Super Mario Galaxy

aka: SMG, Super Mario Wii: Galaxy Adventure
Moby ID: 31282
Wii Specs
Note: We may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made via eBay or Amazon links (prices updated 3/28 6:30 AM )
Conversion (official)

Description official descriptions

Mario takes to the skies and beyond in another outing to save the Princess. As the Mushroom Kingdom prepares to celebrate the arrival of a comet that appears in the skies every hundred years, Princess Peach sends Mario an invitation to attend. As Mario arrives, Bowser and minions attack the Kingdom and once again kidnap the Princess... and her entire castle. Mario gives chase but is lost as the ship leaves the atmosphere and ends up on a space station built on the visiting comet overseen by the mysterious Rosalina. It's up to Mario to brave new galaxies, find the elusive Power Stars, and bring his friends home.

Super Mario Galaxy plays similarly to Super Mario 64, as Mario explores his latest 3D world defying gravity, crossing various terrains, and even running upside down across the planet surfaces. Bouncing from planet to planet, Mario must collect Star Bits and coins, using his usual jump attacks and spins (now controlled with movement from the Wii Remote). The Wii Remote is also used to collect out-of-reach Star Bits and also can be controlled by a second player.

In addition, Mario can find new suits (similar to Super Mario Bros. 3) that give him the ability to turn into the ghostly Boo Mario, the high-flying Bee Mario, launch fireballs as Fire Mario and skate across frozen lakes as Ice Mario. New challenges also await Mario including ray surfing, balancing on a high-speed ball, floating inside bubbles, and other challenges in his quest to get all 120 stars. Even Luigi lends a hand in the search, making valuable contributions to the adventure.

Players can also take a snapshot of the worlds they've completed along with their best record times and send them to their friends via Wi-Fi.

Spellings

  • スーパーマリオギャラクシー - Japanese spelling
  • 슈퍼 마리오 Wii 갤럭시 어드벤처 - Korean spelling (Hangul)

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Videos

See any errors or missing info for this game?

You can submit a correction, contribute trivia, add to a game group, add a related site or alternate title.

Credits (Wii version)

149 People (129 developers, 20 thanks) · View all

Game Design Concept
Director & Game Design
Level Design Director
Level Design
Script
Program Director
Player Character Programming
Game Programming Lead
Movie Scene Programming
Camera Programming
System Programming
Boss Character Programming
Collision System Programming
Enemy Character Programming
Event Programming
Design Coordinator
Character Design Lead
Character Design
[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 96% (based on 147 ratings)

Players

Average score: 4.2 out of 5 (based on 157 ratings with 10 reviews)

An very, very over rated game.

The Good
Super Mario Galaxy is bright, colorful and inoffensive. The game play is solid and the music is competent if a little derivative. The inclusion of symphonic tracks is finally welcome.

The Bad
The fact that barely anything has changed. Admit it, take away the sphere walking and star grabbing and you have essentially the same game that Nintendo released in 1996. Call me cynical but I don't believe 1 gimmick can carry an entire game and the sphere walking thing doesn't really impress me. The fact that little has changed since 1996 is weak and the only reason people love this game is because of a certain mustachioed plumber that has become somewhat of a messiah.

The Bottom Line
Super Mario 64 with Sphere Walking.

Wii · by AxelStone (34) · 2009

Mario Galaxy is by far the best 3D platformer ever made.

The Good
The game is beautiful, the worlds are huge, it makes the game look like something on a Xbox 360, and that's a huge achievement. The control is easy to learn and very tight. There are different gameplay mechanics included through out the game, weather its riding on a manta ray or balancing on top of a ball through a obstacle course. The soundtrack is amazing, all the music was composed by a symphony, with some sci-fi sound thrown in in a few levels. it just amazing. The bosses are huge and have a unique design to them, ranging from the dino piranha to Bowser himself. The game is very long, there's plenty of replay value, with 121 stars to collect with both Mario and Luigi, you will be playing for a long time. The co-op mode is fun, as the second player can help you but also affect your progress through the game.

The Bad
There's barely anything bad about this game. Its awesome in every way. Its just a little too easy, but that's a small complaint.

The Bottom Line
Get it. Its worth every penny. This game proves the Wii is capable of making games as good as the other next-gen systems without the powerful hardware. its amazing.

Wii · by samsam12 (714) · 2008

A Study in Exquisite Game Design.

The Good
Now that some of the glitter-dust has faded, and Mario Galaxy has had time to be played (and played again) in isolation of the heavy promotion and media hype, I think now is a good time to see what this games impact has really been. Also, can Mario Galaxy really give players what they’ve been thirsting for; a worthy sequel to everybody’s revered favourite?

On boot-up of the game, we see that the promoted space-theme is only suggested at, and, after selecting a Mii for our game-save file, we take hold of the Wiimote and nunchuk and begin on the mission of finding and rescuing Princess Peach. Bowser, in his infinite stubbornness and admirable determination, has managed to seize her again for his own ends. This segment is probably one of the more disturbing scenes ever shown inside the Mushroom Kingdom. The grounds outside the Castle look like they’ve been fire-bombed – smoke, debris and lifeless toad-characters litter the landscape. Mario, you enter late and are given proper motivation for tracking the Koopa-King down one more time.

‘Galaxy introduces us to Rosalina, a beautifully designed character dressed in a jade-coloured slip-over. Her blonde fringe covers one eye, and she exudes a class that no other from the Mushroom Kingdom has. She has a manner that is both motherly (she is often referred to as “Mamma”) and almost goddess-like. Already, we see that these character ingredients and designs have been escalated to higher realms than has been in any other prequel – could the game play follow this trend also?

