Gaming Perfection..?: Super Mario Galaxy
A common controversy among the gaming population is what specifically defines perfection, and can it be culminated in a simple score? What is the standard of perfection? What are the requirements to meet the basis of a good game, and how do you exceed that to be defined, perfect?
I want to take a look once again at the thoughts and opinions of the gaming media toward one of the grandest adventures out there. Today, we will be focusing on a game you all voted for a long time ago:
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy on the Nintendo Wii is one of the most monstrous entities on the console, selling a whopping 12.7 million copies. It dominated the holiday season it released in, dominated the sales charts, dominated the critics attention, and dominated the living rooms of people worldwide.
You probably already know why the game is so damn great yourself, but how does one put into words what made it so ground breaking? So revolutionary for the system it was on? Retrospectively, we can take a look at what was on peoples minds when they played it, and gain insight into why it was such a damn good game. Dare we say, even close to perfect.
IGN said:
Its story was simple, but its gameplay was remarkable. Galaxy took the tried and true method of platforming and flipped it, twisted it, bopped it, pulled it, you freaking name it. Defying literal gravity and physics but managing to hone itself into precision platforming and movement is just one of many reasons the game shines brighter than the sun.
And it shines on the Wii despite its gimmicks and peripherals. The waggle and motion meshed in the game in a way that was not just acceptable, but delightful. It made sense, it made gimmicky become entertainment, it made the game itself feel so original that it sparked that little tick inside that made you like games in the first place.
Every tilt, every grapple onto stars or shaken slingshot to the next planet was far from hassle and more enticing and exhilarating as the experience continued.
Destructoid said:
Linde puts it in perspective better than any of us could. Nintendo REFINED perfection into something that culminated into the Wii's shining star of entertainment. Galaxy was indeed, a massive galaxy of content that kept us entertained for hours upon hours. It had incredibly orchestrated music and gorgeously stylized art that put most early HD games to shame, and it wasn't even an HD game!
Galaxy withstands the tests of time despite its gimmicks, its graphics, and its platform. The game breathes life into the people that play it because it focuses on the fundamentals of gameplay like every Mario game has in the past. Its this drive to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible to do with the property to new levels of entertainment.
Is it perfect? Semantically speaking, nothing is, "perfect," especially to us gamers.
But it's pretty damn close.
____________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for reading everyone, and being patient with me on my little projects. This is a second test of my earlier project, "Why did this get a 10/10," where I focused on The Last of Us and the critical but controversial acclaim it received. I would like to continue to do these, which is why i'm including the second poll to see what y'all would like to see me cover next, hopefully in even more excruciating detail. At the end of the day, it's hard to delve into the simplicity yet utter complexity that is a Mario game in detail, but I tried to do it justice, and would like to try my hand at other games.
But all feedback is welcome as I continue writing these! Feel free to vote on what I should do next, and I promise it won't take as long as this one did!
