The Mario That Dared To Be More. | Super Mario Galaxy Retrospective, Analysis, and Critique

[Music] super mario galaxy is more than a game [Music] super mario galaxy is unique it exudes this feeling this atmospheric brilliance it's homely but simultaneously lonely it is bombastic but melodramatic it is magnificent tremendous and loud but also shows restraint and exhibits a unique kind of silence a sadness super mario as a series is the pure distillation of video games be free have fun beat the game and move on mario doesn't try to create believable tangible worlds mario isn't fussed about crafting a universe dripping with atmosphere mario isn't bothered to sew its worlds together to fabricate an immersive experience super mario is what your grandmother thinks video games are toys on the tv and while there's absolutely nothing wrong with toys in the tv i find it pertinent to express that the ambition of super mario rarely surpasses that of toys on the tv that's what it was in super mario bros 1 that's what it is in some of the greatest games ever made but that's how super mario galaxy is so special it isn't trying to be just a game super mario galaxy is trying to be that and so so much more [Music] you're listening to the saca says retrospective on a truly unique special one-of-a-kind experience this is a super mario galaxy retrospective the super mario that dared to be more [Music] super mario had been living in his own shadows since super mario 64 the game that changed everything for everyone the game that set the new standard for 3d game development going forward how could nintendo possibly follow up one of the greatest games of all time and the pioneer of its own new subgenre the 3d platformer logic would dictate the easiest way to follow up 64 would simply be a super mario 64 ii nintendo in 1998 would agree with that logic the possibility of a super mario 642 was first proposed by legendary game designer shigeru miyamoto in january of 1997 who colloquially dubbed the game super mario 128. this rumored expansion and sequel to super mario 64 was said to be developed for the 64 disk drive or 64 dd but was cancelled due to the 64 dd's abysmal sail figures so it was in 1998 not one year after it had been conceived the super mario 128 seemed to be dead in the water existing more or less as front page fodder for gaming magazines but not for long in august of 2000 nintendo showed off a tech demo called super mario 128 at the space world expo this tech demo was built to show off the power of the upcoming nintendo gamecube in the demo 128 marios were simultaneously rendered with each individual mario performing individual tasks however the most impressive thing about this demo was the implementation of sphere walking the circular platform all 128 mario stood on would shift creating slopes and spheres for the marios to run up and around on this was more than a tech demo this was a competent physics engine needless to say the press were impressed video game magazine editors smacked their lips at the potential front page material this tech demo would serve as mysteriously enough super mario 128 would disappear after the space world expo in space world of 2001 a year later nintendo would show off super mario sunshine a game that was most certainly not super mario 128 hell let alone 64.2 this was an all-new game and fans were divided what was this water jetpack gun thing and what was it doing on mario's back internally nintendo were at odds with themselves as to what to do with super mario yoshiaki koizumi of super mario odyssey fame wanted to tackle super mario 128 on the gamecube but soon found the hardware too restrictive for him to execute his creative vision nintendo ead gave up on super mario 128 and opted to go in an entirely other direction with super mario sunshine sunshine retained many of 64's design elements but made many controversial changes sunshine was initially lauded by critics but has aged like milk i loved and still love sunshine for its unique setting and immersive qualities but those who put less stuck than i in setting an atmosphere felt let down by the supposed successor to super mario 64. platforming was de-emphasized and the game's difficulty wildly swung between babies first mario and please god make it end and not in a fair way by any stretch of the imagination mario's movement was tuned for snappy fast flexible sandbox exploration so when he was thrown into a gauntlet without his jet pack fail safe it was like controlling a bugatti veyron through a dirt rally fans were not satiated journalists and fans alike would plague nintendo executives asking if super mario 128 was even real in 2003 george harrison then of nintendo of america said that mario 128 may not appear on the gamecube at all yoshiki koizumi would soon join the team at eid tokyo who after finishing up sunshine were currently working on donkey kong jungle beast koizumi and miyamoto never entirely gave up on super mario 128. in 2004 miyamoto asked koizumi to prepare a prototype implementing the sphere walking of 128 for the then codenamed nintendo revolution now known as the wii you want our revolution well we've got one that same year miyamoto would again stoke the fire that was mario 128 by revealing that the project was still in development but the year came and went and nothing new was shown behind the scenes things were starting to look dicey for mario 128 koichi hayashida who has played a pivotal role in every 3d mario since sunshine was vehemently against the idea of spherical platforms he was adamant that it would be a terrible fit one can certainly empathize if mario was all about platforming why would one take away his ability to fall what's more how could they possibly contextualize mario's failure to follow the laws of gravity takao shimitsu eventual producer of galaxies said he felt a sense of danger around the project super mario 128 was internally divisive to save the lease koizumi and his team were given three months to prepare a prototype to show miyamoto who would then present to satoru iwata should it satisfy him time was of the essence and going was rough to say the least [Music] but then it clicked what if the spheres weren't just ambiguous floating orbs what if mario's disobedience of the laws of physics was contextual what if the game was set in space [Music] suddenly more and more of the team at eid were coming around to mario 128 seeing as mario's main form of attack jumping on things was a little more difficult to pull off in areas where gravity was reversed or centered on spheres the spin attack was introduced miyamoto koizumi and the rest of the team researched how people played 3d games and came to the somewhat obvious conclusion that one spends most of their time running around the team asked themselves why they should halt that forward momentum by instigating a jump and instead chose to give mario an attack that he could use directly out of a run this spin would also be used to add depth to the game's movement mechanics allowing a high skill ceiling and interesting combinations with other jumps in 2005 reggie fisamay then president of nintendo of america told the press that mario 128 would be shown at that year's e3 expo this did not come to pass when questioned if the project was even real reggie simply replied that he could only show what mr miyamoto gave him to show that same year miyamoto finally lift the lid on mario 128. he spoke of how his engine had been used in development of games like pikmin and what the public were referring to as mario 128 would appear on the revolution under a new name initially mario 128 was a difficult game requiring precise platforming and plenty of concentration funnily enough this difficulty was in spite of the fact that mario had eight health points just like in sunshine and 64. when consulted iwata said that the game should be fun first and foremost he wanted 128 to appeal to anyone and everyone iwasa had noted that many people don't finish the games that they buy he did not want 128 to be relegated to becoming a collector's ornament as such the game's difficulty was toned down dramatically the player would still have eight health points but one ups and health pickups would be littered throughout the stage the amount of enemies per stage was toned down obstacles ceased to be obstacles and became harmless little hurdles to the player checkpoints were added so that the player needn't ever return to the beginning of the level on death a design element entirely new to 128. to help the player a secondary assist mode was implemented wherein a second player could control a cursor but have far more influence in the game than in the final build miyamoto saw this and was disgusted he agreed the original build was too difficult but said that a mario game should never be this easy to balance the game out mario was given three health