Super Mario Galaxy 2 Impressions and Speculations

Super Mario Galaxy still to this day is the greatest Wii game that Nintendo can offer (in my opinion) so hearing the announcement that it is getting a direct sequel makes me extremely happy giving the fact there has never been more than one 3-D Mario platformer game per console life cycle. Super Mario Galaxy was a gorgeous game offering a creative spin on the platforming genre with tight physics, amazing level design, and one of the most beautiful worlds Mario has ever had to trek through. The announcement of Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a shock to me but I am hopeful it retains all the things that made the first Galaxy game an instant classic.

So what all is known about SMG 2? Sadly, I have to report that news on the game is very scarce but some little details have trickled out since the announcement. Obviously the big thing about this entry is the ability to use Yoshi in a number of ways including swinging on vines and inflating to reach new heights. Story has never played a large role in the game and its even more scaled back in this entry. Shigeru Miyamoto, series creator, told Wired.com “I’d like to go with as little story as possible,” he said. “I’ve always felt that the Mario games themselves aren’t particularly suited to having a very heavy story” (read the entire entry here.) This isn’t necessarily a shock to fans because it all boils down to rescuing the princess that gets captured by a oversized turtle.

One aspect of Galaxy 2 that is a little disappointing is the fact of reusing some of the old worlds from Galaxy 1 in which Kotaku posted about. It was stated though the game’s worlds are ninety percent new and the other ten will be reused worlds but with new objectives.

The game seems like it could be setting itself up for some disappointment to some gamers. To me, I would love to have new worlds to explore that are set up like the first Galaxy; it took me 30+ hours to grab all 120 power stars but I’m more than ready to travel a new galaxy. The thing that could be disappointing though is the fact that judging by whats been talked about, there really isn’t anything “new” to the game. Sure you can ride Yoshi around, but that’s been done before in Super Mario Sunshine for the GameCube. It’s also sad that they are taking what story they have set up and making it even less of the game; I’m sure Rosalina won’t be reading stories to Mario any longer.

So what would I like to see out of this game? For starters, I would like to see more Luigi in the game and not stupid rescue missions where they play off Luigi as a pansy that cannot take care of himself (yes, I know its Super MARIO Galaxy). I understand that in the last Galaxy game **SPOILER ALERT** you unlock the chance to play as Luigi once you collect all power stars but I would like him to be more implemented and even playable in the main game itself. **END SPOILERS** I thought they did a tremendous job with the boss battles in Galaxy 1 but they also had a major one with the Bowser battles; they are all played the same. I always seem to look forward to how the fights with Bowser pan out and although it was a blast to fight him, it was always played out the same way; so I’m hoping the Bowser fights are more varied throughout the game (I know it is still unclear who the main villian is but I’m sure you will fight him at some point). I would also love to see the return of the Koopalings from past Mario games and how great would it be to have Fawful appear in a game that is not the Mario and Luigi series on the handhelds.

The game was originally rumored to be released this year but was pushed to 2010 so it’s not competing with New Super Mario Bros for the Wii. All in all, I’m looking forward to SMG2 and feel It’s a big enough span of time that I’m more than ready to sink another 30+ hours into a new 3-D platformer.

Tags: mario Super Mario Galaxy 2 Wii Yoshi