Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 on Switch 2: Precision-Platforming Perfection, Reborn

If you told me back when the Wii landed that a space-hopping plumber would still be redefining 3D platformers in 2025, I’d have asked you to put down the Bee Mushroom. But here we are, and Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 have arrived on Nintendo Switch 2 with the kind of confidence only certified GOATs carry. These were already two of the slickest, smartest platformers ever made. On Switch 2, they’re cleaner, quicker, and somehow even easier to adore.

I’ll get the easy sentence out first: this is the best way to play both Galaxy games today. It’s not just nostalgia goggles; it’s the level design, the physics, the way the camera works with gravity instead of fighting it, the elite soundtrack, and the constant drip-feed of fresh ideas. The new hardware smooths edges and speeds up everything, but the real magic is the same magic that blew minds in 2007 and 2010. If you missed these the first time, you’re in for a rare treat. If you played them to 120/242 stars already, welcome home.

For a solid outside perspective, I dug into GamingBible’s review, and yeah—the vibe checks out: “Gaming doesn’t get much better than this” is not hyperbole. Let’s break down why the Galaxy duo still eats most 3D platformers for breakfast, what’s new on Switch 2, and whether it’s worth double-dipping.

Why Galaxy Still Hits Like a Red Shell to the Knees

Super Mario Galaxy did something almost nobody successfully attempted before or after: it made gravity a toy. Every planetoid is a mini sandbox with its own center of gravity. You run around tiny spheres, drop to inverted sides of pancakes, and sling-shot between rocks like an orbital Spider-Man. The spin move is your pivot—an all-purpose timing tool that’s both attack and activation. What makes it genius is how often it’s remixed:

• On ice, spin to pivot and maintain momentum.
• On sand, spin to break free of sinking traps.
• With the Cloud Flower (Galaxy 2), each spin is a precious platform.
• With Yoshi (Galaxy 2), spins integrate with the tongue for aerial chains.

Galaxy’s camera, which had every reason to be a nightmare, is instead an unsung hero. Yes, there are rare angle quirks, but most of the time it flows around planetoids, always prioritizing where you’re headed. Movement is heavier than Odyssey but precise, so you feel each commit. The result is rhythm. Even today, most 3D platformers land their fun either in movement or level puzzles—not both. Galaxy is a masterclass in combining them.

Galaxy 1 vs Galaxy 2: Same DNA, Different Mood

They’re siblings, but not twins. Here’s how their vibes split:

Super Mario Galaxy (2007)

The first Galaxy is mood-heavy and playful with story. The Comet Observatory hub with Rosalina is a vibe setter—quiet, melancholic, and low-key cosmic. You’ll remember the first time you long-jumped between tiny planetoids in Good Egg Galaxy, or when the orchestra kicks in during Gusty Garden’s soaring flight sequence. The power-up roster is wild (Bee, Boo, Spring), and the Comet challenges shuffle objectives in a way that keeps returns to galaxies fresh—Daredevil runs, time trials, Purple Coin hunts. It’s paced like a tour through a museum of cool ideas.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010)

Galaxy 2 trims the fat and doubles the difficulty. The hub is basically a menu disguised as Starship Mario, letting you hit great levels faster. It leans hard into pure platforming and set-piece design, while adding killer toys: Yoshi (with flutter jumps and a tongue that lets you manipulate the environment), the Spin Drill (dig through planetoids for mind-bending routes), and banger new suits like Rock and Cloud Mario. It also tucks a second quest into the endgame with Green Stars—collectathon challenges that recontextualize every space you thought you knew. Galaxy 2 is where veterans live.

Which is better? Depends on what you worship. If you care about tone and galaxy-scale vibes, Galaxy 1 is timeless. If you want compact, S-tier platforming tuned for mastery, Galaxy 2 flexes harder. Together, they cover both ends of the 3D Mario spectrum—narrative texture and mechanical peak.

What’s New on Switch 2: Performance, Controls, and QoL

No remaster should mess with Mario’s physics. This one doesn’t. What it does do is give the worlds room to breathe. Image quality is noticeably sharper, edges are smoother, textures look less watercolor-smeared at mid-distance, and the framerate is buttery. The big takeaway: you get that locked-in, responsive feel that sells every jump and spin. Load times are also brutally fast now—jumping into galaxies barely has time to show you the title card before you’re in.

Controls are where things could’ve gone off the rails, but Nintendo sticks the landing:

• Pointer Reimagined: The original used the Wii Remote IR pointer. On Switch 2, you’ve got modern gyro for docked play and a snappy touchscreen-style cursor behavior in handheld. It’s quick to recenter, stable, and less jittery than the Switch-era 3D All-Stars pointer. Collecting Star Bits and grabbing Pull Stars feels natural again.
• Handheld Comfort: Touch input to collect Star Bits is back and way more responsive, especially for lining up mid-air Pull Star chains. It’s never as surgical as a mouse, but the new smoothing makes it feel right instead of “good enough.”
• Rumble and Audio: Haptics have more definition—spin attacks “pop,” Cloud platforms have a crisp puff, and Rock Mario rumbles like a rolling boulder. The orchestral soundtrack is presented cleanly and with added clarity; it’s the same legendary score, just crisper.
• Camera and Accessibility: Expect more flexible sensitivity options, invert toggles, and a cleaner path to tweak controls. A small but appreciated win.

