Day 35: Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2

"Hey Lyra, do you know how long it's been since I talked about a Mario game on this marathon?"

Lyra: That depends, can you tell me how long it's been since South Park Emotional Warzone got a chapter?

"About as long as it takes for me to do your mom!"

Lyra: My mom is dead, you dingus!

"And she's living in your heart. She lives in you. Just tell me when the last time I talked about a Mario game was.

Lyra: About a month ago.

"I see…Lyra, fetch me the Super Mario Galaxy Duology!

Lyra: Coming up, you pitiful space case!

(Lyra throws Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 at my head, knocking me to the ground)

"Thank you…"

So let's talk about the Super Mario Galaxy duology. Both stories are essentially the same so let's go over them.

It's the night of the Star Festival in the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario is invited to spend the festivities with Princess Peach. But of course, Bowser has to come in and crash the party by uprooting Peach's castle, sending her to parts unknown and leaving Mario on a lone planet. Eventually he meets up with Princess Rosalina on her Comet Observatory which is powered by, what else, power stars. Rosalina says that by collecting enough, she can take Mario to where Bowser is located so he can save Peach and end his plans on creating his own galaxy. So this is essentially your everyday Mario plot but in space!

In Super Mario Galaxy 2, it starts out similar to the first game, with Mario on his way to the Star Festival to meet Peach, when he finds a small luma who got separated from his family, so he teams up with Mario and the two finally make it to the Mushroom Kingdom where they find a giant Bowser has stolen Peach and plans to make his own galaxy…again. So, with the assistance of a big purple luma named Lubba, who creates a spaceship in the likeness of Mario's face, Mario once again sets off to stop Bowser's plans and save Princess Peach.

The stories of these two games may be very similar, with a few differences sprinkled here or there, but the real reason one should play this duology is for the awesome levels and gameplay.

All of the levels are unique, colorful, and very fun to explore, and they really do give off the impression that you're exploring unknown planets in far off galaxies. One level could have Mario go through a kingdom of honeybees, another could have Mario infiltrate space fortresses, another galaxy could have gravity that changes on a dime. There are galaxies made of sweets and toys, a galaxy of smaller planets with a challenge to do on each of them, a galaxy that looks like ancient ruins, a galaxies that combine fire and ice levels in unique ways, there's even a galaxy in the second game that pays homage to Whomp's Fortress from Super Mario 64.

These games are in no shortage of good level idea, but you may notice that some of the themes in Galaxy 2 are similar to ones in the first game. For example, galaxies like Haunty Halls are similar in theme to Ghostly Galaxy. Or Shiverburn Galaxy is similar to Freezeflame Galaxy. Or how Honeyhop Galaxy is similar to Honeyhive Galaxy. That's because Super Mario Galaxy 2 was meant to be an expansion of sorts to the first game, and as a result people complain that Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a copypasted sequel. I don't see it so much as copypasting, but more so what it actually is: An expansion of ideas that the first game established that make these themes even better, making even more awesome levels. In short, I don't mind reusing similar themes as long as the game is fun, which SMG2 definitely is.

Assisting Mario on both of his intergalactic journeys is Young Master Luma Luma, who gives Mario a spin attack to stun enemies, activate switches, solve puzzles, or interact with the environment around him like destroying boulders or hitting these...bouncy…tree things.

Power-ups are also how Mario will get around. The first game gives us the classic Fire Flower, which allows Mario to throw fireballs, the Ice Flower, which gives Mario the power to walk on water and wall jump up waterfalls, the Spring Mushroom which gives Mario an extra boost in his jump as well as painful controls, the Bee Mushroom which gives Mario the power of flight, the Boo Mushroom which allows Mario to pass through certain walls, and the Red Star which allows Mario to fly all around the Comet Observatory making for some quick travel.

As for the power-ups Galaxy 2 introduces, there's the Spin Drill, which allows Mario to dig underground, the Cloud Flower which gives Mario the ability to stand on clouds, has a slower fall time, and he can create three cloud platforms of his very own, and finally the Rock Mushroom, which allows Mario to harness his inner Miltank and use Rollout on enemies and obstacles.

Mario Galaxy 2 gives Yoshi some time to shine. Yoshi can eat enemies and berries to give Mario star bits, this game's form of ammo and/or currency to unlock new galaxies/planets to unlock a secret star, and flutter jump over long gaps. However, Yoshi can also eat specific berries that give him a certain ability. Red berries make Yoshi run fast, blue berries turn Yoshi into a balloon that can help Mario reach high-up platforms, and the yellow berry can allow Yoshi to uncover hidden platforms.

Other unique elements in the gameplay of these games would be the ball rolling stages, where you have to get from one point of the level to the other by riding a ball, bubble mazes where you have to get from one point in the level to the next without popping your bubble or else the consequence is most likely death, manta surfing, which acts as a sort of race where you have to beat the course within a certain time limit, Fluzzard stages where you have to make it to the end of the stage while flying on the Fluzzard, and latter there are even races where first place grants you a star, the Chimp challenges where you have to beat Chimp's high score in either coin collecting or enemy killing among other challenges, and so much more.

Luigi even joins in on the fun once you beat each game's main story. In the first game you can play through the game again as Luigi, while in the second game you can switch between Mario and Luigi. Luigi controls similar to his brother except for the fact that he jumps higher and runs faster at the cost of having a slide when he's finished walking.

Still on the subject of gameplay, we have the Prankster Comets. In the first game we have Speedy Comets, where you have to beat a stage within a time limit, Cosmic Clone Comets, where you have to race an evil version of Mario or Luigi to the power star, Daredevil comets where you have to face a boss, or in Melty Molten Galaxy's case go through the entire first mission, without taking a hit, Fast Foe Comets where all enemies and obstacle are sped up, and Purple Coin Comets where you need to collect 100 purple coins either scattered throughout the level or within a certain time limit.

Galaxy 2, of course, brings these back, but with a new gimmick attatched. In each level is a Comet Medal, and by collecting a Comet Medal, you unlock the Prankster Comet for that level. Most of the comets from the first game return with a few added gimmicks like how the Speedy Comet now involves collecting clocks to give you 10 extra seconds, and the Cosmic Clones now follow you throughout a level rather than chase you to the star. The new comets this game introduces are the Romp Comet, where you need to take out a certain number of enemies before time runs out, Double Time Comets, which play out similar to Fast Foe Comets, where the obstacles move much faster, and Green Comets, which are only unlocked after you beat the game, where you have to go back through each level to collect green starts that are scattered throughout them, and they add a whole new layer of challenge to the game.

And for those of you who say Mario games lack a coherent story, the first game gives us insight to Rosalina's backstory and it's not exactly an uplifting one. Not to spoil anything, but this is probably the darkest the main series Mario games has ever gotten.

And finally, we can't talk about Super Mario Galaxy games without bringing up their magnificent soundtrack. These are, once again, some of my favorite soundtracks in gaming and we'd be here all day if I told you my favorite from each game. Let me just say they all fit their respective level or moment well, and orchestra is one of the greatest genres in music, and leave it at that.

To wrap this up, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 are some of the most fun and interesting Mario games you could ever play with some of the most fun and interesting levels you'll ever play through. These two easily share the spot for second favorite Mario game, but they just barely miss my Top 15 in this marathon. Nevertheless these are two fantastic games that are must play for all Mario and video game fans.