Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy is a Wii video game that was announced during E3 2006. It makes use of the Wii's unique controllers and blatantly stars Mario, Nintendo's famed mascot. It was created by Nintendo EAD Tokyo, the company behind Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat, and has been widely considered as one of the greatest games of all time, currently being the 2nd best rated game at Gamerankings.com, surpassing even Metroid Prime, Soul Calibur and virtually ever other game ever released.

While some Mario games have had minor space themes, this game is fully oriented in space as Mario travels his vast galaxy. The game will apparently include 40 "galaxies" and 120 stars to collect. Collecting stars, or any other luminous objects, has been a major objective of 3-D Mario games (see Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine). In fact, it's been Mario's mission to collect a certain amount of resembling objects in all three Mario games that take place in a three dimensional world.

Plot
The plot follows the tried-and-true formula of almost every other Mario game. Princess Peach has once again been kidnapped by the antagonistic villain Bowser. He performs his plan during the magical time that occurs every one hundred years when a comet soars across the Mushroom Kingdom and drops down stardust.

Bowser comes down to Peach's castle, where he lifts the entire castle out of the ground, similar to what he did in Paper Mario, and sends it into outer space. Mario quickly runs toward the castle, though soon gets knocked out by a Magikoopa, and finds himself on a distant moon. It's now his obligation to save the princess and once again defeat the evil Bowser.

Characters
Super Mario Galaxy features a whole cast of characters both new and old. Mario is the star of the game, though it should be noted that Luigi is also playable after finding all of the game's stars. Bowser has been considered the antagonist of the game, and Bowser Jr. will also appear as a major boss as well. The damsel in distress is Princess Peach, though a mysterious new princess named Rosalina is also in the game and plays an important role.

Multiple new characters appear in the game including the Queen Bee, Guppy, Manta Rays, a cast of Luma creatures including Tyke, and many others.

Bosses
Among other major characters, the game also includes multiple bosses. Two of the formerly mentioned characters, Bowser and Bowser Jr., appear as bosses, though they are just a fraction of the countless other antagonistic creatures. Others include King Kaliente, a large Blooper resembling boss engulfed in flames. Tarantox is a large spider like creature who can be killed if Mario uses the sling pods to his advantage. The Dino Piranha is the first in the game, and must be hit in the head with his own tail three times. Bugaboom is another bug-like creature who Mario must ground pound a set amount of times. Kamella is a new Magikoopa boss who can be defeated after launching shells toward her. Bouldergeist is a ghostly creature who'll thrust rocks toward your way. Baron Brrr is an ice king who'll spew ice balls. Topmaniac resembles a large top, and Major Burrows is a colossal mole.

Kingfin is a "secret" boss and arguably one of the more challenging. Megaleg and an updated King Kaliente are spawns that Bowser Jr. will send toward your way. If you happen to defeat the two aforementioned bosses (note: excluding Kinfin), then you'll be rewarded with a Grand Star seeing that they're technically Bowser Jr. stages.

Gameplay
The gameplay goes in the direction that most Mario games tend to go in, though at the same time is dramatically different. While it is a platformer, it is unlike any platformer that's ever been released. Throughout the whole game, Mario will literally be soaring from planet to planet, defeating enemies and solving puzzles on the way. The planets range from small planetoids, to rather large, average size stages (reminiscent of Super Mario 64 stages). A new mechanic to the game is the star cursor, which you'll make use of at all times. Whether you want to aim at certain things or perform a quick spin, you'll always make use of it. Spinning under a star shaped launcher will shoot you to another planet.

Co-Star mode is also included. In this mode, Player 1 controls Mario as normal, and Player 2 also has a star cursor on the screen which he can use to collect and shoot star bits, make Mario jump (or spin if Mario's already in the air), and to slightly stun enemies, which momentarily prevents them from moving normally.

Gravity and Planets
The game's levels are usually based upon a set of planetoids that can be accessed by utilizing the launch stars and sling stars that are placed on almost every planetoid in the video game. You're able to use these stars by spinning underneath it, which will cause it to shoot Mario onto the next planet. Once on the next planet, you'll have to solve the puzzle to progress through the game again.

