Star Ball
- Not to be confused with Star Sphere.
| Star Ball | |
|---|---|
 Artwork from Super Mario Galaxy | |
| First appearance | Super Mario Galaxy (2007) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020) |
- “Hey, now! If you're thinking about just rolling that ball away, you'd better listen to old Bill Board here. If anything gets in your way, smoosh it! Anyway, you'll learn more by doing it yourself. Good luck!”
- —Bill Board, Super Mario Galaxy
Star Balls,[1] originally known as Rolling Balls,[2] are large, rideable spheres in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. One appears in the Rolling Green Galaxy, the Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, and Melty Molten Galaxy during Through the Meteor Storm in Super Mario Galaxy. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, it is found in the Rolling Masterpiece Galaxy and the Rolling Coaster Galaxy. Star Balls are visually similar to Super Balls, complete with shards of glitter. In nearly all contexts, Star Balls contain a Power Star. In the mission Purple Coins on the Rainbow Road, the Star Ball is purplish and instead contains a Purple Coin.
The player can control the Star Ball by first jumping on top of it, pointing 
straight up, and then tilting it in a direction while trying to move at a steady pace. Once Mario (or Luigi) is on the Star Ball, he cannot dismount it. Mario's objective is to ride the Star Ball into a divot marked by a yellow flag, which is similar to a golf hole. To get to the flag, Mario must bypass numerous obstacles, including narrow ledges and moving platforms. Any enemies in the path of the Star Ball are crushed. Additionally, the speed at which Mario rolls affects the speed and the pitch of the background music being played.
Once Mario rolls the Star Ball into the divot, the ball explodes, and the Power Star within is released. The Power Star moves itself to a flagpole found at the end of the course, where Mario must climb up in order to collect it. In Purple Coins on the Rainbow Road, the purple Star Ball releases one of the 100 Purple Coins needed to make a Power Star appear. This is the 110th coin, assuming the player successfully collected all of the other ones on the course.
Gallery
Model
Mario rolling in the Rolling Green Galaxy
Mario rolling in the Rolling Gizmo Galaxy
Mario about to roll in the Melty Molten Galaxy
Mario rolling in the Rolling Masterpiece Galaxy
Mario rolling in the Rolling Coaster Galaxy
The ball in the Rolling Coaster Galaxy containing a Purple Coin
Additional names
Internal names
| Game | File | Name | Meaning
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2 |
ObjectData/Tamakoro.arc | Tamakoro | Portmanteau of「玉」(tama, ball) and「コロコロ」(korokoro, onomatopoeia for rolling) |
| Super Mario Galaxy Super Mario Galaxy 2 |
StageData/ObjNameTable.arc/ObjNameTable.tbl | たまころ (Tamakoro) | Portmanteau of「玉」(tama, ball) and「コロコロ」(korokoro, onomatopoeia for rolling) |
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | タマコロ[3][4] Tamakoro |
Portmanteau of「玉」(tama, ball) and「コロコロ」(korokoro, onomatopoeia for rolling) |
| Chinese | 星星球 Xīngxīng Qiú |
Star Ball |
| German | Sternenball |
Star Ball |
| Italian | Astrosfera |
Astro Ball |
| Spanish | Bola |
Ball |
Trivia
- Bandai produced Super Ball toys for Super Mario Galaxy, each one containing an item from the game. The one containing a Power Star incidentally makes the whole toy resemble a Star Ball. It is viewable here in the upper left.
- There are three themes used for riding on the Star Ball. The first one is used in the Rolling Green Galaxy, Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, and Rolling Masterpiece Galaxy; the second one is used in the second mission of the Melty Molten Galaxy; and the third one is an arranged version of the song "Slider," which plays in The Princess's Secret Slide, Tick Tock Clock, and Rainbow Ride in Super Mario 64, used in the Rolling Coaster Galaxy.
