Super Mario Galaxy: An Undeserving #1

GameRankings recently declared Super Mario Galaxy as the highest-rated game of all time, inching out over long-time leader The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by a mere hundredth of a percent. However, does Galaxy truly deserve the award? According to Gamers-Association.com editor Jay Curtis, the answer is "certainly not."

[-Mika-]

Great article and it shows how game reviewers are biased towards Nintendo. It seem like Nintendo games always get a free pass when it comes to their games and I really don't like that. It just unfair.

[TheMrFraz]

Certainly shows that hitting all the right notes in a checklist of Story, Graphics, Gameplay, etc. during development isn't required to create a beloved and memorable game.

[Peppino7]

I believe Uncharted 2 did advance all those areas you mentioned and was awarded for it. Just because awards weren't as prevalent in the past as they are now doesn't mean you can't compare games. Although this appears to be a subjective issue, Uncharted 2 is the game that many developers try to learn from and attempt to beat. OoT was amazing as a child but Uncharted 2 blew me away as an adult, which I believe is harder to do.

[SegaKnuckles86]

Sorry but Uncharted 2 advanced in everything but gameplay. A run of the mill third person shooter with above average graphics and storytelling is still a run of the mill third person shooter. Graphics don't fix a game with a linear and shallow level design, clunky controls, the fact you can only carry two guns simultaneously, and some stupid regenerative health and checkpoints that hold your hand through the game's toughest parts, just like 59302 other shooters on the market.

[Phil32]

Expected post from -Mika-. I think I can die a happy man now.

[zebramocha]

@mika I don't think all reviewers are biase but inconsistent which leads to score being all over the place.

[omarzy]

"It seem like Nintendo games always get a free pass"

Then they have been getting a free pass for the last 25 years. Either that or people actually like Nintendo games.

Your entire comment is just a complaint against Nintendo and Nintendo games in general rather than thoughts on Mario Galaxy in particular.

[Temporary]

Nintendo deserves the praise for their Mario Galaxy games (and most of their 1st party games present and past).

To say otherwise just shows how disconnected you are from "REAL" gamers. A REAL gamer can play a game like Mario Galaxy and UNDERSTAND why it's the highest rated game of all time. It has a very WIDE demographic, its gameplay is fantastic, and it also has the nostalgic factor because over the past 25 years no matter what the main Mario games have always been quality games.

Im guessing the author would rather have Halo or CoD as the top games of all time...which means they dont understand gaming at all, they just understand what they themselves deem worthy of praise.

The Super Mario Galaxy series is top notch, and I personally wouldnt call it the best game EVER, but i UNDERSTAND why it IS the best game ever by many people's opinions.

[LX-General-Kaos]

Well said

[Ben_Rage_3]

^This

[nrvalleytime]

^^ Yes.

[ALLWRONG]

-Mika- tinfoil hat much?

[Snookies12]

It was an amazingly fun game, but there's no way I'd rate it as the best game ever.

[Samus HD]

I would, because fun is what really matters, and I hope the next Smash bros will go even higher :)

[Snookies12]

While I agree that fun is what matters in most cases. There are just some games that were much more memorable than Galaxy in my opinion. Most of which funny enough were on Nintendo consoles lol. (SNES)

[Samus HD]

you think they were more memorable because that's when you started playing and has been a long time now. So SMG is gonna be very memorable not only because of the fact that is nr.1 now but it's a unique masterpiece

[Pozzle]

It's a great game, but I certainly wouldn't consider it the BEST game ever created. Heck, it isn't even my favorite 3D Mario game.

[TheMrFraz]

Completely agree with you. For whatever reason, I'm still so fond of Sunshine.

[Temporary]

For some reason the thing i remember most about Sunshine is its music. There are some tunes that i found were very hard to forget.

