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Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenix
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Originally posted by: Chode2234
I personally like the more linear nature, and therefore automatic camera, of SMG. Mario is not an exploration game but a platformer, and I appreciate that return to its roots.
You shouldnt need to explore every nook and cranny in the world, you should get from point A to point B without dying.
I think its great.
Except Mario IS part exploration, in fact Mario 64 set the standard for all 3D platformers in that area like the 2D games set the standard for linear levels. Mario has never been about a particular standard, but setting new standards for a genre.
Okay, well let's take it from this quote. With the coming of Galaxy, there are now two different types of 3D Mario games - the more exploration-based ones (64 and Sunshine), and the more linear ones (Galaxy). I love both styles to death, which is why Galaxy made me appreciate Sunshine even more. It's such a totally different game that you can't really compare the two. And it's made me even more annoyed at the people who bash Sunshine even more now that Galaxy's out.
BUT, if you look at it, Mario Galaxy is the most "Mario" of all the 3D games. The blended gameplay and integration of dimensions makes it almost feel like you're playing a 2D game. You said yourself that Mario is about setting new standards for a genre. Well, this IS a new standard. Having a game more like Sunshine or 64 wouldn't make it nearly as fresh as it is now. Then you'd see people complaining how it's so much like the other 3D Marios. So you like exploration more than linear platforming? That's fine, but that in no way makes Galaxy a worse game.
As I said before, the game doesn't have any flaws. I consider a flaw pretty major; having you die right away in quicksand is not a flaw. It's a minor annoyance which does little to detract from the overall game.
And like mantidor said, the camera is perfect. I have no idea how Mr Jack or GP have died several times because of it. I'm not even that good at many games normally, but the perspectives in Galaxy became second nature to me quickly, however warped they were. I guess everyone has a different experience.
You know, how I feel about Galaxy is nearly exactly how I do about Super Mario Bros 3. For sentimental reasons, my two favourite games are still the original SMB and SM64. But I'm willing to concede that SMB3 and Galaxy are technically the best 2D and 3D Marios, respectively.