On the planetoids, you're usually allowed to walk underneath it thanks to the insane gravity effects that the developers have composed. Unless a black hole is stationed beneath the planetoid, then you'll always be able to go on its underside, which will often times lead to diversions or will actually be required to continue on.

Some levels, however, are not mere planetoids but are rather ful-fledged levels that have a core planet and possibly spawns that do not play as big a role. For example, the Honeyhive Galaxy takes place mostly on a large (compared to other areas) planet, though there will ocassionaly be sub-planets as well. Other examples include the Beach Bowl Galaxy, the Gold Leaf Galaxy, the Sea Slide Galaxy, the Deep Dark Galaxy, and multiple other "hungry Luma galaxies", which can be seen below -

Forms
Mario is known for his power-ups, and this game includes plenty of them. The first suit Mario will get is the Bee Suit, a yellow and black striped mushroom which allows Mario to fly in the air for a short time and climb on honey combs and certain flowers. The suit will not only vanish if you get attacked, but will also do so if you fall in a body of water. Another power up is the Boo Suit, a white, fanged mushroom which turns Mario into a Boo. . With this suit, Mario will be able to go through certain walls and levitate. However, other Boos will follow Mario, and if they touch him, he'll take damage and revert to normal. Boo Mario will also turn to normal if Mario comes into contact with light. . .. As aforementioned, the Fire Flower is making a comeback. This is the first 3-D Mario game with this power-up, and although it hasn't been dramatically changed, it's great to see it work in a 3-D environment. Red and white Fire Mario is able to shoot out fireballs, which can be used to destroy enemies and engulf torches. The Rainbow Star will make Mario invincible, and will also raise his speed. Not only that, but Mario will be able to defeat enemies just by touching them. However, the power-up won't last long, and will vanish after a short period of time. Transparent Ice Mario can skate over bodies of water and lava, and temporarily turn a spot of it into an ice platform. He is also able to wall-jump up waterfalls just by jumping into it. The Spring Suit, a silver, twisted mushroom will turn Mario into Spring Mario. As Spring Mario, he can jump really high, but his manouverability is drastically reduced.  Red and black Flying Mario can be obtained after touching a Red Star. Flying Mario can fly with complete freedom, however, you're only allowed to use this form in two areas, the Gateway Galaxy, and the Comet Observatory.

Items
Excluding the suit/items above, there are multiple other items that will greatly aid Mario on his quest, though will not transform him or give him greater powers.

Many of the game's items involve stars of some-sort. Even the Rainbow Star is, as its name implies, a star before you obtain it. Other star-related items include Star Bits, which act as ammo that Mario can shoot out at enemies to stun them, and feed Hungry Lumas. If he collects 50 of these items, then he will receive an extra life. A Star Chip is an item that'll come in a group of five. If Mario collects them all, a Boost Star will appear, which will let him shoot to another planet. Power Stars are the items that Mario must collect in order to progress through the game. There are 120 of them in all, though if the game is similar to previous Mario games, you may not have to collect every star to complete the game. After collecting 120 Power Stars, you'll be able to play as Luigi, and collect 120 more Power Stars. The final star type item is the Silver Star, which fans of Super Mario 64 DS will probably remember. Once you find 5 Silver Stars, a Power Star will appear.

Those are not the only items that are found in the game. Others include the Koopa Shell, which are used to throw at enemies and to swim underwater more fluidly. Rainbow Notes are new to the series - once you perform a certain objective, a row of a varying number will appear. If Mario manages to get every one, he'll get a 1-up mushroom or a different kind of item.

Prankster Comets
When a Prankster Comet revolves around a certain galaxy, this means that you'll have to go through an event that intensifies the challenge dramatically. There are five types of challenges with the purple ones appearing only after defeating the final Bowser stage.

The different types of challenges include cosmic races, where you'll dash across a particular stage against a doppleganger of Mario, known as Cosmic Mario. Daredevil challenges will require you to defeat a certain stage without getting hit once. Daredevil challenges are usually against bosses. Speed comets make you finish a stage in a set amount of time. Fast Foe comets will raise the speed of the enemies. The purple coins challenges will make you traverse across a stage and collect 100 purple coins, sometimes with a time limit.

