It's in the title.

Personally, I'd be elated to get Mario Galaxy 3. I suspect that'd be a minority position - Nintendo already comes under fire for not shaking up their key franchises enough and the press always has their knives sharpened anyway - but this is one situation where I simply like the formula so much that I don't even care. Mario Galaxy 3. That kind of game in glorious HD, made by the talented team that's already given us 2 classic games. You could see that as a wrap-up of the Mario Galaxy Trilogy (as utterly preposterous as that sounds). At the end of the day, that's what I'd really like to play the most.

But there's certainly a lot of folks who'd disagree. Folks who want more open-level exploration. Or a return to the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario 128. Or a massive overworld that's simply packed full of platforming puzzles. All of these are worth discussing and could be a good direction for Mario to go, too.

So what do you personally want? Has that changed now that it's been confirmed that EAD Tokyo is working on it?

I'd also be fine with Galaxy 3, but I do think they have something else in mind. I really don't know what though.

If I were going to change something, I'd change things up to where you didn't pick a certain star/shine to go for. Each area would still have those objectives, but it would be more organic than you deciding what you're going for when you start out and loading up the conditions for the area based on that choice.

- Ghost levels where you have to get info from gamepad to navigate the level successfully.
- A graphical showcase that takes Galaxy's style to new heights.
- A return of some of the unique levels that the first Galaxy had (bubble blowing etc.), but implemented with the stylus and screen.
- Asymmetric co-op levels - the 2nd player can alter the level to help the player get through. This has always been there in Galaxy, but can be expanded on with an additional screen.

Luigi.

I want a return to the Mario 64 style where there is sort of an open world and you go around completing various tasks to get the stars. Maybe a bit more Banjo than Mario though (as in new abilities/powerups and seamless progression from one star to the next). Probably won't happen though.

I'd like a return to the Mario 64/Sunshine style with more adventure elements. Having it be one big interconnected world would also be cool. Sunshine kind of went for that by being able to see other parts of Delfino from different levels, but they could do away with the barriers altogether. Of course, I'd trust Nintendo to have completely wacky environments despite the attempts at a coherent world.

Multiplayer could be cool, with one person on the gamepad, and both free to do as they please, but I'm struggling to think of how you could really work together in a platformer like this.

This may just be me, but when I think Galaxy I think that the actual gameplay innovation of letting you walk on any side of a surface goes way, way beyond the theme. To me it's the natural expansion of the progression of the platformer....

2D -> 3D -> Whatever you want to call what Galaxy did

Why get rid of that? To me it is like the equivalent of if after Super Mario Bros. 2/3 someone said "ok that going in various directions thing was nice for those games, let's go back to only moving to the right like we are supposed to now". So it is tough for me to think of it as just something Galaxy did that we should move away from once we move away from "Galaxy". I think it did more than just have a cool space theme, it expanded the way to play Mario and opened up more potential at the very core of things.

Still, it is tough to think of any other way to make this stuff work other than the space theme, and we can't keep doing a space them forever... maybe a dream theme?

So yeah, I want that stuff to stay, and the fun gravity stuff, and whatever. But I don't think that it necessarily has to be Galaxy 3. Nintendo can find ways to keep those innovations in platforming it made, yet still have something "new".

Super Mario Universe. Mix of Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy. With lots of graphics and arts!

@Zero

Dream theme has been done! And we need Sub-con to return in a 2-D format, DUH.

Don't shoot me, but I'd like a Super Mario Sunshine game, just better.

Secret_Tunnel said:

Super Mario Universe. Mix of Mario Sunshine and Mario Galaxy. With lots of graphics and arts!

I'm with this. I like both styles, so I say combine the best of both worlds. Give me huge open worlds (each one is a "Universe") which contain multiple "galaxy" stages. Some would say that sounds like the best thing ever, and others would be wrong.

I have to agree with the majority of the people here. Sunshine/64 esque game Don't get me wrong, I love Galaxy, but the linearity stopped me from, loving, galaxy.

Some want a single large (over)world, some want disconnected levels ala 64 or Sunshine, some want the (near?) perfection of the Galaxy games. I want it all. EAD Tokyo should go completely off the wall and make a full fledged Mushroom Kingdom that is completely connected, and no load screens, and simply require Mario to traverse the entire world to reach whichever Peach is in and save her. The disconnected worlds could be handled by islands in large lakes or floating islands in the sky so we have a reason to fly. Sounds good you say, but where does the gravity based gameplay come into effect? When you finally save Peach after the single most coherent gaming world ever is fully explored Bowser finally snaps, has Bowser Jr. hijack Rosalina's spaceship and crash it into the world and blows it to pieces! The second act of the game has Mario back to the skies, finding all the stars again to use their power and put the Mushroom Kingdom back together again. Everybody gets what they want.

What should it be called? Super Mario Galaxy World 3.

Oh and when he finishes putting the world back together Wart is the secret final boss. Upon beating him Mario wakes up and realizes that our boy Roy just knocked him out moments prior. It was all a dream! He's actually in the middle of Super Smash Bros. Fisticuffs U. Game of the forever!

The 3DS version just has more levels for New Super Mario Bros. 2. We all know Nintendo always messes up somewhere.

