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|GR = 97.2%<ref name="gr">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/915692.asp |title=Super Mario Galaxy Reviews |accessdate=2007-12-11 |publisher=[[Game Rankings]]}}</ref>
|GR = 97.2%<ref name="gr">{{cite web |url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/915692.asp |title=Super Mario Galaxy Reviews |accessdate=2007-12-11 |publisher=[[Game Rankings]]}}</ref>
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''Super Mario Galaxy'' has been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. As of [[January 24]], [[2008]], it has sold 5.19 million copies worldwide, making it the [[List of best-selling video games|third best selling game]] on the Wii after ''[[Wii Sports]]'' and ''[[Wii Play]]''. <ref>http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/BYvsoRegcOxoK1j.jpg</ref> In comparison, its predecsesor ''[[Super Mario Sunshine|Sunshine]]'' sold 5.5 million copies over its entire lifetime. <ref>http://gamasutra.com/features/20060804/boutros_08.shtml</ref>
''Super Mario Galaxy'' has been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. As of [[November 4]], [[2007]], the game has sold 250,585 copies in Japan for the week ending.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gameinformer.com/News/Story/200711/N07.1109.1217.47925.htm |title=Xbox 360 Outsells PS3 In Japan |accessdate=2007-11-09 |last=Berghammer |first=Billy |date=[[2007-11-09]]|publisher=[[Game Informer]]}}</ref> Although first-week sales in the United States were the highest of all Wii games or [[Mario (series)|''Mario'' titles]] to date with over 500,000 copies sold,<ref name="US first week">{{cite press release |title=Critics and Consumers Agree: Super Mario Galaxy is Out of This World |publisher=[[Nintendo]] |date=[[2007-11-20]] |url=http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/sBGVujxI6-9DfLMV8kRr2qxqpZXdSx8R |accessdate=2007-11-20}}</ref> sales in Japan were considered "shockingly low" out of the gate, according to Matt Peckham of [[PC World]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/005961.html |title=Is 500,000 for Super Mario Galaxy's First Week Good Enough?? |accessdate=2007-12-05 |last=Peckham |first=Matt |date=2007-11-21 |work=PCWorld.com |publisher=PC World Communications |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref> In the [[United Kingdom]], sales were off to a "relatively slow start" according to Greg Howson of ''[[Guardian Unlimited]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/2007/11/21/mario_galaxy_sales_less_than_super.html |title=Mario Galaxy sales less than super? |accessdate=2007-12-05 |last=Howson |first=Greg |date=2007-11-21 |format= |work=Guardian Unlimited |publisher=Guardian Media Group |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=}}</ref> ''Super Mario Galaxy'' has sold 2.52 million copies in the United States as of [[January 1]], [[2008]],<ref name="2007USsales"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3165504 | title=December NPD: Christmas Explodes for Everyone | author=Patrick Klepek | publisher=[[1UP.com]] | accessdate=2008-01-17 |date=2008-01-17}}</ref> 843,961 copies in Japan as of [[January 20]], [[2008]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://wii.ign.com/articles/846/846720p1.html | title=Five Million Wiis in Japan | author=Anoop Gantayat | publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2008-01-22 | accessdate=2008-01-22 }}</ref> and 94,000 copies in Canada as of [[December 1]], [[2007]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6184050.html | title=NPD: Canada passes C$1B in game sales |date=2007-12-14 | accessdate=2007-12-26 | publisher=[[GameSpot]] | author=Tom Magrino}}</ref> Although it was first released in November of the year, with 2.52 million copies sold, ''Super Mario Galaxy'' is the fifth [[2007 in video gaming#Trends|best-selling video game of 2007]] in the US.<ref name="2007USsales">{{cite web | url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17006 | title=NPD: 2007 U.S. Game Industry Growth Up 43% To $17.9 Billion | author=Brandon Boyer | publisher=[[Gamasutra]] | accessdate=2008-01-18 | date=2008-01-18}}</ref>


===Critical response===
===Critical response===

Revision as of 20:36, 25 January 2008

Super Mario Galaxy
File:Smgboxartwii.jpg
Developer(s)Nintendo EAD Tokyo
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Designer(s)Shigeru Miyamoto
Takao Shimizu
Yoshiaki Koizumi
SeriesMario
Platform(s)Wii
Release


Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Super Mario Galaxy is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii in 2007. It is the third 3D platformer in the Mario series after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine.

The game follows Mario on his quest through space to save Princess Peach from his arch-nemesis Bowser. Levels take the form of galaxies filled with planetoids, while gameplay is updated with a variety of gravity effects and new power-ups.

