I reckon Galaxy fans would admit that much of what was special about the original game was its cinematic flair. Nintendo struck a comfortable balance between traditional gameplay and cutscene spectacles and thus avoided having Mario appear too ridiculous within a high-stakes, ambitiously presented story (at least for the franchise). Strip that subtly emotional charm away and what's left?

Galaxy 2 is immediately less special. The intro's side-scrolling presentation brings the New Super Mario Bros. series to mind moreso than Galaxy. The new hub, the "Faceship", leaves little room for curiosity. There's no exploring to be done here. The observatories are removed and in its place you have rudimentary world maps that are the least captivating in the franchise since Yoshi's Island in 1995. Remember in the first game when you had rings that measured out the distance galaxies were from the observatory?

Perhaps some of the level design is tighter, but what good is it when the team has lightened up the experience to the point where it's hard to take seriously? Where's Rosalina to add mystery to the cosmos? Where's the sense of galaxies being actual worlds that characters live in, instead of just being clearly designed to be obstacles for Mario? Why is Yoshi here? Why are so many more levels and portions of levels two-dimensional?

Galaxy 2 can be fun, but you'll be fine with taking breaks. You won't be worried about Peach, about how to help Rosalina. It's just a video game.