rainwaterspark (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rainwaterspark) wrote2010-06-03 12:59 pm
rainwaterspark) wrote2010-06-03 12:59 pm
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Super Mario Galaxy 2 Impressions - Updated
Now I'm 89 stars in, beat the story; still haven't unlocked all the galaxies yet, but I have a few more things to say.
First off, let me establish my credentials for when I talk about difficulty: I haven't played either Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine (but I think I may eventually get a copy of the latter), but I beat Super Mario Galaxy 1 100%--all 121 stars for Mario and Luigi each.
Story--Yes, yes, I know, nobody plays Mario for the story. But compared to SMG1's story, I found SMG2's lacking. SMG1 had a simple, yet charming story, like something out of a book of fairy tales, almost. In SMG2, everything is stripped down to the bare bones, and compared to SMG1, it just lacks that charm factor. Additionally, Rosalina's appearance in the ending cutscene is quite random and rather puzzling from the point of view of plot.
Presentation--Once again, the hub world and world maps have been streamlined and reduced to the essentials. I rather like Starship Mario, but I still don't dislike SMG1's Comet Observatory, even in comparison. In terms of the maps, however, presentation changes a lot. Again, there's just something charming about SMG1's circular maps, with galaxies arranged like planets in orbit. It's clear, simple, and fits nicely with the galactic theme. In SMG2, the world maps have become linear, like in the 2D Mario games, and it just feels like the magic has been sucked out. You go from point A to point B and that's it; the few branching paths don't make that much of a difference.
Difficulty--This is what bugs me the most right now. SMG2 is much harder than SMG1, which isn't necessarily a bad thing--I've found a few levels in SMG2 that are challenging, yet creative, fun and doable. Other levels, however, are a PAIN. Take the final Bowser level, for example. Initially, I thought it was clever how the level incorporated so many powerups in one, but then I hit a platforming segment that must've cost me 10 lives before I cleared it. Not fun at all.
The problem is that there's a very fine balance between just challenging enough and so challenging as to be tedious. For me, SMG1 walked the line perfectly. Only a few of the comet challenges really frustrated me (but hey, I managed to complete them), but most of the time, whenever I died, I was laughing (or at least smiling). SMG2, for me, leans more toward the "annoying" end of the spectrum. The minigame stars are irritating to get. Some hidden stars involve feeding coins to Lumas, a bit like the Lumas in SMG1 that wanted starbits, but finding coins is harder than gathering starbits. It's more challenging, sure, but also more annoying--especially if you die in the process and have to start over. (Happened to me in Clockwork Ruins Galaxy about five times.)
Some levels were brilliant through and through. Some levels were boring. And some levels alternated between brilliance and rage on my part after I'd died eight times and still hadn't gotten to the next checkpoint. In certain ways, SMG2 feels more unforgiving than SMG1, even with the addition of the Cosmic Guide and Hint TVs that are supposed to make the game more accessible to newcomers. (Actually, I've only seen the Cosmic Guide in one place that wasn't annoyingly hard enough to make me rage, but wherever I was actually having difficulties, I've never seen the Cosmic Guide show up. So much for that.)
Re: the not spectacular galaxies: In particular, I'm a bit unsure about Battle Belt Galaxy (and Boss Blitz Galaxy, but I haven't unlocked that yet), which involves defeating wave after wave of enemies--something very un-Mario like. Mario Squared Galaxy is a magnification of a segment from SMG1's Toy Time Galaxy, which makes me wonder--if it worked as only an extra star there, why bother with a full-sized galaxy here? Slimy Spring Galaxy had a nice, unique atmosphere but dull level design (and music).
AND THE FREAKING PRANKSTER COMETS!!1! I HATE these things SO MUCH. Most of the comet challenges come with a time limit, which makes things exponentially more difficult. Speedruns, Daredevil runs--they seem almost impossible to me to complete right now, considering the difficulty I had with the bosses on normal runs (6 HP). I used to like Purple Coin challenges in SMG1, but the addition of the time limit kills the fun in SMG2. Plus, they seem to have done away with the Purple Coin challenges that involve exploration for every last one (I liked those levels in SMG! T_T).
