For a while there I really wasn't feeling the need to play Super Mario Galaxy, but now I'm a victim of the hype! Whee.
I'm not really that big a fan of platforming, anymore. I loved all the Nintendo Super Mario Brothers games, and loved the ones on the Super Nintendo.. I loved Sonic the Hedgehog as well.. but at the end of the Super Nintendo's life cycle.. Squaresoft, Enix and other RPGs had really caught my attention..
With so much time on my hands, I felt playing RPGs that lasted 40 - 60 hours with a interesting characters, a rich story, and a level building system gave me a better gaming experience than playing a single character that went level to level. Even though the later required actual skill, I could complete the game in a matter of hours. RPGs gave me more bang for my buck, thus were a better value.
So, I was too busy with Final Fantasy and Playstation games to really care about Mario 64 and the Nintendo 64. Many people glorify Mario 64 as being the pivotal point in their video game history where what they thought what video games could do was completely throw out the window.
Mario 64 presented a world where you could go anywhere in the world that was presented, but I didn't really see it that way. Mario 64 just seemed like Super Mario Brothers in 3D. You have Goombas to jump on, blocks to break, and browser to toss into lava. To me, it was the same paradigm in a different dimension.
It wasn't until Legend of Zelda came to the third dimension that I was absolutely blown away with what Nintendo was doing. No other game at the time had story, exploration, and growth that was presented in Ocarina of Time. I was completed floored.
I get why people are so excited about Mario Galaxy.. This is the next true sequel to the Mario series, and everyone has that warm feeling in their heart when they first played a Mario game and knows this feeling will resurface.
I care now because this is what I've realized.. This is that boyish dream of waking up Christmas morning to find Super Mario Brothers and an NES underneath the tree and playing it continuously for the rest of the day and the day after that. Mario really brings out that fun youthful gaming spirit inside of you that has been so dormant thanks to the Xbox.
Games are fun, imaginative, creative, colorful, and brilliant and thats what Mario has brought to gaming. That's how Mario revitalized gaming when Nintendo launched the NES in America. That's how Mario made the Super Nintendo the fastest adopted gaming system on the planet, until Playstation 2 a couple years later.
Mario leaves of wake of goodness and happiness the whole world can enjoy, so why not share in its glory ^_^.
Also, Toys R Us is offering a $25 gift card with the purchase of Mario Galaxy, so you're really getting it for 1/2 price.. How could I say no?
Well besides those reasons, Jeremy Parish and others at 1up.com have really been preaching its gospel for the past week to the point where I really want to have that great magical game experience they've been talking about. They've hit me in 3 different ways..
Retronauts podcasts, episode 31 with Jeremy Parish, Scott Sharky, Shane Bettenhausen, Andrew Pfister and Chris Kohler talking about the Nintendo Super Mario Brothers titles, how they felt when first exposed, and how the 3 3D super mario games draw parallels to the first 3 2D marios.
Jeremy Parish continues with his premiere review on Super Mario Galaxy. It's a very fresh review that really doesn't go into specifics but conveys the groundwork for a ground breaking game. His review portreys Mario Galaxy as an instant classic that redefines the platforming genre.
Parish continues, yet again, with a featured spot on The 1up Show. The middle section is all about Mario Galaxy, with Parish gushing about specifics of the game, along with Shane Bettenhausen and Dan Hsu. The skits of Parish anxiously waiting for his copy in the mail are hilarious. Especially when he finally receives it. ^_^
I'm quite a fan of Parish's work, his podcast and his art, so constantly hearing him talk about this game with such high praise, really drives the point home with me.
So today, I pre-ordered my copy at Toys R Us and will probably be there Monday morning when the game releases to ensure my copy and my $25 gift card. I'll probably hold on to the card for a while until Ghost Squad or Resident Evil Chronicles becomes cheap, or hell.. maybe i'll pick up Zach & Wiki.