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, some big and some small, some flat and some round, some crazy and some tame. The game has 242 stars to collect (121 for Mario and 121 for Luigi).

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 with her castle to the  center of the universe. When Mario tries to save her, a Magikoopa shoots Mario far away. 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 danger after Bowser attacked Rosalina's "ship", the Comet Observatory, and stole the Power Stars and 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, including the Luma who had faithfully accompanied Mario. The black hole becomes a huge tornado which soon explodes. 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 all of you new galaxies!" 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 collectable 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. 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 the red  stars appear when Mario uses a Red Star. The thirty comet stars are obtained by completing special challenges in the larger galaxies, such as speed runs, "daredevil" runs (in which Mario's max. health is one), and missions where Mario must collect one hundred purple coins.

Bosses
Seventeen bosses are in the game.


 * King Kaliente
 * Megaleg
 * Tarantox
 * Dino Piranha
 * Bugaboom
 * Bowser Jr.
 * Kamella
 * Bowser
 * Bouldergeist
 * Baron Brrr
 * Topmaniac
 * Major Burrow
 * Kingfin
 * Undergrunt Gunner
 * Mecha Bowser
 * Cosmic Mario
 * Cosmic Luigi

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)
 * Penguin
 * Luma (New)
 * Ray
 * Luigi
 * Cosmic Mario/Luigi (New)
 * Guppy (New)
 * Gil Board (New)
 * Gearmo (New)
 * Spooky Speedster (New)

New Enemies

 * Electrogoombas
 * Chomp Heads
 * Boulders
 * Swoopin' Poinks
 * Mandibugs
 * Gringills
 * Cosmic Scuttle Bugs
 * Pumpkin Heads
 * Topman
 * Bomb Boos
 * A giant jellyfish-like creature.
 * Red F.L.U.D.D. head
 * Blue F.L.U.D.D. head
 * A blue crab

Returning Enemies

 * Thwomps
 * Both Magikoopas and Dry Bones make their debut in a 3-D platformer.
 * Mecha-Koopas
 * Bloopers
 * Koopas
 * Goombas
 * Grand Goombas
 * Bob-ombs
 * Pokeys
 * Boos
 * Swoopers
 * Wigglers
 * Banzai Bills
 * Preying Mantases
 * Piranha Plants. There is also a type of Piranha Plant that is purple in color, has a spiky stalk, and is harder to defeat.
 * Cheep-Cheeps
 * Urchins
 * Pushy Walls
 * Tweesters
 * Firebars
 * Bullet Bills
 * Torpedo Teds
 * Rocky Wrenches
 * Cataquacks
 * Amps
 * Podoboos
 * Tox Boxes

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.

The Gateway to the Starry Sky

 * Gateway Galaxy

Hungry Luma

 * Boo's Boneyard Galaxy

The Terrace

 * Good Egg Galaxy
 * Honeyhive Galaxy
 * Loopdeeloop Galaxy
 * Flipswitch Galaxy
 * Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor

Hungry Luma

 * Sweet Sweet Galaxy

The Fountain

 * Space Junk Galaxy
 * Battlerock Galaxy
 * Rolling Green Galaxy
 * Hurry-Scurry Galaxy
 * Bowser's Star Reactor

Hungry Luma

 * Sling Pod Galaxy

The Kitchen

 * Beach Bowl Galaxy
 * Ghostly Galaxy
 * Bubble Breeze Galaxy
 * Buoy Base Galaxy
 * Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada

Hungry Luma

 * Drip Drop Galaxy

The Bedroom

 * Gusty Garden Galaxy
 * Freezeflame Galaxy
 * Dusty Dune Galaxy
 * Honeyclimb Galaxy
 * Bowser's Dark Matter Plant

Hungry Luma

 * Bigmouth Galaxy

The Engine Room

 * Gold Leaf Galaxy
 * Sea Slide Galaxy
 * Toy Time Galaxy
 * Bonefin Galaxy
 * Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor

Hungry Luma

 * Sand Spiral Galaxy

The Garden

 * Deep Dark Galaxy
 * Dreadnought Galaxy
 * Melty Molten Galaxy
 * Matter Splatter Galaxy

Hungry Luma

 * Snow Cap Galaxy

The Center of the Universe

 * Bowser's Galaxy Reactor

The Trial Galaxies
The trial galaxies are slightly more difficult than the other galaxies.
 * Loopdeeswoop Galaxy
 * Rolling Gizmo Galaxy
 * Bubble Blast Galaxy

The Grand Finale

 * Grand Finale Galaxy



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

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.