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Super Mario Galaxy 2
May 23, 2010 by William Hildebrand
Filed under News, Nintendo, Reviews
Overview:
Mario has done it again, returning with a great sequel that builds more on the success of the original Super Mario Galaxy. Just like in the original, Mario is tasked with navigating worlds, defying gravity and overcoming mind-boggling obstacles. Super Mario Galaxy 2 offers up more some challenging puzzles, but even the most novice Nintendo player can beat this game with the added ‘play for me’ option, where the computer controls Mario and completes the puzzle for you, making a game challenging enough for a hardcore gamer be approachable for non-gamers.
Setting:
By now, you know the story. Princess Peach gets kidnapped and Mario is the only one who can rescue her from Bowser! Why? “Don’t ask questions,” says Nintendo. “Princesses have to be saved!” Okay then. I’m somewhat tired of repeating myself with the princess-saving, and I was hoping, since this was a sequel, that there might be something new here. But that’s okay, the fun factor of the story is still there. Simply put, there are a bunch of stars, and you collect them, until you have enough to save Peach.
Gameplay:
As I previously stated above, Nintendo added the ‘play for me’ option which lets the computer get you past frustrating challenges. Outside of that, the biggest addition is Yoshi, who, just like in Super Mario Sunshine, changes color depending on the fruit he eats. Some of the berries in the game give Yoshi special powers, like the blimp berry, which gives Yoshi the power to float (I’ll let you figure out what a dash pepper does).
In the previous installment, we were introduced to Bee Mario and Boo Mario. These two suits make a comeback, in addition to two new ones: Rock Mario, which basically turns Mario into a rock, camouflaging him, and allowing for a high powered gravity attack (think Kirby from Super Smash Bros), and Cloud Mario, which turns Mario into surprise, a cloud, allowing Mario to create and walk on clouds.
Like all Mario games, several of the levels are frustratingly difficult, but such is the charm of the Mario series. My favorite change is the enhancement of the 2D levels. Several levels now move from 3D to 2D and back, sometimes messing with the gravity as well, and it works perfectly. The addition of an all-2D world was welcome too.
Controls and Graphics:
Controls are identical to Super Mario Galaxy, and maneuvering Yoshi with the wiimote is just as simple as it has been in the past. On top of that, the graphics are gorgeous. And when I say gorgeous, I mean it: SMG2 is a complete improvement. They fully maximize the power of the Nintendo Wii to make this game look stellar, as though Mario were really flying through space.
Sound:
Charles Martinet, the longest running Mario voice actor, provides the voice of both Mario and Luigi, and the orchestral sounds of Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo return. Yokota’s works are not well known, outside of Super Mario Galaxy, but if you’ve played a Nintendo game in the last twenty years, you’ve heard Koji Kondo’s work. He’s composed every major Nintendo theme, ranging from Mario and Zelda to Smash Bros. and Star Fox.
Final thought:
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is well worth the price tag. The game features challenging puzzles and the same fun gameplay you’ve come to expect, plus, you get Yoshi, come on. As is becoming a trend with Nintendo as of late (See: Red Steel 2), SMG2 improves completely on the original, and surpasses it easily, without once becoming repetitive. Expect many hours of entertaining gameplay. A must buy.
Grade: A-
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Yoshi ^_^
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