The original Super Mario Brothers was an amazing game. It was released in an era when games often had a single screen to explore and titles like Yi-Ar Kung Fu, Pac-man, and Donkey Kong were all the rage. If you didn't live in that era, it's hard to appreciate how advanced Super Mario Brothers was over virtually anything to come before it. It had dungeons, oceans, and fire breathing dragons. It had tunnels to explore and bean stocks to find and climb. And for those who were adventurous and explored off the beating path, Mario often rewarded players with secrets in the form of 1-up mushrooms, coin stashes, and even warp tunnels. It set a standard for video games while creating the side-scrolling platformer, a genre that still exists today. But even by our modern standards, few platformers can stack up to this classic. Super Mario Galaxy is a contemporary remaking, not of Super Mario Brothers, but of what it did for the industry when it was released. It may not be entirely revolutionary, but Galaxy offers a few innovations and vast universe to explore, and every minute with the game results in pure enjoyment.

The premise to Galaxy is tried and true, with Princess Peach being kidnapped by Bowser in the opening sequence. However, this time, Bowser has discovered a new power in the universe and is using it to create an evil galaxy, and it's up to Mario and his friends to stop him. Besides the regular cast at Mario's side, such as Luigi and Toad, Mario is aided by Rosalyn, a new character who is willing to help find Peach pending your assistance in obtaining the star pieces required to power her space station. Luigi does not start the adventure at your side, but he appears fairly early on in the game. In a brilliant twist, Luigi is trapped in a haunted mansion, and once you save him he will join your quest to search for stars. However, during his search, he gets stuck and needs Mario's assistance to bring the star back. One of the toad characters brings Mario a snapshot of where Luigi is, and you need to find him based on the hints in the picture. It's a neat way to incorporate Mario's brother into the game, as he has so far been neglected in most of the other 3D titles in the series. Luigi does play a larger role later on, but some spoilers are best left to the player's discovery.

This is about as refined as a 3D platformer can get.

The gameplay here is pure Mario. Imagine how primitive and unoriginal everything was when Super Mario Brothers first came onto the scene and you will have an idea of how much Super Mario Galaxy innovates the platformer genre with its mind-bending concepts. Each level has its own gravity and physics, yet never does the initially strange sense of being bound to a planetoid or larger landmass seem out of place. There are countless moments where pure level design and ingenuity come through in the gameplay. In fact, each level has so much variety that the game never grows stale, which is an impressive feat, considering players will have to transverse levels several times to collect all of the star pieces. While the standard level has three stars to collect, some have even more that are hidden within the nooks and crannies of the stages. There really is no filler, and there are no throw-away levels. The quality is consistently amazing across the board.

Galaxy offers countless awe-inspiring moments, including surfing on the back of a manna ray and riding through a course on a ball. Epic boss fights? Galaxy covers that too; from bosses that require pattern recognition, to monstrosities that are so huge they must be climbed and toppled like something from Shadow of the Colossus. Some moments will be taken for granted in their brilliance, like using Bullet Bills to break down walls and barriers, and flying through a stage on a giant dandelion seed. Remember the feeling of thrill and exhilaration you had the first time you ever rode on a roller coaster? Galaxy will make you feel that same emotion on several occasions.

The Wii controls are welcome in Mario because they are used in situations that make sense, and they never force players to adapt to an awkward interface just for the sake of using some of the console's functionality. Star bits can be collected with the pointer, making them fun to pick up, and Galaxy provides many situations where Mario is flying from one location to the next, offering a small window of opportunity to add more bits to your collection. Shaking the controller is context sensitive, but it generally allows Mario to unleash his primary offensive move, the spin attack. When swimming, motion also provides an extra boost of acceleration, and when using the fire flower, waggling the controller sends a fireball across the screen. When the motion controls come into play, they in no way feel forced, or tacked on. As a result, the inclusion of this feature only helps to improve the already rock-solid gameplay.