Co-Star Mode
Co-Star Mode is a feature in the game that was created by the developers in order to please non-gamers or beginners; either by letting them just be involved rather than attempting to actually complete the stages, or by providing a 'helper' for them, as the second player may collect Star Bits and freeze enemies - the P2 pointer may also be used as a directional aid when in the hands of an experienced player. Essentially the primary player, or player number one, uses a Wii remote and Nunchuck, while player number 2 will use just a standard Wii remote to collect Star Bits and stun enemies as well as assist/mess with the main player. If both players press 'jump' simultaneously a 'special', higher-than-usual jump is activated.

Mini-game stages
Uttering that these particular stages are mini-games can be debated, though it's certain that they drift away from the main gameplay of Galaxy and offers new interesting gameplay mechanics. If you play through these missions in their respective order, then you'll encounter the Manta Ray Surfing mini game first. In this one, you'll point the Wii remote toward the screen, and twist it left or right to go in the corresponding direction. Pressing the A button will cause the character to accelerate. This mission is considered one of the hardest in the games by some, and the easiest by others. Moving your hand too much can and usually will result in you going over the edge. The second is a rolling ball game that resembles that of the Monkey Ball series, though is dramatically different in terms of how to control it. What you do here is point the Wii remote straight up. Tilt it in a corresponding direction to make the ball go that way, though also dodge enemeis and holes by pressing the A button to jump. The farther you tilt the Wii remote, the faster the ball will travel.

The last is the bubble blowing game where Mario will travel over a poision swamp or through an electrified field (depending on which one you're playing at the time) via a large bubble. Here, you'll use the cursor as a fan of some sort and press A to turn it on. Point around Mario's bubble while pressing A to move him around the disaster filled course to come in possession of the star.

Galaxies
Super Mario Galaxy features a multitude of areas that can all be found within 10 areas of the game's observatory. The following will take a look at these ten areas and of course will give an overview of each world within the galaxies.

The first area is the gateway, and isn't exactly considered a paramount area. There are only two sub worlds in this place, neither of which are as fantastic as those in the later stages. Galaxies found here include the Gateway Galaxy and Gateway's Purple Coins.

The Terrace is the first main area in the game, and includes six galaxies - The Good Egg Galaxy, a simple area with plenty of hazards. The Honeyhive Galaxy is a bee infested area that introduces the Bee Suit and the Queen Bee. In the Loopdeeloop Galaxy, you'll have to race to the finish on a manta ray. You'll have to transform all of the blue switches into yellow ones on the Flipswitch Galaxy. The Sweet Sweet Galaxy is a stage for pure-platforming fans. Finally, Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor is the first main boss fight. Here, you'll go against Bowser Jr.'s Megaleg robot.

After you defeat Megaleg, you'll be given access to the second main area - the Fountain. The Space Junk Galaxy is a futuristic area with plenty of surprises (including a cameo appearance of Yoshi). The Battlerock Galaxy is an interesting area that centers around a large boulder flying through space. The Rolling Green Galaxy includes a mission where you roll around on a ball to get to the end. In the Hurry Scurry Galaxy, you'll jump across vanishing platforms to get to the star. In the Sling-Pod Galaxy, you'll jump from sling pods and star pulls. Bowser's Star Reactor includes the first fight with Bowser, though beforehand will require you to go through an obstacle infested area.

The kitchen is the third main area, and can be found after finding Bowser's grand star. The Beach Bowl Galaxy is an area that has contradicting themes - water and sky. The Ghostly Galaxy introduces Luigi in the game, and typically Mario will have to rescue his green-clad brother. The Drip Drop Galaxy is large area that consists of water. The Buoy Base Galaxy is another water area, though also features a large pillar in the center that you're allowed to climb. In the Bubble Breeze Galaxy, Mario will enter a bubble, and you'll then have you use the Wii remote to blow him around the stage. In Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada you'll travel onto multiple airships until you clash with Bowser Jr. once again.

The Bedroom is the fourth area in the game. Here you'll find the Gusty Garden Galaxy, an area that includes tons of grassy planets and an amazing composition. The FreezeFlame Galaxy includes areas that are ice and fire based. The Dusty Dunes Galaxy is, as its name implies, a desert area. The HoneyClimb Galaxy will have you once again wearing the Bee Suit where you must climb the honeycombs. Big Mouth's Galaxy is an area in which you go through a planet that is carved to look like a fish. In Bowser's Dark Matter Plant, you'll once again fight the behemoth known as Bowser.

