The Cosmic Mario Adventure Meets Its Reputation

In my youth, I didn't have a Wii console. Admittedly, I experienced Wii Sports plus various premier games when visiting family and friends in the mid-to-late 2000s, yet I lacked owning the console myself, meaning I missed out on numerous outstanding titles from Nintendo's beloved series.

A prime example was Super Mario Galaxy, which, along with its sequel, has been freshly updated and transferred to Switch consoles. The first one was also included in 2020’s limited-edition collection Super Mario 3D All-Stars. I welcomed the opportunity to play what many consider among the finest Mario adventures created. I became immediately engrossed, while affirming that it lives up to almost twenty years of anticipation. However, I also recognized how happy I am motion and gyroscope controls have largely remained as historical features.

Starting the Space Journey

Following traditional Mario storyline, Super Mario Galaxy starts when Bowser nabbing Princess Peach including her home. His armada of pirate-like space ships transport her into outer space, launching Mario through space as this happens. Mario meets charming cosmic creatures called Luma plus Rosalina on her cosmic observatory. She tasks Mario with tracking down stellar objects to power the cosmic base enabling pursuit of the villain, and then we’re set free to go exploring.

The game's jumping mechanics provides delight, requiring only completing a couple levels to understand why it receives such praise. It’ll feel familiar to anyone who’s played Mario's 3D adventures, and the controls prove user-friendly and natural as Nintendo typically delivers.

Gravity-Defying Gameplay

Being cosmic enthusiast, the setting is right up my alley, enabling Super Mario Galaxy to experiment with planetary forces. Round structures allow Mario to literally run circles about them similar to Goku chasing after Bubbles in popular series. When structures approach, Mario can leap across being pulled by the gravity by neighboring objects. Different stages feature flat circular shapes, frequently containing rewards underneath, easily overlooked spots.

Revisiting Beloved Personalities

The pleasure in playing Super Mario Galaxy following long gap is having already met familiar faces. I didn't realize Rosalina made her debut through this adventure, or that she acted as the caring guardian for Luma creatures. Prior to this experience, to me she was just a standard member Mario Kart World character selection. Likewise for Penguins, with whom I liked swimming through introductory ocean area.

Gyroscopic Limitations

The only real drag in playing Super Mario Galaxy today involves motion features, utilized during gathering, targeting, and firing stellar fragments, vibrant items distributed throughout stages. Playing on handheld mode involved moving and adjusting the Switch around to direct, which feels a bit clunky. Movement features feature heavily within certain jumping segments, needing users to point the cosmic indicator toward structures to drag Mario toward them.

Stages completely dependent on gyroscopic features are best played using separate controllers for better precision, like the manta ray surfing level at the start. I haven't typically been enthusiastic about movement inputs, and they haven’t aged notably effectively within this title. Fortunately, when acquiring adequate stars from other levels, these movement-based stages might be entirely bypassed. I tested the mission where Mario has to navigate a giant ball through a track containing openings, then quickly abandoned following single try.

Classic Nintendo Magic

Aside from the awkward motion-based control schemes, there's virtually nothing to criticize in Super Mario Galaxy, while its cosmic stages are a delight to navigate. While impressive games including later releases have come after it, Super Mario Galaxy stays among the finest and innovative Mario games around.