Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy is the newest sequel to the series of Mario's 3-D platformers, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. It uses parts of the cancelled Mario game for the GameCube, Super Mario 128. With 700,000 copies preordered in Japan, and 400,000 in the U.S., it is the most demanded Wii game to date.

Super Mario Galaxy, unlike other Mario games, takes place in deep space. Most of the game's levels consist of many planets and planetoids. The game has 242 stars to collect (120 for Mario and 120 for Luigi, and an additional star for both after they have each collected 120 stars).

Story


Every hundred years a comet passes over the Mushroom Kingdom and rains down magical stars and stardust. Princess Peach invites Mario to her castle to join in the festivities and receive a special gift. As the citizens of the kingdom are celebrating the centennial event, Bowser attacks the Toads with his airships and freezes them in crystals. He "invites" Peach to the creation of his new galaxy and warps into space with her castle to the center of the universe. When Mario tries to save her, a Magikoopa breaks the airborne path to the castle causing Mario to fall onto an unknown land.

Mario later wakes up on a small grassy moon and meets three Space Rabbits who promise to tell Mario where he is if he catches them. When he does so, they take him to meet Princess Rosalina, who tells Mario that the universe is in great peril after Bowser attacked her "ship", the Comet Observatory, and stole the Power Stars, including the seven Grand Stars. Without these, the Comet Observatory is doomed. Rosalina asks him to rescue the Grand Stars in order to defeat Bowser, who took Peach to the center of the universe. Mario then starts his journey across the galaxies, freeing Power- and Grand Stars. Once five of the Grand Stars are collected, the Comet Observatory becomes a starship and takes Mario to the center of the universe.

Here he defeats Bowser in his brand-new galaxy, retrieves the last Grand Star, and rescues Princess Peach. Without this Grand Star, the sun of Bowser's near-complete galaxy undergoes a supernova and becomes a gigantic black hole. Everything in the universe begins to fall in. The Lumas from the Comet Observatory, including the Luma who had faithfully accompanied Mario, throw themselves into the black hole, in order to neutralise it. The lumas attack the black hole's singularity, and the it soon disintigrates in a massive explosion. Mario appears in front of Rosalina, who had somehow managed to save him from the cataclysm. She tells him that this is not the end, but a new beginning for the universe, and that the universe is an endless cycle, but one that never repeats itself exactly the same way each time.

Mario later awakens in the Mushroom Kingdom near Peach's castle. He sees everyone he's met throughout his adventure celebrating, while Bowser and Peach sit next to him. "Welcome! Welcome new galaxy!" Mario exclaims, as the camera zooms out into space, revealing that the whole universe has been merged into one giant galaxy, and the game ends. If you beat the game with 120 stars, after the credits Rosalina and a group of Lumas appear on the planet Mario started on at the beginning of the game. Rosalina says "I'll be watching you from the stars," and flies off to the Comet Observatory. Finally, the white Luma is shown to be alive, now residing on the small planet.

Unique Features
Super Mario Galaxy has many brand-new features that no Mario game has ever had, one of which is the Star Cursor. The player can shake the Wii Remote and make Mario perform a Star Spin. The Star Cursor is also used to perform a variety of tasks, from using Pull Stars, to manipulating Sling Pods, to collecting Star Bits.

Unlike the last two titles, a "Co-Star" (Co-op) mode is available, in which the second player controls a second Star Cursor. The extra Star Cursor, unlike the main one, has the power to hold enemies still, shake bushes, and push certain things around. The game features new items such as the Launch Star, which allows Mario to launch off of a planet and go flying to the next. There is little or no warning that a boss might be located on the next planet, little indication that Mario may be facing something terrible or something peaceful on where he's headed next, and no loading times and screens

Manta Rays take the place of Bloopers from Super Mario Sunshine. Mario will ride them in a pair of mini-game-like racing stages.

New enemies in this game include the Cosmic Bloopers and the Cosmic Bullet Bills. However, Mario meets new friends too, such as Cosmic Toads and Space Rabbits. Stars make a comeback, leaving Shine Sprites in the dust with their new orange-golden shine. The game will have the traditional goal of collecting 120 stars (first seen in Super Mario 64), though with the slight twist of an unlockable finale star at the end and a new mission to re-collect all stars playing as Luigi, making for a grand total of 242 collectible stars.

Additionally, Mario retains his ability to gain different abilities, via special mushrooms. Similar to Super Mario 64, in which he could obtain the Wing-,  Vanish-, and Metal Caps, Mario is able to collect mushrooms, such as the Bee Mushroom and the Boo Mushroom, which allow him to transform into Bee Mario and Boo Mario, respectively. The Life Mushroom replenishes any lost health and adds a second health meter, making Mario's max. health six. Other powerups include the Spring Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Ice Flower. In addition, the Cannon from Super Mario 64 returns.

The game also has a level intro for each and every star, as in Super Mario Sunshine. Similar to Princess Peach's castle in Super Mario 64, the Comet Observatory acts as the game's hub world.

The game also contains side-scrolling levels reminiscent of New Super Mario Bros. with classic enemies such as Thwomps and Piranha Plants.