The presentation is second-to-none. There is an inert, world-class crispness to all of the audio and vision. No expense has been spared, and I’m sure that any criticism made to any of the game ingredients can only be chalked up to a difference in taste, not in technicality. This is the first time that I’ve really believed that players on other systems are truly missing out. Sure, Halo 3 is an X360 title only, and Gran Turismo 5 a PS3 exclusive, but when playing Mario Galaxy, you really feel that this experience will never be duplicated, even by Nintendo themselves. It is a vision of game play that cannot be re-packaged or re-mixed or improved on, any more than you can improve on Michelangelo’s David. (And no, I’m not equating this video game to that masterpiece, only its technical prowess, integrity and uncompromising vision). The inevitability of a Halo 4, Gran Turismo 6 is there for any gamer to sense – the inevitability of a Mario game of this ilk is vanishingly small. That is what makes this title special – its own uniqueness come across from Star Collection No. 1, and you are not led into believing that this is Super Mario Galaxy v0.95.

This game is the ultimate Mario experience is because it balances its key elements superbly. The mix of game play styles, the challenging yet intricate controls, the constantly shifting objectives all make this game a true pleasure to play through. No longer are re-visiting areas and re-treading paths with only a marginally different star location. ‘Galaxy has you visiting mini-world, figuring out how to get off them in any number of ingenious ways, all while executing the most smooth move system I’ve ever encountered. The camera, now an auto-shifting masterpiece, helps you navigate the true third-dimension like never before.

Again, the one thing this game exudes is charm. The “hardcore” gamer cares not for charm, and would only sneer at shell-surfing penguin, or a bee with a case of the itches. As quirky-for-quirkys sake as this may sound, it really is one of the core ingredients that make this game such a pleasure to play. So yes, the hardcore gamer may find these things repellent, but I would argue that no hardcore gamer should be without this title. I believe that a true hardcore gamer is interested in all of what gaming may offer, not just that disproportionably represented and aging first-person-shooter sub-genre, or that equally distorted portrayal of MMORPG sub-genre. A “hardcore” gamer should be looking for games that improve and progress gaming experiences, regardless of genre. Their interest should know no-bounds, and care not of company loyalties, only of gamer-loyalty. In this sense, ‘Galaxy is as loyal as Golden Retriever. The whole thing is geared for fun while pushing gaming to a new height. It shares this honour with a very small list of titles.

The Bad
The only thing that got annoying was the routine that you undergo after acquiring a star. The many fan-fares, the pattern of sound-effects, and the save option become a habit that is decidedly irritating (that is, after the sixtieth or so star pickup).

The Bottom Line
So ‘Galaxy improves on it’s predecessors in every single way. I cannot think of one area where this game failed in that regard. The graphics, the presentation, the sound, the controls, the last-ability, the vision, the heart, the passion, the direction are all superior to that other Mario title. And, they are all superior to any other game in this (increasingly mutating) genre. The other Mario game, the one that is on everybody's 5-star list, has now been dethroned, and this time they didn’t need to add a dimension, just explore it to the fullest.

Wii · by So Hai (261) · 2008

[ View all 10 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Super Mario Galaxy appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cover

In the fall of 2007, it was discovered that certain letters on the box cover are marked with stars, and they spell the phrase "UR MR GAY" (you're mr. gay). The question is, how did this get past Nintendo's proofreaders?

References

The airships from Super Mario Bros. 3 make an appearance complete with the original music.

Sales

According to publisher Nintendo, Super Mario Galaxy sold 12.59 million copies worldwide (as of September 30, 2015).

Awards

  • GAME British Academy Video Games Awards
    • 2009 - Best Game
  • GamePro (Germany)
    • March 28, 2008) - Best Console Game in 2007
  • GameSpy
    • 2007 – #4 Game of the Year
    • 2007 – #3 Console Game of the Year
    • 2007 – Wii Game of the Year
    • 2007 – Wii Game of the Year (Readers' Vote)
    • 2007 – Wii Platformer of the Year
  • Official Nintendo Magazine
    • 2010 - Game of the Decade 2000-2009

Information also contributed by optrirominiluikus and sgtcook

Analytics

MobyPro Early Access

Upgrade to MobyPro to view research rankings!

Related Games

Super Mario Galaxy 2
Released 2010 on Wii, 2015 on Wii U
Mario Kart Wii
Released 2008 on Wii
Super Mario World
Released 1990 on SNES, 2006 on Wii, 2013 on Wii U...
New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Released 2009 on Wii, 2016 on Wii U, Android
Super Mario Kart
Released 1992 on SNES, 2009 on Wii, 2013 on Wii U...
Super Paper Mario
Released 2007 on Wii, 2016 on Wii U
Super Mario Sunshine
Released 2002 on GameCube
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Released 1995 on SNES, 2019 on Nintendo Switch

Related Sites +

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 31282
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

Contribute

Are you familiar with this game? Help document and preserve this entry in video game history! If your contribution is approved, you will earn points and be credited as a contributor.

Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Guy Chapman.

Wii U added by Michael Cassidy. Android added by firefang9212.

Additional contributors: Sciere, Freeman, gamewarrior, samsam12, Cantillon, ymihere, CalaisianMindthief, Patrick Bregger, Grandy02, provisional_account, FatherJack.

Game added November 25, 2007. Last modified February 17, 2024.