Star Ball

From the Super Mario Wiki, the Mario encyclopedia
Revision as of 19:17, July 3, 2024 by Dwhitney (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigationJump to search
Not to be confused with Star Sphere.
Star Ball
Mario balancing on a Rolling 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
Mario breaking open a Star Ball in Super Mario Galaxy 2

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 the 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 a Star Ball by first jumping on top of it, pointing Wii Remote 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

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 Notes
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
French Boule Étoilée[?] Starry 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 a 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.

References

  1. ^ Nintendo (2010). Super Mario Galaxy 2 instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 20.
  2. ^ Nintendo (2007). Super Mario Galaxy instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 19.
  3. ^ Nintendo (2007). スーパーマリオギャラクシー (Sūpā Mario Gyarakushī) instruction booklet. Nintendo (Japanese). Page 23.
  4. ^ Nintendo (2010). スーパーマリオギャラクシー2 (Sūpā Mario Gyarakushī Tsū) instruction booklet. Nintendo (Japanese). Page 26.