Why Super Mario Galaxy Is Nintendo's Best Game - Part 1

Once the ruinous path to over-exposure has been trodden, it’s nigh on impossible to recreate that fresh feeling of novelty and uniqueness. Just ask Madonna. It’s a miracle then that Mario’s appeal – and let’s not forget his appearances in over 200 videogames – has yet to diminish. Far from it. The ubiquitous Italian chubster is as popular as ever.It comes as no surprise then that Super Mario Galaxy is to spawn a sequel. SMG will be the first 3D Mario game to receive a follow-up on the same console. This may very well be the result of the Wii’s longer-than-average shelf life. Or perhaps the riot of originality showcased in SMG was just the tip of the iceberg. It really doesn’t matter. The important thing is this - we are to be blessed with a sequel to the best Mario game, oh fuck it, the best Nintendo game of all time.

Sequel Fatigue
Mario Sunshine confirmed many peoples’ belief that Super Mario 64 was the pinnacle of Nintendo’s platforming powers. How could Shigeru Miyamoto ever recreate the sheer wonderment of seeing Mario fleshed out into full 3D for the first time? Even Sunshine’s numerous additions, which included the Fludd, a controllable 3D Yoshi and a whole new tribe of Piantas couldn’t save Sunshine from feeling like a step backwards. Edge magazine made the shrewd observation that, “a strange plane has brought him from his home, an escapist, jolly nonsense-land where the hills have eyes to a world very much more like our own”. Mario became bogged down with the baggage of reality. Was it possible that Mario had exhausted his plaforming possibilities? Super Mario Galaxy was about to blow this concern, quite literally, into the stratosphere.

Find out how in Part 2.