Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review: Mario's Second Galactic Adventure is a Winner

During the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube eras, there would be one, and only one, 3D Mario game, along with a bunch of spin off games. In 2007, his third 3D adventure, Super Mario Galaxy, was released, and has been considered to be one of his greatest games of all time. It also seemed as if it would be his only 3D game on the Wii...until Nintendo announced that a sequel was in the works, thus breaking the tradition of only one 3D Mario game per console. Now the sequel in question, Super Mario Galaxy 2, is available, and people are praising it left and right. Having completed the game and gained every last star, I feel that it is my turn to review the game, and to tell you why it is an instant classic in its own right rather than merely an expansion pack.

The story, such as it is, is basically a rehash of the first game. Peach has invited Mario to share some cake with him as they watch the falling stars. No sooner than our hero arrives at Peach's castle, however, that disaster strikes. Bowser, who is now an enormous beast, has once again abducted Peach, and Mario soon finds out that he has been swiping the Power Stars and scattering them throughout various galaxies. With the aid of a baby Luma (star-like creature) and a spaceship that resembles his famous face, Mario must reclaim the stars so that he may defeat Bowser and save Peach yet again. Plot wise, there is not a lot that we have not seen before, but then again, Mario games have never needed a deep story to be exciting.

If you have played the first Super Mario Galaxy, then you know how the sequel basically works. If not, then allow me to explain: as Mario, your mission is to explore various galaxies set in numerous environments in search of the missing Power Stars. To get to them, you must first go through an obstacle course, which often changes depending on which star you are looking for, so no two visits to one galaxy are exactly alike. As usual, enemies and obstacles will try to stop you, but a lot of them are simple to defeat or avoid. At the end of the stage, you can either just claim the star, or you may have to defeat a boss first. As you collect more stars, you will be able to progress further through the game on the world map.

You read that correctly...rather than having you explore a hub world in search of the entrance to a certain galaxy, this time you pilot the spaceship across a world map. This makes things a lot easier to navigate, and in addition to the entrances to the galaxies (almost 50 in all, each with 2-3 stars), you will discover Lumas who will unlock additional galaxies in exchange for Star Bits. These shiny bits can be claimed by pointing your Wii Remote at them, and for every 100 collected in a stage, you earn an extra life. By feeding a Luma enough Star Bits, you will open a path to a world that you would otherwise not reach. There are also star barriers that will only open up if you have collected a certain amount of stars.

Mario has plenty of useful moves on his own-a spin jump, triple jump, ground pound, and more-but he also uses a variety of power up items to help him find the elusive stars. New to the series is Rock Mario, which allows our hero to roll up into a boulder and run down enemies and obstacles; and Cloud Mario, who can create up to three cloud platforms in order to cross gaps and reach higher places. Returning power up abilities include Fire Mario, who can shoot fireballs at his foes; Bee Mario, who can fly for a short time; Boo Mario, who can turn transparent and go through walls; Rainbow Mario, who is temporarily invincible; and Spring Mario, who can bounce extra high and who is as tough to control as ever (though thankfully, this power shows up in only one mission). It is fun to try out each power up ability and see how each of them are useful in helping you collect the stars.

Sometimes, Mario needs help from an old friend of his, and more often than not, the friend in question-Yoshi the dinosaur-delivers. Yoshi, who is a lot more fun to use than he ever was in Super Mario Sunshine, can eat foes and berries, flutter jump, and latch onto flowers to cross gaps. By eating certain berries, he can also gain special abilities of his own. Dash Peppers make him run really fast, blue berries make him inflate and float through the air, and yellow berries help him illuminate the area and make invisible platforms visible. While Yoshi cannot be carried over to other stages, having him by your side makes for an enjoyable experience every time.

