I have been awaiting this game for quite awhile. Actually, I think we all have been waiting for this game for about 10 years (sorry Sunshine.)
So, I can't believe its finally coming next week. The funny thing it that there doesn't seem like there is as much hype for the game as one would think. Time will tell.
Anyway, to get to my point, I got to play it at a local GS here in the Philadelphia area on Saturday, and wow, I was blown away. I don't want to give any spoilers away (I actually played for about 20 minutes before I forced myself to stop playing and not spoil anymore of the game), but it EXCEEDS expectations. It has that certain flair that Mario games have. Something that NSMB and SMS lacked. Its hard to put a finger on why its so fresh and exciting, but I can go on and say that the level design simply blows away all other current games. Furthermore, I did not truly understand the gravity aspect of this game until playing it. It makes this game so different from all the other 3D platformers out there.
EDIT: I played a saved version of the game, so I got a good look at some of the different galaxies, not just the beginning of the game.
A few other tidbits, (most of them I'm sure you all know)
The EB/GS demo kiosk SMG games are actually the full games.
There was a leak onto the internet of copies of said games last week.
Best Buy in some areas actually started selling them earlier this week by accident, so quite a few people actually have the game.
There are some serious spoilers out there, BIG SPOILERS, so beware.
There are already 7+ reviews at Game Rankings... with an average of 96.5!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Super Mario has returned.
I never beat Super Mario Sunshine and I didn't care.
phattonez wrote:I never beat Super Mario Sunshine and I didn't care.
Ditto...
Yeah, there was something about that game, even though it was well polished and controlled great, that didn't appeal to me.
Same with Luigi's Mansion. It seems ... droll? I haven't even touched Mario Sunshine. Don't think I will either, after I "forced" myself to get Luigi's Mansion just so I wouldn't be living under a makeshift rock for the rest of my life. >_O'
I suppose I may as well get it. I'd always rather wait until the price drops, but then again, It WILL drop eventually, as all games do, and by then, Brawl will have stopped getting as interesting in eight or so years.
Hey, I liked Luigi's Mansion, and I played it through a few times. It was the first game I had for Gamecube, but still, I thought it was pretty good, abeit a little repetitive at times.
I liked Luigi's Mansion but it was 4 hours of gameplay with very little replay value.
One thing about SMS was it felt pointless at times. You run around this island doing random tasks with no real goal in sight. The game never tells you what you have to do to unlock the final area, so when it does unlock it feels like what you were doing to that point really had nothing to do with it. At least with Mario64 you knew you needed to collect stars to open the doors that would get you closer to your confrontation with Bowser. It was simple, but it was effective because you always had a clear goal in mind.
I liked luigi's mansion a lot, I wish they'd sequel it with more content, and some actual challenge. That's LM's problem, was the ease of play after you mastered doing crazy stuff with one stick and something different with the other.
Sunshine was fun, too. So maybe SMS will be awesome. NSMB blew rediculous ass chunks. That seriously was less of a mario game than SMB2. at least SMB2 was fucking awesome.
I'm glad I was not the only one disappointed with NSMB. Everyone seems to love it like crazy.
Personally I think it was the level design. It sucked. The game started to get decent in the last world (it almost had a SMB3 vibe to some of the levels, especially with enemies like Sumo Bros. and Fire Bros. returning), but overall it was too little, too late. The rest of the game really felt like a souped-up SMB1 - and frankly, SMB1 has not aged well at all.
If they make a New Super Mario Bros. 2, I'd like to see them work towards something closer to SMB3/SMW feel, or even SMB2 (our version) with a less rediculous plot and more familiar enemies/settings. I'd personally love another game with multiple characters like that (SM64 DS actually did a decent job with that, but it felt too tacked-on.. the game would need to be designed from scratch with that concept in mind).
I've been thinking about getting a Wii when this game is released. It's looking really good. I'm just kind of concerned that a lot of the gameplay looks like it's taking place on little planetoids, and there's not that many "big" levels like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine had.
I'm also worried about the fact that the game actually has "spoilers." I mean, Mario games have always been known to be "save the princess," and not much else of a plot. I just don't want one of my all-time favorite game series to go down the path of Sonic and add ridiculous plot-lines and characters.