points instead of eight one-ups would still be littered throughout the place and enemies put up a decent fight with many of them requiring two hits the two-player mode remained but the second player's influence was toned down dramatically super mario 128 was soon given an official code name in super mario ore likely standing for revolution despite its rocky start it was beginning to look like ead tokyo had something special on their hands the team were growing in confidence as with the gameplay super mario ora's soundtrack had a rocky start mahito yukita was given the reigns to mario or soundtrack and naturally as anyone in his position would immediately consulted legendary composer koji kondo yakuta hypothesized that kondo took inspiration from latin music but kondo explicitly stated that he never consciously did yucca feared that his soundtrack would stand out too much in comparison to kondo's work so he set out with deliberate intent to emulate condo's style yakuta requested of miyamoto a full orchestra and after much convincing he was given the go-ahead yakuta prepared his main theme which he described as somewhat pop-esque but with a 90s space age vibe koizumi approved of the theme but kondo was not impressed he vehemently disagreed with koizumi and said that mario was not cute and puffy but rather cool kondo composed the piece now known as good egg galaxy to illustrate this point and miyamoto vastly preferred the work of condos to that of yukita's yucatan nearly quit his job but was reassured by legendary composer condo that he would have more than enough time to get it right feeling reinvigorated yakuta got back to work [Music] ironically now that yogurt has stopped trying to emulate condo and take a pop angle with mario his work dramatically improved free from the shackles of expectation yakuta composed an original orchestral soundtrack that would go down in history as one of the greatest soundtracks of all time the soundtrack's sheer scope is something to marvel it is as varied as it is excellent we'll go in depth to the soundtrack later but spoiler alert it's [ __ ] incredible come 2006 nintendo were at long last ready to show off what was first super mario 128 then super mario ore and was finally [Music] it was a game 10 years in the making from its humble beginnings as mario 128 in 1997 to 2007 its triumphant final form super mario galaxy and what a final form it was [Music] [Music] i would like to propose that there are two types of video game players there are those who are actively and presently aware that they are playing a video game and are enjoying it for what it is a game then there are those who use video games as a form of escapism people who like to forget that they are playing a game and are instead stepping into an alternative universe people in group 2 appreciate immersion and atmosphere far more than people in group one people in group one vastly prefer good tight design and engaging mechanics to immersion or atmosphere this isn't black and white however it is possible to be in between two camps i consider myself extrinsically motivated at group tour if you will and yet i adore both minecraft and breath of the wild for their sandbox elements games made for group wonders can feel to group tours and vice versa that said if you are in group 1 i would stake my bank account on the fact that you appreciate galaxy's sequel more than the original there are quite frankly better levels mechanics that are expanded upon and more of a challenge but if you like me are in group two you'd almost certainly value the original over its sequel galaxy one which i will continue to refer to as just galaxy from here on in is positively dripping in atmosphere where galaxy 2 lacks world feel and immersion super mario galaxy does its absolute best to appeal to the players of group 2 almost to the detriment of the values of group 1. to illustrate take the common observatory for example for those of us group tours the common observatory serves multiple purposes first of all it gives contextual meaning to the power stars no longer are they a random nebulous power source that just opens doors no longer are they nothing more than the goal post at the end of the level instead they are fuel for this observatory fuel that is needed to travel to the center of the universe secondly it gives logical contextual meaning to the level select instead of choosing levels from a static world overview map you use the observatory to well observe other planets from afar finally it gives the player extrinsic motivation intrinsic motivation would be motivation to finish the game because you want to beat it extrinsic motivation is required to stimulate people in group 2 we are not inherently driven to complete for the sake of completion bringing life light and joy back to the home of your new companions makes for excellent extrinsic motivation there is a satisfaction to fixing up the observatory i don't mean to offend merely to illustrate the dichotomy between the two groups look at nitro rats taking on galaxy he finds the storybook sequence the common observatory and the wild ending as unnecessary dressing on an otherwise excellent salad king k on the other hand thinks that the salad is nothing without the excellent dressing hence why he likes galaxy more than any other 3d mario its atmosphere nitro rad is a group wonder and king k is a group tour like myself galaxy is particularly excellent to me because of its insistence on providing context mario often appeals more to those who are intrinsically motivated those who want a challenge those who want to collect everything and those who are present in the moment as they play for the intrinsically motivated context is irrelevant it's just gravy floating platforms and flying objects that float around just cause is enough of a reason as long as the game is fun that's all that matters galaxy certainly is fun but it's not a refined linear course clear experience it's a melding of the two super mario ideologies merging exploratory sections with linear platforming in this sense it makes sense that intrinsically motivated folk find many of galaxy's atmosphere building elements tedious intrinsically motivated people prefer galaxy 2's take here's the level jump on some guys now go to the next one no dressing no gravy no sauce just pure video game action mario 3d world is a far better game for those with intrinsic motivation and those who care little for atmospheric or extrinsic motivation 3d world lacks any semblance of plot feel or any tangibility to its world it is quite simply a hodgepodge of levels but that isn't a dis it is no dressing whatsoever but by god is it the best salad on earth it's got the best level design of any super mario ever if you ask me and the added movement options in the switch remaster make it even better than it already was but it's lacking an atmosphere it's a game it's toys on the tv and nothing more and for that reason it does not resonate with the extrinsically motivated like me or like king k we crave context we need dressing to tolerate a salad this is where galaxy differs i don't play galaxy because of its excellent levels or it's tight refined gameplay i play galaxy because of its cinematic flair its contextual logic its unparalleled world feel its special secret salad dressing that is what sets galaxy apart from all the other super mario entries so now that i've explained my hypothesis i'd like to illustrate with a couple of examples just how contextually sound super mario galaxy is as previously mentioned the observatory itself is crucial it provides contextual logic to the entire adventure contrast that to the overworld map of say a 3d world in 3d world you just kind of walk around a weird old world and jump into weird little dioramas it's it's very gamey in galaxy you aren't just selecting levels you're observing planets from an observatory in 3d world objects just kind of float around platforms move unpredictably platforms are spherical or cuboid shape just because nothing is given contextual meaning galaxy's spheres are planetoids because we're in space the floating objects in space junk galaxy are literal pieces of floating space debris that you jump between the space setting makes everything make sense massive warships and castles aren't just floating around an otherwise peaceful world but occupy the space of an evil tyrant who wants to rule the galaxy with an iron fist the theme of space removes the shackles from the developers they can create planets made of lava because in real life space there are stars such as suns in 3d world lava levels exist just because they do and that's all the reason for their existence it's common knowledge that both retro studios donkey kong country games give context to each individual 2d platform super mario galaxy does the exact same but in 3d take super mario sunshine's floodless