In addition to stars, Star Bits, and power up items, Mario can collect other things, as well. Coins can be used to recover health and to give to Lumas hidden in some galaxies. Green mushrooms give you extra lives, while red and yellow mushrooms give you six hit points instead of the default three hit points. Then there are Comet Medals, which, when collected, will eventually make Prankster Comets appear in the various galaxies. These comets will put you through more challenging variations of stages that you have cleared before. When you take on a comet mission, you will either have to run through the stage within a time limit (some of these stages have clocks that will give you extra time when collected), collect 100 purple coins (usually before the time runs out), complete a challenge without getting hit, running through an obstacle course while being chased by cosmic clones, defeat all the enemies within a time limit, and finish a stage with obstacles moving twice as fast as before. Believe me when I say that these challenges are among the most difficult ones that Nintendo has created in recent years.

In fact, this game is easily harder than the first Super Mario Galaxy. While you can breeze through earlier stages, later levels can be so tough, you will want to stock up on lives before you attempt them. Clearing a certain condition will unlock levels that, while optional if you do not wish to collect every star, will likely have you use up many lives before you can master them. Some stages have television screens that show you how to get past some sections, and if you keep dieing while trying to claim a specific star, you can choose to have the Cosmic Guide show you how to get it. However, using the guide will result in Mario getting only a bronze star. Getting a gold star requires you to complete the challenge yourself. I applaud Nintendo for coming up with lots of very difficult sections that will make even veterans of the first game sweat. Also, even if you grab all 120 Power Stars, the game is not over by a long shot as you will unlock...well, let's just say it is not a rehash of the adventure with a different character this time.

Speaking of a second character, Luigi can get in on the action as you progress through the game. At the beginning of some missions, you can choose to take control of Luigi, who has a higher jump, but poor traction. Complete a challenge with him, and you will unlock a staff ghost whose time you can then try to beat. Doing so is optional and will not gain you any additional stars, but you can see how your best time compares with that of the game's staff. Mastering Luigi can be tough, but give it a shot, and you might be surprised at how useful he can be.

Now let me tell you about the level design. If you thought it was impressive in the first game, just wait until you see what Nintendo has created this time. There are stages filled with innovative features: one galaxy has platforms that appear and vanish to the beat of the music, and others have you exploring portions of them while upside down. Each galaxy is filled with wonderful surprises, and you will even discover worlds based on other Mario games. Wait until you reach the Throwback Galaxy which is based on...well, I am not going to reveal more information than that. You will just have to play it and find out for yourself.

There is little to complain about in this game: the levels are fun and creative, the moves are largely simple to pull off and work well, and the challenges are guaranteed to have players try again and again until they succeed. Some tweaking could still have been used: the ball and bird controls, which require you to move the remote around, are tough to get used to, but luckily, they only show up a few times each. Mario's recovery time could have been expedited a bit, rather them having him be perilously close to anything else that could harm him. Still, these complaints are minor, and the game as a whole is something that Nintendo should be proud of, and a must-have game for 2010.

The graphics have not changed that much since the first game, but it does not matter much since they were impressive to begin with. Here, they still look beautiful, and even their impressive details do not slow the game down one bit. At 60 frames a second, the game moves fluidly, and perfectly fits the cartoon-like appeal of the Mario universe. Perhaps even more impressive is the music. A greater focus was placed on orchestrated music, and the result is an epic score that will make you want to take your time on the missions just to listen to it. In addition to wonderful original tunes, remixes of classic Mario tunes can be heard at spots, and let me tell you, when you hear the new version of Koopa's Road from Super Mario 64, you will surely agree that the song itself never sounded better than it does here. Nintendo should use orchestrated music more often if they can make it sound superb like they do here.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is nothing short of a masterpiece in its own right. Nintendo pulled off all the stops to make it superior to the first game, and they succeeded. This game has it all, from stunning graphics and music, to astounding level designs, to tricky challenges that will keep you busy for weeks. Those who go into the game thinking that it is simply an expansion pack with everything that Nintendo could not include the first time will surely be proved wrong, as this game is amazing and a classic all by itself. If they can make Super Mario Galaxy 2 this great, imagine what other ideas they can come up with for a third game that could even surpass this one. In the meantime, I suggest you run, instead of walk, to whether you buy games and pick up Super Mario Galaxy 2 as soon as you can, as it is the most amazing game yet for the Wii, even more so than the first game, which was itself an impressive masterpiece.