I just beat Super Mario Galaxy™ and I have to say the sequel is far superior to it. Maybe it has to do with the order I played. I guess if I had played the first one before the second, I'd have enjoyed it more.

The majority of people here says the first one felt bigger because the whole observatory thing and blah blah blah. Well, the spaceship is kind of nice, yes, but I don't think it makes the first one better in the slightest. I also felt there were way too many galaxies with water. And I hate those. Also, some stars were just so easy to get, whereas in the second game I actually spent a good time trying to get some stars. Super Mario Galaxy™ 2 also has Yoshi™.

Eventually bumping into a game over and having to go back to the title screen is also a big turnoff. It's like inviting the player to take the disc out of the console and stop playing. I didn't like having to press "Try again" everytime I died during a comet level. One thing that I liked was the red star. I felt so powerful with it and I wanted to use it in every single level. I also liked the different-coloured power stars were rarer, like the green ones and the red one. I think both games would have been better with some different colours, but that's just a minor thing. Also, the first game should have had Yoshi.

Nothing to say about the soundtracks. Both are amazing and extremely iconic. One major complaint of mine is that I didn't want to beat the whole game again with Luigi to open the last galaxy. That's overkill. At least SMG2 made it fresh by scattering the stars around the galaxies. Did I mention Yoshi? Seriously, what's the problem with Nintendo™ and Yoshi? We could ride Yoshi in every level in Super Mario World, but they just make it super difficult in every game lately by allowing you to slay on Yoshi's back in just one level per world (New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2). I'd like more Yoshi, please.

One thing I liked more about the first game was the connection I had with Rosalina. It was nice to have her so close to me, while in the second game she's just a distant character and a boring add-on when you grab all 242 stars. 

My opinion is not exactly popular, but I felt severely underwhelmed by SMG. Maybe I should have played them by order so I could have finished both being blown away. It's a great series nonetheless and they are the most iconic games of all time. Lumas are the cutest thing ever created by man.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 was a lot better than the first. Both are great games, but Galaxy 2 had the best level design in any platformer I've ever played.

Ehh. I like Mario Galaxy 2, but it wasn't  that different compared to the first Mario Galaxy. Still  a great game! Don't get me wrong.

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I liked the first one better just cause it had the WoW factor... It was completely new and unexpected where as the second one just improved up on it which isn't a bad thing since the level of improvement was up the ass... Galaxy 2 is super good but I think Galaxy 1 just inches out to be better for me just cause it felt like nothing I have ever really experienced before

Galaxy was basically like having sex the first time vs Galaxy 2 was like trying anal if you catch my drift... Both are pretty Jizz Worthy in their own right but its hard to deny the WoW factor of the first one

Difficulty wise it was leaps and bounds from the first game.Especially the second half of the game.The amount of creativity went sky-high with this one too.The only win the first game gets is in the soundtrack in my opinion as for some reason it's music is still stuck in my memory.

I like SMG2 a lot more as well. The hub world in SMG didn't seem to have anything interesting in it & was more of a barrier between turning the game on & getting to the actual content. I actually gave Nintendo feed back on Club Nintendo & specifically asked for the sequel to have more of a straight forward overworld map that could be quickly navigated like in SM3/SMW while still having an optional, smaller sand box hub as well. They did exactly what I asked.

As for the game itself, SMG2 is just all around better.

Both are great but I agree.

Galaxy is the kind of game that feels better a bit more streamlined when selecting levels than something like Mario 64. The hub in Mario 64 was fantastic but in Galaxy 1 it was nowhere near as good and just got in the way IMO.

I wasn't a big fan of the water levels either but I really have to play them both again to see which had the greater number of outstanding stages. I just remember liking the sequel a bit better overall.

The first one was regarded as better because it was such a unique and unseen twist for the Mario series and people were more WOW'ed.

While the second one was creatively and technically better, it wasn't regarded as better because we were familiar with the concepts and already kinda spoiled.

I had more fun with the second one, but I was in awe more with the first one.

Sonic CD is better than any Mareeeooo P: Like >>>>>> that much betta yodawg!

No I love SMG!!!!!! I never picked up the 2nd one yet, because the 1st one was Mario perfection. I don't listen to peoples opinions online either. So yeah big whoop Mr. Opinions.