Quality-of-life touches are subtle. Menus move faster. Restarting comets or reattempting tough stars is quicker. You can bounce between galaxies without feeling like you’re waiting in line. Nothing flashy—just friction removed.

Level Highlights That Still Live Rent-Free

If you’ve never played Galaxy, here’s a sampler of moments that show why these games are so beloved:

• Good Egg Galaxy (SMG1): The intro galaxy that teaches you gravity with little islands you can circumnavigate in seconds. Tight, readable, and instantly magical.
• Gusty Garden Galaxy (SMG1): The gust currents let you surf the air, and the signature track might be the single most iconic Mario theme since Dire, Dire Docks.
• Buoy Base Galaxy (SMG1): A vertical water/metal labyrinth that layers music as you surface. Platforming that feels like solving a 3D puzzle box.
• Toy Time Galaxy (SMG1): A playful mix of gravitational flips and magnet paths on a giant Mario toy—pure joy engineered into blocks.
• Throwback Galaxy (SMG2): Whomp’s Fortress from Super Mario 64 returns, remixed with Galaxy’s gravity and camera. Nostalgia meets refinement.
• Cloudy Court and Tall Trunk (SMG2): Cloud Mario shines in platform-building finesse; Tall Trunk’s slide levels are speedrun bait.
• Grandmaster Galaxy (SMG2): The Perfect Run. If you know, you know. If you don’t, hydrate and stretch. It’s peak white-knuckle Mario.

What amazes me on replay is how dense these levels are with fresh mechanics. You rarely see the same idea twice without a twist. Even now, after a decade of clones trying to bottle this lightning, Galaxy’s imagination curve is unmatched.

Galaxy vs Modern Platformers: How Does It Stack in 2025?

Super Mario Odyssey is the closest rival. It’s freer, trick-heavy, and extremely rewarding for movement tech sickos. Bowser’s Fury pushes open-world experimentation. Astro Bot brings tight obstacle-course design and tactile gimmicks, while Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart flexes tech pyro with dimensional swaps. All great. But Galaxy’s gravitational design is still different. It’s not a sandbox for movement expression like Odyssey; it’s a gauntlet of crafted illusions where physics is the central theme. That focus gives it staying power.

Galaxy 2, specifically, still plays like a near-perfect speedgame. The levels are optimized for clarity and execution. You can feel the invisible line the designers drew from SM64’s clean geometry to Galaxy 2’s super-readable routes. There’s no bloat, no collectibles for filler’s sake. Just stars, comets, and green star prowls that reward curiosity and precision.

Compared to modern 3D platformers, Galaxy’s art direction remains its secret weapon. By leaning into bold shapes, saturated colors, and gradients, it upscales beautifully on newer displays. Where hyper-detailed textures age fast, Galaxy’s stylized space-toy aesthetic just gets sharper. That’s why this “remaster” works without needing a full remake.

Co-Op, Motion, and The Eternal Pointer Debate

Co-op in Galaxy is still assist-mode, not full-on two-player chaos. The second player uses the pointer to grab Star Bits, freeze enemies, and trigger bits of the environment. In Galaxy 2, Co-Star Luma elevates this a notch, giving the helper more bite. It’s perfect for playing with younger siblings or non-gamer friends—supportive without ruining the main player’s flow.

Now, motion. Back on Wii, the pointer was the selling point. In 2025, it’s the polarizer. Personally, I think the Switch 2 solution threads the needle. Gyro is quick, recenters fast, and doesn’t fight you. Handheld tap-to-collect Star Bits is surprisingly accurate. It’s still not as granular as a mouse pointer, and a few late-game spots ask for precision under pressure. But for most stars, it’s clean. If you hated motion on principle, you might still prefer docked gyro over waggle spam. Thankfully, spin attacks are a button, not a shake. Praise be.

Soundtrack That Punches Straight Through Space

Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo’s orchestral work is the beating heart here. Galaxy’s soundtrack is heroic without being corny, epic without being loud. Gusty Garden is the obvious headliner, but tracks like Buoy Base, Melty Molten Galaxy, and Sky Station hit just as hard. Galaxy 2’s Cloudy Court track has that delicate, playful vibe that perfectly matches Cloud Mario’s airy platforms. On Switch 2, the mix feels cleaner, with instruments popping a touch more in the midrange. Walking into a new galaxy and hearing a fresh motif swell under you? That’s the good stuff.

