Review – Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2

The company decided to revisit two of its greatest creative triumphs from the Wii era and transform them into a collection that serves both as a tribute and as a relevant historical recovery for the new generation of players. arrive on Switch in remastered versions, with technical improvements and control adjustments that try to adapt the original experience to current times.

The question that hangs in the air and I will address in this review is how these space adventures by Mario can work away from the Wii Remote.​ Perhaps the answer is complex and reveals both the timeless qualities of these titles and the limitations imposed by the developers’ choices, which made sense in 2007, but which today expose how perhaps the current generation is not prepared for this style of gameplay and level design.

When gravity pulls the heart back to the Wii

In Super Mario Galaxy we have a more involved narrative structure than we have known so far in the other games in the franchise, with Peach, Rosalina, Lumas and Lubba serving as central focuses of the narrative construction, always in search of Maxistars and Stars, initially starting from the Comet Observatory and then using Mario’s Face Ship as the central hub. The game builds atmosphere and personality through this central hub, creating moments of contemplative pause between galaxies. Super Mario Galaxy 2 abandons this approach in favor of a more direct level selection menu, exchanging immersion for practicality and introducing Yoshi as a major mechanical differentiator.

The sequel works as an improvement on the original’s ideas, expanding the repertoire of power-ups with additions like the stone mushroom and cloud mushroom, while Yoshi brings whole layers of possibilities with his extended tongue abilities and unique power-ups like the speed pepper and balloon fruit. These are mechanics that demonstrate how the game still manages to innovate.​

The great conceptual asset of these games remains unchanged, with the manipulation of gravity as a gameplay element. Running across the surface of spherical planetoids, jumping between distinct gravitational fields and exploring galaxies that can distort the perception of “above” and “below” still remains a unique experience even in 2025.

Each galaxy functions as an isolated design experiment, testing variations in gravity, scale and movement, with ice cream-shaped planets, apples and other unlikely shapes going far beyond visual whimsy, to gain a layer of genuine space navigation challenges, presenting diverse game design concepts before they become repetitive.​

Small leap for Mario, big leap for Switch

Finally, with Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 we have big differences to justify the return to the new generation, with technical developments between the Wii and Switch versions very noticeable. Unlike the version included in 2020’s Super Mario 3D All-Stars, these two games are full native ports, not upscaled emulations.

With this, we have eliminated several graphical and lighting problems that affected the previous collection, offering a much more polished and stable experience. For those who own the Switch 2, the version used for this review, support for 4K through a free update is available, further increasing visual quality.​

The textures received a special treatment, with more detailed and realistic surfaces, gaining more clarity as they simply did not exist due to the limitations of the Wii. The characters have also been refined, with emphasis on the expressions of Mario, Peach and Rosalina, as well as a significant improvement during the cinematic sequences.​

However, we have reached the most critical point of Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2, as the motion controls, fundamental in the development of the original versions, were adapted for the Joy-Con with inconsistent results. In TV mode, the decoupled Joy-Cons work reasonably well, replicating the Wii Remote experience with the advantage of quick recalibration via the R button. However, the constant need to recalibrate the gyroscope breaks the flow of the experience and exposes how dependent this mechanic was on the Wii’s Sensor Bar.​

In portable mode, playing Super Mario Galaxy becomes an even greater challenge. With the Joy-Cons attached, the gyroscope does not work properly, forcing you to touch the screen to control the cursor, that is, this means that you constantly need to take one of your hands off the controls to touch the screen and collect Star Bits, known as star bits, or interact with objects. This choice by the developers proved to be a solution that completely breaks the fluidity of the gameplay and turns simple actions into exercises in frustration.​

The controls continue to conflict when we play with Yoshi, as using the tongue to grab objects requires aiming precision that the Joy-Cons’ gyroscope simply cannot offer consistently. When connected to a Pro Controller and played in docked mode, the experience is greatly improved, but it is still far from ideal compared to using the Wii Remote.​

The same charm, but with different gravity

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 offers additional content in the form of expanded chapters of Rosalina’s storybook, with three exclusive songs also available in the Nintendo Music application, with shy and welcome additions, which deepen the narrative without changing the structure of the games. and, considering the quality of the orchestrated score, it is a much appreciated feature for fans.

The new Help Mode offers extra lives and recovery from fatal falls, acting as a safety net for less experienced players, being a sensible inclusion that does not compromise the challenge for those looking for the full experience.​ Not to mention that this is the first time that both games have full support for Brazilian Portuguese, including subtitles and translated interface.

Super Mario Galaxy’s art direction remains impressive even nearly two decades after its original release. The colorful planetoids, vibrant galaxies and the contrast between the dark vacuum of space and the explosions of color from stars and power-ups create a unique aesthetic that has stood the test of time.

The lighting effects deserve special mention, as the way the light falls on the planets as Mario runs around them, the luminosity of the stars being collected, and the soft glow of the Lumas create an atmosphere that few games can replicate.

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 remain incredible creative milestones for Nintendo, demonstrating what happens when creativity and innovative design meet extremely well-executed execution. The technical improvements for the Switch versions make these classics visually superior to the original versions in practically every aspect, with reservations for some gameplay choices due to motion controls. After all, the Switch has its limitations and cannot replicate the Wii Remote experience satisfactorily.​

For those who have never played the originals, Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 offer access to two of the best 3D platform adventures ever created, allowing you to revisit competent space adventures from brilliant games, but which will never feel completely at home on the Switch in the same way they did on the Wii.​