Super Mario Galaxy (Game)

Super Mario Galaxy (Game) Release date: 2007. Creator: Nintendo. Platform: Nintendo Wii. ASIN: B000FG9QVI.

Plot summary: Mario receives an invitation from Princess Peach to attend the Star Festival. After arriving at the festival, however, the Mushroom Kingdom is attacked by the evil Bowser and an army of airships and Princess Peach is kidnapped. Mario and his friends must once again rescue Princess Peach from Bowser’s clutches, only this time the adventure takes them to outer space. In order to warp from galaxy to galaxy, players must guide Mario on 3D planets as he battles enemies to collect Power Stars. Mario is aided in his quest by Lumas, tiny star-like creatures that inhabit the Observatory from which Mario makes his journey between galaxies. Lumas can be fed Star Bits, tiny colorful shapes that Mario collects on various planets. The mother of the Lumas, Rosalina, is a beautiful woman who promises to transport Mario to save his beloved Peach after he has collected sixty Power Stars.

Critical evaluation: Super Mario Galaxy is a delightful and adorable game that will appeal to long-time Mario fans and newcomers alike. The graphics of the game are beautiful: the galaxy is serene but vibrant. Mario’s enemies are even somewhat lovable. The game play of this title is truly original as well. Players guide Mario as he travels from galaxy to galaxy, each one containing different planets. Mario traverses these planets in 3D, meaning that he is literally running upside for much of the game. Players can jump Mario from one planet to another located below. Although this new form of gaming perspective will take some getting used to, it is truly enthralling once mastered. Nintendo has left the possibilities wide-open for 3D game play. The 3D aspects of the game make for some interesting puzzles and challenges as well, as players must think in three dimensions when looking for clues or finding Power Stars. The one downside to the game is that it is relatively short in duration. Sixty Power Stars can easily be collected after just a short amount of playing time, and players will wish there was more story to the game after that point. In actuality, there are 120 Power Stars that can be collected and some are quite difficult. These additional challenges will appeal to players who wish to enjoy the graphics and 3D perspective longer, despite the fact that the storyline has ended. Overall, Super Mario Galaxy is a wonderful game that is fun for all ages.

Player's annotation: Help Mario and his friends rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of the evil Bowser as they travel from galaxy to galaxy! Collect Power Stars on 3D planets to help Mario save the day!   

About the creator: One of the most well-known names in gaming, the Nintendo Company actually got its start in 1889 when it was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce Japanese card games. Over the following decades the company tried many different business ventures before entering the video game industry in 1977. The first console released by Nintendo was called Color TV Game. In 1980 the company created the Game & Watch handheld video game series, but became a global sensation with the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) released in 1985. The first game created for NES was Super Mario Brothers which has since become a worldwide phenomenon sparking many sequels. Since the release of the NES, Nintendo has launched several other gaming consoles including the Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube and Nintendo Wii. They have also created many handheld gaming devices like the Nintendo Game Boy and the Nintendo DS. Nintendo is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan and is the third most valuable company in Japan. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo)

Genre: Action and adventure

Curriculum ties:
None

Booktalking ideas:
Influence of gaming in society
Balancing gaming with other activities
Super Mario Brothers phenomenon

Reading level/Interest Age:
All ages.

Challenge issues:
None

Reasons for inclusion:
Winner of British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award for excellence in video gaming in 2009.
Voted by Nintendo Power magazine in 2008 as best game released for the Nintendo Wii.
Named by Nintendo Power and Official Nintendo Magazine as “Nintendo game of the decade” for 2000-2009.
Third best-selling Wii game ever released.