any less fun. And as already been mentioned, there’s not much motion control that affects Mario, as he’s predominantly controlled by the nunchuck. I have yet to have any trouble with the spin attack (or shooting out of stars)…you are aware that you have to wait for Luma to reappear before you can do it again, so you can’t do it in rapid succession? If you’re ‘jerking off’ your Wiimote like a spaz, then of course it won’t work.
This storyline is not convuluted…Metal Gear Solid 2’s storyline is convoluted. This story is just pointless, but basically on par with what I’d imagine is standard Saturday morning cartoon fare. Since when has a core Mario game (hence, not RPG or Paper or whatever else) been about story? I could just imagine how this review would have read when Super Mario Bros on the NES came out. Video games are about gameplay first, and story is ALWAYS to follow; virtually any gaming theory book will (or should) tell you this. If it’s story that’s more important, than they should be making a movie or a book.
I still don’t understand the voice acting critique, I really don’t…I have not witnessed more than a handful (and basically I really do mean a number of games I can count on one hand) where voice acting is phenomenal. Also, didn’t Sunshine have voice work, and didn’t it suck (I’m legitimately asking other readers here, as I cannot remember)? The dialogue is not that thick in this game for crying out loud, so it’s not like you have much to read or much wait during the few dialogue boxes you have to sit through (hold the A button, speeds things up). Maybe I’m one of the only ones who appreciates reading text and using my imagination as to how a character is saying something in games like this, consider me old school I suppose. And for those who say voice acting really enhances a story (man, I need to get books on tape from now on, instead of reading…), do you really think the story would have gotten any help from this?
“Unfortunately, Nintendo still refuses to embrace voice acting and you’ll be forced to read through a lot of slow text in speech bubbles.”
FYI: Several of Nintendo IP’s have had voice acting in them, and most of them were terrible. F-Zero GX, Star Fox Assault (BLAH), and most recently Metroid Prime 3 have all had voice work. I think it’s less of ‘refusing to embrace’ as it is that it would have been completely unnecessary in this game. Ask yourself, would it have REALLY helped? I mean, you’d still have to sit there and listen to the dialogue instead of accelerating past it, even for just a little bit. Or at this point are we critiquing whether or not to skip dialogue altogether and just play the game? Besides, reading is good for ya, and I’m glad to see Nintendo maintaining this example.
That said, I disagree entirely with this review/rant. If you would have elaborated more on your critiques instead of casually insisting that something is inherently wrong and we should take your word for it (as opposed to backing up with why the decisions made were wrong outside of “I don’t like it”), I might have taken an alternate stance. Why are the minigames idiotic? Why are the motion controls unnecessary? Why should I believe the talking point (lots of those here lately) that voice acting makes a better game? Etc. But I digress…given my current playtime vs. what I’ve read here, I can’t support any of this critique.
Also, a general FYI, I think it would be wise to ditch the categorization review method.
Interesting review - and everyone’s entitled to their opinion. True, the story’s weak but so what? It’s the magic gameplay that counts and very few games these days play so well. By the way, the spin is incredibly simple - you just flick your wrist. You do know you have to wait a second for it to recharge… don’t you?
This game get a 10 out of 10 for me. It is a blast and if you are looking for an enjoyable experience then get a copy of Mario Galaxy. I love it, and everyone I know loves it.
wow .. this is the baddest review i’ve ever seen.
and i don’t even like Super Mario.
dude, you really need a new job because reviews are not your thing.
lol, i’m laughing all day about you .. lolol.
Dude if you want some attention, get it by your proving your talents. Don’t just badly review a good game, you are the kind of reviewer that gives the profession a bad name.
Another idiot looking to boost his page hits by reviewig a good game down, nothing to see here people
get a life, this is the best game 2007 so what are you complaining? get your attetion somewhere else
Guys, this is a joke post, haven’t you ever heard of truth media? Same kind of thing.
@ lol: This coming from someone who actually said “baddest.”
Game is good, but over-rated. But this is a bad review.