levels for example these are 3d platforming gauntlets with no ties to the tropical theme they exist in nebulous space where objects can float and fly around and logic doesn't exist those levels make no sense in sunshine but if you put those levels into galaxy then suddenly they make all the sense in the world because we are in nebulous space already if you kill a boss in 3d world it unlocks a door to the flagpole that marks the end of the level meaning you get to progress to the next world if you kill a boss in galaxy it breaks into pieces and drops a rare lucrative grand star this grandstar was used to give the boss super powered abilities ground stars were used by the game's antagonist bowser to power giant mechs or fiery monsters once you reclaim that grand star you can repurpose it to power up the observatory ergo you have more fuel ergo you can go to other planets to get more stars ergo you're one step closer to the game's climactic final battle contextual logic means everything and can make or break a game for me for another example take king caliente when you first encounter this boss enemy he is somewhat weak and you easily dispose of him and claim a regular star you presume that that's that he's gone and you move on and forget he even existed king caliente returns with a fiery vengeance however in the game's penultimate boss fight this time bowser jr is present reintroducing you to the king glossing then leaving the king to deal with you this time the fight is more difficult not because it's the end of a video game and he needs to be more difficult just cause no king caliente is more powerful because now instead of being powered up by a regular star bowser jr injected into him the power of a grand star this makes sense we subconsciously connect the dots that bowser jr found a defeated king caliente and revived him with the power of the grandstar frankenstein's style and made him into a weapon for him to wield against you the player everything is contextually logical i hate to constantly draw parallels to 3d world but it's crucial when discussing what a monumental achievement galaxy was in 3d world bosses come back to life just because the same boss is more difficult this time just cause everything happens just because it's a video game and that's how these things work galaxy isn't like that galaxy applies contextual logic to everything it does its utmost to immerse you in its world take the antagonist for example in many of mario the king koopa bowser kidnaps the princess and that's it no reason given he just does before we even start the game there is backstory in regards to bowser's involvement in the plot bowser ambushes the comet observatory we spend the rest of the game restoring stealing all of its power stars bowser is almost like thanos from the avengers he goes around pillaging planets and murdering millions he enslaves aliens to do his bidding and he steals power stars and why does he do all this because he is quite frankly an overblown control freak he wants to create his own galactic empire and rule over it with an iron fist and how does mario get involved with bowser's space endeavors well who better to sit alongside mario's arch nemesis than peach who bowser objectifies bowser sees peach as nothing more than a trophy another feather in his galactic cap bowser behaves in a manner that makes sense he's a tyrant not only that but our protagonist mario isn't one-dimensional he doesn't just want to save the princess he wants to restore the comet observatory he wants to restore peace to the galaxy by overthrowing a tyrant who has torn that peace and tranquility to shreds there is an actual plot with characters that have motivations rosalina is a new character to the series who has an entire storybook's worth of development her tale is both tragic and inspiring and gives more of that all-important context and immersion if dressing is important to you in a salad then galaxy salad reigns supreme it gives contextual meaning to everything if you don't need context i envy you as you probably like video games a whole lot more than i do but i love when a game gives contextual meaning it lends to an overall immersion and creates a place i can escape to to me the contextual logic galaxy brings to the table trumps quality level design every day of the week [Applause] red dead redemption 2 is one of my favorite games of all time this really should come as no surprise coming out of the last chapter there's nothing i value more than immersion and contextual logic and there's nothing that immerses me more into a game world than excellent cinematography if i were to rank the opening moments of all video games ever bearing in mind that i'm too young to have played all the classics residing in the ever so elusive s tier would be the last of us part one red dead redemption 2 snowy tundra final fantasy 7 remakes bombing mission and you guessed it super mario galaxies star festival what is the common denominator between these four two words cinematic flair when games try to be movies there are only ever two results one they look pretentious and stupid and fall flat on their arse or two they immediately immerse and invest us in their world take a wild guess which camp super mario galaxy falls into we open with a letter from the princess a little throwback to super mario 64 telling us that there's a party of the castle and we're invited mario runs his arms outstretched like a plane's wings before he triumphantly jumps into the air the mustached man exudes this excitement his enthusiasm is tangible we share that enthusiastic child-like whimsy we are given control of super mario and we run towards the castle with the symphonic star festival imbuing in this night of positivity and enthusiasm a dosage of joy the music burrows its way into our hearts and fills us with unadulterated happiness then suddenly it stops no music black screen silence then suddenly we hear stringed instruments ominously echoing a marching beat and across the horizon flying airships equipped with weapons of mass destruction descend on the kingdom the camera pans around showing the havoc caused by the sudden invasion when the tower falls the camera shakes as if it were impacted by the destruction the camera comes down to mario's perspective and we see firsthand the destruction being wrecked upon the kingdom from a handheld camera perspective mario stumbles through the rubble with toads dropping like flies all around him fires burn bright and meteors ring down from the sky with each thud shaking the very ground mario walks on we feel his mortality we feel like he is in genuine danger soon the triumphant chorus of brass kicks into gear and we see our antagonist for the first time bowser is known for being the butt of many a joke but here he is in a word menacing he's monstrous he produces a guttural growl and declares that the party is officially over with steam hissing out of his fire-breathing nostrils he looks dangerous hideous and absolutely monstrous he looks like a threat peach's castle is lifted into space by a ufo ufo-like spacecraft for a brief moment the grand orchestral arrangement of bowser's theme pauses as if to appreciate the magnitude of this moment we are only just realizing the scope of what is happening before the brass kicks in again and mario is ambushed by a magikoopa blasting the way into space [Music] [Music] then after the most brutal good punches a piano melody acts as a deep breath in accompanied by a slow zooming out and suddenly the scope of our predicament feels overbearing [Music] each shot in the opening of mario galaxy oozes this cinematic quality few games can dream of achieving it covers every base from grand epic moments worthy of mission impossible to sudden loneliness more befitting of an arthouse flick super mario galaxy sums up the entire game in its opening moments a grand epic galactic adventure tinged with sadness loneliness and empathy super mario galaxy's opening is absolutely crucial it sets the tone for the entire rest of the game imagine if the game just opened here [Music] the game wouldn't be half as good or imagine it opened like a goofy new super mario bros would fall flat on its face this opening cinematic establishes our goal our antagonist the setting the tone the protagonist and atmosphere gives us motivation and immerses us into mario's plight we want to help and all of this is done in exactly 5 minutes and 33 seconds sprinkled throughout the game are little cinematic moments that go a long way something mario galaxy loves to do is go into a letterbox style every time you speak to an npc or go into a cutscene famously rockstar games would shoot red dead redemption 2 entirely in letterbox form for its cutscenes but super mario galaxy was doing this back in 2007. i'll be it to a much lesser extent this little touch adds that much more cinematic flair to