Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a week shy of a month away. Hard to imagine, isn't it? Like I'm sure many other Mario fans are doing, I'm playing the original Super Mario Galaxy again. Galaxy was not just another 3D Mario; it did a number of really cool things that set it apart—things that made me an instant rabid fan of Galaxy 2 from the moment it was announced. And so, to ring in Galaxy 2's imminent release, I thought I'd share five of my favorite things about its groundbreaking predecessor—I started last week—while we wait for it to hit shelves and fall in love all over again.
2 Gravitational shenanigans Arguably Super Mario Galaxy's bread and butter is the pervasive notion of defying the traditional laws of platformer gravity. Mario doesn't just run on the tops of the many objects floating in space; he runs over and around their sides and underneath them—and sometimes walks around on the inside of their hollow shells. Long jumps can turn into orbits if you launch into them while running along a planetoid's surface.
2D-oriented challenges sport gravity that changes depending on where you stand or jump, leading to some really cool level design—in one particular area, you can even cling to gigantic wheels like they were iron and Mario magnetic. There are even areas where throwing switches changes gravity in its entirety, transforming one set of surfaces into another.
Messing with gravity is Galaxy's trademark, the most obvious thing that stands out to anyone who gives it even the slightest of looks. Galaxy 2 looks to be following in those footsteps, and I'm eager to see what new tricks it will have up its sleeves. In the meantime, come back next week for the next of my favorite things about that classic original.
2 Gravitational shenanigans Arguably Super Mario Galaxy's bread and butter is the pervasive notion of defying the traditional laws of platformer gravity. Mario doesn't just run on the tops of the many objects floating in space; he runs over and around their sides and underneath them—and sometimes walks around on the inside of their hollow shells. Long jumps can turn into orbits if you launch into them while running along a planetoid's surface.
2D-oriented challenges sport gravity that changes depending on where you stand or jump, leading to some really cool level design—in one particular area, you can even cling to gigantic wheels like they were iron and Mario magnetic. There are even areas where throwing switches changes gravity in its entirety, transforming one set of surfaces into another.
Messing with gravity is Galaxy's trademark, the most obvious thing that stands out to anyone who gives it even the slightest of looks. Galaxy 2 looks to be following in those footsteps, and I'm eager to see what new tricks it will have up its sleeves. In the meantime, come back next week for the next of my favorite things about that classic original.