The game was first shown at E3 2006 and enjoyed a high level of pre-release awareness. The game has received extremely positive reviews from the gaming press and won numerous game of the year awards.

Gameplay

File:Mg planetoid.jpg
Mario running around a spherical planetoid in the Gateway Galaxy

Most of the game is set in outer space along a chain of planetoids and other space matter. Mario is capable of jumping or launching from planet to planet in order to gather items and defeat enemies. Each planet has a gravitational force, which allows the player to circumnavigate rounded objects, walking sideways or upside down. Like previous 3D Mario games, the main objective is to collect Stars, which are awarded by completing tasks or defeating enemies. The game's central hub is the Comet Observatory, which is divided into six themed areas: the Terrace, Fountain, Kitchen, Bedroom, Engine Room, and Garden. Distributed among these six worlds are 42 galaxies, or levels, with 1 to 7 stars each.[1] Obtaining these stars allows the player to unlock more in each themed galaxy. Completing the game with 120 stars unlocks Luigi as a playable character. He can jump higher as well as run faster than Mario but has less traction and uses up more air when spinning underwater. There are a total of 121 stars in the game, with the 121st star only available after collecting 120 with both Mario and Luigi.

Mario has a range of jumping abilities, including his trademark triple jump, ground pound, wall kick, the long jump, and new moves such as the spin attack and spin jump. He can also perform the side flip (made famous in Super Mario 64) by immediately turning and jumping, and do a ground-pound move to smash breakable objects or enemies below. Mario's melee move is a spin, executed by shaking the Wii Remote, which allows him to stun enemies, break objects, generate a burst of speed while swimming, add additional height to the peak of a jump, throw shells, and activate Launch Stars and Sling Stars that shoot him through open space, plus a special move may be activated by jumping, spinning, then ground pounding to do a target-seeking spin-stomp. The Wii Remote's motion sensing is also used to 'steer' a manta ray and balance on a rolling ball. The pointer allows the player to direct wind when riding a bubble, activate Pull Stars that pull Mario to planets, blow away snow from a surface, and collect, aim, and fire Star Bits.

As in every 3D Mario game, Mario's health consists of a power meter, which can be restored by collecting coins, but when it reaches zero, Mario loses a life. Mario begins with a power meter made of three sections, but when players collect a Life Mushroom, his meter is expanded by three to a maximum of six health bars. However, this power-up is not permanent, since causing it to drop to 3 will revert the maximum to 3. The mechanic works slightly differently than the other two 3D Mario games. One element that is unusual for a platformer is that Mario does not take any damage from falling long distances. Also, no matter how grave the injury, Mario always loses one health point at a time (unless he is crushed or falls into quicksand or swampland, in which case he dies immediately) and does not continuously lose health after being set on fire, although he runs around for a period of time, making it hard to avoid enemies and other dangerous objects. Mario also has a second and separate health meter that designates his air supply when swimming underwater; if it is empty Mario will quickly lose parts of his power meter. The air meter can be replenished separately from the health meter via air bubbles or by surfacing. The bottomless pits featured in previous Mario games that cost Mario a life when fallen in have been replaced by black holes, which are stationed beneath the surfaces of certain planets and spread throughout space (though sometimes when Mario is outside of the gravitational pull of a planet, he will fall in traditional fashion or, if the situation is such, just keep going after being sent flying in a certain direction). It is typically obvious as to whether falling off the current platform is lethal or not.

File:Supermariogalaxymovespowerup.JPG
Bee Mario after collecting a Bee Mushroom, a new power-up for the game

Super Mario Galaxy features the most powerups and transformations of all 3D Mario games to date.[2] Mario has the ability to transform into a bee and a Boo, as well as giving Mario a spring to jump higher by using different types of mushrooms. The Boo Mushroom allows him to become invisible, fly, and move through some solid surfaces by shaking the Wii Remote, while the Bee Mushroom allows him to fly for a short time and climb honeycombs. The Spring Mushroom allows Mario to jump higher, but he cannot spin and walking is harder to control. Flowers are also present; Fire Flowers work the same as in 2D games (apart from a 20-second time limit) and Ice Flowers let Mario freeze water and lava to walk or skate on it. The Red Star allows Mario to fly around freely for a short time, similar to the Wing Cap from Super Mario 64. The Rainbow Star makes him invincible for a short time, similar to the Starman of previous Mario titles.

