Video Game Blog 001: Mario Rings in the New Year

Welcome to a spur of the moment addition to The SoraRabbit Hole: the Video Game Blog! I have a couple of reasons I decided to do this new category of blog. First off, you may have seen me mention my Game List 2021, a list of video games I want to complete this year to try and make progress on my extensive backlog. I felt that doing a blog detailing my progress and talking about the games I’m playing will help me to stay on course and keep my gaming time productive. Also, I felt like it was a good way to let you all know more about my taste in and opinion of video games without the structure of my main blog. That’s why I put this in its own new section… these posts will be less structured than my main blog, and possibly longer than my Short Hops. I wanted to give myself more freedom with these. We’ll see how it works out.

In 2021 I have a list of 26 games I want to finish. You can keep track of my progress on my News page. So if you’re ever curious what games I’m playing and how well I’m doing on the journey towards my goal, that will be the place to check it.

Yay candy! (Credit: Nintendo)

So far I’m making a bit of progress. I’ve played quite a bit of Lego Batman 2 and Plants vs Zombies 2, and I have, at long last, started Super Mario Galaxy. I also took a couple of evenings to play through the Star Battle mode on Mario Party 8. It’s not on my list, but it’s one Cocoashade and I have been playing together lately and I wanted to unlock the last two characters and the Bowser board. As long as I don’t get too far sidetracked, a little jaunt off the path here and there is permitted.

I was inspired to start my own game list by my brothers, who have had success with their own lists. My list last year was derailed by my tendency to get sidetracked by new games. I only ended up completing 7 out of the 20 games on that list. Where did it go wrong? I ended up playing way too much Animal Crossing (no such thing as too much AC) and The Binding of Isaac. I also jumped into both Spider-Man games when the PS5 was released and put several hours into Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory. I spent too many idle hours on the Angry Birds Trilogy and played through A Short Hike and Silent Hills Shattered Memories for my blog. None of which were on the list. So yeah… I get distracted way too easily. This year I am trying to be better in that… and not just when it comes to video games. 2021 will be a time to complete things!

I’m determined to get through my list this time. So in an effort to stay on course, this past weekend I finally dusted off my unused copy of Super Mario Galaxy and gave it a go. I love Mario games… the original Super Mario Bros is the game I can truly credit with making me into a gamer. (Although I did play a ton of Atari, Intellivision and Commodore 64 before that.) The first Super Mario game is the game that showed me the joy of actually finishing a game and watching those ending credits scroll. Over the years my love for Mario had not waned, but I do take a very long time in between his games.

A couple of side notes for those not fully versed in the lore of SoraRabbit… One, I generally play games in order. Although I have jumped out of release order to play the New Super Mario Bros series, I have played each of the mainline games in release order. So that means my last main Mario game was Super Mario Sunshine, which I played maybe ten years ago? (Lord, I’m old.) I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get to this game, but here we are. Ten years from now I should get to Super Mario Odyssey. (Only sort of kidding.)

Secondly, I am a recovering completionist. When I was younger I used to strive to do absolutely everything in a game. I still try to this day, but now I’m a little more lax in it. I mean, I will likely get all the stars in Super Mario Galaxy… but I’m not planning on getting all the flags in Assassin’s Creed. I can actually point to a few events where I started breaking myself of completionism. For one thing Pokémon Coliseum’s Mt Battle. 100 Pokémon battles in a row. I did this in one day without stopping. Nearly killed myself. (By no coincidence, this was also the day I quit drinking energy drinks. You can overdose on those.) Also in that game, there were a bunch of Puzzle battles to complete. I was about halfway through them when my memory card became corrupted, making me lose all my progress. Ugh. At least I was able to transfer my Pokémon safely into a different game beforehand.

