Super Mario Galaxy 1+2 review: 3D platforming at its joyful best

After the last Super Mario retro collection sold nearly 10 million copies in its just one year on sale, Nintendo was never going to miss the opportunity to capitalise again for the plumber’s latest anniversary.

Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2’s Switch remasters, however, have at least had some work done to them compared to the simple ports of Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

The games – which are available in a physical two-pack, or separately as downloads – feature improved visuals, running at up to 1080p on Nintendo Switch and 4K on Switch 2. There’s also an Assist mode, which makes the games slightly easier, UI tweaks, extra storybook chapters, and mouse support on the next-gen Switch.

Niggling control issues mean some might disagree that they’re actually the definitive versions compared to Wii or Wii U, but otherwise, they are the same phenomenal 3D platformers VGC recently put at the top of our best Mario games list, looking better than ever, and finally available together on modern platforms.

After the exploration-heavy Super Mario 64 (1996) and Super Mario Sunshine (2002), 2007’s Galaxy marked a return to pure platforming for the Nintendo mascot, with linear, tighter levels and a huge increase in mechanics and power-ups to fill them with.

Returning to the game in 2025, Galaxy feels like the spiritual beginning of what we expect from modern Mario. With breathless imagination and Hollywood-level panache, the Wii game literally takes Mario to the stars in an adventure that’s soulful, inventive, and frankly joyous to play.

Whether it’s the charming barks of bouncing Chain Chomps, the whimsical banter of the cutesy space bees or the still-breathtaking flights from one exploding planet to another, Super Mario Galaxy oozes playfulness and imagination like no Mario game before.

As we’ve come to expect from 3D Mario games, Galaxy is a cavalcade of ideas, with virtually every stage introducing a new mechanic, power-up, or twist, before the game moves on to the next. And those stages are wrapped in one of the most iconic aesthetics in Mario history, with the swirling score and melancholy storybook tale across outer space making for a truly unforgettable adventure.

The main attraction for most, however, will be Galaxy’s sequel, which wasn’t included in the 3D All-Stars compilation. The first direct sequel to a 3D Mario game, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is inexplicably filled with even more imagination than the original.

Like an intergalactic New Game+, Galaxy 2 introduces new ideas while subverting those introduced in the original, like boss fights and power-ups, and presenting them in more interesting, and often more challenging ways.

Compared to the original, Galaxy 2 is all about the platforming, stripping away the cut-scenes and hub world exploration in favour of a map screen and worlds, similar to 2D Super Mario Bros games.

As you progress through Galaxy 2’s platforming worlds, no two experiences feel quite alike. They’re consistently full of surprises that will often have you grinning from ear to ear.

“As you progress through Galaxy 2’s platforming worlds, no two experiences feel quite alike. They’re consistently full of surprises that will have you grinning from ear to ear.”

Crucially, in the latter half of the game, Galaxy 2 is also significantly more challenging than the first, and you’re barely standing on a surface that’s not moving, dissolving or swinging you in the direction of a black hole. In this way, it feels very complimentary alongside the first game, though you might be tempted to turn the new Assist mode on for a few stages, which adds extra health and saves you from falls.

The wonderful art direction of the original games mean they both look fantastic on a modern display, as Galaxy did in its All-Stars form. It does appear that Nintendo has improved some of the game’s textures for this version, giving it an even crisper look, though some bloom effects appear to have been compromised in the transition.

Central to Galaxy 2’s genius is the introduction of Yoshi, who appears in his most significant role since his debut in Super Mario World. As in that game, players can ride on Yoshi’s back, gobbling up enemies and items using a gyro pointer, before spitting them back out as a projectile.

Yoshi also has his own plethora of power-ups, which fuel some of Galaxy 2’s best sequences. These include the Dash Pepper (which makes him stampede up steep surfaces), Light Yoshi (who projects a magical glow onto ghostly platforms that you’d otherwise fall straight through) and Blimp Fruit Yoshi (which sees your green buddy bloat up to a gigantic size and float like a balloon).

Although the frequency of Yoshi’s appearances are tastefully managed, he powers much of Galaxy 2’s most memorable gameplay. Yoshi can swing from flowery grapple points, pull out platforms with his tongue and gulp bullet bills and shoot them bolting towards baddies.

It’s wonderfully instinctual stuff, and gives Galaxy 2 a far more tactile feel than the original as you pinch and pull at the game scenery with your controller. If there was ever a game crying out for PS5-style haptics, it’s this.

Sadly, it’s here where the Switch versions’ biggest issue rears its head. Like the 3D All-Stars version of Galaxy, both games here replace the Wii Remote’s pointer aiming with a new gyro system, which attempts to replicate the feel of the original with tilt aiming on the right Joy-Con, or tilting the Switch itself in portable mode.

In practice, it’s a fine solution to a mechanic that previously required players to hook up a sensor bar to their television, especially in the first Galaxy game where pointing feels like a secondary consideration.

In Galaxy 2, however, pointer aiming with Yoshi is far more integral to gameplay, exposing the inaccuracy of the gyro system compared to the Wii original. Players are frequently required to accurately aim at enemies and items during intense sequences, and while it does work, it just feels awkward compared to the Wii Remote, which you could simply point at the thing you wanted Yoshi to eat.

“Players are frequently required to accurately aim at enemies and items during intense sequences, and while it does work, it just feels awkward compared to the Wii Remote, which you could simply point at the thing you wanted Yoshi to eat.”

Handheld mode comes off worse in this regard, as players are required to tilt the entire system, which feels impractical for some of Galaxy 2’s tougher levels. Annoyingly, Switch 2’s mouse controls are restricted to just the 2-player co-op function (which allows a second person to shoot Star Bits).

It would have taken some control remapping for jumping, but it would have been interesting to see if Nintendo could have come up with a way to play with movement on the left Joy-Con and mouse-based cursor controls on the right.

It’s not frustrating enough to spoil the experience, and different players will have different preferences, but for me, the pointer felt like something I was constantly wrestling with during my time with Galaxy 2.

This gripe aside, Super Mario Galaxy and Galaxy 2 remain phenomenal platformers. Mario’s adventure through the stars are just as breathtakingly brilliant today as they were 20 years ago, and if you missed either of them the first time around, you are in for a fantastic treat.

Odyssey may have since topped the Galaxy games with its sheer craftsmanship, but, in my eyes, this is still 3D Mario platforming at its very best, which also makes Galaxy and Galaxy 2 some of Nintendo’s very best games.