Super Mario Galaxy

Wii, Super Mario Galaxy (2007) game

Mario, being Nintendo's mascot, is almost universally the true Nintendo Seal of Quality (though his reputation was harmed a little through appearing in some less successful titles as the company sought to widen his use through sports titles or cameos in other companies' releases), and none more than the big marquee titles that he graced on each console. By the time of the Wii he'd already revolutionised, or you could say, invented, the 3D platformer on the N64, 'Super Mario 64,' but since then his GameCube release had been more of a continuation of that with the gimmick of FLUDD, a water-spraying backpack that gave him the ability to hover or blast higher into the air in 'Super Mario Sunshine.' They learned some lessons from that game, which was a good one, but not quite as satisfying as hoped, held back by its single theme of sunshine, ocean and beaches. With 'Super Mario Galaxy' they made sure to get back to the variety of worlds seen in Mario's previous games, while also including a gimmick, in line with 'SMS,' and returning to the Stars of 'SM64' instead of Shines.

'SM64' was so revolutionary not just because it was a whole new dimension in which to play, with new concepts such as a moveable camera displaying the game world, but also for the N64 Controller which was built specifically for the game. 'SM64' was more than just the next Mario instalment, it was the portal to a new generation and genre of gameplay. 'SMG' was doing something similar: although there were no further dimensions possible to be explored (unless you count the passage of time, something both 'Harvest Moon' and 'Animal Crossing' played with), the Wii was designed to be accessible to those unfamiliar with electronic gaming and to break away from the constant battles for graphical supremacy that other console makers were ever engaged in, a perpetual oneupmanship that didn't suit Nintendo's ethos of championing gameplay and new experiences over technical specifications, a move that saw them regain the top spot for that era. But if the console and its unique control method of realtime movement detection in space, creating a more physical engagement with onscreen events, was designed for simpler types of games, how would Mario, a series famed for its precise control and freedom of in-game acrobatics, work?

At this point I must admit to not owning an official Wii Remote or Nunchuk, making do with third-party controllers. This means I can be sure the analogue stick isn't as well made as Nintendo's craftsmen always manufacture their control pads. At the same time, 'SMG' was not the game that 'SM64' had been, the source of its experimentation and the guiding light for the creation of the console itself. In one sense it had learned from 'SM64' and its long creation period which forced the N64 to be delayed ("You can't buy this yet"). This time they didn't have as much resolve that a Mario game must launch with the console, and instead such simpler fare as 'Wii Sports' was the 'killer app' which demonstrated the new machine's potential. While this was good for the Wii, perhaps it wasn't so good for 'SMG' since that meant the game had to be made despite the new control method rather than being crafted for it. I could see that the aspects of Wii-specific controls, the gathering up of Star Bits, the pointing and shooting of the same, the 'Super Monkey Ball' ball-rolling, the bubble blowing and snow blasting were all additions to what was a much more conventional platform game. When they came along they were great fun and a challenge (nothing gets the heart pounding more than trying to roll a large ball around tight platforms above bottomless depths by turning the Remote into a giant analogue joystick!), but they didn't take over from the meat of the platforming tasks.

That's probably a good thing as making the game reliant on gimmickry, no matter how much fun in doses they were, would have altered Mario's style too far beyond what we were used to. At the same time, the main source of irritation I had with the game were its controls, something you wouldn't expect judging from Mario's past successes. I found holding two separate devices in each hand to be much less comfortable than gripping a single pad, and the reliance on the Spin Jump, activated by flicking the Remote, to be an inconvenience that wouldn't have existed if it had been more direct with a button press. In a Mario game where you require great in-game dexterity, quick reactions and accuracy, this created unnecessary frustrations. These frustrations were compounded by my other bane: the camera. I know that a lot of the game was designed to be played in a 2D world, in spite of the three-dimensional freedom, but I was profoundly annoyed by the game's insistence on taking ownership of the view! I much prefer the freedom to centre the camera behind yourself at any time (which was possible with the C button, though fiddly), and to AT ALL TIMES have the power to manipulate the camera around you, either to scout out the environment for pitfalls, or to get a better grasp of where you wanted to get to in 3D space.

Too often, this precision of control was denied, sometimes resulting in death. The game also gave me a realisation about the genre that either I hadn't understood before, or had forgotten: I don't really like 2D platform games. I never really enjoyed those games where it was all about pixel-perfect jumps, the true platform genre of timing and instinct, closer to the twitch gaming of shoot-'em-ups than the open worlds of such classics as 'Zelda.' But I had thought I did love platform games in the 3D realm because they were mostly not about instant deaths and the importance of quick reactions. Ever since I played 'Banjo-Kazooie' on the N64 I loved that specific style, which is that, sure, there are instant deaths if you fall too far, or the occasional bottomless drop of doom, but mostly it's about the joy of exploring a world, collecting things, working out how to get to places, and taking on mini challenges. I know 'SM64' had its share of dangerous edges and all that, but I remember it more as being about the exploration and experience of control. 'SMG' was trying something radical, and it was impressive, but as much as I found the changing gravity of bouncing between tiny planetoids to be fun, and the novelty of shifting reality a challenge, it could also be deeply disorientating.

