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A review of: Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Spoilers? No, not really)
15 years ago
Hoo boy.
Well, let's just jump into this one shall we? I'm sure you're all eager to hear about my thoughts/opinions on the latest installment of the ridiculously popular (I'm mean, come on, he's in over 200 games by now) Mario and his wacky adventures. When we last left our hero (and by last I'm not counting the games in which he: Was a micro and eaten by Bowser, beating up his fellow Nintendo chums, saving the princess with his brother and two toads, beating Sonic at the Winter Olympics, racing around like a doof, or having a DS party) he was in vast, ever expansive reaches of outer space! He soared through the starry eternity with the grace of a short, pudgy, plumber, which as we should know by now is amazing. He got to meet and hang out with who is practically the GOD of the Mario universe, travel to a bunch of planets, and then he beat up the mean 'ol dinosaurturtleguy thing who kidnapped his girlfriend, again. How sweet is that? Well, the game was successful, as are most if not all of Mario's games, and a sequel was created.
This barely counts as a sequel. I mean...c'mon, really? There is even LESS of a story in Mario Galaxy 2 than there was in the first Galaxy game. I know what you're saying, "Whatever, there's barely a story in any of the Mario games to begin with," and I can understand/believe/agree with that. Though in the previous Mario Galaxy, as I said you hang out with GOD, and you chat with her from time to time, you learn about how the universe was made, and you do some other stuff that isn't really important either. How can you have LESS story than that? Well, for starters the game just kinda begins, the Princess gets kidnapped immediately, Mario gets a planet/ship shaped like his head and he goes through various worlds/galaxies to get Power Stars so he can save his doof of a girlfriend. Oh, and some fat star guy hangs out with you by the controls of your spaceship-planet that is shaped like Mario's freakin' head. No ego problems there folks. I'm not so mad at that, but I'm more irritated at the fact that this game is EXACTLY the same as the first Galaxy one.
"Exactly the same? Pssh, whatever, every Mario game has pretty much the same game play," yes and no to that. Yes, more often than not, "traditional" Mario games are pretty much rescue princess from Bowser or play a sport. At first, he was just some guy dating this broad with no fashion sense (taaaacky dress, honey *z-snaps*) and for some reason this other character with a personality AND looks to match keeps kidnapping her. I don't get why Bowser even bothers, Peach wouldn't treat him right, she'd just end up hurting him and breaking his already fragile heart, therefore creating a void he'll never get to fill and...oh wait, Mario, right, that guy, sure. What I'm getting at, is that if you were playing Mario Galaxy, went to the bathroom, and before you got back I turned off said game and instead put in Mario Galaxy 2 in its place. You would sit down, I would probably look SUPER casual and nonchalant, and you would go back to game playing. Notice anything different? Cause I sure as hell don't.
Alright, that last comment was unfair. Mario Galaxy 2 does have some great things added to it. Like Yoshi, who is probably one of the greatest things ever. Seriously <3 and adding him to this game was awesome. So awesome he's even on the box. The Yoshi stuff is pretty neat, as are the other 2 or maybe 3 power ups. The Bee Suit is still around, so is that STUPID Spring Suit that made me go blind with furious rage at how STUPID it was. I'm not sure if the Ice Mario is back in this game D: which is sad, because ice skating on water that you freeze when you touch it is pretty damn awesome. So, yeah, new power ups, and new levels too I suppose, but like I said, you can barely tell the difference at all. Do the same with Mario Galaxy and Mario 64? Wha? It's completely different? Sure you get 120 Stars or whatever, but gasp! It's different! Now put in Mario Sunshine. Wait, what's this?! It's different -again-? Am I a magician or a space traveling maverick? Yes. I mean, no. Though in that game you get Shines or something and not Stars, but they're still shaped like Stars. Alright, final round time go! Play Super Mario World 3 for the NES, and then play Super Mario World 2. Oh man, huge difference, right? Right. The "Galaxy" series (yeah I'll call it a series even though it's just 2 games, as of now) is the only blatant carbon copy of each other.
Is the game bad? Not fun? No, not really, but is is simply an over glorified expansion pack. If this game was my only son, he would be grounded right now and thinking about what he did. Who does he think he is? Upsetting his demanding father like this...seriously though, I was pretty pissed when I played this. I had no idea what to expect, and what I got was what I played before. I even played it as Luigi, who needs to install better brakes on those shoes. Gave this game a whirl at a friend's house and was aghast at how little the developers thought outside of the box. This is recycling. Sure, it is FUN recycling, to an extent, if you went in expecting the exact same game as before, and the challenge has been derped in favor for an easier game than the first one, I think at least. If you didn't like the first game, chances are you won't like this one because it's the exact same damn thing. And don't you dare say, "Uh, of course it's the same, because all Mario games are the same," because then I will just say harsh words to you. Not all games are the same. The end prize may be, but the journey is always different. The environment is always different. There's so many things that are changed in each Mario game, but this one is trying to be exactly like the first while taking 0 chances. The universe is huge, HUGE, and there was probably so much that could have been done for this game that wasn't. They didn't try making another game, just a freakin' add on. Sure Yoshi is awesome <3 but he can only do so much.
