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Super Mario Galaxy Preview for the Nintendo Wii

Super Mario Galaxy Preview for the Nintendo Wii

Extra! Extra! Princess Peach has been kidnapped again!

July 10, 2007 – Somehow, when you least expect it, Princess Peach gets kidnapped all over again, and Mario gets to go out to unknown and unexpected places to try and rescue her. I’ve never heard of such a high-maintenance woman! Once again, Mario is gearing up with his rescue overalls and hat, getting ready for the adventure that awaits Wii owners later this year.

Super Mario Galaxy screenshot

Nintendo, always sneaky and reserved about their release dates, hasn’t officially announced a date for Super Mario Galaxy, although it seems like they’re aiming at a holiday release. That means we still have to wait a little longer to play the first Super Mario game on the Wii, but it will be well worth it if that gives them time to polish what’s unpolished and prepare a good campaign to maximize sales and the success of the game.

Super Mario Galaxy will have Mario fly up into the space to rescue his adored Princess Peach. “Let’s-a-go!” Even thought the game seems to have some resemblance with the GameCube’s Super Mario Sunshine, Nintendo swears to be introducing a new kind of Mario, with a refreshing new type of gameplay that will make gamers really happy. They even talked about cooperative play between two players, where one moves Mario around and takes care of the platforming obstacles, while the other player helps by researching the environments and grabbing power-ups.

A few teaser videos have been made available since last year, and the game was playable at the last E3, back in May 2006. Those who were lucky enough to try the game were pleasantly surprised with the cool, new game style and perfectly designed controls, especially because it was well over one year before its release! Isn’t that what Nintendo is all about, anyways? They don’t usually release games until they’re perfectly ready, and their Wii games are almost always better designed than any other third party games. If only they taught everyone else how to employ the Wii controls in a fine and effective way…!

Super Mario Galaxy screenshot

In Super Mario Galaxy, players will move the Italian plumber with the Nunchuk control stick, jump with the A button on the Wii-mote, have him crouch with the Z button on the Nunchuk, and also point at elements on the screen with the Wii-mote while holding B, which allows you to find new stuff.

Mario’s space is full of small planets scattered throughout. Mario will jump from one little planet to another, taking advantage of gravity in order to land in each of them. They all have different characteristics and gravity which will trigger varied effects on the way he lands on them. He needs to pick up as many stars as possible, as he also obtains other power-ups throughout. It wouldn’t be a Super Mario game without plenty of coins, which he can effectively grasp with his spin attack, similar to previous Mario games like Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64. The spin attack and other moves are achieved by shaking the Wii-mote doing specific motions.

Super Mario Galaxy screenshot

The game looks great, and hopefully it will support 480p resolution (Progressive Scan) and widescreen to maximize the Wii’s potential to the fullest. Fun gameplay is definitely very important, but we’ve been let down by poor quality graphics in some of the recent Wii games, so I’m ready to see more great looking games like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and even Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Of course, it won’t be without its characteristic, fluffy, and colorful 3D design that we previously saw in Super Mario Sunshine and, to a certain extent, in Super Mario 64; however, we expect it to be greatly improved.

Are you all ready? Hopefully this year’s E3 will unveil new details about the game. We’ll keep you posted with any news we hear about Super Mario Galaxy; stay tuned!

Features:

  • Shake, Tilt, and Point! Mario takes advantage of all the unique aspects of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers, unleashing new moves as players shake the controllers and even point at and drag items with the remote.
  • Redefining Platformers: Mario essentially defined the 3-D platforming genre with Super Mario 64, and this game proves once again that he is king. Players perform mind-bending, low-gravity jumps across wild alien terrain as they experience platforming for a new generation.


    An old friend returns and this time, he looks a little spaced out… by Vaughn Smith

    May 9, 2006 – Methinks Mario was getting tired of that pointy-eared fembot Link getting all of the attention, so he yanked Miyamoto-san by the shirt collar and said “Either make me a friggin’ new game or you’re going wake up with a friggin’ goomba head beside you.” Hey, don’t buy all of that “It’s-A-Me Mario!” crap. The dude is Italian. Ever watch The Soprano’s?

    We don’t know much about the next Mario game except that it’s called “Super Mario Galaxy” and it appears that it takes place in space. It definitely looks like a slightly updated version of Super Mario Sunshine, but we do believe it will only be available on the Wii system. The Wii-mote controller will definitely play a large part in the game and one of its functions includes allowing Mario to swipe at his enemies to knock them out of the way. During the E3 Nintendo press conference we were also able to see Mario target floating orbs and fly up to them – which could have been utilized in similar fashion.

    No release date has been set but a new Mario game is always just cause for a celebration. Let’s hope it just doesn’t take forever to get here. My guess? Summer of 2007…..if you’re lucky.

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