It seems fitting to begin a series on
Perfect 10 games with the definitive game from the recently discontinued
Nintendo Wii; the game that Eurogamer has this week listed as the number 1 game
of the last generation and the game that launched Mario into another universe
of platform gaming excellence.
“Another decade needs to go by before we'll
know whether it will come to be as revered as 64 did,” said Eurogamer in 2007.
I think it’s fair to say that 6 years on we
can say this with confidence.
Mario Galaxy hit the Wii in time for
Christmas 2007 and was another tick in the ‘revolution’ box for Nintendo. Where
Super Mario Sunshine had struggled to convince that it was a step forward from
Mario 64, Mario Galaxy wasted no time in proving that it was a leap forward.
A pivotal moment in the game comes early as
Mario is stood on the edge of a platform; to progress Mario must reach the
underneath of the platform. Let’s check that again: Mario is on the top of the
platform and the means to progress sit on the platform but underneath. Can you
jump to it? No. Can you perform a slide down an adjacent wall and wall jump to
it? No. Have you missed something? No.
Mario Galaxy is laughing in the face of
everything that has gone before; it is tearing up the platform game rulebook
with glee.
The solution? Walk off the edge.
It seems so simple now. Just walk off the
edge and let the Galaxy gravity take care of you. In 2007 this was mind blowing
new ground.
For this moment (and the clever use of
physics) alone Mario Galaxy would score highly but when it is mixed with in-genius,
fragmented, planetoid level design and the familiar, easy to pick up controls
this game becomes a Perfect 10. Add the bumblebee suit, a subtle yet effective
multiplayer solution and gorgeous visuals and you could keep adding numbers to
that. But a 10 is enough.
Mario Galaxy: 10
Keep it revolutionary. Keep it OMG.
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