4. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
After Super Mario 64, it was tough in some ways to imagine Nintendo ever delivering another massive leap in terms of imagination and possibility for its flagship series. (Super Mario Sunshine has its place, but a paradigm shift it was not.) What new frontiers were there for Mario, and for 3D platforming, to conquer?
Oh, how wrong we were to doubt. Super Mario Galaxy was yet another massive imaginative leap forward for the series, playing with gravity, with the shape of environments, with a cosmic theme that took the series to bold new places and reinforced the feeling that Mario really has no limits. Buoyed by a gently melancholy story that introduced the character of Rosalina and by the most mind-bending and profound ending in the series, Super Mario Galaxy is all the things we want Mario to be: challenging, inventive, vibrant, intuitive, beautiful, and epic. — Carolyn Petit
