User:Nintendo101

Casual Nintendo historian. Otherwise an artist and a professional zoologist. Bio degree. I've had an account here since 2012.

I wrote the character sections for Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Super Mario Odyssey. I contributed much of the article for Super Mario Sunshine and am currently working on Super Mario Galaxy.

I have been a fan of Nintendo since a very young age. My first Mario games (and three of the first video games I ever owned) were Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, Super Mario 64 DS, and Mario Kart DS. These games were good company for a young kid who moved around a lot and had difficulty keeping long-lasting friends.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I sequentially played some of my favorite games in the Super Mario series to 100% completion. This includes, in order, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. I will complete this marathon with Super Mario Odyssey. It's been really fun so far! These are great games, and I always wanted to marathon a series like this before but never had the time. It has been interesting to see where the series began and where it has ended up. The design philosophies, the characters, the art directions, world building, level design, narrative, etc. All good stuff. It might be fun to write something about it some day.

My favorite video game character is Yoshi.

Sandbox for current project

Setting

Key artwork of outer space, as presented on the game's boxart.

Rosalina netting Star Bits as she rides in a starship.

Super Mario Galaxy is set in outer space. With the exception of Grand Finale Galaxy, which is Princess Peach's Castle Grounds in the Mushroom Kingdom, all levels – refered to as "galaxies" in this game – are staged on other worlds far removed from Mario's home planet. This is the first entry in the series to explicitly include an outer space setting since Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, and the first time it has been realized by the core Super Mario team at Nintendo EAD. A galaxy is an isolated cluster of planetary bodies. Most planets have their own gravitational pull, which prevents Mario from falling down bottomless pits and enables him to return to his starting position if he just keeps moving forward. Mario's movement, physics, and trajectory bend organically around the planet's shape. Because they have their own pull, most planets can be directly traveled between just by jumping. Otherwise they can be reached via stellate objects called Launch Stars and Pull Stars. Not all planets have their own unique gravity: some are shaped like the more traditional courses of Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine and the gravitational pull is below their mass, but this is conveyed through context.

The theme of space is communicated in various ways throughout Super Mario Galaxy. Many galaxies include distant asteroid belts or views of massive, unreachable planets orbiting suns that peak over their horizons. Depending on the distance from the game's camera, the light from a visible sun retracts, mimicking the behavior of real sunlight. The skyboxes of the galaxies feature nebulas, auroras, and starry skies. Three-dimensional objects – including Mario himself – exhibit a soft glow in certain positions as if struck by the light from distant stars. Black holes occur in place of bottomless pits in many galaxies. Super Mario Galaxy includes some motifs derivative of science fiction, such as humanoid robots, fortified battle facilities, UFOs, and starships. Much of the game's setting include whimsical, tranquil, and surreal elements comparable to those found in fairytales. Locations are reached via a palace-like starship called the Comet Observatory, the game's hub world. It is overseen by a mysterious princess named Rosalina and is a nursery for spacefaring star children called Lumas. In lieu of aliens, the people found living in the galaxies include Star Bunnies, Honeybees, and Penguins. Star Bits, small collectibles that fall from the sky like shooting stars, resemble konpeitō candies and are eaten by the Lumas.

According to director Yoshiaki Koizumi, the primary theme of development for Super Mario Galaxy was to create a Super Mario game with spherical worlds. It was thought that these worlds would make it less likely that players would have to reposition the camera or get disoriented. These were issues he observed during the development of Super Mario 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and Super Mario Sunshine that prevented complete immersion. The decision to stage the game in outer space was made because the development team thought that the spherical worlds would most intuitively make sense as planets. In 2017, a figure was released by Nintendo that conveys that Super Mario Galaxy is structurally viewed as a different type of 3D Mario game from its immediate predecessors – the "sandbox-style" games Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. Nintendo aligns it with the succeeding games Super Mario Galaxy 2, Super Mario 3D Land, and Super Mario 3D World as a linear "course clear-style" game. However, many of the levels in Super Mario Galaxy are structured similarly to its predecessors, particularly in the robust six-mission galaxies and the large planets that do not have their own centers of gravity. These principals derive from hakoniwa, or "garden-in-box", and Koizumi cites it directly as an influence behind the worlds in Super Mario Galaxy.

