Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2

Genre: Compilation / 3D Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a Compilation containing the two named games, both remasters of Wii 3D Platformers and remasters released separately on Nintendo Switch in 2025, with this bundle releasing alongside them on Nintendo Switch in 2025.

I have separately reviewed these games. Here is what I thought of each of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Super Mario Galaxy	3D Platformer	1	A-
tl;dr Super Mario Galaxy is a 3D Platformer that is one of the greatest videogames of all time, with groundbreaking gravity-defying physics, great gameplay, outstanding imaginative level design, an incredible soundtrack, and creative use of gyroscopic motion control. This release is also the best version of this game ever made, with smart changes made to get the game working on Nintendo Switch (and improved further on Nintendo Switch 2). Having said all of that, the $40 price tag is absurdly pricey for an upscaled port of a game from 2007, and the changes here from the version of the game we received in Super Mario 3D All-Stars aren’t worth buying it again, especially at that price. If you’ve never played this before, consider this an absolute must-buy. But the questionable price and value hold this release back from getting my highest recommendation.
Super Mario Galaxy 2	3D Platformer	1	A-
tl;dr Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a 3D Platformer that is one of the greatest videogames of all time, with delightful gravity-defying physics, great gameplay, outstanding imaginative level design, an incredible soundtrack, and creative use of gyroscopic motion control. This release is also the best version of this game ever made, with smart changes made to get the game working on Nintendo Switch (and further improved on Nintendo Switch 2). Having said all of that, the $40 price tag is absurdly pricey for an upscaled port of a game from 2010. If you’ve never played this before, consider this an absolute must-buy. But the questionable price and value hold this release back from getting my highest recommendation.

So in short, these are both excellent games, and fantastic ports. It’s kinda’ a matter of opinion which of the two is better – I personally prefer the original Super Mario Galaxy, but the second game has some excellent stuff going for it too and I know there are plenty who prefer it over the original. However, regardless of your preference, both games are magnificent, some of the best videogames ever made, and have aged remarkably well.

So why the “A-” grades instead of the full “A++”? It comes down to value. You’re taking about games that, at the time of their release on Nintendo Switch, were 18 and 15 years old, and while this release improved the resolution, updated the controls, and generally ensured that these games would work well on a modern game platform… they’re still largely the same games that were released over a decade and a half ago. And for each to be priced at a whopping $40? That just seemed greedy to me, especially for releases that don’t dramatically transform the games.

When looking at this bundle, you do thankfully get a discount… but not much of one. At $70, you’re basically paying $35 per game. That’s better, but it’s still ridiculously overpriced for two games this old and this slightly improved, especially when the original games could be purchased digitally on the Wii U for $20 each a decade prior. While yes, these games lacked the resolution bump the Nintendo Switch versions received, I think it’s fair to say that bump and the few other minor improvements don’t really justify a price increase of $15 per game.

Sale prices aren’t going to change things much either. The separate releases haven’t gotten any sales since they released, nor has the digital release of the bundle. The only sales that any of the Super Mario Galaxy releases that the Nintendo Switch has seen, as of this writing, is the physical release of the bundle. And even then, it’s only gone down to $55 at lowest (and only very briefly, at that).

There’s another issue here too – many players already got Super Mario Galaxy as a part of the limited release game Super Mario 3D All-Stars. While that release lacks Amiibo support, small additions like the added storybook pages, and the Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade patch (which I’ll discuss farther down), I don’t think the changes are enough to justify buying the game a second time in this bundle, unless you’re buying physical and really, really want to get a physical release of Super Mario Galaxy 2.

So after everything is said… leave it to Nintendo to sour the re-release of two of their greatest games of all time by refusing to price that release in a way that makes its value reflect the quality of the games themselves. If you’ve never played either of these games you should still absolutely consider this a must-buy, but for everyone else, just know that while these games are still great, Nintendo is charging you an arm and a leg to get them here, and while this bundle does save you a little over the cost of buying them separately, it’s still horribly overpriced.

tl;dr – Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 is a pair of 3D Platformers that are two of the greatest videogames of all time, with fantastic gravity-defying physics, great gameplay, outstanding imaginative level design, an incredible soundtrack, and creative use of gyroscopic motion control. This release is also the best version of both games ever made (save for the even better versions you get when you play them on Nintendo Switch 2), with smart changes made to get the games working on Nintendo Switch. Having said all of that, the $70 price tag is absurdly pricey for upscaled ports of games from 2007 and 2010, plus many players will already have Super Mario Galaxy on Nintendo Switch after buying the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. If you’ve never played these games before, consider this an absolute must-buy. But the questionable price and value hold this release back from getting my highest recommendation.

Grade: A-

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2

Genre: Compilation / 3D Platformer

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Unlike the version of Super Mario Galaxy that comes as a part of the Super Mario 3D All-Stars bundle, the 2025 releases of both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 both received free Nintendo Switch 2 patches that improve the games. I separately go into both of these in the individual reviews for those games, but here’s the rundown of everything:

First things first, both releases get a resolution bump from the docked 1080p resolution of the Nintendo Switch releases to 4K resolution, while bringing the resolution in handheld mode up from 720p to 1080p. Both of these improvements are noticeable, and make for an even better-looking game.

Second, the 2-player co-op “Co-Star Mode” of each of the included games now not only supports gyroscopic motion controls, but can also be controlled via Mouse Mode, which is wonderfully accurate and responsive. I should note that this Mouse mode support only applies to the second player – if you’re playing in single-player, you’ll still need to use gyroscopic motion control to move the cursor on-screen.

Finally, there are improved loading times… though only just barely. I break down measurements in the individual reviews, but in short you’ll save about 3 seconds of loading on the original Super Mario Galaxy, while Super Mario Galaxy 2 balances out to be about the same. Not exactly a huge selling point here.

Really, this update is mostly about the improved resolution, and playing both of these games in 4K is really excellent, making this absolutely the best versions of two of the best videogames ever made. Does that make the $70 price tag for this bundle any more reasonable? Well…. not really, no. But it’s nice to have such excellent versions of these games, all the same. And if you’ve never played them before, this is all the more reason to pick this bundle up right away, because gripes about price aside, this is the best versions of two of the best videogames ever made.

tl;dr – Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 is a pair of 3D Platformers that are two of the greatest videogames of all time, with fantastic gravity-defying physics, great gameplay, outstanding imaginative level design, an incredible soundtrack, and creative use of gyroscopic motion control. This release is also the best version of both games ever made, with smart changes made to get the games working on Nintendo Switch (and further improved on Nintendo Switch 2). Having said all of that, the $70 price tag is absurdly pricey for upscaled ports of games from 2007 and 2010, plus many players will already have Super Mario Galaxy on Nintendo Switch after buying the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. If you’ve never played these games before, consider this an absolute must-buy. But the questionable price and value hold this release back from getting my highest recommendation.

Grade: A-

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