Once again Mario is out to save Princess Peach, in Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii. You’d think after a multitude of games, this being the third 3D game in the platforming series, Mario would have learned to tie Peach down… But alas, it’s up to us to help Mario save his Princess, once again, continuing Nintendo’s blockbuster Mario franchise.

The main difference for Super Mario Galaxy is in its name… Most of the action will be in space, or with low gravity. When shown at E3 2006, the game ran from the title screen right into the first level. The first level took place mainly on a long series of small planets and space junk, with little gravity in Mario’s way. This doesn’t mean that there is no gravity at all, however. At the Game Developers Conference 2007, a trailer was shown with an interesting twist in regards to the gravity play, showing the effects of different planets gravitational pulls on Mario, and how it affected his jumping ability. The video showed Mario changing direction mid-flight, as one possible use. This could lead to some very interesting platforming goodness.

Another gravity bending feature, is the advent of new glowing blue orbs, with starting points orbiting around them. When the Wii-mote is pointed at the orb, and the player presses B, a ray of light will shine onto Mario, and he’s beamed up into the orb. Mario ends up moving from one another, adding a new twist to Nintendo’s super-icon. From the demo that was available at E3, attendees got only a small glimpse of the controls. However, these have possibly changed, considering that was a year ago. The control stick on the nun chuck is used to move Mario around, also showing us the Wii-mote and Nun chuck will both be used to play the game. The A button on the Wii-mote is used to perform jumps; you can also perform higher jumps just like in Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64. The Z Button on the Nun chuck was used to crouch, leading me to believe there may be many hidden areas to explore in the vast expanse of space. Shaking the Wii-mote back and forth has Mario do his spin attack, which can also be used collect coins and perform various tasks when necessary. The camera seemed pretty automatic, but the dpad can be used to adjust the view if needed. Pressing the B button brings a star shaped cursor up which appears on the screen. The cursor is moved around via the Wii-mote, and can perform a number of functions, including interacting with objects (the E3 demo showed it ringing bells and reflecting some enemies’ attacks back at them).

Super Mario Galaxy is the third 3D Mario game for the Nintendo console. Being developed for the Wii, and released at some time in 2007, it looks to be one of the best games for the Wii to date. Screenshots and videos have shown Galaxy to be one of the best looking Wii games, granted this is most likely due to the fact that Super Mario Galaxy is going to be a flagship game, and a system seller as well. Besides that fact, the game looks fantastic for the Wii, which has recently been touted as being as powerful as the original Xbox. From impressive looking explosions, to a staggering variety of planet types, to the always smooth looking interface, Super Mario Galaxy looks to beautify the Wii with some dazzling graphics. Super Mario Galaxy has shown us a number of interesting new concepts for the Mario franchise; taking it into space gave it a number of freedoms, and it’s looking like they’re going to us it well. Jumping from planet to planet looks fun and very Mario-esq. A number of the screenshots and videos show how the planets will be used, including housing enemies. Some of our old enemies (the plants) seem to have gotten bigger while going into space. That is not to say they’ll be any harder than a fireball to the head, but it’s a noticeable change. The videos and screenshots also unveiled a number of possible boss monsters, aside from the Koopa-like kidnapper. A crowned blooper reigning over a pit of lava, a venom spewing spider atop a space web, and a giant battle tower just to name a few.

The main point of the game is to rescue Princess Peach (again), and collecting stars. “Star Shards” are a new collectible item, as well as the ever classic coin. The health system was also the same as the Mario 64/Super Mario Sunshine games. There has been a surprising lack of information given about Super Mario Sunshine, other than its release date being some time in 2007.

I expect many of the original cast of characters to appear, or make cameos, but none have been seen yet. It has also yet to be seen how wide the galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy actually goes, could we possibly get lost out there forever? As with every Nintendo console there is a release of a new Mario game. We’ll have to wait and see how Super Mario Galaxy shapes up for the Wii, but from impressions at E3 and the content online, it’s looking nice. As usual, this Mario game will end up being a flagship title for the Wii, most likely going to bolster the sales of the system, making it even scarcer. With no set release date other than a “2007,” it could be the rest of the year till we see our favorite plumber.