Mario Galaxy hype thread!

[Warbie]

Bee level walkthrough

US box art:

New shots:

goty

 

[Majestic XII]

Any release date yet?

 

[Warbie]

Apparently it's the 16th of Nov in the uk and a few days earlier in the states.

 

[JFry]

Those new screens look awesome. Can't wait till my buddy gets this on his wii. All over his wii in fact. Innuendo.

 

[knut]

This is what I'd want to purchase a Wii for. I love how this looks like it's going to empthasize more upon those little secret sub-levels you found in Mario Sunshine. You know the ones, the levels that took part in space, on some form of floating gauntlet involving spinning objects, blocks of sand that slowly poured away when you stood on them, revolving walkways, etc. Much satisfaction getting through one of them in the coolest ways possible without losing a life.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Looks stunning, I can't wait. Must.. get.. Wii

If for nothing else:

SSB: Brawl
Galaxy
Metroid Prime 3

I can't help but worry about the Wii Mote / Nunchuck being counter-intuitive in certain titles though - still looks like a damn fun way to play regardless. I hope Galaxy is as nonlinear as SM64

 

[Vigilante]

I can't wait for this game. WTB SSBB too.

 

[Asus]

Can't wait for this game.

I just picked up a Wii earlier this week. Just 1 in stock @ Target on Tuesday. Got MP3, RE4, Zelda so far. Definitely get Mario to add to the collection.

 

[Zephos]

The game looks fuppin' amazin' :O'

 

[Ennui]

It's almost Wii-buying time for me...

 

[Reginald]

I can't freaking wait. Especially as, since RE4, nothing Wii-worthy has come out for a while. Having said that, the next 4 months look amazing. They always say you should wait a year to buy a console...

I may go out and buy Boogie today. :E

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Take out Zelda, Super Paper Mario, RE4, Wario Ware and a couple other titles and still look how well the Wii has sold. It's nothing short of amazing.

NOW, we have Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros, Metroid Prime 3, RE:UC, MoH:Heroes 2 and I know I'm missing a few....in just over a year of existance, I think the Wii is going to have the best game lineup of all current gen consoles. I really think Nintendo could achieve total world domination in just over 2 years...incredible.

This game looks INCREDIBLE. I don't know if it's artistic design, etc...but this looks as good as ANY 360 or PS3 game I've seen to date(except maybe Bioshock)...period. Well, I've had my $10 down since January.

 

[knut]

I'm looking forward to someone's Wii being brought to some house parties later this year with Mario Galaxy.

 

[Crushenator 500]

It's almost Wii-buying time for me...

Agreed :E

 

[Warbie]

Check out this months Edge if you get a chance, there's an excellent preview full of info, impressions, shots. Captain Olimar's space ship gets a mention

I'm going to go off on a fanboy rant now.

The preview mentions how Mario Sunshine put Mario in a more realitic world away from the pipes, mushrooms and ? blocks. How it had few environments, an unnecessary external narrative beyond 'Princess captured, go rescue', and how the result felt a little contrived, souless and 'un-mario'. To be fair that's pretty spot on. It was a solid game that ventured dangerously from its abstract platforming roots right into Jack and Dexter territory. For me, Sunshine's only redeeming features were the void levels - teasing glimpses of what might have been. Cue Mario Galaxy \o/

Everything screams of 'Mario' in Mario Galaxy. Just look at the screenshots - it's Mario 64 infused with the void levels and sent spinning into space. Old moves are returning - we get the long jump back, fire suit - plus a whole host that are new. You can see in gameplay footage that it celebrates the freedom and the joy in playing that can only be found in platformers - it's a game for the inner child in all of us, something to gawp at and to laugh with. Not only does Galaxy look back on form (it's been over 10 years since we've had a truly great flagship Mario title), but it also looks gorgeous. 'This is, without a doubt, the best looking game on the Wii, making the likes of Metroid Prime 3 look dated.' It's going to be great, can't you sense it?

 

[knut]

Pfft, Mario Sunshine was awesome. :E

 

[Warbie]

All I have to say to that is dh SUDGFU FSJK awhiq!!!

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Everything screams of 'Mario' in Mario Galaxy. Just look at the screenshots - it's Mario 64 infused with the void levels and sent spinning into space. Old moves are returning - we get the long jump back, fire suit - plus a whole host that are new.

