Buoy Base Galaxy

"This here's a floating fortress. We call it Buoy Base. But nobody's using it now, so we're just here for upkeep."

- Gearmo

The Buoy Base Galaxy is a galaxy that appears in Super Mario Galaxy. The galaxy contains a large fortress floating atop a large, spherical pool of water. Mario has to climb this fortress in order to get the main Power Star in this galaxy.

The Buoy Base is the main part of the Buoy Base Galaxy that consists of a large pool of water and an area above it which contains many obstacles, including Topmen, Thwomps, and Amps. The main objective of this part of the planet is to collect five blue Star Chips to form a Pull Star leading to the Poké Ball Planet. Submerged in the large pool of water at the bottom of the planet are multiple Bill Blasters and Torpedo Teds. A secret caged Warp Pipe in the pool of water leads to the underside of the planet, where more Bill Blasters and a cage containing a Green Star can be found.

The Poké Ball Planet is a giant sphere filled with water above the Buoy Base. It has a screw on it that Mario must Star Spin to open the planet and retrieve a power star inside of it and also two pulse-wave generating machines, one of which is actually the screw. It is remarkably small in comparison to the Buoy Base, and is remarkably easier as well. It looks like a giant Poké Ball.

The Floating Fortress
In The Floating Fortress, the objective is to scale the fortress and receive the Power Star, located on a planetoid above the fortress. In order to do this, the player must first enter the pool of water and release the weight from within by directing the attacking Torpedo Teds towards the weight. Then Mario must begin his ascent, surviving the various traps that have been put in place to stop him, collecting the five blue star chips, to eventually lay out a path of Pull Stars towards the next planet. There, Mario has to head to the top of the planet, where it is opened by spinning on a gold screw. Then Mario/Luigi must dives in to retrieve the Power Star.


 * Enemies
 * Goombas
 * Torpedo Teds
 * Octoombas
 * Bloopers
 * Thwomps
 * Amps
 * Topmen
 * Metallic Goombas
 * Pushy Walls
 * Urchins
 * Water Shooters


 * Planets Visited
 * Buoy Base
 * Poké Ball Planet

The Secret of Buoy Base
This time, when Mario dives into the surrounding pool of water, he must seek out a caged green pipe, and open it by luring the Torpedo Teds into it. The pipe takes Mario to the outside of the planet, where Mario must lure Bullet Bills into a cage that contains the Green Power Star. Falling off the platforms underneath the planet results in Mario ending up back in Buoy Base's water pool.


 * Enemies
 * Torpedo Teds
 * Octoombas
 * Bloopers
 * Bullet Bills
 * Urchins


 * Planets Visited
 * Buoy Base

Trivia

 * It is one of the two ? Block galaxies to have only two stars, the other being the Gateway Galaxy.
 * The second level in the Space Storm Galaxy in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is partially based on the Buoy Base Galaxy, even reusing its background music and utilizing a similar tower, with many of the same obstacles returning, including Thwomps and Amps.
 * The large tower in this galaxy is almost identical to the Topman Tower from the Space Storm Galaxy. It features many of the same obstacles and enemies, as well as having an overall similar appearance (excluding of course the wide portion of the Topman Tower towards the bottom).
 * After the Buoy Base is raised up out of the water, many Sling Stars will appear near the back of the first ring. A few Gearmos can be found in between them.
 * If Mario falls into the water after he has used the hidden Warp Pipe in the The Secret of Buoy Base secret mission, gravity will prevent him from retracing his steps, and he will have to use the Warp Pipe to get back again.