Coming: 2010
From IGN's Interview: "Reggie Fils-Aime on the Record"
IGN: You have a bit more insight on the development of Galaxy 2. What's the direction for the game? Do they really want to blow it out or will it be more of the same?
Reggie: What Mr. Miyamoto has shared is that if the first Galaxy was maybe more inviting in terms of all the audiences, what Galaxy 2 is going to be is maybe a little more Nintendo fan / harder gamer focused. A little tougher. The use of Yoshi makes it a little more challenging. We showed some of the snippets of some of the activities -- it's a bit more challenging. It's going to be, if you will, for more of that passionate Mario fan who grew up getting challenged with Super Mario World. It's going to be much more in that area.
From "Shigeru Miyamoto Roundtable LiveBlog"
"With Super Mario Galaxy, it's the first time we really worked with spherical worlds and we had a lot of ideas about how to use gravity. However, when we finished the game, we realized there were a ton of ideas we just couldn't fit in," he says.
More than 90 percent of what you will see in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is all brand new. Maybe even 95 percent . . . Galaxy 2 contains roughly the same amount of content as the original.
Galaxy 2 is very, very far along, but since Nintendo has New Super Mario Bros. Wii, it's going to hold off and keep Galaxy 2 for next year. :(
Only level I felt that was the first rolling bolder level, the rest was all good. I don't need repeated performances. I don't always need multiple stars in a level, some of the best levels in Galaxy 1 were also one star levels. And what do you mean by full potential? Having so many stars in one level until you get bored. I prefer the less stars per galaxy method. Galaxy 1 had some filler stars. Each Galaxy had a comet and purple coins comet, Galaxy 2 is so much better in that regard. There are however too many coin Lumas. Seriously, I rather have the find the star on your own. Some sections are awesome, some other ones are a bit simple. None were really bad I would say.
About Supermassive, I agree it was a bit simple, but not bad by an stretch. There were some nice long jump sections there.
Are you sure about ghost Luigi? I raced him on the slide and there were no comet coins there.
No I dont want like Mario 64 amounts of stars per level but some of those levels are so incredible that they should have been used for another full level star. Like I said in a previous post, maybe it would be best to get rid of the stars and go back to full level after full level and have themed worlds, like have a full supermassive world with like 5 levels based around that concept. Each level would be different but would be themed the same, much like SMB3.
Yes I am sure about ghost Luigi, I think the slide and a few others where he shows up in the second star but I think that is there for something hat happens later in the game. Did Luigi finish the race?
They really should get rid of the stars. They are already moving that way, Galaxy 2 is more like 2D Mario than Galaxy one which is more like 2D Mario than all the other 2D Mario games. But the themed world is a bad idea. The strength of Galaxy is the incredible variety, you never know what's coming next. The themed world design would be a step back.
They could have levels with multiple exits, like in Super Mario World. For example Yoshi Star Galaxy has two stars, just make one level, with one alternative exit that leads to Lakithunder boss fight. If you finish that you open up either a secret level, a shortcut, toad house or warp cannon.
And minigames and comets will reward you with a key that also opens of alternative routes on the map. Again like SMW.
Yup that sounds perfect.
The bigger challenge would be to revise the power up system to be like 2D Mario.The map was probably put late in development of Galaxy 2, but it is pretty good, so far. Especially flying power-ups in 3d games are a nightmare. How do you stop people from just simple flying out of the level?
Another thing I noticed while watching that Mario transformer mod I posted on the GG weekly. Look at the size of the Goomba's compared to small Mario. Now compare the size of Mario to the Goomba's in Galaxy 2 and 1.
Mario is not Super anymore. We are playing with small Mario.
That is so true. We need to go back to the original Mario which is a mushroom makes you super.
I played a couple of hours of this yesterday.
Greatest game ever? Not feeling that but it is as good as SMG which is an achievement in itself. It's creative and I was in a really funky mood, by the end of my session I was grinning like a monkey. The music is AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING. I was virtually swooning. On Fluffy Buff I was like a kid at a theme park. I put little mario on a water spout and delighted at the animation as he was propelled up into the air.
There are some parts of the game which look and sound so good I actually stop playing to take it all in. That armadillo boss, jesus the detail and animation and crispness of that and the sphere you were on. I would swear it was a 360 game or something.
And Yoshi, who has sucked ever since Yohi's island, actually works! And even more suprisingly, because of the wii remote, pointing at what you want to suck up.
This game is f-ing great, I only have about 7 stars and I'm looking forward to lots more. Also the challenge so far is a smidgen above the first game. I wouldn't give this to a mario 3D first timer.
Oh and there are such little details that only nintendo puts into its games. On the Faceship LOL, I jumped into the chimney and ended up in the engine room.
Also in Europe we get the tutorial dvd which is mostly patronising bullshit for someone who has never picked up any sort of game system ever. But there is a section on creative play that shows how to do advanced moves, which is really cool. And there are videos of someone insane playing the game, like amazing.