With ‘Super Mario Galaxy,’ the Switch 2 Feels More Like the Wii Than Ever

Remember Super Mario Galaxy (not the upcoming movie)? You better. It’s one of those games that came out for Nintendo’s oddest console, the Wii, built for the system with a controller shaped like a TV remote. It was more than innovative for the time. No other game has managed to replicate Galaxy’s complicated gravity simulation. Every jump and leap sends Mario orbiting around a planetoid, the camera barely able to keep up. It’s as magnificent now on the Switch 2 with a big 4K television as it was back in 2007, played on my old, boxy CRT TV. It looks better, but does it play better when we replace the Wii Remote with a Joy-Con 2?

Nintendo invited me to play through a single level in both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. The company is selling each game separately for $40, or you can buy them both together for $70 at a “mama mia”-level price for an 18-year-old game. The Mario maker implied this is a good deal since you’re getting new storybook chapters, enhanced textures, and 4K resolution at your regular 16:9 aspect ratio. There’s also a new “Assist Mode” that adds extra health and will automatically rescue Mario if he falls into a black hole. It’s a recreation, and based on my brief experience with it, it’s a good one.

Gyro isn’t quite the same as the Wii Remote

The original Super Mario Galaxy used the Wii Remote plus Nunchuk attachment to enable Mario’s normal suite of jump attacks, plus the pointer to pick up the candy-colored sprites and launch them at enemies. Galaxy’s controls were notably simplified compared to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine to make up for the lack of face buttons on the Wiimote. Now on the Switch 2, we can only approximate what the original game felt like.

The Joy-Con 2 controllers use the built-in gyroscopes to simulate the pointer on screen. You can use the motion controls or the X button to complete Mario’s spin attack and the ZR shoulder button to launch sprites or grab onto “Pull Stars.” In Super Mario Galaxy 2, the gyro is also how you aim Yoshi’s tongue for licking enemies (both in terms of swallowing them and tossing them around).

You can also use Nintendo’s Switch 2 Pro controller or any other third-party gamepad with a gyro built in. Based on my experience with Galaxy, holding up the controller and swishing it around is more uncomfortable than lounging with a Joy-Con 2 in each hand. Unlike the Wii, which used an infrared sensor bar to track your remote, the Switch 2 doesn’t have that capability. If you lose the sensor or shift your controller, you’ll reset the cursor by hitting one of the R buttons. This means you don’t have to point the Joy-Con 2 directly at the screen, though you may lose track of your cursor if your hand starts to drift.

I experienced a few issues with the Joy-Con 2 registering with the game, though Nintendo told me it may have been an issue with so many Switch 2 units around, and it shouldn’t be a problem with the final game. I’m keen to believe them; Nintendo had already rereleased the original 2007 on the first Switch with the limited run of Super Mario 3D All-Stars. The title on Switch 2 is certainly the better version. The pastel colors seem jarring today when you compare the original’s 480p resolution to the modern version at 4K and native widescreen support. The game looks like a storybook, with every color big and bold, surrounded by the glow of space and a sea of stars. There’s an ethereal quality to the world and its characters. Once you show the game side by side with its older version, you can see how much the updated textures make a difference.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond plays great with gyro and mouse

I only wish the game came with mouse controls as well. Such a feature seemed like a shoo-in when Nintendo first showed off the game at last week’s Direct. The fact that it’s missing from the Switch 2 version leaves potential gameplay off the table. I also managed to play the first level of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond—a game I have been awaiting for so many years. It’s the same demo Nintendo showed off before the Switch 2’s debut, but it may be one of the games emblematic of everything the console has to offer.

Metroid Prime’s classic lock-on mechanic combines with gyro controls that edge closest to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption on the original Wii. Then, with the added mouse controls, you can seamlessly switch between gyro and precision mouse aiming just by putting the Joy-Con 2 down on a flat surface. Easy swapping to and from mouse controls is the one element missing from the otherwise excellent port of Cyberpunk 2077. Now I can’t help but think of how I want sequels to the incredible Metroid Prime: Remastered, but with options to enable Metroid Prime 4’s controls.

Metroid Prime 4 will cost the same $70 as the Galaxy remake.