Galaxies

Mario on the egg-shaped planet in the Good Egg Galaxy.

Main article: Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy is highly distinctive in how its levels are accessed. In the proceeding Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, levels become available as Mario accumulates golden MacGuffins (Power Stars and Shine Sprites, respectively). Entry points to individual levels are dispersed throughout each respective game's hub world. Mario must physically move towards and enter these points to access the levels. In Super Mario Galaxy, the majority of levels are accessed in little habitation rooms across the Comet Observatory called domes. Domes are a little similar to the course access points of the previous 3D Mario games in that Mario must walk to them in , but each one contains a set of five levels. They are homologous to the worlds of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World,

Power Stars make a comeback, last being seen in Super Mario 64. The main goal of the game is to collect a minimum of 60 stars and defeat Bowser. Similar to Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64 and Delfino Plaza in Super Mario Sunshine, the Comet Observatory acts as the game's hub area. 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. At the end of each dome, the player enters a galaxy where they alternate between fighting Bowser Jr. and Bowser, represented by Bowser's head on the world map (though after a Bowser Jr. galaxy is cleared, the head changes into the actual galaxy itself). The game has a level intro for each star, as in Super Mario Sunshine.

Mario getting a Green Star in the Buoy Base Galaxy.

Mario encounters Luigi in four levels (located in the Good Egg Galaxy, the Honeyhive Galaxy, the Battlerock Galaxy, and the Ghostly Galaxy). In Ghostly Galaxy, Luigi is at the end of Luigi and the Haunted Mansion holding a star. After Luigi is rescued, he can be seen in the observatory and helps Mario reach secret stars that he could not get alone. When Luigi is in other galaxies, 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 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 Comet 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 amount of Power Stars and Star Bits listed after a galaxy is the amount of the corresponding collectibles that is required to unlock the galaxy.

