Bowser's Star Reactor

Bowser's Star Reactor
Bowser's Star Reactor
Galaxy Information
First appearance	Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
Area	Fountain
Number of Stars	1
Missions	The Fiery Stronghold
Bosses	Bowser

Bowser's Star Reactor is a level located in Super Mario Galaxy and the first level where Mario fights Bowser. Before Mario fights Bowser, he has to travel through a short level that resembles one of the Bowser levels from Super Mario 64, which is also where the theme music for this level comes from. After Mario reaches a green staircase at the level's end, Bowser will appear and start breathing fiery rocks from his mouth at the staircase. This causes the stairs to start breaking; Mario must reach the top before they break completely. Upon reaching the top, Bowser roars and changes the gravity; Mario and Bowser fall to a metallic planet above the level. Mario fights Bowser on this planet. After he defeats Bowser, the King of the Koopas says he has not been defeated yet, teleports away, and leaves a Grand Star behind.

Mario can access this galaxy if he has 15 Power Stars in his possession, including the Grand Stars from the Gateway Galaxy and Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor.

Levels

Mission 1: The Fiery Stronghold

Mario starts the level flying through space past Bowser's airship fleet and landing on a platform with a long path bending upwards and a giant warp pipe attached to it. The player will have to walk on the path. The player will have to walk on to find a crystal with a 1-up Mushroom in it and the main platform, with two firebars, a flamethrower and a Thwomp. Up next is a green platform which rotates 180º to come to an area with shifting gravity. The player will need to go onto a yellow platform to come to a grey platform with four firebars in a cross shape turning counterclockwise. A Thwomp will try to squash Mario as the player came into an area with three flamethrowers, a moving platform, and three groups of firebars. After passing through these obstacles, the player will have to fight Bowser. On the way he will breath fire at Mario, breaking the area's platforms. The player can obtain a Life Mushroom trapped in a crystal. When Mario gets to the top Bowser swaps the gravity between the two planets. His first attack is a stomp which will make a shockwave move around the planet, and Mario will have to jump over it. Then Bowser will try to ground pound Mario. The player must make Bowser smash through the planet's glass and burn himself on the Star energy underneath. He will run around the planet, and the player must try and Star Spin to attack his tail that will send him spinning on his shell. The player should Star Spin at him again to give damage. He will then start shooting fireballs at Mario. The player will have to repeat this process to defeat Bowser.

Planets

The entire level is on a space station.

Airships

At least eight airships are flown past when approaching the galaxy. These are never traversed, however. They can also be seen in first-person mode in the background from later planets.

Starting Planet

Starting Area

This area resembles a pipe. Two Lumas give advice on what could go on within the area.

Loop

Mario heads around a giant loop that has outward Gravity. There is a 1-UP here.

Thwomp's Walkway

This Planet contains Fire Bars and a 1-Up Mushroom. When the player advances on the platforms, they will go into a loop. This planet also has a Thwomp and a flamethrower, and a platform that takes Mario to the Gravity Planet.

Gravity Planet

Here, Mario must be careful as to not fall off the platforms and into a black hole, because the gravity changes back and forth here due to the gravity fields. There are also more Fire Bars and a Thwomp here. At the end of this area is a platform leading to the stairs.

Stairway Planet

In this area, there are stairs that lead to the platform where Mario fights Bowser. There are yet more Fire Bars, flamethrowers, and Thwomps that make getting to the top harder. After the Fire Bars, Bowser will appear and then he will try to throw fireballs at Mario. When the player reaches Bowser, they will be taken to the Magma Planet.

Star Reactor Planet

This is the planet where Mario battles Bowser. When Bowser Ground Pounds the blue glass, lava will be exposed and burn his tail. The green plates can be used to block the shock waves Bowser makes. When Bowser is defeated, Mario will receive a Grand Star, unlocking the Kitchen. Bowser has an identical planet in his Galaxy Reactor, and a palette swap of the planet appears at his Dark Matter Plant.

Nomenclature

Bowser's Star Reactor is called a "Star Plant" (with "plant" referring to a factory and "star" referring to the stars of outer space) in Japanese (Sutā Puranto; written スタープラント), Korean (Seuta Peullaenteu; written 스타 플랜트), Chinese (Xīng Gōngchǎng; written 星工厂), and German (Sternenfabrik, with sternen meaning "star"), a "Stellar Dimension" in Spanish (Dimensión Estelar), a "Star System" in Italian (Sistema Stellare; literally "Stellar System"), and a "Stellar Factory" in French (Usine Stellaire).