The game offers six save files and the option of using Miis from the Mii Channel as save data icons, along with traditional Mario characters.[3]

Environmental mechanics

New gameplay mechanics include Gravity Arrows, which make Mario gravitate in the direction that these arrows point, and Star Bits, which can be grabbed simply by moving the cursor over them.[4] For every 50 Star Bits or 50 coins he collects, Mario will be rewarded with an extra life, similar to how collecting 100 coins resulted in an extra life in the other games. Mario can fire Star Bits to stun enemies or spawn coins from some places or objects like sprouts, which bloom when struck with Star Bits. The Star Bits, which resemble the Japanese confection konpeito, can be used to feed Hungry Lumas that appear within the observatory and galaxies.[5] When they are full, they form a new planet or galaxy in which an additional star can be found.

While the game is mostly in 3D and all graphics are 3D, there are points in the game where the gameplay is 2D. In certain parts of certain levels, Mario's movements are restricted to a two-dimensional plane or axis, reminiscent of the 2D Mario platformers. The levels themselves are also relatively more linear than in Super Mario Sunshine or Super Mario 64, as the paths leading to the stars are clearly directed compared to the necessity to guess back in Sunshine or 64.

There are five types of Prankster Comets that appear periodically (The Speedy, Daredevil, Cosmic, Fast Foe, and Purple comets); when one of them comes into orbit with a galaxy, a special challenge is initiated that leads to a Power Star.[6] The Speedy Comets challenge you to traverse a previous level from the galaxy - however, now in a time limit, ranging from three to six minutes, depending on the level. The Daredevil Comets challenge you to beat a previous level with only one part of the power meter available, thus causing instant death if Mario is hit by any danger. The Cosmic Comets challenge you to race a shadowy clone of Mario known as Cosmic Mario, which is very reminiscent of Bowser Jr.'s Shadow Mario disguise from Super Mario Sunshine. Luigi's clone, Cosmic Luigi, moves much faster and uses more shortcuts than Cosmic Mario, making him harder to beat. Fast Foe Comets require Mario to beat a level where the speed of all enemies is doubled, typically enemies such as Thwomps. The Purple Comets challenge you to collect 100 purple coins, sometimes in a time limit, and only appear after defeating Bowser and beating the game for the first time. There are usually only 100 Purple Coins available and therefore every one must be collected, but certain levels contain 150 and the player only needs to collect 100.

Multiplayer

Super Mario Galaxy has a co-operative two-player option called "Co-Star Mode", in which one player controls Mario and a star pointer while the other controls another pointer on-screen to gather Star Bits and shoot them at enemies.[7] While the first player can normally do this except during certain events, the second player can shoot star bits without restriction. The second player also is more efficient in manipulating the environment, such as halting object and enemy movement. The second player can sometimes destroy obstacles by halting one long enough that another moving obstacle collides with the first. Additionally, the second player can make Mario jump by simply pressing the A button on him or the height of Mario's jump can be increased if the first and second player press the A button at the same moment. Because of these added abilities, especially with the ability to stun enemies, Co-Star Mode is less difficult than single-player mode.

Plot

The game opens with Mario receiving an invitation from Princess Peach to attend a festival in the Mushroom Kingdom celebrating the passing of a comet overhead. While Mario is making his way to the castle, a series of airborne ships led by Bowser suddenly appear. As Bowser summons a massive spaceship to rip Princess Peach's castle out of the ground, Mario manages to grab on to the castle but is then flung into space by a Magikoopa.

Mario awakens on a small planet in the "Gateway Galaxy" with small star-shaped creatures that float in the air, called Lumas. After playing a hide-and-seek game with the inhabitants of the planet, Mario meets a woman named Rosalina ("Rosetta" (ロゼッタ) in the Japanese version).[8] She explains to Mario that she is a watcher of the stars, traveling the universe in her observatory, which takes the form of the comet that passes over the Mushroom Kingdom once every hundred years. She tells him that Bowser has taken the Power Stars and Grand Stars needed to fuel her observatory ship, which means they cannot follow him until more are collected. She also grants him the use of a Luma that allows him to use the spin technique needed to activate Shot stars and Sling stars, and tells him to collect the stars needed to power the observatory and rescue Peach.

File:Smg powerstar.jpg
Mario is presented with a Power Star

As Mario collects stars, he gains the ability to travel to more outlying galaxies. When Mario reaches his lair, Bowser explains that he stole the stars in order to create a new galaxy, which he intends to reign over with Peach at his side, eventually taking over the rest of the universe. Upon his defeat, Bowser's sun collapses on itself, producing a supermassive black hole that starts consuming the entire universe. In order to stop the Black Hole, all the Lumas gather inside, including the Luma who traveled with Mario.