Under the absurdity of it all, there is a serious post up there somewhere.

When does Wind Waker HD come out again?

I very much want them to keep exploring the direction that they went with 3D Land... I want the classic power-up system along with a degree of linearity on most levels, as I think that that is what is best for this series. Perhaps they can make everybody happy and include some more non-linear, objective based levels in the forms of castles and ghost houses? What would make me really happy is to also include Subcon levels that would also work wonderfully with a more non-linear style. The game, of course, needs to feel bigger and more epic and cohesive than 3D Land.

As far as what sort of hook I want the game to have? I really don't know. I'm not a game design genius. I hope they can come up with something special, though.

Let's see... what else? Power-ups, great soundtrack, beautiful worlds to explore!

I don't even have any requests. I'm just happy to see something else from EAD Tokyo. After this, though, I really WOULD like them to spread their wings a bit. To other long-time franchises, even! They're starting to kind of pigeonhole themselves, a la pre-DKCR Retro.

1. Don't chase the casual market by dumbing it down. 3D platforming requires some complexity to be interesting. Super Mario 3D Land was a decent run, but it had nowhere near the depth of the Galaxy games, let alone Super Mario 64 or Sunshine. Heck, it was more claustrophobic than the New games. 3D should not feel more restrictive than 2D. That's what killed Sonic. Well, one of the things.

2. Make it multiplayer. Even when the level of interaction is low, there's a giddy thrill of watching other players hop around the playground with you. I'm not even asking for the bumper-car hilarity that is New Super Mario Bros. Wii, I just want to share the joy of acrobatic kinesis with some other peppy plumbers. If Journey can do it, so can Mario.

3. Keep the Galaxy grandeur going. I'm okay with 2D Mario being kind of chintzy and bland. But the Galaxy games gave me a taste of Disney-grade 3D Mario magic and I can never go back.

4. Give Mario guns and angst. Hey, it worked for Sonic.

@nate38

Thankfully, they addressed the close camera issue with 3DLand. They had originally displayed one of the Galaxy games on a screen the same size as the original 3DS as a test and realized that the camera was just too far out, making the game really hard to play... Mario was too tiny.

This shouldn't be anything that we have to worry about on the Wii U game, thankfully.

Part of me wants something kind of like Super Mario 3D Land, but more adventurey. You wouldn't be picking levels off of a menu - you're going through them in realtime. Levels wouldn't just be platforms out in a void, they'd be real places that expand as far as the eye can see. Tap the touch screen and zoom out way above the clouds, and see where you are in relation to the world. Devious obstacle courses fill the "courses" in the game, and the game is basically like Super Mario World with the camera only a couple dozen feet above Mario. Every level has a simple gate or checkpoint that lets you go back whenever you want - but you don't back out to a menu every time you beat a level. It just keeps going seamlessly, kind of like Limbo. Just one huge Mario world that keeps going and going and you can't put the game down. Every now and then you find a deliberately placed fork in the road (maybe after a big set piece). Do you go left up the hill, or right through the cave? Maybe the hill is quicker, but it's much more difficult. Maybe you find secret paths along the way. There'd just be so much surprise and discovery. Will this shortcut zip me to the end of this level, or take me to an entirely different part of the world? You really wouldn't know what's around the next corner, and you'd want to keep playing to see where you go to next.

So yeah, I guess I'd like to see them greatly, greatly expand on what they were doing in 3D Land. I just don't know if I trust Nintendo to do the Mario 64/Sunshine thing without making it a blatant hub world reminiscent of Nintendo Land.

@Zero I don't think it's the same kind of comparison. I can't exactly articulate why right now, but it's not the same.

I think I generally liken the planet hopping thing to environment. It's its own place with its own set of rules, not unlike how an ice world is slippery or the water world has water everywhere. Once everything is like that all the time, it's less special IMO. Keeping Mario grounded (literally) makes the wacky things all the more wacky. And if you're anything like my girlfriend, you find it pretty confusing and disorienting.

I'd essentially like Galaxy 3, maybe, but I don't want that title. Just go with Super Mario Universe, if you're gonna do gameplay similar to SMG and SM3DL that is.

I do want larger land to explore though. I'd like one seamless world, if even at all possible. Basically, a true Super Mario, World.

I think I just completely contradicted myself.

Maybe something closer to Mario 64 but with more levels, and a variety of big ones and small ones. That'd really be the best of all worlds wouldn't it?

@PogueSquadron But what about a slippery planetoid or a water planetoid? On its own, a planetoid is just... a chunk of real estate. The only difference between that and a regular chunk of retail estate is that with the regular one you can generally only run around on top, and the planetoid you can run around all over it. You still have to add the crazy. Plus the Galaxy games mixed it up between areas that were basically just run on top, to huge planetoids, to smaller ones, etc. and also introduced various gravity rules so you can still pretty much do anything in Galaxy that you would do elsewhere. You can also do more.

I'm not saying that I think any new Mario should necessarily do it to the same degree. But to just throw it out would be kind of silly, I think. I mean, I don't see planetoids as being the same as like... FLUDD or anything.

Oh and how about we actually get a Super Mario BROTHERS game?? CO-OP with MARIO AND LUIGI, IN 3D.