Super Mario Galaxy

By Mathew Kumar Published 12 May, 2006

E3: Wii approve.

In the two days I've spent inside the Wii section of E3, nothing has been more stressful than having my badge ripped off me directly in the middle of it. Because, well, they won't issue you a replacement one. No matter what you do. As despite being a slightly well known games journalist (hey, I've been slagged off on people's blogs!) who is actually working at the show (not just having a nice time waiting in line) apparently I might have went outside and sold my pass for 'one and a half thousand dollars'. That is, naturally, insane. Literally anyone can buy a pass for three hundred as a general attendee. What, it's worth $1500 to get the most inedible sandwiches ever at 11:30a.m sharp and use a stupidly crowded media room, which seems to have bigger lines than the Wii booth?

Anyway, I won't bore you with the details of how I'm still able to cover the show (thanks, Kristan) but let's say it involves a great deal less Solid Snake style subterfuge than I was expecting. Thankfully. None the less, by the time I was in the Wii booth for my second day, I was so unbelievably teed off that I though nothing would make me feel better. Not even copious amounts of alcohol. I've already tried that the previous night, and all I learned was that you're a lot less likely to remember to try and blag interviews when you accidentally stumble into literally everyone important in the games industry, from Eugene Jarvis to Tetsuya Mizuguchi, just because you're drunk and annoyed about a lost badge. Damn!

Here's what will make you feel better. Super Mario Galaxy. It's the cure to what ails you, my friend. Do you know how, maybe, something reminds you all is right with the world? Like a big hug from the one you love and the words 'Everything is going to be okay.' This is that hug, and dear god, Mr Shigeru Miyamoto, I needed it. Even if I had to wait in line for it (loads of times, do you think I'd only play it once? Madness!)

Ahem. Let's get down to the nitty gritty.

When the demo starts, it's probably pretty easy to get disillusioned. I mean, you just land in a little area that seems more or less exactly like the first level of Super Mario 64 (the first level, not the castle, that is.) I mean, it's even more disappointing because the title screen features Mario floating in a bubble in space, in what appears to be a very Kojima-esque reference to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

But that's only really to fool you. Actually, wait. You probably don't even care about that. You probably want to know how it controls. Well, I originally thought it was going to play totally absurdly, with Mario being moved about by wobbling the controller in the air, or something, but no. It's actually a quite straight forward nunchuck game. While the nunchuck analogue controls Mario's movement, the other pad controls his jumps with the A button, and acts as a laser pointer, more or less. By wobbling it about, you make Mario spin jump, and by wobbling it over interesting scenery, you can cause things to happen. For example, ringing the three bells which are on the first area you can cause a group of musical notes to appear which when collected reveal a 1up. Or you can shake the grass to cause coins to appear. And more things!

'Super Mario Galaxy' Screenshot 1

Interestingly, this is the first Wii game where I noticed a real change in the way I had to play, because I'm left handed. It's as simple as switching the hands I hold the controllers in, but it's now a bit odd as I'm used to controlling movement with my left hand. The Wii controls, when we're being honest, are kind of a new form of keyboard and mouse. Just a million times better. But think of how you control a keyboard and mouse, and that will probably be your controller/nunchuck orientation. And while the first time you make this switch you might think 'oh, this feels a bit odd' within seconds you've got it. Super Mario Galaxy, to paraphrase a Jewish caricature that Mike Myers use to do on Saturday Night Live, controls like buttah.

Once you've lept up to the peak of the mountain, and learned that the spinning stars act as floating launch pads activated by a spin jump (remember, wobble the controller!) The game truly begins.