After the Black Hole is destroyed, Rosalina appears to Mario again. She tells him that stars never die, but that they become stardust, which reforms into new stars which will in turn become galaxies one day. This way, the cycle of life continues. The scene then cuts to Mario, Peach, and Bowser waking up back in the Mushroom Kingdom during a fireworks display. After seeing that everything is fine again, he happily exclaims "Welcome, Welcome new Galaxy!" to the new galaxy in the sky.

Rosalina's story is told discontinuously as levels are finished in the form of chapters of a storybook that Rosalina reads to the Lumas inside the Library. The story tells how Rosalina went with a lost Luma to find its mother. She later agrees to be its mother and sets up a home on a far-away planet. However, her homesickness brings her back to her home planet once every 100 years to visit her mother, who lies buried under a tree near her home.

If the player completes the game with 120 or 121 stars, an additional cutscene is shown at the conclusion of the staff credits. Rosalina looks over her home from Gateway Galaxy, thanking Mario (or Luigi) and assuring him that she will watch over him. She then departs, although the Luma who traveled with Mario is shown to be hiding in a crashed spaceship.

Development

In a roundtable discussion at E3 2007, it was made clear that Super Mario Galaxy was not Super Mario 128 after Miyamoto stated that production only began after the team finished making Donkey Kong Jungle Beat,[9] (early 2005) and Mario 128 has been in production and development since at least August 2000 (when the first trailer was shown at SpaceWorld).[citation needed] In an after-hours press event at E3 2006 in May, Miyamoto stated, "I don't want to promise anything yet. But if it's not a launch title it will definitely be there within the first six months."[10] Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime later stated in a November 27 2006 interview with cable TV network MTV that the game is expected to release sometime up to Christmas of 2007.[11] On January 4 2007, Nintendo of Europe issued a press release indicating a 2007 European release.[citation needed] Near the end of Miyamoto's keynote presentation at the 2007 Game Developers Conference in March, he stated, "You'll be able to play Super Mario Galaxy this year."[12][13] At Nintendo's E3 2007 Conference, it was confirmed that Super Mario Galaxy would be released in North America on November 12 2007 and four days later in Europe. In North America, certain retailers had given out a free limited edition coin for pre-ordering the game. Some retailers had delayed it until November 13 2007, such as GameStop in North America, and some retailers had delayed the release until November 14, 2007.[14] Equally, certain UK retailers shipping the game a day earlier than the EU release date, Virgin megastores and Game being two such examples.

It was first hinted by Takashi Tezuka, Nintendo's analysis and development's general manager, that multiplayer was going to be co-op in an interview with gaming site IGN.[15] Two-player functionality was later confirmed, along with reports of the team experimenting with new ways to use the Wii Remote so that one player can control Mario while the other aids him, backed up by suggestions by Shigeru Miyamoto that the second player could have the ability to affect Mario's progress. It was later revealed at Nintendo's E3 2007 that the co-op mode was permanently implemented into the game and could be accessed anytime.

Audio

During development, Mahito Yokota, who was in charge of the composition of music, originally wanted Galaxy to have a Latin style of music and even had 28 tracks completed for the game.[16] The reason for this was in previous Mario games, Latin percussion instruments were used, such as steelpans, Bongo drums, and congas.[17] For Galaxy's theme, Yokota used Latin instruments and a synthesizer to create sci-fi sounds. The song was approved by Yoshiaki Koizumi, the game's designer, but when he presented it to Koji Kondo, Kondo told him that his song was no good.[17] According to Yokota, he always had an image that Mario was for kids, causing him to create cute music that would appeal to children.[17]

Three months later, Yokota presented three different styles of music to Shigeru Miyamoto. One piece had an orchestral sound, one was a mix of orchestral music and pop music, and the last was pop music.[18] Miyamoto chose the orchestral piece, which was written by Koji Kondo. From then on, Galaxy's soundtrack would be composed for a symphony.[18]

Kondo often would ask the orchestra to play at strange tempos in order to perfectly synch with the rest of Mario's movement and also stated that even the sound effects fit into the musical score if you listen carefully.[16]

Some levels in Galaxy have new scores as well as incorporating older ones such as songs from Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Land, Super Mario World, and Super Mario 64. Other older snippets of classic Mario themes were blended in by use of magic music notes.

