Thursday 31 Jan 2008

Nintendo have really been on form lately. For a while it seemed like some of the magic was gone, like they had run out of inspiration. Perhaps their situation with the GameCube meant they couldn’t spend as much time on things as they normally do. Well, they certainly took their time producing Super Mario Galaxy – remember when Miyamoto said it would be out at most six months from launch? Perhaps the unique hardware of DS and Wii has breathed new ideas into the company. Whatever the source, the magic is still there, by Jupiter, it’s still there, possibly more powerfully than ever before.

Bowser’s Plan for the Galaxy

The story of Super Mario Galaxy is, as always in these Mario platformers, of the most basic kind – rescue the princess. Of course, not just any princess – it’s the same one he’s been rescuing for 20 years, Princess Peach. The villain is that perennial performer – Bowser the…well I’m not sure what kind of creature he is. Thankfully he’s shed his cartoony, cutesy look from the Paper Mario and Mario sports series (not that I mind that look or those games one bit, it just wouldn’t fit here), and is once again his bombastic, growly self, trying to take over not just the Mushroom Kingdom but the universe itself. (I’m never quite sure why he needs Peach to complete his nefarious plans though.) It’s up to Mario to gather together power stars so that he can rescue Peach from her predicament (and, incidentally, save the universe.)

The uniqueness of Super Mario Galaxy shows itself in the first “stage” – instead of a closed sort of arena to run around in (a la Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine), the action takes place on planets out in space. Sometimes the planets are big, other times tiny, sometimes flat as a pancake, other times round like earth, and with every variant in between. Most of these worlds I could never conceive of, both in their grand idea and in their details; the sheer variation is astounding. Each star retrieval requires Mario to travel to a veritable solar system of planets, using Launch and Sling Stars to fly between them. A quick flick of the Wii Remote activates a Launch Star and flings you up and away, and when you’re not near a Star the same flick will make Mario spin, dispatching foes in the process. The spin has all but replaced the jump as the standard way of attacking enemies, a change for the better as placing a jump accurately in a 3D world is a difficult proposition. On each planet you’ll have to jump, spin, pound, swim and fly your way to the next Launch Star or the final goal, the Power Star.

The Variety of the Galaxies

The formula is great, and the thrill of Mario flying through space to the next planet never gets tired, but the execution of the planets themselves is just as important. It’s here that the level designers show their imagination. There are an incredible number of galaxies, and you’d be hard-pressed to think of even two that are similar to each other. Even between stages within a galaxy there is so little in common – often just the first planet is shared. The stages are a little more directed than in previous 3D Mario games, and it’s usually not difficult to work out where you need to go. There’s a galaxy where all the planets look like garden items like apples or worms, another with an egg theme, another with a beach theme. Not just the design inspiration of each is different; the play mechanics vary hugely between them. Even the gravity style of planets is different – some Mario can fall off, while others he will simply orbit if he tries to jump off, while still others have different gravity in different places, or even moving gravity fields. The gravity tricks often produce a reaction of sheer incredulousness – jaw-dropping is a word used too often, but this did honestly happen as I was playing.

What impresses me most about Super Mario Galaxy is the way the designers have come up with genius ideas, ideas that could almost carry a full-fledged game, and showed incredible restraint in only using them once or twice in the entire game. The Star Ball for example, is a mechanic that sees Mario balance atop a big ball, attempting to ride it to the hole at the end flag, where it shatters and reveals the Power Star inside it. You control Mario by holding the Wii Remote vertically and leaning it in the way you want Mario to move the ball. It’s a great mechanic, and the stages designed for it are immense fun, and, most amazingly, there are only three of them. Because of this, the concentration of ideas within those three stages is huge and it’s impossible to get bored through any of them. This carries through the entire game; Mario does swimming, skating, fireballs, iceballs, flying, bouncing, shooting out of cannons, and much much much more, and each ability is used with remarkable restraint so none of it gets old.

Challenge in the Later Galaxies

Nintendo has lately been accused of not creating games for “real gamers,” but Super Mario Galaxy, you can be sure, is designed with the hardcore in mind. It is certainly accessible for a beginner or casual gamer (at least far more so than Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine, or in fact any of the 2D Marios, bar the original one or New Super Mario Bros), but it also has its share of difficult parts. The standard health-bar is only three wedges big, unlike the previous two games’ six, and average-skilled player will attempt some stages many times before completing them (the boss fights being particularly challenging for the new player). The end-game credits roll after just 60 stars, allowing players to “finish” the game without reaching the really tough bits. Those wanting further challenges will continue past this point, and the rewards are many. The last few stars, in particular, are quite vindictive, and the inventiveness never stops.

A Two Player Galaxy

A new mechanic in Super Mario Galaxy is the ability to collect Star Bits. Using the pointer function of the Wii Remote, you can point at these shiny items on screen and they will fly towards Mario to be added to his Star Bit count. You can then shoot them at enemies or things by pointing and using the B button on the remote. It’s never really necessary to do so, but it is another option, and collecting Star Bits somehow never gets boring. In another very clever idea, Nintendo have allowed two players to play Galaxy cooperatively. Of course, only one player controls Mario, but the other player can collect Star Bits, shoot star bits and even manipulate objects on screen (such as stopping a rolling rock) to help out the one controlling Mario. This allows players of vastly different play skill to enjoy the game at their level, much the same way as Mario Kart: Double Dash did. For some, playing as the second player will get boring (like it did for some in Double Dash), but the option is there and it’s far nicer to participate in a small way than to just watch someone play.

A word must be mentioned about the music – for the first time it’s fully orchestrated, and it works remarkably well. The theme tune is memorable and well performed (as are the other new tunes), while the remixed old tunes are also probably in their best form yet. Some more clever things are done with the music – for instance, when riding the Star Ball the music will slow down and speed up depending on how fast the ball is rolling. Somehow, the orchestrated, prerecorded (and thus very high quality) music is integrated perfectly with the game play.

The Best Game in the Galaxy?

There is more invention, cleverness, ingenuity and creativity in Super Mario Galaxy than I’ve ever seen gathered in a game. It’s astounding that after over 20 years of gaming there can still be something that comes along and blows my mind like this. I guess that’s why we game, and those of us here at the beginning of it all (since really, we’re still in early days of this industry) are truly privileged to see the innovation and new ideas present in titles like Super Mario Galaxy. It took ten years for a platformer to surpass Mario 64, but this game has done it, and it will be the standard for the next decade, perhaps even longer.

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Contributor:	Peter

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