16 Years Later, The Greatest Super Mario Game Of All Time Deserves A Sequel

The mainline Super Mario series has rarely faltered in quality or ambition, delivering critically acclaimed, genre-defining, industry-impacting, and extraordinarily memorable experiences every time. It is a testament to the sheer level of creativity at Nintendo that each Mario game, regardless of whether it is 3D or 2D, manages to provide a completely new experience filled with novel mechanics fans have never seen before or dreamed was even possible. Naturally, the very best in the series have gone on to enjoy enduring legacies, received numerous sequels, and have largely defined the future of the series for quite some time.

Of course, this isn't always the case, and there are a few Mario games that have aged poorly, which, understandably, have been left to the wayside a little, forgotten by Nintendo and mostly by fans. However, rather surprisingly, the very best Super Mario game hasn't ended up in the former category with its sequel-collecting contemporaries, but rather the latter, ending up somehow abandoned, even after 15 years. Frankly, it is finally time Nintendo did something about it.

After 15 Years, We Need Super Mario Galaxy 3

Super Mario Galaxy is truly like no other game in the series. It isn't just the incredibly emotional, heart-pounding orchestral soundtrack that perfectly elevates its cosmic setting, nor the beautifully realized and intricately designed worlds that float between the stars, nor the phenomenal story woven between each level that helps contextualize the whimsy, magic, and transcendent atmosphere pervading throughout. Rather, it is Super Mario Galaxy's expertly executed singular vision that makes it so special, and the level of dedication it gives to its world and characters and vibe in a way no other Mario game has ever really done.

There is a reason Super Mario Galaxy and its equally brilliant sequel are widely regarded as some of the very best Mario games of all time, why its premise and universe served as the foundations of the second Mario movie, and why so many of its fans, myself included, are often angling for a sequel. It has been 16 years since the release of Super Mario Galaxy 2, and since then, aside from the aforementioned movie, Nintendo has not announced any plans to continue the series in any fashion.

Of course, it is uncommon nowadays for a Super Mario game to get more than one sequel, if any at all. So, I completely understand that Nintendo, which may very well have exhausted all of its ideas for a planet-hopping Mario adventure, may not want to develop a third Super Mario Galaxy game. However, there is undoubtedly the potential for more adventures within its galactic setting, not least because its unique approach to level design made for a significantly more interesting platformer than many of its successors ever were.

It's Been Too Long Since The Last 3D Mario

I think part of my desire for a new Super Mario Galaxy game stems from the nearly decade-long wait since the last 3D Mario title. Sure, we've had an abundance of fan projects since then, including a Super Mario Galaxy fan game, but nothing official from Nintendo. Naturally, the company is juggling different properties, genres, and hardware and cannot cater to every fanbase as quickly or as often as they'd like. We also did get a phenomenal 2D Mario game, one that filled in a gap that had been left empty since the last 2D Mario game in 2019.

However, the appetite for more 3D Mario games is clearly there, and Nintendo has left us all in the dark about what the next major Mario game will be. It's no wonder then that fans like myself are clamoring for a new Super Mario Galaxy, or, really, a return to the heyday of the series, which is beginning to feel interminably further and further away. It is altogether possible that my impatient ramblings will be made moot tomorrow, and Nintendo will announce not just a new 3D Mario, but a new entry into the Galaxy series.

Yet, the longer one waits, the longer one becomes disillusioned, expecting the worst, and assuming that what once felt inevitable will never happen. That would be absolutely acceptable, as ultimately, it is up to Nintendo what it creates, and it will never abandon the 3D Mario franchise completely. However, I still find myself returning to a Eurogamer interview from 2015, in which Shigeru Miyamoto said that "[A new Mario Galaxy] is always in discussion," and hoping that, one day, we'll finally get a new Super Mario Galaxy game that I and many others have dreamed about for 16 years.