The Engine Room is found near the top of the Observatory, and can be found after beating Bowser. The Gold Leaf Galaxy is essentially just a mirror of the Honeyhive Galaxy, with some major additions as well as a fall theme to it. The Sea Slide Galaxy will require you to race in the water using the red shells you find and travel the area in search of Silver Stars. The Toy Time Galaxy introduces Spring Mario, and will take place on toy-inspired planetoids. The Bonefin Galaxy is a water area that is home to the boss known as Bonefin. The Sand Spiral Galaxy takes place on a large barrel and features plenty of enemies. Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor includes the final Bowser Jr. stage where you'll fight an enhanced version of King Kaliente.

The final main area is the Garden. The Deep Dark Galaxy includes multiple different themes, and rarely does it seem dark as its name suggests. The Dreadnought Galaxy takes place on a large structure that resembles a caslte of some sort in space. The Melty Molten Galaxy is an area that consists mainly of lava. The Matter Splatter level is an often time confusing area where you must go across disappearing and reappearing platforms at just the right moment. The Snow Cap Galaxy is covered in snow that also has an Aurora over it.

After collecting 60 stars, you'll be given access to Bowser's Reactor, which includes the climatic boss fight with the antagonist of the game - Bowser. After doing so, you can go back through all of the levels you've missed and also find new ones including the Loopdeeswoop, Bubble Blast and Rolling Gizmo Galaxy. Once you've found all 120 stars, you'll be able to go to Toad Town once more to collect 100 purple coins in the level known as the Grand Finale Galaxy.

Development
Super Mario 128 was shown as a tech demo when the GameCube (then known as the Dolphin) was first revealed. It was set to the side when Super Mario Sunshine was released, though certain attributes such as the hundreds of characters moving on the screen at once were included in the hit GameCube title Pikmin. After this release, many people started to speculate whether or not Shigeru Miyamoto would create another Mario platformer for the GameCube, and follow up with Super Mario 128. At every E3 that followed, Nintendo confirmed that they would release Super Mario 128, but never followed through. At E3 2005, many people expected to see it, and were disappointed when it didn't show up. The only thing that was said at E3 was that Shigeru Miyamoto is making the game, but wasn't ready to show it (Reggie Fils-Aime).

After E3 2005, Nintendo stated that Super Mario 128 was moved to Wii (then known as the Revolution). By E3 2006, Nintendo revealed Super Mario 128 as Super Mario Galaxy. Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that he wanted to focus more on a next-generation Mario, and because of the Wii's immense innovation, the console was a perfect fit for what he was gearing towards.

Early Stages
After the development team finished their first project Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat for the GameCube, the designers started debating on what they should create next. The producer of the game suggested that the team create an original game, though Miyamoto then stated that he'd hoped that they create another game based off of a popular video game character. The director said that because the company had just opened, he wanted to direct something on a small scale, though Miyamoto asked if he wanted to create something much bigger, and after talking with the team, a member of the company said that he wanted to create the next Mario game, which was the starting point for Galaxy.

Before development on the title really started to boom, the director set aside a few staff-members to create a prototype of the game. The prototpye included spheres (for more on the development on the spheres, see below) and, being featured in space, included gravity that would work with these spherical objects. They apparently created this prototype in order for the rest of the staff members to understand what exactly they were talking about, and what their goal was.

Spheres
One of the main aspects of the game are the spherical planetoids that Mario will traverse around throughout the entire game. The idea of this was, in a sence, shown originally in the Mario 128 tech demo, though was set on the shelves for the future. The future seemed bleak for this idea to be included in any games, as Miyamoto stated that development teams didn't exactly grasp onto this idea as he had hoped. He stated that he wished to include the idea into Doshin the Giant, a sleeper title, though by the time he requested it, the game was nearing its completion, and thus could not be added into the game.

When Miyamoto proposed the idea for Galaxy, the EAD Tokyo team were frightened of creating such a title because of the technical effort that would be required for the title. They also, like previous teams, didn't quite understand how this could be implemented into a video game, namely a Mario video game which never seems to have such dramatic changes in such a tried and true concept. Nevertheless, they agreed to do it, and thus one of Galaxy's main concepts was created.

