Comments on: Super Mario Galaxy: Good but Needs Improvement

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:48:38 +0000

Michelle, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed my review. I don’t think Super Mario Galaxy is a bad game. I had a great time playing it (when I wasn’t pulling my hair out) and definitely felt the joy of platforming that has been missing from my life since Mario 64. (I didn’t much care for Mario Sunshine. I don’t like cleaning in real life, so I don’t want to do it in a game…) SMG really saddened me though because it was so close to being a great game, but the unforgiving camera and controls prevented landed it squarely in the good category. My philosophy on design is if you get stuck, then the game is failing – not the player. Many people (especially game developers) forget that the purpose is to entertain – not challenge. Obviously if something is trivially easy, it usually isn’t entertaining. However, when someone is frustrated, they aren’t being entertained, so the game is failing. So when you are stuck, don’t blame yourself! Blame the developers!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:17:21 +0000

I really enjoyed reading your review. I felt it to be very honest & interesting. I am playing the game at the minute and love it almost as much as Super Mario 64 (which I am also currently playing on my DS!). However I too find the camera angles frustrating and the fact that some things seem as though they should be simple – but because of a rubbish camera angle you get it wrong.

Anyway, I am nowhere near finished yet. I don’t play many games at all – I’m not an avid gamer – but I enjoy this so far and I am looking forward to finishing it. Your review helped me to realise that it’s not necessarily me doing something wrong, it could just be bad design at times!

Oh – and the slow text speak, GRRRRRRRRRR!

Very good post – thanks!

By: Sonic

Sonic — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:14:21 +0000

When you said you were going to devote a lot of words, you weren’t kidding around. Seriously though, nice post.

By: Biovee

Biovee — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 00:51:03 +0000

Well on some things I agree with you, like the camera angles and minigame controls. But I’ve never had problems with the Wii-mote, I think it rocks! As for the “unforgiving enemies”, well, it’s supposed to be challenging; I find the game to be quite easy if you ask me. Also the puzzles such as that fire torche incicdent and other things like how to kill certain bosses or reach certain spots are quite enteraining to me. It proves you ned a lot of intellect to progress through the game.

By: Ziv

Ziv — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 07:05:51 +0000

I completely disagree with your assessment. In fact, I wish games were, in your definition, less accessible. The thing I loved most about Super Mario 64 were the hidden areas that gave little to no hint of their existence such as the tiny painting that leads to tall tall mountain, the princess’s secret slide, the entrance to the haunted house level, and the secret slide in tall tall mountain, as well as the various 1-up mushrooms placed in out of the way locations that only appeared when you did certain things (such as the one-up mushroom that only appears when you do a handstand on a certain tree east of the castle. They gave incentive to explore the entire map (which worked out extremely well with the non-linear nature of SM64 maps), and were a huge treat to find. You, however, propose that everything be handed to the player on a silver platter, and that any and all challenge be eliminated.

By: A Concerned Gamer

A Concerned Gamer — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 06:28:22 +0000

Bravo! It’s good to see finally someone has really analyzed a “AAA” game and is not afraid to point out flaws in it. I have become increasingly frustrated with the professional review sites for a number of years now. It seems like most major hyped titles are always going to get great reviews — even if they have noticeable defects in them. The reviews for pretty much any major Nintendo/Miyamoto game — Super Mario Galaxy, Zelda, even the next Metroid — can be written months before the game comes out. You just praise the brilliant use of the Wiimote, the solid gameplay, and the breathtaking graphics.

Motion sensitive controllers are a double edged sword. I applaud Nintendo for doing something different. I applaud them for trying to move away from the tried and true button-pushing paradigm. However, not everything works with it. Actually, not much works with it. Just look at the current crop of Wii games and PS3 games that try and use the SIXAXIS. You can’t control a car with it. It just doesn’t work. There’s a reason why people buy force feedback steering wheels for racing games — you need it to be responsive, not just float in the middle of the air. Balancing movies where you use the control to balance your character on a tight rope don’t work. Using the motion as a button might work in a sports game where you’re moving you’re whole body, but not something as tight and accurate as a platform game. I think Zero Punctuation sums it up: random button pressing has been replaced by random stick wagging. That doesn’t make for a better experience.

I have been let down by Nintendo and the Super Mario series in general for the last 10 years. I loved Super Mario 64. I played it several times through. I tried to collect every star (even in the frustrating clock level.) I waited for the 64DD and the rumored SM64 II, which, of course, never came. But alas, Nintendo was going to do Super Mario Sunshine for the GCN. I couldn’t wait. When the game came out, it was a big disappointment. I tried to enjoy the wacky Luigi’s Mansion-style water spray mechanic, but it just wasn’t the same. When I heard about SMG, Nintendo finally promised a return to SM64. Again, I couldn’t wait. But alas, they produce a good game, but try too hard to use the motion sensitive controller in ways that don’t work.

Years ago I did have a realization. There was several spiritual sequels to SM64 that matched the controls, the tightness of gameplay, and the impressiveness of the overall experience. They were just called something else — Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank, and Klonoa.