Super Mario Galaxy: Prima Official Game Guide Reviews

• About 200 pages too long

  
  By A3RBJZXB9M24Z9 on 2007-11-14
  It really confuses me that Prima seems to need so many pages to cover a game these days. Point in case: 336 pages for a game (Super Mario) that has exactly 120 primary objectives. I mean, geez, I have had text books that were shorter. Let's see . . . thats almost 3 pages for each star you need to collect. To be sure, this game has the same number of stars as Super Mario Sunshine (Game Cube) had shines, and the book Nintendo Power made for that game only needed a little over 100 pages to get you there. Don't get me wrong, if this were an RPG or some other game with dozens of sidequest and 40+ hours of gametime, I would expect a thick guide for it. Games like this, though, don't need that much explaining.
  
  I think part of the excessive length is that Prima keeps chosing to put almost everything into words instead of featuring more diagrams and screenshots that actually show players what to do. When is Prima going to get it that gamers like maps and illustrations, not having to read three pages to see how to get one thing. In some cases, they do provide a diagram, and yet still persist to ramble needlessly through half a page explaining the very same situation. This was also a problem with their guide for Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS). It too is 336 pages, yet the game has no more than 8 dungeons (haven't finished this one yet, and don't like to look at the guide unless I absolutely have to). The only conclusion I can come up with is that Prima is just bulking up their books to create a reason to raise the price.
  
  On top of being long, this book is also laid out very sloppy. There are no clean breaks between sections on different worlds. If one world ends three-quarters of the way down a page, the next one starts there, even if there is only one line and a hyphen to the next page. I'm not sure if the $30 deluxe version of the book improves on this or not, but I would hope for the hefty price tag that it does. This is not to mention the fact that this particular guide features white text on a nearly black background. Talk about retina burning. Still, the outerspace background pattern does look pretty nifty, so I'm not going to hold it against them in my score.
  
  On a more positive note, the writer has included some pretty interesting Mario-related trivia sidebars throughout. Most of this is, of course, targeted at younger gamers who may be new to the Mario universe. Still, though, there are a few bits that even the most experienced gamers probably don't know yet either. For all that is lacking in this book, I think this element is one of the things that Prima really did right.
  
  All in all, I am giving this guide 2 stars plus one (for exclusiveness). This is not, though, because it is that good. It's simply just the only one there is. It's really a shame that Future Publishing has decided to neglect to the player's guide segment of Nintendo Power since acquiring their licenses from the big N. Their guides were not only more detailed, but didn't require 300+ pages to explain it all.
  
  So in summary: this guide is not terrible, but it does leave a lot to be desired in terms of overall presentation.
  
  Quality and ease of use: 2
  "Only Guide Available" default points: 1
  TOTAL SCORE: 3 STARS
  
  

• A Handy Guide... But Very Exhaustive

  
  By A29BQ6B90Y1R5F on 2007-11-18
  It's become common place now to say that a Prima Guide is good, but exhaustive. The walkthroughs are usually detailed and good, but they are heavily disorganized and often require a lot of page flipping. The same thing is true of the Super Mario Galaxy guide. It's a great guide to help you through the game, and will help you find all 120 stars, but the walkthrough is so disorganized and exhaustive you'll find yourself reading whole sections before resuming play.
  
  It really gets you going on all the basics. Showing you all the controls and showing you the basic structure of the game's hub. It also tells you about the Galaxies and how to find all the hidden ones as well. Another great aspect about the guide is that you can find most of the information in the table of contents (you'll be flipping there often) for each episode. There are also some nice trivia call outs and notes for those who just want to know more about Mario.
  
  Again, however, while this walkthrough is very well done it just doesn't get to the point. It spends a lot of time narrating the story and saying things like this:
  
  "As soon as Mario finds all three bunnnies, a small castle appears on the planetoid. When Mario approaches, he spots a young woman dressed in cosmic blue, a color that exists only when the sun creeps out from behind the clouds. Her name is Rosalina, a she pledges to help Mario find Princess Peach. It seems that not only has Bowser stolen the princess, but he might be the culprit behind the thievery of special stars that help power Rosalina's Comet Observatory."
  
  That's just one paragragh from the beginning. This is fine and dandy but it gives no instruction. This tells me story but not what I'm supposed to do next. The narration goes on for paragraphs upon paragraphs upon paragraphs with only a sentence or two of actual guideance thrown in. I'm a good sport about spoilers. But it would be nice if a walkthrough were able to get to the point.
  
  The good news is that the screen shots and maps are excellent. You'll have to flip back to the maps a lot, though. Each section for each portion of the walkthrough is quite long.
  
  It's a helpful guide, but very exhaustive and will require a lot of page flipping. It spends a lot of time explaining what the game should be showing me. If you need help with the game, however, by all means, pick up this guide.
  
  

• Space Plumber

  
  By A3W4D8XOGLWUN5 on 2007-11-24
  When it comes to the best video game system on the market today, Nintendo really seems to have that nail perfectly hit on the head. With the success of the Wii, many gamers young and old have really been anxiously glad, playing the latest titles, like the great Super Mario Galaxy. But, what may feel like an exciting video game, doesn't always have the best strategy guides. Since Nintendo made the abrupt decision to stop making those player's guides, a third-party company, Prima, it hasn't really worked to the best advantages. The strategy guide for Super Mario Galaxy, doesn't hit that nail on the head. The guide features some hints and tidbits on how to unlock certain areas in the game, like the Egg Galaxy, and how to master villains like the Dino Piranha, a prehistoric version of Petey Piranha, and the infamous, Bowser. Sadly, though the guide is a bit out of focus on how to unlock certain features in the game, like unlocking Luigi as an aid into your search for stars and Princess Peach, or how to go through certain areas of the game. While the maps are fairly well put together, it just could've been a bit more helpful, but there is no choice for a substitute version. This is the actual only way to try to help you beat the pace with Super Mario Galaxy.
  
