Best Mario Ever?

Many of us who have bought a Wii, or are planning to, were anxiously awaiting the dawn of a new Mario game, one that would fix the mistakes of the past (looking at you, Super Mario Sunshine), and go back to its roots while taking us to new and wild places. Well, ladies and gents, I'm happy to say that this is the one, and it succeeds on almost every level. Before I get into all of this, let's go through the obligatory rundown.

For those very few of us who have never played or seen a Mario game, the formula has always been simple: rescue the beautiful princess from the evil lizard Bowser. The first real Mario game, or at least the one that set the standard, was Super Mario Bros. for the NES. SMB essentially made the platformer what it is today, focusing on simple side scrolling adventuring. You jumped, ran, swam, and as the series went on, flew your way through the Mushroom Kingdom, always saving the princess, and always defeating Bowser.

When the Nintendo 64 dropped, Nintendo decided to take the concept into 3-D, giving you more goal oriented gameplay and much more exploring, but the formula stayed the same. True, Mario has deviated in the past, and has found himself in other genres (Mario Kart, Mario RPG, and Super Smash Bros. most notably), but Mario has always done best platforming. When Super Mario Sunshine hit the Gamecube, it was equally lauded and bashed. It strayed from the formula. It left us craving the familiar faces and moves that we had come to know and love. We didn't want to clean graffiti with a water spraying backpack, we wanted to bash Goombas and jump on turtles. When Super Mario Galaxy was announced, we fans wanted to know if Nintendo would listen. They listened.

Super Mario Galaxy starts off with a still painting and text explaining a festival celebrating the passing of a comet. Pretty lackluster. Luckily, you skip through this pretty quickly, and you're given the best Mario intro I've ever seen. Bowser swoops down in an airship, bombing the Mushroom Kingdom, and taking not only Princess Peach, but her whole castle into space with a UFO. A little odd, yes, but playing through the intro is very exhilirating.

Flash forward and you find yourself on an observatory with Rosalina, a kind of queen mother of the universe, who happens to look a bit like Princess Peach. She tells you the fate of the world is in your hands, Bowser must be stopped, blah, blah, and you're off. The point is, this observatory is your window to the universe. There are several domes, each with several galaxies, and each galaxy has missions to complete for power stars. Get 60 power stars, the observatory will be fully powered up and you can beat the game. Get 120, you fully beat the game.

There were several worries going into this game. First, will we get to explore open environments like in Mario 64, or will we just be stuck hopping small planet to small planet? Second, as with all Wii games, could the controller handle this? Third, is the game deep enough? Fourth, what of the graphics and the sound?

The first worry, I'm glad to say, is needless. Yes, the levels are a little different this time around. Each galaxy, or level, is comprised of anything from several small planets and one big one, to a bunch of small ones, to one big and small one; the combinations are limitless. The point is, if it's open exploring you crave, you'll get your share, but you'll also get the fun of hopping from planet to planet. Plus, even the tiniest of planets can have a puzzle you might spend a minute of two on at least.

I'm also happy to say that the galaxies are not repetitive, and are extremely varied. You'll traverse all the places you'd expect, from snowy plains to dust devil ridden deserts to eel infested oceans, and so much more. Shipwrecks, haunted houses, colossal space structures, it's all ripe for the picking. The sheer diversity of sights you'll see and activities you'll engage in are enough to write for days on, but I won't. I'll cover some of the highlights in a bit.

Another great element is the fact that each star challenge can change the galaxy significantly. Whereas for one challenge, you maybe only hop a couple of planets, for another one you may go to five or six entirely different ones.

For all the old school Mario fans, you'll be pleased to know that Mario's powerups are better than ever. You'll don a bee suit to float around giant honeycombs, pose as a ghost, become a human spring, and even wield the almighty fireflower, an element missing from Mario for some time now.

In fact, a lot of these levels are a nod to the old school. You'll see elements from almost every Mario game, including old faces, along with new ones, and you'll even do some side scrolling in a few levels.

The biggest new school addition is the gravity, which would be expected in a space adventure. You'll walk on ceilings, over entire planets without falling off, and almost any way that you could imagine. Plus, gravity changes with each planet, so jumping is affected. Don't worry, none of this is nearly as complex as it sounds, but it does a fresh feel to an old franchise, without compromising what made it so great in the first place.

