The Wii was already a hit for a diverse set of gamers when it launched in 2006. The release of Super Mario Galaxy in 2007 only made the system stronger. It also made it even harder to find. The game is now over a decade old and remains trapped on the console.
There was a digital release on the Wii U, but it was just a straight port and nothing was enhanced. Players couldn’t even play on just the Wii U GamePad. Where is that rumored HD port on Switch? While fans eagerly await its hopeful arrival, let’s dive in and find out some secrets behind its development.
10 The Game’s Origins
The concept for Super Mario Galaxy dates back to Nintendo’s 2000 Space World event. It was here that they showed off the GameCube and a tech demo: Mario 128. In it was a spaceship with a spherical body which was a kernel of an idea, but was deemed too technical at the time. In an Iwata Asks feature with the director, Yoshiaki Koizumi, he had this to say in on the impossibility of it all. “I also felt that the motivation of the team members had to be very high in order to overcome this obstacle.”
9 The Director’s Origins
Speaking of the director, in an interview with Wired, he revealed a very humble beginnings with Nintendo. Straight out of college, his first assignment was to create the manual for The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past. He created more manuals, worked on story scenarios, and even assisted directing games like Super Mario 64 before he was given his first lead directing job via Super Mario Sunshine. This was followed by Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat and then this game.
8 The Storybook Sequences
“For a long time, it really felt like telling a story in a Mario game was something that wasn’t allowed.” This was a quote from that same Wired interview with Koizumi. They were talking about the creation of the storybook and that its implementation as an optional story was how it was allowed more or less into the game. Koizumi also liked the idea of the storybook as a concept to easily invite players in through the eyes of Rosalina.
7 Miyamoto’s Feedback
“One of the things that makes Miyamoto’s feedback so hard to understand is that none of his sentences have subjects.” In that same Wired interview, Koizumi was discussing how his team had to run most things by Miyamoto.
A man who would seemingly never say exactly what he meant and instead replied with word puzzles for Koizumi to unravel for the team. Koizumi joked that he thought only he could translate Miyamoto’s thoughts.
6 Spherical Worlds
“Hey, can you make something with spherical worlds?” This was something Koizumi said Miyamoto asked of him often. Apparently the idea of a spherical worlds goes all the way back to the N64, even before Mario 128. Actually, this sparked some controversy as Insomniac jokingly praised Nintendo for copying Ratchet and Clank which came out before Super Mario Galaxy. Miyamoto denied this in a Nintendo UK Magazine interview, claiming he had never heard of the game before and thought it was for PC.
5 Hakoniwa Design
In Japanese, Hakoniwa refers to a miniature garden, or a boxed garden, and Koizumi talked about them in that Wired interview. The idea of the garden inspired the game’s design. The philosophy behind it was that a garden could contain many things and from different perspectives, could create new experiences. This concept was used for other Mario games as well.
4 5 To 95
The goal of this game had a theme of creating something players from five to ninety-five could enjoy. This created a problem for difficulty as early builds presented to Miyamoto made him think the game was too easy. This was because the life bar was at eight, which they eventually whittled down to three to help balance the game’s challenge. “…we changed the life meter’s maximum to 3, and it became a lot easier to lose a Mario, but you could get more 1-Up Mushrooms to compensate.” This was explores in that Iwata Asks segment.
3 Not The Bees!
“Nobody liked that design at all, and everyone came up to me and complained…” Kenta Motokura, the lead character designer, reminisced with Iwata on early concepts of Bee Mario. Apparently besides looking different, it wasn’t a power-up at all. It was actually a curse. Thanks to feedback from some unnamed female co-workers, they kept the idea but refined it to be more appealing.
2 Finally Using An Orchestra
“It almost seems like while you’re playing the game, the music is coming from a CD player, and not from the game console and it feels like you are obligated to play the game in time to the music.”
This was said by Koji Kondo, one of the composers for the game, in that Iwata Asks segment. He was discussing why Nintendo didn’t want to use orchestrated music for their games. That and money costs. However, Mahito Yokota, another composer, eventually wore Miyamoto down and got it in the game.
1 Cut Content
Super Mario Galaxy had an infamous level of cut content in it. This spurred on development for its direct sequel, however, there were still some things that never made it into that either. There was HomePlanet, which was a hub world shown off at the E3 2006 demo. There is also concept art and even some polygonal models in the game’s code about this fortress planet: Starman Fort.
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