Super Mario Galaxy 2

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a 3D action platformer game for the Wii. It is the sequel to Super Mario Galaxy and is the fourth original 3D platformer in the Mario series. It was released in 2010 on May 23 in North America, May 27 in Japan, June 11 in Europe, July 1 in Australia and December 4 in China. It was also released on January 20, 2011 in South Korea.

The sequel retains many elements from its predecessor, such as the adventure being in outer space, the element of gravity, and recurring objects such as Launch Stars and Sling Stars. Returning items include the Bee Mushroom and the Fire Flower. However, the game introduces new elements as well, such as the utilization of Yoshi, new power-ups like the Cloud Flower, and the use of a guide within the game for beginner players. All releases of the game except for the American version include a beginner's DVD to help players understand the controls and items if they haven't played Super Mario Galaxy. In North America, help for beginners is found on the official website as well as on the Nintendo Channel.

General
Every one hundred years, shining stardust falls on Mushroom Kingdom. On this particular day, residents of the Mushroom Kingdom come out and enjoy throwing and playing with the stardust.

Princess Peach invites Mario to share some cake while watching the shooting stars. On his way to Peach's Castle, Mario finds a lost Baby Luma, who seems to like Mario and jumps into his hat, granting him spin power. Near the castle, Mario discovers it under attack by Bowser, now gigantic thanks to the Power Stars, who kidnaps Peach and takes her away to the center of the universe. In response, Lumas who crashed near the castle offer to aid Mario to chase Bowser by transforming into a Launch Star and launcing Mario to space.

After collecting a Power Star, Mario arrives on a planet-like object, where he meets Lubba, who tells his crew and their spaceship were attacked by Bowser. Realizing both him and Mario need each other's help to collect the stolen Power Stars and rescue Peach, he uses the Power Star to fix his ship and transform it into Starship Mario, which is used to travel through space and find more Power Stars. During his travels, Mario has to deal with Bowser's forces, including Bowser Jr. and Giant Bowser himself.

Finally, Mario and friends locate Bowser's Galaxy Generator, where Bowser is fought for the final time. After Bowser's defeat, his empire becomes undone, and Peach is saved. A comet which was caught by Bowser's fortress is also freed, and is revealed to be the Comet Observatory. Rosalina then appears, happy to see that Baby Luma is safe. Baby Luma, overjoyed that he's reunited with his "mama", heads back to his home, and takes Mario's hat as a souvenir, much to Mario's surprise. After the Comet Observatory leaves, Mario and Peach return to their own home using the Starship Mario. Along the way, Bowser is shown in a miniature form near Peach's Castle.

If the player collects the first 120 Power Stars and battles Bowser again in his fortress, an extra scene is shown after the credits, revealing Rosalina and her Lumas in the Comet Observatory's Library. She has finished reading a story to them (possibly the events of the game itself) and plans on telling the Lumas a new story about the Green Power Stars. A new feature is then unlocked in which all the galaxies are visited by green Prankster Comets. From there, the player must hunt down all the Green Stars. When they are all collected (adding up to 240 Power Stars), the Grandmaster Galaxy will be opened in World S. It houses the last two Power Stars, and when the last one is reached, Rosalina will congratulate the player, and will appear on Starship Mario.

From instruction booklet
Shining stardust falls on the Mushroom Kingdom once every hundred years. That time had come again…

"Dear Mario,

Would you like to share some cake while we watch the shooting stars? Meet me at the castle!" -Peach

Mario ran through the field with stars falling around him. Suddenly, he noticed a strange light in the grass.

As he peered cautiously through the reeds, he saw a small, lost Luma.

With the baby Luma tucked safely under his cap, Mario rushed on to the castle.

But when he got there, something unexpected was waiting for him…

Gameplay elements
Gameplay is similar to Super Mario Galaxy, with a focus on platforming based on and around 3-D planets of varying sizes and with many different types of surfaces. Power-ups, such as the Bee Mushroom, Boo Mushroom, Spring Mushroom, and Fire Flower make a return, along with new ones such as the Rock Mushroom and the Cloud Flower, as well as various enemies and Airships. Launch Stars reappear for interplanetary navigation, along with a Luma and Mario's spin action. Additionally, the concept of "Dark Matter" appears as the medium of which Cosmic Clones are composed, and as a portal through which Airships emerge from. 2-D stages featured in Super Mario Galaxy are also included in Super Mario Galaxy 2, introducing many new features. The game has only 3 file slots to use, unlike the 6 files in the preceding game and files can no longer be copied.

