Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 review for Nintendo Switch

System: Switch
Release date: October 2, 2025
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo

The 40th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. series is finally here, and Nintendo’s most notable offering for the event has now arrived as well. By now, there isn’t too much to say about Super Mario Galaxy or Super Mario Galaxy 2 that hasn’t already been said – they’re absolutely brilliant 3D platformers and are properly rated as some of the greatest games of all time. Thankfully, that brilliance continues to shine bright on Nintendo Switch (and Switch 2) with the new re-release. Long story short: if you can stomach the $70 asking price, this is the best official way to play two of Nintendo’s greatest games. The developers have made a whole host of minor changes to these titles that make them a joy to play through, even to this day.

Let’s start off with what you’re probably here for: the performance of these ports on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and what’s been changed within them. To start with, here are the specs for each title: on the original Nintendo Switch, both games run at 1080p in docked and 720p in handheld. On Nintendo Switch 2, a free update is available that bumps up the resolution to 4K when docked and 1080 in handheld. No matter which console you play on, the games run at 60 frames per second – which is to be expected for a pair of Wii ports.

As for Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 themselves, the biggest difference I noticed is that they’re much easier to play in handheld mode. In Super Mario 3D All-Stars, the only way to control Super Mario Galaxy’s pointer was to use the touch screen. This time around, both titles have gyro aiming incorporated within handheld mode as an additional option. There’s still no option to use the right stick as a pointer, which may be off-putting to some, but I found that the gyro aiming works well enough most of the time. Handling Yoshi and the gliding levels in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is definitely better suited to a TV, but it’s perfectly workable in handheld mode if you need it to be. Another great change I noticed: in the original games, you were prompted to save after each Power Star. Now, the game simply auto-saves your progress instead without wasting a few seconds of your time after clearing every level. Over time, all of those save menus added up – and now they’re completely gone, though you can still choose to manually save and quit when you’re done playing.

Additionally, many of the textures have been redrawn and upscaled to 4K resolution. For being well over a decade old, these games hold up. They don’t look as good as Super Mario Odyssey, of course, but they come really close given their age. You may have seen some coverage that show textures with less detail than their original counterparts, but in some cases I found that the camera angle changes the way certain textures reflect light, which makes them look less detailed. Overall, I like the new textures and details – I personally haven’t really noticed anything that looks particularly bad. Super Mario Galaxy’s opening cutscene has also been re-rendered to remove the top and bottom cinematic bars, and it looks better than ever in this collection. The music is exactly the same as in the original games, save for a new track or two added as part of Rosalina’s storybook.

Both titles now support amiibo, but to be honest, the compatibility is pretty pointless. If you tap a Mario or Rosalina amiibo, you’ll receive a Life Mushroom or 1-Up Mushroom, respectively. Normally, these aren’t particularly useful because both games are fairly easy. If you tap a different Mario character, you’ll receive 1 Coin, and if you tap a non-Mario character, you’ll receive three Star Bits. Those last two rewards feel particularly insulting – who’s tapping an amiibo for three Star Bits? What are three Star Bits doing for anybody? The new Mario and Rosalina amiibo coming out in April 2026 look amazing, but there are two problems: they’re rather expensive, for one, plus I don’t think anybody is going to go back to either of these ports to use their new amiibo. Those two grant Life Mushrooms and 1-Up Mushrooms as well, so they don’t have any special functionality. Some other, smaller additions include Assist Mode, mouse controls for the second player only, and a music player on the main menu.

We probably don’t have to tell you how good Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are, but we’ll include a little blurb here regardless just in case you’ve never played them. Super Mario Galaxy itself is already somehow 18 years old – and in that time, it’s established itself as one of the greatest games ever. Its creativity, atmosphere, and sense of wonder were unmatched when it first released in 2007. Indeed, the atmosphere is arguably Super Mario Galaxy’s greatest strength. Sure, you’ve got your happy, upbeat levels typical of your average Mario adventure – but plenty of the game’s stake a different approach. I’ll always remember exploring Space Junk Galaxy for the first time as a kid, marveling at the views of deep space and listening to its beautiful soundtrack. Speaking of which, Super Mario Galaxy’s soundtrack is perhaps the greatest in the entire Mario franchise – it isn’t just the Gusty Garden Galaxy that has a memorable theme. The Gateway Galaxy, Battlerock Galaxy, Buoy Base Galaxy, and the Purple Coins theme are all some of my favorite tracks in gaming. If you’ve somehow never played this game and make it all the way through, you’ll definitely have at least some of its music stuck in your head afterwards.

For many, the main attraction in this collection is Super Mario Galaxy 2. The original Super Mario Galaxy was released on Nintendo Switch as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars in 2020, but that game conveniently left out and ignored the sequel. Now, the two are being re-released together to promote The Super Mario Galaxy Movie coming out next year. And while I personally prefer Super Mario Galaxy for its atmosphere, many actually do prefer Super Mario Galaxy 2 for its gameplay additions and content. Generally speaking, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is more linear and streamlined than its predecessor, and includes things like in-game collectibles (Comet Medals) that the original game lacked. It’s also got Yoshi, who adds an extra layer of strategy to the levels he appears in. Both titles feel as good to play as ever – if you’ve played Super Mario Odyssey or Donkey Kong Bananza, the Galaxy games are a bit slower and don’t have as much of a focus on movement techniques. Still, their levels are designed around this slower pace, and exploring every galaxy each game has to offer is as fun as it’s always been.

Even over a decade and a half later, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 have stood the test of time and now reassert themselves as some of the greatest games of all time. If you’ve somehow never played them, this is the best way to legitimately do that. The collection is certainly pricey, and any criticism towards that price is certainly justified to an extent – when you charge this much for a pair of older (albeit excellent) games, I do feel like you open yourself up to additional scrutiny. But if you’re able to get past that high price tag or get the collection on sale somehow, then you’ve got two titles that will together add up to hours and hours of fun. If I had to guess, it might be a while before the next brand-new 3D Mario game. But if it somehow winds up being Super Mario Galaxy 3 after all this time, then these two titles are a perfect way to whet your appetite for what’s to come.