I just want to say that I do admire the cheap-assery of some of the posters here. The game is easily obtainable everywhere around Dallas area (where I live) yet (naturally) everyone's really upset at Toys'R'Us, despite the fact that the promotion's idea was to give people an inscentive to get their non-pre-ordered copies there.
Toys'R'Us seems to not know the value of the internet, and has not the slightest clue as to what kind of weight "a free $25 Gift Card" has for some people. Not to rub it in for anyone who doesn't have the game, but I got my pre-order. Picked it up with my wife, and we both checked out the awesome coin and all the crazy stuff. Got the Gift Card as well, and waiting on some stuff (with much certainty, the gift card is going towards Fire Emblem)...
Anyway - best of luck to everyone who is trying to get ahold of it. And to be perfectly honest, this title is worth much more than $50. It's incredible.
I got lucky, had a friend go and pick me up a copy (it worked out for both of us because the nearest toys r us is a hour a way and I have no carso he kept the giftcards but he reduced the price of galaxy for me ). I am 8 stars in and if I didn't have class at 10 AM, I would be still playing this er. Man this game is amazing, and probably one of the best games I played in a long while. Luckily I got the second to last copy, lol.
Just beat the game with a grand total of 88 stars. Been a while since I stayed inside all day to play one videogame. Awesome game overall. Now I am on the road to getting 120 stars and see what I get afterwards.
BTW: Mario's last words in the game creeped me out. Anyone else think the sporadic voice acting was a bad idea?
Rosalita: "Yes."
Mario: "Welcome to the new galaxy."
Passerbys had to have been confused.
Edit: Sorry didn't think that was really a spoiler. Considering the lax Mario narratives.
I just finished the first dome, and man, does this game live up to the expectations. I can't wait to get home from work tomorrow and dive right back in.
3 stars in until Thanksgiving break hits and I can set off a good chunk of time for this game. This game just feels fun, as if everything in the game is there to please you.
I also like the co-star mode, and really see where Miyamoto was headed when he designed it. It allows anyone passing by to just pick up a free remote and be able to take part in the adventure.
As a side note, I also picked up Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles (which I HIGHLY reccomend) along side Mario Galaxy for the extra $10 GC. With this deal and next weeks B2G1, TRU is really rocking this season.
I decided to eschew the whole "gift card" deal based on all the bad luck people have had finding this game at TRU. Everything I want at TRU is over $25 anyway, so they'd just make me spend more money.
I broke my cashier's BRAIN picking up Mario Galaxy at a big Electronics Retailer this evening:
On the shelves they had seven or eight copies of the game and about three or four "commemorative coin" packages stickered as $5.00 [off the 49.99 game price] with a few stipulations in fine print on the sticker about needing a receipt and a pre-order. But hey, it was on the shelf, price-tagged, right with all the other games. Fair game.
Oh, what the hell, I thought, the game's already out, who can pre-order now?
It took nearly ten minutes to purchase these two items. The poor cashier, whom I could almost literally not understand, made me purchase the coin package first (makes sense), then made me run my receipt to the exit and get the receipt marked, then walk back in to the cashier station.
By this time her brain was totally broken. I hadn't done what she wanted me to do. She started getting really agitated and was saying something about "no, go to the department". She made me sign my name and phone number on a piece of paper [???] then stormed off to the other side of the store, leaving me waiting for five or six minutes.
Then she came back with a gigantic computer printout receipt and after a few more minutes she seemed satisfied and let me buy the game.
So uh, yeah. The game, the coin. No pre-order. Ten stars so far. If the first three hours are any indication, it is the best video game ever made, and pardon the crudity, its bonus levels have shat completely all over the random fall-to-your-death retro levels of Sunshine, with which many of you are so enamored. The first bonus level is amazing (and check that music)... challenging, but falling doesn't take quite so long, and there is a WAYPOINT. Wow, imagine that.
