Hey guys and welcome to my first review for Nintendo Gaming Newz! Now you are probably wondering why I am reviewing such an old game. Well the answer for that is simple; I will be reviewing Galaxy 2 in the next couple of weeks, so what you’ve heard from THIS review will in some way make the Galaxy 2 review make more sense.
Story:
Every hundred years, a comet appears in the skies of the Mushroom Kingdom.
The comet was so large one year, it filled the skies, and countless shooting stars rained down.
The Toads brought the shooting stars to the castle, where they became a great Power Star.
It should have been a very happy time for the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom. That was the night of the Stardust Festival, held once every hundred years to celebrate the blessings of the comet.
“To Mario:”
“I’ll be waiting for you at the castle on the night of the Stardust Festival. There’s something I’d like to give you”
“From Peach”
Mario, clutching the invitation tightly in his hand, arrived at the castle to discover the dazzling Stardust Festival in full swing.
The Toads gave Mario a warm welcome and danced merrily. Mario was overwhelmed with joy. However...
And it ends there, leaving the rest for you to find out. This segment of storyline was taken from the game’s booklet. However, I will tell you what happens next:
Mario finally comes in view of the castle, he sees Peach standing by the door holding some kind of star with eyes. Mario is happy to see peach, but... Bowser’s Doom Ships come in to view in the horizon. Mario is shocked as the ships draw nearer at an amazingly fast pace! Eventually the ships arrive over the castle, and Bowser appears! He then explains his plan to rule not the Mushroom Kingdom, not the world, nope! This time it was on a far larger scale than any of those! He was planning to take over the universe! Create a fortress out of galaxies! He then sends down chains onto the castle. He picks it up and begins lifting it up into space, taking Peach and a frightened Toad with it! Peach screams Mario’s name at the top of her voice. Mario runs up to the castle before Bowser could lift it up completely. However; Kamek appears and blasts Mario into outer space. Peach screams his name once again, still with the star child in her arms! When Mario wakes up he finds a bunny jumping around waiting for him to wake up.Mario must chase the 3 star bunnies. After catching the 3rd one it turns into a star child (the same colour and size as the one Peach was holding). It asks Mario to follow it. You do so... after reaching the Star Child’s proffered spot, Mario finds a woman standing there, floating. “My name is Roselina” she says. “I am the queen of the cosmos.” She explains that the Star is called Lumina. And he is a type of star called a Luma. She is the mother of all Lumas. She needs Mario’s help because Bowser has stolen all of her power stars and her ship has no power.
Lumina takes a liking to Mario and jumps in his hat. Mario now has an ability called the “Spin Attack” (this is performed by shaking the Wii Remote).
And thus your adventure begins! Searching for Power Stars in order to power Roselina’s ship. And to defeat Bowser and rescue Peach from the centre of the universe!
By the way just wanted to say that I’m sorry that I took so long on the story! But I felt as if it would be the best way to describe the game. And just so you know! There are some parts I left out! Shocking, I know!
Controls:
The controls are surprisingly easy to get to grips with. To move Mario all you do is move the control stick in the desired direction, jumping is done by pressing the “A” button, crouching is performed by pressing the “Z” button And the camera is controlled by the D-Pad. Oh and there are button combos... lots and LOTS of button combos.
*deep breath*
Ground Pound: Smashes down on enemy and springs you up higher on springs. Performed by jumping (“A”) and pressing the crouch button (“Z”).
High Jump: A jump that springs you up far higher than a normal jump. Performed by crouching (“Z”) and pressing the jump button (“A”) at the same time.
Spin Pound: A ground Pound that homes in a little bit on an enemy. Performed by jumping (“A”) then Spinning (“Shake”) in mid air, while Spinning press crouch (“Z”).
Cartwheel Jump: A Jump that goes the same height as the High Jump. Performed by running in a certain direction and then moving in the opposite direction in order to skid, whilst skidding jump (“A”).
Long Jump: A jump that throws you further than a normal jump. Performed by running in a direction and crouching (“Z”). Whilst crouching jump (“A”).
