Super Mario Galaxy 1 Year Anniversary
RCTJunkie's Anniversary thread here
One year ago, on November 12, 2007, Super Mario Galaxy (aka Game of the Evar) was released on the Wii. It was the mustached plumbers next big adventure, and he was heading into the final frontier: space. With gravity on your side, Mario soared higher than ever. Super Mario Galaxy didn’t just revitalize Mario’s adventures, but the platformer as well. So here’s to Super Mario Galaxy, a game that reinvented not only the genre, but reinvented fun in the process.
Cast of Characters:
Mario
Mario’s newest quest takes him into the deepest reaches of space. With his biggest adventure yet, he just might need help from some friends to defeat the evil King Bowser.
Peach
Surely this time, Princess Peach wont be kidnapped by the King of the Koopas. Right?
Bowser
King Bowser devices his grandest scheme yet. Soon the whole universe will be in his claws. Can Mario stop him in time?
Rosalina
Mario finds himself befriended by a bunch of hungry Lumas and their foster mother Rosalina. With her help, reaching the cosmos is right at Mario’s fingertips.
Luigi
Mario comes to his brother’s rescue in the nick of time. With the two brothers working together, anything is possible. Who knows, maybe Luigi could even get the chance to shine this time around.
Bowser Jr.
Bowser’s trouble making son makes his return to cause even more mischief. With the father-son combo, Mario is going to have his hands full.
Bosses
Dino Piranha
Bugaboom
MegaLeg
Tarantox
Topmaniac
Bouldergeist
Major Burrows
Baron Brrr
Bonefin
King Kaliente
Kamella
Galaxies
*Links provide the original track for that particular Galaxy.
Terrace
Good Egg Galaxy
Honeyhive Galaxy
Loopdeeloop Galaxy
Flipswitch Galaxy
Bowser Jr.’s Robot Reactor
Fountain
Space Junk Galaxy
Rolling Green Galaxy
Battlerock Galaxy
Hurry-Scurry Galaxy
Bowser’s Star Reactor
Sling Pod Galaxy
Kitchen
Beach Bowl Galaxy
Bubble Breeze Galaxy
Ghostly Galaxy
Buoy Base Galaxy
Bowser Jr.’s Airship Armada
Drip Drop Galaxy
Bedroom
Gusty Garden Galaxy
Freezeflame Galaxy
Dusty Dune Galaxy
Honeyclimb Galaxy
Bowser’s Dark Matter Reactor
Bigmouth Galaxy
Engine Room
Gold Leaf Galaxy
Sea Slide Galaxy
Toy Time Galaxy
Bonefin Galaxy
Bowser Jr.’s Lava Reactor
Sand Spiral Galaxy
Garden
Deep Dark Galaxy
Dreadnought Galaxy
Matter Splatter Galaxy
Melty Molten Galaxy
Snow Cap Galaxy
Bubble Blast Galaxy
Loopdeeswoop Galaxy
Rolling Gizmo Galaxy
Reception
Sales: 7.26 Million
GameRankings.com overall score: 97.268
MetaCritic.com overall score: 97
My Take
I must admit, that as the years went by I started to realize that it was becoming harder to truly have fun while playing a video game. Sure, I could become immersed in a video game; I could be moved by an emotional story or by the amazing graphics. But at the same time, that child like wonder and enjoyment always seemed to be missing. Do you remember the first time you picked up a video game? The first time you led Mario to save that missing princess, the first time you sped through the zones as the Blue Blur? They were great times, where it seemed to be no end to the wonder of this new plaything. There was a big smile on my face then.
That smile over the years turned into a stern look of concentration. It was a look of focus and determination. It was all about the high score, the accomplishment of winning, the satisfaction of victory. I’m sure many of you reading this know what I’m talking about. Sure, this new mindset worked for a while, but after a while I started to remember my gaming past and experiences. I wondered why I was always more than just satisfyed back then. It was a feeling I almost forgot about, even with the great games coming out at the time. Maybe I was just outgrowing this child like awe of playing video games. Perhaps I just needed to finally grow up. The time of wonder was over, and I needed to face the facts.
So I bought this game called Super Mario Galaxy. I’ve always been a fan of Mario, so of course I was going to buy the next iteration of the fabled platformer. Sure, Wii was something new to me, where my family and friends who never really played video games were up there playing with the best of them. But surely Mario would be the same ol’ Mario he was back on the GameCube and N64 days. It would be another great game worthy of the franchise. One couldn’t expect anything more or less, and there wasn’t anything wrong with that.
And then I played Super Mario Galaxy. My eyes widened as Mario lept into the heavens. What was going on here? This wasn’t what I was expecting. What the… am I… smiling? This newfound feeling was simply incredible. It was exciting. It was refreshing. It was fun. I was having fun. That feeling that I hadn’t felt in a long time was back, and it was exhilirating. I mean, the sheer amount of joy I was experiencing, and I was just jumping around! Imagine, me, having fun just jumping around. It was mind blowing. The music, the worlds, the imaginiation involved, it was all so… perfect. For the first time in a long time, I was having fun playing a video game. There was a smile on my face, and that was enough for me to know that something had changed for the better.
-Smeags