This is where the locked camera caused most problems because you can only really see the changes in gravity if your perspective stays the same (should have called it 'Super Mario Gravity'), so it was like they had to remove freedom in order to show off their new gimmick. I would much have preferred to be able to keep the camera directly behind Mario at all times rather than find that up on the stick no longer corresponds with Mario moving in that direction! Too often I was dismayed by such things, and I understand they had to add something new otherwise it would just be 'SM64' with improved graphics, but this was one area where more thought was required. 'SM64' got around the wish for old-style Mario moments in its Bowser stages, but for the most part it had that wonder of worlds to play in. In too many cases I found myself just wanting to get past a difficult area because it wasn't fun. If it was a struggle to get from A to B, then it wasn't what I was looking for in a platform game, despite the conventions of the 2D genre. I will give them credit for making a tough game as, although many of the stars were easy, a good number required multiple attempts, and the mere three segments of health you have (unless you can get hold of a red mushroom which doubles it until you lose three), made for tense moments. I could have done without the warning sounds when you're down to one segment, but I can see it was intended to up the tension, too.

The levels were relatively small, but at least that meant you didn't have the misery of wandering around at a loss for what to do next, which has happened in some games, such as 'Zelda,' and the variety was pretty good - at least they could be more imaginative with the worlds they created (even if terminology such as 'galaxy' referred to only a small collection of planets, more like a system), relying on little chunks of play rather than monster-sized challenges that could take hours. The game was very much geared to the spirit of the Wii's new mode of play - on 'Wii Sports' every so often you're invited to take a break. Bite-size gameplay seemed to be the direction at the time, especially because of the more physical nature of Wii interaction, I suppose, but the beauty of 'SMG' was that you could either play to find a star, a short ten or twenty minute bash, or you could stick with the game for hours at a time, breaking off whenever you felt like it, so that balance was immaculately crafted. It's also a suitably large game - just as in 'SM64' where you could complete the game before collecting every Star, then return to get the rest, you had that option here, with new Purple Coin challenges in most levels giving you a fresh task, often with new areas, so they clearly worked hard on creating a game with longevity.

I loved it at the very end when you complete the game with 120 Stars and you're rewarded with the chance to play as Luigi and he shouts "Super Luigi Galaxy!" I don't have the desire to go back through the entire thing again (although I liked the addition that Luigi's quest is on the same file as your existing one, rather than having to open a new file separately), but I imagine I will one day. The only downside to the ending was that it seemed to say there was a new galaxy to explore and I could never find it on Mario's file, so maybe it's something you have to complete as Luigi to access, which was a little disappointing as I was in the mood for one more level. Still, on the whole it was a good experience, the music was as jaunty as you'd expect, the levels bright and colourful and a tonic against all those ugly brown and grey worlds that blight game environments in less imaginative productions. As I came to the end I did feel more attached to the game, and a mite more forgiving to its issues, and I would certainly play the sequel, also released on Wii, though I suspect it will just be more of the same. If they fixed the problems (I didn't even mention the further aggravation of the cursor disappearing when it hits the edge of the screen so you don't know precisely where you're pointing until you bring it back!), it could have turned out to be a great game, but this one, as it stood, was only a good one, something I'd rather have been able to play with the 'Cube's Controller for most of it.

Some things I didn't like I admit are Mario tropes, such as his momentum in the direction he's going, so even if you stop moving the stick he'll keep going a little, or that he can't switch direction immediately, making jumping on a specific spot that keeps moving, problematic. Even minor niggles like when looking in first person he can only turn as far as his neck would in real life, rather than allowing full 360 degree movement to look around. Instead you still have to go out of the view, rotate him a little, then go back into the view, which is just so unintuitive - even in 'Zelda' there were no restrictions on looking around! I keep coming back to the unyielding control the camera insists on keeping so often, and that some of the challenges were so tricky in themselves, that with the troubles of camera and controls it was like a double backstabbing from the game. It also takes experience to understand the game's unique conventions: some areas you can fall off without harm, some you can walk around and underneath, others cause you to fall to instant death and it's really not very clear which is which as you're introduced to spherical lands early on and have to learn to move in a different way. I suppose this should be up to the player, but as much as it was important to inform on what the various objects do, it was equally essential to explain your limitations. I'm not sure if I'd want more or less of the unique Wii stuff - at the time I felt there weren't enough of them, but maybe having more would have upset the balance away from Mario tradition? However 'SMG 2' plays out I kept coming back to this one for more, so I'll want to play that, too.

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