Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a milestone for Nintendo in a couple ways. It marks the first time a Mario game has seen a direct sequel and it’s the realization of many of the goals first purported in the original Super Mario 64. It is the culmination of a decade’s worth of refinements to the concepts and mechanics of 3-D platforming and stands as one of Nintendo’s most crowning achievements for level design. While it doesn’t have the same explosive originality as the first Super Mario Galaxy, the refinements and additions are, in their own way, significant.

The story of Super Mario Galaxy 2 is next to irrelevant. Producer Shigeru Miyamoto has gone on record to say during the development process he insisted on eliminating as much story as possible and it certainly shows. The story that is there is standard Mario fare: Bowzer shows up, kidnaps Princess Peach, Mario treks across levels to get her back. The first cut-scenes are presented in a charming storybook-style page turning that works to aid the main goal: brevity. The entire experience of Super Mario Galaxy 2 is far more streamlined. Gone is the clunky hub-world of the original and, in its place, Mario travels the universe on his new mode of transportation, a spaceship shaped like his head (make that Faceship). Level progression works more like the Super Mario Bros. games of old with a direct path that has players move along as they progress through each level. It’s a welcomed fix for the confusing observatory of the original Galaxy.

Nearly everything about Super Mario Galaxy 2 feels polished and highly refined. The mechanics of the original such as gravity, moving from planet to planet, collecting Star Bits, the Comet challenges all seem to have been given a careful reconsideration. Nintendo has said Super Mario Galaxy 2 exists because, after finishing development on the first game, the developers had so many ideas left over they realized they could make another one. When it was first announced at last year’s E3, some wondered if it would be a re-hash of old ideas, thankfully those fears can all be put to rest. With the actual gameplay mechanics already in place, the developers were able to come up with some of the most dazzling level designs in the company’s history.

Every level offers some new mechanics or twist on the gameplay. Just when you think you’ve seen everything, Super Mario Galaxy 2 still manages to surprise you. Whether its new Power-Ups such as Cloud Mario, playing with Yoshi and his new abilities, or the ever-changing complexity of the levels, Galaxy 2 constantly has something new to offer. Additions like Yoshi offer a variety of new gameplay options. The dino’s trademark abilities of tongue-whipping and eating enemies are back with added power-ups such as Blimp Fruit which lets him float in the air like a balloon and red hot chilies which make him run extremely fast. It’s nice to finally have Yoshi back and playable in a 3D Mario title and, like pretty much everything else in the game, it serves the main purpose of inundating players with as many new ideas as possible. Luigi also returns as a playable character although fans won’t have to go through the trials they did in the first game just to get him. Mario’s oft-forgotten sibling shows up from time-to-time to have a go at a level. Playing as Luigi isn’t really different from Mario but it’s nice and, hey, there’s always hope for that elusive Luigi’s Mansion 2.

The sequel falls prey to the same problem many games have when up against the original. Super Mario Galaxy 2 isn’t the quantum leap forward as the first but that’s the price of being part of an iterative process. To say it’s simply “more of the same” wouldn’t be far off but it would also be doing a disservice to the creativity abound in Galaxy 2. Sure, the sequel is closely tied to the first game and a large majority of the mechanics remained unchanged, but it’s hard to complain when the outcome is this good. And frankly, there’s enough room in the world for two Galaxy games, especially when there’s this much creativity within. It’s a lot like the Beatles White Album. Sure, some have said they could have settled on one LP instead of two. They could have trimmed the fat, so to speak, and had a much tighter, shorter album. But it’s the Beatles! You get more of them which is never a bad thing so stop complaining.

However, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is not without a few issues. Some of the less-than-stellar Power-Ups from the original Galaxy return and whether you love or hate Bee Mario, there’s zero excuse anyone should ever be subjected to Spring Mario. It’s an odd thing, when the rest of a game is so finely tuned, any blemish really stands out. In a game as inventive as this, I was also disappointed to see the cooperative experience go mostly unchanged. If you have a second controller, another player can join in but forget about actually playing together. Player 2 is still relegated to collected Star Bits and other menials tasks. Sure, a second player can help out by pulling coins and objects to Mario as well as thwarting enemies and obstacles. But it still feels like a half-step into co-op play. For now, it seems like Nintendo is dividing the Mario experiences into solo and co-op play between Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros Wii.

My long-standing rivalry with unnecessary motion control continues. For the most part, the game makes the best use of the Wii’s hardware. IR is used intelligently to collect items and despite a lack of a second analog stick, camera control is a non-issue. The few stages, however, that rely on precise use of motion control gave rise to frustration. Several levels use a mechanic of shaking the Wii Remote to flip the platforms so Mario can advance. I often found my motions not registering despite shaking the remote and I quickly came back to my age-old argument of, if motion does not do anything enhance the gameplay, it should not be included. For the most part, motion is used sparingly and correctly, it’s just worth noting I ran into some instances where it did not feel as responsive as it should be.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 continues to push the system to its limits and offer a variety of stunning set pieces. The game looks gorgeous, making those praying for a Wii HD even more hopeful. But high-def or not, Nintendo knows how to get the most from its hardware. Some of the most spectacular moments are the various boss encounters. Hulking monstrosities fill the screen and while the Bowzer fights get depressingly repetitive, many of the boss battles are clever and worthwhile. In addition to the game’s visuals, special thanks should be paid to the games localization team. Nintendo’s Tree House team, which works to localize these games from Japanese to English, continues their streak of offering funny and concise dialogue. Over the last few years, I’ve really enjoyed seeing the humor they add and the direction they’ve taken characters like Bowzer.

Players worried if this game dumbs-down the experience to make room for casual Wii-Fitters need not worry; Super Mario Galaxy 2 is hard. It can definitely challenge veteran Mario players and continues to offer new trials long after they reach enough stars to beat the game. For those players who hit a rough patch, Nintendo has imported a feature from its last Mario game. The “Cosmic Guide” is similar to the “Super Guide” feature of New Super Mario Bros Wii. The game takes over and plays itself, allowing the player to take over at any time. Nifty for some of the later levels which offer quite a challenge and doesn’t get in the way of people who don’t want to use it.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 doesn’t carry the same impact as the original but it does bring some new things to the table. Added to that, there’s much to be said and appreciated about a game that takes some core mechanics and refines them down to a sharp point. The game feels like the one Nintendo has envisioned since the first time Mario ever stepped foot into 3D. It’s the product of years of fine tuning and a must-play for any Wii owner.