regular encounters every time you got a star or hit the flagpole in the past a jolly little jingle would play in mario might do a little jump for joy collecting stars or shines was like collecting a school sports day medal in mario galaxy when you get a star you feel like you won the [ __ ] oscars and that's not even talking about stars getting a grand stars like being it's like being handed a nobel peace prize doused in holy water by the [ __ ] pope oh i can't say that the triumphant music mario's little flight around the star before the ultimate victorious declaration that you got a star never gets less awe-inspiring then there's the bowser encounters [Music] so [Music] for once the antagonist of a super mario feels like a threat the battle begins with a face-off percussion playing ominously in the background bowser declares his intent to brutally murder you and then the orchestra kicks off into full flow and it is nothing short of magnificent cinematic excellence the arrangement is purely instrumental but when bowser becomes vulnerable the choir is introduced to the theme ratcheting up the pressure in stark contrast to the regular mario affair facing bowser feels threatening each encounter feels like he was ripped out of an avengers movie finale then there is the final encounter in the center of the universe the comet observatory flies like a spaceship right into the center barreling its way through a fleet of airships all the while the orchestra is firing on all cylinders an epic hype inducing remix of gusty garden galaxy [Music] rosalina the silent space princess utters her only two voice lines in the entire game go mario for brevity and silence only makes this delivery feel all the more emphatic then you descend and you face down the antagonist of the story for the last time and by god does the music let you know that this is the finale [Music] the battle starts as all other battles too a face down between our protagonists and his nemesis this time bowser's galactic reactor sits ominously behind him subliminally transmitting the urgency of the situation this is it all or nothing then once again the battle begins and the orchestra roars to life [Music] like previously when bowser is vulnerable the choir kicks in the stakes are at an all-time high every decision you make feels important each movement deliberate each jump monumental the battle is simply cinematic magnificence i would be remiss not to talk about galaxy's excellent and actually somewhat mature ending it is at first triumphant you see mario spin against bowser three times in an action replay before seeing him fall into his galactic reactor you grab the grand star and soar out of the castle with peach by your side condo's good egg placed triumphantly as the pair soar away [Music] but then suddenly we cut to bowser stumbling awkwardly as his galactic reactor begins to implode watching him stumble and trip through the molten lava almost makes you feel a modicum of empathy towards him then everything goes wrong suddenly bowser's reactor collapses in on itself creating a black hole the only way to stop this black hole from destroying the universe is for the lumas to all sacrifice themselves to create a supernova that will reset the universe [Music] that final scene where mario waves goodbye to his companion luma is heartbreaking the music loomis theme digs its way into your heart and just rips and tears at your heartstrings rosalina then waxes philosophically you for a bit and mario celebrates the creation of a new galaxy this was most likely done to set up a dlc pack titled super mario more but more ended up turning into galaxy 2 super mario galaxy is bizarrely cinematic for a mario game mario's all about running around and jumping on guys but this cinematic almost mature feeling that galaxy has always resonated with me even as a kid when i was only seven years old playing this game for the first time i didn't fully understand what was going on but i felt the game was respecting my intelligence if that makes sense kids know when they're being patronized and pandered to and super mario galaxy respects players of all ages young and old through its cinematic moments galaxy is blowing you away with bombast one moment and in the next making you feel like an insignificant lonely speck in the universe when mario flies with the launch star it feels freeing when he lands on beach ball we feel joy as the tropical music kicks in if he were to land on battle rock we'd feel an ominous sense of dread where heath land on space junk we might feel overwhelmed at the emptiness of space super mario galaxy emits emotion through wondrous visual design be it the lighting of the location the position of the camera lens flares filters the camera angular movements are the integration of particle effects mario galaxy is a lesson in excellent cinematography in games super mario galaxy is unique a cinematic masterpiece and i wouldn't have it any other way [Music] super mario galaxy's presentation is as triple a as it gets nothing encapsulates this more than koji kondo and mojito yukita's triumphant soundtrack breaking down the music of mario galaxy could fill a feature-length film so i have limited myself to 10 of the most iconic pieces i have carefully curated these 10 pieces from super mario galaxy's soundtrack that i feel encapsulate the atmosphere condo and yukata tried to create and we're better to start than with kondo's original pitch to miyamoto one of the greatest first level themes of all time good egg galaxy silence mario soars through the air with only the whooshing sound of the air to accompany him then good a galaxy comes into view and just as mario touches down [Music] a triumphant chorus of brass announce your arrival mario has just arrived your adventure begins now then the brass die down and the strings begin to play at a comparatively quiet pitch as the percussion punctuates the beginning of the stringed melody you can feel the music slowly building up before the strings conclude their melody with a scale plucked beautifully by her then the woodwind is introduced and suddenly the piece begins to sound wistful space isn't all about bombast but rather a wistful loneliness at 47 seconds the strings begin to reintroduce themselves and we hear the music building up to a great crescendo with the percussion punctuating each beat before 56 seconds apex [Music] this piece is the distillation of majestic beauty easily one of the greatest first level themes of all time it sets the tone for the adventure an adventure filled with bombast grandeur but also a wistful loneliness and despite that oxymoron sheer beauty this is koji kondo at his best [Music] this is going somewhat off topic but this song reminds me of better days for work experience i went back to the primary school i attended as a kid when i walked through the halls i noticed how low the roof was how small the chairs were how i recognized nobody and everything just felt so sad but that's okay be not sad that it's over but happy that it happened loom's theme reminds me of better days the piano melody begins and all of a sudden you feel the sense of longing the lack of bombast is jarring it's just you and the piano and the electronic arpeggios [Music] that's everything it's melancholian only in atmospheric it encapsulates the emptiness of space in just a few short refrains it is quiet and sad but it is quintessentially galaxy space junk reminds me of times when i was comfortable in my own company not afraid to be alone [Music] common observatory one is childlike and whimsical the woodwind lends an infantile feel to the song with the piano refrain gently telling you that even if things seem bleak you'll always be welcome [Music] [Laughter] [Music] comet observatory 2 opens with a gradual string crescendo before a harp strums a scale to mark its peak now the beat is punctuated by a double bass and what i believe to be an oboe in a manner that is very vivacious lively this lends belief that no matter what life does go on you as the protagonist are restoring life to a home one side of a desolate and lonely [Music] finally common observatory 3 is triumphant symphonic and orchestral it's beautiful it's magnificent you have restored this home completely changed the lives of your companions for the better and your mission is nearing completion if the first iteration of this song was someone rubbing you on the shoulder letting you know that things will get better then this arrangement is a triumphant path in the back you've earned it [Music] [Music] [Music] the strings are introduced immediately signifying that this is go time the mission starts now percussion slowly builds as the music softens turning electronic [Music] with the strings slowly being reintroduced before an almighty crescendo and then [Music] it hits [Music] the brass play majestically before all coalescing into one