Super Mario Galaxy 2 Shooting Past Original

When Nintendo first announced the sequel to the hugely successful Super
Mario Galaxy, cleverly-titled Super Mario Galaxy 2, at E3 2009, many
gamers were surprised as up until now, each new console Mario title had
been on the system that followed the previous title. With news that the
game would play very similarly to the original, most wondered if this
was a sign that the company's successful console was beginning to fall
on hard times and needed to be propped up by its biggest titles. From
what has currently been revealed about the game, this couldn't be
farther from the truth.

The original Super Mario Galaxy was set in outer space, where Mario
traveled from galaxy to galaxy in order to collect Power Stars, which
could be obtained by solving puzzles or defeating enemies, and sometimes
even huge bosses. The highlight of the game came in the new physics
system, which revolved around a unique feature of giving every celestial
object its own gravitational force, allowing the player to completely
circumnavigate the planets, walking either sideways like normal or even
upside down. This also applied to jumping from planet to planet, which
was one of the prime factors used in a number of the game's most tricky
and difficult puzzles.

While the sequel features numerous changes and tweaks to the original's
formula, it also improves on what already existed, namely Mario's
transformations and the pull stars. The original game featured a bevy of
suits and items which could transform Mario, such as the bee suit, fire
flowers and ice flowers. While they were somewhat under-utilized in the
original, there were a select few levels which used the transformations
in unique ways, such as in the Honeycomb Galaxy where Mario needed to
fly around the hive to reach the star, occasionally switching to moving
across the honeycombs like a bee. Super Mario Galaxy 2 includes the
transformations from the original game, but also includes some news ones
such as Rock Mario and Cloud Mario. Rock Mario was used quite
impressively in one of the latest trailers, which had Mario amusingly
rolling into a set of enemies that were acting as bowling pins. Cloud
Mario was used to create platforms in the air which could be used to get
to his next destination.

However, one of the most impressive power-ups comes in the form of the
drill, which allows players to zip from one end of the planet to the
other in a flash. This has been shown in numerous trailers, but its most
notable use was in a boss battle which required Mario to time his
drilling with the movements of the boss in 3D, requiring players to keep
track of the enemy while simultaneously avoiding its attacks.
Nintendo's focus on these transformations is a clear indicator that the
sequel won't merely use them as gimmicks to pad out the gameplay,
instead being used to complement the puzzles.

Unlike previous titles where Yoshi was relegated as either a cameo or as
a gimmick, most notably in Super Mario Sunshine, Yoshi has a starring
role helping out Mario in Super Mario Galaxy 2's various levels. As in
previous titles, Yoshi can eat a wide array of different-coloured fruit,
which gives him power-ups such as speed boosts, as seen in recent
trailers where Mario and Yoshi are speeding across a ramp, along with
the ability to inflate like a balloon and reveal secret paths that would
otherwise be unnoticed by the player. Yoshi can also swing across gaps
by wrapping it with his tongue, which is controlled by the Wii Remote in
a similar fashion to the ability to collect Star Bits in the original
game with the pointer (which is being carried over into the sequel).
This can also be used for moves outside of swinging across gaps, such as
pulling levers or swallowing enemies whole and spitting them out to
inflict damage to other enemies or hit far-away objects.

Another change in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the removal of the hub world
from the original game, which was widely criticized by critics and
gamers for being confusing and too complex, since each hub was placed
far away from each other and the warps to travel from one to another
were secretly hidden until the player discovered them, instead of being
unlocked as each new hub world was discovered. The sequel will feature a
map system similar to that in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which was
released late last year around the world. A Mario head-shaped planet
called Starship Mario acts as the home base for the player, which can be
visited at any time and is expanded upon as Mario learns new abilities
throughout the game.

With all of the new abilities, a more streamlined gameplay process and
the inclusion of the Super Guide feature from New Super Mario Bros. Wii,
which was used to have the AI run through the stage and show advanced
gameplay techniques to the player, one might think that Nintendo is
aiming the game at the casual crowd and dumbing down the sequel. Fans of
the original can rejoice, as Nintendo as publicly stated both in an IGN
interview with Nintendo of America President and CEO Reggie Fils-AimÈ
and in a Wired interview with Shigeru Miyamoto that Super Mario Galaxy 2
would be more challenging and would expect that players played the
original game and were used to gameplay mechanics like the planetary
physics.

With about over a month to go till Super Mario Galaxy 2's release, it
appears that Nintendo hasn't rested on their laurels with Galaxy's
sequel, but instead have created a game which feels familiar, but still
has its own unique charm. In this day and age where video game sequels
try to keep reinventing the wheel, it's nice to see a company stick with
what works and evolve the formula further and farther than one would
have thought possible.