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Super Mario Galaxy 2 |OT| with >NEW< hat!

Haunted

Member
Himuro said:
I beat World 4 and the game is still mostly just "okay", Supermassive Galaxy aside :(

edit: Okay, add Space Storm Galaxy to that list. Space Storm Galaxy was the first Galaxy 1 quality level in this game. No bullshit or lame power ups or padded filler or lame gimmicks. Just great level design. More of that please.
Himuro said:
On world 6.

Worlds 5 and 6 are where the real Mario Galaxy sequel is at and what the game should have been, instead of taking 60 stars to get great.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=22822456&postcount=8571 Slowly getting there... again. :p
 

Haunted

Member
AniHawk said:
SMG2 shits on SMG from a great height from level 1 and you know it.
Nah.

It doesn't even have a proper hub world to explore.


I admit that when you compare them on a purely technical and mechanical level, SMG2 probably is the better game. The tighter level design, wider variety among the stars and the added amount of actual new stars are enough to put it over the top - on paper.

But there are elements which are inferior to SMG. The recycled/remade music, the hub world gone in favour of a menu-based system, too many gliding levels... it (obviously) doesn't have the same freshness. On the whole, it just didn't blow me away on the level the first Galaxy did, which is why I would put it below SMG if pressed for a personal ranking based on feeling.


Still one of the best games of this generation, no doubt.
 
Having a hub world instead of a world map is only a positive if the hub world is actually interesting. SMG didn't have an interesting hub world, so SMG2 wins in that argument.
 

Haunted

Member
Green Scar said:
Having a hub world instead of a world map is only a positive if the hub world is actually interesting. SMG didn't have an interesting hub world, so SMG2 wins in that argument.
I concede that this is up to personal preference.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
SMG's hub world is pretty much a glorified level select screen. It's uninteresting compared to past hub worlds in Mario games, and therefore is nothing more than a time waster. SMG2 cuts this "fat" and is thus superior in regard to level selection.

Peach's Castle/Delphino-like hubs > level select screens > Galaxy 1-like hubs.
 

Dever

Banned
So I did go ahead and collected all the stars. It wasn't really tedious at all, since this is the sort of game you can easily play for a few minutes at a time. Collecting the green stars now, they're pretty awesome I must say.

edit: Sweet, I found a way to get infinite 1ups. :D Not that they're of much use in this game, but still a nice easter egg.
Jump on the Giant koopas in Supermassive
 

Kilrogg

paid requisite penance
So I got this game as a present from friends :D and completed world 1 so far. It's SMG all right, but I share some of Shiggy's complaints already. The cloud suit, while a good idea (cute, to boot), isn't very interesting in practice at the moment. I'll have to see if it gets better later in the game. The levels in world 1 are largely unsurprising, and I still don't like the 2D sections (although they feel somewhat better than in 1). Yoshi's tongue is kinda cool though, and any powerup that allows your character to move faster than he normally would is good in my book.
 

m.i.s.

Banned
Rash said:
SMG's hub world is pretty much a glorified level select screen. It's uninteresting compared to past hub worlds in Mario games, and therefore is nothing more than a time waster. SMG2 cuts this "fat" and is thus superior in regard to level selection.

Peach's Castle/Delphino-like hubs > level select screens > Galaxy 1-like hubs.

SMG2 also autosaves - whereas the first not only does not autosave but it freakin asks you again if you want to save after you've already told it do so. Multiply that by the amount of visits it takes you to complete the game.
 

Rafaelcsa

Member
Kilrogg said:
So I got this game as a present from friends :D and completed world 1 so far. It's SMG all right, but I share some of Shiggy's complaints already. The cloud suit, while a good idea (cute, to boot), isn't very interesting in practice at the moment. I'll have to see if it gets better later in the game. The levels in world 1 are largely unsurprising, and I still don't like the 2D sections (although they feel somewhat better than in 1). Yoshi's tongue is kinda cool though, and any powerup that allows your character to move faster than he normally would is good in my book.