[RAFFwaff]

You don't give any examples as to what YOU would consider the greatest ever game. Because the issue is subjective to each individual, your choice would have been torn to bits as well. Mario Galaxy is the highest rated game ever, but that that does not make it the best game ever- no one states or has stated this, and that's your mistake in writing this article. Even when Ocarina of Time was the highest rated game ever, nintendo sold it in adverts for the 3ds as "one of the greatest games of all time." how could Mario Galaxy be universally declared the greatest game of all time, when not even all game magazines reviewed it (xbox and playstation for example, and perhaps their user base more than most would have brought Galaxy average score down a bit.) Nintendo have perfected the platform genre, which is a very small part of the overall games business. Was Mario Galaxy an evolution in platforming, rather than an outright 'revolution'? I would say, "yes". Therefore, the real question to be asked would be, is Mario Galaxy the greatest platfomer ever? It's a much more realistic debate anyway.

[smashcrashbash]

I personally think Okami was the greatest game of all time. It was the one game that deserved better then it was given. It deserved to be on a pedestal and instead it was thrown aside.

@ RAFFwaff BTW SMG wasn't an evolution in platforming. Ratchet and Clank Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal had spherical worlds with platforming before SMG ever existed.They didn't evolve platforming, they just followed behind RAC.It was the first platformer to do it.Give credit where credit is due. Miyamoto even pretended he didn't know what RAC was when people pointed it out.Just more proof of how ignorance is bliss. As long we all pretend someone did something first we can deny any existence of it from before.

[omarzy]

."They didn't evolve platforming, they just followed behind RAC."

You cannot honestly believe that the spherical worlds are the only thing that gave Galaxy and RAC the praise that they received.

Galaxy had damn near perfect level design and creativity, and reviews for the game did not credit it for the creation of the spherical worlds. They credited it with the design of the worlds and how they were used.

I could say that RAC is not an evolution in 3d platforming because Super Mario 64 was the first fully 3d platformer. But i am not going to say that because that is just one aspect.

Insomniac and Nintendo were both given tools and it seems reviewers thought Nintendo used the tools better.

I don't think Galaxy is the greatest game ever. RAC did have spherical worlds before Galaxy, but it is how the spherical world design was used.

You can still evolve a genre even if it is not 100 percent original.

[smashcrashbash]

That is nonsense. Ratchet and Clank didn't use the spherical world design any worse or better then SMG did. It was exactly the same.And people did praise SMG for the spherical world design and called it revolutionary and evolutionary. My point is that it wasn't. It was Mario with the same design RAC used long before it existed.Miyamoto went as far as to lie that he didn't know that RAC existed to cover up that fact ( http://www.destructoid.com/... design and creativity of the spherical worlds were no better or worse then each other.This is from someone who played both games and had ten times more fun smashing buildings with giant Clank then I had in half the worlds in SMG.Don't get me wrong.I am not saying it was an awful game by any length but not number one by any stretch.Still stand by Okami

[zebramocha]

@omarzy Mario 64 wasn't the first 3d platformer game it was two games that beat by 6-7 years prior,alpha waves 1990 and I,robot a arcade game 1983.

[LX-General-Kaos]

Super Mario Galaxy is definitely deserving and worthy for its praise as highest rated gaming experience of all time. Super Mario Galaxy was created to as near perfection as a platformer can get. To spot on perfect level design, music, controls, and graphics for its respective platform.

Never have I played a game since Ocarina Of Time that pulls off near every aspect of gaming so flawlessly, until Super Mario Galaxy that is. Nintendo has created magic with this Nintendo Wii entertainment system exclusive. I find it unfair to down Super Mario Galaxy and strip it of its praise, then not give an honest opinion of a more deserving title. There are not many gaming experiences that do as much right as Super Mario Galaxy, if any at all. Many will disagree with its ultimate form of praise, but not many agree on much when it comes to opinions within the gaming industry. This is clearly no different.

If you have a problem with this, then what game do you feel should be in its royal place?

Rated E For Everyone

[-GametimeUK-]

I have no problem with people claiming Mario Galaxy is the best game ever made. The only reason people can object to such a claim is because the game is so new in comparison to everyone's fave games.

Truth is Mario Galaxy has an amazing level of attention to detail in every way possible. The visuals are beautiful, the controls are very precise, the music is one of the best soundtracks I have heard in recent years. Not only has everything I have just typed hold weight and would be extremely hard to argue against, but Mario Galaxy also flipped the platform genre upside down (literally) and gave the whole series a nice shake up.