Now, you know when people say fancy terms like 'paradigm shift'? Like Gillen. He probably says that all the time, at boho dinner parties and things. It's a bit of a wanky term, so I'm not sure if I can say it here. But if Mario 64 turned 2d into 3d and that was a paradigm shift, Super Mario Galaxy turns 3d into full 3d, with all 360 degrees of space available to you to play in, in a way that probably only devotees of the Homeworld series would know. Largely, once you're in space, you run around on small asteroids and planets which are most often round. Your floors are no longer flat, and more than that, sometimes the floors are ceilings or walls or whatever, but you can run on all of them. It may sound incredibly confusing, indeed I don't think I'm even beginning to explain it correctly, but imagine it - one early area in the game is a kind of a 'coin' planet, two distinct flat sides. One side leads you along two path to two separate bosses, the other to another boss (There's supposed to be a fourth boss, but damned if I could find it with the queuing involved). Each of these paths could be entirely differently orientated, leading to your Mario spending most of his time upside down (or something) compared to the path another Mario took.

Ach, that's still not clear enough. Forget it. Let me just explain that no matter how confusing it seems, when you play it, you never are confused. The camera is great, you always know where you're going, and using the spinning stars, you can easily bounce from planet to planet joyfully collecting star shards with the pointer (the use of which remains mysterious to me), fighting enemies (which include classics like goombas and giant pokeys, but also newcomers, such as a 'brain slug' which attaches itself to Mario's cranium) and just generally having a good time floating about in space. As you go from planet to planet, the environment is allowed to change wildly, from dead moons to ice planets and even planets featuring strange, sticky trees (which you can pull back the pointer on to flick Mario around like an Italian booger) and not only that, but there are pirate ships, floating space castles and more odd architecture to be found. The demo offered several distinct paths to the end with four bosses on offer, but it remains to be seen if the finished product will include the same kind of design. But you've naturally gone back to collecting stars from vanquished bosses.

The Bosses I personally managed to see ranged from a giant robotic, um, spider thing which was destroyed by taunting it's own bullet bills into it's head, a flesh and bone spider destroyed by flicking Mario into him using sticky parts of his web as a catapult with the pointer, and an enraged volcanic squid which requires that you use Mario to spin jump his projectiles back at him, like a game of tennis (but nothing like Wii Sports: Tennis, though.)

Let me get this straight - I actually loved Super Mario Sunshine, in case you're wondering where my allegiances lie, even though I grew to hate it completing it 100% (why did I have to do that? Personal respect, I guess), but I dearly wished that the next Mario title was simply a collection of the 'shine levels' of that title - hard, old school Mario in 3d levels with no overarching design. This, quite clearly, isn't that at all. And I love it. It brought a true smile to my face, and if you look at the face of the average journo at E3 (the same as your average suicide case) that is a valuable thing indeed.

Super Mario Galaxy is due for release sometime in 2007.

Picture of Mathew.

About Mathew Kumar

Read more articles from Mathew by visiting the Mathew Kumar archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Psi #1 6 years ago

    can't wait for this one, have to say this was a surprise from ninty too, i'd never heard of it.

  • tentonipete #2 6 years ago

    am i right in thinking it's not a launch title?

  • riz23 #3 6 years ago

    The comment about the wii-mote/nunchuk combo being like Keyboard/Mouse control is spot on. It really is that responsive and controllable. Could put to bed the whole Console vs. PC FPS debate

    edit: Spelling
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 11:12

  • morriss #4 6 years ago

    If it's that responsive I'm sold.

    Mario ftw!

  • Teeth #5 6 years ago

    Starting to get a bit more interested now.

  • Psi #6 6 years ago

    were the brain slug's a rip off from futurama?

    hope it does kill off the keyboard and mouse, they have their place but basically they are for word processing and navagating an operating system not for playing games.

    don't get me wrong i don't mind playing games with a keyboard as long as they are a certain type, if i were playing mame i keyboard just isn't good enough.

    a gaming control device that doesn't require a desk to support it while you press away is a great thing, hope something is adapted into the pc world.

    you know the copycats are already making prototypes.

  • Carlo #7 6 years ago

    OK apart from the first two paragraphs which seems a little self-indulgent, this has totally convinced me.

    Totally.

    Got a 360 (I wouldn;t have bothered if not for the fact that it was out a year early, and played Oblivion), must have a wii, wouldn't dream of not having a PS3. thankyouverymuch Mr Kumar!