Control of Mario is SO much tighter than in Sunshine. I feel like I can STOP. No more floating off edges with a slight flick of the analog stick.
It seems I am the only person who not only didn't have any problems controlling the ray surfing, but actually actively enjoyed the sequence.
You totally ruined your chance to say to the press "WE MADE 150 MILLION IN ONE DAY ON MARIO GALAXY! ALMOST HALF AS MUCH AS HALO 3!"
And do you know why? BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE ANY ING COPIES OUT.
GEEEEEEEEEEZ!
*throws hands in the air*[/QUOTE]
You're absolutely right, they should have capitalized on these sales because they've been selling out huge in my area. It was funny, at 4:00 I called Best Buy (one that is in the middle of nowhere somewhat, but in a growing area) and not only would they pricematch TRU, but they had 30 copies left (out of an estimated 50 that had arrived at 2:00)
I got down there at 5:45 and went over to the game section. They had a big cardboard display for Mario Galaxy. An employee and me headed to the section. He grabbed the second to last copy for a customer and I grabbed the last copy. It felt like destiny had waited just for me.
...
I didn't get to play it because I'm going to wait until tomorrow when my girlfriend can try it too. Not all gaming genius was lost tonight since I popped in Metroid Prime 3. I still haven't finished Metroid Prime 3-- currently at 58% so far.
Call me sacrilidgeous but I don't get the total love for this game over Sunshine, though, on the flip side, I never understood the hate of Sunshine. I prefered it over Mario 64 by a long shot (talk about loose control - Mario 64 had that in spades as far as I'm concerned). I'm 10 stars into Galaxy and I say, so far, I like it AS MUCH as Sunshine, and that's saying a lot. I don't see how it blows it away though. I'm also not as impressed by the graphics as I thought I would be from all I read here and in the reviews. I prefer MP3 as the graphical pinnacle on the Wii - yet so many people seem to think this is tops BY FAR. Not that it matters, but I just thought that was odd.
Note that I didn't grow up with Mario games (they came out in my late teens to 20's) and playing Mario 64 was not the highlight of my youth like so many of you so that may lead me to a different perspective . And I've never played it on original N64 hardware.
[quote name='io']Call me sacrilidgeous but I don't get the total love for this game over Sunshine, though, on the flip side, I never understood the hate of Sunshine. I prefered it over Mario 64 by a long shot (talk about loose control - Mario 64 had that in spades as far as I'm concerned). I'm 10 stars into Galaxy and I say, so far, I like it AS MUCH as Sunshine, and that's saying a lot. I don't see how it blows it away though. I'm also not as impressed by the graphics as I thought I would be from all I read here and in the reviews. I prefer MP3 as the graphical pinnacle on the Wii - yet so many people seem to think this is tops BY FAR. Not that it matters, but I just thought that was odd.
Note that I didn't grow up with Mario games (they came out in my late teens to 20's) and playing Mario 64 was not the highlight of my youth like so many of you so that may lead me to a different perspective . And I've never played it on original N64 hardware.[/quote]
I thought I was the only one that felt that much love for Sunshine. The game is brilliant, and underrated. Thanks for saying it - I've felt the same thing, and didn't want to derail this thread towards the good old 64 vs. Sunshine argument.
I'm not knocking 64 - I just really really dug Sunshine a lot.
Let's just say that after 2 or 3 stars I wasn't instantly convinced this was the best Mario game ever made like so many others here have said. It just didn't blow me away... And now, 10 stars in I like it more because I've already been to some diverse and clever areas. But still... I'm waiting for more. Don't get me wrong - this doesn't mean I don't already think it is one of the best games of THIS year (along with Metroid Prime 3). But best video game ever made? I'll reserve judgement on that till I finish.
[quote name='MarioColbert']I thought I was the only one that felt that much love for Sunshine. The game is brilliant, and underrated. Thanks for saying it - I've felt the same thing, and didn't want to derail this thread towards the good old 64 vs. Sunshine argument.
