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. The game is scheduled to be released in North America on November 12th, 2007. With 700,000 copies preordered in Japan, and 400,000 in the U.S., it is the most preordered Wii game ever.

Super Mario Galaxy, unlike other Mario games, takes place in outer space. The game's levels consist of many planets, some big and some small, some flat and some round. The game will have six themed areas, 40 galaxies, and 120 stars to collect.

For some odd reason, many of the enemies and three of the known bosses have tube-like mouths that resemble those of Snifits.

Story
From the Nintendo Power Magazine: "Every hundred years a comet passes over the Mushroom Kingdom and rains down magical stars and stardust, and as Princess Peach and the citizens of the kingdom are celebrating the centennial event, Bowser and his legions attack. As Mario attempts to put a stop to Bowser’s shenanigans, but things go awry: the next thing he knows, he finds himself on a mysterious moon high above the Mushroom Kingdom." In a video, Bowser comes in his airships, and attacks Toad Town, freezing Toads and taking Princess Peach's Castle up into space. A Magikoopa shoots Mario into outer space. He later wakes up on a small grassy planet and meets Tyke, who turns into a Space Rabbit. Mario chases him and two other rabbits, who tell him he is in space. It is known that they take him to meet Princess Rosetta. Mario then starts his journey across the Galaxies, freeing Grand Stars and ultimately rescuing Princess Peach. Recent gameplay footage has shown Luigi in a jail cell and calling out for Mario in a haunted house.

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 spin attack. (Not a Spin Jump, just a quick spin, conjecturally called a Star Spin.) The Star Cursor is also used to perform a variety of tasks, from climbing vines, to manipulating Wobble Launchers, to collecting Star Shards.

Unlike the last two titles, a Co-Op Mode is available, in which the second player controls a second Star Cursor. The extra Star Cursor, unlike the main one, can be used to freeze enemies in their tracks with a press of the B Button, so that Mario can defeat them easily. The game features new items like the Boost Star, which allows Mario to launch off of a planet and go flying to the next. There is no warning that a boss might be located on the next planet, no indication that Mario may be facing something terrible or something peaceful on where he's headed next, and no loading screens or mission select screens for levels.

It has also been recently announced that Manta Rays will take the place of Bloopers from Super Mario Sunshine, in that Mario will ride them during a mini race stage.

New enemies have come into the game like the Cosmic Bloopers, and the Cosmic Bullet Bills. However, Mario meets new friends too, like 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 "collect the 120 stars" goal that was first introduced in Super Mario 64.

Additionally, Mario will retain his ability to gain different abilities, via special mushrooms. Similar to Super Mario 64, in which he could obtain the Wing Cap and Metal Cap, Mario will be able to collect suits, such as the Bee Suit and the Boo Suit, which allow him to transform into Bee Mario and Boo Mario, respectively, with more suits as well. Also, the Fire Flower, the Starman, and the Super Mushroom have been confirmed as items. The Super Mushroom will max out the health meter. A strange Ice Flower has recently been revealed, along with a mushroom that turns Mario into a bouncing spring. Also, the Cannon from Super Mario 64 will return.

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

The game will also have side-scrolling levels with classic enemies such as Thwomps, Piranha Plants, and others. They will have classic items like the Fire Flower in these levels.

It will also feature things that went absent in Super Mario Sunshine. Some include Goombas, Swoopers, the long jump, Koopa shells, and others.

Confirmed Bosses
Nine bosses have been revealed for the game.


 * King Magma Blooper
 * Megaleg
 * Colossal Scuttle Bug
 * Prehistoric Piranha
 * Bugaboom
 * Bowser Jr.
 * Giant Magikoopa
 * Bowser
 * A rock shaped creature which will probably be fought in the battle rock galaxy.

Confirmed Items
In Mario's new adventure, he uses many new items that give him moves he's never had before.
 * Wobble Launcher
 * Boost Star
 * Beam Star
 * Star Shard
 * Boo Suit
 * Star Chip
 * Rainbow Notes
 * Bee Suit
 * Item Crystal
 * Super Mushroom
 * Fire Flower
 * Power Star
 * Ice Flower
 * Rainbow Star
 * Spring Star
 * Silver Star
 * ? Block
 * Koopa Shell
 * Spring Mushroom
 * Grand Star

Confirmed Characters
Many characters Mario encounters in the galaxy.


