Growing up, I never owned the popular Wii. Certainly, I experienced Wii Sports along with several flagship titles during visits to family and friends in the mid-to-late 2000s, but I never had owning the console myself, causing me to overlook several excellent installments within classic Nintendo game lines.
Among those titles was Super Mario Galaxy, which, along with its sequel, has been freshly updated and ported to Switch consoles. The first one also appeared in 2020’s limited-edition collection Super Mario 3D All-Stars. I welcomed the opportunity to experience viewed by fans as one of the best Mario adventures created. I was quickly sucked in, while affirming that it matches almost twenty years of excitement. That said, it helped me understand how happy I am movement-based inputs have largely remained from previous eras.
Initiating Galactic Exploration
Following traditional Mario adventure, Super Mario Galaxy begins with Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach including her home. His armada of spacecraft resembling pirates take her into outer space, flinging Mario into the galaxy in the process. Mario encounters adorable stellar beings named Lumas plus Rosalina aboard her comet ship. She charges Mario with collecting power stars to fuel the Observatory so they can chase after the antagonist, and then we’re set free to start discovering.
Galaxy's navigation system is a joy, and all it took completing several stages to recognize how it maintains excellent reputation. Players will notice similarities for those who tried Mario's 3D adventures, and the controls prove user-friendly and intuitive as Nintendo typically delivers.
Gravity-Defying Gameplay
As astronomy fan, the environment aligns with my preferences, enabling Super Mario Galaxy to have fun with planetary forces. Round structures let Mario to circle repeatedly around them recalling Dragon Ball chasing after Bubbles in popular series. When structures approach, Mario can leap across getting captured through gravitational force of a nearby platform. Different stages feature flat circular shapes, and often feature collectibles below, easily overlooked spots.
Meeting Familiar Faces
The enjoyment from experiencing this game following long gap includes knowing some of its characters. I had no idea Rosalina made her debut through this adventure, or that she acted as the adoptive mother to stellar beings. Before playing Super Mario Galaxy, to me she was just a standard member Mario Kart World character selection. Similarly with Penguins, alongside whom I appreciated aquatic sections in initial coastal stage.
Motion Control Challenges
The primary drawback while experiencing Galaxy in 2025 concerns movement inputs, utilized during gathering, targeting, and firing cosmic pieces, vibrant items scattered around levels. Playing on handheld mode involved moving and adjusting the Switch around to direct, proving slightly cumbersome. Movement features feature heavily within some platforming sections, needing users to point the stellar pointer toward structures to pull Mario in their direction.
Stages completely dependent on the motion controls work better when played with the Joy-Cons detached improving control, such as the ray-riding stage during early game. I’ve never been a fan of motion controls, and they haven’t aged notably effectively throughout Galaxy. Luckily, when acquiring adequate stars through different stages, these gyroscopic sections might be entirely bypassed. I tested the mission requiring Mario guiding a massive orb through a track containing openings, then immediately quit after initial effort.
Classic Nintendo Magic
Except for the awkward motion-based input methods, there's hardly anything to criticize in Super Mario Galaxy, and galactic environments provide enjoyment to navigate. Even as standouts like Super Mario Odyssey launched later, Super Mario Galaxy continues as top-tier and most inventive Mario titles available.
