Super Mario Galaxy 2
Sequel to Super Mario Galaxy, released for Wii in 2010.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a 2010 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the sequel to 2007's Super Mario Galaxy and follows Mario as he pursues Bowser into outer space to rescue Princess Peach. The game was originally conceived as an updated version of its predecessor but expanded into a full sequel over two and a half years of development.
Quick Facts
- Publisher
- Nintendo
- Director
- Koichi Hayashida
- Producer
- Yoshiaki Koizumi; Takashi Tezuka
- Designer
- Kenta Motokura
- Programmer
- Takeshi Hayakawa
- Composer
- Mahito Yokota
- Ryō Nagamatsu
- Koji Kondo
- Series
- Super Mario
- Platforms
- Wii, Nintendo Switch
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Princess Peach invites Mario to share a cake at the Star Festival, a centennial event where Star Bits rain over the Mushroom Kingdom. On his way, Mario finds a Baby Luma that befriends him and grants him the ability to spin. Bowser, having grown immense by abusing Grand Stars, attacks the castle, kidnaps Peach, and escapes into space to rebuild his empire at the universe's center. Two Lumas help Mario, with one transforming into a Launch Star that sends him into space.
After obtaining his first Power Star, Mario lands on a small planetoid spaceship and meets Lubba, a large purple Luma leading a band of Lumas. Lubba explains that Power Stars are needed to power the ship, which was attacked by Bowser, and offers help in tracking Bowser and saving Peach. Lubba grants Mario temporary ownership of the ship in exchange for more Power Stars, and the Lumas rebuild it in the shape of Mario's head, naming it Starship Mario.
As Mario travels the cosmos collecting Power Stars, he meets Yoshi, the Toad Brigade, and his brother Luigi, who all join him on the starship.
Development
After completing Super Mario Galaxy, Shigeru Miyamoto suggested a follow-up. The project initially aimed to create variations on the original's planets under the title Super Mario Galaxy More, with a development time of about a year. Early elements included scrapped ideas from the first game, such as Yoshi and a planet shaped like Mario's head. As new ideas accumulated, the team decided to expand it into a full sequel, extending development to two and a half years.
Koichi Hayashida served as director, and Takeshi Hayakawa as lead programmer. Hayakawa created a tool that allowed visual and sound designers to design stages without waiting for programmers, and many of these stages were included. The staff originally wanted the game to revolve around a concept of environmental switching, but this proved difficult to implement fully and was limited to certain levels. Early cameo ideas featuring Donkey Kong and Pikmin were rejected by Miyamoto, who felt Pikmin did not fit the Mario universe.
Game tutorials were placed in an optional Tip Network to assist players familiar with the original. Miyamoto compared the game to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, noting both use their predecessors' engines while building on them.
Reception
Super Mario Galaxy 2 received widespread acclaim from critics, who praised its creativity and technical improvements over the original. Most reviewers considered it to match or surpass its predecessor. It holds average scores of 97% on GameRankings and 98/100 on Metacritic, placing it among the highest-rated games on those sites. Tom McShea of GameSpot awarded a perfect 10, calling it a new standard for platformers.
Edge also gave a perfect score, stating the game rolls up the genre and locks it away. IGN's Craig Harris felt it perfectly captures classic videogame charm. IGN later ranked it fourth on its Top Modern Games list and called it the greatest Wii game. The Escapist's Susan Arendt noted the game does not tinker much with the established formula but that this was not needed.
GameTrailers commented that it offers something for nearly everyone. Ryan Scott of GameSpy regarded it as much better than the first Galaxy, praising how the series challenges notions of what a platformer can do. Giant Bomb's Ryan Davis praised the bolder level designs and willingness to take risks. Chris Kohler of Wired remarked that the level concepts alone could be full games. 1UP.com's Justin Haywald noted the expanded soundtrack as sweeping. X-Play's Andrew Pfister gave a 5/5, calling it the culmination of 20 years of Mario gaming.
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