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Super Mario Galaxy

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Template:Infobox Super Mario Galaxy is the fourth Mario 3D platformer, and the follow-up to Super Mario 64, Super Mario 64 DS and Super Mario Sunshine. However, unlike the previous two 3D adventure installments for the Mario series, this game takes place in deep space. Most of the game's levels consist of many small planets and planetoids, while others have bigger planets. Upon release, Super Mario Galaxy received some of the highest review scores and appraisals of any Wii game to date.

Story

Castle Gardens
Toad Town, as it appears in this game.

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 (Kamek, according to his Super Mario Galaxy trading card) throws a spell at Mario sending him to a small planetoid and knocking him out.

When Mario later wakes up on the small grassy planet, he meets three Star Bunnies, who promise to tell Mario where he is if he can catch them. When he does so, they transform back into Lumas and take him to meet 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 seven Grand Stars. Without these, the Comet Observatory is doomed as they cannot move through space. 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 supermassive black hole. Everything in the universe begins to be pulled into it. The Lumas from the Comet Observatory, including the Luma who had faithfully accompanied Mario through his journey, throw themselves into the black hole in order to neutralize it. The Lumas attack the black hole's singularity, and it soon disintegrates 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, one that never repeats itself exactly the same way.

File:Endingscene.PNG
Various characters celebrating after the universe's recreation.

Mario later awakens in the Mushroom Kingdom near Peach's Castle. He sees everyone he's met throughout his adventure (friend and foe alike) celebrating the festival, while Bowser and Peach lie next to him confused. When he looks in the air, he notices the reconstructed galaxy. "Welcome! Welcome new galaxy!" Mario exclaims, as the camera zooms out into space, revealing that the universe has been reset. If Mario continues, Rosalina states to the player that if he collects all 120 Power Stars, Mario can travel to a new world. If Mario collects 120 stars, a special cut scene plays 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 will watch over you from beyond the stars," and flies off to the Comet Observatory. The white Luma is shown to be alive as if nothing happened, now residing on the small Gate planet, inside a destroyed Starshroom that is covered in moss.

Gameplay

Controls

File:SMG SJ Pullstars.png
Pull Stars are used by pointing the Star Cursor at them and pressing A Button.

Super Mario Galaxy has several innovations and additions to the basic 3D Mario game concept. Mario is controlled with the analog stick and can jump with the A Button. The Nunchuk Z Button works just as the Z Button trigger did in Super Mario 64. The player uses it to make Mario crouch, do Somersaults and do Long Jumps. The Nunchuk C Button centers the camera behind Mario, while the +Control Pad can adjust the camera angle manually.

The game also uses the motion-sensors of the Wii Remote. The pointer of the Remote appears as the Star Cursor on the screen. The Star Cursor is used to perform a variety of actions, such as using Pull Stars, manipulating Sling Pods, and collecting Star Bits. Shaking the Wii Remote or Nunchuk will make Mario perform a Spin.

File:Spinings.jpg
Mario's Spin move can defeat enemies or activate machines.

By pressing B Button, players can fire a Star Bit. When enemies are hit by a Star Bit, they are stunned and can be defeated with a touch, releasing Star Bits. Mario can also defeat most enemies by jumping on them, which will create a healing coin. Using the Spin to defeat enemies is also possible. Spinning may also stop an enemy from attacking; if Bowser and Mario both Star Spin at the same time, both moves get canceled. Also when Mario or Luigi Long Jumps then when they land on the ground and quickly do a star spin, they'll do a little pirouette like they're dancing. The player can use any of these tactics or only one of them during the entire game, as a specific tactic is never required to defeat a regular enemy. Only special enemies such as the Giant Goomba in the Gateway Galaxy might require a Spin. Several enemies are, however, much easier to defeat by shooting them than by jumping on them. As in Super Mario Sunshine, Mario can jump on NPCs to gain extra height or annoy them.

Featured in Super Mario Galaxy is a multiplayer mode named Co-Star Mode. By simply connecting a second Wii Remote, another player can join in and assist the first player by controlling a second Star Cursor, and in doing so can accomplish a variety of different things, some of which the first player can do, but many of which the first player cannot do. When Co-Star Mode is active, "1P" will appear below Player 1's Star Cursor, and "2P" will appear below Player 2's Star Cursor to help differentiate between them. When Co-Star Mode is not in use, these indicators will no longer appear beneath either player's Star Cursors, until such time as Co-Star Mode becomes active again. The second player can collect Star Bits and fire them at enemies to briefly stun them. When the second Star Cursor is pointed at Mario and A Button is pressed, the second player can make Mario perform a Co-Star Super Jump. Combining both jump techniques can make Mario jump higher than when only controlled with one controller.

