Gateway (video game)

Lore & Background

The game is set a century in the future, after humans colonize Venus and discover vast artificial tunnels built by an extinct alien species, the Heechee. An explorer finds a functional Heechee ship, which transports him to a space station called Gateway, an asteroid filled with thousands of similar ships. The station becomes humanity's gateway to deep space, operated by a cooperative called the Gateway Corporation. Prospectors volunteer to pilot the ships to unknown destinations, with most returning empty-handed, a tenth never returning, and a few becoming rich from artifacts or knowledge.

The player character arrives on Gateway as a prospector. After exploring Heechee coordinates, he obtains a Heechee computer that reveals the Assassins, a hostile alien race that threatens advanced civilizations. The computer provides coordinates to an interplanetary shield device. The player is sent to activate the shield, culminating on the Assassin world 'Watchtower,' where a Heechee AI helps the player escape an electronic Assassin entity by creating paradoxes and uploading the AI. The player returns as a hero, but the threat of the Assassins remains.

The game closely follows Frederik Pohl's novel 'Gateway' in its setting, characters, and many plot elements, while adapting the story for an interactive format.

Reader's Guide

Frederik Pohl's Gateway holds significance as an interactive fiction adaptation of a celebrated science fiction universe, released during the early 1990s when graphical adventure games were evolving. The game was noted for its strong narrative ties to Pohl's work, though critics observed that its puzzles relied on older adventure game conventions. Computer Gaming World's Charles Ardai remarked that Pohl's influence was felt throughout, but the puzzles were 'pretty good' yet reminiscent of classics like Starcross or Planetfall, with some logic puzzles deemed 'jarring and inappropriate.' He also noted the game's small number of locations and the possibility that a player might never die, which contradicted the premise. Despite these criticisms, the game was praised for its graphics, sound, and story. Greg Ellsworth of Computer Games Strategy Plus found it easier than other Legend titles but enjoyable for its narrative. Jim Trunzo in White Wolf rated it 4.5 out of 5, calling it a 'refreshingly different challenge' with top-of-the-line graphics. In 1996, Legend Entertainment made the game available for free download, contributing to its legacy as a accessible piece of interactive fiction history.

Did You Know?

• The game was released by Legend Entertainment in 1993 and based on Frederik Pohl's Heechee universe.
• A sequel, Gateway II: Homeworld, was published in 1993.
• The game's plot involves a Heechee computer that reveals a hostile alien race called the Assassins.

From Greenlight to Galaxy

In May 2021, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa publicly expressed the company's willingness to greenlight additional animated adaptations of its properties, contingent on the commercial performance of the then-untitled Mario feature. That condition was soon met: after the 2023 original shattered box office expectations, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri had already fielded questions about a follow-up before the first film even opened in April of that year. By March 2024, a sequel was officially confirmed in development, with Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic stepping back into the director's chair and Matthew Fogel returning to write the screenplay. The production was a joint effort between Illumination and Nintendo, with Universal Pictures handling theatrical distribution. Creative inspiration drew heavily from the Super Mario Galaxy titles released in 2007 and 2010, while also weaving in elements from the Star Fox franchise. The finished film had its world premiere at the historic Minami-za theater in Kyoto on March 28, 2026, before hitting U.S. screens on April 1.

A Cosmic Quest

The narrative propels Mario, Luigi, and their newly acquired companion Yoshi into the vastness of outer space after Bowser Jr. kidnaps Rosalina, intending to siphon her cosmic energy to power a devastating weapon built in his father's name. What begins as a routine inspection in Tostarena Town spirals when the Koopa prince hurls Peach's castle into orbit, and a chaotic space battle sends it tumbling into the Honeyhive Galaxy. Bowser, still shrunken from the previous film, manipulates the brothers into unshrinking him, then trades his labor for their exile to the Gateway Galaxy. There, a stolen backpack leads Peach and Toad to a hidden casino run by the toad crime lord Wart, who reluctantly reveals Rosalina is held in the Space Junk Galaxy. The heroes enlist mercenary pilot Fox McCloud, but the Bowsers ambush the group, crash Fox's Arwing into Fossil Falls, and shrink the brothers into infants using a Super Scope. Yoshi retrieves the device and saves them from a Tyrannosaurus. At the Comet Observatory, a stunning revelation unfolds: Peach is Rosalina's long-lost older sister, both born from stardust, with Rosalina having sent infant Peach to the Mushroom Kingdom for safekeeping.

Voices Across the Stars

The film assembles a star-studded voice ensemble that blends returning favorites with bold new additions. Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Keegan-Michael Key all reprise their roles as Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Toad respectively, anchoring the cast with the chemistry audiences loved in the 2023 original. The sequel introduces four major new voices: Benny Safdie brings energy to Bowser Jr., the Koopa prince; Donald Glover lends his distinctive cadence to Yoshi, the friendly green dinosaur hatched in Brooklyn; Glen Powell voices Fox McCloud, a red-fox mercenary pilot from another galaxy; and Brie Larson delivers Rosalina, the cosmic princess and adoptive mother of the Lumas. Supporting roles include Luis Guzmán as Wart, the toad crime boss who owns the Gateway Galaxy's casino, and Issa Rae as the Honey Queen, ruler of the Honeyhive Galaxy. Kevin Michael Richardson returns as Kamek, while Eric Bauza voices the blue Toad general. Notably, Juliet Jelenic, daughter of co-director Michael Jelenic, reprises Lumalee, the nihilistic blue Luma who now works as a prison guard. Roxana Ortega voices Ukiki, the mischievous monkey thief of the Gateway Galaxy.

Box Office Triumph Amid Mixed Reviews

Despite a critical reception that ranged from mixed to outright negative, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie proved to be a massive commercial force. Against a production budget of $110 million, the film collected $1.013 billion at the global box office, a figure that placed it as the fifth-highest-grossing release of 2026. More notably, it claimed the title of the second-highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, trailing only its 2023 predecessor. The disparity between audience enthusiasm and critical consensus echoed the pattern set by the original film, suggesting that the franchise's appeal to families and longtime Nintendo fans operates on a wavelength that traditional review aggregators struggle to capture. The film's journey from a cautious 2021 statement of interest by Nintendo's leadership to a billion-dollar space opera in under five years underscores how the Mario brand continues to dominate the intersection of gaming and cinema. Universal Pictures handled the theatrical rollout, with the Kyoto premiere serving as a nod to the franchise's Japanese roots before the wider April 1, 2026, U.S. release.