 * Mario
 * Princess Peach
 * Bowser
 * Bowser Jr.
 * Cosmic Toads (New)
 * Space Rabbits (New)
 * Bees (New)
 * Princess Rosetta (New)
 * Queen Bee (New)
 * Penguins
 * Tyke and other Luma (New)
 * Manta Ray
 * Luigi

Confirmed Enemies

 * Cosmic Bloopers
 * Cosmic Tox Boxes
 * Chomp Heads
 * Boulders
 * Swoopin' Poinks
 * Mandibugs
 * Whomps, Thwomps, Thwimps, Pokeys, Bob-ombs, Swoopers, Boos, Goombas, Grand Goombas, Wigglers, and Cataquacks have been revealed, but it is unknown whether they too are 'Cosmic' species. Additionally, what resembles a Poison Pokey can be seen in a screenshot.
 * An undersea creature resembling Eely Mouth or Unagi the Eel has also been revealed, but it is unknown whether it is to be a boss or a Cosmic species.
 * Piranha Plants have been revealed to be in the game. There is one that is purple in color, and harder to defeat.
 * A strange, spider like creature has appeared in the Stardust Galaxy. It could possibly be an extraterrestrial Scuttle Bug.
 * Spacebugs
 * Pumpkin Heads
 * Both Magikoopas and Dry Bones will make their debut in a 3-D platformer.
 * A strange robot-like creature; several have been seen.
 * Something that, strangely, looks like a robotic spinning top, seen on the Lava Planet.
 * A enemy that digs underground and resembles a Monty Mole has been seen. It could be some type of boss, or it might be a regular enemy. However, in a Japanese short ad it seems to be a boss.

Galaxies
Some galaxies can be accesed from domes, like the Terrace which leads to certain galaxies. These domes are found in the Comet Observatory, where new areas become accessable as Mario gains Grand Stars.




 * Good Egg Galaxy
 * Gateway Galaxy
 * Honeyhive Galaxy
 * Star Dust Galaxy
 * Sweet Sweet Galaxy
 * Beach Bowl Galaxy
 * Haunted House Galaxy
 * Ghostly Galaxy
 * Loopdeeloop Galaxy
 * Rock Battle Galaxy
 * Rolling Green Galaxy
 * Bowser's Star Reactor
 * FreezeFlame Galaxy
 * Flipswitch Galaxy

Planets

 * Airship
 * Apple Planets
 * Asteroid Planet
 * Boulder Planet
 * Castle Planet
 * Crystal Planet
 * Geo Planet
 * Lava Planet
 * Magma Planet
 * Mix Planet
 * Obstacle Planet
 * Origin Planet
 * Pill Planet
 * Pokey Planet
 * Rock Planet
 * Space Boat
 * Space Cube
 * Space Ship
 * Star World
 * Sticky Planet
 * Tech Planet
 * Tropic Planet
 * Wood Planet
 * Yoshi Egg Planet
 * Yoshi Planet
 * Desert Planet
 * Water Planet
 * Ice Planet

Mini-Games

 * Manta Ray Surfing
 * Sling Shot
 * Bubble Blowing
 * Cannon Ball
 * Vine Climber

Trivia

 * Bowser uprooted Peach's castle once before, in Paper Mario, but only lifted it into the sky, and not into Outer Space.
 * The airships from Super Mario Bros. 3 finally return in this game.
 * Many classic items return in this game such as the Fire Flower.
 * This is one of the only two Mario games where Bowser displays the power to create electricity. The other is Hotel Mario. However, the Bowser suit in Luigi's Mansion also had the ability to create electricity.
 * This is the 3-D debut of Fire Mario, as well as the debut of Bee Mario, Boo Mario, Spring Mario, Ice Mario, and Rainbow Mario.

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%, making it the highest scoring game in the magazine's history, along with The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess and Resident Evil 4. 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.