Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Switch (2)
Tested on: Switch 2
Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 – Review
Ask any seasoned gamer about their favourite Wii games, and it won’t be long before Super Mario Galaxy and its sequel come up in the conversation. In the two decades since their debut, they’ve garnered a reputation for being absolute classics, and rightfully so. With next year’s Super Mario Movie sequel being directly based on Super Mario Galaxy, it’s not surprising that Nintendo decided to bring back Mario’s intergalactic adventures to their current-day console lineup. Can Super Mario Galaxy shine just as bright for a new generation?
Story
Sticking to a very familiar template, the first of the two Galaxy games starts with Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach… except this time, the dastardly king of the Koopas takes her into space. As you’d expect, it’s up to Mario to rescue the monarch of the Mushroom Kingdom. This time around, he’ll have to travel a host of galaxies to reach her. Fortunately for everyone’s favourite mustachioed plumber, he’s backed up by new friends: the star-like Lumas and their adoptive mother, Rosalina. If Mario can retrieve the lost Power Stars, Rosalina can take him to Bowser. Galaxy 2 follows a similar plot, except this time around, Rosalina’s guidance role has been taken up by Lubba, a large purple Luma, and Mario gets to pilot a planetoid shaped like his head as a makeshift spaceship and is accompanied by a Baby Luma. Neither game delivers a captivating story, but that isn’t the aim here anyway, with the focus being on gameplay instead.
Graphics
For the purposes of our review, we dug up our copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which included the first Galaxy game, so we could compare the graphics of the Wii port with this remastered release on the same hardware. Unsurprisingly, the difference was night and day. The newer versions benefit from a significant bump in resolution, of course, but it doesn’t end there. The game’s UI has been cleaned up, text is more legible, and textures appear more detailed. The game’s frame rate is locked at a very steady 60fps now too. The only niggle we have with the game’s graphics is that the fixed camera in certain locations feels restrictive and outdated.
Sound
As soon as you boot up these games, the music takes center stage. From the iconic Overture to Space Junk Galaxy’s theme, Galaxy 1 + 2’s soundtrack is filled with iconic tracks. You can even listen to your favorite tracks right from each game’s menu. Supplementing this voice work, notably from Charles Martinet, as he was still the voice of Mario when these games debuted, and the familiar sound effects that we’ve all come to know and love throughout the last few decades.
Gameplay
Bear with us, as we’re going to start our gameplay discussion with a hot take: Galaxy 1 + 2 are showing their age. That’s not to say that these games are bad. Far from it, in fact. These are still crowning jewels in Mario’s 3D platformer lineup. The stage designs are bursting with outlandish creativity, and the platforming mechanics remain as tight as ever. A lot of time has passed since the Wii era, however, and there have been several 3D Mario games since, like 3D World and Odyssey. Every entry has built on the successes of the previous ones, and so Galaxy 1 + 2 inevitably feel like a step backwards by comparison. The issues stem mostly from the hardware that Galaxy 1 + 2 were designed for. The Wii was built around motion controls, and although the Switch Joy-Cons do their absolute darndest best to mimic the Wiimote, gyro controls aren’t as accurate as a sensor bar, and we found ourselves having to re-centre our pointer fairly often. The game isn’t particularly suited for handheld mode -Switch Lite owners take note- and a tilting Pro Controller isn’t an ideal substitute for a Joy-Con when docked. We’re not saying that the games are unplayable as they are, but the Joy-Con controls feel more like a compromise than intentional design.
With the negatives out of the way, let’s focus on what’s new here. Taking a cue from Odyssey, the games now include an Assist Mode, which doubles Mario’s health and essentially removes falling damage with a bubble that moves him back to safety should you accidentally jump off a ledge. Co-Star Mode provides a multi-player component, with a second player taking control of the in-game cursor to pick up Star Bits and take care of enemies. On the Switch 2, this mode supports mouse controls, which is a neat and handy touch. The game also supports Amiibo now, but their functionality is limited to topping up your Star Bits. A final addition comes in the form of new Storybook content, and although we can’t deny that fleshing out both games’ lore is a welcome addition, we can say that the new content isn’t particularly significant.
This then brings us to perhaps the most controversial talking point about the 2025 rerelease: the price point of these games. Picking up both together will set you back a whopping €69.99, with separate releases priced at €39.99. Given that these are ‘old’ games that were available in Nintendo’s “budget” Selects range, it’s no surprise that people are up in arms. If you happen to still have a Wii, or if you have a copy of 3D All-Stars, then it’s difficult to justify double-dipping, as what’s new here is little more than finishing touches on something that was already great. However, if these games are new to you, then their age and previous price point shouldn’t be as much of a concern to you. Rough translation of the Wii control scheme aside, this rerelease only reconfirms that Galaxy 1 + 2 are still some of the best 3D platformers in video game history after all.
Conclusion
Returning to Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 after nearly two decades only cemented the reputation of these stone-cold classics to us. The creative stage design and tight platforming action are so outstanding that we were happy to overlook the game’s rougher edges, most of which are related to the way the game had to be adapted to the newer hardware. If you already own these games in some way, then double-dipping isn’t absolutely necessary, but if you’ve never had the chance to experience them, then they’re highly recommended. The price tag is admittedly on the steep side, but the games themselves are essential additions to any Mario fan’s library.
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