Super Mario Galaxy 2 is just sixteen scant days 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—#2 went up last week—while we wait for it to hit shelves and fall in love all over again.
3 Powerups For the purposes of this post, I'm going to ignore the Fire Flower. Let's face it: its weird shake-to-fire thing wasn't so great. But Galaxy's other powerups were pretty fantastic, with two in particular standing out. My favorite from my first time through Galaxy was Spring Mario, particularly in his primary home turf of Toy Time Galaxy. Though moving around on ground level through tiny bounces could be challenging, unleashing a giant leap by holding down the A button as if coiling Mario up was an unparalleled feeling, particularly as I watched the ground drop violently away from beneath my feet. Automatically turbo wall-jumping was also a nice touch.
As I came back to the game, though, I think I have to give the most props to the Ice Flower. Though Mario could, of course, ice-skate without it—given ice—Ice Mario could make his own ice while the powerup lasted. This provided for some neat opportunities: in the "wow" category, ice-skating on lava; and in the "that's a neat idea" group, leading a Cataquack across a fragile bridge so he could rocket you up to the Power Star. But let's not forget its most genius moment: wall-jumping up waterfalls. I still smile thinking about it.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is looking to be no slouch in these departments, either. You'd have to be living under a rock or have your head stuck in the clouds to not have heard of the announced two, others are confirmed to be reappearing from the original, and who knows—there may just be some more they haven't talked about yet. Considering how much fun I had with the powerups from the first, I'm expecting great things from 2's selection. Just over two weeks to go...
3 Powerups For the purposes of this post, I'm going to ignore the Fire Flower. Let's face it: its weird shake-to-fire thing wasn't so great. But Galaxy's other powerups were pretty fantastic, with two in particular standing out. My favorite from my first time through Galaxy was Spring Mario, particularly in his primary home turf of Toy Time Galaxy. Though moving around on ground level through tiny bounces could be challenging, unleashing a giant leap by holding down the A button as if coiling Mario up was an unparalleled feeling, particularly as I watched the ground drop violently away from beneath my feet. Automatically turbo wall-jumping was also a nice touch.
As I came back to the game, though, I think I have to give the most props to the Ice Flower. Though Mario could, of course, ice-skate without it—given ice—Ice Mario could make his own ice while the powerup lasted. This provided for some neat opportunities: in the "wow" category, ice-skating on lava; and in the "that's a neat idea" group, leading a Cataquack across a fragile bridge so he could rocket you up to the Power Star. But let's not forget its most genius moment: wall-jumping up waterfalls. I still smile thinking about it.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 is looking to be no slouch in these departments, either. You'd have to be living under a rock or have your head stuck in the clouds to not have heard of the announced two, others are confirmed to be reappearing from the original, and who knows—there may just be some more they haven't talked about yet. Considering how much fun I had with the powerups from the first, I'm expecting great things from 2's selection. Just over two weeks to go...