Star Ball

"Hey, now! If you're thinking about just rolling that ball away, you'd better listen to old Bill Board here. If anything gets in your way, smoosh it! Anyway, you'll learn more by doing it yourself. Good luck!"

- Bill Board

The Star Ball, originally known as the Rolling Ball, is a large, translucent, capsule-like ball with a Power Star in it that appears in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. It is used in Rolling Green Galaxy, Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, and the last part of the second Star mission in Melty Molten Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy; in Super Mario Galaxy 2, it is found in the Rolling Masterpiece Galaxy and the Rolling Coaster Galaxy. In the Purple Coin mission of the Rolling Coaster Galaxy, there is a Purple Coin Ball, which contains a Purple Coin instead of the usual Star and is colored purple itself.

The player can control the Star Ball by first jumping on top of it, pointing straight up, and then tilting it in a direction while trying to move at a steady pace. Once Mario (or Luigi) is on the Star Ball, it is impossible for him to dismount it. Mario's objective is to ride the Star Ball into a hole marked by a yellow flag, which is similar to a golf hole. To get to the flag, Mario must bypass numerous obstacles, including narrow ledges and moving platforms. Any enemies in the path of the Star Ball will be crushed. Additionally, the speed at which Mario rolls affects the speed and the pitch of the background music being played.

Once Mario rolls the Star Ball into the ball-opener, the ball explodes, and the Power Star within is released. The Power Star moves itself to a flagpole found at the end of the course, where Mario must climb up in order to collect it.

The minigame Gyro for the Gold in Mario Party: Island Tour takes heavy inspiration from the minigames that use the Star Ball, where players also roll on balls through an obstacle course where music tempo is also dependent on how fast they are rolling.

Trivia

 * The Star Ball's visual appearance and texture are reminiscent of glitter bouncing balls, complete with shards of glitter suspended around the Star.
 * There are three themes used for riding on a Star Ball. The first is used in Rolling Green Galaxy, Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, and Rolling Masterpiece Galaxy; the second one is used in the second mission of Melty Molten Galaxy; and the third one is an arranged version of the song "Slider," which plays in The Princess's Secret Slide, Tick Tock Clock, and Rainbow Ride in Super Mario 64, used in the Rolling Coaster Galaxy.