  • greatest_fish30 #8 6 years ago

    Hope they do get it to launch.

  • Ceatlan #9 6 years ago

    The wiggling it to do a spin jump sounds as though it could tire your wrist out very quickly. Is it really like that or am I miss-judging the amount and frequence of movement this action requires ?

  • smoothpete #10 6 years ago

    "Now, you know when people say fancy terms like 'paradigm shift'? Like Gillen. He probably says that all the time, at boho dinner parties and things. It's a bit of a wanky term"

    Lol. Yes, yes it is.

    Sounds ace, let's hope it's as good as we all hope :)
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 11:20

  • ProfessorLesser #11 6 years ago

    Flesh and bone spider?

    This all sounds very promising. Admittedly I'm more interested in the success off the controller than SMG, though.

  • BillGaitas #12 6 years ago

    is that mario's shoe or someone else's ass :)

  • Eighthours #13 6 years ago

    am i right in thinking it's not a launch title?

    It may or may not be. Miyamoto won't commit to it, and says that it'll definitely be out 6 months after launch. However, from the words he says, it's clear they haven't ruled the possibility of it making launch.

    As for the game itself, I was underwhelmed by the short segment they showed (many times) in the conference, but having downloaded vids from the show floor, I'm now really impressed. It looks great and very imaginative.

  • JHuxley #14 6 years ago

    Sounds literally awesome.

    Right now I'm thinking of a Wii/PS3 combination, when the PS3 comes down in price of course :|

  • Carrybagma #15 6 years ago

    Happy!-Happy!
    Joy!-Joy!

    Is this how it feels to be a Nintendo 'fanboy'?
    It's not bad, you know, being stupidly excited over a Mario game.

    The European launch date announcement will probably put all that right though... :o(

  • Nikanoru #16 6 years ago

    they have their place but basically they are for word processing and navagating an operating system not for playing games.

    Glad someone else agrees. Don't mention it to the PC geeks though, they'll gladly tell you a keyboard is better than a gamepad even for 2D platformers. I've heard that RSI cramps give them orgasms.

  • rascoj64 #17 6 years ago

    Shame that Super Mario Galaxy is just a working title because I really like the name, having said that they could call it Super Mario Wii and I'd still buy it! Ninty steal the show yet again!

  • petebritish #18 6 years ago

    I prey this game doesn't get delayed 4eva and is not on show at E3 next year still not out. March 2007 at the latest please Nintendo.
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 11:47

  • lennon #19 6 years ago

    Pre-order moved from ps3 to Wii :)

  • Roamer #20 6 years ago

    I hope they take their time finishing it properly, but I hope it's properly finished by launch...

  • groovychainsaw #21 6 years ago

    Dammit Nintendo - don't convince me to buy your consoles again! I keep getting stung. I only ever play one or two outstanding games, then spend literally years waiting for the next big game, usually 1-2years after anyone else in the world. I don't know if I can put up with that again after the n64 and the gamecube. Can I trust you nintendo? Can i trust you to treat europe right? And release more than 5 'must-have' games? I don't know right now.

  • Azazel #22 6 years ago

    Yeah, Initially the concept of the Wii controller just felt a bit alienating to me...
    But all the enthusiasm that I hear from people and the more that I see of the games the more I think that the Wii could very well be the next-gen console I go for.

    The SNES was the last Nintendo system I owned, it's been nothing but Sony and MS ever since. Think it's about time I got round to them again :)

    EDIT: And also I should add that if the system comes in at the low price point which rumur suggests, then that will also be a big factor.
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 12:01

  • Santino #23 6 years ago

    Reading all this information regarding the Wii so far and looking at the video footage of all games...i am truly excited, i remember all those years ago when i first saw mario 64, i need to get my hands on some games! Spectacular launch line up already whether SMG makes it or not...what is claimed to be the best zelda ever and Metroid Prime 3? any more could be overkill. as for anybody worried about lack of quality titles and such over the lifespan of the console, i personally cant see this being a problem due to the familiar dev environment and enthusiastic response...think about value for money

  • nickthegun #24 6 years ago

    Dear Jesus,

    Please dont let Super Mario Galaxy be a huge, overrated pile of shit like Mario Sunshine and allow it to restore my faith in Mario and the big N.