I'm not knocking 64 - I just really really dug Sunshine a lot.[/QUOTE]
me and my girlfriend are loving this game. She's enjoying being able to grab stars and hold things while I run around doing all the platforming . Unfortunatly I only have like 2 stars on the game so far I booted it up for around and hr and then House came on so we had to turn it off and watch that -_-.
Well I'm 4 stars in (stupid psyc paper) and it's pretty great so far. I have to write an essay and have a presentation tomorrow so I won't have a lot of time to play tonight either, but all I have on Friday is a test so I should be good Thursday night and almost the whole weekend. I can't wait .
[quote name='bluesyncopate']I decided to eschew the whole "gift card" deal based on all the bad luck people have had finding this game at TRU. Everything I want at TRU is over $25 anyway, so they'd just make me spend more money.[/QUOTE]
:lol: That's kinda the point of the promotion.
Anyway, I'm 5 stars in and love it. It has already cleansed my palette of that turd Sunshine.
[quote name='seanr1221']
- The cleaning up of sludge was a terrible idea (imo)
- The fludd was annoying and felt somewhat tact on to come up with a new idea
- And my biggest complaint...lack of variety in levels. I want a snow level god-dammit!
[/quote]
So, you basically didn't like it because you didn't like it. I'm certain that you have not seen a snow level in Super Mario Galaxy yet, though it doesn't alter your evaluation thereof. Taste is taste - and that's fine, I'm certainly not trying to change your mind about the game....
I've heard enough trash being said about FLUDD to wonder: how much have you spent with the game? Tacked on? Look, all it took me to be sold on the title was that if you're hanging from a rope, you had not one but two methods of spinning based on the FLUDD setting. That's not counting the ability to do other awesome stuff with other nozzles. If anyone "doesn't get" why this is important in a video game, I suggest you ask Strell, because he loves explaining to people what makes effective game mechanics effective. Just make sure to ask him a lot.
Sunshine was a game everyone called "simple" - and at times it feels that everyone who didn't like it just saw previews of it, and thought it looked stupid. The amount of amazing things that it did for gameplay (none of which seemed forced or tacked on to me) was staggering, and it was actually challenging at places. Scratch that - there are some shines that are damn near ing impossible.
Having said that, I'm somewhat weary of any human being who doesn't enjoy Super Mario Galaxy.
The biggest flaw in Sunshine was the total lack of variety in environments. The FLUDD was fun and worked well. If we could've just not been on the beach for a few levels, that'd have been great. I want a whole game of the packless levels from that game. Galaxy is delivering a bit on that desire.
I'm 34 stars in. Beat the boss that opens at #33. That level is awesome.
Finally got a chance to play SMG last night. I've only got 2 stars so far, but I noticed something while I was playing...I was smiling. I am barely into this game and I am already thoroughly enjoying it. I can't wait to play some more.
Im with MarioColbert on loving Sunshine. The Fludd was really awesome and nothing was better than what you could do with it whiling handing on a rope. It also made you able to blast soooo high up in the air it was crazy. The different settings on the Fludd really added alot of movies to the Mario repetoir.
As far as the level designs go, yeah okay you win, they were all very beachy, but spins off of beachy: Amusmenet park, haunted house, normal beach, oil spill beach and the "packless" levels. OMG. OMG! OMFrigginG: best purest most challenging imersive platforming ever done EVER!!! I loved em and doing these high as hell with friends in college taking turn after turn after turn, becasue you know they're impossible is one of my fondest memories of playing GC. That and 4 ppl in 2 karts, and smash...Now I'm ranting.
After 7 stars in Galaxy, i can say its better, but to me that is actually saying alot because I friggin loved Sunshine.
