Itching for more Galaxy I went back to play some Galaxy 1. Much to my surprise, I'm finding it kind of...well, almost boring compared to Galaxy 2. You'd think the two are barely different, and that's true, mostly, but played back to back, the little (but significant) tweaks they made are sharply apparent. The hub world does seem a bit of an unnecessary chore (though I still love the theme, and how it gradually grows more musically complex the more stars you get) after Galaxy 2's simplified World Map. More than that, the levels seem so LONG compared to Galaxy 2, almost tedious, and the little wandering/exploring you have to do makes the game seem noticeably slower than Galaxy 2's short-but-sweet style, where you're almost constantly platforming. Another thing that really jumps out is how only about half the score is orchestrated. The midi tunes just sound extremely flat now. The little victory tunes that play when you get a power star, then arrive back at the hub with it, sound positively archaic when compared to Galaxy 2's orchestrated version, and as a result getting the star feels like less of a moment. I know this all sounds stupid, but try it yourself and see--the games seem much more different than you might think.