    Yours Sincerely

    Nick, aged 27

  • RedPanda #25 6 years ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Nikanoru #26 6 years ago

    "I've heard that RSI cramps give them orgasms."

    lol, and vice versa ^^

    lmao, best reply I could have hoped for. It's a vicious circle!

  • el_pollo_diablo #27 6 years ago

    Mr Kumar,

    I know this is perhaps a slightly irrelevant question given nintendos focus on anything but system specs, but how did it look? Are the Wiis graphics streets ahead of the Gamecube, or are they two machines very close in terms of prettiness?

    Just wondering.

    Thanks

  • Psi #28 6 years ago

    "I've heard that RSI cramps give them orgasms."

    heheh n1, it's true though. When you actually think about it we've been crying out for a change in input device and ninty have come in EXACTLY the right time.

    PC's have been getting re-designed keyboards, with snap in attachments for different games, some keyboards have keys you can shift around. My razor mouse cost a fortune! re-designing a universal input device has been well overdue.

    But it's taken for granted that if you play games on a pc, which many people do, you play at a table with a flat surface in front of you. If anyone released a console where you had to do this you'd think they were barking! It would never take off!

    PC's also... the games... most of the stuff released is of the mousykb variety, you wouldn't get any streetfighter2's etc release on it would you?

    If ninty somehow managed to get world of warcraft and counter strike released on the wii you would see a the slow death of pc gaming. There are only certain core game types that keep people playing on the PC, you move these games over to a console and provide the same experiance there is no reason people won't move over, im sure your all sick of the upgrade costs involved in owning a pc.

    if a console can accomodate for all game types including those traditionally played on a pc (mmo's and fps's) people will always join the shorter(cheaper) queue.

  • asphaltcowboy #29 6 years ago

    I'm not sure anyone would admit that a keyboard and mouse is better for controlling 2D platformers or 3rd person games, but I find it hard to comprehend when people suggest it's not the best way to control FPS games.

  • manic_mouse #30 6 years ago

    "Dammit Nintendo - don't convince me to buy your consoles again! I keep getting stung. I only ever play one or two outstanding games, then spend literally years waiting for the next big game, usually 1-2years after anyone else in the world. I don't know if I can put up with that again after the n64 and the gamecube. Can I trust you nintendo? Can i trust you to treat europe right? And release more than 5 'must-have' games? I don't know right now."

    That's exactly how I feel, word for word. The GC was my first Nintendo console, and for the first year it lived up to it's reputation and more. We had RE, Wind Waker, Mario, Super Smash Bros, Metroid, Eternal Darkness and many other fantastic "must-have" games.

    And that was it, basically. Is the Wii going to be the same?

  • Psi #31 6 years ago

    "I'm not sure anyone would admit that a keyboard and mouse is better for controlling 2D platformers or 3rd person games, but I find it hard to comprehend when people suggest it's not the best way to control FPS games."

    If it's not invented yet then you can't say that? The best and (impossible) way I can think of to control a fps would be as close to VR as can be done.

    manic_mouse sorry that your not old enough to remember the nes release :) or the snes release. You'll find that the nintendo fanboys will mostly be in their late 20's by now :) and there's a reason for that, back then they really knew what they were doing, and it seems they could be back on track.

  • Santino #32 6 years ago

    "That's exactly how I feel, word for word. The GC was my first Nintendo console, and for the first year it lived up to it's reputation and more. We had RE, Wind Waker, Mario, Super Smash Bros, Metroid, Eternal Darkness and many other fantastic "must-have" games.

    And that was it, basically. Is the Wii going to be the same?"

    If everybody thinks like this and doesn't buy it, and the UK shops stick to their usual routine of shoving all the Nintendo stuff to the back then it just might happen, however i think it will see much support due to development costs, cheaper games etc, the DS as an example can be used it is seeing nice support for many of these reasons.