You people all judge everything too soon. The cloud suit doesn't seem like anything special in the first one or two worlds, but later you'll see it having some of the best uses for a power-up in any Mario game. Especially that one boss fight later on, for people who know what I'm talking about.

Give the game some time damn it. :p
Not everything that is good makes itself obvious instantly.
 
Himuro said:
I have Sin and Punishment 2. I just haven't played it yet.
You're in for a treat. What's amazing about S&P2 is that you can play it directly after SMG2 (I did) and it holds up just as well as if you hadn't. I feel like it's every bit as good at what it does, which speaks volumes about it, although the two games offer very different gameplay experiences.

I'm with you on SMG2's overly gradual difficulty curve btw. SMG had the same problem though, and so have the last several Zelda games for that matter. As polished as their games are I still feel like Nintendo tends to underestimate their audience, as well as conflate easiness with accessibility. A game can still be challenging and accessible as long there's a sense of fairness. The frustrating thing is that older Nintendo games actually had near pitch perfect balance, while their current crop of software tends to stay at a very low difficulty plateau for half the game. The amount of polish and creativity in a game like SMG2 helps offset some of the difficulty issues, but there's no reason why we shouldn't have been able to have our cake and eat it too, especially given the title's direct sequel status.

Oh well, it's still a fantastic experience, and one of the most addictive this gen.
 
Himuro said:
I thought that while Galaxy 1 had a gradual difficulty curve, it would replace difficulty for interesting situations like solving puzzles, or beat the whole level with one life, things like that. When it wasn't hard, it was trying its hardest to entertain the player. I get no such feeling with Galaxy 2. It feels canned and it's not nearly as fun for me.
As far as gameplay I think they're on a pretty even keel, and mostly share the same flaws. I did like Galaxy's Soundtrack and presentation better though. On the other hand, I thought SMG2 had better power-ups, and arguably better bosses (aside from some of the more blatant recycling, which was a tad disappointing).

edit: Actually, thinking on it further bosses were pretty evenly matched.
 
Himuro said:
That's funny. I didn't find the levels in Galaxy 2 nearly as satisfying or fun as the ones in 1. It could be argued the gameplay is the same, but to me it wasn't.
I know what you're getting at. I think SMG showed a little more panache at times, and it's certainly more thematically coherent. SMG2 is obviously still of a very high caliber, but at times I think the vestiges of its start as SMG 1.5 show through from time to time, which cheapens it a bit. I'd have almost preferred if they cut some of the filler and redundant content and worked on extending the fresher segments a bit, but I think in terms of sheer numbers they were intent on padding it out to at least "match" SMG. The other thing is that SMG had a few larger, deeper levels with more non-comet shines, although still not as deep as SM64 and SMS' somewhat more multifaceted stages.
 
Himuro said:
I guess this is all subjective, because the SMG2 fans seem to like SMG2's approach more.
It's definitely subjective, but in general I raise an eyebrow whenever someone thinks one game thwomps the other, so to speak. They're far more alike than dissimilar. I replayed a good chunk of SMG after SMG2, and even comparing and contrasting directly it's difficult for me to say definitively which is the better title. If you could have mashed the better half of each one into a single game it probably would've been a series best. As it stands I'd personally put SMB3, SMW, and SM64 ahead, but with both SMG1&2 nipping at their heels.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
2 has more variety, especially in the comet runs.

Honestly though, I kinda miss some of the exploration that the myriad of purple coin stars gave the first title. Yes, they definitely tried to address that with the bonus you get for 120 star completion, but its just not the same.

Also I would have liked to play as Luigi 100% of the time, though I realize that becomes a balance issue like it did in the first game.

I think I just slightly prefer 2 to 1. It's more varied and a bit more challenging.
 

Busaiku

Member
Man God said:
Also I would have liked to play as Luigi 100% of the time, though I realize that becomes a balance issue like it did in the first game.
You can play as Luigi in any level, any star.
 