grand regal chorus this music is telling you that it's now or it's never it is operatic it exudes grandeur and it is nothing short of magnificent it sets the tone for a nail-biting intense venture into unknown territory [Music] the strings play a sinister b punctuating each beat with accent tattle then the percussion is introduced and you feel insignificant in the face of a daunting challenge the strings find themselves in full beautiful flow the brass triumphantly joins as all members of the orchestra coalesce into one grand collective this piece transmits to the player the danger that they are facing into as such making the player feel like they are a force of nature this music instills a sense of fear but you fight through that fear turning the music instead into an orchestral chorus egging you on daring you to dare further [Music] [Music] to the gateway plays in the invisible tutorial that is the game's first planetoid you've just been separated from everyone and everything you hold dear and you're alone in an unfamiliar setting this piece transmits to the player the sheer tragedy of the situation and the bleak reality that you may never see your loved one again you are truly alone and this piece lets you know [Music] [Music] this is one of my favorite tracks in the entire soundtrack percussion is crucial throughout this piece placing emphasis on each beat what i believe to be glockenspiel's sprinkle notes throughout before introducing themselves into the chorus a guitar plucks away in the background this entire song emits this this workmanlike feeling that the same feeling a song like rico harbor exudes this song is telling you that here we like to get [ __ ] done and we get it done right [Music] i'm simply going to name drop while refusing to play the bonnie catching theme rolling ball theme or manta ray theme here i'd rather not be affiliated in manslaughter i just thought it'd be important to mention that much like their respective levels these songs are really [ __ ] annoying so i guess they did their job then it would be considered a crime against humanity not to talk about gusty garden galaxy a piece many believe is the best in the entire game and they'd be [ __ ] rise [Music] this piece encapsulates the grandeur of mario's adventure it captures the childlike wonder and awe felt by the player as they explore the solar system it is awe-inspiring operatic and majestic when it hits you it hits hard there is no other track quite like gusty garden in super mario galaxy or in video games in general beauty and whimsy encapsulated and a microcosm of the game itself [Music] [Applause] this piece resonates with me i don't quite know why it's deeply atmospheric quiet and almost chilling when i hear this piece i'm reminded of a simpler time when the most stressful thing i had on my mind was what cereal i'd have for breakfast that morning makes me long for the innocence of childhood it's equal parts beautiful moving and sad [Music] with that i conclude this chapter on the music of mario galaxy i could wax lyrical about the soundtrack for hours but i have deliberately limited myself to the few pieces i feel encapsulate the entire experience i hope i don't come off as too pretentious but the soundtrack of galaxy is simply masterful there is so much emotion conveyed through the music so many hidden invisible words spoken through the mouths of the orchestra it is nothing short of beauty in its purest form [Music] [Music] in doing research of this video i naturally ended up looking at a lot of super mario's renders specifically that of 64 sunshine the n64 and gamecube mario karts parodies and sports games what i found most interesting was that mario was often illustrated as a fun-loving plump jolly santa claus-esque character contrast that to this render of mario from super mario galaxy facingly for a game with a more melodramatic serious tone mario looks lean and mean he looks like he spends more time in the gym rather than at the pizza parlor in 64 sunshine and odyssey mario looks jolly in galaxy mario looks like he [ __ ] means it when he says to pay the [ __ ] up or i'll pop a cap in your head mario looks like he means business galaxy's predecessor sunshine painted bowser as a big dumb goof i mean i i know you've heard this line a million times because it is absolutely iconic but listen to this it's just in a word goofy bowser in galaxy looks like he keeps his victims heads and hangs him on his wall then there's the lighting in galaxy many of the sky boxes are this deep outer space midnight blue giving everything a witching hour feeling it's somber and somewhat lonely sunshine was bright and vibrant and colorful galaxy is more ominous and restrained with its choice of colors the red on mario's outfit is not the bright cartoony childlike bright red of 64 and sunshine but rather a regal red his dungarees aren't bright blue rather a midnight blue what many forget is that this is the first time many of these famous super mario characters have been rendered in a non-polygonal 3d format characters like goomba koopa or bullet bill all skipped sunshine and are back in galaxy they all look faithful to the source material but with a sinister kind of twist bullet bills look like genuinely threatening homing missiles rather than cartoonishly animated pellets colors are rarely presented in their most vibrant form but they aren't washed out either i suppose the best way to describe the colors of galaxy would be to call them regal the shading choice of colors and lighting effects still hold up today galaxy in the 3d all-stars collection competes with odyssey in regards to the best looking 3d platformer of all time and it's approaching its 15th birthday good artistic direction trumps sheer graphical prowess every day of the week that's why wind waker is one of the best looking games of all time and it came out on the gamecube in spite of all of cyberpunk 2077's ray tracing technology i actually find super mario galaxy's visuals more appealing or soft on the eye each stage is meticulously designed so as to feel like they are all in different solar systems because well they are in a game like new super or 3d world having differing level themes is just gamey in galaxy it's contextually sound and is appreciated seeing as each planet takes place on well a different planet aesthetic design in galaxy rivals odyssey and in some instances surpasses odyssey while odyssey is excellent eye candy its lack of theme hurts it a little while i understand that the theme of odyssey is quite literally its lack of a theme super mario galaxy's consistent theme and aesthetics mean more in regards to immersive values the more sense it makes the more i am immersed and galaxy's aesthetics just all make sense in context tone setting and aesthetics all match and that makes for a game big on immersion [Music] aerial galaxy's presentation is a spider's web of cinematography aesthetic design sound design and music all sewn together by that all-important contextual logic each part on its own is worth a sum total of nil but when sewn together by galaxy's contextual logic they become more than the sum of their parts galaxy becomes more than a game with good aesthetics galaxy becomes more than a game with excellent music galaxy becomes more than a game with staggering cinematography no galaxy becomes more than a game attaining the status of an unmissable audio visual experience all thanks to the contextual logic the team strictly adhered to this experience in its totality attains this immersive quality few games can all it takes for a structure to fall is one unsteady pillar but each of galaxy's core pillars are crafted with reinforced steel as such the structure in totality is atmospheric and immersive and i absolutely adore it nintendo eid created more than a game they created a place a parallel universe to escape to their achievement is nothing short of magnificent [Music] in my upcoming final fantasy vii remake retrospective i speak about how these days labeling video games as games is somewhat oxymoronic there are very few games where every moment of a game is spent playing the game i draw up on the examples of red dead redemption 2 a masterpiece but a masterpiece that restricts your ability to actually play in red dead 2 you spend a lot of time listening talking walking or riding from a to b there's not a lot of game to play but rather an experience to experience final fantasy 7 remake is one of my favorite games of all time but a large portion of that game spent just soaking in the scenery atmosphere and cinematic grandeur games began as toys in the tv and have now become interactive movies even games like spider-man ps4 where every swing through the streets is full of inertia there is a lot of down time now down time is not exactly a bad thing downtime is what makes the uptime that much more exciting the difficulty