Mario's life meter has been decreased to three total. Originally, the creators of Super Mario Galaxy thought of giving Mario a 12- or 6-part health meter, but this idea was eventually considered far too easy. There is no longer a separate health bar for underwater levels which decreases slowly. Instead, Mario has an air meter which decreases and hurts Mario's health when it hits zero. The Life Mushroom replenishes any lost health and adds a second health meter, making Mario's max health six. When Mario's health drops down to three again, the effect of the Life Mushroom is lost.

Mario explores a 3D world with planets which have their own gravity. Several levels have arrows which Mario can turn around with a Spin, changing the direction of the gravity. The Launch Star 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. The game also contains side-scrolling levels reminiscent of New Super Mario Bros. with classic enemies such as Goombas and Piranha Plants. These side-scrolling levels may also contain directional gravity, allowing Mario to walk on the walls and ceiling.

Collecting all 120 stars and defeating Bowser once more unlocks "Super Luigi Galaxy" mode, which replaces Mario with a playable version of Luigi. The storyline is almost the same, even with the original NPC Luigi still being present. The only main difference is that the Cosmic Luigi reaches the Star earlier than the Cosmic Mario, and Luigi receives 20 1-Ups from Peach's letter. Luigi also jumps slightly higher, but has less traction than Mario. When the player has defeated Bowser again and continues with the Luigi story, Rosalina again says if Luigi collects all 120 stars, the player can travel to a new world. When the player collects 120 stars, the player can travel to Grand Finale Galaxy, which shows the celebration of the Star Festival. The 121st star can be found here.

Galaxies

File:Egg planet.PNG
The Egg Planet in the Good Egg Galaxy.

Power Stars make a comeback, last being seen in Super Mario 64. The goal of the game is to collect sixty stars and defeat Bowser. Similar to Princess Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64 and Delfino Plaza in Super Mario Sunshine, the Comet Observatory acts as the game's hub world. There, Mario can access the galaxies from Domes. New areas in the Comet Observatory become accessible 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 game has a level intro for each star, as in Super Mario Sunshine.

Mario encounters Luigi in three levels (in each of the Good Egg Galaxy, the Honeyhive Galaxy, and the Battlerock Galaxy), who helps him getting a secret star that Mario could not get alone. Mario receives a letter from Luigi every time Luigi has found a Power Star, including a picture which helps Mario find Luigi. After the main game is finished, Mario can return and collect up to 120 stars. Super Mario Galaxy contains a few different types of stars, including red, green, and comet stars. The Green Power Stars are secret stars which are used to unlock the Trial Galaxies and one Red Power Star appears when Mario returns to the gate, which allows usage of the Red Star in the Observatory.

After finishing a level, Mario's highest score of coins for the galaxy is recorded and the collected Star Bits are transferred to the Comet Observatory, where Mario can later use them to feed Hungry Lumas. The requirements for opening up each galaxy is listed below, with Star Bits if the galaxy is created by a Hungry Luma. Note, however, that some galaxies are not unlocked by simply obtaining a number of stars but by completing a specific star. This is true for all Hungry Lumas except the first, and all bonus galaxies from Buoy Base Galaxy onward.

There are a total of forty-two galaxies in the game.

The Gate

The Terrace

The Fountain

The Kitchen

The Bedroom

The Engine Room

The Garden

Hungry Luma Galaxies

After completing certain tasks, Hungry Lumas appear outside of each dome of the Observatory, asking to be fed a significant number of star bits. (Mario or Luigi will be able to use their total stash from all completed star missions, however.) When fully fed, they transform into an entire galaxy, each with a single Power Star.

The Center of the Universe

The Trial Galaxies

The trial galaxies are slightly more difficult than the other galaxies, and require all three Green Power Stars to open up. They also all require some form of conveyance, making them as minigames.

Green Power Star Locations

The Grand Finale

Galaxies with a * are unlocked by feeding Hungry Lumas.