Mario is controlled with the analog stick and can jump with the. The works just as the  trigger did in Super Mario 64. The player uses it to make Mario crouch, do Somersaults and do Long Jumps. The centers the camera behind Mario, while the  can adjust the camera angle manually. By pressing the upper part of the, the player can enter a first person perspective.

The game also uses the motion-sensors of the Wii Remote. The pointer of the Remote appears as the Star Cursor on the screen. The Star Cursor is used to perform a variety of actions, such as using Pull Stars, manipulating Sling Pods, and collecting Star Bits. Shaking the Wii Remote or Nunchuk will make Mario perform a Spin.

One of the more notable additions in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the inclusion of Yoshi. If Mario were to discover a Yoshi egg, he would merely crack it to release and use Yoshi. Yoshi will change colors when eating either a Dash Pepper, Blimp Berry or Bulb Berry; a Dash Yoshi darts at rapid speeds, a Blimp Yoshi inflates and floats upwards, and a Bulb Yoshi lights up and shows hidden paths for a certain amount of time, respectively. When utilizing Yoshi, the player's Wii Remote cursor turns into a red sphere that detects targets for Yoshi's tongue. Using the cursor allows Yoshi to swallow enemies and swing from special flowers.

Elements from older games are also included in the new game. These elements include a remix of Super Mario Bros.'s overworld theme (which is originally heard in Toy Time Galaxy from the predecessor, Super Mario Galaxy), a galaxy that is reminiscent of Giant Land from Super Mario Bros. 3, a remix of the second overworld theme from Super Mario World, the checkpoint flag from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and a remix of the main theme and slide theme from Super Mario 64.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 features a singular hub, different from any Mario 3-D game. For traveling between different galaxies Mario will use a planet shaped like his head, Starship Mario. Starship Mario can still be explored, much like the Comet Observatory, although it is smaller. The game has a total of 242 stars to collect, including 120 Power Stars, 120 Green Power Stars and an extra 2 Power Stars in Grandmaster Galaxy.

Multiplayer from the original Super Mario Galaxy reappears, but instead of being another star cursor, the second player is a Co-Star Luma. The second player in Super Mario Galaxy 2 can stun enemies and pick up Star Bits like in Super Mario Galaxy, but now it can pick up coins (including Purple Coins) and mushrooms, defeat enemies by spinning, stop the Star Ball (while player 1 is riding on it), activate checkpoints, and flip switches.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 features ways to help players during gameplay similar to the Super Guide mode seen in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. The player may request to the Tip Network, which it is a short demonstration of Mario taking some actions to progress on certain level. Another way the game offers is the Cosmic Guide mode. If the player finds a very difficult obstacle on his or her way, an entity known as the Cosmic Spirit will ask Mario if he needs some help. Activating this mode, Mario will pass automatically through the level to find the Star. The player may stop this mode by pressing the, though once the player has chosen this mode, they will finish a level by getting a Bronze Star instead of one gold. The player must play through the level without the Cosmic Guide in order to gain a gold Star.

In addition to that, unlike in Super Mario Galaxy, the player can now switch between playing as Mario or playing as Luigi in certain levels. If the player clears Bowser's Galaxy Generator, Luigi can be played as in any level.

Returning enemies
* - Enemies which first appeared in Super Mario Galaxy.

Bosses
Twenty one bosses appear in the game. Some of them are fought more than once. The numbers below include Prankster Comet encounters.
 * 1) Peewee Piranha ×2
 * 2) Giga Lakitu ×1
 * 3) Digga-Leg ×2
 * 4) Gobblegut ×2
 * 5) Mandibug Stack (miniboss) ×1
 * 6) Bugaboom ×1
 * 7) Rollodillo ×1
 * 8) Sorbetti ×1
 * 9) Megahammer ×2
 * 10) Glamdozer ×1
 * 11) Squizzard ×2
 * 12) Prince Pikante ×1
 * 13) Bowser Jr.'s Boomsday Machine ×2
 * 14) Whomp King ×1
 * 15) Fire Gobblegut ×1
 * 16) Giant Bowser ×3
 * 17) Dino Piranha ×4
 * 18) King Kaliente ×4
 * 19) Major Burrows ×3
 * 20) Bouldergeist ×2
 * 21) Fiery Dino Piranha ×2

Note: There is a Green Star on Major Burrows's planet and Bouldergeist's arena. In these situations, the player can choose to ignore the two bosses and go for the Green Star instead.

