Super Mario Galaxy 1 Year Anniversary

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 Brr

Bonefin

King Kaliente

Kamella

Galaxies
*Links provide the original track for that particular Galaxy.

Gateway Galaxy

Rosalina’s Comet Observatory

Terrace
Good Egg Galaxy
Honeyhive Galaxy
Loopdeeloop Galaxy
Flipswitch Galaxy
Bowser Jr.’s Robot Reactor

Sweet Sweet Galaxy

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

Bowser’s Galaxy Reactor

Center of the Universe

Bubble Blast Galaxy

Loopdeeswoop Galaxy

Rolling Gizmo Galaxy

Grand Finale Galaxy

Reception

Sales: 7.26 Million

IGN Video Review

GameTrailers Video Review

GameSpot Video Review

GameRankings.com overall score: 97.268
MetaCritic.com overall score: 97

The Minus Zone’s Take

Super Mario Galaxy is one of those releases that really challenges the definition and perception of the genre, and really, every other video game ever released. It’s an intricately designed title, every little detail is meticulously perfected, every new mission feels entirely fresh, even the soundtrack is an amazing piece of work; every single thing in this game has been crafted, as clichéd as it might sound, with love.

Mario Galaxy is one those rare titles that comes out once every blue moon if we’re lucky. Super Mario Galaxy will create this strange sensation that you haven’t felt in a long, long time when playing a video game: Fun. You even forgot that that feeling was supposed to exist when playing a video game; of course I’m only exaggerating for the sake of my little writing here.

This game not only exceeds every expectation you might have had, but it completely destroys them and then proceeds to slap you right in the face. This is how playing Super Mario Galaxy actually feels. You see this beautiful game playing in your Television screen, you see those worlds that not even in your dreams could you possibly find them, you hear the amazing soundtrack, then after all of this has sinked in you asked yourself “How is this possible, am I really playing this?”, then you press the ‘A’ Button and jump into the air. Then you know you are and you are loving every single second of it.

-Raul Navarro

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 looked fondly upon 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.

-Patrick McNamara