Galaxies
The Terrace
01. Good Egg Galaxy ×6 ×18 ×3				Missions		02. Honeyhive Galaxy ×6 ×6 ×2				Missions
				Dino Piranha	A Snack of Cosmic Proportions					Bee Mario Takes Flight	Trouble on the Tower
				King Kaliente's Battle Fleet	Dino Piranha Speed Run					Big Bad Bugaboom	Honeyhive Cosmic Mario Race
				Purple Coin Omelet	Luigi on the Roof					The Honeyhive's Purple Coins	Luigi in the Honeyhive Kingdom
A galaxy in low orbit of an earth-like planet. Each planet is highly distinctive, but most of them feature grassy knolls and are shaped like food. It is the first galaxy to feature the Octo-army and its ruler, King Kaliente. Unlock criterion: complete "Grand Star Rescue"						The Honeyhive Kingdom - a forested land inhabited by Honeybees. Its planets feature towering deciduous trees and pristine bodies of water. Some areas are covered in honey. The kingdom is invaded by Mandibugs. Unlock criterion: collect 3 Power Stars
03. Loopdeeloop Galaxy ×1 ×3				Mission		04. Flipswitch Galaxy ×1 ×1				Mission
				Surfing 101						Painting the Planet Yellow
A looping stretch of water, high above the clouds. Penguins surf on the backs of rays here. Unlock criterion: collect 5 Power Stars						Flipswitch Panels arranged like a cube. Spike Traps move along suspended tracks over the panels. Unlock criterion: collect 7 Power Stars
05. Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor ×1 ×2 ×1				Mission		File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png Sweet Sweet Galaxy ×1 ×3				Mission
				Megaleg's Moon						Rocky Road
A metal sphere with Bill Blasters and an artificial moon orbiting an earth-like planet. Bowser Jr.'s robot – the towering Megaleg – resides on the moon. Unlock criterion: collect 8 Power Stars						An athletic, otherworldly course made of cakes, cookies, and other sweets. The Toad Brigade conduct a search here for Power Stars. Unlock criteria: collect 7 Power Stars and feed the Luma 400 Star Bits
The Fountain
06. Space Junk Galaxy ×6 ×15 ×2				Missions		07. Rolling Green Galaxy ×1 ×7				Mission
				Pull Star Path	Kamella's Airship Attack					Rolling in the Clouds
				Tarantox's Tangled Web	Pull Star Path Speed Run
				Purple Coin Spacewalk	Yoshi's Unexpected Appearance
A stretch of space rocks and discarded space debris. Large portions of the galaxy are navigated via Pull Stars and Sling Pods. Spoings and other spidery creatures establish nests here. A giant one captures members of the Toad Brigade. Unlock criteria: collect 9 Power Stars and complete "Megaleg's Moon"						Flat, grassy planets arranged similarly to a golf course. They can only be navigated by riding a Star Ball. Reaching the end awards Mario with a Power Star. Unlock criterion: collect 11 Power Stars
08. Battlerock Galaxy ×7 ×11 ×2				Missions		09. Hurry-Scurry Galaxy ×1 ×2				Mission
				Battlerock Barrage	Breaking into the Battlerock					Shrinking Satellite
				Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe	Topmaniac's Daredevil Run
				Purple Coins on the Battlerock	Battlerock's Garbage Dump
				Luigi under the Saucer
Battle facilities covered with electric traps and artilleries. Cannons and Bill Blasters line the titular Battlerock and start firing when Mario is in close proximity. The galaxy is affiliated with the Topman Tribe and maintained by Gearmos. Unlock criterion: collect 12 Power Stars						A short path and a planetoid made of Shrinking Tiles that orbit a much larger planet. A black hole is at the center of the planetoid. Notes cover the tiles. Collecting each one causes the black hole to collapse. Unlock criterion: collect 18 Power Stars
10. Bowser's Star Reactor ×1 ×4 ×1				Mission		File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png Sling Pod Galaxy ×1 ×2				Mission
				The Fiery Stronghold						A Very Sticky Situation
A stone fortress orbiting a giant sun. It features a twisting path and gravity fields. Fire Bars and Thwomps obstruct the path. It feeds into a big staircase leading to Bowser. Unlock criterion: collect 15 Power Stars						A cluster of Fire Bars, Floating Mines, and Cannons above a black hole. The galaxy is navigated via Sling Pods. Unlock criteria: complete "Tarantox's Tangled Web" and feed the Luma 400 Star Bits
The Kitchen
11. Beach Bowl Galaxy ×6 ×3				Missions		12. Bubble Breeze Galaxy ×1 ×1				Mission
				Sunken Treasure	Passing the Swim Test					Through the Poison Swamp
				The Secret Undersea Cavern	Fast Foes on the Cyclone Stone
				Beachcombing for Purple Coins	Wall Jumping up Waterfalls
A beach-themed galaxy. Its largest planet is a hemisphere filled with water. It features an interactive rope, a swing, coral reefs, and Penguins. Another planet features waterfalls and Cataquacks. A planet called the Stone Cyclone features an obstacle course with Thwomps and Tox Boxes. Unlock criteria: collect 16 Power Stars and complete "The Fiery Stronghold"						A poisonous bog. Areas are separated by stone columns. It can only be navigated via bubble. Unlock criterion: collect 19 Power Stars
