Super Mario Galaxy Review

The hard problem in spherical platforming is the camera, and Nintendo solved it so completely that you never think about it once. Every planetoid carries its own gravity well, so running upside down along the underside of a rock reads as natural, and the instant the ground curves away beneath you the framing has already adjusted. That one solved problem unlocks level ideas nothing else could attempt, from the ice comets to the rolling ball courses to a boss you fight by tilting a small world under your own feet.

The remote pointer is used lightly and sensibly, for star bits and spin rather than being forced into everything the hardware could theoretically do. The orchestral score is the first in the series arranged like a film score, and Gusty Garden alone justifies the decision. The story is a Peach abduction with a picture book about Rosalina bolted alongside it, more affecting than it needs to be and still beside the point.