On September 26^th, 1996, the Nintendo 64 released in North America, and with it came one of the finest games ever made: Super Mario 64. The amazing graphics, perfect controls, and wicked level design revolutionized gaming as we know it. Mario 64 left us all saying “What can Mario do next to top THAT?” It’s been a long eleven years for Nintendo fans since then. We’ve seen our company fall from grace and rise back to the top. We’ve seen them try tons of new ideas, some of them failing, others being wild successes. Mario took place in sporting events, racing, partying, and a sunshine vacation which left us wanting more. Now, finally, in 2007, with Nintendo’s Wii console only a year old, Nintendo has brought us what we’ve all been wishing for. What can Mario do to top Mario 64? Super Mario Galaxy.

I’ll start with the story, what little there is of it. The Mushroom Kingdom is holding a huge festival for the passing of a comet which comes every one hundred years. Everyone is happy and partying, until the inevitable arrival of Bowser early on. Bowser yanks out the castle with Princess Peach inside, and takes off into space. Fortunately, Mario has managed to hitch a ride on the hunk of rock carrying the castle, but before he can make his first move, Kamek strikes him off into space. So begins Mario’s adventure to save the princess and foil Bowser’s evil plot.

Yes, the story is weak, but that’s not why we’re playing. Galaxy follows the same basic design as the first two 3D Mario adventures – Mario has a hub world to explore with portals to different worlds. Within those worlds you can choose to go on different quests to collect power stars. Quests can range from anything like beating a boss, solving some problem for the inhabitants, winning a race, or even uncovering a secret area. There’s a large amount of stars to collect in Galaxy, 120 in all (the same number as 64 and Sunshine). You only need 60 in order to head to the final encounter, but most gamers will want to collect far more than that in this grand adventure. There’s a certain type of star quest you can’t even go to until you beat the final boss though, so keep that in mind if you’re trying to get 120 before going to the final encounter.

Where Galaxy begins to become an amazing title is in its level design. Were treated to all the classic world types – fire, ice, desert, grass – along with some new types as well. The amount of creative freedom given to the developers has allowed some awesome original designs to be made. Toy Time Galaxy is a particular favourite of mine. I don’t want to spoil too much of the surprise of going to each new Galaxy. It feels like opening up a Christmas present when you unlock each new one with your power stars. The star quests are nice and varied, never really having you do the same thing twice. There are a couple boss battles that repeat themselves, but they change them up enough so that it doesn’t detract from the feel of the game. There’s also a host of new, awesome power ups, as well as some returning old ones. Again, I don’t want to spoil some of the surprise, but the Spring Suit is absolutely awesome. Plus, who hasn’t wanted to use the fire suit in 3D? It’s criminal that this is the third 3D Mario game and the first time we get to do that.

Where Galaxy differentiates itself from other 3D platformers is with the brilliant use of gravity. Jumping off a platform into empty space has always resulted in death in past Mario titles, but not so here - You’ll simply flip around to the other side, as a majority of the platforms and planets have their own separate gravity pull. Mario can run right upside down on a lot of planets, completely twisting your perspective and forcing you to play in an entirely new way. This is how Galaxy beats Mario 64… it has truly revolutionized a genre that we thought we’d seen everything out of. Some of the level design that comes out of these gravity effects forces you to think about playing the game completely differently than any game that’s come before it. The gravity effects could’ve been a major gimmick, but they’re utilized so well by the designers and so constant throughout the game that you can’t help but wish every game before this had done it. Remember in Yoshi’s Island, when you got to the fight with Raphael the Raven? It’s one of my favourite boss fights of all time. Nintendo took the idea of that boss fight and made an entire Mario game around it, and it turned out absolutely brilliant. There was one time I jumped off a platform thinking I would just land on the other side, only to plummet to my death. Generally, if you’re aware of your surroundings, that won’t happen, and you’ll just have fun running and jumping all over everything.

