Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)

Sequels seem inevitable after a successful game release, especially for a series as popular as Super Mario. What makes Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Galaxy 2) stand out, however, is that it was originally intended as an updated version of the original Super Mario Galaxy (Galaxy) called Super Mario Galaxy More, but there was enough new content that the development team turned it into a full sequel. When Galaxy 2 released for the Nintendo Wii in 2010, it garnered instant acclaim, with many considering it on par with or even better than the original and became one of the best-selling titles for the system (though it would still fall a few million units short of the original). Since I played the original Galaxy in anticipation of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, I continued my journey with Galaxy 2, this time through the original Wii release via the Wii U’s backwards compatibility. While it did deserve the praise it had received, I felt more mixed about the presentation overall compared with its predecessor.

While on his way to Princess Peach’s castle to celebrate the Star Festival, where stardust rains down over the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario finds a Luma, who immediately befriends him. Shortly after, Bowser kidnaps Peach and makes his way to the center of the universe with the aid of the Grand Stars in hopes of rebuilding his empire. As Mario chases Bowser into space, he ends up on a small planetoid, where he meets a large purple Luma named Lubba. Lubba learns of Peach’s kidnapping and offers to help Mario, transforming the planetoid into a spaceship known as the Starship Mario, which requires Power Stars. Mario must now recover these Power Stars, as well as the Grand Stars in Bowser’s bases, to reach the center of the universe and rescue Peach.

Travel through the universe on the Starship Mario.

Likely owing to its original intent as an expanded version of Galaxy, Galaxy 2 has a very similar premise, though with some tweaks that affect Mario’s initiative in chasing Bowser. The biggest difference, of course, is Lubba replacing Rosalina’s role in the story and the Starship Mario replacing the Cosmic Observatory. The final confrontation is also similar, but with an added twist to keep Galaxy fans on their toes, and the ending is largely the same, but acknowledges the original Galaxy more directly, albeit in a way that keeps the events of both games separate from one another. In the middle, however, there is no storybook, which simultaneously emphasizes the sequel’s greater emphasis on the gameplay and almost completely removes the narrative aspect. While I thought that the original Galaxy had a minimal story, especially compared with other video games with a stronger emphasis on narrative, the near lack of storytelling in Galaxy 2 made me realize just how present it was in the original game and gave me an even greater appreciation for its narrative capabilities. The later Nintendo Switch release of Galaxy 2 (following it absence from Super Mario 3D All-Stars) would include a storybook for Lubba, but I can’t really comment on that since it’s not in the version I played for this review.

As for the gameplay, Galaxy 2 is nearly identical to Galaxy, but has some tweaks and adds its own unique twists. Since I already covered the basic gameplay more in-depth in my original Galaxy review, I will focus more on the differences here.

Instead of the Comet Observatory, Mario can roam around and pilot the Starship Mario, which resembles his head. This area is much smaller than the Comet Observatory and feels more utilitarian in its design, with many opportunities for interaction often placed mere steps or jumps away. Here, Mario can speak with NPCs for extra dialogue or rewards, as well as obtain extra 1-Ups or Star Bits and access special areas, one of which displays all of the unique mushrooms that he has interacted with throughout the game. Eventually, during the earlier portion of the game, a Banktoad will appear and give you the option to bank your Star Bits, either for later use or sharing with other players across multiple save files. When reloading a Save, Mario will respawn on the ship and once again revert back to four Lives, but Mario can also received a letter where Peach offers five additional Lives (with no way to accidentally reject the offer this time).

In place of the Comet Observatory’s Dome system, the Starship Mario travels through the World Map, with each of the six Worlds containing a certain number of Galaxies. Much like Galaxy, advancing further within each World can require obtaining enough Power Stars to lower Star Barriers, though the ship moves through linear paths, not unlike some older Mario titles (think like how No More Heroes’ open world driving between Jobs contrasts with the more straightforward lists in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle). Starting from World 2, players can zoom out to the World Galaxy Map and view/travel between different Worlds with ease. To return to the Starship Mario, simply park it in an unoccupied space in the World Map and interact with it.

The World Map replaces the Dome system.

Playing through each of the unique Galaxies strikes a good balance between novelty and familiarity, aided by some great quality of life changes, apart from letting you view your collection of Power Stars, Grand Stars and Comet Medals from all across the game at any time in the Pause menu. Checkpoints are now marked by obvious Checkpoint Flags, eliminating the guesswork with how much progress your death undid, and Luma Store options are now more explicitly labeled. For the benefit of newcomers and navigating some more difficult areas in certain Galaxies, players can interact with Tip Network TVs that explain certain moves or gives an idea of how to advance without holding your hand too much. There is a handholding mechanic, however, but only in certain Galaxies. If you lose enough Lives, the Cosmic Spirit will appear and can activate the Cosmic Guide to show you the way to the Power Star, literally playing the game for you. If you collect the Power Star after using the Cosmic Guide, it will still count towards your total, but appear as a Bronze Star instead. Admittedly, for reasons I’ll explain in a bit, I do have one Bronze Star from towards the end of the game, but only the one.

