Super Mario Galaxy

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Boy oh boy is this game a treat. I played it back in the day, but I think I beat it so quickly I didn't appreciate it. All the known Mario mechanics are here, but it goes up a level with its world design. Tons of really quirky and unique planets, with lots of gravity mechanics that makes platforming on every side of these planets unique. It takes the best things from the previous Mario games and crams them into one package.

My only complaint is that the game is a touch too easy. It is fun progressing really quickly, and there are a couple more difficult challenges, but even those only took 2 or 3 tries. I don't want to be frustrated, but I want to be more satisfied when I beat a boss or scale a difficult platforming challenge.

Another real delight in this game is the music! Beautiful symphonic score, I could listen to it all day. And as you collect stars the overworld grows, and the overworld theme becomes more and more full. Really great stuff.

Playing this immediately after Sunshine it is so noticeable how these games evolve and get better. They know what make these things good, so they both accentuate those things and completely change everything else. One example is that you never play Mario games for the plot, but this one actually has a very cute side story, making your hunt for stars a bit more special.

All said, I think it is tied for my second favourite Mario, alongside 64 and next to Odyssey, which perfects all the issues this game has, and continues to innovate and build on the previous games.