super mario galaxy
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Super Mario Galaxy sitting pretty as the #1 ranked game
Remember the days when The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the top ranked game ever? Well, those days are over, and now Super Mario Galaxy reigns as the champion over at Game Rankings with its average score of 97.9%. That's right, it just barely squeaked by Ocarina by a 0.3% margin. Let it be known, however, that Ocarina is still first on Metacritic.Are you happy or sad to see Link trumped by Mario? We tend to not put enough stock in these combined rankings ourselves to care either way, but hey, maybe that's just us.[Thanks, Andres!]
Super Mario Galaxy highest rated game of all time
Despite certain reviews that highlight the game's flaws, Super Mario Galaxy is currently the highest rated game of all time on Game Rankings. The aeronautical plumber surpassed The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by the skin of his pearly Italian teeth, with an average score of 97.8 percent from 30 reviews to Zelda's 97.6 percent from 31 reviews.While all it would take is one less-than-flattering review to knock the game from its pedestal, we're sure Mario's position on top of the dog pile is enough to give Wii owners and Nintendo fanboys something to gloat about. That is, until M&M's Kart Racing inevitably seizes the throne.[Thanks, Rubang B]
Wii Warm Up: Star search
We expect that most of you are at least several hours deep into Super Mario Galaxy, smiling with each new discovery and throwback detail. The more dedicated among you have delved in much further, biting right into the tootsie pop to feast on its chocolate center like Mr. Owl and his ruthless beak. Our question today: How many stars have you so far collected in Super Mario Galaxy? Are you the shame of your neighborhood, having rounded up only a few in your journey? Or are you on the cusp of attaining all 120? Don't forget that if you're having trouble finding these shiny balls of plasma, you can always turn to Hardcore Gamer Magazine's video guides!
Japanese Club Nintendo members get too-awesome-for-words bonuses
Just look at that. Isn't it glorious? What you're seeing above, folks, is a Wii-compatible SNES pad. Let's say that again, shall we? A Wii-compatible SNES pad. Don't get too worked up though, because unless you're a member of Club Nintendo in Japan, these are off-limits (not that using a SNES pad for your VC games is impossible, but still, this is the real deal).Yep, it's another reason we really should move to Japan. Hit the link below, and you'll see two more: a 2-disc Super Mario Galaxy soundtrack and a Mario desk calendar. All of which are horribly, tortuously unobtainable. Sob.[Thanks Daniel!]
Stop the presses: Love for Galaxy apparently *not* universal
Here at Wii Fanboy, we like to think we offer ... balanced, objective coverage of Nintendo's world-beating home console. So, just as we'll happily scoff at Super Mario Galaxy bagging a ludicrous 11/10 in one publication, we'll also take time out to archly snigger at the non-specialist press who just don't "get it." Like Variety, for instance. The entertainment industry newspaper has just posted its review of Galaxy, and it's not a favorable one. Naturally, we respect anybody's right to make negative comments about the title -- and plenty of reviewers have done just that already -- but some of Variety's observations do somewhat miss the point. Complaints about poor storytelling are weak enough, given that Mario games have never been designed with compelling narratives in mind. Elsewhere, the game is criticized for graphics that "simply aren't up to par with [those] on the Playstation 3 or Xbox 360," and is also described as "evidence of how bad the Wii is for third-person action games." Which sounds more like a broader statement about the Wii hardware, rather than the game itself.Still, before you begin punching out that rage-filled, vitriolic piece of hate mail Variety's way, your bottom lip trembling and the tears barely dry on your cheeks, judge for yourself and give the review a proper read.And then mail it anyway.[Thanks, Bobby!]
A video guide to the stars
Having trouble getting all the stars you need to advance in Super Mario Galaxy? Hardcore Gamer Magazine has put together a near-complete collection of videos demonstrating the best ways to tackle each stage and earn your stars. This long list of clips takes you all the way from Dino Piranha to the final stage!Sure, watching the tutorials ruins the fun of the game's exploration and figuring stuff out on your own, but we understand that some of you just want to get to the next galaxy to see what's waiting for you over there. If there's a particular group of planets holding you up, look to these videos for help!
Do complex games face an uncertain future on the Wii?
