Mario Galaxy is the saccharine sweet thrill ride from last year. It’s goofy yet difficult, nostalgic with a burst of innovation and one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in years. Wiggling the Wii Remote - shooting from tiny platentoid to large asteroid - could force a smile on my face even while my hesitancy towards motion controls was trying to sully the experience. Everyone knows Mario Galaxy could turn a curmudgeon into a cheerful dancing sprite, but will it have any lasting impact?

Galaxy exists in this weird space between the old school, 2D Mario platformers and his newer forays into 3D. For those math aficionados out there, action and exploration have an inverse relationship in 3D platformers. Go heavy on the action - like Ratchet and Clank or Crash Bandicoot - and limit how much time players roam around the countryside. If you force players to scour every nook and cranny - like Banjo Kazooie or Psychonauts - you’re making sure action is kept to a minimum. Mario Galaxy falls in between those two extremes, but ends up losing its identity in the process.

As awe inspiring as the level design and gravity defying physics are, the game is weak in both pure action and satisfying exploration. A flick of your wrist is more than enough to end any ill-tempered enemy you encounter and any difficulty involved with jumping around existed solely from tricky camera placement. The levels are so cramped and linear, it’s hard to remember any moment of unbridled adventuring. Just what kind of game are you, Mario Galaxy?

I can’t place this oddly shaped peg in any hole, but I do know it was fun. Companies may not follow Nintendo’s iffy game design with their own products, but tossing Mario into a package with off-the-wall gravity and motion control that actually work made for one of the best games of last year.

And now take some Galaxy trivia.

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Categories: Video games //