Why Nintendo "Forgot" Super Mario Galaxy 2
Channel: Video Game Story Time
Date: 2020-09-08

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is on its way, with three fantastic Mario games: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. But where's Super Mario Galaxy 2?

Now, to be very, very clear: we do not have a definitive answer for why Super Mario Galaxy 2 is not in Super Mario 3D All-Stars. We can't claim any kind of insight into this matter, nor the attitude within Nintendo with regards to this game.

That said, reading old developer interviews from the time of Super Mario Galaxy 2's creation, it's clear that many of the creators who worked on the game...really didn't want to.

At least at first, although, it's hard to say for certain how they felt, as the interview were all intended to promote the game, and "I didn't want to make this" isn't a great point for the marketing campaign.

So, the developers talk about how they initially were really burned out and didn't want to make Mario Galaxy 2, and how Yoshiaki Koizumi and Shigeru Miyamoto wrestled for creative control before spending five hours in heated "discussion" over the past and future of the Mario franchise. Perhaps we'll touch on that more in a future video.

We cut some content out of this one, by the way. We didn't even mention how the developers got incredibly frustrated with feedback from playtesters who complained about how Yoshi controls in the game. One person said, "That's not my Yoshi!" while another argued that Yoshi should not be ridden by Mario! This in particular feels like a frustrating piece of feedback to receive while working on a Mario game!

So if Nintendo seems hesitant to mention Mario Galaxy 2, it might be because many of the developers who worked on the game think of it more as "Mario Galaxy 1.5" than a fully fledged game in its own right. A kind of Mario Galaxy Master Quest, rather than a Majora's Mask.

Or, perhaps we're talking nonsense. If so, thank you in advance for pointing it out politely in the comments.

Lots of love,BretonStripes (http://twitter.com/bretonstriped) and Kotor (http://twitter.com/kotorcomics)

Sources:

http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/supermariogalaxy2/1/0
https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/03/26/miyamoto-on-mario-galaxy-2-expanding-games-and-more.aspx
https://www.wired.com/2009/06/super-mario-galaxy-2/
https://www.wired.com/2007/12/interview-super/
https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-Super-Mario-Galaxy-2/Volume-1-Miyamoto/2-What-I-Learned-From-the-Producer/2-What-I-Learned-From-the-Producer-230872.html