Super Mario Galaxy Review

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Genre: Platform

Published By: Nintendo

Developed By:   Nintendo EAD Tokyo


ESRB Rating:  E


Overview: Super Mario Galaxy is a very unique game in the Mario Series.  It has many features and abilities that older Mario games to do not have.  The plot begins with a small story involving the Star festival that occurs every 1000 years.  The game then starts showing Mario's letter from Princess Peach saying that she would like to give him something at the Star Festival.  Mario is shown, pretending to fly and heading to the festival.  He meets several Toads along the way, and seeing pieces of star bits falling all over the place which he can grab by touching or with the cursor.  When Mario gets close to where Princess Peach is located, fireballs from the sky suddenly start shooting down towards the land.  The fireballs come from several flying ships, all led by Bowser.  Bowser then uses an ufo shaped ship to draw a beam of light around Peach's Castle.  The ships then attach several strong hooks to the grounds of the castle, which pulls the castle out of the ground and into space.  But before that could happen, Mario had reached the castle's entrance.  Unfortunately, Bowser's assistant realizes Mario is there and attacks the ground beneath his feet, which knocks Mario unconscious and sends him drifting off into space.  He reaches a small planet, and after a quick game with some cute bunny-like creatures, he meets a young woman name Rosalina, who tells him how to save Princess Peach.  Mario learns what Bowser's plan was, and what he has to do in order to save the Princess.  Mario is sent on a long and different journey, one that he has never experienced before, that will take him to many types of worlds, in order to stop Bowser's disastrous plan, and save the Princess once again.  


Single or Multiplayer: The game is mainly a single player game, however another player can help the first one by using another wiimote.  This will place another cursor on the screen, which can acts as the first player's cursor.  It can grab star bits, and shot them at enemies, so they will not attack Mario, so the first player can complete the levels without getting too much distracted by the enemies.  However, this is not necessary, but it does make the game slightly a bit easier.


Difficulty:  The game's first few worlds are pretty easy, and they show the player what to do and how to do it for the first time.  But as you progress through the game, the worlds and puzzles tend to get extremely harder, especially close to the final boss.  And after you complete the main storyline, the new improved worlds are even harder then the old worlds.  But if you complete all of them in the game, there is a very great prize at the end, which shocks most first time players.


Age:  The game has been rated for everyone by the ESRB.  Though this game can be played by anyone at any age, the game can be harder to young children, and as the game progresses, they get even more difficult to beat due to the many puzzles.  So, the game should be played by kids around 10+.


Game Length:  The main game is pretty long, especially for first time players.  But even experienced players take long to complete the storyline because of the many worlds, and the puzzles you have to do in order to beat them.  Plus, after you complete the main storyline, there is more challenges to unlock, like completing every world in the game.  But for those player who stick, as said above, there is a prize at the end that many people enjoy.


Replay:  The game is not the type of game to replay, due to the prize at the end, but some people due tend to play the game all over.


Effects/Graphics: The graphics are amazing in this Mario game, and the unique levels and characters really add to the fun and design of the game.  The effects are great as well, with Mario's new moves, and new clothes which change his moves, is definitely a plus.


Rating 1 through 5: **** = 4 1/2 stars


Final Thoughts:  Super Mario Galaxy is an excellent game, whether you are new to Mario games, or an old time player from the very beginning.  There is no other Mario game, or anything game like it, and will keep you busy for a long time.  With all the different features and abilities new to this game, no Mario game can compare themselves to Super Mario Galaxy, and this game will be an excellent addition to any Mario or video game collector's collection.