Super Mario Galaxy

Developed by: Nintendo

Published by: Nintendo

Genre: Adventure/Platforming

Emotions it inspires: Sadness, happiness, joy, hope

How the game inspires emotion : Storyline, cutscenes, characters

When first revealed along with the Wii Remote at E3 2006 Super Mario Galaxy was destined for greatness. The classic Mario platforming evolved into something unbelievable, using gravity and physics to create some truly imaginative worlds. It quickly became one of the best games on the Wii and one of the most inspired Mario games yet.

But what perhaps surprised gamers the most was the presence of a narrative. Normally, Mario games focus on just Bowser kidnapping Peach, forcing Mario to go after her. When Nintendo tried to elaborate a bit more on this in Super Mario Sunshine, the results were laughable. So it was surprising to see Nintendo tackle storylines once more, but instead of going down the comedic route, they went for something far more meaningful, and the results are nothing short of spectacular.

The first of these moments comes from Rosalina, the newest character in the Mario canon. While at first glance she may seem like yet another Peach clone in actuality she is one of the most interesting characters in the game. This is in part to a story that Rosalina tells to the Lumas, star children that see her as their mother.

In between gameplay, Mario can enter the library in Rosalina’s observatory to see her read a story to the young Lumas. The story is that of a little girl who one day meets a Luma and goes into outer space. In that story we learn that the little girl is very sad and lonely. This is because her mother passed away and is buried underneath a tree.

That’s right; Super Mario Galaxy features the first instance of death in a Mario game ever (unless you want to count Bowser’s flesh melting off him when you first defeat him in New Super Mario Bros DS). Even if it’s told subtly players quickly realize what is going on, creating a moment that is completely unexpected in a game of this caliber.

Later on, we learn that the girl in the story is actually Rosalina and that she built the observatory to give the Lumas a home while they become stars and galaxies. This makes what could have been yet another stock Mario character a wonder to behold. Her love towards the Lumas and her sincere nature adds a lot of warmth to the game.

But, this isn’t one of the most emotional moments in Super Mario Galaxy. This moment happens at the end. As we have come to expect in a Mario game, Mario rescues Peach and Bowser is made a fool out of again. Things, however, take a turn for the worse as Bowser’s machine creates a black hole that begins to suck everything in, including Peach, Mario and Bowser. All three are in danger of dying, a shocking scene to witness in a Mario game.

They are rescued by the Lumas. They way they do it is what makes the scene so emotional. What they do is sacrifice their lives by jumping directly into the black hole, creating an explosion that spares everyone’s lives. This scene is nearly painful to watch as the player sees all of the cute Lumas say good-bye to Mario and the observatory is destroyed, all set to the poignant lullaby heard in Rosalina’s story.

Rosalina then appears to let Mario know that the Lumas are reborn into new stars and planets, creating a never ending circle of life in the universe. As all of the characters are brought back to the Mushroom Kingdom Mario then looks up to the sky and realizes what Rosalina told him. He raises his arms and yells “WELCOME, NEW GALAXY!”. With this final line, we are assured that the sacrifice of the Lumas wasn’t in bane, that life in the galaxy will continue and will be taken care of by Rosalina.

All of these things you would never expect to appear in a Mario game, and yet it all works so well it leaves a very deep impression of the player. This created a universe that is charming, beautiful and very inspired, with its message being that life in the universe is just too grand for it to just end.