Not much else to say except I love this game. The Galaxy aesthetic and soundtrack defined what Mario was for me as a kid and although I'm pretty sure I only had Galaxy 2 on my Wii, this one feels like pure nostalgia to play.
The game has a few issues sure, the movement could be tighter and it could be a bit more challenging - there are also a few reused planets and bosses and the ending is a little weird.
Mostly I think this holds up though. It feels like the definitive Mario game. The hub is awesome, the way the game uses Luigi made me extremely happy as a kid, and the levels (if easy) are still loads of fun. The boss fights are surprisingly fun and the game perfectly balances the spectrum between linear and open Mario in my opinion. I love the hidden secrets, but I also enjoy having levels so this is the perfect mix for me. Sunshine to me was too linear with the same level formats over and over. Mario 64, whilst I love it, was very open and sometimes I couldn't choose where to go next.
Finishing this game is an important moment for me as it marks the final game I have on my backlog. Over the last 2 years I've managed to get through almost everything I own but haven't played. There's still a load of switch games I've missed out on having bought my Switch in 2021 but from this point on I don't feel obligated to play anything in particular which feels nice. Over the last 2 years I've replayed the 2D and 3D Marios, played all the 2D Zeldas and many of the 3D ones, played almost all the Metroid games, the Soulsborne games, found a love for the Resident Evil franchise, played some classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, and a truck load of Metroidvania games. It's been a lot of fun.
The game has a few issues sure, the movement could be tighter and it could be a bit more challenging - there are also a few reused planets and bosses and the ending is a little weird.
Mostly I think this holds up though. It feels like the definitive Mario game. The hub is awesome, the way the game uses Luigi made me extremely happy as a kid, and the levels (if easy) are still loads of fun. The boss fights are surprisingly fun and the game perfectly balances the spectrum between linear and open Mario in my opinion. I love the hidden secrets, but I also enjoy having levels so this is the perfect mix for me. Sunshine to me was too linear with the same level formats over and over. Mario 64, whilst I love it, was very open and sometimes I couldn't choose where to go next.
Finishing this game is an important moment for me as it marks the final game I have on my backlog. Over the last 2 years I've managed to get through almost everything I own but haven't played. There's still a load of switch games I've missed out on having bought my Switch in 2021 but from this point on I don't feel obligated to play anything in particular which feels nice. Over the last 2 years I've replayed the 2D and 3D Marios, played all the 2D Zeldas and many of the 3D ones, played almost all the Metroid games, the Soulsborne games, found a love for the Resident Evil franchise, played some classic JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, and a truck load of Metroidvania games. It's been a lot of fun.