Neslug Reviews: Super Mario Galaxy 2

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= Review = Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a sequel to the 2007 smash hit, Super Mario Galaxy. Promising to bring us another new fantastical space journey, this game has a lot to live up to. Let us begin.

== Story ==



The story begins with Mario receiving a letter from Peach to come over to her castle and eat some cake. On his way there, Mario finds a little Luma who seems to be lost. The two find their way to Peach's castle, which is conveniently under attack by Bowser. The Koopa King himself appears, and is gigantic in size. With Peach on his palm, Bowser makes his escape into space and Mario follows after being flung from a Launch Star...

It's nothing really new, but the story has never been the primary selling point of the main series adventures.

== Gameplay ==

The gameplay in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is very similar to that of its predecessor, right down to the same controls. While this is mostly a good thing, given how the control scheme worked fine the first time around, there were still some improvements that could have taken place. The camerawork is ever so slightly improved, but it's still pretty awkward on many occasions. It would also have been nice to be able to pan the camera up and down without entering the first-person mode. Oh well. I'd say the difficulty is overall a little higher than in Super Mario Galaxy, but there are still numerous times where experienced players will have no trouble reaching the Star of the level. Speaking of experience, there are the Tip Network and Cosmic Guide to help out first-time players and beginners in general. If you played the prequel, you most likely already know most of the things you'd learn from them anyway.

The Comet Observatory is long gone and instead replaced with the new Starship Mario, which, while being an interesting concept, falls short of many fans' expectations as there is very little exploration to be done and no Power Stars to be found. This makes for a rather hollow feel outside of the game's main galaxies. Entering the galaxies could also have been done much better as the game gives you a list of all the galaxies in the current world as Starship Mario is over it, but doesn't allow you to directly warp to them for whatever reason. Bummer.

== Visual Look ==

Just like in the original, the selection of galaxies is nicely varied, covering most of the themes common to Mario. We've got our haunted houses, deserts, our volcanic areas and beaches, and it all looks quite spectacular with plenty of different lighting effects. As we move on to the graphics section, I'll have to say the game still looks very similar to the first one in terms of pushing the Wii. We are talking about one of the best looking games on the system so it's not all bad. For the most part anyway.

The old enemies and objects from the first one use the same models and animations which, while still looking good all around, shows a bit of laziness on Nintendo's side. But on the other hand this game is also the 3D adventure debut to the Hammer Bro, Porcu-Puffer, Big Boo, Spiny, Paragoomba and Lakitu among others if we're not including the 3D (or 2.5D as is more fitting) sidescrolling New Super Mario Bros games. Of course there are also some series debuts such as the Fizzlit, Pupdozer, Smeech and Twirlip but they're not as iconic as the original bunch. On the boss side you're running from the gigantic Gobblegut and avoiding getting squished by the rowdy Rollodillo and the good ol' Whomp King. All in all there are volumes of variety in the graphics.

== Sound ==

The soundtrack is one of the better aspects of the game. From the cheerful and happy Fluffy Bluff, a Galaxy 2 original, to the dark and ominous Haunty Halls remix from Super Mario World, the orchestration and mood fit the levels nicely. Yoshi Star, Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla, Slipsand and Melty Monster Galaxy are also home to some likable tunes, not forgetting the final battle with Bowser. The sound effects are equally fitting from Mario's yahoos to the coin collecting sound and explosions, you always know what's going on just by listening.

I'm not surprised the soundtrack to this game is available for purchase on the Japanese Club Nintendo site; just like its predecessor this is one of those game soundtracks I won't mind listening to outside of the game.

== The Mario (Bros.) ==

On the powerup front, the game delivers us all the previous Super Mario Galaxy powerups sans the Ice Flower (which was one of my personal favourites unfortunately) and Flying Mario (which barely had a use in the first one anyway), and throws some new ones into the blend such as Rock Mushroom, Cloud Flower and the Yoshi-exclusive Dash Pepper and Blimp Fruit. Pull Stars, ? Coins, Star Bits and Purple Coins return as well, just to name a few. They all seem to be in pretty good use, with all appearing in two or more galaxies.

While we're talking about galaxies, the game has 7 worlds total, each containing 7 galaxies bringing the total to 49 galaxies. Spread across these galaxies are 120 Power Stars and a second challenge once they have all been collected. Players are also able to pick Luigi as their character, the only real difference is that Luigi is slightly faster and jumps higher but has worse traction than his brother in red.

Closing Words &amp; Score
While the game is good fun, the new is ultimately overshadowed by all the old it recycles from the first Super Mario Galaxy. For every new element the game also gives us five old. This is also the game's by far biggest shortcoming, it does very little to innovate and feels more like a mission pack sequel. That may be what it was intended to be, but I still feel the original is a more well-rounded experience. Even if it's not the best one, at least there is a hub world.

On its own it's great. If you played the first one, you're not missing out on much if you don't play this shameless cash-in.

The Good: Fun, variety of galaxies, the music

The Bad: Spring Mushroom, Green Stars, Bowser fights

The Ugly: Tons of recycled concepts, lack of a proper hub, Starshine Beach

If you never played the original - SCORE: 8 out of 10

If you played the original - SCORE: 6,5 out of 10