And seriously, what's the deal with Bowser Jr? I mean, he's an ok guy I guess, but Bowser has 7 other freakin' kids, and they barely get to play at all. Who the hell are Wario and Waluigi and why should I care? Will they ever grace their stupid-assed faces in a Mario game when you have to collect 120 (or now 242) star thingies? Aren't they villains? They seem to be jerks, but they're always busy SUCKING in other games of the Mario franchise. This game is so uninspired, it is still grounded and not getting dinner. The people of "Team Mario" are insanely creative. Hey, anyone remember Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door? What about Super Mario RPG: The Legend of The Seven Stars? Yeah, both of those games are insanely epic and stellar, way out of the thinky box. Hell, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine are different, stand out games of the series. Even Mario Galaxy was too, but now it'll always just be "The crappier version of Mario Galaxy 2." I know a lot, a LOT of effort goes into making a video game, but they still could have tried, y'know?
Long story short: Superior carbon copy of another game does not a happy skunk make. Yoshi is awesome. <3
PS- I'm only complaining because apparently this game is getting truck loads of PERFECT scores all over the place. I mean...yeah, if I never played or heard of Mario Galaxy (the first one) then this game would be the bee's knees. Too bad that's not the case.
PSS- I want another Mario RPG-y game, and not one on a handheld device. The one on the Wii can't hold a candle to the other ones, it was ok, but still meh overall. >:[
Well, let's just jump into this one shall we? I'm sure you're all eager to hear about my thoughts/opinions on the latest installment of the ridiculously popular (I'm mean, come on, he's in over 200 games by now) Mario and his wacky adventures. When we last left our hero (and by last I'm not counting the games in which he: Was a micro and eaten by Bowser, beating up his fellow Nintendo chums, saving the princess with his brother and two toads, beating Sonic at the Winter Olympics, racing around like a doof, or having a DS party) he was in vast, ever expansive reaches of outer space! He soared through the starry eternity with the grace of a short, pudgy, plumber, which as we should know by now is amazing. He got to meet and hang out with who is practically the GOD of the Mario universe, travel to a bunch of planets, and then he beat up the mean 'ol dinosaurturtleguy thing who kidnapped his girlfriend, again. How sweet is that? Well, the game was successful, as are most if not all of Mario's games, and a sequel was created.
This barely counts as a sequel. I mean...c'mon, really? There is even LESS of a story in Mario Galaxy 2 than there was in the first Galaxy game. I know what you're saying, "Whatever, there's barely a story in any of the Mario games to begin with," and I can understand/believe/agree with that. Though in the previous Mario Galaxy, as I said you hang out with GOD, and you chat with her from time to time, you learn about how the universe was made, and you do some other stuff that isn't really important either. How can you have LESS story than that? Well, for starters the game just kinda begins, the Princess gets kidnapped immediately, Mario gets a planet/ship shaped like his head and he goes through various worlds/galaxies to get Power Stars so he can save his doof of a girlfriend. Oh, and some fat star guy hangs out with you by the controls of your spaceship-planet that is shaped like Mario's freakin' head. No ego problems there folks. I'm not so mad at that, but I'm more irritated at the fact that this game is EXACTLY the same as the first Galaxy one.
"Exactly the same? Pssh, whatever, every Mario game has pretty much the same game play," yes and no to that. Yes, more often than not, "traditional" Mario games are pretty much rescue princess from Bowser or play a sport. At first, he was just some guy dating this broad with no fashion sense (taaaacky dress, honey *z-snaps*) and for some reason this other character with a personality AND looks to match keeps kidnapping her. I don't get why Bowser even bothers, Peach wouldn't treat him right, she'd just end up hurting him and breaking his already fragile heart, therefore creating a void he'll never get to fill and...oh wait, Mario, right, that guy, sure. What I'm getting at, is that if you were playing Mario Galaxy, went to the bathroom, and before you got back I turned off said game and instead put in Mario Galaxy 2 in its place. You would sit down, I would probably look SUPER casual and nonchalant, and you would go back to game playing. Notice anything different? Cause I sure as hell don't.
