they just disagree, no one is getting defensive about it.

in regards to your critique of the game, you have some interesting points. a seasoned gamer doesn't need to be constantly barraged

by help bubbles in the beginning (i hope next time there's the option to turn those off). the signs and tvs, however, are entirely optional.

if you don't want to read them, just ignore them. those signs are for newcomers and those who need a refresher course.

They just disagree? Perhaps. Although they seemed to disagree so much that they just HAD to respond to my criticisms. I more or less expected it. It's a cardinal core gaming sin to critique the all-mighty 3d mario game!

Seasoned gamers seem to put up with the help bubbles MORE than newcomers. I don't think they quite understand WHY these people are newcomers in the first place. They don't want to be taught a 3 course lesson on how to play the game. They just want to pick up the game and immediately know how to play it. This is why "pick up and play" games sell so well with them. This is why 2d mario sells twice as much as 3d mario.

Tutorials and help bubbles only serve as an excuse for game designers to load their games full of complex content that goes against this "pick up and play" style. Seasoned gamers love help bubbles! They are the only one's that are willing to put up with them!

Besides this, I understand that some of those signs are optional. Which is okay, but then most of them are not as they still pop up with help bubbles. How about even the first level that actually has a luma leading you through the level with "this way" and "over here" popping up in text bubbles. How about the storybook intro? Here I was expecting something to ease me in from New Super Mario Bros, and instead it feels more like a lame tutorial/playable story sequence. How about the rabbits, toads, lumas, and big purple blobs that beckon you to talk to them on Starship Mario, all so you can be barraged with help bubbles instead of anything remotely interesting.

Again: the newbie I'm playing with appreciates the tutorials. You're not even providing anecdotal evidence, just conjecture without context.

All the signs are optional.

these newcomers that you speak of dont want tutorials? maybe you didnt, but others may need them as this may be their first mario game. my little brother reads them all, but this is his first 3d mario game and he absolutely loves it. does this make him not a "newcomer". not everyone is super good at platformers right off the bat. you may be, which is good, but not everyone is.

and again, those signs and characters that beckon you to talk to them are Optional. you dont have to talk to them. if you dont like them, dont read them. and the ones that just pop up are tips. ignore them. its not like they stop gameplay completely to tell you something nor are they even that big. and when they do (for new power-ups) it isnt like its a half hour thing, just skip it and move on.

Y E S !!

Your little brother is a rare person on this earth that is patient. Unfortunately most people in this world are quick to put the controller down and go do something else. Still, I would question if anyone really 'loves' tutorial material. Reading text and following instructions is not much fun. It is a barrier that a newcomer must cross in order to experience the true fun of the game. Why should they have to do that when they could go play New Super Mario Bros and experience the fun right away?

Those pop up tips are still obstructive. As I said, the game is already visually confusing enough, and the constant pop-ups do not help. They are not optional. I would not be complaining if there was some option that allowed me to turn them off (perhaps there is and I'm missing it). As for the characters, how am I to know which character is a tutorial? What if the character was important or gave me some power-up or 1ups? I can't just avoid talking to characters. Perhaps they could have had some kind of visual cue to let me know if a character would be tutoring me or not. 

All of this stuff slows down the game in the beginning. It makes it hard to get into. The fact is, this game is being overrated and people shouldn't go in expecting it to be the best game ever. This "glazing over" of people's eyes is happening now because of the massive hype and excitement that surrounds the game in it's first week of release. Let's come back in 5-6 months and see if there is still such passion for the game.

Does it stand to reason tat there are gamers for whom your complaints do not matter?

Uhm.. as you know SMG2 is nothing like Red Dead Redemption or is it anything like Starcraft. I think pretty much anybody would enjoy SMG2 though. Yes, you should buy it.

newcomers who read tutorials are rare? since when? whenever i try a new game i always look for tutorials so i can learn how a game is played quicker instead of die constantly from trial and error. just because you skip tutorials doesnt mean everybody does. as for the characters, most of the time the game tells you if it is a tutorial or an item. it also only suggests you talk to them. again its OPTIONAL. you dont have to read everything you see, just ignore it.

and this "glazing over" of fans eyes you speak of is completely ridiculous. you speak as if your measure of quality is the only one there is. you speak as if people are wrong for liking this game. why is it wrong for people to like a game you dont. im half way through world 3 and i have never had more fun with a platformer. does this mean i dont know what fun or quality is? i can understand that you dont like the game and dont see why others do, but since when are they wrong for liking this game and only victims of the hype and excitement. is it really so hard to think that people actually do like this game?

Tutorials are not fun. More people play games with less tutorials that have "pick up and play" style gameplay. Hence, New Super Mario Bros sells twice as much as any 3d Mario. Wii Play, Mario Kart, Just Dance, etc. all have those qualities.

Even you can not admit that you "enjoy" tutorials. You identify them as a necessity to learning the game, but not as an enjoyable element in and of itself. Think of the "newcomer" to gaming. These are people that are not interested in gaming in the first place. Do you honestly think the majority of them are going to have the patience to sit through tutorial content?

Why is dying and trail and error considered a bad thing? It is only a bad thing if the game is unfair and the player feels cheated. This is true with 3d Mario, where the imprecise nature of the controls is frustrating. A good game lets the player die but leaves a strong desire in them to try again and again and again (2d Mario is excellent at this).

I am not saying that I don't enjoy Super Mario Galaxy 2. It is a fun game and it's certainly better than most of the games out there, but it is not perfect. There are problems, and people should know. Not everyone is inside this circle of 3d Mario love. I'm certainly not. This doesn't mean that you or anyone else that likes this game has bad taste in games, it just means that different people have different values for the games that they play.

Still, the massive hype and love is causing people to overlook the flaws, which is natural in the first week. The same thing happens with a lot of core games. Remember Grand Theft Auto 4? People were going crazy when it came out. Now the craziness is subsided and people are seeing the game for what it really is.

This is why metacritic is such a bad method of identifying the quality of a game. It measures game journalists thoughts just as the game is released. People's perspectives change though after a while.