And the bosses? To be a little honest, I can't remember the boss fights too well from SMG1, but some of the boss fights in SMG2 just seemed uninspired to me. The three Bowser fights are virtually identical, except for new obstacles thrown at you each time. Yes, even the final Bowser fight involves more or less the same strategy as before, except there's a second part (after the Grand Star has been dangled in front of your nose--Nintendo, that was CRUEL). The Megahammer boss gave me a lot more trouble than it was worth; in fact, I nearly got a Game Over.
Miscellaneous--My woes aside, SMG2 seems to me a celebration in a way of Mario. There's tons of nostalgia packed into the game: a direct homage to Super Mario 64, two galaxies inspired by Super Mario Sunshine, even a nod to Mario Kart's (in)famous Rainbow Road, tons of remixed songs, Yoshi, and the return of "Nintendo-Hard" levels (see TV Tropes). Quite a few of the galaxies seem to be spiritual successors to galaxies from SMG1 (Melty Monster to Melty Molten; Freezy Flake/Shiverburn to Freezeflame; Haunty Halls/Boo Moon to Ghostly Galaxy; Slipsand to Dusty Dune; I'll even say Fluffy Bluff/Cloudy Court to Gusty Garden...etc.), which I'm taking as a good thing.
Since I mentioned a few of the galaxies that didn't exactly win me over, I should end by talking about the galaxies that did blow me away: Cloudy Court Galaxy (Cloud Suit Mario never gets old), Tall Trunk Galaxy's tree slide, Melty Molten Galaxy's rock rolling course, Hightail Falls Galaxy, Beat Block Galaxy, Flip-Switch Galaxy, Sweet Mystery Galaxy, Starshine Beach Galaxy, and a few others. These were the ones that were either hard, yet satisfying, or amazingly creative, or just plain fun.
My conclusion is that, despite SMG2's moments of brilliance, I prefer SMG1's sense of magic and more forgiving gameplay. But I'm also unsure as to whether or not I'm just looking through rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia (even though it hasn't been THAT long ago since I played SMG1), as SMG1 had the "ooh innovative shiny" factor. I'm planning on replaying SMG1 this summer and seeing if my opinions change.
First off, let me establish my credentials for when I talk about difficulty: I haven't played either Super Mario 64 or Super Mario Sunshine (but I think I may eventually get a copy of the latter), but I beat Super Mario Galaxy 1 100%--all 121 stars for Mario and Luigi each.
Story--Yes, yes, I know, nobody plays Mario for the story. But compared to SMG1's story, I found SMG2's lacking. SMG1 had a simple, yet charming story, like something out of a book of fairy tales, almost. In SMG2, everything is stripped down to the bare bones, and compared to SMG1, it just lacks that charm factor. Additionally, Rosalina's appearance in the ending cutscene is quite random and rather puzzling from the point of view of plot.
Presentation--Once again, the hub world and world maps have been streamlined and reduced to the essentials. I rather like Starship Mario, but I still don't dislike SMG1's Comet Observatory, even in comparison. In terms of the maps, however, presentation changes a lot. Again, there's just something charming about SMG1's circular maps, with galaxies arranged like planets in orbit. It's clear, simple, and fits nicely with the galactic theme. In SMG2, the world maps have become linear, like in the 2D Mario games, and it just feels like the magic has been sucked out. You go from point A to point B and that's it; the few branching paths don't make that much of a difference.
Difficulty--This is what bugs me the most right now. SMG2 is much harder than SMG1, which isn't necessarily a bad thing--I've found a few levels in SMG2 that are challenging, yet creative, fun and doable. Other levels, however, are a PAIN. Take the final Bowser level, for example. Initially, I thought it was clever how the level incorporated so many powerups in one, but then I hit a platforming segment that must've cost me 10 lives before I cleared it. Not fun at all.