Mario has a few new abilities this time around. He can now turn into a spring, a bumble bee, an ice version of himself, and even a ghost. Also, the fire flower finally makes its return, albeit in a slightly modified variation. It is now a timed power up, often presented for puzzles where fire is required, though torching enemies with a wave of the wrist has never been so satisfying. The spring allows you to reach higher levels, while the bee suit lets you fly short distances and walk in areas Mario wouldn't otherwise be able to. The ice suit lets Mario walk on water, freezing the surface with each step. And the ghost allows Mario to fly, similar to the bee suit, but it also permits him to pass through certain walls. Later on in the game, Mario is presented with a task that will grant him the ability to fly around like Superman, which is awesome. Each of the abilities is unique and fun, adding a lot of variety to the game each time they are introduced.

As for the multiplayer aspect of Galaxy, it's weak at best. A second player can take control of a pointer and help collect star bits while stunning enemies by shooting them with the trigger on the Wii-mote. They can also make Mario jump by clicking directly on the portly plumber, or, if timed well, can make Mario jump even higher up if he is selected in midair. While it is nice that Nintendo decided to let a second player get in on the action, it really wasn't a necessary addition. Mario games have never been about multiplayer, and no one should expect this game to excel in the area of cooperative play.

The graphics in Mario Galaxy are easily the best on the console. The art style is truly original and looks fantastic. The lighting may be some of the best ever seen in a video game, giving everything a nice, real-world modeled appearance that blends well with the cartoonish visuals. Crystals that encase star bits or coins reflect the images of the items encased in them realistically. Giant marble planetoids that must be traveled upon give off a ghostly reflection of what lies on the opposite side. Characters are detailed and their many animations add a lot to the presentation. The water looks amazing and bends with the physics of the universe. The cutscenes all use the in-game graphics, which all look sharp, and Bowser's flowing locks give him a touch of extra personality. This game is huge with many different worlds to explore and sights to see, but the graphics are polished in every area, and never take a dip in frame rate.

Super Mario Galaxy is the best looking game on the Wii thus far.

If the graphics are the Ying, the sound is the Yang, as they are equally as good and add tremendously to the overall experience. The music is pure brilliance, with themes that might take over the video game landscape like the original Super Mario Brothers music did back in the 80's. The tracks are not only catchy, but are often beautiful, subtle, and even at times, context sensitive. For example, on the stage where Mario is riding a ball around, if you start moving faster, the music will speed up. Move slower and the song follow suit. Many of the classic songs from previous Mario games have been included as well, but with a modern twist to them. Remember the booming, epic music that accompanied the air ship stages in Super Mario Brothers 3? That song makes its return here as well. Although, when the air ships appear in Galaxy, it carries even more weight in orchestral form. The sound effects are pure Mario, from the shrill but familiar ping of collecting a coin to the short but satisfying tune when collecting an extra life. These familiar audible cues will take players back to past summer weekends from years ago, before memory cards or dual analog sticks even existed.

No game is perfect, and Galaxy does not escape that black hole either. Fortunately, most of the weaknesses are minor at best. For example, the learning curve on the swimming is higher than it should be. Once you realize that Mario is on an axis, and that pushing left doesn't make him swim left, but rotates his body left, it becomes much simpler. Another minor quibble lies with the camera. 99% of the time, the camera is fixed in the perfect location to take in the action. However, that 1% where it isn't can lead to some annoyance, as Mario can sometimes be obstructed by a tree or a wall, for instance. Other than that though, you'll find nothing but polish.

Every console created by Nintendo has had its own Mario title, and when it comes to pure quality, they are generally some of the best on their given systems. That said, Super Mario Galaxy is not only the best game on the Wii, but it's one of the best games ever made. Few titles have quite the level of pure creativity mixed with "wow" moments like Galaxy does. If you own a Wii, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. In a holiday season that is witnessing a flood of excellent titles, Super Mario Galaxy rises above most to prove that the Italian plumber is still a king in the video game jungle.