Tweaking some gameplay elements and adding new ones also opens up new design space within each Galaxy. For example, there are no Red Stars that enable flight, as you instead play through dedicated flight levels by riding a Fluzzard, sometimes in a race. Since I mentioned them, you now summon Prankster Comets in certain Galaxies by obtaining Comet Medals throughout the game, though I’m not aware of what makes specific ones appear. Galaxies can also have Teleporters that take Mario to a nearby Bonus Stage that will grant an item if he can defeat all enemies within a certain time limit before he’s automatically warped back. Depending on where you are in certain Galaxies or the Starship Mario, you can also find Chance Cubes that can either grant a random item (usually a 1-Up or Star Bit) or spawn enemies (usually a Goomba). Luigi also appears at the beginning of certain levels, giving you the opportunity to play as him instead of Mario. He does play a little differently and can present a challenge sometimes, but I switched to him at just about every opportunity due to the requirements to do so in the original Galaxy. Gaining a 1-Up through normal play now requires collecting 100 Star Bits in one go (instead of 50) or 100 coins cumulatively, which had a smaller effect on the level design in that collecting either one felt a little easier, but especially coins.

The biggest change, however, aside from granting Mario new power-ups, is that players can now play with Yoshi. After breaking a strategically-placed Yoshi Egg, Mario can ride Yoshi throughout the level, opening up more opportunities for combat and traversal. As is tradition, Yoshi can eat certain objects and either eat or stun enemies with his tongue, which is also used as an additional form of traversal alongside his useful Flutter Jump. Yoshi also has the equivalent of Mario's Spin Attack in the form of his Head Shake. He even has his own share of power-ups that various Galaxies take advantage of. If Mario takes any damage while riding Yoshi, however, he’ll dismount and Yoshi will retreat back into an egg if he’s not mounted again or falls down a hole within a short window. While Yoshi Eggs are often placed in convenient spots in the event that this occurs, it can easily spell disaster within certain Galaxies or boss fights if the player can’t recover quickly enough.

Yoshi opens up more design space.

Although Galaxy 2 pushes the level design of the original Galaxy further with exciting and engaging changes, it’s also noticeably more difficult overall as a consequence of trading atmosphere for the increased emphasis on gameplay (the Starship Mario even has far more upbeat music compared with the more melancholic tone of the Comet Observatory). Those who prefer a more gameplay-focused Mario title may enjoy that, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed after Galaxy had effectively blindsided me with its narrative and emotional depth. Aside from that, completing Galaxy 2 also took longer for me than Galaxy thanks to the lack of a standard control option, which meant getting more physical while playing. All of the quick pointing and flicking of the Wii Remote gradually took a toll on my arm, forcing me to limit my future play sessions to avoid risk of injury. While perhaps a reminder that I’m not as young as I once was when I started this blog, this is the reason that I caved late in the game and accepted a single Bronze Star when I would have otherwise considered it a mark of shame, as I did with Celeste. This was compounded by the updated requirement of 70 Power Stars to access the final boss in a game that’s a lot stingier in handing them out, forcing me to get more creative when approaching Secret Power Stars and learning a lot more about some of the game’s mechanics. I admittedly felt a sense of catharsis when I finally achieved the minimum Power Star count, though the final boss fight was a cakewalk compared with the runup to Bowser or any of the levels that preceded it. Completing the game also unlocks a bonus reward, access to the Special Galaxy, but after all that I had gone through to get to that point, I felt satisfied with stopping there instead of going for the full 120 Power stars.

I will, of course give credit where it’s due. Despite the noticeably different tone, Galaxy 2 has a strong score that fits the intended experience. The graphics also hold up quite nicely for a Wii game and the different Galaxies all have a unique personality.

There’s one other thing that has no bearing on the experience, but I found it worth mentioning. Since I couldn’t look at the controls at any time like I could with Galaxy, I actually read through the manual that came with my secondhand copy, as well as the foldout showing the basic controls for Mario and Yoshi in both English and French. While many would find this experience rather unremarkable, it served as a nice reminder of when game manuals actually had real substance. Contrast that with modern games, which don’t have anything except copyright info, a seizure warning and maybe a code, either as slips of paper or something printed on the inside of the box art. Even boutique physical releases, such as those from Limited Run Games, often give you the basic controls and mechanics as efficiently as possible (if you're lucky) and fill the rest of their pages with bios or an art gallery. Many older games had these elements, of course, but in a different ratio. All of this to say, I guess, that Galaxy 2 reminded me of how game manuals feel like a lost art and it would be nice to have them again, even if not everyone reads them.

Although I may prefer Super Mario Galaxy overall for its unique atmosphere and narrative depth, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is still a worthy successor and demonstrates a lot of creativity in stretching the original game’s mechanics to create more design space while keeping the experience familiar. I would, however, suggest playing on a platform that allows for standard controls, if only to save your shoulder and wrist.