Super Mario Galaxy

D_IdiotSoup

D_IdiotSoup

Goomba
Hi! I'm new here, but I have a deep love and passion for the Super Mario franchise, so I hope it's alright if I post 😀

Recently, I started a Super Mario Galaxy let's play with my best friend (link here if interested) and it got me thinking on a few things about the game and I've been trying to find a place to discuss these things in a genuine sense.

So, first of all, I want to focus on the OST. Was this Nintendo's first usage of orchestration in one of their games? If so, for a first time, it's absolutely astounding. And secondly, how is it STILL able to hold up compared to other games not just in the franchise but as a whole? I feel like a whole lot of the time I hear that either the sequel was better or I just don't hear much AT ALL about it. The game play still holds up (although definitely somewhat repetitive after a while) and visually the game still looks quite stunning. The usage of the Wii remote for starbits as well as the spinning technique almost feels like a more improved F.L.U.D.D.-like capability, just without an in game representation.

I was just wondering if there were any thoughts on this? Whether you like the game or not? I just wanna open up a conversation about this game, I seem to be obsessed with it lately.
 
'Allo! Welcome to Marioboards!

I don't think Galaxy's OST is Nintendo's first use of orchestration for a Mario title, as Mario Superstar Baseball has an orchestrated cover version of its main theme and it came out much earlier, and I may find earlier pieces if I dug around (this is talking purely from a Mario franchise perspective; Nintendo houses a lot of properties and there are plenty of earlier games under Nintendo's name that used orchestration, namely Super Smash Bros. Melee and Kirby Air Ride just off the top of my head). Honestly, music in general doesn't age; you can still listen to music in the N64 era like Diddy Kong Racing's OST and still get a kick out of it, same with Super Mario 64 and its use of MiDi instrumentation.

I liked Galaxy. It's a great game and hold lots of nostalgic value for it, not withstanding some of its poorer levels (hello Luigi's Purple Coins and trash can clearing, hello Gold Leaf Galaxy which is literally a mirrored reskin of Honeyhive Galaxy). However, Galaxy 2 was a tepid, tired, retread of the first that far too heavily piggyback's off the first's success to have any real distinct identity so I consider it one of the weakest games of the 3D Mario platforming. Still, it's a good game by itself, but it doesn't stand out and I felt had little point to existing especially if you played the first. I don't like Galaxy as much as I like Odyssey though, and I prefer 3D World for its multiplayer elements.
 
Ray Trace said:
'Allo! Welcome to Marioboards!

I don't think Galaxy's OST is Nintendo's first use of orchestration for a Mario title, as Mario Superstar Baseball has an orchestrated cover version of its main theme and it came out much earlier, and I may find earlier pieces if I dug around. Honestly, music in general doesn't age; you can still listen to music in the N64 era like Diddy Kong Racing's OST and still get a kick out of it, same with Super Mario 64 and its use of MiDi instrumentation.

I liked Galaxy. It's a great game and hold lots of nostalgic value for it, not withstanding some of its poorer levels (hello Luigi's Purple Coins and trash can clearing, hello Gold Leaf Galaxy which is literally a mirrored reskin of Honeyhive Galaxy). However, Galaxy 2 was a tepid, tired, retread of the first that far too heavily piggyback's off the first's success to have any real distinct identity so I consider it one of the weakest games of the 3D Mario platforming. Still, it's a good game by itself, but it doesn't stand out and I felt had little point to existing especially if you played the first. I don't like Galaxy as much as I like Odyssey though, and I prefer 3D World for its multiplayer elements.
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Thanks, appreciate the welcome friend!

I couldn't agree more with Galaxy 2, the game felt way too much like a waste of time, and one that uses ideas that were likely in development for Galaxy 1 (Like Yoshi) that likely didn't make the cut due to time constraints. Odyssey is a mixed bag for me but I have come around to really liking it as a modern day adaptation of the tried and true Mario formula. As far as the instrumentation goes, I'll 100% have to listen to the Mario Superstar Baseball orchestration. Thanks for sharing it haha.
 
Yeah, it felt like 50 dollar DLC. Yoshi didn't even add much to the game at all and he was barely used in Galaxy 2 (he was like in what, only 20% of the game?). I felt like the leftover ideas they had couldn't sustain a game on its own at all, and even then, Galaxy 2 had a lot of retread concepts and level ideas (such as fire meets ice, recycled music, a bee-inspired galaxy, a Piranha Plant first boss, a Gusty Garden wannabe, diet Melty Molten, and more) and filler galaxies (Boss Belt, Stone Cyclone, and that one galaxy where you need to kill enemies to proceed) to prove that point. I also dislike Galaxy 2's theming, where it takes place in blue skies rather than outer space, something Galaxy 1 more emphasized on.

Not to mention, Galaxy 2 had Grandmaster Galaxy which is one of the game's laziest designed levels where all it was was recycled content stitched together in a long incoherent mess of a level that forced you to play through the entire slog with only one health as its "most difficult and challenging" level.
 
Even before Mario Superstar Baseball, I'm very sure Nintendo used orchestration for the soundtrack of Super Smash Bros. Melee. As for first Mario game to use such, yeah, it seems to be a bit later in GCN era since all the games for GCN (Mario Party, Luigi's Mansion, Sunshine, DDR, Toadstool Tour, Double Dash) all use MIDI instrumentation.
 
I really liked the 2 Galaxy games. I even did a challenge to see how many jumps it would take to beat it. By the way, I defined it as the jump action, and found that all domes except Kitchen (entering not reentering) have a way to go to the galaxies without jumping by this rule. The first time for 1 was 284 for any% and 859 for 120 stars while the second time as Luigi was 181 for any% with 120 stars still being worked on. For 2, 279 for any%, 878 for 120 regular stars, 399 for 120 green stars, and 1322 in total for 100%.
 
i strongly like both of the galaxy games, they are both very solid 3d platformers, great music, very nostalgic for them both. they're not my fav mario games tho, my fav mario games are some of the rpgs (i have listed spm > ttyd > pm64 > bis > sss > minecraft > galaxy 1 > galaxy 2 before, but i'm thinking of shaking that up especially since partners in time came along)
 
Adult Sweetie Belle said:
i strongly like both of the galaxy games, they are both very solid 3d platformers, great music, very nostalgic for them both. they're not my fav mario games tho, my fav mario games are some of the rpgs (i have listed spm > ttyd > pm64 > bis > sss > minecraft > galaxy 1 > galaxy 2 before, but i'm thinking of shaking that up especially since partners in time came along)
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I really wish I had the chance to play the first two Paper Mario games.
 
I've never got to finish the games, but they're always a joy to just play the levels that I've done.

SMG is the better one, but there's always SMG3 to come.