is in pacing your game so that the breaks between set pieces don't drag in super mario odyssey the latest super mario every individual moment spent playing the game is spent playing each second is joyous each nanosecond spent controlling mario makes you feel free odyssey is a prime example of how to pace a game well via how long to beat super mario odyssey takes on average from 4.2 000 players 63.5 hours to beat if we divide all 999 power moves by 63.5 hours we get one power moon every 0.0635 of an hour if we divide that by 100 then multiply it by 60 we see that mario collects a power moon on average every four minutes this is what makes mario odyssey so addictive a new collectible is constantly around the corner this isn't even counting purple coins a collectible scattered throughout every nook and cranny but this is also what breaks mario odyssey for some people i firmly believe that each power moon is satisfying to collect but the fact that you can pick one up every four minutes dilutes their value to others joseph anderson said it best in his excellent critique of odyssey for many people this devalues power moons mario is not often divisive by our sunshine gaming's mickey mouse is rarely controversial and yet odyssey's power moon system is vilified by one half and praised by both i and many others clearly there is a balance to be struck make power moves rare enough to be valuable but common enough to encourage exploration and to keep the pace up i thought nintendo had struck that balance but many people disagree and it has forced me to reassess it is unanimous however that nintendo masterfully struck that balance in galaxy many will say i'm comparing apples to oranges when comparing odyssey to galaxy and they'd be right odyssey is an exploration game with platforming elements whereas galaxy is a platforming game with exploration elements bear this in mind throughout this comparison a completionist's playthrough of super mario galaxy via how long to beat can range between 24.5 hours rush to 60 hours leisurely played the average of these two figures is 42.25 hours or 42 hours and 15 minutes there are in total 120 stars in super mario galaxy and there are no extra collectibles like sunshine's blue coins or odyssey's purple coins if we divide 42.25 hours by 120 we see that on average a player collects a star every 0.35 of an hour which once again divided by 100 and multiplied by 60 gives us 21 minutes i did the exact same math to calculate how long it takes to get a star on average using my own times and i got around 1 star every 13 minutes i'm familiar with the game so the fact that i can find stars faster than a newbie makes sense using a non-completionist's 60 star playthrough via how long to beat you collect a star every quarter of an hour or 15 minutes then i got the average of these three averages which was 16 minutes and 20 seconds so to summarize on average you collect a star every 16 minutes and 20 seconds in super mario galaxy as a reminder that figure is four minutes in super mario odyssey if you think that stars felt more valuable more rare more exciting to collect than moons that's because they are more rare valuable and exciting each individual level is a bite-sized adventure with a valuable treasure waiting for you at the end the game is suitable for short play sessions and has an addictive quality that can have you glued to the screen for hours the game slows down just long enough to make those peaks that much higher mario odyssey is a rollercoaster ride that shoots vertically downwards at all times and as such for some people it's almost as if it's not going down at all if everyone is rich then no one is galaxy is more traditional with high peaks and low melancholy lows every individual star in galaxy takes a new idea and runs with it meaning that every 15 minutes the game switches gear galaxy is relentless just as soon as you've had enough of one idea to throw the next one at you at 100 miles an hour in the exact same solar system you could be blasting through battle rock galaxy with the orchestra exuding grand urine 15 minutes later you're all alone with the quiet sadness of space junk galaxy it's jarring but not in a bad way it's not jarring in the same way as getting a slap in the faces but rather the way a cold shower in the morning is it's extremely profound effective and eye-opening every quarter of an hour means a brand new idea a new way to platform a new piece to listen to it's this relentless rollercoaster ride of emotions from start to finish galaxy motivates you to keep playing to find out what's around the next corner what the next galactic theme will be in the same solar system you fly between a planet based around the maple leaf a massive daunting warship a threatening molten lava star and a quiet atmospheric water planet if you were to get one star in each of these different galaxies you'd be going through four distinct different themes pieces and platforming mechanics in one hour and that's without considering how each stage's second third or fourth star reinvents the mechanic of the first take freeze flame for example the first star is set in frozen tundra the second in a lava-filled hellscape and the third in a mind-bending combination of the two contributing to this motivation is the drip feed of the narrative bowser's plan is slowly unraveled as is rosalina's backstory and as is the subplot of bowser jr trying his best to impress his father i almost feel bad for her beating junior clearly all he wants is his dad to be proud of him galaxy is a lesson in top tier pacing it reinvents itself every 15 minutes egging you on motivating you to get just one more star to see what's next it disguises its planets in the galaxy select screen is homogenous stars but when you collect enough stars a mini diorama of the galaxy is revealed this adds to the entry you never know what's coming next all you do know is that whatever it is it's going to be pretty [ __ ] cool [Music] [Applause] [Music] if there was one thing sunshine most certainly got right it was the sublime movement mechanics mario was a pebble and the gamecube controller was your slingshot mario could turn on a dime flip any direction necessary and sling all of his moves together to cross wide chasms or jump over the tallest of obstacles this was perfect for the game sunshine was a sandbox exploration platformer in a sandbox game you want to give your player the tools to run wild that's exactly what ead did with sunshine the sheer amount of movement potential in sunshine is staggering however where sunshine falls flat is when it comes to precise pinpoint platforming mario's top speed is lightning quick and its acceleration is rapid going from standstill to full speed in nanoseconds this makes for fun fast and versatile movement in a sandbox but can become a nightmare for precise platforming gauntlets the flood jetpack offsets this it allows you to hover and course correct miss time jumps there are sections in sunshine however where the flood is stripped away you have to rely solely on your platforming skills and super mario know how to progress these floodless platforming gauntlets are a lot like galaxy's regular stages and as such gives us an excellent barometer from which to judge each game's movement when in a linear precise floodless gauntlet super mario sunshine struggles mario's turns are too fast his jumps vary in their predictability and he has this slippery quality that works in a sandbox but not in a gauntlet while i'd argue sunshine's movement is the most fun that movement has ever been in a mario these gauntlets illustrate exactly how unsuited its movement is to a precise platformer galaxy looked at sunshine's floodless gauntlets and said okay let's do this except better [Applause] on the surface galaxy's movement feels really pared down compared to the freedom of sunshine mario's turning is slower his overall speed has been turned down several notches and his acceleration isn't as unpredictable he retains his sideways somersault backflip and triple jump but loses the momentum-based dive replaced instead with the spin attack this spin attack halts momentum both in the air and on the ground but does provide some extra height and air time if timed correctly this adds a layer of accessibility to platforming flood was sunshine's fail-safe the spin is galaxies galaxy's obstacle courses are far more engaging than sunshine's with sunshine you often feel as if it was the game's fault you died that is a cardinal sin in game design in galaxy because movement is so predictable you never feel hoodwinked by the game movement is natural it feels second nature it's not snail-like but it's not race-car quick either it's the perfect balance for a game set in outer space mario's movement in galaxy is more realistic and predictable than ever this isn't to say it's been homogenized all one needs