One minor gripe so far about galaxy, and all mario games for that matter: Can we please get some challenging enemies? I know the game is made for little kids too but come on, gimme somethign other than some slow ass stub legged dude who does nothing but run into me and occasionally shoot a projectile. The enemies aren't enemies so much as annoying friends, gimme some motivation to play well and actually be scared of enemies. Just my opinion. If they get much harder later (which hopefully they do) then just turn this into a pacing issue.
my first impressions.
the control is perfect. it takes a little while to figure it out and perfect it. but after that it's great. the level design so far is fantastic. (i'm completed nearly 2 "worlds"). i love that there are only a few stars you can get from each area. where 64 and sunshine had a ton of stars per area. and i've already started to do some speed runs on areas and that is a great addition.
on the negative.
my wife o meter hit low with the long unskippable intro. which is crazy in my opinion. mario is made for replay. why not let me skip that intro. make a full out option to start right after the bunny rabits.
and neather of us liked how you enter the levels. i would prefer the simplicity of entering the paintings in 64. i spent some time just being confused in galaxy before i figured out where to go.
I was sooo pissed when I found out that I couldnt reaccess the phone message from Mario himself telling me that my GS preorder was in. It was friggin awesome.
[quote name='mickeyp']Is there more than one file for another player in the house?[/quote]Yeah, I think there are 8 save files.
daroga is once again streaming my save file over the internet somehow. Felt my fifth Grand Star was a good stopping point. The countdown begins at 26 stars! I assume you're playing the same way I am, daroga? Just getting the three stars per galaxy?
Timing is great since my wife is in class tonight, so I'll have a solid 4 or 5 hours to play after work without hogging the TV!
[quote name='mickeyp']thank you
"daroga is once again streaming my save file over the internet somehow" what does this mean?[/quote]He's just pretending to play. He's really secretly copying my save file and just describing where I'm at. Sneaky bastard.
[quote name='botticus']daroga is once again streaming my save file over the internet somehow. Felt my fifth Grand Star was a good stopping point. The countdown begins at 26 stars! I assume you're playing the same way I am, daroga? Just getting the three stars per galaxy?[/quote]Kinda, though I'm just hopping around trying out different levels. I am playing the bosses as soon as they're open, though
[quote name='javeryh']I can't believe I have to wait until Christmas for this. I'm on a total spending lockdown. Grrr....[/quote]
I would think this could be an exception since the GC from TRU comes into play. Use the $25 GC on other Christmas Presents.
Your just going to end up spending $50 on it in a month (or 45 if you get it used) or so but then you'll miss out on the free GC.
Nintendo Games stay high forever and this won't be an exception. If you are going to buy it anytime in the reasonably near future, get it from TRU this week.
[quote name='schuerm26']I would think this could be an exception since the GC from TRU comes into play. Use the $25 GC on other Christmas Presents.
Your just going to end up spending $50 on it in a month (or 45 if you get it used) or so but then you'll miss out on the free GC.[/quote]
yeah, I'd rather get it now with the GC but people are always asking me what I want for Christams and since I really don't want anyone to buy me anything ever my wife thinks it's a good idea to just list games for people to get me instead... so I guess I won't be the one losing out on the deal...
[quote name='botticus']
Timing is great since my wife is in class tonight, so I'll have a solid 4 or 5 hours to play after work without hogging the TV![/quote]
I've got one up on you there botticus. My fiance is going to the gym and working on a new work out schedule. While I sit on my ass and play galaxy, she is going and getting better lookin!!
I suppose yours is going and getting better by getting more educated but be wary of how smart you want your wife to be...thats misogynist I know.
Well, MY wife was in a foul mood last night. I was telling her "look, this is like... this is like SUPERBOWL to me, okay, this is something that you can't kill the buzz on, I'm talking DIVORCE, I'm talking I KEEP THE APARTMENT, I'm talking WE NAME THE DAUGHTER ALICE.
