First is Super Mario Galaxy 2, the follow-up to 2007's excellent Super Mario Galaxy, and it is one hell of a ride from start to finish.
Second is a game that I recently stumbled upon by chance: a Mario clone called Super Mario Bros. X, an independent Windows XP game based on the Mario universe. I was expecting a mild diversion from this freebie; instead I have discovered one of the best 2D Mario games ever made.
In both games reviewed below we see Mario at his best: in 3D from Nintendo and in 2D by one indie developer, however unlicensed it may be. Quite honestly, I have not had this much fun with Mario since 1996.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Sometimes the impact and impression that a game leaves on the psyche can take years to develop. The Harest Moon series is a good example for me: fun, simple games that I continually revisit year after year. Sometimes the impact and impression is immediate. 1998's Ocarina of Time and Half-Life are solid examples: two games that define my love of the medium. Now comes a game that transcends either path and is simply the best of the best: Super Mario Galaxy 2.
SMG2 gets brownie points right off the bat by being simpler and more streamlined than its predecessor. While the first Super Mario Galaxy was a blast to play, it was also weighed down by its overworld "hub" and occasionally vague goals. No more. Each of SMG2's levels have two or three stars to collect and the levels are presented in the classic overworld map format, allowing for quick access to the fun of gathering stars.
Variety is SMG2's strongest point, with no two levels sharing ideas nor gameplay concepts. Each new level brings new ideas to the table: new places to explore, new tricks to try and new hiding places for each star. It is impossible to become bored gathering the first seventy stars (the amount required to beat the game) and it will be quite a challenge to gather the remaining stars necessary for 100% completion. If Mario games have felt easier and less challenging over the past ten years, SMG2 will reset that notion and provide plenty of challenge.
Yoshi is a major addition to this game, and he is used in many levels, although not nearly enough. His tongue mechanics use the Wii Remote pointer to pick out specific targets and specific objects, which is similar to Mario's, but allow for a whole new set of Yoshi-specific power-ups and abilities.
Technically SMG2 is the Wii's opus: the graphics are beautiful and silky-smooth. Colors pop with bold, bright hues and no bleeding whatsoever. Anti-aliasing takes a backseat in favor of more advanced effects, but it is hardly missed. The music of SMG2 is an orchestrated masterpiece, almost as if Nintendo is apologizing for the Nintendo 64 and GameCube years of tinny, MIDI-based music tracks. Where SMG2 really shines, however, is the control. Controlling Mario has never felt so good, so precise, and so perfect. With a solid camera system and a comfortable control layout, Mario's missed jumps and platforming blunders are your own - there is no blaming the game.
SMG2 is not a new, groundbreaking game - it resembles Super Mario Galaxy far too much to be considered new or groundbreaking. However, instead of trying to redefine the platforming genre yet again, Nintendo simply refines it to nothing less than perfection. This game is all about having fun in its purest form, and to this end Super Mario Galaxy 2 has exceeded all expectations.
Super Mario Bros. X
I have played quite a few Super Mario Bros. knockoffs in the last ten years and my opinion of all of them has been the same: crappy. I can understand Nintendo's desire to tightly control what games Mario appears in, because some of the past Mario games that I have played online have poor graphics, terrible controls, and outright boring gameplay.
Because of these past experiences, Super Mario Bros. X had everything going against it when I downloaded it. Nearly a week later my fears have been put to rest. This is indie-developed fan game is as good as 2D Mario gets.
SMBX is built on the foundation laid by what is perhaps one of the best 2D Mario game ever released: 1993's Super Mario All-Stars. All-Stars was a compilation of the four Super Mario Bros. NES games. SMBX essentially steals this game's graphics, blends it with Super Mario World's physics, and adds every 2D Mario gameplay innovation of the last twenty years into one amazing game.
There are two major forces at work here: nostalgia and design.
An undeniable appeal exists with the original 2D Mario games from the 1980's and early 1990's, and SMBX is drenched in this appeal. Thanks to the re-use of All-Star's graphics set, the look and sound of this new game will tear at your fondest memories of Mario as if it were 1993 all over again. While there are a couple of extremely original levels that borrow from other Nintendo franchises (Metroid, Zelda), for the most part this is classic Mario look and feel from top to bottom. This sort of nostalgic presentation goes a long way in establishing this game's appeal.
Classic Mario graphics and sound would be nothing, however, if the game itself was not fun to play, and SMBX does what Nintendo did not: given gamers an absolutely incredible blend of classic Mario level design and new, original designs that bring the series into the 21st century. This is not the New Super Mario Bros. series. These Mario levels do not always trot left-to-right. Instead, much like Super Mario Galaxy 2, the game constantly treats gamers to an onslaught of new ideas, new items to play with, new challenges to overcome, and new level designs that have yet to be seen in gaming. The variety and original ideas are almost overwhelming at first, but even forty levels into the game there are still new ways to play.. Platforming challenges are extremely fine-tuned and pulled off with a perfect blend of challenge and "just-one-more-try" addiction.
Exploration is important in SMBX, although it is never necessary. Not only are there dozens of new level designs to try out, there are many levels with Super Mario World-style hidden goals that open hidden paths and hidden levels. If opening new challenges does not work for you, most levels have hidden items or alternate paths that can provide much-needed power-ups or extra lives.
If there is anything to complain about, it is technical. SMBX's physics are heavily based on the Super Mario World game engine, and for the most part are spot-on. However something feels just slightly off with regard to hit-detection and projectile physics. Enemies seem to bring death from the left or right of a jump a little too easily - as if their hit-detection box is a few pixels too large. The same goes for projectile physics. SMBX has added a fantastic variable-direction throwing mechanism that allows Mario to toss objects in a variety of directions, yet the trajectories always seem a bit off, as if gravity is too strong. These are minor quirks that most gamers can adjust to, but die-hard Mario fans will notice the inconsistencies nonetheless.
And now for the bombshell. SMBX includes a full-featured level editor. This is no rough, clumsy ROM-hack or hex editor. This is a tile-based point-and-click editor that lets the average gamer control every aspect of level design: background image, music, tilesets, enemy behavior, triggers for events, world map design, warp points - everything. Most interesting is the mix of games. The editor provides all the graphics, enemies, music, and images from all four Mario games that SMBX is based on, so a level can feature elements from Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, and Super Mario World all at once. As a bonus, music and some graphics from Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past, Super Mario RPG, and Super Mario 64 are available in the editor as well, which expands the Mario goodness to beyond-orgasmic. I have no doubt that creative minds will be in this editor far more than the actual game.
Overall, Super Mario Bros. X comes highly recommended. While Nintendo will undoubtedly shut down this indie project one day, I would rather them sweep it up and release it as a full-fledged Mario game. It reeks of Mario magic, both past and present, and does so with such grace, originality, and endearing nostalgia that it can be called nothing less than the best 2D Mario game ever produced.
You may download Super Mario Bros. X from this website, and if it is pulled by the time you read this review, you may contact me directly and I will provide you with options for acquiring this fantastic game.
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