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Thursday 6 March, 2008
Super Mario Galaxy has very fun and fresh gameplay. As stated previously, the flow of the game
adds to the gameplay a lot. Of course, there are many other reasons that SMG is arguably the
best platformer on the Nintendo Wii. The controls are extremely tight; I thought this in
particular was one of the reasons that I loved SMG so much. SMG is very much like Mario64, which
I also enjoyed, but I never thought the controls for it were tight enough. In SMG, the controls
are far beyond par for platformer controls, making the experience of playing it all the more
enjoyeable.
The platformer elements of most games as well as other Mario games are literally
turned on their head in SMG; in SMG, the new ability to take advantage of the gravity mechanics
and physics in a space environment make for a great addition to the usual platformer fair.
DESIGN
One of the most innovative elements of SMG is the gravity mechanics. This allows for an incredible
change in how the levels are designed compared to previous Mario titles and other platformers
in general. The player still technically has a "path" they will follow in any given level, but
it feels much more open than other platformers. Mario can literally circumnavigate entire spheres
in space, given the designers much more freedom with placement of enemies, rewards, and
checkpoints. It also allows for more special hidden rewards such as Red or Green mushrooms to
be hidden very easily.
SMG makes very good use of the special power-up suits that are common in Mario games. Instead
of having power-ups that make it easier to defeat enemies as in earlier Mario titles, the suits
in SMG allow the player to navigate the world in different ways. For example, the Bee suit
allows Mario to hover for periods of time, and the Ice suit allows Mario to skate on water,
turning it into ice under his feet as he goes. This also allows for very interesting level design
in SMG, as it allows the designers even more freedom in how they place the player's path.
The game's reward structure is also very well tuned. As you play, you collect very common star
bits, less common gold coins, and rare 1-ups and red mushrooms which give the player extra health.
Collecting star bits in itself is fun because it makes good use of the wii-remote (point at a star
bit and you collect it). Star bits are also used as currency sometimes in certain levels if you
talk to the right Luma. Coins and star bits both give the player an extra life if enough are
collected, and star bits can even be used as ammunition if you decide to shoot them as projectiles
by pressing the B-trigger on the wii-remote.
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