Prankster Comets

Main article: Prankster Comet

Prankster Comets are objects which interfere with a Galaxy, giving it an extra attribute. The 30 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. They only appear after the corresponding regular level (e.g. Ghostly Galaxy's Bouldergeist battle) is completed, sometimes immediately and sometimes only after another galaxy's level is completed. In some cases (like the Space Junk Galaxy), the entire galaxy has to be beaten first. There are 2 prankster comets in each of the 15 multi-star galaxies: one of the types of comets just described, plus one purple prankster comet that appears after beating Bowser's Galaxy Reactor for the first time, forcing missions where the player must collect 100 Purple Coins.


Characters

Mario encounters many new and old characters in his adventure. Most of these are met in one or more galaxies, though Rosalina, the Toad Brigade, and the Lumas are found on the Comet Observatory.

Enemies

File:Drybonessmg.jpg
Mario collapsing a Dry Bones in the Dusty Dune Galaxy.

The game has old enemies such as Goombas from Super Mario Bros. and round Goombas from Super Mario World, enemies which make their 3D platformer debut such as Magikoopas and Dry Bones, as well as new enemies, which include the Octoombas and Mandibugs.

New Enemies

Returning Enemies

Bosses

The boss characters.

Fifteen bosses are in the game. Some of them are fought more than once. The numbers below include Prankster Comet encounters.

  1. Dino Piranha ×2
  2. King Kaliente ×2
  3. Bugaboom ×1
  4. Megaleg ×1
  5. Kamella ×3
  6. Tarantox ×1
  7. Topmaniac ×4
  8. Bouldergeist ×2
  9. Major Burrows ×2
  10. Baron Brrr ×1
  11. Undergrunt Gunner ×3
  12. Kingfin ×1
  13. Fiery Dino Piranha ×1
  14. Bowser Jr. ×1
  15. Bowser ×3

Items

Thoughtout the game, Mario can use many new and returning items that allow him to do things that he's never been able to do before.

Item Function Image
1-Up Mushroom Gives Mario an extra life. File:1upSMG.png
Life Mushroom A mushroom that gives Mario's Health Meter an additional three sections, bringing the total to six. File:LifeshroomSMG.png
Bob-omb Dispenser A machine that consistently dispenses Bob-ombs for use by the player. File:DISPENSER.png
Coin Restore lost wedges of Mario's Health Meter. If 50 coins are collected, Mario will earn an extra life. File:CoinSMG.jpg
Crate Often found in many different galaxies, these can be broken to release items. A Crate.
Gold Shell A special, rare shell that is either given to the Coach (in the Beach Bowl Galaxy) or used to open a chest (in the Bigmouth Galaxy). It gives a large speed boost when used underwater. No image available
Grand Star A special type of Power Star that is needed to power the Comet Observatory. Grand Star
Green Power Star A very rare Power Star that can only be found in three galaxies in the game. Greenstar.png
Green Shell A green Koopa Shell that Mario can grab by touching it or spinning near it. The player can then throw it at enemies by shaking the Wii Remote. It gives a small speed boost underwater. Greenshellsmg.jpg
Item Crystal A glassy crystal that can contain Star Bits, power-ups, or rarely, enemies and Toads. File:Item Crystal!.png
Launch Star A powerful item that quickly launches Mario to another planet when the player shakes the Wii Remote near it. Launch Star
Power Star A regular star that Mario must collect to power up the various parts of the Comet Observatory and ultimately reach Bowser at the center of the universe. Power Star
Pull Star An item that will pull Mario towards it when the player positions the Star Cursor over it and presses the A Button button. File:Pull Star.png
Purple Coin A special variety of coin that only appears in galaxies when a Purple Comet is in orbit around a galaxy. Purple Coin
Question Coin A large coin that can make a multitude of things appear, including coins, Star Bits, Rainbow Notes, a power-up, or even another Question Coin. File:Questioningcoin.jpg
Rainbow Note Colorful musical notes that only appear after Mario has touched a Question Coin, after which a short trail of them will line up in the immediate vicinity. When they are collected quickly, a short tune will be played in the background. Notes
Red Power Star An extremely rare Power Star that is guarded by the Red Lumas. There is only one found in the entire game. Red Power Star
Red Shell A red Koopa Shell that Mario can grab by touching it or spinning near it. When Mario launches it, it will zero in on any nearby enemies. It gives a larger boost than the Green Shell when used underwater. A Red Shell from Super Mario Galaxy
Silver Star A special star always found in sets of five in some galaxies. When Mario collects all five of them, they will merge into a Power Star. Smg2 icon silverstar.png
Sling Star A smaller version of a Launch Star that will fling Mario to another planet or area when the player shakes the Wii Remote near it. In-game render of the Sling Star in Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Star Chip Small fragments of a Launch Star, Sling Star, or Pull Star. When all five have been found, they will reform into their respective star and allow the player to advance. Yellow Star Chips are much more common than blue ones. A Star Chip sprite.
Star Bits One of the most common items in the game, Star Bits can be found virtually anywhere and can be collected with the Star Cursor. Sometimes, Mario has to feed Star Bits to Hungry Lumas to advance. If 50 Star Bits are collected, Mario will earn an extra life. Three Star Bits