It is very unique and shines in all areas. It is that classic Nintendo polish in a new Nintendo package. brilliant 10/10 game and I can not show any more support for this title than I already do.

It may not be my personal choice for best ever, but I can't argue with anyone else who claims they think it is. It is THAT good. Brilliant game and easily one of the best of all time.

[LX-General-Kaos]

Excellent post, and it is very clear that I agree. I am honored to see another respect the greatness of Super Mario Galaxy.

[DragonKnight]

You have 7 bubbles and get away with "then what game do you feel should be in its royal place?"

Once again, a clear indicator that this site is seriously broken.

[ALLWRONG]

Too many Sony guys like you are whats wrong with this site. There is no balance.

LX-General-Kaos never says anything negative, that's why he has the bubbles. The ones you should question are the ones who troll, but still manage to have just as many bubbles.

[WeAreLegion]

He has multiple accounts that he uses to bubble himself up. Many people on this site still do that, oddly enough. :/ Not sure why.

[DragonKnight]

"Too many Sony guys like you are whats wrong with this site."

Spoken with a tone of hate. No one mentioned anything about any kind of fanboys and you right away go on the attack. If this site were populated by people like you, the already staggering Sony hate on this site would merely skyrocket into the stratosphere.

And no, he doesn't have those bubbles because he never says anything negative. One can troll without saying negative things.

[jghvhv]

My Brother has this game but I've never played it.Maybe I should give it a try.
Rated R For Rattata

[doogiebear]

My favorite game of all time is Persona 3. It is also one of the highest rated games ever made. But thought-provoking, JRPG's are not for everybody, I guess.

[omarzy]

I liked Persona 4 more. It seemed a lot more lively and the case was really interesting, but EVERYONE seems to like Persona 3 the best. I'm the only one out of my group that liked 4 more than 3.

@aquamala. OoT still has a higher Metacritic score than GTA4.

@smashcrashbash. I never said who used the worlds better. I said that critics seem to think the SMG used them better. I was just trying to say that you can still be an evolution to a genre even if aspects of the genre were used before. I was saying that there is more to the praise Galaxy got than just the idea of spherical worlds.

You said SMG was not an evolution of platforming "SMG wasn't an evolution in platforming. I'm just saying it is even though RAC used the worlds first.

[aquamala]

Sure is a better choice than gta4, the #1 game on metacritic

[Samus HD]

yes... I can't really get it

[cpayne93]

Ocarina of time is still the #1 game on metacritic with a 99.

[abzdine]

it's also one of the best games i have played. Galaxy 2 is even greater. The idea of travelling from planet to planet is really nice and i dont imagine the time it took them to create each level.
Also the level and character design is the sweetest i have ever seen and the motion controls are perfectly integrated and so easy to use.

Really looking forward to a 3D Mario on Wii U

[chadboban]

People are different so opinions on games, movies, tv shows, books etc. will always differ. Everyone is not going to like the same things and for different reasons, the same way it's possible for people to actually like the same things but for different reasons. Everything is subjective. No one can come out and say that "X" game is objectively the greatest game of all time because that's their personal opinion and no matter what, there will be someone else whose opinion will differ from theirs.

[Broburger]

After playing Galaxy using those silly motion controls, it's definitely not as great as Super Mario 64 let alone Zelda OOT.

[Killman]

Since this is basically the same article, I will post what I posted in the last thread.

"Super Mario Galaxy is a fantastic game but I agree with this article completely. Seeing it with such a high rating is a bit dumb. Games like Uncharted 2, RE4, and Batman, to name a few, deserve those scores. Those games actually pushed some boundaries. Not every game has to push boundaries to be good obviously, but it does at least a little to be considered one of the greatest of all time." Me, 15 minutes ago

[Game-Modo]

This article is very similar to the article I made....

[axisofweevils]

Yep. The best game ever is on the Wii.

You can disagree, but that's just admitting you have a terrible taste in games.

[axisofweevils]

Double post.

[Hicken]

My favorite games tend to have deep, engaging, and often mature storylines, something the Mario franchise has consistently lacked.

That's not to say that they're bad games, or even that they aren't great, as Galaga has no story and is easily one of MY favorites.

Oh well. To each, his own.