Any site that does not give it GOTY are biased Nintendo haters and ALWAYS will be in my mind.

It has pretty much nothing wrong with it.

It's funny, before it realised I seen people saying "could it top SM64?". I was fully confident it would, but then again I never really liked SM64 to begin with.

It's just so much better though.

SM64 feels like a Zelda game with slightly different gameplay mechanics and Mario related stuff. SMG is pretty much just like a 2D Mario in 3D. It's absolutely great, and the creativity level of SMG is thousands of times higher then SM64.

Also, it's kinda funny, the three Bowser levels in SM64 were arguably my least favorite in the game. They were clunky to control and just felt weird. Yet, the three Bowser galaxies in SMG were among my favorite. They're very similar, but it just seems like SMG does them so much better and more creatively.

Comparing the levels, it's obvious which is better. The first level of SM64 is good...kinda bland, but the first galaxy of SMG is one of the best in the game.  The snow levels were alright...but SMG's was intensively creative, including ice skating, a new power up and they even throw fire into the mix! 

The fire level of SM64 is alright, but Molten Melty is among the 3 best levels in all of SMG!

And the creativity...is there anything even close to Sweet Sweet Galaxy or Toy Time Galaxy in SM64?

The only level in SM64 that is better then the equilivant level in SMG is the ghost level, I think. SMG's ghost level is fairly boring, except for the awesome secret star.

Also, I hate how in SM64, when you die, you start right back in the beginning. I like SMG's checkpoints.

And don't even get me started on SMS vs. SMG...heh...not even close.

But yeah, Galaxy is a bit too good I'm afraid. I really don't think there's any console game coming out within the next 3 years that will top it (Spore, a PC game coming out next year, has a very good chance of being better then SMG).

Possible games that may top Galaxy:

Metal Gear Solid 4 (somewhat probable)

Resident Evil 5 (unlikely, depends if it's like the old RE or RE4 style)

Gears of War 2 (VERY unlikely, at least IMO, I hated the first)

Resistance 2 (unlikely)

Zelda Wii (somewhat possible)

Final Fantasy XXXIII (somewhat possible)

I really think Super Mario Galaxy is the very peak of this generation of console gaming. It's a shame it usually happens so early in the generation.

And when you're not playing. Remember to put it on an altar and pray to the SMG god like the rest of us.

Yeah, it's definitely GOTY. I have no doubt about that now. If it doesn't get GOTY than something's messed up in this world...

its almost flawless. i have a few gripes though.
i hate it how they recycled boss battles and the lack of yoshi is dissapointing, the co op mode is dumb and the observatory isn't half as good as the castle or isle delfino..

GOTY definately.

does it really matter what some sites say is the GOTY ? isn't it much more important how you felt while playing the game ?

As far as I'm concerned platformers died with 3-D. When games were 2-D, all that mattered was jumping. Almost everything was a platformer. Once games went 3-D, everybody forgot how awesome jumping was and suddenly everything was about the 3rd dimension, which means shooting or racing. The best-selling games tend to involve both, like GTA, but there's no good 3-D platforming.

3-D platforming started with Super Mario 64 and has had ZERO competition until Galaxy came out. That's cool and all, as I love Nintendo, but I mean, come on industry, give me some platforming.

 LittleBigPlanet looks pretty good, but that's not really 3D.

The platforming genre seems to be dead for 3D games...what do we have?

Sonic (SUCKS)

Ratchet & Clank (more like a shooting game now)

Jak & Daxter (see above)

Mario (one every 5 years)

Yeah....

I like the observatory just a bit more then Isle Delfino.

And it's music is much, much better then the music from the castle & Isle defino.

Im not sure if I would say so and I am pretty much a Nintendo fanboy. I own plenty of systems and have played plenty of games. I just dont see it and I dont think it could be GOTY. I havent played all the contenders but I have a few problems(I have not beat the game yet but have about 60 stars):

*Fairly easy.
*Camera sometimes puts you in a bad position.
*Swimming is messed up due to moving camera IMO.

I'm a harsh reviewer but the game is extremely fun to play. Great graphics, sound and level design. I still dont see this as the overall GOTY and feel that Mario 64 is much better than this.