AniHawk

Member
Yeah I hate huge sprawling levels in platformers unless the hugeness is due to multiple paths. Guess that's why I like NSMBW, Mirror's Edge, and SMG2: really focused platforming challenges and nothing else. That one level you posted Himuro was one of my most intensely disliked from SMG. But that's just because I can hardly stand any water level at all and probably partly because either flying or swimming or pulling on blue stars actually means very little platforming. It's a distraction. All of the gimmicks in SMG2's levels are mostly about platforming where all the gimmicks in SMG were about making use of the Wii remote.

I think the post game is something you'll enjoy more. I was impressed with what they did (not for EVERY little piece of the post game, but overall).

Also, I think SMG2 keeping a record of your best times encourages creative platforming more than SMG ever did. There's nothing like this in SMG. I guarantee it.
 
Himuro said:
Love

1. Super Mario Galaxy
2. Yoshi's Island
3. Super Mario Sunshine
4.Yoshi's Island 2

Like

5. Super Mario Galaxy 2
6. Super Mario World
7. New Super Mario Bros
8. Super Mario Bros
9. Super Mario Bros 2
10. Mario Paint

Meh

11. Super Mario Bros 3
12. Super Mario 64
13. Super Mario Bros 2j
Is Yoshi's Island 2 supposed to be Yoshi's Story or Yoshi's Island DS? Either way, I have to admit I find your list baffling. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Busaiku said:
You can play as Luigi in any level, any star.

You can? How did I not notice this? I remember running through and seeing him only on certain levels, is he hiding in other spots after you beat the main game or something???
 

AniHawk

Member
I can't believe you didn't play NSMBW already. It's probably a good thing to check out after Sin & Punishment kicks your ass (it's nothing to do with you, it just kicks everyone's ass).

Himuro said:
I like exploration and focused platforming. SMG1 had a lot of both. Hence why I say it had more variety. 3d platforming is great in a "how do you get there?" approach, and 3d Mario games are great at that.

Well... then, you'll love the post game. Although I think SMG2 had a better focus on platforming even if the general theme (spherical planetoids and a space theme) was basically gone.
 

Mael

Member
Well it took me a long time but finally : 241!
Dear god was the last one hard!!
O M G, there's a fucking comet coin I missed!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh

btw SMG1 record your best time on each galaxy, you can even take a picture of that screen and send it to a friend

and nsmbw is the best platformer I've played that's not Yoshi's Island, yes I went there. you name it, it's not YI it's not as good.
 

AniHawk

Member
Mael said:
Well it took me a long time but finally : 241!
Dear god was the last one hard!!
O M G, there's a fucking comet coin I missed!
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh

btw SMG1 record your best time on each galaxy, you can even take a picture of that screen and send it to a friend

There's 242 stars.

Here's how:
You're going to need 9999 starbits and put them in the bank after you get the comet coin.

And I didn't know that about SMG1. The game was so taxing on my patience that I don't think I ever noticed that.
 

Mael

Member
AniHawk said:
There's 242 stars.

Here's how:
You're going to need 9999 starbits and put them in the bank after you get the comet coin.

And I didn't know that about SMG1. The game was so taxing on my patience that I don't think I ever noticed that.

Well thanks, good thing I actually cached that much :D
Wait you mean the last level with the trophy of best in the universe is NOT the last level?


There's a black luma that display your score, in that screen there's all the stars you took and the time related. You can even take a picture of the screen and send it on the Wii's desk.
 

AniHawk

Member
Mael said:
Well thanks, good thing I actually cached that much :D
Wait you mean the last level with the trophy of best in the universe is NOT the last level?

You have to have 242 stars and the level called
The Ultimate Test
is not the final level.

There's a black luma that display your score, in that screen there's all the stars you took and the time related. You can even take a picture of the screen and send it on the Wii's desk.

Nope never saw that. All I remember is pressing A over and over until I just wished Flanders was dead.
 

Ledsen

Member
This game really is way better than SMG1, I love the level design and the challenge. Sadly it's a bit too much for my girlfriend. She loved the first game but the much higher difficulty in this game is making her frustrated :/
 

Mael

Member
AniHawk said:
You have to have 242 stars and the level called
The Ultimate Test
is not the final level.