I am soooo excited to see anything related to the fire suit. I'm sure there's something special, visually anyway, in how Mario generates and throws the fireballs. WOOOOO!!!!!

 

[Warbie]

Super Mario Sunshine is an amazing game. Yeah, okay, there's no Lava World and no Snow World, but honestly it's way more enjoyable than Super Mario 64... not to mention difficult.

You have got to be joking. Sunshine is one of the only Mario games that bored me while playing. The water pack was a horrible inclusion that took away from the jumping/platforming side of things completely - Mario with training wheels - while also detracting from the flow and momentum that makes Mario such a joy to control. The levels were an oddly random mixture of realistic locations and strange (it was as if Nintendo contracted the level designer responsible for Sonic Adventure) and were populated by a bland selection of forgettable characters. There was a linear approach to collecting stars - discouraging exploration, suprise discoveries and just running about and having fun - and often involved a mundane or repetitive task of some kind. Nintendo completely screwed up the underwatwer sections (what was with the new way of swimming?) and Yoshi was such a huge down. It just didn't gel or offer the open-jawed wonder than the great Mario games before managed so easily. Thank **** for the void levels.

The most damning thing about Sunshine is that Mario could have been replaced with any other charatcer without anyone caring. Infact, it probably would have been better received - being recognised for what it did do well rather than by how far it had fallen - and not become the insignificnat blip on the Mario timeline that it turned out to be. Mario Sunshine is the 'Double Dash' of the series, the embarrassing uncle at parties. It should slope away with SMB2 and leave the series unsullied.

(I did quite enjoy it )

I am soooo excited to see anything related to the fire suit. I'm sure there's something special, visually anyway, in how Mario generates and throws the fireballs. WOOOOO!!!!!

Totally. I'm looking forward to the return of some old faces/locations too. Goombas are back, arshipe levels, Magikoopa, Torpedo Ted

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Mario Sunshine is the 'Double Dash' of the series, the embarrassing uncle at parties. It should slope away with SMB2 and leave the series unsullied.

Uhh agreed....everything except that shot at SMB2...not appreciated.

Yeah...Mario Sunshine was NOT Mario at his finest. ALTHOUGH, I still thinks its an awesome game.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

I guess Sunshine isn't really a "classic", but I think that it improves gameplay-wise upon everything established in Mario 64, so even if it won't be as well-remembered, it certainly is a better game on the whole.

I think that's my biggest issue with the game, all it did was build on Mario 64, rather marginally, IMO. It never really took that next step. It just looked like another version of Mario 64 that wasn't as good.

Honestly though, Mario 64 was simply revolutionizing, period. It took platforming exactly where it needed to go. It looks like Galaxy is going to be that next BIG leap for platforming, IMO.

 

[Warbie]

I guess Sunshine isn't really a "classic", but I think that it improves gameplay-wise upon everything established in Mario 64, so even if it won't be as well-remembered, it certainly is a better game on the whole.

I think you'll find you're in a minority with that one. Mario 64 is still regarded by many as the pinnacle of game designn and held up as an example as such on game design courses. Only a fraction of what made me fall in love with Mario 64 (or SMB, SMB3, SMW 1 & 2, for that matter) is present in Sunshine - gameplay, level design, consistency, charm, sense of adventure. I honestly had more fun with New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. The structure of Mario Galaxy being very similar to Mario 64 and both Reggie and Miyamoto bigging it up as, finally, its true sequel, suggests that Nintendo feels the same.

I'm not trying to be overly harsh as I did enjoy the game and it's better than most platformers out there. It did feel like a spin-off, though. 3rd party. Rare's Banjo games on the N64 were better than Sunshine imo and it doesn't get within sniping distance of the Mario games mentioned above. I recently revisited Yoshi's Island the other day - the magic that makes it great just isn't there with Sunshine.

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

I think that's my biggest issue with the game, all it did was build on Mario 64, rather marginally, IMO. It never really took that next step. It just looked like another version of Mario 64 that wasn't as good.

Agreed. I'd argue that it took Mario 64 a few steps back and also introduced a few anoying ones.

 

[Zeus]

Well I don't have a Wii (video entertainment system) unfortunately so I won't be getting this one.