  Price: C+
  
  3-D Maps: C+
  
  Tips: B
  
  Extras: B-
  
  Overall: C 1/2+
  
  

• Terrible guide book

  
  By A2I891THGNEKLP on 2007-12-04
  This book is way too wordy, it takes them a whole paragraph to say one thing - and it's very easy to miss. It also does not order the book in correct order: i.e., the variations of the same level should be ORDERED right next to each other, instead of some random X number of pages later. The maps are also a joke, you can't actually look at the maps and say "oh this is where the star is" or get any information out of them.
  
  

• A Poor Guide For Such A Rich Game.

  
  By ATUPZN6SZRZG2 on 2008-02-19
  After reading some of the reviews on here I feel much better knowing that I am not alone when I say this guide is out of order. I hate to say this because I am one who has owned many guides and never had to complain about it being all over the place and this seems to be the very first one where I must say it's disorganized. Take for an example...After you beat The Good Egg Galaxy and you flip the next page states about the comet which will appear..ok when exactly and how many stars do you need so that can take place?! That really got me angry because it's suppose tell you when this event takes place I only came to find out when I had went to other planets and had a certain amount of stars that then the comet appear but that happend many stars later!! The guide did not tell me that at all! Then after they tell you about the comet they say Luigi appears in good egg galaxy but that ONLY happens after you go to another galaxy to another planet!! Then way post it in the good egg galaxy part when that event is not going to take place at that moment!!! As far as the maps it's really great and the pictures are great too also the author gives some educational tips but thats all. I payed 20.00 for a book thats unorganized. It bothers me because for such an award winning game you think they would make sure the guides do justice. I was doing really good with out the guide really but I knew if I didn't get it and I got stuck I would be kicking myself so I gave in. Sorry but this guide only gets one star. It may be beautiful but in the end the organization and words are way more important then that.
  
  
• Too bad it's the only guide available
  By A2TB6DIU22ICNB on 2007-11-30
  This has to be the worst game guide ever. Too bad it's the only one available. The guide consists of lots of text interspersed with tiny pictures. It's sort of a step-by-step guide to beating each level. There are no level maps, which is a real shame, you never really get to know all the details of the levels, just what they decide to describe in text.
  
  
• Nice detailed guide, but causes flipping
  By A3RQDCJ6PHPUWD on 2007-11-29
  Some reviews have complained about the massive size of this guide. This doesn't bother me that much, as I'd prefer to have more detailed guides than those that omit steps. I liked the screenshots and artwork in this guide, but it isn't perfect.
  
  It does need better separation between galaxies as stated in a another review. Also, you'll have to flip back and forth in the guide, especially if you are trying to collect every star. Besides the need to be more linear though, I don't have any major complaints with this guide.
  
  
• Unorganized, but occasionally helpful
  By A28FIXTN3E0ALY on 2008-02-11
  This has to be one of the most disorganized, hardest-to-follow guides I have ever read. The maps of galaxies are small and pointless. Explanations are sometimes great, but more often very hard to understand. If you're looking for the hidden stars, the guide has them listed but not in any kind of way that you can easily find the right page.
  
  
• great guide
  By A32HF21CGOBAYS on 2008-01-27
  I BOUGHT THIS GUIDE FOR MY 10YR OLD AFTER SHE GOT MARIO GALAXY FOR CHRISTMAS. WHEN SHE GETS STUCK ON A LEVEL SHE REFERS TO THE GUIDE FOR A CLUE. WORKS GREAT.MAKES GAME MUCH MORE ENJOYABLE.
  
  
• Super Mario Galaxies (guide & Game)
  By A1K4UIGG8E0IJW on 2008-01-29
  I purchased Super Mario Galaxies for the WII and while I enjoyed the graphics and gameplay, I realized I needed more information than just the on screen hints. So I purchased the strategy guide from [...]. As always, Amazon shipped the guide on time and it has been a great help to me and increased my enjoyment of the game. I would advise anyone who is serious about their gaming experience and who sometimes finds that they need a little help, to get this strategy guide. It really helps.
  
  
• I'm not sure if my kid likes it or not
  By A3HWC25QOE5DFG on 2008-02-05
  I got this for my son for Christmas and he hasn't mentioned this thing one time...come to think of it, I'm not even sure he's played with it. Not a good sign.
  
  
• Super Mario Galaxy: Prima Office Game Guide
  By A3AC1ZSAADWW9H on 2008-02-08
  This has been very helpful to undersatnd the game without telling directly how to do it.
  
  
• This Book SUCKS!
  By A1QG9HT5UT8DNZ on 2008-03-20
  Don't waste your money on this POS. If you need a walk through go to YouTube.
  
  This book is impossible to to learn from. The photos and text are far too small to read. The book does not follow any logical order.
  
  Please save your money. I could never find anything I was looking for.
  
  
• Game Guide Review
  By A3F2KKPH9PUJEF on 2008-07-10
  It works great. What else can I say? The only thing missing are cheat codes :)
  
  
• a lot of fun, another great Mario game
  By AP191288X6PBC on 2008-08-09
  My son who is a 7 year old loves this game. Could not put it down. This game is fun for all ages though.
  
  

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