Upon reading the title, even those shy to shooters may be lured in by Mario Forever Galaxy with a seeming promise for a familiar platformer. But this vibrant and unique title yields a fresh eye to the original Mario storyline. Yes, Bowser steals the Princess in a rather flamboyant fashion. Yes, the kidnapping happens after she writes a letter to Mario, who then vows to save her. The main twist? Imagine rocketing the classic world of Mario to the year 3000 while throwing in game play similar to that of the arcade classic Galaga. Yep. Mario Forever Galaxy is a 2-D shooter, and a sleek one at that.

What begins as a fairly easy round of “shoot the patterned space-Goombas” soon turns into a more complicated game that requires much more skill than a simple side-scroller. With a complex weapons upgrade system and the ability to customize your ship, Mario Forever Galaxy brings to the table a certain type of in-depth character modification that Mario fans could’ve only dreamed of before its creation. Even the ability to choose between a few notable characters in the beginning adds to this fresh flair.

While the techno background music becomes repetitive and irking, the game play is plenty distracting to make up for it. The shop for upgrading weapons and adding necessary parts to your ship has a somewhat confusing interface initially; but with practice, it becomes much easier to navigate. The best attribute of the ship upgrades is that they actually play a vital role in later levels in the game; they’re not just added to make your ship look pretty. And even if they were, the customizable aspect of this game can be just as fun and time-consuming as the levels themselves.

Mario Forever Galaxy is definitely worth a run-through. With a story mode that is as long, if not longer, than most console shooters these days, this download will keep you busy and will not disappoint.