Platform:  Nintendo Wii

Developer:  Nintendo

Release Date (NA):  November 12, 2007

Genre:  3D Platformer

Rating:  9 out of 10

Following in the footsteps of the ground-breaking Super Mario 64 and the awkward Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy delivers in every possible way. Back in the late 90’s, the folks at Nintendo began work on Super Mario 128, promising such radical innovations as “spherical walking.” None of that quite panned out until almost 10 years later, but the wait was worth it. Development for 128 was folded into Galaxy where “spherical walking” is merely the tip of the iceberg.

From the get-go, this game starts out fairly difficult in comparison to its predecessors. Obscure references and clever wording elevate Galaxy beyond the simple affair of timing jumps, and challenges range from super-human feats of dexterity and reflexivity to the ultra-observant to flat out trial and error. Every inch of this game is packed with rewarding frustration and the sheer virtual environment in which it takes place is stunning.

It would be futile to go into too much detail about all the different types of levels our hero must endure, but some of the most memorable include the blocks which change with the music, rotating columns of stone above deadly black holes, and an expansive ordeal of hopping around little planetoids in the correct order. Gone are the annoying (but serviceable) camera angles of 64; instead we are treated to flawless precision of visibility. No more must we endure the sometimes absurd control scheme of Sunshine; every bit of the gimmicky remote and nunchuck is instantly intuitive and dripping with possibility.

Like other 3D platformers from the Super Mario series, the primary objective is to systematically fight one’s way through an assortment of familiar enemies so that Mario’s resolve can be tested against the King Koopa, Bowser himself. But also like its predecessors, the real objective is to collect every one of those damn stars. And it’s not easy. Most levels average 3 to 4 stars and on top of that each level can (and will) be visited by a comet, requiring Mario to pull of such ridiculous feats as destroying gargantuan bosses while only being allowed one hit (Daredevil Comet) as well as having to grab 100 purple coins in a nearly unrealistically small amount of time. Then of course when you think you’ve almost achieved 100%, Nintendo whips out the finger-blistering, eye-popping, scream-inducing levels that are all but impossible to complete. (Trial Galaxies, anyone?)

Playing through even a modicum of the above challenges requires quite a bit of time, so Galaxy is the perfect way to spend a couple of weeks of downtime. Factoring in how much of the beginning of the game will be forgotten by the time one reaches the end, there’s a decent amount of replay value here. And like almost all Mario games, it’s always a great choice to give it a good run once every year or two. A fantastic game worth anyone’s time and money, hell it’s worth owning a Wii for the pleasure of this game and its sequel alone.

Reviewed by The Cubist