Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) review "I’ll be honest: I don’t like Mario. Never have. I believed the thought of a chubby super-powered plumber who jumped on the heads of his enemies was silly. And my distaste was marred even further by the fact that—barring a few exceptions—the structure never changed. Bowser was always the antagonist, Peach was always in peril and it was up to Mario to save her. "

I’ll be honest: I don’t like Mario. Never have. I believed the thought of a chubby super-powered plumber who jumped on the heads of his enemies was silly. And my distaste was marred even further by the fact that—barring a few exceptions—the structure never changed. Bowser was always the antagonist, Peach was always in peril and it was up to Mario to save her.

I could not understand how this became Nintendo’s flagship or why it lasted over two decades. Yet it was, and as such Nintendo produced countless sequels and spin-offs, most of which I passed on. But fate has a funny way of twisting me where she wants. On a day like any other, I was waiting for my significant other to finish shopping, and decided to kill time by playing the courtesy console the store had set up. Only one option lay before me: Super Mario Galaxy 2. Considering the system was closed off, and I was provided no option to switch games, I had two choices—wander Wal-mart or endure it. The latter seemed the better option, especially in the middle of the night. Skeptically I picked up the Wii remote, prepared to cast it off moments later out of boredom or disgust. Yet in those few seconds, be it out of panic or frustration, I flicked the controller to get it to the other side of the screen and Mario did something I’ve never seen: He spun around, sticking his fists out and smacking any goomba that came near him. Okay, now I was intrigued. Then, with the area clear, I stepped under a star and it prompted me to do the same move—what I like to call Super Mario’s Super Spin. Immediately the star latched onto me and hurled me out. Mario rocketed across the screen, twisted and turned to land onto an entirely new planet. Great. Now I was hooked.

I wasted not a second thought, purchased it and brought it home. And in continuing to play it, I’ve discovered a very large, blistering flaw in my reasoning for not playing Mario games: I’ve been brainwashed to forget what defines “fun”. I believed that sequels needed to get bigger and better, that they constantly had to re-invent themselves with more intricate plots, deeper characters and new ideas. And I failed to realize there’s more than one way to do that. Super Mario Galaxy 2 follows the same premise of Peach, Bowser and the unlikely hero, and perhaps it’s due to me not playing as many but that formula works. Mario and friends don’t change; the environment does.

And that’s where Mario’s magic truly lies. Despite his countless adventures and epic battles, the loveable plumber is still the little guy. The simple man. Time and again he’s thrust into adventures that become more grand than the last, yet he maintains the same qualities that made him so entertaining—the goofy mustache, the overdone Italian accent and cheesy grin. Nintendo doesn’t need to nor do they try to reinvent him with ideas that don’t fit or upgrades that don’t work, foolishly attempting to make him something that he’s not. Sometimes the simplest of things can have the most impact, and the most down-to-earth characters are the most memorable.

Instead—to breathe new life and entertainment into a long running series—they’ve built a new world for him to play in. Mario’s latest adventure has him whipping through space, roaming around brilliantly ingenious worlds that get more creative the deeper you get. One level found me bounding around with my pal Yoshi, using my Wii controller to target enemies, apples or even coins, then having Yoshi snag them with his tongue, eating everything he came across (and believe me, Yoshi will eat almost anything). Later he used that same appendage to grapple floating flowers and swing me across a pit of black holes, like a bug-eyed, bright green Kratos. Another level returned me to the 2D platforming style of old, only this time the gravity shifted in random places, so what once was my ceiling became my floor. Those harmless caverns above me became impending pits of doom, the seemingly undefeatable crabs with sharp spikes on their heads turned innocuously upside down, inevitably becoming a victim for my jump attack. Perhaps the most entertaining—and intense—level was the galaxy of jigsaws, named both for the fragmented platforms that had to be stomped into place, and the whirring ground blades that cut out random pieces of a plank. I believed I simply had to dodge them, only to realize my mistake after my footing broke away and I tumbled into nothingness.

Needless to say there are far more dangers than just walking mushrooms and hammer-throwing turtles. Thankfully, Nintendo has added a few upgrades to help Mario through his daunting task. In certain levels the powerful plumber can sport a cloud suit that will turn his Super Spin into a nimbus producing technique, leaving a fluffy white platform beneath his feet. More often than not it saved me from a devastating drop. Other times he carried around a massive drill that allowed him the perfect escape straight through the ground. When running from enemies isn’t an option, Mario can take on the form of a rock, crushing anything in his path then rolling harmlessly away. Although they sometimes seem few and far between, these inventive advancements were a wonderful addition to Mario’s impressive repertoire.

And in many ways that’s a summation of Super Mario Galaxy 2. It’s a perfect blend of new adventures and classic style that will entice both long running fans of the series and new comers as well. Bottom line, it’s fun. I get excited thinking about playing it, and energetic when I write about it. So much so that I really wanted to say “Blast Off” but that seems cheesy and immature…

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BLAST OFF, BABY!

Community review by True (July 07, 2010) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.