How well is that running and jumping executed this time around? The game controls beautifully. Anyone who’s played Mario 64 or Sunshine will feel right at home, and it won’t take long for Mario newcomers to learn the controls. Before you know it Mario will be triple jumping and wall jumping with ease. The Wiimote is utilized nicely. The worlds you visit are littered with thousands of star bits, which are easily collected simply by pointing at them with an on-screen indicator. Giving the Wiimote a shake will make Mario do a spin attack, a move which is sure to become your main arsenal. Different gameplay elements which utilize the Wiimote are also tossed in. Sea races on top of a manta ray require you to tilt the controller around in order to control it. Ditto with the bonus stages that have Mario running around on top of a giant ball (a la Super Monkey Ball). There’s also many puzzles which require you to point and click on blue stars which draw Mario into them. Some of the new suits are appropriately difficult to control, and combined with the bonus stages give a nice break from the regular action. Along with all this is an almost completely automatic camera. The toughest part of making a 3D game is having a camera system which works well. Galaxy’s works amazingly without requiring any user control. You’ll always have an appropriate view of the action, just because the camera is so smart. There is the occasional time when the camera won’t work QUITE right, but I’d say well over 90% of the time you won’t have any trouble with it, which is quite a feat for this kind of game.

Not only is Galaxy the best playing game on Wii, it’s also the best sounding and best looking. First, the music. I can not fully explain to you just how incredible this soundtrack is. Koji Kondo and the entire composition team have created what I believe to be the greatest video game soundtrack ever. Several levels are accompanied by sweeping orchestral tracks with totally original sounds, giving us new themes to have engraved into our memories forever. Others remix retro themes to give us a new sound to old songs. Even Super Mario 64’s music gets a nod here. The music when you fight with Bowser is incredibly epic. All the tracks are just amazingly well done. You’ll want to pick up the soundtrack for this game immediately. The sound effects are typical Mario fare. Charles Martinet’s voice work as Mario is wonderfully done, giving us the image of having Mario fight all these horrible villains and facing unimaginable obstacles with a smile on his face the whole time. There’s some pretty shoddy voice work for other characters, but thankfully it’s kept to a minimum. Thank goodness they don’t have Bowser actually speak English anymore… that was painful in Sunshine. The rest of the effects are all well done and suit the game nicely.

The graphics in this game are stunning as well. It’s easily on par with any next gen effort on other consoles, and has set a benchmark for Wii titles. Textures are clean, and the colors explode off the screen. All characters and enemies are wonderfully rendered, and the only time I noticed a single jaggy was in the ending movie. All the effects are very well done – fire really looks hot, and the water effects are at least on par with what we saw in Sunshine. One particular effect I liked is what they use on the rocks in the fire worlds. They look really shiny and organic, and it makes for a great atmosphere. On top of this, it’s all dripping with great art and amazing style. There is the occasional frame rate dip when too much is going on, but presentation-wise, Galaxy is easily one of the top titles of the year. Mario fans will appreciate all the nods to past games as well. Enemies we haven’t seen since Super Mario Bros. 3 show up, as well as some of that games classic elements. The retro music is usually accompanied by some retro backgrounds as well. There’s a ton of fan service in this game, all while managing to feel completely new at the same time.

With all this said, the game isn’t entirely perfect. The camera doesn’t work ALL the time, and there is the occasional frame rate dip. The more linear star quests also don’t allow for as much exploration, which I thought was a huge part of the replay value of the past two 3D games. The title is also a little on the easy side for experienced gamers, but you’ll hardly notice since you’ll be having so much fun. And that’s what it all comes down to: fun. Super Mario Galaxy is some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing a video game. The silky smooth graphics and incredible soundtrack are just cherries on top of an extremely delicious cake of design and gameplay. Nintendo has crafted an amazing experience that pushes the boundaries of video games. It’s creative level designs and gravity defying puzzles will have you staying up late into the night just to see what comes next. Super Mario Galaxy is a benchmark not only for games on the Wii, but for games in general.

SCORE: 9.8/10