Character Inclusion
As mentioned throughout the page, both Mario and Luigi are playable characters. To get Luigi, one must first find all 120 stars, then once again beat the last Bowser stage. According to the director, many people on the team argued that it was too challenging to get Luigi, and had hoped that the player would have to perform another task to do so. Mr. Koizumi, however, felt that the player should have a reason to get all 120 stars, and have a much larger reward than before.

In a Gamespot.com interview with the director, the topic of Yoshi was brought up, and why they didn't include him as a playable character in some form. He said that at first they were thinking of adding a ridable Yoshi for Mario (or Luigi), though one of the species' most popular ability is being able to hover in the air for a long time, which was already included in the Bee suit, and thus didn't feel it was necessary to include him. Nevertheless, a wooden Yoshi head does appear as a planetoid in the Space Junk Galaxy.

Release
Months before the game was released, rumors swarmed the internet stating that you'd get a silver pre-order coin that featured Mario and a yellow Luma. It was later revealed that this was true, though would be exclusive for Americans only.

Prior to its release in America, Nintendo had a photo session shocasing Mario and Buzz Aldrin (the second person on the moon) hovering in the air. At the Nintendo World Store in New York, New York, Nintendo had a launch party celebrating the release of Super Mario Galaxy and included DJ's, velcro walls, bungee runs, trivia sessions, an in-store laser light show, and a photo-op with Mario himself. Also included were 250 Wii units. A few days after the game was released in America, countries all across Europe got to experience the newest addition to the Mario franchise. Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario and Luigi (among others) left the Americas to celebrate the launch in London, and a classic image was released showing Mario along with a few fellow astronauts recreating the famous "Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima".

After Nintendo sold Nintendo Power to Future US., they also quit making strategy guides for their multiple game titles, giving the license to Prima Guides who created two seperate strategy guides with over 300 pages each (the more expensive one featured concept art and a star list, and only had 16 extra pages).

Reception
Virtually all critics have been overly excited for Super Mario Galaxy, and have rewarded the game with average scores of 9-10. It should also be noted that the big three, which include IGN, Gamespot and 1up all gave the game a 9.5 or higher. For IGN, the game is the highest scored Mario game excluding their review for Super Mario 64, which earned, rightfully so, a 9.8 (with IGN giving Galaxy a 9.7 ). Gamespot, recently being known for having beyond critical reviews, gave the game an outstanding 9.5, compared to The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess's 8.8.

Official Nintendo Magazine rated it 97%, the highest they've ever given a game.(Joint with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.)

At one time, Super Mario Galaxy was the best rated game of all time on Gamerankings.com. During this time, Nintendo sent out a press release alerting everyone of this momentous ocassion, only for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to go back to the number one spot a few hours later. Currently the game is number four on the list, with the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 video game Grand Theft Auto IV heading in front of it. Ocarina of Time is now second place, while the 360 version of the aforementioned game has taken the lead.

Prior to the game's release, Super Mario Galaxy was the cover story for multiple magazines including Nintendo Power, GamePro, Hardcore Gaming Magazine, Revolution and NGamer. Mario and his brother Luigi (among other characters) were also on the cover of an EGM magazine proclaiming that 2007 will be the best year ever.

Super Mario Galaxy won game of the year from multiple resources, including Gamespot, Edge, Nintendo Power, IGN, GameTrailers, and Yahoo! Games. It also recieved the best adventure game of the year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

Sales
Oddly, despite the fact that the game had a whopping 700,000 pre-orders in Japan, only about 256,000 copies were sold in Japan during its first week. The game sold many more in the Americas and Europe, and also was the number one seller for video games on Amazon for three straight weeks. In its first week of sale worldwide, it apparently sold 500,000 copies, which is to-date the best first week for any Mario title.

Legacy
Rosalina appeared as a playable character in Mario Kart Wii, with a Luma accompanying her at all times. The Rainbow Road stage in the same title was based around Super Mario Galaxy. One of the tournaments required the player to knock a total of four Spikey Topmen (regular enemies of Galaxy) off of a Galaxy themed stage.

Trivia
In the Space Junk Galaxy mission involving boarding various ships, two enemies you must destroy to board the next ship resemble Snuffits.