Super Mario Galaxy 2 Review

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has been out for a couple weeks now and I’ve been playing and loving it.

The game is really well designed to take advantage of the Wii controller and teaches you the controls and moves you need to know as the levels progress. When you first enter the game it’s a classic side scroller but as soon as you’ve got the most basic controls down, it changes to 3d.

It’s the easiest Mario game I’ve played so far. Some people may not like that but I do. (I’m a bit frustrated with New Super Mario Bros because I still can’t get past world 2.) The point of the game is to collect Power Stars to power your spaceship and progress through the galaxy. For the most part the Power Stars are guarded by bosses that you need to strike three times to kill in the classic Mario fashion. I didn’t die for the first time until I encounter the first boss and then I was able to kill it on my second try. I also have yet to encounter any indication that the levels are timed which means I can be as “slow and steady” as I like and really explore the worlds (in other Mario games, many levels have to be completed in just a couple minutes or you automatically die).

I also love that each save game can be played with either one or two players. After playing with a 2nd player for the first time, my immediate thought was “this is the perfect 1.5 player game”. Player 1 plays as Mario and would be the owner of the save game but a player two can jump in at any point as a “co-star”. The co-star is a little red star that follows behind Mario. Player 2 doesn’t have to worry about walking around and keeping up with Mario and not dying. Player 2 points their Wii remote at the screen to collect things like star bits (which distinctly remind me of Rainbow Brite), coins, and 1 ups. Player 2 can also shoot the star bits back at enemies or shock and paralyze them. Player 2 can’t progress the game but they can be very helpful. And Player 1 can continue on with their save game at anytime without having to have someone else there to play as their co-star.

If you’re looking for an easy and fun epic adventure through the galaxy, then Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the perfect game for you.