13. Ghostly Galaxy ×6 ×12 ×2				Missions		14. Buoy Base Galaxy ×2 ×2				Missions
				Luigi and the Haunted Mansion	A Very Spooky Sprint					The Floating Fortress	The Secret of Buoy Base
				Beware of Bouldergeist	Bouldergeist's Daredevil Run
				Purple Coins in the Bone Pen	Matter Splatter Mansion
Haunted wastelands that orbits a dimly-lit sun. Its largest planet is a Boo Mansion that holds Luigi captive. The monster that captured him, Bouldergeist, resides in this galaxy. Unlock criterion: collect 20 Power Stars						Two planets filled with water. Its largest planet is a hemisphere with a towering battle facility equipped with rotating platforms, Water Shooters, and other hazards. It is maintained by Gearmos and is affiliated with the Topman Tribe. Unlock criteria: collect 30 Power Stars and complete "Sunken Treasure"
15. Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada ×1 ×5 ×1				Mission		File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png Drip Drop Galaxy ×1 ×1				Mission
				Sinking the Airships						Giant Eel Outbreak
Bowser's airship fleet, sailing above an earth-like planet. Airships must be boarded to navigate the fleet, each one carrying enemies. A moving tracked platform brings Mario to Bowser Jr. A tiny planetoid can be visited that has a bouncy surface. Unlock criterion: collect 23 Power Stars						An ocean planet where Penguins swim. The locals are burdened by an outbreak of Gringills. A sunken airship and damaged Starshroom rest at the bottom of the ocean. Unlock criteria: complete "Sunken Treasure" and feed the Luma 600 Star Bits
The Bedroom
16. Gusty Garden Galaxy ×6 ×13 ×2				Missions		17. Freezeflame Galaxy ×6 ×5 ×1				Missions
				Bunnies in the Wind	The Dirty Tricks of Major Burrows					The Frozen Peak of Baron Brrr	Freezeflame's Blistering Core
				Gusty Garden's Gravity Scramble	Major Burrows's Daredevil Run					Hot and Cold Collide	Frosty Cosmic Mario Race
				Purple Coins on the Puzzle Cube	The Golden Chomp					Purple Coins on the Summit	Conquering the Summit
Grassy, flowery planets above a sea of clouds. Floaty Fluffs grow here: they can be used to travel on gusts of wind to reach other planets. Some planets resemble apples and are eaten by a big green caterpillar. Star Bunnies live in Gusty Garden and grow crops. They are preyed upon by Undergrunts. Unlock criteria: collect 24 Power Stars and complete "Sinking the Airships"						A galaxy of fire and ice. It features Freezy Peak, a snowy mountain with freezing water at its base. Ice Flowers can be found here. A large spherical planet filled with magma also occurs here and is in the midst of splitting in half. Fire Flowers can be found in its core, and stone platforms enable traversal between the hemispheres. Unlock criterion: collect 26 Power Stars
18. Dusty Dune Galaxy ×7 ×7				Missions		19. Honeyclimb Galaxy ×1 ×3				Mission
				Soaring on the Desert Winds	Blasting through the Sand					Scaling the Sticky Wall
				Sunbaked Sand Castle	Sandblast Speed Run
				Purple Coins in the Desert	Bullet Bill on Your Back
				Treasure of the Pyramid
Sandy planets under a desert sun. Shifting and rising sand makes platforms difficult to traverse or sink underground. One planet is a floating pyramid that can be entered, and some planets feature quicksand. Tornadoes and Tweesters are found in Dusty Dune. Unlock criterion: collect 29 Power Stars						A trio of giant slabs of honeycombs. The Bee Mushroom is found here, and the walls are clung to by Mandibugs. Unlock criterion: collect 42 Power Stars
20. Bowser's Dark Matter Plant ×1 ×5 ×1				Mission		File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png Bigmouth Galaxy ×1 ×1				Mission
				Darkness on the Horizon						Bigmouth's Gold Bait
A dark world containing a trap-filled obstacle course. It features gravity fields and concentrations of dark matter. Most of it traversed on a two-dimensional plane. The course leads to Bowser. Unlock criterion: collect 33 Power Stars						A giant stone fish orbiting a massive ocean planet. The belly of the planet contains two lakes, whirlpools, beds of seaweed, and Boos. Penguru comes here when he wants to be alone. Unlock criteria: complete "Soaring on the Desert Winds" and feed the Luma 800 Star Bits
The Engine Room
21. Gold Leaf Galaxy ×6 ×6 ×1				Missions		22. Sea Slide Galaxy ×3 ×3				Missions
				Star Bunnies on the Hunt	Cataquack to the Skies					Going after Guppy	Faster Than a Speeding Penguin
				When It Rains, It Pours	Cosmic Mario Forest Race					The Silver Stars of Sea Slide	Underwater Cosmic Mario Race