I’ve gotta say, I more or less agree with the reviewer. I don’t think Mario Galaxy is a terrible game, but I’m almost 20 stars in and already feeling a little *meh* about the whole thing. There is definitely a been there, done that kinda feel after the initial “Oh my God, I’m playing this sweet looking game on my crappy Wii!” effect wears off. I don’t think it’s terrible, and this is going to sound fanboyish, but after playing Halo 3, I’m not sure I feel the same about Mario. Two different types of games, sure, and Mario makes The Simpsons game look like rock, paper, scissors, but still. I was expecting more from the Big N, something revolutionary, and this wasn’t it.
Clearly written by a 360 or PS3 fanboy who didn’t even play the game. Frustrating motion controls, mini games, same game as Mario 64? I’m 53 and am sitting at 83 stars right now. If you find the controls hard to use you clearly have hand/eye coordination problems. I really don’t know what game you played but based this mythical review I’d guess you made it up while looking at the cover art.
Go play halo and leave real gaming to gamers.
Definitely an idiot. Take a shit and leave your job.
Haha Morty, that response is longer than the actual review.
“Also, a general FYI, I think it would be wise to ditch the categorization review method.”
I’ve been thinking this for a while, I’m going to talk to the others about it later.
Yeah, just a suggestion zizzy, but I think it’s a good idea. I think when you start putting graphics/audio on an even playing field with gameplay, it’s hard to make a truly effective review that doesn’t become bogged town in technical details. I’d just do one organic review that’s not necessarily broken down into seperate parts (though do mention graphics/audio, but don’t make them equal to the gameplay)…that means no graphical headers for each section though.
BTW, whomever said Halo 3 ruined Mario galaxy…I just finished H3 on legendary, and though fun, I hardly think it dethrones Galaxy in any way.
“Also, a general FYI, I think it would be wise to ditch the categorization review method.”
PLEASE DO.
Wow this is easily the worst review for SMG that I have read.
Story - Yes, it’s silly and simple but it’s a freaking Mario game! Besides, who plays a Mario game for the story ? It’s take it or leave it kind of thing. You either enjoy reading it or don’t and skip right to the gameplay. Mario has always been about the gameplay anyway. Besides, the quality of the game’s presentation is the best from any other Mario story so I think that should count for something.
Gameplay - Yeah, I guess combination of traditional Mario 64 platforming with refreshing and innovative gravity gameplay mechanics and radically different level design and a cool star launch system as well as redefining the genre in the process doesn’t count for much, huh ? Galaxy manages to feel like a proper Mario game and yet at the same time it plays like no other Mario game. Games like Ratchet & Clank should be ashamed of themselves for not trying to do anything new.
Controls - The controls for Mario’s movements work really well. If anything, the controls suffer a bit from the water levels. The motion controls works incredibly well. It’s very accurate and requires skill to master in the manta ray and rolling ball levels.
Sound - Funny how you fail to mention that the game features several original and epic orchestrated music (a rare thing for Nintendo to do). If you think Galaxy should have full-voice acting, then you clearly have not played Mario Sunshine where characters such as Bowser and Bowser Jr. and Fludd had it and they all sounded terrible and annoying. Mario would sound annoying too if he talked in full sentences too.
2 Player Co-op - Let’s get something straight there, the 2 player co op was designed to be an unconventional one. It would be almost impossible to have a traditional 2 player mode for a platform game especially one as complex as Galaxy given its unique level design and new gameplay mechanics. The 2 player co-op mode in Galaxy is nothing more than a helper mode, it’s essentially a take it or leave it kind of thing and it works the way it is supposed to so I don’t see what’s so bad about it.
You must be dumb, deaf and blind if really think Galaxy is like an older Mario game.
Quite possibly the worst thing I’ve wasted my time reading…and then responding to. Ah, the internets…where any fool can “review” anything and people read it.
If it’s not your cup of tea, that’s fine. FPS aren’t mine, but I’d be a fool to say the bioshock is a sucky game. Galaxy is a great game.
OMG, the whole world is wrong, this review is the truth!!!
Seriously, this is one of the worst reviews I´ve ever read. You actually played the game? Or you saw only a few videos in low res to make this crap review who nobody gives a damn.