Welp I'm not done yet :lol

AniHawk said:
Nope never saw that. All I remember is pressing A over and over until I just wished Flanders was dead.

That post would be perfect with the gif of homer thinking of letting flanders burn in his house :lol
 

Davey Cakes

Member
So today I decided to pick-up-and-play the game just for shits and giggles. Played the first star in Yoshi Star Galaxy and then played a little bit in Rightside-Down Galaxy.

And suddenly I'm even more perplexed at the people who think the early game is weak. This is great stuff, people. A bit easy, but great nonetheless. Someone who's not hardcore to the max would probably find Galaxy 2 to be mindblowing no later than the first world.

I'm sorry to those who weren't feeling it, but Galaxy 2 kicks serious ass, through and through. I almost want to do an entire replay of it right now, and that's just crazy considering how much time I already poured into it to hit the ol' 242 a couple of months ago.

Ledsen said:
This game really is way better than SMG1, I love the level design and the challenge. Sadly it's a bit too much for my girlfriend. She loved the first game but the much higher difficulty in this game is making her frustrated :/
Yeah. The folks who still think that the game is too easy need to understand that Nintendo's catering to a massive audience of players with varying skill levels, and the fact that we even got a harder 3D Mario game is pretty much a miracle. But, hell, if Nintendo gets too many reports that SMG2 was still too hard for certain audiences, even with features like the Cosmic Guide, they may tone things back again, so appreciate what you have while you can.

Additionally, I want to say that, with Mario games, I prefer the "universal difficulty" approach. No hard modes or easy modes, please. A progressive difficulty curve from easy to hard, as seen to varying degrees in SMG, NSMB Wii, and now SMG2, is appreciated.
 

Mael

Member
Himuro said:
I'm still curious about this. What levels are people finding harder? It's that much more difficult at all.

SMG2's "difficulty" is overstated.

yeah....no.
If anything it's SMG1's difficulty that is overstated.
Although nothing 3d Mario have thrown at me proved even a 10th bit as hard as nsmbw
9-7
 

upandaway

Member
Himuro said:
I'm still curious about this. What levels are people finding harder? It's that much more difficult at all.

SMG2's "difficulty" is overstated.
It's funny but I died more times in SMG. At most on a single star I died 3 times in SMG2, and I beat most of them on the first try. I made note of one exception where I died like 8-10 times (although I forgot by now which one it is, and maybe there's more than one).

SMG2 was definitely 'harder', but I guess the lenient nature of SMG made me more prone to mistakes. SMG2 is still ridiculously easy in my opinion.

I haven't done any real green stars though. I just did the first 123 and then the two 'challenge' ones with the magic of the internet.
 

Mael

Member
Himuro said:
Uhhh

I don't think anyone said SMG's difficulty was particularly high. People keep going on and on about SMG2 being so much harder, I died a few times, but death != harder. They are not mutually exclusive things. Because you die does not mean a game is challenging or hard. Game is still easy as shit.

depends it's still the hardest 3D Mario games but yeah they're easy stuff compared to what unholy horrors they've done in stuffs like smb2j or YIds (that thing is fucking ruthless, I didn't even know you could do that to a game with Yoshi :lol)
 

Haunted

Member
Himuro said:
I'm still curious about this. What levels are people finding harder? It's that much more difficult at all.

SMG2's "difficulty" is overstated.
Well, you've only played half of the stars [120], and even though there already were levels which were harder than most of the stuff in the first game (Flip-Swap, or Flip-Out comets), or just flat-out tougher variations of levels in the first game (like Luigi's Purple Coins and the
Boss Rush
), the hardest stuff comes in the final [bonus] levels, like with any properly planned game.


I believe you're thinking it wasn't as hard because you were still in the groove after playing through the first one so shortly before the second game.
 
The green stars are very hard. Anyone who says otherwise is ridiculously talented, or a liar.
Edit: Oh, he only did 120? Yeah, that explains that.

