Earlier this week I posted my opinion on what the Game of the Generation was the Wii/PS3/360. (Check out the blog here or in the forums here.) But that game is not my favorite game from these last eight or nine years, and I was happy to see plenty of others seemed to agree with me. You see, my favorite game from last gen is definitely Super Mario Galaxy. I won't go into great detail (Alex-C25 wrote a great love letter to the game not long ago, which you should totally read if you haven't) but let me paint with some broad strokes. Super Mario Galaxy is the essence of fun, boiled down its purest form. The game is simply a joy to play, and the amount of creativity on display is astounding. It looks great and I love the orchestrated soundtrack. But mainly...it's just so dang fun, and isn't that the point of games in the first place?
As much as I loved games like Mass Effect, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Gears of War, in the end they can't match the sheer exuberant fun-ness that characterizes Galaxy down to its core. It was my favorite game of the generation.
yeah man this is up there for me too. It was just a joy to play, period.
And the best part? There are TWO Super Mario Galaxies. How great is that? 
That is precisely why I keep coming back to Nintendo. They may make questionable decisions, but they do know how to make FUN games.
I would be torn to choose between Galaxy and the Prime 3(or the trilogy if that is allowed). Without any doubt I know that they are in my top 10 favourite games of the generation... the other 8 slots is where it becomes very difficult.
I liked Prime 3 but there's just something about Galaxy. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. I'm looking forward to replaying the Prime games again (because I finally got the Trilogy last year) and the first Metroid Prime is still hands down my favorite game. But man, coming up with a top ten list would be tough.
Just thought of an easy one to add to my top 10 favourite games of the generation. Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Those games are just fun.
I still haven't played a Ratchet and Clank game yet, though I do own a couple of them now.
I am waiting for the Vita collection so that I can replay the original Trilogy. So excited about that one.
Yeah, on a much lesser scale and in a different medium, that's why I loved Amazing Spider-Man 2 while others hated it. I like a lot of the bleak and dark movies that have been hitting since Batman came back big, but I was missing that sense of pure fun for too long and I got it handed to me in spades.
One of my favorite games from the Gamecube era was Sunshine and I still really want to find a copy so that way I'll have completed the trifoce of games Nintendo announced at that historic E3 way back, along with my copies of Prime and Wind Waker which are the two triforce shards I own already.
I'd played snatches of Sunshine here and there but never owned. Then last year my wife came across a copy of it, complete with case and manual, at Goodwill for $2! I haven't gotten to it yet but it's only a matter of time now
I played a little bit and it seemed awesome. If only I could play it without owning a wii...
My two favourite games of this decade are now Dark Souls and Mass Effect 3. I do miss that pure unbridled fun and innocence that comes from Mario games though. Don't get much of that these days.
I think it's worth owning a Wii for, especially with how cheap they are now, and Galaxy 2 is just as good. But surely you must have a friend or relative with a Wii...?
I wish there were more games that just aimed at being fun. Our medium often takes itself much too seriously.
I agree with it, I may make a blog about this at a later date because I'm planning something especial. But Super Mario Galaxy was a fantastic game, it was really fun. I like both Galaxy 1 and 2 equally but the first one probably had more impact on the world.
I give the nod to the first game because it had such an impact on me. I wasn't expecting it to be so awesome. Galaxy 2 is just as good though.
I'm going to play both of those SMG games sometime.
You need to! As soon as possible!
Agree, agree, agree!!! Super Mario Galaxy is so awesome, even Wii hater Yahtzee loved the game. It's simply the ultimate meaning of fun. Though remember that I put both Galaxy games on my blog.
Both games are fantastic. I give the nod to the first game it had such an impact on me and, naturally, I played it first. I'd hate to actually have to pick between the two.
I didn't like Galaxy, but it was mainly because I hate the wiimote. I annoys me to use the thing. I wish you could play Galaxy with a GC controller or anything else.
That's a shame. That game is so good!
Ah, the memories! SMG is one of the only games which I have ever 100%-ed! It was just that amazing! The only game of last gen that might be better than it is Galaxy 2. Incredible games that are immensely fun and satisfying.
It's quite impossible to get too much Galaxy
Not having a Wii, I can't comment on your choice. If we're counting fun as the biggest factor, then my favorite game of the generation would have to be Little Big Planet.
We played a good bit of LBP and certainly enjoyed it but it never really grabbed me. Of course, we never really dabbled in all the user-generated content either.
Still have not played this game. Been meaning to get it but I keep seeing it for $30. Every time I see it for $20 with their best games selection, they are always sold out!
You can still get it new on Amazon for $20 and you NEED to play tha game.