The problem is that there's a very fine balance between just challenging enough and so challenging as to be tedious. For me, SMG1 walked the line perfectly. Only a few of the comet challenges really frustrated me (but hey, I managed to complete them), but most of the time, whenever I died, I was laughing (or at least smiling). SMG2, for me, leans more toward the "annoying" end of the spectrum. The minigame stars are irritating to get. Some hidden stars involve feeding coins to Lumas, a bit like the Lumas in SMG1 that wanted starbits, but finding coins is harder than gathering starbits. It's more challenging, sure, but also more annoying--especially if you die in the process and have to start over. (Happened to me in Clockwork Ruins Galaxy about five times.)
Some levels were brilliant through and through. Some levels were boring. And some levels alternated between brilliance and rage on my part after I'd died eight times and still hadn't gotten to the next checkpoint. In certain ways, SMG2 feels more unforgiving than SMG1, even with the addition of the Cosmic Guide and Hint TVs that are supposed to make the game more accessible to newcomers. (Actually, I've only seen the Cosmic Guide in one place that wasn't annoyingly hard enough to make me rage, but wherever I was actually having difficulties, I've never seen the Cosmic Guide show up. So much for that.)
Re: the not spectacular galaxies: In particular, I'm a bit unsure about Battle Belt Galaxy (and Boss Blitz Galaxy, but I haven't unlocked that yet), which involves defeating wave after wave of enemies--something very un-Mario like. Mario Squared Galaxy is a magnification of a segment from SMG1's Toy Time Galaxy, which makes me wonder--if it worked as only an extra star there, why bother with a full-sized galaxy here? Slimy Spring Galaxy had a nice, unique atmosphere but dull level design (and music).
AND THE FREAKING PRANKSTER COMETS!!1! I HATE these things SO MUCH. Most of the comet challenges come with a time limit, which makes things exponentially more difficult. Speedruns, Daredevil runs--they seem almost impossible to me to complete right now, considering the difficulty I had with the bosses on normal runs (6 HP). I used to like Purple Coin challenges in SMG1, but the addition of the time limit kills the fun in SMG2. Plus, they seem to have done away with the Purple Coin challenges that involve exploration for every last one (I liked those levels in SMG! T_T).
And the bosses? To be a little honest, I can't remember the boss fights too well from SMG1, but some of the boss fights in SMG2 just seemed uninspired to me. The three Bowser fights are virtually identical, except for new obstacles thrown at you each time. Yes, even the final Bowser fight involves more or less the same strategy as before, except there's a second part (after the Grand Star has been dangled in front of your nose--Nintendo, that was CRUEL). The Megahammer boss gave me a lot more trouble than it was worth; in fact, I nearly got a Game Over.
Miscellaneous--My woes aside, SMG2 seems to me a celebration in a way of Mario. There's tons of nostalgia packed into the game: a direct homage to Super Mario 64, two galaxies inspired by Super Mario Sunshine, even a nod to Mario Kart's (in)famous Rainbow Road, tons of remixed songs, Yoshi, and the return of "Nintendo-Hard" levels (see TV Tropes). Quite a few of the galaxies seem to be spiritual successors to galaxies from SMG1 (Melty Monster to Melty Molten; Freezy Flake/Shiverburn to Freezeflame; Haunty Halls/Boo Moon to Ghostly Galaxy; Slipsand to Dusty Dune; I'll even say Fluffy Bluff/Cloudy Court to Gusty Garden...etc.), which I'm taking as a good thing.
Since I mentioned a few of the galaxies that didn't exactly win me over, I should end by talking about the galaxies that did blow me away: Cloudy Court Galaxy (Cloud Suit Mario never gets old), Tall Trunk Galaxy's tree slide, Melty Molten Galaxy's rock rolling course, Hightail Falls Galaxy, Beat Block Galaxy, Flip-Switch Galaxy, Sweet Mystery Galaxy, Starshine Beach Galaxy, and a few others. These were the ones that were either hard, yet satisfying, or amazingly creative, or just plain fun.
My conclusion is that, despite SMG2's moments of brilliance, I prefer SMG1's sense of magic and more forgiving gameplay. But I'm also unsure as to whether or not I'm just looking through rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia (even though it hasn't been THAT long ago since I played SMG1), as SMG1 had the "ooh innovative shiny" factor. I'm planning on replaying SMG1 this summer and seeing if my opinions change.