Super Mario Galaxy 2 -- Final Opinion.

I have completed Super Mario Galaxy 2 with a total time of roughly twenty-one hours. I collected all one-hundred and twenty of the initial stars. There are double that in the second playthrough of course. But like the first game, I'm not compelled to play through the game again for them. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is an all around success. The graphics look great. They use the same simplistic art style for maximum graphical impact on the Wii as did the original. Being in true widescreen some of the noticeable artifacts from the original game are for the most part gone. The sound is what you'd expect. All the Mario sounds are there and they sound spot on. The music is great. Especially the mixes of older tracks and of course the Super Mario Galaxy main theme still sounds amazing. The controls actually seem improved. In the original game there were a few moments where the controls would just out and out fail you. Those are gone for the most part. Especially in the transitioning between being right side up and upside down. The game does use motion control and waggle rather extensively. In the more intense sections of the game, a slight bit of movement might cause a death or two. The Wii controls still fail from time to time. In this case it just seems not as much as before. The game initially feels harder but I don't think it actually is when everything is said and done. As I said previously it's more like they just start you off in the mid section of the game with less ramping up. I actually liked the New Super Mario Bros. map system. It's better than the hub world of Super Mario Galaxy or Super Mario Sunshine. But it's still not as good as Super Mario 64's hub world. I do have to say that Yoshi steals the show. Every level you get to use him in is a plus. He translates properly to 3D here. Unlike say his Super Mario Sunshine performance. The story has been toned way down for Super Mario Galaxy 2. Not that story matters at all in a Mario action game, but it does feel a tad hollow as a result. Super Mario Galaxy contains a lot of 2D sections and it also uses a lot more of the spherical worlds. The more open and sprawling planets of the original are by and large gone. I have to say I did find myself missing them. If you loved Super Mario Galaxy 2, then you'll be getting more of the same. Streamlined, and it hits the ground running. If you weren't a fan of Super Mario Galaxy, then there really isn't a lot to change things for you. Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a blast from start to finish and it'll provide a decent challenge and provide you with a lot of replay value should you be looking for such things. I'm giving Super Mario Galaxy 2 a 9. Will this generation see a third 3D Mario game? There is enough time...