Some of the music, such as the Bowser Boss fight music, is more interactive than music from other games in the Mario franchise, in fact, it is in the same vein as the 3D Zelda games. A normal MIDI style is used during the fight, but when Bowser becomes vulnerable, a chorus style of the song is used. The concept was also used in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess multiple times, creating a similar dramatic theme.

Reception

Super Mario Galaxy has been both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. As of January 24, 2008, it has sold 5.19 million copies worldwide, making it the third best selling game on the Wii after Wii Sports and Wii Play. [23] In comparison, its predecsesor Sunshine sold 5.5 million copies over its entire lifetime. [24]

Critical response

The game has enjoyed high critical acclaim. NTSC-uk said "Super Mario Galaxy will influence gaming perceptions, sure to replenish any lost passion".[25]GamePro stated that the title "raises the bar in terms of what can be achieved on the Wii."[26] IGN called Super Mario Galaxy "Wii's best game, and an absolute must-own experience," as well as "one of the greatest platformers I have ever played."[20] GameSpot praised its gameplay and level design stating, "If ever there were a must-own Wii game, Super Mario Galaxy is it."[27] Game Revolution noted the variety of gameplay, reliable camera angles and easy to use controls.[28]

Reviewers have noted some flaws with the game. GameSpot found "a couple of Mario's special suits can be frustrating to use"[27] and IGN referred to one story-related aspect of the game as "an unnecessary side-tale [that] contrasts with a traditional story."[20]

Towards the end of 2007, Super Mario Galaxy won numerous awards such as Game of the Year from IGN, GameSpot, GameTrailers, Edge, and Yahoo! Games.

References

  1. ^ "Super Mario Galaxy Central - Galaxy Information". Super Mario Galaxy Central. Retrieved 2007-11-29.
  2. ^ "女性スタッフのメモから生まれた" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  3. ^ "Super Mario Galaxy Menu Revealed!". 2007-10-04. Retrieved 2007-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b Robertson, Margaret (2007-11-07). "Super Mario Galaxy Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2007-11-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Wong, Erick (2007-11-20). "Mario returns, and he's out of this world. Well, sort of". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Super Mario Galaxy Central - Prankster Comets". Super Mario Galaxy. Central. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  7. ^ "Nintendo E3 2007 - Super Mario Galaxy". Nintendo. 2008-07-11. Retrieved 2008-07-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "New Damsel In Distress in Super Mario Galaxy?". Filefront. 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-11-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Shoemaker, Brad (2007-07-13). "E3 '07: Miyamoto shows off Super Mario Galaxy". GameSpot. Retrieved 2006-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2006-05-10). "Mario to Miss Launch". IGN. Retrieved 2006-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Totilo, Stephen (2006-11-28). "Nintendo Exec Predicts Wii Future, Chances Of 'JapEye' On Console". MTV. Retrieved 2007-03-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Crecente, Brian (2007-03-08). "GDC07: Super Mario Galaxy Confirmed for 07". Kotaku. Retrieved 2007-03-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Miyamoto, Shigeru (2007-03-08). Shigeru Miyamoto: "A Creative Vision" - Keynote at GDC 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-29. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "Clearing up the Gamestop release date confusion". Go Nintendo. 2007-11-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessedate= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2006-05-11). "Mario Multiplayer Details". IGN. Retrieved 2006-05-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b "Why Use an Orchestra?". Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  17. ^ a b c "A Sound That Defines Mario". Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  18. ^ a b "Making it Sound like Space". Nintendo. Retrieved 2007-12-16.
  19. ^ "EDGE REVIEW: Super Mario Galaxy". Next Generation Magazine. 2007-11-24. Retrieved 2008-01-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ a b c Casamassina, Matt (2007-11-07). "Super Mario Galaxy Review: The greatest Nintendo platformer ever made?". IGN. Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ "Super Mario Galaxy". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  22. ^ "Super Mario Galaxy Reviews". Game Rankings. Retrieved 2007-12-11.
  23. ^ http://www.bilder-upload.eu/upload/BYvsoRegcOxoK1j.jpg
  24. ^ http://gamasutra.com/features/20060804/boutros_08.shtml
  25. ^ Stone, Adam (2007-12-01). "Super Mario Galaxy Review". Retrieved 2007-12-01. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  26. ^ Shaw, Patrick (2007-11-06). "Review: GamePro Loves Super Mario Galaxy!!!". GamePro. Retrieved 2007-11-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ a b Navarro, Alex (2007-11-07). "Super Mario Galaxy Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  28. ^ Hudak, Chris (2007-11-12). "Super Mario Galaxy review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 2008-01-09.