to do is watch a speed run to see the incredible feats of gymnastics that can be performed using this moveset super mario 3d world is an example of a moveset being homogenized that game can be completed in its entirety using solely the regular a button jump there's no reason to ever use any of mario's moves bear run and jump not so in galaxy galaxy sits in the happy medium between 3d world's homogenized moveset and sunshine's slingshot style mechanics if galaxy were a sandbox game it would probably make for a dull affair but it isn't it's a coarse clear obstacle course game with exploration elements there isn't a focus on creating a fun sandbox like sunshine or odyssey it's a linear affair with exploration elements and its moveset is simply perfect for its own content [Music] you can't discuss the controls of super mario galaxy without touching on the controversy of its motion controls originally the game was released on the wii and required a wii remote and nunchuck to play no other control methods were allowed to spin one would have to shake the wii remote to collect star bits and new collectable added to the game to keep the player busy during cinematic flying segments one would have to point the wii remote pointer at the screen and swipe at the star bits this isn't as egregious as things get when it comes to motion controls games like skyward sword were built entirely around motion controls meaning those that physically could not perform the physical feat skyward sword demanded simply could not play the game mario galaxy wasn't structured around the idea of motion controls rather they were added as an afterthought one might initially presume as harmless upon closer inspection however mario galaxy is very inaccessible let's say you sprained your wrist now you can't play the game anyone with reduced or impaired physical ability simply cannot play this game nintendo sought to fix this when they re-released the game in 2020 via the super mario 3d all-stars collection there were a couple of problems with this first of all the game can't even be bought anymore your best shot at getting this game is second hand as it's been digitally de-listed and nintendo aren't shipping out new copies anymore it's been this way since march 31st of 2021 so if you happen to be born in april of 2021 first of all welcome to this hellscape hall of the planet we call earth if you look to your right you can see a global pandemic decimating and deteriorating society's mental health and if you look to your left you can see a couple dozen forest fires because we're cooking our planet alive but second of all and more importantly unlucky you can't own super mario galaxy in its most physically accessible form because nintendo almost did a really good job making the game as accessible as possible if you play with the switch docked the spin is mapped to a button so wackle is unnecessary this makes the game actually playable for a vast portion of our population they unfortunately did not map the star bit pointer to the right stick or any other button for that matter so that's still a problem not to mention the couple stars that simply require motion controls such as the sling pods sling stairs or rolling ball minigame it's an objective fact that getting 100 completion in mario galaxy will be physically impossible for some people and that's a damn shame it's disappointing that nintendo's seemingly forgot about making the game accessible for people with disabilities in handheld mode things fare a little bit worse the spin is again mapped to a button but start bits can only be collected using the touch screen meaning you have to constantly shift your right hand from the buttons to the touchscreen the most physically accessible way and in my subjective opinion the best way to play galaxy is in docked mode on the switch it really is a shame then that you can't buy it anymore it is a simple fact that galaxy's reliance on motion control simply makes it inaccessible for a portion of the population this is quite frankly unfair i don't mind the waggle in fact it feels quite natural to shake the remote to spin it's become second nature to collect star bits with the pointer it's a really fantastic implementation of motion control for those who can experience it for everyone else it just sucks that they can't play it and the solution was oh so simple 3d all-stars should never have been delisted and the pointer should have been mapped to a button perhaps the pointer is activated when holding the right trigger and is then moved by the right stick all said super mario galaxy is a game with excellent controls for those of us who can take advantage of them it just sucks that not everybody can [Music] do you remember how much i praised galaxy for being contextually logical well there is one [ __ ] in its contextual armor a [ __ ] that doesn't quite ruin the immersion but certainly could have been implemented far far better and was implemented far far better in its sequel i am of course talking about the infamous comet missions so the story goes that when a particular comet passes through the solar system it has the effect of creating a new remixed mission that you already did i know this game is about an italian plumber crawling on bees in space but that actually makes contextual logic this does not if the stars are scattered through the universe because of bowser why on earth with a star you've already collected respawn except this time with a tougher challenge attached to it it doesn't make contextual sense and the game never explains it i would propose that seeing as every comet challenge involves the star reappearing temporarily and brings all enemies back to life that each comet would function as galaxy's blood moon for example in breath of the wild the blood moon was the contextual logic to reload all of the enemies so that the game could keep a more stable performance and so that the player wouldn't kill everything and get bored so here's my suggested headcanon for example sometimes the comet would spawn an alien that can take the form of anything it desires in this case a cosmic mario this alien would be after the power of the star so you race it to get it in the case of a daredevil run the comet could possibly power up enemies or in the case of the fast fo comets speed up enemies or combined with the power of the power star cause the planet to implode if you don't get to the star in time it's like in the speedrun comets this solution isn't perfect but to give any contextual logic is better than none so that's my head canon for now my second gripe is galaxy's odd way of handling tutorials every time you reach a power-up for the first time the game pauses and zooms in to tell you exactly how to use it they don't give you every detail however and leave some elements of the power-up out of the tutorial for you to learn about galaxy has invisible tutorials like this ice power up on the fountain or like these bunnies doing the spin jumping while is placed on either side intuiting a wall jump there are so many invisible tutorials and it makes me wonder why i have any visible tutorials in the first place perhaps the only tutorial i'd leave in galaxy is the one you get when you get the power of the luma for the first time teaching you the shake equals a spin move apart from that the team have done such a great job at creating invisible tutorials that there's no point having any visible tutorials at all and on the subject of power-ups why have any in the first place they're quite lackluster take the fireflower for instance it can be used to break these snowmen and light lanterns in melty molten galaxy there's a really interesting mechanic where you have to lead a fiery rock creature towards the lamp to light it why not have a variation of this instead of using a fire flower why not just let your spin break the snowman like every other breakable object in the game then there's the ghost power-up this is used in three different levels and in each it is completely useless acting solely as a way to travel transparently between very specific walls the power-up is superfluous on the stage where you use a boot to race another buu you might as well have just got rid of the boo power up and set the level underwater making the challenge be for mario to swim downwards spinning when necessary to break crates blocking the way rather than shaking to transparently flood through them same results the b power up is quite cool as it lets you fly but you can get more height with a backflip followed by spin jump there is one cool bullet hell like level where you climb on honeycombs the galaxy team did a good job on this level rendering this power-up actually quite useful nonetheless they could have just given regular mario the ability to cling onto honey and we could still have had the same level spring mario and ice mario are both well utilized