Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)

It’s hard to believe that it’s now ten years since Nintendo’s seminal Super Mario 64 was released for the N64 console, but it’s true. Since then we’ve only seen one true 3D Mario game, the mediocre (by Nintendo’s own lofty standards) Super Mario Sunshine on the Gamecube, so it’s about time the rotund plumber had another outing, this time on Nintendo’s elusive Wii.

There were some concerns raised by ardent Mario fans when Galaxy was announced and shown (especially after the relatively lacklustre Sunshine) that it would turn out to be just another by-the-numbers Mario game, offering nothing new or inventive and failing to re-capture that magic that Mario 64 introduced us to. I can safely and without hesitation say that these concerns have all been recognised and addressed. In fact more than just addressed, more like smashed into a thousand tiny pieces on the rocks of so many average 3D platformers that came before it.

The basic premise sees our moustachioed hero setting about rescuing the princess from the grip of – yep, you guessed it – Bowser. He’s only gone and stolen her castle and everything in it (including the princess herself), and then in a fit of grandeur decided to conquer Space itself! Mario’s task involves setting free the stars held captive by Bowser and his cronies and restoring everything to the way it should be. How he goes about this is through a myriad of 3D platforming levels, only this time the worlds he’s bouncing and spinning his way through are tiny! Cunning use of gravity and rocketing through space are par for the course for this outing then, and it’s done so well. The level design is, as you’d expect from a Miyamoto headed title, sublime, and coupled with brilliantly realised Wii-specific controls, handles like a dream. Some developers have been guilty of shoe-horning the motion-sensing, pointing, tilting controls in to their games, but it’s obvious that this is clearly a case of doing the reverse and making the game around the controls. The nunchuck’s joystick controls direction, the A button on the remote jumps and pretty much everything else is explained, intuitive and in keeping with the Mario pedigree.

Coins, which have long fuelled the collecting habits of players in past Mario games, are still present but the kleptomaniacs amongst you have something new to harvest now – Star Bits. The brightly coloured gems have various uses throughout the game and are in abundance, freed usually by defeating enemies or breaking open items of scenery. They’re harvested using the remote’s pointer, and for those of you who are parents of two and are dreading the "It’s my go now. No it’s not! Yes it is! Muuuuuuuuuum!" festive arguments, worry not! The game offers the opportunity for a second player to control an on-screen pointer of their own to help out with collecting the star bits and shooting them at enemies.

It’s hard to review the game in any depth without giving away a lot of the story, and that’s the last thing I want to do. It’s a game that deserves to be played and enjoyed by everybody, regardless of demographic grouping. The sound is utterly fantastic, the presentation is bright and clear and it plays beautifully. Super Mario Galaxy is an absolute masterclass in how to make a fun, family-friendly game. It has bucketfuls of charm, is sufficiently big enough to satisfy those with more time to devote to 100% completion, and is enough to restore even the biggest sceptic’s faith in Nintendo. Their only problem now is how to top it. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another ten years to find out how they do it.

Buy it now through the BBM Review Store.

TSDAdam gives Super Mario Galaxy a thoroughly deserved rating of…..