As in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario can jump on NPCs to gain extra height or annoy them.

It also features items and enemies that were absent in Super Mario Sunshine, including Goombas, Swoopers, the long jump, and Koopa shells.

Once the player beats the game and gains 120 stars as Mario, he or she can go back to Rosalina and ask to fight Bowser again. Once Bowser is re-defeated, the Player now has the option to play as Luigi. He is faster and jumps higher than Mario, but he has less friction, making the game slightly harder. Luigi's Star Spin also takes slightly longer to re-charge, and he has less air capacity than his brother. Luigi also loses air for every time he uses the Star Spin underwater. Once the player beats the game and collects 120 stars as Luigi, the 121st star becomes available.

Oddly enough, when playing through the game as Luigi, the stars that required Mario to meet Luigi still use Luigi, bringing up the issue of two Luigis in the game. Luigi ends up rescuing himself from the Haunted Mansion. Rosalina then calls the second Luigi Luigi's twin. At first, they appear to be exactly the same. However, if one looks closely at them, one will notice the playable Luigi is wearing lighter green clothes and is slightly shorter. It is unknown which one is the true Luigi.

Super Mario Galaxy contains a few different types of stars, including red, green, and comet  stars. The green stars are secret  stars which are used to unlock the Trial Galaxies and one red star appears when Mario returns to the gate, which allows usage of the Red Star in the Observatory.

The thirty comet stars are obtained by completing special challenges in the larger galaxies, such as speed runs of certain missions, "daredevil" runs (in which Mario's max health is one), racing cosmic clones of Mario or Luigi, and double the speed of enemies. Any one of these (and only one per galaxy) appear at random times in each of the fifteen multi-star galaxies. The other fifteen are a fifth comet, common to each galaxy that appears after defeating Bowser for the first time, forcing missions where the player must collect one hundred purple coins.

If the player collects 9999 starbits along with 120 stars, all the coconuts in the game turn into watermelons, though 6000 star bits must be fed to the Hungry Lumas to get 7 of those stars.

Bosses
Sixteen bosses are in the game.
 * 1) Dino Piranha
 * 2) King Kaliente
 * 3) Bugaboom
 * 4) Megaleg
 * 5) Kamella
 * 6) Tarantox
 * 7) Topmaniac
 * 8) Bouldergeist
 * 9) Major Burrows
 * 10) Baron Brr
 * 11) Undergrunt Gunner
 * 12) Mecha Bowser
 * 13) Kingfin
 * 14) Fiery Dino Piranha
 * 15) Bowser Jr.
 * 16) Bowser

Items
In Mario's new adventure, he uses many new and returning items that give him moves he's never had before.
 * ? Block
 * Bee Mushroom
 * Boo Mushroom
 * Fire Flower
 * Grand Star
 * Green Power Star
 * Ice Flower
 * Item Crystal
 * Koopa Shell
 * Launch Star
 * Life Mushroom
 * Power Star
 * Pull Star
 * Purple Coin
 * Rainbow Notes
 * Rainbow Star
 * Red Power Star
 * Red Star
 * Sling Pod
 * Sling Star
 * Silver Star
 * Spring Mushroom
 * Star Bits
 * Star Chip

Characters
Mario and Luigi encounter many characters in the galaxies.


 * Mario
 * Princess Peach
 * Bowser
 * Bowser Jr.
 * Space Rabbit (New)
 * Bees (New)
 * Princess Rosalina (New)
 * Queen Bee (New)
 * Toad Brigade
 * Penguin
 * Penguru (New)
 * Luma (New)
 * Ray
 * Luigi
 * Cosmic Mario/Luigi (New)
 * Guppy (New)
 * Bill Board (New)
 * Gil Board (New)
 * Phil Board (New)
 * Jill Board (New)
 * Gearmo (New)
 * Spooky Speedster (New)

New Enemies

 * Electrogoombas
 * Boulders
 * Swoopin' Poinks
 * Mandibugs
 * Gringills
 * Cosmic Scuttle Bugs
 * Pumpkin Heads
 * Topman
 * Bomb Boos
 * A giant jellyfish-like creature.
 * Fire Shooters
 * Water Shooters
 * A blue crab
 * A red crab

Returning Enemies

 * Chomp Heads
 * Thwomps
 * Both Magikoopas and Dry Bones make their debut in a 3-D platformer.
 * Mecha-Koopas
 * Bloopers
 * Koopas
 * Goombas (standard, and the round ones from Super Mario World)
 * Grand Goombas
 * Bob-ombs
 * Pokeys
 * Boos
 * Swoopers
 * Wigglers
 * Banzai Bills
 * Preying Mantases
 * Piranha Plants
 * Cheep-Cheeps
 * Urchins
 * Pushy Walls
 * Tweesters
 * Firebars
 * Bullet Bills
 * Torpedo Teds
 * Rocky Wrenches
 * Cataquacks
 * Amps
 * Podoboos
 * Tox Boxes
 * Mad Pokeys
 * Poison Pokey Sprouts
 * Bungee Piranhas

Galaxies
Most galaxies can be accessed from domes, such as the Terrace, which leads to certain galaxies. The domes are found in the Comet Observatory, where new areas become accessable as Mario gains Power Stars and Grand Stars. A minimum number of Power Stars is required to have enough power to go to each multi-star galaxy, single non-Grand Star galaxies with a ? Block icon when locked are bonuses for finishing certain star missions.

