Super Mario Galaxy 2(How Far Can Mario go?)

I've played Mario games ever since the original NES and after beating his latest and greatest game, I began to wonder if it is actually possible to make a better Mario game beyond the Galaxy series. Mario is one of gaming's oldest icons. While Sonic has been dragged through the mud over the years, Mario still remains at the top. The Mario franchise continues to meet the current criteria for elite games. I haven't heard much of Crash or Spyro recently, but Mario seems to be an eternal icon. He shows no signs of slowing down.

Please post how you think Mario compares to other video game giants and what you think about Super Mario Galaxy 2 compared to previous Mario titles.

maybe i know this is off topic but mario will end with a

appocalyptic mario like fallout 3

and futuristic mario

then mario will be left with no more stories

Wow dude thanks for that, no more reason for me to want to buy a wii

Wow dude thanks for that, no more reason for me to want to buy a wii

TJamesA

The first Mario Galaxy was great and games like Little King's Story are fresh and new and if you want to go the retro path there's DK Returns showing that there's games to be had without doing a cheap cash in.

Ya your right, it's just one game lol.

Mario peaked with Super Mario 64. It's just gone gradually downhill from there.

Mario peaked with Super Mario 64. It's just gone gradually downhill from there.

TGM_basic

As for where Mario can go (in society) I think the popularity is going to start going down, great games but not enough people like platformers anymore. Even some of my friends who used to be die-hard platformer fans have moved on to shooters, and some RPG's. I just don't know if there's a lot of room for platformers to grow anymore, I still will always love them, but I don't know if popularity will increase.

I could be wrong though, I don't know what kids are playing so I may be completely wrong. I'm excited to see what Nintendo decides to do with Mario though, I don't know a lot more place he can go. He hasn't really done a lot of jungle things in a 3D space. But then again that's more of Donkey Kong's territory... Or country (see what I did there)

Ive always wanted a 3D Mario in the style of the Spyro games. Where you have different 3D landscapes to explore, each with their own sub-levels or something similar.

Ive played Galaxy 1 (didnt finish it though)but I would like to buy it aswell as Galaxy2,but all the 3D Mario's have been pretty much the same style. You go into a level comeplete an objective and then re-enter to get the next star. Its ok I guess as long as the levels are fun (which Galaxy's are).

I know my idea is not new or orginal but who says Mario always has to re-invent himself with each game? Just give me a big Mushroom Kingdom to explore and Im happy.

Like so many other game characters and franchises, it seems to me that you're hard-pressed to revolutionize Mario right now. I don't know if we'll be able to do that for a few more years, yet.

It depends at least partly on what the next innovation in gaming is, I suppose.

I have no idea how far Mario will go. I hope there never is a photorealistic and accurate depiction of him. I remember seeing someone's 3D-rendering of Mario here not too long ago and he looked nasty. He had all the wrinkles and other aging effects.

[QUOTE="TGM_basic"]

Mario peaked with Super Mario 64. It's just gone gradually downhill from there.

Silos911

I won't say I didn't like them exactly. They weren't great, but they weren't bad games either. Nowhere near the quality of Mario 64, however. I can't tell you how many times I've played through that game. In comparison, I couldn't even bring myself to complete Sunshine or the Glaxies. There's just nothing there pulling me in and keeping me playing. They were all pretty disappointing I'd say.

Mario isn't done. Not yet.

In all seriousness, who knows? If anyone can think of another way for Mario to go, it's nintendo.

I like Super Mario 64 the most due to nostalgia but Galaxy is great too. I have not played Galaxy 2 but Galaxy 1 is pretty damn big.

They just need to add more perspectives and more means of moving around. Gravity is already playing a large role in the game... but perhaps they could increase the size of the worlds, and make them revolve around one another, and the closer/farther they get from one another, the greater the increase/decrease in gravity.

Or, they could pull another Super Mario Sunshine and add something entirely new to the established formula. I thought SMS was a great game, with great level design, it just needed more polish. And less talking.

I thought SMS was a great game, with great level design, it just needed more polish. And less talking.

foxhound_fox

I must be the one of the only ones here to think mario has done nothing but stagnant really since Mario 64.

I think the continued success of the Mario name is how it manages to remain true to itself despite all the changes in popular trends and expectations of gaming in 25 years. Nintendo doesn't try to make the series darker and edgier for the sake of pandering to a different audience, instead keeping the series on its own path with its own ideas. I also sense that Nintendo keeps in mind what works and what doesn't with each game. What follows is a bit subjective, but I think it gets across the general idea.

Super Mario 64 was amazing, but it was somewhat offbeat for the series, being quite nonlinear and having a greater focus on adventuring and puzzles than platforming. So Super Mario Sunshine brought in the "Secret" platforming stages while also making the controls tighter and easier. Of course, the huge open worlds clashed with the linearity of the missions and a lot of Shines were repeats, so Super Mario Galaxy streamlined the worlds to put the focus back primarily on platforming. The levels were made primarily linear with almost no backtracking involved and there were relatively few stars for each world. Galaxy 2 was an even further streamlining with each world only having 2-3 regular stars in total. Notably, the much-criticized "exploring" Purple Coin challenges were taken out and only the linear path and timed ones remained.

In a sense, I believe Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the ultimate expression of Miyamoto's vision, what with large amount of worlds and the astounding variety among them. After all, he did make 32 courses for Super Mario 64, even though only 15 remained. Personally, I think Super Mario Galaxy 2 might have went a little too far with the variety, since before you get to truly enjoy a world, it's off to the next one, but then I'm not Nintendo. Overall, it's great that the games managed to stay so fun and fresh while maintaining the same spirit we've all come to love about them from the very beginning, especially considering how so many other long-running series often make the mistake of trying to "get with the times" by trying to borrow from what's currently popular in gaming.

On a side note, not all the Mario spinoffs are great, but the good ones add a refreshingly different take on the series while again maintaining that Mario feel. Bowser's Inside Story, for instance, adds a lot of depth to the characters, especially Bowser and his minions. I'd even go as far to say that it fixes some of the lacking story elements in the main series, particularly Sunshine's infamous story.