Everyone’s favourite moustachioed mascot has been launched back into the stratosphere, as Nintendo’s Power Star‑charged celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the original Super Mario Bros. game get underway. With The Super Mario Galaxy Movie seen as the “main event,” Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 was an extra surprise crammed into our party bags.
Whether you are a seasoned pro at stomping on Goombas or have only recently started your adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom, these intergalactic escapades are simply unmissable. There’s a reason everyone has been clamouring for Super Mario Galaxy 2 to come to Nintendo Switch, after someone at the company managed to lose it down a Warp Pipe before Super Mario 3D All-Stars could become a four-in-one compilation.
To no one’s surprise, Super Mario Galaxy remains every bit as star-dazzling as the day it launched. The adventure begins when Bowser crashes the Star Festival, using laser beams unleashed from a UFO-like contraption to tear Peach’s castle from the ground and carry it into the depths of space. Mario gives chase, but an unexpected blast from Kamek’s magic hurls him into orbit, only to be rescued by a curious star child called Luma. Taken to the Comet Observatory, where he meets Rosalina, Mario learns that he must reclaim enough Power Stars to restore the observatory’s ability to fly like a starship and reach the centre of the universe to save Princess Peach.
All these years later, the game’s creative magic hasn’t faded. Soaring between miniature gravity-bending planets still delivers a sense of wide-eyed wonder that was unmatched at the time, and arguably has only been outmatched by the Mushroom Kingdom hero’s adventures ever since. How wonderful it has been to revisit this game. Whether it be climbing up walls of honey as Bee Mario, raysurfing your way around in Loopdeloop Galaxy, or playfully bouncing around as Spring Mario, there’s a thrilling genius to the game’s design that always makes it exciting to replay.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 elevated that thrill even further. With Star Bits raining down on the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario sets out to join Princess Peach to celebrate the Star Festival, only to discover Bowser has kidnapped her and claimed “the power of the stars.” With Princess Peach taken to the centre of the universe once again, Mario joins Lubba and her space-faring Luma crew to pilot Starship Mario. You set out to recover the Grand Stars that you need to travel greater distances across space and time to rescue her.
I’m so glad that an incredibly insightful Iwata Asks remains online for this game. In it, we learn how the sequel’s development became a bubbling melting pot for creative ideas. Shigeru Miyamoto had wanted the game to be finished in one year, but the team came up with so many brilliant suggestions to pack into it that it ended up taking two and a half years.
From the chance to ride Yoshi and gulp down chilli peppers to make him dash, burrowing through planetoids as Drill Mario, conjuring clouds to leap up as Cloud Mario, or transforming into Rock Mario to turn the plumber into a destructive boulder, it’s clear that, emboldened by the first game’s success, the development team were able to deliver leftover ideas and come up with even more spellbinding ones to wow us even further. While Super Mario Galaxy had a far greater impact, Super Mario Galaxy 2, for me at least, continues to fill me with joy due to how its many concepts allow for its pace to feel like it is constantly changing.
There’s little more that needs to be said about these cosmic adventures and their outstanding boss encounters or eardrum-pleasing soundtracks. How exactly are their ports to Nintendo Switch, though? While I will always feel that these games are deserving of full remakes, we know that Nintendo prefers to keep its development teams focused on delivering new experiences to make us smile. Unlike feeding a Hungry Luma delectable Star Bits, the resulting transformation in these ports is less startling but welcome nonetheless.
You should expect remastered versions, then, and an effort that is in line with but improved from what we saw bundled in with Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Each game’s upgraded visuals are sharper, which results in a much cleaner presentation. Loading times are quick and snappy, and the gyroscope in your Joy-Con 2 or Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller accurately replicate the Wii Remote to let you scoop up Star Bits and flick them at unsuspecting enemies. In Handheld mode, you can use the touchscreen to do this, which is far better (and safer) than waving your console around in every direction.
With a free software update made available for those lucky enough to be playing Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 on Nintendo Switch 2, this has been how I have sunk time into each game. Both run at 4K resolution in TV mode and 1080p in Handheld or Tabletop mode, the higher resolutions making this the best way to experience Mario’s interstellar journey across the stars. The one disappointment that I had was the cutscenes, which remain in lower resolution. The resolution difference can be jarring in an otherwise exceptional, but I would imagine that the source files were tricky to rework.
The team has also added an optional Assist Mode, which eases the game’s difficulty by doubling your health and will automatically return you to the last platform you were on when you accidentally tumble into a black hole. This can be turned on or off whenever you wish, and I did find that using it reduced my frustration from double damage-inducing instances where I was knocked off a platform after taking damage from an enemy.
Not immediately obvious to those playing solo, but the games also offer a Co-Star Mode. Whether with a friend or family member, this lets a second player get involved who can aim a cursor around the screen to fire Star Bits, collect Coins to recover lost health, hold enemies in place, or even help Mario perform a Super Jump. On Nintendo Switch 2, you can also choose to use mouse mode with the Joy-Con 2 rather than relying on gyroscopic input, which is a great addition to help youngsters join in the fun.
If you want to blast each game’s magnificent soundtrack through your TV or console’s speakers, you can do so on the main menu. You can receive Coins or Star Bits from scanning any amiibo that you have collected through the pause menu. However, you will need to wait for the Mario & Luma and Rosalina & Lumas amiibo to be rewarded with either a Life Mushroom or 1-Up Mushroom. Although I imagine most will have seen the game through to completion by April.
Soaring among the stars in Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 delivers not one but two out-of-this-world adventures that are simply unmissable experiences, regardless of whether you choose to play on Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch. Shooting through space like a comet after leaping into a Launch Star or overcoming the challenges that confront you to secure each Power Star never gets old, and I am envious that there are likely those who will be discovering every galaxy that awaits you for the very first time.
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch 2
Review copy provided by Nintendo
