"Super Mario Galaxy" and grief in a younger audience

For a game with a younger target audience, I didn't expect it to make me sad. It's like crying at a Disney movie. Despite it's simple format, Super Mario Galaxy still conveys strong themes of loss and grief and found family; all through Rosalina's story.

https://imgur.com/gallery/rosalinas-storybook-complete-1080p-GRvWH1Y, A young Rosalina on her journey through space with Luma.

Super Mario Galaxy doesn't really directly intertwine Rosalina's story with the game itself--you play as Mario, and you're helping Rosalina restore the space station (called the Comet Observatory). There isn't any point where you're traveling to different planets when suddenly you're on a mission related to Rosalina lore. Which makes sense, because kids game. But I expected Rosalina to remain this mysterious figure that's just in charge of the place. It's only through the story book segments when the player starts to learn more about Rosalina and her past. Once you make a certain amount of progress in the game, you start unlocking chapters of this story book that recount how Rosalina met the Lumas, and how she ended up in space in the first place. Turns out, she wasn't some space deity, queen of the stars (which I wouldn't have batted an eye at, that's honestly what I assumed from the get-go); Rosalina was an orphaned young girl that left home to help the Luma (those cute little star creatures) find their mother.

I should mention that I absolutely sucked at Super Mario Galaxy when I was a kid. I never progressed far enough into the game to ever see how Rosalina's story ended. I do remember making it far enough to see a young Rosalina crying for her mother--and I remember crying about that too. It was only recently when I finally replayed the game and saw Rosalina's story all the way through and, wouldn't you believe it, I cried again.

Rosalina's story follows her and a Luma as they search for the Luma's mother. Over the course of these chapters, the player watches as both characters interact with each other, and bond through space and eating star-bits (they taste like honey apparently, which makes perfect sense to me). But we also see the Luma break down, finding no hope in their search. And then we see Rosalina break down too, crying that she'll never see her mother again, because she'll never be back home. She cries, demanding she wants to go home, to see her mother, and the Luma do their best to cheer her up--Rosalina is only a child, a child who took it upon themselves to go into literally outer space to help someone else. Apparently everyone is sad about their mother here; this story is essentially a pair of children lost in space. But it's not until later in the story that the player realizes why Rosalina can't see her mother again. Rosalina, surrounded by the Lumas (she found more of them now, or perhaps they found her), confesses that her mother is "sleeping under the tree on the hill." Even if Rosalina went home, her mother wouldn't be there.

The Lumas jump in to comfort Rosalina, telling her that her mother will always be with her, no matter what. This whole story, Rosalina and the Lumas have found solace in each others grief. Instead of letting it consume them all, they turn to each other. Eventually, the Lumas declare that Rosalina should be their new mother. And that's kind of where her story ends, with the Lumas and Rosalina creating a new family of their own, way up in the stars on some space ship.

I think this story, despite it's darker or more depressing themes, is perfectly approachable for a younger audience. Like a Disney movie you would cry at, children's media is often considered less technical or "deep" because it was made for children. I fall victim to it too sometimes, but then I cry at Super Mario Galaxy. If anything, whether it be children's movies or video games, the target demographic can still take away these meaningful themes from the games they play. They can still see the emotions in other characters, and sympathize--maybe even relate.

I think games with themes like these, no matter how subtle, are crucial for younger audiences. Not because it "toughens" kids up or something like that; but because even children (especially children) can learn something valuable from their favorite video game characters--even Mario.