Power-Ups

Mario regains his ability to attain different abilities via special mushrooms, flowers, and stars, similar to Super Mario 64, in which he could obtain the Wing Cap, the Vanish Cap, and the Metal Cap to gain new powers. In this game, Mario uses seven Power-Ups to gain new ablities.

Power-Up Function Image
Bee Mushroom Allows Mario to fly for a short time when the A Button button is held. Bee Suit
Boo Mushroom A mushroom that gives Mario the power of intangibility, and also allows him to float in the air with A Button button taps. File:SMG BooSuit.jpg
Fire Flower A power-up that allows Mario to throw fireballs at his enemies by shaking the Wii Remote. Fire Flower SMG.png
Ice Flower A power-up that allows Mario to freeze water in small hexagonal ice platforms and skate across them freely. Ice Flower
Rainbow Star A power-up that turns Mario into Rainbow Mario, thereby making him completely invincible for a short time. Rainbow Star
Red Star A power-up that holds the power of the Red Lumas. It allows Mario to fly for a short time by spinning while in the air. A Flying Star from Super Mario Galaxy.
Spring Mushroom A power-up that transforms Mario into Spring Mario, allowing Mario to bounce extremely high by pressing the A Button with good timing. Spring Mushroom



Locations

Bee Mushroom

Boo Mushroom

Ice Flower

Fire Flower

Spring Mushroom

Rainbow Star

Red Star

Red Stars are found after this condition is acheved:

Completing Gateway's Purple Coins.

(Red Stars can also be found on the Comet Observatory once you complete this mission)

Mini-Games

File:SMG Manta.jpg
The first surfing level, Surfing 101 in the Loopdeeloop Galaxy.

All except Bob-omb Blasting can be found in the Trial Galaxies (as well as other galaxies).

Unlockable Secrets

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 unlocks the option to play as Luigi. He is slightly faster and jumps a bit higher than Mario, but he has less traction, and the Cosmic Luigi stars are more difficult to obtain, due to Cosmic Luigi using shortcuts and techniques not used by Cosmic Mario. Luigi's 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 Spin underwater. Once the player beats the game and collects 120 stars as Luigi, the 121st star becomes available.

File:MLNPC.PNG
(Left to right) Comparison of models for Mario, playable Luigi, and non-playable Luigi

When playing through the game as Luigi, the stars that required Mario to meet Luigi still feature a non-playable Luigi, bringing up the issue of two Luigis in the game. When the playable Luigi first saves the non-playable one from the Ghostly Galaxy, Luigi dismisses his rescuer merely as someone in the universe who happens to look like him. When Luigi rescues himself afterwards, the lost Luigi refers to him as "me" (for example, "I knew I could rely on... me!"). Rosalina dismisses the two as twins. 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. When the Mailtoad has mail, the letter will say it is for Mario, and the Mailtoad feels bad for Luigi. Also, some letters may contain 20 1-up Mushrooms, instead of 5.

If the player collects 9999 Star Bits, all the coconuts in the game turn into watermelons. They have the same use as coconuts, but have a different color scheme.

Letters

At various points in the game, the Mailtoad will give the player a letter and it will be sent to the Wii Message Board.

Whenever Luigi needs to be rescued after initially saving him from the Ghostly Galaxy, the letter will say:

Dear Mario,
Oh, no! It's horrible!
Luigi has gone missing!
What will we do!