Moving on to controls. They work. Man, do they work. The nuchuk analog stick is used for movement, as expected, and you use the remote to guide an onscreen pointer, an element I was worried about. The pointer is used to collect star bits, sparkly little gems used to "buy" new planets, or shoot at enemies. I was worried that keeping track of moving and the pointer at the same time might be a little overwhelming, but it's seamless, and you forget about the pointer after a while, as it becomes second nature.

The remote is also used to spin, a move that's very integral to the game, whether you use it for defeating enemies, gaining extra height in jumps, or spinning through stars that launch you to your next planet. Just give the remote a shake. There are few motion sensitive actions, but they don't seem gimmicky, and they work almost without flaw. Riding a manta ray down a planet made entirely of water just by tilting the remote feels fantastic.

Basically, given the amount of triple jumps, wall jumps, flips, spins, etc., that you'll have to do to get through the game, the controls are surprisingly simple to master.

In case you aren't already convinced, the fourth worry is also needless. Boasting forty galaxies, each with their own unique challenges and designs, this game has plenty of depth, and should keep you busy for a while, as long as you intend to get all 120 stars, which you definitely strive for.

Last but not least, let's talk graphics and sound. This is the best looking game on the Wii to date, and it's a breath of fresh air to see that the system is now starting to use its power to its fullest. True, Zelda looked good, but it was a Gamecube port. Yes, Metroid Prime 3 looked great, but this is even better. The planets are all very easy on the eye, and character models look great. Water and particle effects are top notch. Every planet has been given the greatest attention to detail, and it shows. Take the beach levels. Every time you step in the sand, Mario leaves a footprint. I've gone through the levels, and come back, and the footprints are still there, no matter what. That's what I mean when I say detail. Though the Wii lacks the power of the PS3 and the 360, it more than makes up for it with style.

The sound, and man I'm glad to finally say this, is no longer standard Nintendo fare. Yes, you will hear some familiar sounds, but the music is now orchestrated, and sounds great. The sound effects are great as well. I was in a level with crickets chirping, and I thought I was hearing something outside. Some might complain about lack of real voice acting, but I use the same argument that I use for Zelda. These characters have gone so long without speaking, if they ever speak, the voice will probably be a letdown. And it's not like everyone sits around mute. You'll still hear Mario's catchphrases, and everyone says at least a few things, you just won't get much.

SMG does have a multiplayer...sort of. Basically, a friend can jump in and act as your pointer, picking up star bits for you, or stopping certain enemies in their tracks. This element neither adds nor subtracts. It's just there. Use it if you want, but you won't be missing anything if you don't.

Despite all my praise, SMG isn't perfect, nor would I expect it to be. My chief complaint is the camera, something that has plagued 3-D platformers for years. Galaxy uses an automatic camera, giving you very little control. More often than not, the camera works perfectly well, and is the best I've seen in a Mario game yet. However, when it does get wonky, it can lead to death and frustration, but that comes with the territory.

My second complaint is really more of an observation with a slight hint of admonishment. If your goal is just to get the 60 stars necessary to beat Bowser, you won't be in this game long. That being said, going for the full 120 will keep you busy for some time. I'm just saying they could have made the road to Bowser a little more fraught with peril.

Third, and last, is Rosalina. You can access a library in the observatory which tells her story. The story is told with still paintings and text, and is actually a bit of a downer. Luckily, you can skip this entirely, which I would advise you to do.

OK, let's end this thing. A while back I made a bold proclamation with the last Zelda game, claiming it the best ever. In retrospect, perhaps I was a bit hasty, so I won't make the same mistake twice. Is this the best Mario ever? It certainly plays better, with the right mix of new and old, but does it rise above all the competition, of which there's a lot? I won't say yes just yet, but it's definitely in the running with Super Mario 64 and Super Mario World. What I can say without any hesitation is that this is must buy for any Wii owner, and a no brainer for even the most old school of Mario fans.

Parent's Note (Slight spoilers ahead): Don't worry about this one. Even when the game strays into potentially violent territory at the end, everything ends quite happily, with no deaths actually occurring.