Imagine if they were able to take the concept of awesome and refine it into something tangible, like a powder. The FDA approves this awesome powder for use in foods and medicine. The most talented baker in the world discovers that awesome powder can be used to make the most delicious cake in the entire world. Now imagine it’s your wedding day, and your totally smokin’ hot wife smashes a piece of the awesome cake into your face.

This is what Super Mario Galaxy 2 is like. Having tangible awesome smooshed into your face by a hot chick.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is an unnecessary game. It’s not to help sell a new piece of hardware. All it’s really doing is taking the gameplay mechanics of a three year old game and putting in all new levels and powerups.

But isn’t that what Super Mario Bros 3 did way back when?

We were really glad to get Super Mario Bros 3 back then. I’m equally happy to have Super Mario Galaxy 2 today.

Super Mario Galaxy was a fantastic game. It was the perfect example of what the Wii was all about: fantastic gameplay and fun taking precedence over flashy high-end graphics. Not that it was a visual mess, either; Galaxy is highly regarded as the best looking Wii game and perfectly capable of standing up next to games on the high definition consoles.

I really liked Super Mario Galaxy for all of those reasons and more. Super Mario Galaxy 2, however, completely blows it away.

I’ve been waiting since 1996 for a game that REALLY felt like a sequel to my favorite game of all time, Super Mario 64. Super Mario Galaxy 2 finally gives me that.

For me, something always felt a little “off” in the first game. I think it was the level design; it was really neat to be able to jump between little planetoids and run around the entire surface, but it felt like I was really just playing pieces of levels instead of complete worlds. In the second game, though, the levels are larger and much more fleshed out. It’s more about exploring a larger area than jumping between a bunch of smaller ones. It’s a very welcome change as far as I’m concerned.

It’s also really nice to see some blue sky in a 3D Mario game again.

The two-player mode has been greatly improved as well, which is great because Christina and I play the game together, passing control of Mario back and forth after each star. I was always really bored as the second player in Galaxy 1, because all I could really do was collect Star Bits (which she was perfectly capable of doing herself) and occasionally hold down an enemy. Now the second player controls a Helper Luma, who can not only collect Star Bits and freeze enemies, but can also collect coins and other powerups and even attack certain enemies. My favorite thing to do as the second player is to go grab a powerup and refuse to release the A button, so the Luma just holds the item instead of throwing it to Mario. This is most effective when holding a Life Mushroom, but if you’re within punching distance of the other player, perform this at your own discretion.

I also think the soundtrack is better than Galaxy 1’s. The first soundtrack was incredible, but it was very epic in tone, which sometimes felt overwhelming. Galaxy 2 has it’s share of epic tunes, but it also mixes them well with more lighthearted ditties and remixes of classic Mario songs.

The gameplay is the same polished formula you’re used to from Galaxy 1, but Galaxy 2 introduces a couple of new powerups: the Cloud Suit, which lets Mario create cloud platforms in midair to jump to new heights and the Rock Suit, which turns Mario into a boulder capable of smashing into objects (think the Goron mask from Majora’s Mask). The Bee Suit, Boo Suit and Spring Suit return from Galaxy 1 as well.

Mario can also pick up a Spin Drill that allow him to burrow straight through planetoids, oftentimes revealing hidden secrets or setting the stage for some really interesting boss battles. I like the new suits a lot, but man, the Spin Drill is probably my favorite new gameplay mechanic. There’s nothing like drilling straight through a planet and cracking an enemy in its vulnerable underbelly.

And Yoshi’s back! You know how rad Yoshi is. He still does all his Yoshi things, like flutter jumping and eating stuff. Now he’s got powerups of his own! The Dash Pepper makes him run super fast, straight up inclines at breakneck speed. The Blimp Fruit fills Yoshi with air, allowing you to fly for a limited time. The Bulb Fruit makes Yoshi glow, revealing hidden paths. The levels built around Yoshi are so well designed that it makes you wonder why they never got around to implementing him in the first game.

There’s really not much more to say about Super Mario Galaxy 2. It’s everything you knew it would be and more. You shouldn’t need any convincing. A new Mario game is a wonderful treat, and the fact that we’ve gotten three of them on one console for the first time since the NES is a fantastic offering from Nintendo.

This is what a video game is supposed to be. Pure, pure fun.