Author Topic: Super Mario Galaxy  (Read 12531 times)

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Offline Maxim

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Super Mario Galaxy
« on: November 20, 2007, 04:04:39 am »
So I finished it last night. I was disappointed that it was so short and so easy and then I realised that I'd had to get 60 stars to get there, plus five boss stars, probably over the course of 10+ hours, and I'd just enjoyed it so much I hadn't realised how I'd played it. There's another 60 stars to get before some of the other bonuses come through.



Criticisms:

- What's the point of having extra lives if they reset to 4 every time you load your game? And then Toad gives you 5 extra lives anyway - after a hard-to-skip dialogue.

- The galaxy mechanic often involves a lot of sudden death falls. Being in 3D makes it harder to avoid them.

- The camera occasionally get totally screwed, eg. trapped behind a wall and unable to manoeuvre out of it. Likewise, the "you may not control the camera here" areas seem annoying and unnecessary, often in place to force you to explore something without being able to see it properly.

- If we only have a 3-section life meter, we're going to be at 1 unit occasionally. The fact that we just got hurt twice is a big clue, as is the red life meter. We don't need incessant beeping to let us know we're on our last unit.

- It is basically an easy game. That's pretty much necessary these days, perhaps more so on the Wii. People can't accept the brutal difficulty of the 8-bit generation where you had to make it hard to make a 4-level game last more than a day, modern 60-level games need not rely on that. It's still a little sad that I could beat the final boss on my first try.



Particular praise:

- The graphics are really great. The fur, glowing/translucency and water effects are all outstanding, without any slowdown. The art design is also extraordinarily good.

- The occasional minigame-esque bonus stages (bubble blowing, ray surfing, ball rolling, etc) are done very well.

- Bee Mario is really endearing.

- The music is certainly on a grand scale, the boss music sounds like something from Lord of the Rings. Audio is generally excellent.

- It probably has more "wow" moments than any other game I've played.

Offline JonLeung

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #1 on: November 20, 2007, 05:46:49 pm »
I'm at 102 Stars, but I haven't played today.  Before the day is over I expect to have gotten the full 104 I can get BEFORE going to the center of the Galaxy.  Apparently I have to finish the game at least once before I can unlock the Purple Coin Comet to get the remaining ones.



I was hoping there would be more power-ups...Ice Mario is really neat.  Spring Mario is meh, I appreciate the challenge it brings and the necessity of it in places but it's not one you can just have plain old fun with.  The classic Fiery (now just "Fire") Mario is awesome, too bad it's limited in time.  Which leaves Boo/Bee Mario, I wish there was more.



I do agree that the game feels short, even to get the full amount of Stars.  At least it's partially due to it being so fun, but many Stars truly take less effort than the Stars in Super Mario 64 (and certainly less than many of the Shines in Super Mario Sunshine).



I did hear of a particular addition once finishing the game with all 120 that should extend the gameplay, at least.



I do like ANY meaty single-player Wii experience, and with Zelda, Paper Mario, Metroid, and Super Mario all out now, I'm now wondering what I have to look forward to.  Ironically I'm more excited about the adventure mode in Super Smash Bros. Brawl than the multiplayer.

Offline TerraEsperZ

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #2 on: November 20, 2007, 08:31:03 pm »
What enrages me is that I was almost, *almost* going to finally buy a Wii for this game and a few others, but buying a new computer made that dream fade away for good.



You all go and enjoy it for me now do you hear?



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B*tch, meet reality. Reality, meet b*tch. - Me
Current project that are on hold because job burnout :
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Offline JonLeung

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #3 on: November 20, 2007, 08:49:16 pm »
I just finished it!  For a Mario game, I don't think you can get more epic, considering the ending...



Okay, time to get the remaining Stars...

Offline Maxim

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2007, 06:43:48 am »
Huh. I played the final boss when I got to 60 stars, leaving a few galaxies unplayed - I guess I'm just impatient, and some of the later galaxies are kind of annoying.



Replaying the entire game as Luigi (making it 240 stars) to get the "grand finale galaxy" might be a step too far. Maybe I'll go finish Super Paper Mario first... (I got a bit sick of it at about chapter 8-3.)

Offline JonLeung

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #5 on: November 21, 2007, 07:59:19 am »
Oh, Maxim.  How could you get sick of Super Paper Mario when you're near the end?



You need a lesson in completionism!



Then again, I should talk (I'm missing a few fish and haven't completed Rollgoal in LoZ: Twilight Princess and I haven't saved all the demolition troopers yet in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption), but if you make it that far in a game, you should at least finish it once!



(I'm going to have to finish Final Fantasy VI Advance before anyone points out I'm a hypocrite.  The completionist in me wants to get Gau all the Rages before taking on Kefka...  (>_<))



Anyway, yeah...Mario, thumbs up!

Offline Maxim

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2007, 12:42:50 am »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jmY-0hwV_w

Just for those of you who don't believe how great the SMG music could be.

Offline JonLeung

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #7 on: November 22, 2007, 09:49:21 pm »
I got the 120+ Star ending today, which has an additional scene after the credits.



I've gotten 15 Stars with Luigi now.

Offline JonLeung

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #8 on: November 23, 2007, 07:47:55 pm »
Maxim Said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jmY-0hwV_w

Just for those of you who don't believe how great the SMG music could be.


My favorite tunes remain the old ones remixed, such as that one stage music from Super Mario Bros. 3 and Bowser's theme from Super Mario 64.  Oh yeah, I also like the Doomship music from Super Mario Bros. 3.



The old standby, a remix of the Super Mario Bros. "underground theme" is of course in there too.  Nothing wrong with that.  Though maybe a little too unsurprising...

Offline JonLeung

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #9 on: November 28, 2007, 10:36:52 pm »
Well, I got all 242 Stars, with like 40 of them today alone.  Phew...

Offline Maxim

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2007, 03:27:38 am »
You have way too much free time on your hands. I'm lucky to have time for more than a handful of stars per day.

Offline RT 55J

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RE: Super Mario Galaxy
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2007, 05:40:22 pm »
I've had this game since it was released and I only have about 95 stars. :P

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