Value Check: One Package, Two Masterpieces

Let’s be real: pricing always matters. Getting both Galaxy games in one modern package is the version we should’ve had in 2020. The big leap here is Galaxy 2 finally being back on a current system with the controls it deserves. The fact that both games run crisply, look sharper, and load near-instantly makes this a no-brainer for anyone who loves 3D platformers. Even if you cleared 3D All-Stars’ Galaxy 1, Galaxy 2’s inclusion plus the control polish and performance boost make this feel fresh instead of a rehash.

If you’re hunting for more ways to tune your experience, I’ve got a couple deep dives that pair nicely with a Galaxy binge: build a comfy rig with our gaming setup guide and peep the absurd power jump in our RTX 5090 review if you’re curious how PC land is flexing these days. Different worlds, same goal: make games feel amazing.

Who Is This For?

• New Players: Don’t be fooled by the smiling stars—Galaxy will test you, but it teaches cleanly. Failures feel fair. The first half is welcoming; the back half asks for mastery.
• Veterans: Galaxy 2’s Green Stars and comet challenges remain excellent skill checks. The tighter feel and faster loads on Switch 2 make reruns addictive. Perfect Run still slaps.
• Collectors and Curators: Two of the best-designed platformers ever, preserved in a way that respects their feel and presentation. This belongs on your system permanently.

Pros and Cons After Dozens of Stars

What absolutely rules

• Legendary level design that constantly iterates without padding.
• Gravity mechanics that still feel bold and fresh in 2025.
• Smooth performance and quick loads on Switch 2—perfect for “one more star.”
• Pointer controls refined with gyro and handheld touch feel natural.
• Galaxy 2 finally returns with Yoshi, Cloud, and Rock mechanics in their prime.
• Orchestral soundtrack hits harder than most modern cinematic scores.

Where it still shows seams

• Occasional camera quirks on cramped planetoids are part of the package.
• Motion/pointer reliance won’t convert hardcore haters, especially in late-game challenges.
• Co-op is still assist-mode—great for families, not a full second-player experience.
• If you only want “new” content, these are classic experiences polished, not reinvented.

Tech Talk: Image, Input, Feel

Platformers live or die on responsiveness and readability. This collection nails both. The art direction means you don’t need ultra-modern lighting tricks; what you notice are cleaner silhouettes, smoother edges on planets, brighter starfields, and easier-to-read depth on moving platforms. The input latency feels tight, and the button-mapped spin attack makes precise juggling way easier than the original’s forced waggle. Combined with modern gyro that doesn’t drift every five seconds, you get confidence. And confidence is the difference between a clutch comet clear and a controller yeet.

There’s also a tiny but meaningful vibe shift from faster restarts. Failing a Daredevil comet and being back in instantly turns pain into practice. That loop is addictive in the best way—more like Super Meat Boy micro-resets than old-school waiting in line for another try. Galaxy was always great at teaching through repetition; now the repetition isn’t padded.

Galaxy, Legacy, and Why This Matters

Games don’t get the respect they deserve if they get trapped on old hardware. Galaxy 1 + 2 coming to Switch 2 isn’t just a convenience play. It’s preservation of two of the most influential 3D platformers ever made, now accessible with controls that make sense in 2025. It also shows how strong art direction and design clarity outlast tech trends. You can add 4K pixels and HDR sparkles to anything, but you can’t brute-force “feel.” Galaxy has feel in every jump arc and slingshot sequence.

Odyssey might be the flashier pick for movement stunts, and I’ll still happily clown around in New Donk City. But when I want to test my timing, learn a level’s heartbeat, and ride an orchestral swell into a clean star grab, Galaxy is the blueprint. I’m thrilled new players get to discover Galaxy 2’s spikes and triumphs without digging up a Wii. Also, speedrunners, you already know what’s about to happen to the leaderboards. Good luck, godspeed.

Final Verdict

Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 on Switch 2 is exactly what I wanted: the definitive way to play two of Nintendo’s best. Performance is smooth, visuals are sharper, controls are thoughtfully modernized, and the core design is still untouchable. The occasional camera hiccup and the motion-adjacent pointer won’t be for everyone, but they’re quirks in a package that otherwise flies. If you’re into 3D platformers at all, this is essential.

Big shout to GamingBible’s review for echoing the hype—because gaming really doesn’t get much better than this. Grab the controller, spin up some clouds, and make that jump.

Conclusion: Two Galaxies, Zero Misses

We don’t get many collections this strong. Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2 isn’t just nostalgia—it’s a living masterclass in level design, control feel, and musical storytelling, now running at a pace that keeps you glued to the “one more star” loop. Whether you’re chasing comet medals or finally facing The Perfect Run, this is a return trip worth taking.

What did you think? Which galaxy owns your heart—Gusty Garden or Throwback? Did the pointer win you over this time, or are you still in the “buttons only” club? Drop your takes, favorite stars, and rage moments in the comments. And if you want a break from space, warm up those inputs with our Tekken 8 guide and then come back for that Grandmaster Galaxy cleanse. See you between the stars.