Well, we got to Toys'R'Us and I got the copy, coin, and GC. I came out glowing. My wife had the radio on in the car, and I'm generally extremely annoyed by it (my major is music composition, I am a pretentious snob, feel free to comment). The first thing that I've noticed is that despite Nickelback being on the radio, I did not mind. And I'm not talking about my usual "oh I'll be polite and not say anything" I'm talking about "MARIO CURES DICKWAD" (I'm the dickwad).
We get home, and I didn't put the game in. Instead, I cleaned the living room, and assisted my wife with the dinner making. She was surprised. After just fifteen minutes, she said "are you going to put the game in?"
In the most nonchalant voice I could muster, I've replied "nah, not yet, I'd like for you to be in on this." She was surprised AGAIN. After 20 minutes, she began to get impatient, and started saying things like "well, you said it has a long intro - maybe we can watch it as we eat." Again, with my Mr. Cool face on, I said: "no, we can wait a little."
By the time she made herself cozy on the couch, her demands became more "to the point" such as "so, you're not going to play tonight?"
Here is where I said the suavest shit I ever said in my life, ever:
"Oh, allright."
Wife-o-meter: OFF THE ING CHARTS. As soon as we saw Mario running around with his arms extended (I'm not spoiler-tagging the god damn FIRST THING YOU SEE WHEN YOU START) there was a bit of laughter. From then on, we've discussed everything - the eternal "asshole" nature of King Koopa, the inevitable ruin that my skills will unleash on Bowser. We've talked about the "weight problem" that little stars tend to have, and have come to the conclusion that the brown one is really made of chocolate, but filled with marshmallow fluff inside.
I also have learned that my wife TUNES ME THE OUT. I recall coming home one day going "HOLY SHIT MARIO TURNS INTO A BEE IN THE NEW ONE!" and she said something "oh, neat."
As I turned into the bee last night, her exclamation was: " Hey that's COOL!"
Took the words right out of my mouth, my better half did. Took the words right out of my stupid mouth.
Sunshine was a lot better than Mario 64 as far as I'm concerned. But even this early in to Galaxy(around 25 stars) I wouldn't even think twice about saying Galaxy is by far the greatest 3D Mario ever, and is so far beyond Sunshine & 64 that it's hard to put into words. My expectations were set way too high on this game, and it's still more than exceeding them.
I think my favorite thing about this game is that it's the first 3D Mario that's structured like a 2D Mario. What I mean is, there's an overworld, but it's like the ones in SMB3 & SMW, just there to get you to the new levels. Also, the levels are structured in a mainly linear fashion. That's not to say there aren't chances for exploring & secrets(kind of like the alternate paths in SMW), but the focus of the game seems to mainly be on a linear platforming experience, which is exactly what I want out of Mario. This is also the reason why the "void levels" in Sunshine were by far the best part of that game.
I guess what I'm saying is, this is the first 3D Mario game that actually really feels like Mario to me, that actually feels like a sequal to SMW. It's hard to put it into words exactly, but this is easily my favorite game in many, many years.
[quote name='pygmy carnotaur']
I guess what I'm saying is, this is the first 3D Mario game that actually really feels like Mario to me, that actually feels like a sequal to SMW. It's hard to put it into words exactly, but this is easily my favorite game in many, many years.[/quote]This is exactly it.
[quote name='pittpizza']
It might be helpful to put how many stars you have in front of your spoiler tags so we can know what is safe and what is not.[/quote]
BRILLIANT!
Motion seconded by MarioColbert = Instantly Passed. Everyone not adhering to this rule from this moment on will repreted to Moderators. Worse, their names will be written down in a little white notebook I have for all the internet people I hate. Lark Anderson is on top of that list, so until I find ways to sabotage his carreer as a hack, you're probably safe.
I finally got to sit down with Galaxy last night (for about twenty minutes), and I got to sit in the 2P chair, freezing enemies and collecting items, as well as start a game of my own. Unfortunately, due to the exceptionally long opening cut-scenes, I only amassed about 10 minutes of actual play time. Damnit. I got to the first
mission of the first galaxy
and had to turn if off to make room for House, M.D.