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Do_complex_games_face_an_uncertain_future_on_the_Wii'; During its first four days on sale in the US, Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure sold approximately 30,000 copies. A week later, it had added 15,000 to that total. Hardly breathtaking figures in a nation with over 3.7 million Wiis in its bedrooms and living rooms, and the game also struggled to leave a mark in its homeland, where it is known as Takarajima Z: Barbaros no Hihou. There's no doubt about it: Capcom's splendid piratey adventure has, as much as it saddens us, flopped. On the face of it, the game's commercial failure might seem odd. After all, Zack & Wiki earned eye-catching scores from a number of reviewers, while IGN's Matt Casamassina loved it so much, he frothed and raved about it non-stop for four months, before slapping a 90% on it come review time. Its bright, attractive visuals, cute character design, and puzzley action were seemingly the perfect ingredients for massmarket appeal. Ultimately however, it sank faster than a holed galleon. %Gallery-3283%
Variety says Mario Galaxy shows Wii's weaknesses
Here at Joystiq, we like to have some fun with our Nega-reviews. When the critical apparatus tells us almost unanimously that a game is undeniably good, we like to pick apart their words and find out what small negatives can be found in the overwhelmingly positive whole. This was a bit tough for Super Mario Galaxy, a game that got high praise all around. It wouldn't have been nearly as tough if we'd had access to Variety's review of the game, which went up on Monday.While the Variety review praises the game's original level design and gravity-based gameplay, the majority of the writing picks apart the game's weak story, limited two-player mode and awkward camera controls. What's more, a large portion of the review seems targeted at the Wii itself, from blanket condemnation of the two-handed controller ("Holding the nunchuk, ... and the Wii-mote ... in separate hands, is an awkward arrangement") to criticism of the system's graphical prowess ("Fans may claim that the graphics are good 'for the Wii,' ... but given the vastly superior quality of the graphics in a game like Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction ... Galaxy looks old fashioned and lifeless.")While we can't say we agree with all the criticisms, it's always interesting to see a major outlet going against the tide of positive opinion to create a negative review. You know, a real one.Previously:Variety praises writing in The Simpsons GameVariety takes flak for negative Metroid Prime 3 review
No Super Mario Galaxy 'R' Us
Yes, we made the trek to Toys "R" Us yesterday to purchase Super Mario Galaxy and take advantage of the "Free $25 Gift Card" offer, only to come out empty-handed. We haven't been this depressed since James died in Good Times.We weren't the only ones who found ourselves sans Super Mario Galaxy, as many are reporting similar experiences with the toy superstore. Some locations only received enough copies to cover preorders, while others quickly sold out of their limited stock. In our case, as well as many of our reader's, we waited around for an hour with several dozen anxious customers before a manager announced that DHL hadn't made its delivery to the store. Hell was raised and magazine racks were knocked over, but to no avail.How did your Toys "R" Us experience go? Were you able to acquire Super Mario Galaxy, the free gift card, and the preorder bonus coin without any problems? Or did you mope around all night like we did, walking aimlessly from room to room, head hanging dejectedly while the sad music from A Charlie Brown Christmas played.
Mario brings his sexy back at 'Galaxy' launch party
"That's a real nice ass," blurted the DJ as Mario jiggled his backside in front of a Super Mario Galaxy backdrop. The scene was something out of "Mario's Bar Mitzvah," CAG's Wombat observed inside a crowded lot adjacent to New York's Nintendo World Store where an awkward clash of tweens, performing impromptu dance routines to yesterday's Top 40, and bundled-up twenty-somethings merged in the dwindling hours of a chilly Sunday night. Despite a Velcro wall and bungee run, some laser lights, and an abundance of Mario-equipped Wii kiosks, the Galaxy launch party never escalated into the full-on carnival that Nintendo had envisioned -- next time, don't forget the funnel cake.The ringleader was too disoriented to command the crowd, perhaps punchy (it gets hot in those suits) as he latched on to an attractive mom. Urged by the DJ to bring his sexy back, we couldn't fault Mario for his diverted interest. But is it really cougar hunting season already?%Gallery-10130%
Miyamoto talks Super Mario Galaxy co-op
Nintendo's corporate Wii site has an "interview" between Nintendo president Satoru Iwata and Nintendo guru Shigeru Miyamoto, meaning it's not exactly the most authentic conversation you'll read this decade. There is, however, something interesting about Miyamoto's ideas on co-op in Super Mario Galaxy.Now, if you read it on the American Wii site the headline is "Cooperative Game Play, a Secular Challenge," while on the British site it's "The Old Issue of Two-Player Play." Either way, Miyamoto explains that Galaxy was originally going to have more cooperative elements (like the second person might have controlled jumping, for instance), but a player would only end up getting in the other's way. By having the second player collecting things on screen and being able to point at objects, Miyamoto envisions parents being able to play with their children and the generations assisting each other in the experience. Considering Mario has always been a solo experience (or a player-at-bat concept), it'll be nice to have a friend or significant other be able to do something other than watch. It's a subtle co-op design choice, but one we can see other games picking up if it works.
