4/5 ★ – unresponsiveAI's review of Super Mario Galaxy.

I've been hearing so much for over a decade about the masterpiece quality of this game that my excitement to finally play it was at peak levels. For the most part, I can see where people are coming from; but in some respects, mainly regarding the finicky motion controls, this game doesn't quite live up to expectations. As is to be expected with a Mario game, the whimsical nature of the environments and characters is charming without ever being annoying. There's some sort of special magic this company has that makes their games inspire joy in people of all ages, and Galaxy excels at this even more than usual. The games biggest strengths lie in its level design and progression. You're never stuck on one particular world too long and each world (until some obvious repeats toward the end) feels unique and exciting. The comet system that adds specialized challenges to completed levels is a highlight and oftentimes made less enjoyable levels better. The major area that this game struggles in is the way that it controls. It's clear that many of these problems are the result of the original platform it launched on, the Nintendo Wii (I'm playing the Switch version.) While being able to press a button to swing Mario's arms and attack is a welcome addition, so many of the games puzzles require almost pinpoint accuracy while manipulating objects with the motion controls and despite not being overly difficult, it is frustrating and never fun. I wish that with the re-release there would have been a completely revitalized traditional button-pressing control scheme. While this issue definitely is a constant hindrance that impacts the game negatively as a whole, overall, the experience is still quite positive. Every moment that it's not frustrating, it's endearing, and every annoyance is immediately followed by a moment of excitement. The controls made me want to not enjoy this game, but the quality of the game itself wouldn't allow that to happen. While I don't view this experience as a masterpiece, it is a great game that should be experienced by any fan of Mario who hasn't picked it up yet.