				Purple Coins in the Woods	The Bell on the Big Tree					Purple Coins by the Seaside	Hurry, He's Hungry
An autumnal land inhabited by Honeybees. Its largest planet mirrors the Honeyhive Kingdom. It is surrounded by wooden planets inhabited by Cataquacks. Unlock criteria: collect 34 Power Stars and complete "Darkness on the Horizon"						An ocean galaxy inhabited by Penguins. Its largest planet a sphere with a a looping stretch of water feeding through it. It his filled with caverns and reefs. A stone statue and mangrove rise from the water. A teardrop-shaped planet with tidal pools is at the center of the galaxy. Unlock criterion: collect 36 Power Stars
23. Toy Time Galaxy ×7 ×11 ×1				Missions		24. Bonefin Galaxy ×1 ×1 ×1				Mission
				Heavy Metal Mecha-Bowser	Mario Meets Mario					Kingfin's Fearsome Waters
				Bouncing Down Cake Lane	Fast Foes of Toy Time
				Luigi's Purple Coins	The Flipswitch Chain
A galaxy that looks like a playroom. It contains planets shaped like wooden blocks, puzzle pieces, colored pencils, and model trains. Some areas resemble deserts and other sweets. The galaxy is maintained by Gearmos, some of which are trapped within a tin robot that looks like Bowser. Unlock criterion: collect 40 Power Stars						A desolate planet with spike-like mountains. Beneath the surface is an cavernous ocean with active hydrothermal vents. The undead shark, Kingfin, swims in these waters. Unlock criteria: collect 55 Power Stars and complete "Giant Eel Outbreak"
25. Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor ×1 ×2 ×1				Mission		File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png Sand Spiral Galaxy ×1 ×4				Mission
				King Kaliente's Spicy Return						Choosing a Favorite Snack
A lava planet that looks like a red giant. Green hexagonal platforms sporatically line the planet and sink into the lava when stepped on. King Kaliente bathes on the northern pole of the planet. A rocky planetoid equipped with Bill Blasters orbits the lava reactor. Unlock criterion: collect 45 Power Stars						A haunted galaxy. It includes an abadoned airship and a barrel filled with Boos and spiraling quicksand. A glowing moon orbited by floating, rocky paths lies at the back of the barrel. Unlock criteria: complete "Luigi and the Haunted Mansion", "Faster Than a Speeding Penguin", and feed the Luma 1000 Star Bits
The Garden
26. Deep Dark Galaxy ×6 ×6 ×3				Missions		27. Dreadnought Galaxy ×6 ×15 ×2				Missions
				The Underground Ghost Ship	Bubble Blastoff					Infiltrating the Dreadnought	Dreadnought's Colossal Cannons
				Guppy and the Underground Lake	Ghost Ship Daredevil Run					Revenge of the Topman Tribe	Topman Tribe Speed Run
				Plunder the Purple Coins	Boo in a Box					Battlestation's Purple Coins	Dreadnought's Garbage Dump
A galaxy of uncanny planets. Its largest has a rocky beach with an underwater lake. A path leads to a wrecked airship. Other planets include a rotating cube; an air-filed replica of Gateway Galaxy; and a hollow sphere containing billiard balls and a watermelon. Unlock criteria: collect 46 Power Stars and complete "King Kaliente's Spicy Return"						Topman battle facilities. Its largest planet is a battleship equipped with cannons. Its interior contains gravity fields. A large landing strip equipped with Ring Beams and smaller planetoids surround the dreadnought. Some feature Eye Beamers. Unlock criterion: collect 48 Power Stars
28. Matter Splatter Galaxy ×1 ×4				Mission		29. Melty Molten Galaxy ×6 ×12 ×1				Missions
				Watch Your Step						The Sinking Lava Spire	Through the Meteor Storm
										Fiery Dino Piranha	Lava Spire Daredevil Run
										Red-Hot Purple Coins	Burning Tide
Stone ruins within a dark void. The ruins materialize when struck by bouncing droplets of matter. Contact is accompanied by a flash of green light. Unlock criteria: collect 50 Power Stars and complete "Heavy Metal Mecha-Bowser"						Sun-like planets undergoing extreme geothermal activity. Its starting planet experiences a volcanic eruption. Volcanic debris travels between lava pools and red dwarves at various sites. Unlock criterion: collect 52 Power Stars
File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png Snow Cap Galaxy ×1 ×2				Mission
				Star Bunnies in the Snow
A capsule-shaped planet covered in fluffy snow. The snow can be displaced with the Star Cursor. Star Bunnies occur here. The starting planet is a planetoid resembling a glass orb. Unlock criterion: complete "The Sinking Lava Spire" and feed the Luma 1600 Star Bits
The Comet Observatory
30. Gateway Galaxy ×2 ×5				Missions		31. Bowser's Galaxy Reactor ×1 ×10 ×1				Mission
				Grand Star Rescue	Gateway's Purple Coins					The Fate of the Universe