The Gateway to the Starry Sky

 * Gateway Galaxy

The Terrace

 * Good Egg Galaxy (1 star)
 * Honeyhive Galaxy (3 stars)
 * Loopdeeloop Galaxy
 * Flipswitch Galaxy
 * Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor (8 stars)

The Fountain

 * Space Junk Galaxy (9 stars)
 * Battlerock Galaxy (12 stars)
 * Rolling Green Galaxy
 * Hurry-Scurry Galaxy
 * Bowser's Star Reactor (15 stars)

The Kitchen

 * Beach Bowl Galaxy (16 stars)
 * Ghostly Galaxy (20 stars)
 * Bubble Breeze Galaxy
 * Buoy Base Galaxy
 * Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada (23 stars)

The Bedroom

 * Gusty Garden Galaxy (24 stars)
 * Freezeflame Galaxy (26 stars)
 * Dusty Dune Galaxy (29 stars)
 * Honeyclimb Galaxy
 * Bowser's Dark Matter Plant (33 stars)

The Engine Room

 * Gold Leaf Galaxy (34 stars)
 * Sea Slide Galaxy (36 stars)
 * Toy Time Galaxy (40 stars)
 * Bonefin Galaxy
 * Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor (45 stars)

The Garden

 * Deep Dark Galaxy (46 stars)
 * Dreadnought Galaxy (48 stars)
 * Melty Molten Galaxy (52 stars)
 * Matter Splatter Galaxy

Hungry Luma Galaxies
At certain intervals, Hungry Lumas will appear outside of each dome in the Observatory, asking for a high quantity of star bits (Mario or Luigi will be able to use their total stash from all completed star missions, however). They will transform into whole galaxies when fully fed, each with one Power Star.


 * Sweet Sweet Galaxy (outside of the Terrace, 7 stars, 400 star bits)
 * Sling Pod Galaxy (outside of the Fountain, 15 stars, 400 star bits)
 * Drip Drop Galaxy (outside of the Kitchen, 22 stars, 600 star bits)
 * Bigmouth Galaxy (outside of the Bedroom, 39 stars, 800 star bits)
 * Sand Spiral Galaxy (outside of the Engine Room, 50 stars, 1000 star bits)
 * Boo's Boneyard Galaxy (outside of the Gate, 58 stars, 1200 star bits)
 * Snow Cap Galaxy (outside of the Garden, 65 stars, 1600 star bits)

The Center of the Universe

 * Bowser's Galaxy Reactor (60 stars)

The Trial Galaxies
The trial galaxies are slightly more difficult than the other galaxies, and require all 3 Green Power Stars to open up.


 * Loopdeeswoop Galaxy
 * Rolling Gizmo Galaxy
 * Bubble Blast Galaxy

The Grand Finale

 * Grand Finale Galaxy (240 stars [120 with both Mario & Luigi])



Mini-Games

 * Bubble Blowing
 * Surfing 101
 * Rolling Ball
 * All three can be found in the trial galaxies

Reception
Famitsu Magazine has given Super Mario Galaxy a score of 38/40. (This means two reviewers gave it a nine, and two gave it a perfect ten.) To put that in perspective, Super Mario Sunshine was given 37/40 and Super Mario 64 39/40. The Official Nintendo Magazine UK gave the game 97%, but Donkey Kong Country 2 and Super Mario World 2 got 98% in past issues of Official Nintendo Magazine. It was called the best game of the decade and praised for having excellent graphics, sound and gameplay as well as a mixture of new features and classic features.

Forms
Mario has many forms in this game:


 * Bee Mario
 * Boo Mario
 * Fire Mario
 * Flying Mario
 * Ice Mario
 * Rainbow Mario
 * Spring Mario

Artwork
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Trivia

 * Bowser uprooted Peach's castle once before, in Paper Mario, but only lifted it into the sky, and it is unknown if it was in space in that game, or if it was simply dark outside.
 * Like the beginning of Super Mario 64, Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, this game's opening features a letter from Peach to Mario.
 * Surfing 101 and The Galaxy's Greatest Wave have the same functions as Super Mario Sunshine's Ricco Harbor minigame Blooper Safari, with the Manta Ray replacing the Bloopers.
 * People who pre-ordered Galaxy got a small booklet and a commemorative coin with Mario soaring and a Luma on it.
 * By coincidence, the title Super Mario Galaxy was first mentioned in a fan letter written to Nintendo Power by Jimmy Peterford of Glen Cove, New York. The letter in question, which was printed in the December 1991 issue, detailed a fantasy game system called the Raw Power System, which would come bundled with a game titled Super Mario Galaxy, but in Jimmy's words, would be "better known as Super Mario Bros. 24!"
 * The fact that airships reappeared in the game started speculated that the Koopalings could appear, however this was proven as false.