Red Wiing of Death

Yesterday I was stricken for the third time by Microsoft’s evil conspiracy to insure that I don’t have a functioning Xbox by next hardware cycle, I am of course referring to that nocturnal thief, The Red Ring of Death. I did everything in my power to prevent it. I kept the system horizontal to maintain the most efficient airflow, I regularly dusted it and kept it away from other sources of heat, I even painted lamb’s blood across my doorframe, but nay, my dark mistress was taken from me in a violent flash of gray death on my LCD. As I anxiously await a replacement (Jasper please?) I will not drone on about my disappointment with the entire situation, as by Box five I have come to understand that anytime spent on an Xbox is borrowed, however, precious. Besides, there is a silver lining behind even this cloud, I recently bought Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii and have been too distracted by XBLA titles to try it out. Now I’ve got at least three to four weeks to get bosom acquainted.


In the past I’ve dabbled with the Wii, seeing it as more of a novelty than anything else. I’ve enjoyed Wii sports and I played a bit of a friend’s copy of Twilight Princess, but something about the mechanics have always seemed gimmicky and tacked-on. While the tacked-on nature of the controls still holds true at times for Super Mario Galaxy, certain pointing features of the Remote and basic analog movement is spot on. Over the last forty-eight hours I’ve given about ten to my favorite plumber, and by now I have no trouble seeing why it is the most critically acclaimed title on the platform. While most Mario experiences are merely iterations upon the predecessor, this version, at times, literally turns convention on its head.

Taking a page out of Super Mario 64’s book in terms of style and presentation, Galaxy is 64’s ultra-polished cousin. I say cousin as opposed to sibling for the tangible difference in the central mechanic of platforming, both how and where that takes place. Launching from the hub world, Mario lands in a selected galaxy filled with tons of small, close orbiting planets that Mario must navigate via launch stars, gravity wells, and of course, giant vines that explode forth from the earth. While the planets vary in size, each is relatively small compared to the size we traditionally associate with the word planet. What makes the platforming so fun is that each planet feels entirely hand-crafted and is completely traversable, forcing the player to utilize multiple hemispheres to reach the power star.

In addition to a revolutionary approach to the genre, Super Mario Galaxy also brings with it all the standard chattels we have come to expect from the beloved icon. One complaint I do have is that after ten hours of play, I am surprised by a feeling I don’t recall ever feeling with Mario, boredom. I can’t quite pin down the exact reason, but I think the primary culprit is difficulty. Super Mario Galaxy is very easy, at least four of six grand stars in it is. During my early romps with the game I was so taken by nostalgia coupled with interactions I had never experienced in a video game that I didn’t notice how quickly I was breezing through it. Now, with my yearning to play Point Lookout for Fallout 3 at fever pitch, my ability to freely roam the galaxy with seemingly unlimited lives has left the uber-polish, top-notch camera, excellent platforming, and jaw dropping level design (pardon the clichés) just a bit soured by a feeling that there is no stopping my butt-stomping onslaught across the galaxies. Sheesh, power, a threat to power, what do you people want?

Photo from here.


Following your acquisition of the fourth grand star, the difficulty seriously ramps up and ever subsequent power star feels hard-won, that's a good thing. On the negative, since when is fireball Mario a timed power-up?