I'm really hoping this game is a lot like SM64. I liked SMS, but it did feel like there was something missing. It wasn't a bad game, but I just had a kind of empty feeling. Keep in mind that I only rented SMS, so I may not have really looked at it.
With NSMB, it kinda did feel half-assed to me. Most of the levels were really plain when compared to SMB3 and SMW. Very few levels were vertical, and there didn't seem to be any real "gimmick" to the worlds. World gimmicks are kind of a good thing in Mario games. I mean, SMB3 had quicksand and the sun in World 2, and all those pipes and piranha plants in World 7. NSMB was just like "there's a few more enemies and holes here than in the previous world."
I'm also worried about the fact that the game actually has "spoilers." I mean, Mario games have always been known to be "save the princess," and not much else of a plot. I just don't want one of my all-time favorite game series to go down the path of Sonic and add ridiculous plot-lines and characters.
Lots of spoilers=happy me.😊 I like it when they add storyline. I am so d*** tired of save the princess plots. They got old really fast.
Yoshiman wrote:I've been thinking about getting a Wii when this game is released. It's looking really good. I'm just kind of concerned that a lot of the gameplay looks like it's taking place on little planetoids, and there's not that many "big" levels like Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine had.
There indeed are some bigger worlds as well as the planetoids that you've seen a lot of. I agree, I wouldn't want to play a game going from planetoid to planetoid to planetoid and that's it.
mattwdr wrote:Yeah, there was something about that game [SMS], even though it was well polished and controlled great, that didn't appeal to me.
SMS's graphics were very well-polished, but I found the mechanics were rather glitchy at times. I fell through the ground a few times (especially in the attic or whatever of the hotel), found that obtaining a blue coin every once in a while would crash the game completely, and found that the developers were lazy at times. Like that roller coaster/shooter in Pina (sp?) Park, I hated how you died at the end if you failed to complete the mission.
All in all, though, it was an excellent game.
Uh, I hear that there's really not much of a plot at all. Personally, that makes me happy. I just want to save the princess - I don't want some plot getting in the way. If I wanted a story, I'd play an RPG.
I like how this thread turned into a "Super Mario Sunshine was terrible" thread.
Well people are just talking about what they know. Most haven't gotten to play SMG yet.
Cloral wrote:Well people are just talking about what they know. Most haven't gotten to play SMG yet.
Well yeah, I just remember it funny how back in 2003 everyone here was looking forward to SMS and Wind Waker and both turned out to be huge disappointments.
I wouldn't say WW was a huge disappointment. Sure it was a bit light on dungeons and areas to explore, but I still thought it was a lot of fun.
^^WW was excellent. I find WW to be better than OoT. In all, I think OoT was the worst of the 3D Zelda games (but of course was still a classic; I just think the rest of them were better). WW has that charm that you'd expect to go along with the magic of a Zelda game. Though TP lacked this (except for Midna, which made up for some of the magic/mystery), its pure gameplay elements and dungeon designs placed it at #1 for me. MM is at #2.
*reads title of thread* Oops. Super Mario Galaxy looks excellent. Though I don't have a Wii, I'd love to play it. Somehow. I will.
^^WW was excellent. I find WW to be better than OoT. In all, I think OoT was the worst of the 3D Zelda games (but of course was still a classic; I just think the rest of them were better). WW has that charm that you'd expect to go along with the magic of a Zelda game. Though TP lacked this (except for Midna, which made up for some of the magic/mystery), its pure gameplay elements and dungeon designs placed it at #1 for me. MM is at #2.
MM#1. TP#2.
Getting back to the subject of Super Mario Galaxy, I think this is going to be the best Mario game ever! Although I must admit I am a little iffy on the whole planatoid thing, as everyone else is, I think it will turn out the same way the Zelda: Phantom Hourglass touch screen controls did. Everyone will think it is game ruining, and then they find out the really like it. Some people bought wiis just to play one game. This is that game (well, this and SSBB). This is going to be an awesome game!
punkonjunk1024 wrote:Sunshine was fun, too. So maybe SMS will be awesome.
uh, doesn't SMS = Sunshine? o_O you must really like that game 😃 i found that it felt too fake, nothing felt solid. your character always felt like it was floating around the place... especially with yoshi, yoshi felt absolutely terrible to control.