The first course of the game. Its starting planet is an ethereal sphere covered in flowers and small cottages. This sphere orbits Mario's homeworld and is frequented by Rosalina. A hollow planetoid and artificial planets covered with Goombas appear in "Grand Star Rescue". Unlock criteria: complete the prologue (first visit); complete "King Kaliente's Spicy Return" (revisit)						Bowser's galaxy generator at the center of the universe. It contains a series of gravity-bending traps and a system of environment planets: one covered in lava; one in ice; and one in quicksand. It orbits a great sun. Unlock criteria: collect 60 Power Stars and complete "Darkness on the Horizon"
File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png Boo's Boneyard Galaxy ×1 ×2				Mission
				Racing the Spooky Speedster
A skull-shaped planet in a starless sky. Its interior is a network of interconnected caverns navigated by the Spooky Speedster. The planet is orbited by three humerus-shaped planets. Unlock criteria: complete "Gateway's Purple Coins" and feed the Luma 1200 Star Bits
Planet of Trials
Rolling Gizmo Galaxy ×1 ×4				Mission		Bubble Blast Galaxy ×1 ×2				Mission
				Gizmos, Gears, and Gadgets						The Electric Labyrinth
One of the Trial Galaxies. It can only be navigated via Star Ball and is similar to Rolling Green Galaxy, but it resembles a Rube Goldberg machine with many shifting platforms. Unlock criterion: collect all 3 Green Stars						Another Trial Galaxy, this one navigated via bubble. It is similar to Bubble Breeze Galaxy, but involves navigating a maze boardered by electric fields that destroy the bubble on impact. Unlock criterion: collect all 3 Green Stars
Loopdeeswoop Galaxy ×1 ×6				Mission		Grand Finale Galaxy ×1 ×1				Mission
				The Galaxy's Greatest Wave						The Star Festival
A Trial Galaxy similar to Loopdeeloop Galaxy, where Ray is surfed along a watery course. This course has sharper turns, spikes, and twists that makes it more challenging than its predecessor in the Terrace. Unlock criterion: collect all 3 Green Stars						Princess Peach's Castle Gardens in the Mushroom Kingdom. A small village of Toads and a large lake flank the road to the castle. The locals are in the midst of celebrating the centennial Star Festival. Unlock criteria: begin a new save file (first visit); collect 120 Power Stars as Luigi (revisit)
Figure information and legend: Galaxies accessed from inside a dome are designated with a unique number. This number correlates with the galaxy's distance from its dome's origin, with smaller numbers being closer and larger numbers farther. It very roughly correlates with how galaxies are listed within the game's Star List. Galaxies accessed by feeding Hungry Lumas are not located within domes and are denoted by File:SMG2 Asset Sprite UI Hungry Luma.png. Trial Galaxies lack numerical designation because they are unlocked concurrently and can be accessed in any order. Three symbols convey attributes about each galaxy: denotes the total number of obtainable Power Stars; denotes the total number of reachable areas; and denotes the number of boss battles. The name of each mission is accompanied by a symbol that indicates what type of mission it is and the type of Power Star obtained. denotes a normal mission; denotes a Grand Star mission; denotes a Green Star mission; denotes a Red Star mission; denotes a Speedy Comet mission; denotes a Daredevil Comet mission; denotes a Cosmic Comet mission; denotes a Fast-Foe Comet mission; denotes a Purple Comet mission; and denotes an intramissionary secret mission.

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 major galaxies, such as speed runs of certain missions, "daredevil" runs (in which Mario is defeated if he takes a single hit), racing cosmic clones of Mario or Luigi, and doubling the speed of enemies and obstacles. They only appear after the corresponding regular level (e.g. Ghostly Galaxy's Bouldergeist battle) is completed, sometimes immediately, and at other times, only after another galaxy's level is completed. Prankster Comets appear and disappear every other level completed. After a level is completed while a Prankster Comet is active, all the Prankster Comets are removed until yet another level is beaten. In some cases (like the Space Junk Galaxy), the entire galaxy has to be beaten first. There are two Prankster Comets in each of the 15 major galaxies: one of the comet types 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.

The Comet Observatory

home.

Main article: Comet Observatory

Similar to Peach's Castle in Super Mario 64 and Delfino Plaza in Super Mario Sunshine, the Comet Observatory acts as the game's hub area. There, Mario can access the galaxies from domes. New areas in the Comet Observatory become accessible as Mario gains Power Stars and Grand Stars.

The Library

"Let us begin!"

Main article: Library

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