Just to remember, SMG still in second place in Game Rankings, cry Mario-Haters!!!Lol
This is like the 2nd best ranked game of ALL TIME on game rankings, and it gets a 2/5 here? What a joke!
lawl u r the dumbest asshole of the game world. u don’t even deserve to have a console. galaxy is one of the greatest games in existence. it takes elements of 64 and bring them to nex-gen. motion controls are also a great feature. i bet u did this to make ur fucking ass look cool. also muthafucka, look at gamerankings and you’ll know that u are level5. ur trying to mess up its score. pretty soon ocarina will lose its throne to this game. suck waluigi’s dick cockhead
Wow…so this review is serious.
This storyline can’t be “convoluted”, when their is barely any storyline to begin with. I had to look it up on dictionary.com to make sure there wasn’t some other meaning to the word I hadn’t heard of. If your gonna list a negative trait, be sure to use the right term next time ;).
Petty complaint over misuse of a word aside, you are wrong about the motion controls “not working half the time”. The game’s motion controls are flawlessy implemented. Everytime I want Mario to spin, he spins. There is a several second delay between each spin, but this isn’t a result of the motion controls “not registering”. It’s part of how the move works. After you spin, the star that grants Mario that ability leaves his body for a second. Mario can’t spin again until the star returns. This keeps the player from overusing the move, much like Link’s spin sword attack in Twilight Princess. Just as Mario can’t spin again until the star returns to him, Link can’t do his spin attack again until his sword makes that “ching” sound. The motion controls in the game are fine.
That said, while I do feel the press is really overrating this game…a 2/5 is just ridiculous. But hey, I salute you for making your own opinion on the matter. You should probably also bring up the ridiculously easy boss battles. FIGHT THE ESTABLISHMENT, DUDE!
@Stalin
Wait…so this IS a joke post? The reviewer seemed rather serious about what he was saying…but it did make me chuckle.
If that’s true, sorry, reviewer dude.
AHHAHAHAAHAH
I wanna say only this…i wanna feel only this about this review…..
I can’t understand what happen to the writer..maybe he was hurted when was a child with a Nes?
Maybe he had his girlfriend stolen by a nintendo programmer?
Ok i don’t wanna be offensive,i played..and playing the game (for sure i like gameplay of nintendo as i love the graphics of xbox360 and ps3)and a lot of my friends playing with me and alone.
Game it’s really impressive in the way it’s FUN!
Graphic quite perfect for a new game from Wii…sound right and funny for this sort of game and at last but not least the motion control it’s perfect…no one problem found in movement.
Just this.
Next time before write something on internet i hope you should have some exam from your supervisor..or i must suppose that this sort of site doesn’t have a moderator on the context of his writer.
Yeah all of us are completely free to write about a game (americans are exporting democracy AHAHAHAHAH) but please use some good sense next …how we say in italy..before open the mouth (or type something) be sure that your mouth it’s connected to the brain before doing or saying something!!
What a crap review. Nice job focusing on the bad things, and blowing them up to proportion so that it sounds like a bunch of crap. You rarely talk about anything good. I’ve played the game, and the “bad motion controls” are obviously wrong, they feel extremely good. I’ve hardly had to worry about the camera at all. Yes, some times the “walking upside down” thing is a little awkward, but it adds more challenge to the game. I hope no one is influenced by this, and misses out on a great game. Now that I think of it, this whole thing is just a publicity stunt, so why care anyway?
I shit on this review.
No, honestly I took a shit on it.
“…before open the mouth (or type something) be sure that your mouth it’s connected to the brain before doing or saying something!!”
This is my new favorite saying. I need to visit Italy.
This is just crappy opinion of nobody! I love the game, and that’s all i can say… 10/10
Nobody? I can affirm the fact that the reviewer is certainly somebody.
This guy is just trying to get hits for this crappy website.
Imagen this guy and hitler together =D
megatonik loses credibility points for putting up a review whose aim is to gain exposure for the website. with almost every major reviewer giving super mario galaxy great reviews (hint: that’s because it’s a great game) anyone who gives it a negative review is sure to make headlines, which is exactly what megatonik has done. I’ve never even heard of this site in my entire life but lo and behold here is MEGATONIK in my face because they’re the second reviewer to give the game of the year front runner a negative review.
maybe if you take reviews seriously (read: play the game) you’ll get more traffic to your website.
