Why Super Mario Galaxy is Still One of the Best Games You’ll Ever Play

A fond retrospective nine years on.

Newsflash, folks, y’all missed something major. Does the date November 17th ring a bell? No? Well it should, y’know why? It was Super Mario Galaxy’s ninth birthday, that’s why! I know, I know, it was on the tip of your tongue, I could tell. The fact that it’s been almost a decade since everybody’s favourite stubby little plumber (Luigi isn’t stubby: he’s tall, dark and neglected) first rocketed into orbit fills this writer with a mixture of nostalgia and glaring existential horror at the fleeting nature of our mortality. That is to say, it feels like only yesterday that I stood in line to buy the game using a mixture of birthday money, advanced Christmas money, money I found on the ground, and shiny buttons.

After powering up the console (and of course donning my own trusty red cap), the game began and I was dropped into the newly revamped Mushroom Kingdom, tasked with travelling to Princess Peach’s castle to celebrate the Star Festival. Through the dazzling streets of the castle town, my little Mario did wander, stopping to talk to the various Toads going about their business and watching shooting stars burst into clusters of Star-Bits upon hitting the ground with a satisfying ‘ting’ sound.

I continued to savour the sights and the sounds of the area as I made my way to meet Princess Peach under the typical Mario game promise of cake, something which sounds simultaneously innocent and just a little bit suspect. Of course, what with this being a Mario game and everything, things were fine for all of about 10 minutes before Bowser showed up to get his kidnap on. Appearing in a fleet of airship to a bombastic orchestral remake of the airship theme from Super Mario Bros. 3 is still probably one of the most effective entrances the big, spiky git has ever had, and it did a lot to set the tone for an adventure on a galactic scale which would take something old and make it feel new again.

That’s all well and good for AJ of nine years ago, but what about the AJ of today? The problem with games of a certain age is that what once shone brightly with the spark of innovation and novelty can dull over time, and rose-tinted glasses can become increasingly difficult to look through as the quibbles begin to pile up. Some games age wonderfully well, but unfortunately others do not (looking at you, Goldeneye 64) and we gaming historians need to know which game belongs in which category. So, as part of the birthday celebration which I’m apparently having on my own (I’m not bitter, more cake for me), let’s put Super Mario Galaxy under the microscope, and triple-jump back in!

Things get off to a great start on the game’s Wii menu screen when Mario, voiced as ever by the delightful Charles Martinet, squeals the title in a way which is almost guaranteed to leave you grinning like a gaming writer laughing at their own jokes – don’t judge me. A couple of button presses and a very welcome blast of the title music later and we’re back at Peach’s castle. Visually the game still looks great, with wonderfully bold colours and big, chunky character models. The hustle and bustle of the little toadstool castle town combined with the sight of the falling stars makes for a remarkably endearing visual display which, if you let it, will suck you in like a big ol’ bean-bag chair.

The marvellous view of Peach’s castle from a vantage point across a lake shows an amount of visual polish that hadn’t been seen in a Wii game until then, and has been rarely seen since. The water in the lake ebbs and flows realistically, twinkling cheerfully with reflections of the stars above, and contributing greatly to the irresistible charm that runs throughout this opening sequence. Even Bowser’s entrance is as grand and high impact as it was back then, as he snatches up Princess Peach, casts Mario off the airship and blazes a trail to the game proper.

As lovely as the visuals are, there does emerge a bit of an issue in this opening sequence which carries on throughout the rest of the game, and sadly it’s less to do with the advancement of gaming technology and more to do with the advancement of technology around gaming. In short, HD and 4K televisions have really done a number on Super Mario Galaxy. The Wii had no HD support, and so as television displays improved Wii games were left in the dust. While the colours are still bold and the environments still vibrant, the graphical clarity and definition now appear like the world viewed through someone else’s glasses. It’s not a huge complaint but it can grate a bit once you notice it, and it’s shame that a gem which once had so much polish now looks so rough around the edges.

That being said, any gamer worth their salt knows that graphics do not maketh the game, and it is the gameplay that will keep you hooked through all 241 stars. The level design remains inspired, with unique and memorable set pieces which are as ever a joy to behold. Time has not eroded the delight to be found in surfing a manta-ray through a twisting, turning vortex of gravitationally-challenged water. Speaking of gravity, the rolling worlds and shifting perspectives add another dimension to the classic Mario gameplay, and are still as refreshing now as they ever were. Granted, they can be a bitch to traverse at times. For instance, when trying to navigate a complex labyrinth of rotating platforms while Bullet Bill nip at your heels the camera can prove itself to be less than helpful.

Thankfully, in light of the above, Mario himself is a breeze to control. His movement controls are tight and responsive – something other platform games seem to treat as an optional extra rather than a core requirement. Mario obediently hops about like an exuberant Star Bunny and can rattle off a sequence of tricks and flips with ease and the obligatory “Yippee!” The Wiimote motion controls are as well implemented as they’ve ever been (not to say much) and easy to pick up again, although, I must accept that I will never establish the sequence of arbitrary wiggles required to make him do the elusive sideways cartwheel.

I learnt a few things on my anniversary amble through Super Mario Galaxy. I learnt that the camera controls are still absolute piss, but Mario’s controls make up for it. The graphics are still lovely and bold but distinctly lacking in definition and clarity these days. One small blast of the soundtrack is enough to send you back in time nine years, or maybe more depending on your own nostalgic comfort zone. Above all I learnt that, whatever its flaws, Super Mario Galaxy is still worth every bit of money that I scrounged to buy the game on release day nine years ago, and it will never not be worth your time. It really is just stellar, or should that be inter-stellar?