We recently got to play through some of the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii, with my skeptical visor equipped… I ventured forth into a new era of Mario goodness. While it may be a bit early, but I think we might have a game of the year candidate here folks… Read more impressions by clicking below!

MARK JULIO

Mario is back! It has been a few years since we last saw him on home consoles. His last GameCube adventure, Super Mario Sunshine, brought forth beautiful gameplay design which unfortunately met mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. Fast forward to now, about two weeks before North America enters a new era with Super Mario Galaxy… All I can say after playing the game is… WOW.

As you can see from Nintendo’s latest trailer for Galaxy, the gameplay has taken a new direction and the level design has gone under a radical change from both Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. There are tons of new bells and whistles but the most important one is the control scheme.

The almighty Wii remote aids you in your journey to help Mario once again rescue a certain princess in distress. With both nunchuck and Wii remote in hand you’ll soon realize that Mario is a dream to control. Using the nunchuck you can control Mario’s basic movement such as running, ducking, and moving around the play field. Using the ‘A’ button on the Wii remote controls Mario’s jumping. It’s as easy as it is basic, which should be right at home for those familiar with typical Mario game controls.Of course, there’s a twist now. The player can help Mario using the Wii remote to collect and use stars during Mario’s journey. By pointing the Wii remote cursor on screen you can collect stars which are used in a number of ways. You can shoot stars to shoot enemies on screen and stun them, making it easier for Mario to dispose of them. A quick circular shake of the Wii remote will cause Mario to do a vicious series of spin punches that can really put the hurt on nearby enemies and obstacles. There is just so much to cover about the well thought out control scheme, but we’ll save most of the juicy details for our review.

One major thing I’d like to point out is the music in Super Mario Galaxy. For the first time every, Mario series composer Koji Kondo has decided to go with a fully orchestrated soundtrack. The game really comes to life in a whole new way and gives it a much more epic vibe than previous games. Combined with the beautiful new level design and aesthetic details, you’ve got yourself an amazing looking game.Long time fans of Mario will be happy to see a lot of familiar faces and old school power-ups! The invincibility star is back, as is the classic fire flower power-up… In addition to the classic favorites are new power-ups such as the bee suit and the ability to change Mario into a Boo!

With Super Mario Galaxy hitting store shelves mid November, fans all over the world will finally get THE Super Mario game they’ve been waiting for. Remember the Mario ‘feel’ you got when you first saw/played Super Mario World? Or how about the first time you played Super Mario 64? Yea it’s like that. If only words could do this game justice. Don’t miss out!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 12:06 am and is filed under Nintendo Wii, Preview, Super Mario Galaxy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.