Alright, that last comment was unfair. Mario Galaxy 2 does have some great things added to it. Like Yoshi, who is probably one of the greatest things ever. Seriously <3 and adding him to this game was awesome. So awesome he's even on the box. The Yoshi stuff is pretty neat, as are the other 2 or maybe 3 power ups. The Bee Suit is still around, so is that STUPID Spring Suit that made me go blind with furious rage at how STUPID it was. I'm not sure if the Ice Mario is back in this game D: which is sad, because ice skating on water that you freeze when you touch it is pretty damn awesome. So, yeah, new power ups, and new levels too I suppose, but like I said, you can barely tell the difference at all. Do the same with Mario Galaxy and Mario 64? Wha? It's completely different? Sure you get 120 Stars or whatever, but gasp! It's different! Now put in Mario Sunshine. Wait, what's this?! It's different -again-? Am I a magician or a space traveling maverick? Yes. I mean, no. Though in that game you get Shines or something and not Stars, but they're still shaped like Stars. Alright, final round time go! Play Super Mario World 3 for the NES, and then play Super Mario World 2. Oh man, huge difference, right? Right. The "Galaxy" series (yeah I'll call it a series even though it's just 2 games, as of now) is the only blatant carbon copy of each other.
Is the game bad? Not fun? No, not really, but is is simply an over glorified expansion pack. If this game was my only son, he would be grounded right now and thinking about what he did. Who does he think he is? Upsetting his demanding father like this...seriously though, I was pretty pissed when I played this. I had no idea what to expect, and what I got was what I played before. I even played it as Luigi, who needs to install better brakes on those shoes. Gave this game a whirl at a friend's house and was aghast at how little the developers thought outside of the box. This is recycling. Sure, it is FUN recycling, to an extent, if you went in expecting the exact same game as before, and the challenge has been derped in favor for an easier game than the first one, I think at least. If you didn't like the first game, chances are you won't like this one because it's the exact same damn thing. And don't you dare say, "Uh, of course it's the same, because all Mario games are the same," because then I will just say harsh words to you. Not all games are the same. The end prize may be, but the journey is always different. The environment is always different. There's so many things that are changed in each Mario game, but this one is trying to be exactly like the first while taking 0 chances. The universe is huge, HUGE, and there was probably so much that could have been done for this game that wasn't. They didn't try making another game, just a freakin' add on. Sure Yoshi is awesome <3 but he can only do so much.
And seriously, what's the deal with Bowser Jr? I mean, he's an ok guy I guess, but Bowser has 7 other freakin' kids, and they barely get to play at all. Who the hell are Wario and Waluigi and why should I care? Will they ever grace their stupid-assed faces in a Mario game when you have to collect 120 (or now 242) star thingies? Aren't they villains? They seem to be jerks, but they're always busy SUCKING in other games of the Mario franchise. This game is so uninspired, it is still grounded and not getting dinner. The people of "Team Mario" are insanely creative. Hey, anyone remember Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door? What about Super Mario RPG: The Legend of The Seven Stars? Yeah, both of those games are insanely epic and stellar, way out of the thinky box. Hell, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine are different, stand out games of the series. Even Mario Galaxy was too, but now it'll always just be "The crappier version of Mario Galaxy 2." I know a lot, a LOT of effort goes into making a video game, but they still could have tried, y'know?
Long story short: Superior carbon copy of another game does not a happy skunk make. Yoshi is awesome. <3
PS- I'm only complaining because apparently this game is getting truck loads of PERFECT scores all over the place. I mean...yeah, if I never played or heard of Mario Galaxy (the first one) then this game would be the bee's knees. Too bad that's not the case.
PSS- I want another Mario RPG-y game, and not one on a handheld device. The one on the Wii can't hold a candle to the other ones, it was ok, but still meh overall. >:[
An yes, its true. I will kill things to get an updated version/sequel to Super Mario RPG. >_> (its probably my favorite rpg ever :| Next to Crono Trigger an FF 6 of course :3)
I agree with the comment above this one. :O
Also, *hugs* hope you're well.
*Snugs* I'm ok, missing you though! <3
But as far as Wario goes, have you ever played Warioland 2 & 3? Those games were amazing. They're platformers where you can't die, but the enemies can pull all sorts of nasty tricks to impede you, like smashing you flat or making your head swell up like a balloon or turning you invisible. And the first boss in WL2 is a giant snake that swallows you alive. >:D
And Waluigi was a villain! In, um... Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. c_c Seriously though, I love Waluigi for how unbelievably pointless he is. If Wario and Luigi are basically clones of Mario, Waluigi is like their inbred love child.
I loved The Thousand Year Door too. Despite the fact that they forced you to backtrack over and over through tiny environments, they really gave us an agreeably dark twist on a lot of the typical Mario themes. Every chapter had its own little surprise quirk, and it was fun to see what was going to come up next.
Super Paper Mario was... blaaaaaaah. If the other Paper Mario games boil down to fetch quests and turn-based battles, then Super Paper Mario is nothing but fetch quests. Which is a terrible shame because the game looks really cool and it had some neat ideas that never really fleshed out.
I could go on, but I think that's quite enough. :D Also hope you're well!
I'm ok! I hope you bother you again soon <3
This is just my demanding opinion anyway, I know plenty of people like this game.