Super Mario Galaxy, a 3D platformer released for the Wii in 2007, is considered by many to be one of the greatest games of all time. I was a little skeptical about the accuracy of the claim given that games like the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are given that same title. With the recent release of both Mario Galaxy and its sequel, Mario Galaxy 2, for the Nintendo Switch, I finally felt motivated to see for myself how great Mario Galaxy actually is. Being a broke teenager, though, I didn’t feel like buying my own copy of the game for the switch, so I played it on my dad’s Wii U instead. I’ll be honest, I can count on one hand the Mario games I’ve actually finished. I don’t know that I have enough experience to tell you what makes for a good Mario game. I do, however, have a lot of thoughts about Mario Galaxy after beating it for the first time.

Let me just start by saying, Mario Galaxy is not for the weak-willed. This game’s platforming was at times more frustrating than any other game I’ve played. Usually when I play games that were released before I was born, I wish I had played them sooner. That doesn’t really apply to this game because, frankly, I don’t know that I would have been able to get through Mario Galaxy before now. The game’s disjointed levels and weird gravity, while awesome, can make it kind of difficult to control Mario. I frequently found myself yelling “Come on!” or “Seriously?!” or hitting myself out of frustration while playing some of the levels; Mario just would not do what I wanted him to! In some ways, the game’s difficulty makes completing the levels really rewarding, so I can’t complain too much. The swimming, though, is just straight up annoying

Mario Galaxy’s atmosphere is definitely the highlight of the game. The soundtrack is absolutely amazing, and not just because it includes the Gusty Garden Galaxy theme (which is in my opinion overplayed). The world’s wonkiness is trying at times, but combined with the soundtrack, it creates a world that is so full of wonder. That being said, there are some times when the game feels a little empty, and if it weren’t for the soundtrack, I’m not sure the game would achieve the feeling it’s going for. A good example of this is Rosalina’s starship, which didn’t feel that lived in.

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS in the next paragraph! Skip this paragraph if you don’t want the ending of the game spoiled.

I’m just going to say it: the game’s story could be better. Everyone is going to be like “well Mario games don’t normally have much story,” and I know that, but this game specifically seems like it’s trying to be more story-driven. At the end of the game, although Mario defeats Bowser, it turns out Mario is too late and the lumas have to sacrifice themselves to reset the universe. Now, I’ll admit, this is a very cool concept, but the moment doesn’t really feel sad enough. The game doesn’t do a good job making the player feel attached to the world, so it’s hard to care when the universe is being destroyed. If the power star requirement to unlock the final level was a little bit higher, I think it would help with this issue. Furthermore, they emphasized the fact that the luma that was traveling with Mario decided to go reset the universe, which was really weird because I almost forgot that luma existed. I wish they would have had Mario talk to that luma throughout the game like he talked to Cappy in Odyssey. At the very least, they should have made a way bigger deal about the relationship between Mario and his luma because that could have been a really emotional moment. Also, am I the only one who dislikes Rosalina? I know she has the whole storybook thing, but she does literally nothing during events of the game. I find her kind of boring, too, but that may be a me problem.

Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with this game and I’m really glad I took the time to play it. If you can get past the rage-inducing parts, Mario Galaxy is pretty epic. I can see why people love this game so much. I know I have a lot of critiques, and let’s be real, Mario Galaxy definitely has flaws, but overall, the game is undeniably awesome. Mario Galaxy game is super imaginative and for the most part well made. I can’t wait to play Super Mario Galaxy 2!

8.5/10