I was having dreams about this game. It's the most pure 'fun' I've had with a game in a long time. The environments are Mario's foe, but at the same time they don't work against the enjoyment of the game. It's a tough thing to pull off, making platforming challenging without sucking the fun out of things. Nintendo has pulled it off with the inclusion of gravity and the joy of being able to 'see over that next (proverbial) hill, if only I could go there....' coupled with the 'what'll they think of next' variety of the environments.
My next part it a side-rant about Sunshine, so if you're sick of participating in an off topic discussion, just skip it.
I'm not trying to change your minds about Sunshine, but this is the first place and the first time I have seen Sunshine defended in the way y'all are doing.
A small but illustrative example of how Sunshine alienated me right off the bat is the way they introduced the player to FLUDD. The main thrust of the introduction to the FLUDD mechanics comes in the form of a small, demonstrative movie of Mario pulling off moves, as the FLUDD bird (who sounds a lot like Bart Simpson) 'explaining' what's going on. This is one of those times when it's better to put things in the hands of the player right away, like a series of graduated challenges. Cut scenes shouldn't be employed to show the player what to do, that's what gameplay is for. It's a small complaint, but I missed Miyamoto's influence greatly.
Galaxy starts you out without your spin or the spherical platforms, and for some of the odd Wiimote maneuvers such as Ray Surfing, requires you to act out the motions yourself before you can proceed. Not that gamers are stupid, or that FLUDD was hard to pull off (it wasn't), but IMO the best games start out with the basics, and ramp up the challenges naturalistically, sort of like a good novel or film plot. Sunshine didn't do this for me, and was all over the place in regards to just about everything. This is why the critical consensus often refers to Sunshine as hastily thrown together. In reality it was a great acheivment in regards to immersing the player in some fascinating water physics, but beyond that it fell flat as an explorative platormer, and Mario 64 really set the bar high.
For some of us, Mario 64 was the first 'real' 3D platformer we ever played. There is common consensus that M64 was a landmark game. Next to that, Mario's tropical outing will always be a mere afterthought for some of us. The Mario adventures, with the exception of SMB and SMB:LL, have always been known for wildly inventive visuals and eclectic environments. Sunshine is a pretty game, and it deserves a spot in the Mario lexicon, but it doesn't have enough of those elements to earn it a top spot. I see it more as a side-story. Control-wise, Mario also feels much more 'floaty' in SMS than in either M64 or SMG. The transition from creeping to running isn't quite as smooth, so it's much easier to go flying off platforms.
I enjoyed Sunshine. I was a little frustrated at a few of the levels' drastic hikes in difficulty ("Yoshi's Fruit Adventure" and the first-person rollercoaster shooting gallery, in particular) and the bonus levels weren't hidden levels as some of you are implying, they're required very early on to proceed in the game, and they knock the pacing of the game.
I started a new Sunshine game over the weekend, and am enjoying it the hell out of it. As a stand-alone platformer, it's fantastic. In terms of what I've come to expect from a Mario game, it fell short. This is where Galaxy comes in. SMG feels nothing like Mario64. The whole 'feel' of the world is totally different (the music has a lot to do with this), but that sense of fun, of the giddy excitement of opening up a new area, has returned in full force.
Motion seconded by MarioColbert = Instantly Passed. Everyone not adhering to this rule from this moment on will repreted to Moderators. Worse, their names will be written down in a little white notebook I have for all the internet people I hate. Lark Anderson is on top of that list, so until I find ways to sabotage his carreer as a hack, you're probably safe.[/quote]
**pittpizza speaks in Elvis voice** "Thanku...Thanku very much."
er. Man this game is amazing, and probably one of the best games I played in a long while. Luckily I got the second to last copy, lol.