Also there were a few Zelda-related fiascos. Majora’s Mask is the first to come to mind. I spent HOURS on those insane jumps to get the final mask. The Minnish Cap had an infuriating capsule side quest where it took forever to get a bunch of models. And Wind Waker had that ridiculous camera side quest. Where they didn’t bother to tell you to take photos of the boss monsters… and if you didn’t, there was ZERO chance of completing the side quest. (Not to mention you could only carry three photos at a time and had to go all the way to an island to turn them in.) So yeah… I taught myself over the years to accomplish as much as I could in a game but bail if it was taking too long and stressing me out. (And then the Family Guy Game taught me that I don’t HAVE to finish a game just because I started it. Also don’t ever play the Family Guy Game. Lessons I will never ever forget.)

Rosalina has a cozy home. (Credit: Nintendo)

Anyway, enough side commentary. The point is that I finally got around to starting Super Mario Galaxy and it is fun as hell. I really enjoyed Super Mario Sunshine, but I think this game is better. I’m not too far along yet, but I’m really liking the mechanics. Basically in this game, Bowser has a spaceship because why the hell wouldn’t Bowser have a spaceship? And he kidnaps Princess Toadstool because he has no other hobbies. And Mario rushes off to save her because he has no other hobbies. But this time there is a mysterious Princess named Rosalina who has recruited Mario to not only save the Princess, but also the entire galaxy. Yes, Bowser could potentially take over all the planets, not just whatever planet the Mushroom Kingdom is on. He’s tired of screwing around with the title of King and is now going for Galactic Emperor. Whee.

In the quest to de-Bowserize the galaxy, Mario now has the power to survive in outer space. He jumps around various planetary systems trying to gather Power Stars and Grand Stars to stop Bowser and save the Princess. Like with every Mario game there are dizzying heights and terrifying falls. Just look at this bullshit:

This is a moving platform. I died about ten seconds after this screenshot. (Credit: Nintendo)

The game utilizes gravity to allow you to cling onto the odd planetary surfaces. As you navigate the world with the nunchuck, you use the Wiimote to pick up Star Bits that you can shoot at enemies. (Or hoard to feed to your star friends back at base.) Along with your usual jumps, the spin jump makes a return, allowing you to defeat or stun enemies. In this game the usual 8 hit points is reduced to 3, forcing you to be more careful about battling and traversing the various obstacles. Coins refill a hit point each, so those are useful.

Along the way you gain various power ups. The only ones I’ve found so far are Rainbow Mario (temporary invincibility) and Bee Mario, which is just what it sounds like. The bee suit allows you to fly (in a clumsy bee-like fashion) and cling to honey coated surfaces. There are a total of 242 stars in the game (playing as both Mario and Luigi.) I may get them all, I guess it depends on how long it takes and how infuriating some of the stars are. (I tell you, some of them were no joke in Mario 64 and Mario Sunshine. I got them all, though.) As you collect the stars, the galaxy expands, opening up new worlds to visit and conquer.

Pros: The controls are smooth and responsive and the motion control is well done. The way the game opens up as you progress is fun, fostering a sense of exploration. The variety of environments keeps the play fresh. I thought traveling the worlds would be dizzying, but it’s not as disorienting as you would think to wander around upside down and sideways. (Until you fall into a black hole, that is.) The soundtrack is performed by a full orchestra, giving a different feel to this one from the other games.

Cons: Like all Mario games I have to space out my play sessions on this. Some areas (swiss cheese conveyor belts for example) get annoying and the whole process can get nerve wracking. (The developers love triggering my fear of heights!)

Bee Mario is cute. (Credit: Nintendo)

So in summation, Super Mario Galaxy is like all Mario games… cute, tense, and a blast to play. A colorful, expansive world (or in this case worlds) to explore. I’ve never been a huge fan of the platforming genre, but Mario is the big exception to that. There’s always something satisfying about making those tough jumps just barely, climbing to new heights, and earning those shiny, shiny stars.

I’m playing this game fairly casually right now, getting a couple of stars and moving on to other non-Mario things. My main focus on my list at the start is going to be finishing both Assassin’s Creed and Pokémon White 2, both of which I started last year. I have a long ways to go on these series, and finishing these installments will give me a sense of making some progress on them.

I hope you all enjoyed this peek into my video game journey! Until next time, keep getting those stars!