Mario Galaxy...

[Zyn]

Alright, we're gonna pick this up on Friday probably. I found all stars in Super Mario 64 and I will find them all in Galaxy!

[Thrik]

It does look like a really good game but i somehow doubt it's worth getting a Wii for. There's not a lot else to play on it with any longievity, though a good idea would be to get a Wii now, complete Mario and sell it - all the sites i've seen are selling them for around £400 now, and that's only with one game! Complete ripoff but a good little money spinner

To be fair, no console in the current generation has really had much in the way of titles early on (remember when King Kong was pretty much the most exciting 360 game?). It's from around now that we should be getting some decent Wii games.

I wouldn't say Mario Galaxy alone can justify the normal price of a Wii, but if you like Nintendo games then as usual Nintendo will be delivering plenty of first-party titles that're very polished and very good such as Smash Bros and Mario Kart (both due before Summer). After that we'll likely see some third-party classics like Resident Evil 4 was on the GameCube.

[General Vivi]

got it for my gfs lil bro and we have been playing 2 player and i have to say 2 player is a lot of fun. Great game all over!

[PogoP]

I cracked and got it sooner than Christmas.

The game is brilliant, no denying that, but it doesn't seem as good as Super Mario 64. The music in that game was amazing, and whilst some scores are good in Galaxy, they don't really live up to the crazy tunes of SM64. Music really does make or break a game for me, I think it adds so much to a game.

Maybe it's just nostalgia or something making me think this game is not as good as SM64...

Though the Gusty Garden Galaxy theme is absolutely incredible (

). I absolutely love that tune, one of my favourites in SMG. Sends shivers down your spine.

[Taylor]

If you just read the letters with stars on them in the Super Mario Galaxy logo, it says "U R Mr. Gay." I don't own a Wii so I can't add anything more insightful than that I'm afraid.

[Thrik]

I think this game technically beats Mario 64 in every way PogoP, but I'd be very reluctant to say any game is better than Mario 64 simply because of how much of a step forward it was for 3D platforming in general, and indeed the majority of the mechanics it set over a decade ago are still present in Mario Galaxy (and other platformers).

It's like of how like how Twilight Princess is a much more refined game than Ocarina of Time, yet I couldn't possibly say it's better than Ocarina of Time because Ocarina of Time set all the foundations into place -- Twilight Princess just polished them.

I think it's this that makes some people prefer the earlier titles. Those games did it first, and of course for many they also carry really nostalgic memories.

I prefer to just think of Mario Galaxy as the best platforming game since Mario 64, and try to avoid the whole 'better than' issue. Unlike Mario Sunshine, this game really ticks every box and combines Mario's rich heritage/history with awesome new innovations in 3D gameplay (the gravity stuff just gets more and more insane).

Mario Sunshine merely took Mario 64's mechanics and didn't really move them that far forward, beyond the relatively basic water jet abilities. Fun game, but not anything to shout about.

In fact, directly comparing Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy is a great example of how to do a 3D Mario game properly. Both were done on GameCube-ish hardware, yet one absolutely transcends the other.

[Mazy]

Aye the orchestral music in Galaxy is so awesome, just sucks so bad that they've mixed it with some really cheap midi like stuff :G

[Sentura]

Aye the orchestral music in Galaxy is so awesome, just sucks so bad that they've mixed it with some really cheap midi like stuff :G

some of them are orchestrated old tunes, like the boss stage in super mario brothers 3 for the ship level(s), and also the classic underground music in some cases, among others.

[Thrik]

I only really noticed the cheap MIDI-like stuff when it was intentional, which is when old Mario music was used (eg: in the special bonus galaxies).