 

[Reginald]

New preview on IGN gives an insight into the Sunshine-Void-style levels on offer in Galaxy. It makes me feel all tingly inside like I used to feel when I first played Mario 64.

First up, we tackled the stage we didn't get to play at Leipzig - Keepers of the Sky Gauntlet. It's a level packed with vicious Thwomps that try to crush you at every turn. Alongside these are rotating Toxic Boxes from Super Mario 64, which can only be avoided by looking for the hole in one of their six sides, which you can hide in as the box smashes to the ground when you try to sneak past. Furthermore, to add to the Mario nostalgia the music is a remix of the classic Underworld track from Super Mario Bros. - a tune we were humming for some hours after we'd finished playing.

However, perhaps the most impressive thing about the level was its actual design. You see, in the centre of the stage are two spiralling black holes and between them a torrent of water rages from one to the other - creating a kind of bizarre anti-gravity rapids. The course itself is made up of a narrow concrete walkway that spirals around the two black holes. It's like nothing we've ever seen in a Mario game before and certainly goes to show the kind of imaginative stages the development team at Nintendo is able to create thanks to Galaxy's planet-based setting.

Onto the gameplay. Things kick off with Mario zooming in from space and landing at the start of the level. You're then tasked with navigating your way across a floating pathway, which turns sharply every so often as the track spirals around the black holes. The only other enemy you encounter - apart from the Thwomps and Toxic Boxes - is a fairly standard Goomba, which can easily be dispatched with a jump attack. However, if you fancy earning some extra gems knock the Goomba underneath a nearby Thwomp with a spin attack and watch in glee as it gets crushed by the lumbering grey block. The bad dude disappears in a shower of gems, which you can collect.

After that it's pretty much a case of working your way across the concrete track, avoiding a couple of Toxic Boxes along the way. Eventually Mario reaches the raging river that runs through the centre of the stage. Thankfully, also whizzing around the river are moving platforms he can jump on to reach the other side. However, you've got to be careful because the platforms move quickly and it's easy to mis-time a jump and drop into the watery depths below. If this happens it's an instant death because Mario's immediately sucked into a black hole.

Once you've made your way across the river, there are a few more Toxic Boxes to dodge, by carefully picking your way past them - after studying their movement patterns, of course. However, if you fancy taking a more risky but quicker approach you can always try leaping across groups of green platforms are dotted throughout the stage. These are tempting shortcuts but be warned, they disappear a few seconds after you step on them - meaning you don't have much time to prepare your next jump. By going across the green platforms it's possible to complete this level in a couple of minutes - with Mario collecting a star right at the end.

With the Sky Gauntlet level complete we moved onto the familiar Cookie Cutter Galaxy stage - called Conquering the Sweet Cake - we played briefly at the Games Convention. Here you must work your way through a dessert-themed stage to get to a giant cake (and a star, obviously). Naturally everything is made of cakes or cookies (the floor is marble chocolate and some walls are sponge) and in the background giant knives and forks float past, along with brightly coloured balls. In fact it's more like something you'd expect to see Super Monkey Ball than a Mario title.

As for the gameplay, it couldn't be further from rolling a monkey around in ball. Indeed, this is Mario action at its best. Players start off on a moving conveyor belt made from big square biscuits. However, the problem is that someone has been overly keen with the cookie cutter and the squares are peppered with holes of various shapes and sizes, which you must jump across. But because the biscuit belt is always moving you've got to be careful that you don't leap too far and fall down another hole that's drawing close. This stage therefore requires some expert jumping skills, plus - to make things a little trickier - there are also laser beams shooting horizontally across the belt, which must be avoided. If you hit one you're temporarily stunned and could potentially fall down a hole.

Once you've made your way across the first conveyor belt you're then tasked with running across another. This time though the belt shifts sideways. At first the level appears slight easier, until you realise each side is littered with lasers that'll zap the moustachioed plumber if he doesn't keep moving

This stage climaxes with a section that's very similar to the first. However, this time you must also leap across much smaller platforms made up of three cookie-shaped circles rather than jumping along large hole-punched squares,. What's more, the belt moves a lot faster than before and there are a couple of lasers to dodge as you jump along. Despite the sugary sweet setting this is actually quite a tough challenge and we're not ashamed to admit that we died several times before we made it to the end and bagged the star.