Power Ups
This game introduces the Cloud Flower, the Spin Drill and the Rock Mushroom. The Ice Flower and the Red Star are the only Power-Ups from the first game not to make a comeback appearance in the sequel. All of the Power-Ups except for the Rainbow Star appear in the Engine Room of Starship Mario, though none can be used, as they are contained as souvenirs in small glass domes which cannot be penetrated. However, the Cloud Flower will appear on the "forehead" of the Starship Mario which can be used around the ship.

Yoshi and Fruits
These are Yoshi's powerups and the locations they are in, along with the locations that Yoshi himself is in.

Prankster Comets
Like the previous game, Prankster Comets appear and cause special missions to appear. While some comets from the first game return, others are completely new. Unlike the previous game however, comets are gotten by collecting Comet Medals instead of appearing randomly; also, not all galaxies have a comet (barring the Green Comet that appears after all 120 regular Power Stars are gotten). The table below shows how many Comet Medals it takes to cause a Prankster Comet to appear in a certain galaxy, as shown in the Prima Official Game Guide:

This table shows the galaxies that do not have a comet associated with them:

Galaxies
All forty-nine Galaxies can be accessed via the Grand World Map with Starship Mario. There are seven more galaxies in this game than in the first game. Galaxies marked with an asterisk ( * ) are only accessible by feeding a Hungry Luma.

Development
The development of Super Mario Galaxy 2 started as soon as the first Super Mario Galaxy was released. Many of the ideas were based on those shown in the first game, which, for example, included moving or adding new stars in the levels. The project was initially called  Super Mario Galaxy 1.5. The development of the new version of the game lasted a year; however, Miyamoto realized that the new game was beginning to overflow with new elements and ideas. Therefore, the team decided to create a real Super Mario Galaxy sequel rather than a new version of the original installment. The development of the sequel then lasted two and half years.

The game was revealed at E3 2009, along with New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Although the game was far along in development, it was held back to 2010 due to the release of New Super Mario Bros. Wii in November 2009. According to Shigeru Miyamoto, 90% of the features in the game would be new, whereas the remaining 10% were already introduced or featured in the original Super Mario Galaxy. Shigeru Miyamoto noted, "Really what we ended up with is more than 90% of what you'll see in Galaxy 2 is brand new. I'd say closer to 95, maybe even 99%. One of the new things was the inclusion of Yoshi, and also the use of the drill to open up and drill through stages." On the other hand, Miyamoto stated in an interview that he wanted to go with as little story as possible for Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Some of the developers wanted to include characters from other Nintendo franchises, such as Pikmin or Donkey Kong. However, Miyamoto shot down the idea.

CEO of Nintendo America Reggie Fils-Aime stated that Super Mario Galaxy 2 would be more challenging regarding its predecessor. It was hinted that the new game would implement a tool-assisted guide, similar to the Super Guide from New Super Mario Bros Wii. It was eventually confirmed, although it worked differently. Beginner players could use the Cosmic Guide mode (activated when encountering the Cosmic Spirit) or the Tip Network to learn moves and hints during gameplay. Japanese, European and Australian boxes came with a special DVD to help players to know basic and expert techniques of the game.

Super Mario Galaxy 2: Original Soundtrack
An official soundtrack for the game has been released. It is a two-disc edition exclusive to Club Nintendo members in Japan which holds all seventy songs from the game. The game's official soundtrack is performed by the Mario Galaxy Orchestra.

