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Super Mario Galaxy: Difference between revisions
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The game invokes feelings of isolation and sadness through its [[#Setting|outer space setting]]. Most [[galaxy|galaxies]] are enveloped by vast, dark skies pierced by stars and distant suns. There are story scenarios, [[mission]]s, locations, and musical queues interlaced in the game that intentionally draw attention away from its more vigorous, joyful elements to focus on the dispassionate coldness of space, amplifying [[Mario]]'s relative insignificance to a vast, endless universe. Video essayist Jacob Geller notes that these conditions give the player a moment to decompress after action-orientated gameplay and foster contemplativeness. Such conditions are interpreted as existentialistic and sad,<ref name=nitrorad/> but not despairing.<ref name=geller/><ref name=kim/><ref name=webb/> Grace Benfell of ''{{wp|GameSpot}}'' describes the evoked feeling as an "existential, joyful melancholy."<ref name=benfell/> | The game invokes feelings of isolation and sadness through its [[#Setting|outer space setting]]. Most [[galaxy|galaxies]] are enveloped by vast, dark skies pierced by stars and distant suns. There are story scenarios, [[mission]]s, locations, and musical queues interlaced in the game that intentionally draw attention away from its more vigorous, joyful elements to focus on the dispassionate coldness of space, amplifying [[Mario]]'s relative insignificance to a vast, endless universe. Video essayist Jacob Geller notes that these conditions give the player a moment to decompress after action-orientated gameplay and foster contemplativeness. Such conditions are interpreted as existentialistic and sad,<ref name=nitrorad/> but not despairing.<ref name=geller/><ref name=kim/><ref name=webb/> Grace Benfell of ''{{wp|GameSpot}}'' describes the evoked feeling as an "existential, joyful melancholy."<ref name=benfell/> | ||
Benfell also comments on | Benfell also comments on the integration of [[Luma]]s in the game.<ref name=benfell/> The childlike creatures are predestined to become celestial bodies at the end of their life cycles. The objects Mario directly interacts with are implied (and sometimes even directly demonstrated) to have once been Lumas themselves, with [[Launch Star]]s having once been yellow Lumas, [[Pull Star]]s once blue ones, and so on. As a gameplay mechanic, [[Hungry Luma]]s permanently transform into wholly new planets and [[Galaxy|galaxies]] once fed a requested number of [[Star Bit]]s. These planets are instantaneously lush with flora and sometimes already bear communities of [[#Non-playable characters|people]] and [[#Enemies and obstacles|creatures]] living on them. As Benfell argues, this mechanic implies ''everything'' in the game, from whole worlds to animals to small objects, are "made" out of Lumas.<ref name=benfell/> This interpretation is confirmed directly in the game.<ref>{{cite|quote=The Luma that's been traveling with you may also grow up to become a star someday. Some Lumas become planets...some become comets...and a few become Power Stars.|author=[[Rosalina]] during "[[Gateway's Purple Coins]]"|title=''Super Mario Galaxy'' by [[Nintendo EAD Tokyo]]|format=North American Localization|publisher=[[Nintendo of America]]|date=12 Nov. 2007|accessdate=Retrieved 4 Jan. 2024}}</ref> The cycle of rebirth in Lumas likely derives from the {{wp|Stellar evolution|life cycle of real stars}} and the knowledge that the majority of {{wp|Chemical element#Origin of the elements|elements}}, including all the ones that make up living things, were created and distributed across the universe by dying stars.<ref>{{cite|author=Melina, Remy|url=https://www.livescience.com/32828-humans-really-made-stars.html|title=Are we really all made from stars?|publisher=Live Science|date=15 June 2023}}</ref> Benfell equates transformation with death, an often negative theme in art. However, she elaborates that it is in dying that new life comes to be, including newborn Lumas, so it is an essential component to how the universe functions in an {{wp|Entropy|entropic}} cycle of continuous rebirth.<ref name=benfell/> | ||
The game's themes are most deeply and explicitly channeled through the characterization of [[Rosalina]].<ref name=nitrorad/><ref name=geller/><ref name=benfell/><ref name=webb/> As overseer of the domestic [[Comet Observatory]] and caretaker of the Lumas, she is widely perceived as a maternal figure that supports a warm, securing environment only amplified by the contrasting, cold backdrop of space. She is also presented as a figure of reliable support with godlike abilities. She is omnipotent, wise, and a timeless entity that has lived for centuries.<ref name=benfell/><ref name=webb/> Mario cannot be harmed on the Comet Observatory, and it is implied that she is the one who brings him back to safety if he falls off the side. No harm can come to the player as long as they are with her.<ref name=geller/> | The game's themes are most deeply and explicitly channeled through the characterization of [[Rosalina]].<ref name=nitrorad/><ref name=geller/><ref name=benfell/><ref name=webb/> As overseer of the domestic [[Comet Observatory]] and caretaker of the Lumas, she is widely perceived as a maternal figure that supports a warm, securing environment only amplified by the contrasting, cold backdrop of space. She is also presented as a figure of reliable support with godlike abilities. She is omnipotent, wise, and a timeless entity that has lived for centuries.<ref name=benfell/><ref name=webb/> Mario cannot be harmed on the Comet Observatory, and it is implied that she is the one who brings him back to safety if he falls off the side. No harm can come to the player as long as they are with her.<ref name=geller/> | ||