Mario 64 has some of the best level design in the entire series, also.
 

upandaway

Member
Mael said:
depends it's still the hardest 3D Mario games but yeah they're easy stuff compared to what unholy horrors they've done in stuffs like smb2j or YIds (that thing is fucking ruthless, I didn't even know you could do that to a game with Yoshi :lol)
Sunshine is way harder than SMG2.
 

Mael

Member
upandaway said:
Sunshine is way harder than SMG2.

Himuro said:
I don't understand this "hardest of the 3d games" thing either. If anything, Sunshine should take that crown solely for its warp levels.

Actually no, not by a long shot
/!\attention real smg2 spoiler alert
there's a galaxy with a special level from Sunshine, it's the easiest level of the hidden levels. heck there's levels harder than that in the 4th world
.
Sunshine had difficulty pikes but the fucking pinball level is bloody harder than the fludless levels, it's not even a contest (and that is easier than some stars in SMG).
And if you did only the minimum on Sunshine to beat the game you wouldn't see the flud less levels or the fucking pinball either.
 

upandaway

Member
Mael said:
Actually no, not by a long shot
/!\attention real smg2 spoiler alert
there's a galaxy with a special level from Sunshine, it's the easiest level of the hidden levels. heck there's levels harder than that in the 4th world
.
Sunshine had difficulty pikes but the fucking pinball level is bloody harder than the fludless levels, it's not even a contest (and that is easier than some stars in SMG).
And if you did only the minimum on Sunshine to beat the game you wouldn't see the flud less levels or the fucking pinball either.
The spin float makes that level a lot easier, not to mention it wasn't the hardest in Sunshine.

I had a heck of a hard time with Sunshine and I didn't with SMG2. That's about all I can say for an argument on the matter.
 

Mael

Member
upandaway said:
The spin float makes that level a lot easier, not to mention it wasn't the hardest in Sunshine.

I had a heck of a hard time with Sunshine and I didn't with SMG2. That's about all I can say for an argument on the matter.

Totally forgot about the cloud powerup :lol
still it's a piss easy level, the next one is pretty ruthless and WAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay harder.
I had a harder time playing Sunshine too but I'm a better gamer now.
 

Haunted

Member
Himuro said:
I did the minimum and beat the game.
You could maybe argue that the 120 stars of Super Mario Galaxy are harder than the first 120 stars of Super Mario Galaxy 2. I would personally disagree with that, since SMG2 throws tougher variations of SMG levels at you a couple dozen stars in and generally expands on the ideas of SMG by putting you into increasingly complex and clever situational setups, but I'd accept a well-made argument for SMG throwing you into so many new situations you first had to adjust to that it appeared harder to you.


Having said that, there's absolutely no contention whatsoever that the latter 120 stars of Super Mario Galaxy 2 contain challenges that are much, much harder than anything that Super Mario Galaxy ever had. Since the latter 120 stars are a part of the game and have to be accounted for when talking about the game as a whole, "Super Mario Galaxy 2 is harder than Super Mario Galaxy" is a factual statement.
 

Davey Cakes

Member
You also have to take into consideration that Sunshine and Galaxy just play and control a tad differently. If you took specific levels from Galaxy and transplanted them into Sunshine, or vice versa
i.e. the Sunshine void level in SMG2's Special World
, the levels may seem more or less challenging depending on what kinds of physics and controls you're used to. The ways Mario moves, turns, jumps, and slips around are not exactly the same in every 3D Mario game.
 

Mael

Member
Rash said:
You also have to take into consideration that Sunshine and Galaxy just play and control a tad differently. If you took specific levels from Galaxy and transplanted them into Sunshine, or vice versa
i.e. the Sunshine void level in SMG2's Special World
, the levels may seem more or less challenging depending on what you're used to. The way Mario moves, turns, jumps, and slips around is not exactly the same in every 3D Mario game.

true but between SMG1 & 2 they play pretty much the same :/

Jokeropia said:
If you thought 241 was hard, you're gonna love 242! :D

I would have been able to do it if I didn't stupidly finish the level without the comet coin :lol
It better not disappoint
 
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