Finished Super Mario Galaxy

The review for Super Mario Galaxy is simple; this is the best game I've played on the Wii. It's Mario! And he's back to his former glory!

Like all Mario games, there's practically no story. The designers were too busy building fun and imaginative levels to be concerned with meaningless story elements. Make no mistake, it is the level designs that will keep you playing this game. There's a ton of levels to see and explore. They're extremely well thought-out and designed because they're meant to be played over and over again, if not to collect all 120 Stars, then just for the joy of playing them.

The music strikes a nice balance between the old themes that we all know and love, and some cute new themes. And all the music is appropriately repetitive; the themes will be burnt into your brain just like the themes of classic Mario games.

I'm so glad for this installment of Mario, because I had given up on the series. I've been so unimpressed with the latest installments. Mario 64 was awful, and almost unplayable. Mario Sunshine was a step up in controls, but the camera was so terrible that I threw down my controller in disgust after a few hours of play and I've never looked back. I had been worried that Nintendo would continue the trend, but this installment is excellent. (On a side note, we may have the Wii-mote to thank for Super Mario Galaxy. The Wii-mote is so simple and basic compared to the N64 and NGC controllers that the game designers were forced to keep the gameplay simple, which makes the game more playable and more fun!)

Super Mario Galaxy compelled me to play it. I wanted to find all the stars. I wanted to see all the levels. I wanted to experience everything that the game has to offer! I haven't felt so compelled to find everything in a Mario game since Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo...and that's saying a lot because it's one of my favorite games of all time.

I really can't say enough good things about Super Mario Galaxy. I love it. The kids love it too, of course! I could find some criticisms to throw at the game, but I don't want to. I love playing it so much that the criticisms would be shallow and I wouldn't really feel them. In the end I believe Super Mario Galaxy will stick in my mind as one of the best video gaming experiences I've ever had.