Mailtoad

After rescuing Luigi each of these times, the letter will say:

Dear Mario,

Thank you for saving Luigi! Keep trying to rescue those Power Stars, and we'll do our best to help! ♪

Mailtoad

After getting the 121st star from the Grand Finale Galaxy, the letter will say:

Dear (player's name),


Congratulations! We would like to send you a galaxy sized thanks for saving all the Power Stars and playing to the very end.

Until next time;

The Super Mario Galaxy staff

Super Mario Galaxy: Original Soundtrack

Main article: Super Mario Galaxy: Original Soundtrack

A soundtrack for the game has been released, called Super Mario Galaxy: Original Soundtrack. It is exclusive to Club Nintendo members in Japan and Europe. There is a one-disc edition and a two-disc Platinum edition. Both editions aren't available anymore at Club Nintendo Japan. In Club Nintendo Europe, both editions are still available, with the exception of The United Kingdom and Spain, which only have the regular edition.

Reception

Boxart for Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Boxart for Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Famitsu Magazine has given Super Mario Galaxy a score of 19/20. 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%. 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. Australia's longest-running unofficial multi-format gaming magazine - Hyper, scored the game 97 out of 100, tied for the highest score ever given in the history of the magazine, running since 1993. Also, it was voted by readers as the Game of the Year for 2007. The game placed 51st in the 200th Issue of GameInformer's "Top 200 Games of All Times".


Media

Gallery

Template:Morepic

Quotes

Main article: List of Quotes in Super Mario Galaxy

Beta Elements

Main article: Super Mario Galaxy/Beta elements

Glitches

Main article: Super Mario Galaxy/Glitches

Staff

Main article: Super Mario Galaxy/Staff

Trading Cards

Main article: Super Mario Galaxy Trading Cards

References to Other Games

  • Super Mario Bros. - Several sprites from this game appear here, including a planet in the Toy Time Galaxy, Mario sprites being in the background of a particular Bowser galaxy, and the background of the Flipswitch Galaxy resembling the overworld and underworld levels. Also, the main theme of the Toy Time Galaxy is a remix of the main theme. Also, some of the musical notes are music from the game such as the underground theme and the underwater theme.
  • Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels - Luigi's higher jumping and lower traction returns.
  • Super Mario Bros. 3 - Several pieces of music from this game are remixed here. Airships also return.
  • Dr. Mario - A planet shaped like a giant Megavitamin cameos.
  • Super Mario 64 - The third and fourth star mission on the Beach Bowl Galaxy feature a similar bit to Shifting Sands painting in Super Mario 64. The Tox Boxes and Tsukidashi-kun also return. The music of some Bowser galaxies are remixes of the original from Super Mario 64. Peach's Castle design is based on that of 64's, but with a few differences to it. Finally, in both games, after the credits and an ending screen is displayed, Mario would say "Thank you so much for playing my game!". Also, the music for the Rainbow Star is a remix of the Wing Cap theme from the game.
  • Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS - Both games begin with a letter being sent from Peach to Mario.
  • Paper Mario- Both games begin with a letter being sent from Peach to Mario, also Bowser's way of kidnapping Peach (by stealing the whole castle) is reused here.
  • Luigi's Mansion - When the player first sees Luigi, he is trapped in a Ghost House. The fact that Mario frees him is a direct spoof of Luigi's Mansion, as in Luigi's Mansion it was the direct opposite. Also the music that is being played when a boss tower is unlocked sounds suspiciously like the Luigi's Mansion Dark Room theme.
  • Super Mario Sunshine - Fire Shooters and Water Shooters, which appear in various galaxies, have a strong resemblance to F.L.U.D.D.'s nozzle. The goal in the Loopdeeloop Galaxy and the Loopdeeswoop Galaxy is also shaped in a Shine Sprite.
  • Donkey Kong Jungle Beat - The flowers that Donkey Kong flings off of were reused in Super Mario Galaxy.

References in Later Games

Names in Other Languages

Template:Foreignname

Trivia

  • 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 Peterford's words, would be "better known as Super Mario Bros. 24!"
  • The Super Mario Galaxy Trading Cards were released featuring many characters, locations, and items from the game. [1]
    • Super Mario Galaxy also spawned a sticker collection, which included stickers of characters, enemies, places, and items.
  • In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Mario Galaxy was only mentioned in the Chronicle. Other than that, Super Mario Galaxy had no references at all.

References

External links


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