See, to me, TP was the worst 3D Zelda, due to the feeling of not having much freedom at all (nothing to really explore, no choice in how to reach goals, etc.)
Trust me, once you experience the whole "planetoid" thing, you won't be doubting it anymore. It feels so right. There are plenty of huge planets as well.
I think SMG having less story is a good thing. It seems to me that games like Super Mario are meant to be about fun and about innovation/creativity. I feel like developers feel pressure from critics and the gaming media to fabricate and develop storylines. In my opinion, there are certain games, and especially franchises that function better without complex, intricate storylines. The stories can bog these games down, leading to monotony in level design, (See SMS), as well as other examples with cheesy characters and voice work (Modern Sonic Games). For me, Mario games have always been about pick up and play mentality. This game (SMG) seems to fit that bill perfectly.
Now it is beyond me why reviewers have given negative points to this game because it lacks a developed story (or so they say).
Its funny that this thread is already expanding into other Nintendo franchises. (That being said, the only 3D Zelda I truly loved was OOT)
rock_nog wrote:See, to me, TP was the worst 3D Zelda, due to the feeling of not having much freedom at all (nothing to really explore, no choice in how to reach goals, etc.)
That is because it was really made just to show what the Nintendi Wii was capable of. It just combined good levels, good storyline, and good controls. They just didn't bother putting freedom of how to beat the game into the formula. BTW post 500!
russadwan wrote:That is because it was really made just to show what the Nintendi Wii was capable of. It just combined good levels, good storyline, and good controls. They just didn't bother putting freedom of how to beat the game into the formula.
Agreed. I also feel like it also lacked artistic completion. In other words, like OOT and MM, the world feels bland and empty. (Like most 3D games of any kind) The gameplay is great in TP, but as ironic as this is, I much prefer the artistic style of Wind Waker and Phantom Hourglass. I feel like these games are much more of a spiritual successor in terms of presentation and environment to the older Zelda games than OOT, MM or TP were. In TP I feel like so much of the world is useless and is just there, in older Zelda games, you felt like every screen, every tree, every rock could hide something. I also feel like the world just isn't as vibrant and colorful as a Zelda game should be. If we could just get Wind Waker's artistic intensity with TP's more traditional gameplay and overworld, mixed with ALTTP/LA/LOZ etc's open-ended gameplay, I would be very happy.
EDIT: Heres three different video reviews of SMG if you care to take a look:
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/11/08/meta-video-review-super-mario-galaxy/
Warlock wrote:I'm glad I was not the only one disappointed with NSMB. Everyone seems to love it like crazy.
You're not alone. I didn't like it either. I borrowed it from a friend and played it for about an hour and was just really bored. For once I'm glad I didn't go out and buy it a game right away.
Ditto on what mattwdr said about WW and TP etc.
I'm excited for Mario Galaxy. I had a feeling it was going to ge good, but the reviews so far have been crazy. I can't wait.
russadwan wrote:That is because it was really made just to show what the Nintendi Wii was capable of. It just combined good levels, good storyline, and good controls. They just didn't bother putting freedom of how to beat the game into the formula. BTW post 500!
uh it was designed for the gamecube and ported to the wii. how can it show off what the wii is capable of if it wasnt designed for the wii?
Mario Galaxy was designed for the gamecube..?
i cant nest the quotes so refer to the actual post i quoted.
[spoiler]Defeating Bowser with an arse dive will make Miyamoto come to your house and tend to your garden.[/spoiler]
I've played the SMG demo at GameStop, and it seems like it'll be the definitive games of 2007. My cousin pre-ordered it, but I'll probably end up being the one to play it. Sounds like a win-win for me, he buys it, I play it. 😉
I felt like TP's dungeons lacked inspiration in their design. There was just something about them that felt bland and monotonous. I think it may simply be the fact that we've had 3d Zeldas for several games now and their dungeons tend to follow a similar formula: get keys, get the treasure, use the treasure to get the boss key, go to the boss, use the treasure to defeat the boss.