Who cares what these guys say. I’m sure most of them are just little Wii fanboys.
““…before open the mouth (or type something) be sure that your mouth it’s connected to the brain before doing or saying something!!”
This is my new favorite saying. I need to visit Italy.”
Agreed.
@nuckles87
Yeah, it reminds me a lot of Truth Media stuff, only this guy doesn’t have the handle on comedy.
http://www.somethingawful.com/d/truth-media-reviews/index.php
The thing is with Truth Media you they play it totally deadpan, which makes it all the funnier (especially the feedback). As soon as I saw U R MR GAY I knew it was a joke review.
So either this is a bad attempt at a Truth Media knockoff, or we’re dealing with a site run by a the socially retarded virgin brigade. I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and go with bad Truth Media ripoff.
Given the comments in our forums, I think this is an honest opinion of the game.
Wow, after reading those comments and what everyone had to say, I honestly hate people that don’t come to this website on a daily basis… Megatonik sucks? Fuck you! You found this site because you were looking up Super Mario Galaxy reviews instead of playing the damn game, how good could it possibly be if your wasting your time reading reviews on it instead of playing the game?
Secondly, everyone is entitled to their opinion, please fags who make up names to post once on our site, go back and finish High School, it will surely do you a world of good…
I honestly don’t know whether I’m supposed to take this review seriously or not. Is this for real? Not like this will change your opinion of the game or anything but you do realize that you just gave a 4/10 to the game that is now the highest rated game EVER.
Reviews like this confuse me. Reviews are supposed to be something that a potential buyer can read to sway them toward buying or not buying, but when a review (like this one) is sooo far away from the rest of the pack, how can you honestly incorporate it into your decision making process? It basically nullifies the credibility of the review and makes it more like a blog by the author than anything else.
@Matt and Morty
Yes, megatonik sucks. Calling people who visit your site “fags” doesn’t really help your image either. My Wii is at a friend’s house so he can play through the game, and I only play with my wife as she enjoys the costar mode.
I seriously thought it was a bad version of a Truth Media style review. Apparently it’s a 360 circlejerk site. You’ve essentially made this site hostile to anyone who likes the Nintendo Wii with this review.
Congrats, you got your 15 minutes of fame and 15,000 or so cheap and easy hits. Want a cookie? This is pretty much the same thing as some random douche bag giving CoD 4 a 40%, only to go to their site and find out it’s a Nintendo circlejerk site.
You’re no different than the animu Sony fan sites with spikey hair and gigantic sword/head/eyes avatars who cried at the end of Final Fantasy: Whateverthehell, or the Nintendo weenies who throw handfuls of shit at you screaming incoherent jibberish if you dare to call Super Mario Sunshine the keeper of the Fortress of Suckitude.
People tend to gravitate towards sites that are more even and fair to each system, mods mostly keeping the crossovers from being useless trolls. Something Awful games forum does this well, VG Chartz does this well. Circlejerk sites are an obscurity for a reason: official sites do it better.
Anyway, looks like your 15 minutes of fame are up. Be sure and give SSBB a 1 out of 5, and Mario Kart a 0 out of 5, and just keep pumping out scores like that weekly and you’ll do great for hits, maybe even pick up some forum trolls along the way.
Did I call anyone a fag? Why was that directed at me? I already said I completely disagree with this review, and was suspicious of its purpose to begin with. What the fuck did I do to you man? Mousewheel up.
FUCK YOU FOR TELLING US WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GET 120 STARS
Suffereres of motion sickness, should, under no circumstances, be chosen to review a game that in effect causes that.
what the f@#*
f@#* you lalw the story is basic the controls are great the mini games are good and i have yet to barf wile playing the game also i think planet like worlds the mini games the moshon controls make it far more difrent then mario 64
dooshbag
this is why ailians never visit us they found the game then they saw this review and so they f@#*ed of and said you heumans suck we will never visit earth
becase they enjoied it
Terrible review. You barely described anything. I also love how GTA IV scores a 5 while Galaxy scores a 2. The irony is amazing.
this is the worse reviewever. i enjoyed that game and it is not nauseating.