Then, sadly, it was all over. We played through each secret stage enough times to have them permanently etched onto our memory, so much so we'll probably wake up screaming about cakes in our sleep. However, they indicate that Super Mario Galaxy will be bursting with challenging platform sections that take Mario back to his roots. They also highlight the game's tight controls, because within seconds of playing the cookie cutter level we were triple jumping our way across the gaps and dodging holes like a pro. If this is the shape of things to come in Galaxy then the release can't come soon enough.

No pics sadly, behind closed doors. But still... :E

 

[Warbie]

That sounds awesome, especially the Keepers of the Sky Gauntlet stage.

 

[Nabobalis]

I really can't wait, this is going to be one great Christmas.

 

[antimatter]

This game is the only reason I purchased a Wii. Guaranteed buy.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Banjo-Tooie is a better game than Super Mario 64. I'm not quite so sure about Kazooie, but... it's at least as good.

Here's the thing: Sunshine isn't as classic or as memorable because it wasn't a revolutionary game. What it is, is a more refined, challenging and engaging platforming experience than its predecessor. As far as core gameplay is concerned, Sunshine is a better game than Mario 64.

I'm going to have to completely disagree, I though the spray backpack was rather gimmicky and the setting just generally less enjoyable to explore. While I do think that some elements of Sunshine were simply more evolved due to time, it didn't quite nail the immersion aspects that seemed to soar in SM64. The diversity of environments in SM64 really set the bar for what to expect in open ended platformers. Along with the replay-ability of finding every star in zones you'd already surpassed - everything just seemed to tie in so perfectly N64 was the IDEAL launch game, it's exactly what Kameo should have been and wasn't.

Though my opinion is somewhat biased considering Super Mario 64 was a landmark of my childhood, as soon I sat down with a controller and began hopping around that castle I knew video games would play a significant role in my life - for better or for worse

 

[Zephos]

I liked both games equally ._.

 

[Warbie]

I liked both games equally ._.

Where's the fun in that?

I consider Mario 64 to be the best game i've played. Ever, on any platform. I've revistited many times over the years and every time am gobsmacked by how magical and well crafted the experience is. Being a huge Nintendo and Mario fan i'm a little biased, and nostalgia plays a large part, yet the legions of fans show that it did something very right. The largely uninamious reception of Sunhine also showed that many were disappointed with the direction Nintendo had chosen to take the series. Not that any of this matters, of course. Whether we love a game or not is all down to subjective experience and, just as there are people that genuinely prefer a Mcdonald's burger to a fillet steak, there are those that prefer Sunshine to Mario 64

 

[NeptuneUK]

Ive been waiting for this since I was 7

 

[Reginald]

Is perhaps the 64/Sunshine argument fuelled by the age of the gamer? I, for one, am just about old enough to appreciate the transition from 2D Mario to this amazing 3D world where it just suddenly gives so much more freedom. In other words, I grew up on 2D games then saw this change with SM64 at the forefront. That's bound to leave a lasting impression.

On the other side of the coin, for the people who came to gaming a little later or are a little younger, 64 would not be the first 3D game they played. They may have only caught up in the last two years on DS or VC. It may be that Sunshine is the better game and aren't too blinded by nostalgia to see it.

Alternatively, 64 is just better.

 

[Lt. Drebin]

Banjo-Tooie is a better game than Super Mario 64. I'm not quite so sure about Kazooie, but... it's at least as good.

To each his own. Pretty mindlblowing stuff though.

 

[Crushenator 500]

Is perhaps the 64/Sunshine argument fuelled by the age of the gamer? I, for one, am just about old enough to appreciate the transition from 2D Mario to this amazing 3D world where it just suddenly gives so much more freedom. In other words, I grew up on 2D games then saw this change with SM64 at the forefront. That's bound to leave a lasting impression.

On the other side of the coin, for the people who came to gaming a little later or are a little younger, 64 would not be the first 3D game they played. They may have only caught up in the last two years on DS or VC. It may be that Sunshine is the better game and aren't too blinded by nostalgia to see it.

Alternatively, 64 is just better.