power-ups they are utilized well in a variety of different stages i have no complaints about either spring mario is great because you suddenly have incredible limitations in your movement this means the player must get creative with their platforming restrictions breed creativity and the spring powerup does exactly that the ice flower is if you will power than the pun cool creating walkable platforms on water and lava leads to some really unique puzzles like the one where you lead a cataquack across the water well utilized to power up then there's the red star the best power up in the game it gives mario the ability to fly in any direction like the wing cap except far better this is a great power up but because this is a platformer and flying would break the game you can only use it in the hub in galaxy 2 there are stages where you use a bird to fly through rings i feel like the red star could have been used in a similar manner to this to great effect it would have made for some excellent levels sadly it has been relegated to just a cool way to traverse the hub now i don't mean to say that the superfluous power-ups should be removed rather they should be revamped and made actually useful if the power-up does something that regular mario can already or could possibly do or do better then it's nothing more than an alternative outfit and a waste of time too many power-ups in galaxy are simply cool outfits and nothing more what if for example fire mario could swim in lava meaning you have to swim through lava before your power-up runs out the honey bee could have been revamped perhaps keeping the stamina meter but when that runs out you can glide like the snooki or acorn allowing for more traversal options perhaps honeybee mario could traverse through honey without getting his feet stuck maybe change the honey to be like sinking sand so that regular mario can't traverse through the honey at all what's more perhaps honeybee mario's stamina gauge could be refilled mid-air should you grab another bee mushroom creating the potential for flying and gliding gauntlets where you need to manage your stamina the problem with boom mario itself is not the concept but rather the implementation there is one level where it is utilized well the level where you can choose between it and the b this is an excellent level it plays on the fact that boom mario can't travel through light so touching light means falling into sinking sand and experiencing instant death but it is a damning indictment of the power-up that you don't even have to use it you can just choose the other power-up and ignore the boo rouse altogether super mario galaxy's power-ups are great ideas for power-ups but they are not implemented in nearly as creative a way as they are in its sequel galaxy 2. galaxy 2 has excellent power ups and excellent obstacle courses that make the absolute most of them i'd like to add that one ups are useless collectibles your lives reset every time you restart the game so what's the point in collecting loads of them answering there are no reasons end of paragraph and for my final complaint the most damning indictment on galaxy the one thing that nearly ruins the game the one level that nearly crumbles the entirety of meticulously designed structure [Music] this [ __ ] bunny level [ __ ] this level and [ __ ] the music in it too [ __ ] it all [Music] [Music] in this the penultimate chapter i thought i'd add a couple of commendations i couldn't fit into the other chapters these are fantastic little touches the dev team added into super mario galaxy i love the 120 stair prize when i saw that my friend had luigi on his save file it blew my mind as a kid i then made it my mission to unlock luigi on my file at home and when i did it was magical this is an excellent 100 reward and on the subject of 100 rewards the 200 reward is just as good if you get all 120 stars as luigi you get to travel back to the mushroom kingdom on the night of the star festival i love this for the same reason i love driving into peach's castle in mario kart 64. it's just cool to revisit an iconic location despite the fact that it's a linear match to the castle and that's that i used to roleplay in my mind that mario was coming home to visit his friends there's a nostalgic feeling attached to coming back to the opening area this time without any of the disruption bowser caused in the opening it's just a lovely touch by the developers like i mentioned earlier i love that when you talk to an npc the screen goes into letterbox format that's really just an absolutely fantastic touch the starboard collecting once you get good at it is immensely satisfying the sound effect that plays when you collect a star bit just sets off fireworks in my brain multiply those fireworks by thousands when you see a massive bundle of them all together great addition and makes otherwise mundane cutscenes very fun you're always playing the game doing some task or another and it's great finally super mario galaxy introduces a variety of new races like the honeybees and lumas and brings back old races like the penguins for mario 64. having unique races inhabiting different planets is an excellent touch that just really lends to the all-important immersion the team were clearly allowed to flex their creative muscles by creating excellent unique characters captain toad for example at mainstay of today's super mario cast got his start in galaxy rosalina also got her starting galaxy and she shows up to this day in the sports spin-offs it's easy to take it for granted now but galaxy invented and reinvented so many characters that still stick around to this day it truly is a testament to the character design team that their designs are still popping up in mario spin-offs to this day the lumas are an instigating plot factor in the latest mario and rabbids for crying out loud it isn't often that characters get added to the ever rotating cast of mario characters in their spin-offs but galaxies queen bee captain toad luma rosalina and more returned this day commendable job from the character design team [Music] super mario galaxy is more than just a game there are good games there are great games there are masterpieces and then there are the firework experiences there are certain games out there that just set fireworks off in your brain and super mario galaxy sets off fireworks in my brain it is a remarkable feat of atmospheric design it is a lesson to video games on contextual logic it is a score so masterfully composed that it has ruined video game music for me its visuals are timeless its character designs are exceptional and its lighting rivals the ray tracing of modern day aaa games sound effects are out of this world controls are perfectly tuned just snappy enough to be fun but not too slippery as to make platforming and exercise in patients there are very few games that one could call perfect perhaps tetris but that's a boring answer see perfection is normally boring you can very easily make a perfect game cookie clicker is a perfect game flappy bird is a perfect game tetris is a perfect game they're all incredibly fun and they achieve absolutely everything they try to do with complete note of perfection that said is tetris really trying to do as much as final fantasy vii remake i love final fantasy vii remake but it isn't a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination i adore skyrim but it isn't perfect either breath of the wild is one of my fireworks in my brain games and that still has flaws i suppose what i'm trying to say in a manner lacking in brevity is that it's easier to build a perfect bungalow than it is to build a perfect skyscraper if you build a perfect bungalow you are an incredible architect you have achieved perfection in your field something few people will ever achieve you are special but imagine if you could build a perfect skyscraper super mario galaxy is a perfect skyscraper it is a complex game with mechanics that weave in and out of each other creating a unique awe-inspiring experience it's hard to make an ambitious game perfect but this is the closest you can get bar accessibility issues mario galaxy is a master class in video game design and will doubtlessly go down in history as the greatest in its own subgenre i definitely like some games more than super mario galaxy but if you ask me super mario galaxy is quite possibly the greatest achievement in video game history it is more than just a game it is an experience [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: Sakka Says

Views: 17,440

Keywords: Mario, retrospective, analysis, critique, Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario, Super Mario 3D World, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario 64, SakkaSays, Review, Music

Id: 1UbPNLl47CQ

Length: 88min 6sec (5286 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 01 2021