Meta(video)review: Super Mario Galaxy [update]
Update: IGN has finally gotten around to their video review, so we added it. Thanks to SuperDave for the heads up, yet again!A couple of outlets have already tossed up video reviews for the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy. What we've done is collected them all past the break for a special video version of our Metareview feature. Past the break is three different video reviews for the game, neatly situated for your viewing pleasure. If you want to go into the game pure, however, then you might not want to check them out.
Super Mario Galaxy party at NYC Nintendo World Store this Sunday
Hey New Yorkers, what'cha doing this Sunday evening? Watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition? Oh, you're watching "football"? Wait, is that the same thing as Madden? Nevertheless, you'll want to ask the TiVo to take care of your teevee and instead head over to the Nintendo World Store at 10 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City (yes, the same place that had the Phantom Hourglass event about a month ago) for a special Super Mario Galaxy launch event. Here's the details, as just shared with us by the Big N: Festivities include a DJ, dancers, a Velcro wall, a bungee run, a trivia contest, a laser light show inside the building (we imagine it will be preceded by a Nintendo safety warning, so epileptics, stay at home), Mario himself (no word on Dr. Buzz Aldrin), and 250 Wii systems for the chronically Wii-less masses out there. The shindig starts at 8pm, but that don't mean you shouldn't get there earlier; they'll close at 10pm and reopen again at midnight when the game officially goes on sale (for those of you who don't already have it). The 'stiq oughta be there, what about you?
Super Mario Galaxy sells 251k its first week
We're not the type to equate a game's sales with its quality or our enjoyment of the title, but we're still a little disappointed with these low numbers for Super Mario Galaxy. Media Create, Japan's digital entertainment tracking service, reported that only 251,000 copies of Nintendo's high-profile platformer were sold in its first week of release.While selling a quarter-million of anything seems impressive, let's, once again, compare that number with first-week sales data for previous Mario games and recent blockbusters: New Super Mario Bros. - 900,000 Super Mario Sunshine - 280,000 Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core - 486,659 Mario Party 8 - 265,000 Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen And The Tower Of Mirrors - 263,000 We expect Super Mario Galaxy to stay near the top of the sales chart until, at least, the end of the year, offering itself up to shoppers as the perfect holiday gaming gift. We fear, however, that Super Mario Galaxy's low numbers -- as well as Metroid Prime 3's and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess', for that matter -- may point towards a negative sales trend for epic/hardcore titles that Nintendo won't be able to ignore. Peek past the post break to see how other games fared in Japan this past week.
Metareview: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
Super Mario Galaxy might not be out until next week but all the reviews are pretty much in. It's a hit with the critics! According to almost every review it is the game Wii owners have been waiting for (but please don't forget about Zack and Wiki, if only for the sake of third-party support). Galaxy is apparently the evolution of the platformer and Wii owners will only need to wait a little bit longer -- unless they get lucky. Game Informer (98/100): "Galaxy also makes great use of the Wii's motion-sensing controls. While Mario's general movement is handled beautifully on the nunchuk's analog stick, many feats require a shake of the remote or a steady pointing hand. If you have a second Wii remote, you can also experience one of the coolest and most inventive non-traditional co-op modes in any game. The second player doesn't control a character, but rather a star. This player can pick up collectible items, and can also freeze enemies or projectiles in their tracks, which can be a great aid." GameSpot (95/100): "You could probably swap in just about any other characters from practically any other franchise, and this would still be a phenomenally fun game. That it layers all these memorable characters and components on top of that phenomenal design just makes it all the sweeter. If ever there were a must-own Wii game, Super Mario Galaxy is it." 1UP (95/100): "Galaxy is one of the most impressive, engrossing games in recent memory -- and quite the contrast to the rest of this year's triple-A gaming crop, which tends toward the dark, the M-rated, and the first-person perspective. Gaming may be growing up (per se), but gamers will always appreciate beautifully polished gameplay and inventive design...even if it's sugarcoated with squeaky baby stars and a goofy cartoon of a hero. Galaxy proves that Mario matters just as much today as he did 25 years ago, and that makes him one of a kind in this medium. But don't play Galaxy simply because Mario is the timeless godfather of gaming. No, play Galaxy because it's fantastic.."
