I'd just like everyone to keep in mind that I still think Galaxy 2 is a fun game. I just don't really like it AS MUCH as the other Mario games. There's not really a Mario game I look at and say "wow, what a load of garbage."

I'd play any of them and have a good time. I just like some more than others.

Adding to that Miyamoto rambling, the other side of the coin would be Yoshiaki Koizumi, the one responsible for the Rosalina story and Majora's Mask, the one always putting deeper stories in Nintendo games was him, and Galaxy was when he argued with Miyamoto, making that basically his last game and appearance until the Switch era. To this day he wants to write those stories again, but Aonuma and Miyamoto keep him away for baffling reasons, how they never understand how he made such memorable games with his darker stories, is something I will always hate about Nintendo.

I just wish this game was included in 3D All Stars

Miyamoto has a very interesting approach that would be hilarious in nearly any other field. I can see him staring in confusion at an apple pie, then tearing out a handful of filling, declaring it the part that matters, and shunning the crust for getting in the way. He would make the world's best batch of chocolate chips, and look in horror as you make them into the world's best chocolate chip cookies.

The way I kind of see it right now, Galaxy 2 kinda marked a turning point in how Nintendo viewed their biggest IPs. During the 2nd half of the Wii era up to the release of the Switch you could feel Nintendo being very conservative with their IPs in terms of how they presented themselves. Specific mechanics and gimmicks might be new but the actual content, settings, story set-ups, etc were more often than not very derivative of previous games to a fault. You see it mostly with Mario, but I'd say it's also there in Yoshi, Star Fox Zero and to a lesser extent, Pikmin, and some Zelda titles. The Mario spin-offs, in particular, got a lot more "on brand" during this era too with a lot of the flavoring in the party, sports and especially in the RPGS. The games didn't necessarily get any worse but, it can feel like they didn't do as much to stand out to players compared to previous entries.

Lubba originally had a purpose. Galaxy 2 was gonna tell us more about Rosalina's past and how she met Lubba, until Miyamoto shot the idea down.
I really want to know how Galaxy 2 would have been if the development was as free as it was during Galaxy 1

Since you were 10 at the time, you probably weren't aware that there was something of a sigh of relief when Galaxy was announced. Coming off Sunshine and its extremely rigid adherence to its tropical island theme, the variety on display in Galaxy's first trailer alone put a lot of fears to rest.

That's how I remembered it as a 15 year old at least. :P

I think Shiggy's problem is that he's like me. I'm not very good at appreciating or enjoying anything other than gameplay in most games. Unlike me however, he's unwilling to accept that the fact that just because you don't appreciate something doesn't mean it's nonessential. Different people have different talents and interests. Let other people do what they're good at, and don't stop them because it's not your thing.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has the better levels. Lacks in presentation. So I always play both games back to back, like a really long game that you need to catch almost 500 stars.

rosalina is one of my favorite characters in any media, her story book makes me cry every time
i genuinely cant believe miyamotos response to hearing the idea was basically "nah fuck that, just make her big space woman"

Galaxy 1: has better theming
Galaxy 2: has better levels

Finally someone gets it.  I will never understand why Miyamoto fought so hard to include fewer story elements in Galaxy 2.  Galaxy's story made it feel so much more magical.  Galaxy 2 is fun but I don't feel nearly as motivated to play it as I do the original.

Something that wasn't mentioned during the struggle for identity is that most "normal" galaxies in MG1 has 3 stars (plus comets & secret stars) while MG2 only has 2 (plus comet & secret stars) and I think it is one of the main element that makes them so different because the levels don't have the same scope which probably why you feel that they aren't as grand as in the first title.

I just always considered Galaxy 2 more of the same with bonus gimmicks, and that's all I really wanted from it. Aside from outliers like the NSMB series, Nintendo's prone to moving their series onto something else, and that usually leaves me unsatisfied when I only get a taste of something that really wowed me. It's fantastic how they try to innovate so often, but I still think there's value in exploring the depths of what you already made. Though I'll fully admit they could have done more with the story and theming

Thank you for putting into words how I've felt about these two games for a long time now. It's hard to describe, but I feel like for me, Galaxy 2 was a fun distraction, and Galaxy 1 was a fun experience.

Those ending scenes of Galaxy 1 still gets me to this day...

"Each game was unique"
New super mario bros series: sweats profusely

Had to stick through the credits cause buoy base is my jam.

Wow, that was the slickest sponsor ad transition I've ever seen.

just wanted to say your nintendo switch profile picture enrages me