The first games I played were on the original gameboy (yes, the massive gray one)

My first console was the N64, with mario 64, wave race, and the star wars game (shadows of the empire)

I really enjoyed mario sunshine, but I really enjoyed mario64. It was the better game and playing it for the first time was incredible. The other 2 games I got with it were good too... but mario64 was just something else

 

[Warbie]

Is perhaps the 64/Sunshine argument fuelled by the age of the gamer? I, for one, am just about old enough to appreciate the transition from 2D

That could have something to do with it, although some of the criticisms levelled at Sunshine will always apply - the experience feeling rather contrived and confined compared to other Mario outings being some of them. It didn't help that the setting was pretty awful, either - just as it was in Sonic Adventures with the twee little towns. It was like somebody gave a studio the Mario name to make a cartoon out of and they completely missed the point.

I personally feel Sunshine should have been a spin-off and given to a brand new character, or even to someone like Toad. That wouldn't have made it a better game - I get more sense of awe from simply watching Mario Galaxy than I ever did playing Sunshine - but less jarring. At the end of the day it just wasn't as good a game in terms of setting, design, consistency and gameplay, and lacked charm. It is still a decent, solid title in its own right and the void levels are amoung Mario's finest ever moments. Infact, if they were extracted from Sunhine and sold seperately i'd be first in the queue. Better yet, make em downloadable for the VC - how awesome would that be?

 

[Noobulon]

As far as core gameplay is concerned, Sunshine is a better game than Mario 64.

I think Sunshine is a mediocre platformer, and a very poor Mario game.

The biggest problem with Sunshine is that it doesn't control like a Mario game. I don't just mean the FLUDD stuff - I mean the handling is fundamentally wrong. You can tell even in the non-FLUDD sections.

Every other Mario game (bar maybe SMB2) has got an excellent sense of weight and inertia... remember building up speed to use the cape in Super Mario World? Or attempting to run up a steep slope in SM64? Sunshine has none of that weighty feeling. The handling is stop-start-stop-start; there's no buildup of speed or momentum. IMO, this is usually what distinguishes good platformers (see N) from crappy ones. FLUDD just made this problem worse- rooting mario to the floor or stopping him dead in the air every time it was used.

One time I turned on Sunshine and SM64 at the same time, for comparison, and I was shocked at how much better the old game handled.

Now figure in Sunshine's multiple examples of poor/broken level design, and you have a platformer which, as Warbie says, should not have had 'Mario' in the title.


Still, Galaxy looks like it's going to make up for it. Roll on Q4 :imu:

 

[Noobulon]

Really? I think that the handling is just fine in Sunshine. It's not completely perfect, but it's not at all sloppy or floaty. It's just something you have to get used to. You can't blame the game just because you don't want to have to learn how to play it properly. I've fallen into bottomless pits and off cliffs far more due to bad physics in Mario 64 than I have in Sunshine.

Well, I agree that Sunshine's handling was good enough to carry the game. I'm not saying it was actually broken.
But is "good enough" really good enough for a Mario platformer?

In SM64, it was fun to simply jump about and string together moves in the opening area. Triple-jump, wall-kick, dive... sprint into to a long jump, then cartwheel backwards into the top of a tree. Sunshine's handling felt very mechanical in comparison, and that sucked a lot of joy out of the game.
One-shot powerups like Yoshi and the rocket pack tried to compensate, but to me that felt like gimmickry - at its core, Sunshine played a worse platform game than SM64. Even the swimming controls were a huge step backwards.

Oh, and I did learn to play the game properly... I played Sunshine to exhaustion, including all the broken bits (hotel level, pachinko minigame, lilly pad minigame, poor final boss etc)

 

[X-FacToR]

*New Super Mario Bros. for the ds !

 

[Reginald]

*New Super Mario Bros. for the ds !

One of my favourite games of all time. Except it knackered my fingers so much getting all the measly unlockables with 100% completion, that my fingers audibly groan when I even consider playing again.

 

[ThomasToad]

I absolutely cannot wait for Mario Galaxy. I think the concept behind the game allows for limitless potential, I just hope they execute on it. There can be some really cool stuff done with different levels of gravity for each planet, and i'm really liking the suits for mario.

Also, I liked Mario Sunshine quite a bit. I didn't really like the setting of the game that much, but I didn't mind FLUDD, even though it seemed like it was tacked on to make the game easier.