Rumor: Some Best Buys selling Super Mario Galaxy early
You know we love it when stores break street dates, so we're sort of hoping the (so far unsubstantiated) rumors that some Best Buys are selling Super Mario Galaxy early are true. According to this GameFAQs forum thread (yeah, we know, just stick with us, okay?) some Best Buys have received copies of Super Mario Galaxy and, since there's no official release date, they're selling them as they come in. Now, if you're like us, something about that rings false. That's right: Reggie announced the game's release date as November 12 at E3 earlier this year. Normally, we'd shrug it off and hit the bars early, but we spotted a purported pic (with obligatory receipt) of the game over at Go Nintendo that once again imbued us with rays of cosmic hope. We'll leave it at that and pass the whole thing off to you for further inquiry. So, readers, anyone happen to score a copy of Super Mario Galaxy early and, if so, what say you share a little pic of your plunder with good ol' Joystiq? [Via Wii Fanboy] Read – I went to Best Buy Today.... And They HAD it!Ogle – Best Buy locations breaking Super Mario Galaxy street date
Mario Galaxy tops Famitsu sales charts
Famitsu released their weekly top 10 sales chart today, and a non-Wii Sports Wii game is at the top of the list! Of course it's Super Mario Galaxy, which has bounced off of the planet right up into the highest levels of the sales atmosphere. SMG has supplanted Final Fantasy Tactics A2 as the highest-selling game for the week. FFTA2 actually dropped to #3 because of another debut, Ace Combat 6 for the Xbox 360. But that obviously doesn't count because wooo Nintendo woooo. Wii Sports and Wii Play (also known as "the Wiimote") continue to hold on to the top 10, in spots 8 and 9 respectively. Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the post break to see the full list!.
Retronauts, 1UP Show celebrate Mario
The eternally excellent Retronauts podcast returned last week for a Mario-centric episode. In our opinion, Retronauts is the best retrogaming podcast on the Internet (the best podcast on the Internet? Maybe!), and is rarely worth missing. The panel in this episode is especially great, as it consists entirely of snarky, animated people who happen to know everything about games, ever. Of course, the availability of Super Mario Bros. 3 on the VC and the upcoming release of Galaxy have us all in a Mario mood, so we can all enjoy this episode even more (if we can hear it over our own hyperventilating, a symptom of Mario Madness).If that's not enough Jeremy-Parish-talking-about-Mario, check out the latest 1UP Show video (easily accessible at the top of this very post), which features, in addition to Super Mario Galaxy video footage and a ton of discussion, a brief West Side Story-esque musical interlude from Parish about receiving the game in the mail.
Let's promote our game by hanging out with an old dude
When Nintendo sent us an email this weekend, we had some trouble making it out. We found images of Mario and Buzz Aldrin hanging out in a zero gravity environment, but we failed to see just how this coming together of the two celebrates the release of the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy. Seriously, it was just a press release of a couple of images depicting the two hanging out.As responsible bloggers, we felt obligated to present them. But, we're sure that after this little photo shoot, the inside of that Mario suit must smell something awful. And, we hope the person inside remembered the cardinal rule of being around Buzz: don't ever say he faked the moon landing.See what we mean past the post break.
Buy Super Mario Galaxy at Toys 'R' Us, get a $25 gift card
var digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/nintendo_wii/Buy_Super_Mario_Galaxy_at_TRU_Get_25_Gift_Card'; If you had plans to buy Super Mario Galaxy at any other store besides Toys "R" Us, it looks like you're going to have to change them; this deal is too good to pass up. An upcoming weekly circular (11/11-11-17) reveals that the giraffe-fronted retailer will be rewarding anyone who makes an in-store purchase of Super Mario Galaxy with a $25 gift card. Here's a quick list of possible things you can buy at Toys "R" Us with the free $25, according to their online shop: 2000 Nintendo Wii Points Card Wii Classic Controller or Nunchuck Controller Nyko Nintendo Wii Charge Station Picross DS Bratz Talk Back Alarm Clock [Via CAG]
