Anyone else love Galaxy 2 but not Galaxy 1 ?

Hi everyone,

This might sound weird to some people, but I wanted to share a personal take on the Mario Galaxy games.

I absolutely love Super Mario Galaxy 2 — to the point where I’ve completed it at 100% multiple times. The level design, the pacing, the challenges… everything just clicks with me. For me, it’s one of the best Mario games ever made.

On the other hand, I’ve never managed to enjoy Super Mario Galaxy 1, despite several attempts. It’s not about the gameplay or its objective quality (I fully acknowledge that it’s a great game), but more about the atmosphere. The more melancholic tone, the feeling of loneliness, the often very calm music… it just never hooked me — it doesn’t represent Mario to me.

Another big factor for me is the hub. I much prefer the Starship Mario over the Observatory from Galaxy 1. Sure, Starship Mario isn’t super deep either, but at least it fills up with life as the game progresses, with NPCs joining the ship. It gives a real sense of progression and warmth, whereas the Observatory feels pretty empty and uninteresting to me. And most importantly, I find that choosing a level is way less annoying in Galaxy 2 — everything is more direct, smoother, and less contemplative.

I find it interesting because a lot of people feel the exact opposite, or rank both games equally, while for me they evoke very different emotions.

And yes, I’m one of those people who love Galaxy 2 but don’t like Galaxy 1… I guess I’m just weird 🤷‍♂️ x)