You can also wall jump by jumping onto a wall and jumping (“A”), and then move the Control Stick in the opposite direction.
It might seem like a lot but once you play for a few minutes it really is easy to learn.
You can also pick up Star Bits by using the pointer: just move the cursor over them and they will fly to Mario. You can also shoot the by pressing the “B” button. Shooting at enemies stuns them, and then to kill them you just walk into them, and Mario automatically kicks them.
This also helps for feeding Hungry Lumas, feed them the right amount and they will transform into a brand new galaxy for you to play through!
Music:
Okay so this is the fun part! The one word that describes the music in Galaxy is: Magical!
Does it sound cheesy?! Sure it does! But that is the only word I can find to describe the amazing score in this game.
The music in this game was composed by Mahito Yokota (never heard of him) and Koji Kondo (My hero! The composer of the original Super Mario Bros theme and the Zelda theme. He basically composed the music for every Mario and Zelda game ever!)
Each Galaxy has its own unique theme and it fits so well! By FAR the best fitting music to a game that I’ve ever heard in my life! (next to Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time of course!).
Gameplay:
The gameplay is... in one word: outstanding! The movement is smooth, the frame rate is perfect, the controls are responsive, the list could go on for miles! There are also power-ups... many power-ups!
*deep breath* (again!)
Bee Mario: Hold down “A” Button to hover. Use the Control Stick to control the direction Mario hovers. Be careful – the Fly Meter will steadily decrease as Mario hovers upwards, and once it is empty Mario will fall. Mario can also climb Honey Walls by sticking to them. Mario will return to normal form: after colliding with an enemy, an enemy’s attack or by coming into contact with water.
Rainbow Mario: Mario will be able to defeat any enemies he collides with. His life meter will not decrease if he is attacked, and, for a limited time, his running speed will increase. Mario will return to his normal form: after a time limit has elapsed.
Boo Mario: shake the Wii Remote in front of special walls, such as bars, to become transparent and pass through. Rapidly tap the “A” Button to float upwards. Mario will return to his normal form: after colliding with an enemy, an enemy attack or by coming into contact with light or water.
Ice Mario: Mario can create an icy footpath by freezing the area around him as he walks. Mario will return to his normal form: after a time limit has elapsed.
Fire Mario: Shake the Wii Remote to attack enemies by shooting fireballs. Mario will return to his normal form: after a time limit has elapsed.
Spring Mario: Mario will continue to moce while bouncing. Press the “A” button precisely as Mario lands to bounce high. If Mario collides with a wall he will automatically perform a wall kick. Mario will return to his normal form: after colliding with an enemy, an enemy attack or by coming into contact with water or a launch star.
However! There is one problem with the gameplay! The two player co-op. This is just awful and is not as fun as it could be. The 2nd player isn’t even on the screen! All the 2nd player can do is stop enemies from moving and shoot star bits. This doesn’t help in any way, shape or form and adds NOTHING to the gameplay what so ever!
Level Design/Graphics:
Aha level design! Well where do I get started... well... each level is designed with great detail, there is lots of stuff happening in the background. Take the lava level on the secret world for example: at one point in the level you reach a launch star above a volcano, after you launch the volcano erupts and all the lava comes spewing out behind you. And then when you’re on the next platform it’s still erupting in the background. And it’s little details like that, that really make this game. The graphics aint bad either! Each character, level, background etc is so well done. This game has BY FAR some of the best graphics on Wii! EVER!
Verdict:
Strong Points: most things really. From the music to the level design, the story to the gameplay! And not to mention the amazing re-playability! Collecting all of the stars is a challenge for any gamer! This game has too many strong points to list.
Weak Points: everything in this game is perfect with only 2 exceptions:
1. The co-op 2 player sucks more than a vacuum cleaner.
2. The game must end at some point! :’(
Overall:
This game is a HUGE breath of fresh air for the franchise. Every detail is perfect only with the exception of the 2 player co-op. But do not let this put you off buying this gem of a game! This game is so innovative, so amazing to look at, I mean, have you ever played a spherical 3D platformer? ME NIETHER! So if you have a Wii, then buy this! Simple!