  • asphaltcowboy #33 6 years ago

    Psi: Well, when they invent it there's gonna be a hell of a lot of buttons on it! I can't see a joypad-based control system that gives me the same amount of control and precision that a keyboard and mouse does. Not any time soon anyway. And for the hardened FPSers among us, a decent method of weapon-switching with only one (or maybe two) buttons is a long way off. Perhaps some kind of weapon control rose (BF2 command-style) might work?

    Oh and VR is definitely a no-no, Jack Thompson'd have a field day!

  • Tomo #34 6 years ago

    Nice preview. Good Gillen dig too, Hehe.

    Loving the sound of that tho. Can't wait for it.

  • manic_mouse #35 6 years ago

    Psi: "it seems they could be back on track."

    Hopefully. The Wii looks like a heck of a lot of fun to play, and I can't wait to have a go on one even if I don't buy it. I have a 360, and I'm really thinking that the PS3 looks like more of the same... The Wii could be the perfect second console.

  • JonFE #36 6 years ago

    Now I'm furiously jealous of you... 'nough said...

  • KTroopA #37 6 years ago

    this game must have i

    welcome to '4d' gaming

    heh

  • Psi #38 6 years ago

    asphaltcowboy yeah but thats the million dollar question isn't it, you improve a task that millions of people do daily so much that you cause them all to jump ship, well you won't have to work another day in your life.

    manic_mouse your right but slightly mixed up, I can't wait for the wii as my first console, I think at this point the 360 makes a great second console ;)

  • jebus #39 6 years ago

    It seems to me that Nintendo have "won" E3. The great thing is that because it is essentially a GC with more memory and more texture memory then the games have probably been in development for ages. There won't need top be the "requisite" learning curve for the developers as they already know how to code for a GC. Which leaves them free to concentrate on the implementation of the controller.
    Which from the E3 footage I have seen they have done very well indeed.

    It's a shrewd move imo to NOT try and be the all round entertainment system that Sony and Microsoft seem to think is so important, and to try and be just a great innovative "toy" that plays (great) games. This is what it's all about for me. (The use of the word "toy" is not meant to be detremental in any way btw).

  • asphaltcowboy #40 6 years ago

    Is there any news with GameCube BC on Wii?

  • L0cky #41 6 years ago

    'welcome to '4d' gaming'

    Nintendo 4d

    bah, it's too late now

  • Nikanoru #42 6 years ago

    Dear Jesus,

    Please dont let Super Mario Galaxy be a huge, overrated pile of shit like Mario Sunshine and allow it to restore my faith in Mario and the big N.

    Yours Sincerely

    Nick, aged 27

    You mean underrated. By tards like yourself. :\

  • Svecke #43 6 years ago

    I haven't bought a single console since I got my Nintendo 8-bit one (while my girlfriend basically got every console -since- Nintendo released their 8-bit), but I'm pretty certain that I'll get the Wii... It just seems awesome. :)

  • SirScratchalot #44 6 years ago

    "Sounds nifty. "

    Frod in actually positive about something at all shocker! Damn that it´s not in a proper forum thread so I could have properly quoted it!

  • geek-chic #45 6 years ago

    Can't wait!

  • Scimarad #46 6 years ago

    This is the first game I've read about that actually makes me interested in getting one of these things.
    Edited by 1 at 12/05/06 @ 20:00

  • nightsparkle #47 6 years ago

    controls like a DS game. bluh!

  • richardiox #48 6 years ago

    "Is there any news with GameCube BC on Wii?

    Fully BC...the Wii accepts GC disks.

  • asphaltcowboy #49 6 years ago

    cheers rich! sweet! I can finally get round to playing res 4 and windwaker! assuming I get a wii of course - which is very likely based on nintendo's performance this e3!

  • asphaltcowboy #50 6 years ago

    My god, the gameplay videos of this look amazing!

  • sailesh #51 6 years ago

    this looks brillianté indeedio