Reception
Super Mario Galaxy 2 has received widespread critical acclaim. EDGE magazine has given the game a perfect score of 10 out of 10, being the third Mario game so far to receive such rating (the others were Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy). Official Nintendo Magazine grants it a 97%, while Game Informer has given the game 9.25 out of 10. Nintendo Power gave it a 9.5 out of 10. IGN and Gamespot granted the game a perfect 10/10, as well as GamesRadar. Gamespot also gave the game the Best Platforming Award and the Best Wii Game Award of 2010. IGN named it the Best Wii Game of all time. Gametrailers has given a 9.7 from 10, while Famitsu a 37 out of 40. GamePro gave four and half stars, X-Play gave it a perfect five out of five stars, and 1UP.com an "A" rating. Nintendo Power also gave the game many awards in addition to the near perfect score, including the Overall Game of the Year Award (Readers), Best Wii Game of 2010 (Staff and Readers), and more. It was awarded Game of the Year and Best Game on Wii by Guinness Book of World Records Gamer's Edition 2011.

Upon its release, Super Mario Galaxy 2 was met with critical acclaim, and is one of the highest rated video games of all time on the aggregation sites Metacritic and GameRankings. It is one of the best-selling games on the Wii, with 6.36 million copies sold worldwide.

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: Supermassive Galaxy's music, which is itself a remix of Toy Time Galaxy's music from the first game, originated from this game's overworld music. Other music from this game returned from Super Mario Galaxy as well.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Supermassive Galaxy is similar to Giant Land from this game, as the two are of massive size and feature giant versions of common items and enemies.
 * Super Mario World: Yoshi, who first appeared in this game, is playable in Super Mario Galaxy 2, and the percussion sounds heard when riding on Yoshi are re-used. In fact, when Mario first saves Yoshi, his speech is obviously based on his speech in this game. Additionally, this game's athletic theme returns as Hightail Falls Galaxy's music, and the Ghost House theme returns as Haunty Halls Galaxy's music. Also, the sound effect that is heard when a P-Switch's effect is about to run out is used in the bonus areas of Super Mario Galaxy 2, and the sound effect heard when passing through a door in this game is used when opening a door in Boo Moon Galaxy.
 * Yoshi's Cookie: Some of the cookies seen inside the chocolate box platforms via the Bulb Berry in Sweet Mystery Galaxy are the checked cookies from this game.
 * Super Mario 64: The slider theme from this game (and its remake) is used for Tall Trunk Galaxy and Rolling Coaster Galaxy. The "Bowser's Road" theme is remixed once again. Also, the Throwback Galaxy is a replica of Whomp's Fortress, and its boss, the Whomp King, is fought there. Both games start with Peach sending a letter to Mario involving cake. Additionally, the "Inside the Castle Walls" theme can be heard when rescuing Peach and the final Grand Star in Super Mario Galaxy 2. The Rainbow Star theme is remixed once again from the Wing Cap and Vanish Cap theme. Finally, Mario says, "Thank you so much for playing my game!" after the ending credits, just as he did in this game.
 * Super Mario Sunshine: The Starshine Beach Galaxy is based on some elements from this game. The Twisty Trials Galaxy is a replica of the secret level found in Episode 4 of Ricco Harbor. The red and blue flipping platforms return, although they work differently. Piantas also return.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: The Midway Flag returns from this game, and the Cosmic Guide and Tip Network are based on the Super Guide and Hint Movies from this game, respectively. Also, the world maps are based on the one from this game. In both games, Bowser is giant, and the final battle is divided in two different parts, the latter having a bigger Bowser. The model for the Koopalings' cake reappears in Super Mario Galaxy 2's credits. Additionally, when players collect all the coins in a certain time limit that were accessed by a switch in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the audience claps in the same fashion they did in this game.

References in later games

 * Donkey Kong Country Returns: The Flip-Out Galaxy's concept is back (but slighty changed) for the Switcheroo level.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: Star Coins appear with a similar design to the Comet Medals. In addition, the theme used on bonus planets return. The blue and red flipping platforms return, and the "beat blocks" return as well. Cosmic Clones return, but they look different. The beta theme for the Boom Boom battle was the same theme played when fighting Peewee Piranha.
 * Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games: The Sky Station Galaxy (under the name "Synchro Battle Galaxy") appears in the Dream Spacewalk event.
 * Fortune Street: Starship Mario makes an appearance as one of the Mario series game boards.
 * Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U: Starship Mario appears in the background of the Mario Galaxy stage.