Super Mario Galaxy 2

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Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a video game released for the Wii and is the direct sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. The game was released in North America on May 23, 2010, May 27, 2010 in Japan, June 11 in Europe, and was released in Australia and the rest of Asia on July 2, 2010.

The game sees Mario travelling through space once again to save Princess Peach from Bowser, who has stolen the Grand Stars to build his galactic empire.

Gameplay

The most notable feature in Super Mario Galaxy 2 is Yoshi, whom Mario can ride on. Yoshi can gain new powers by grabbing special items, such as the Dash Pepper, which lets him run up steep slopes, the Blimp Fruit, which causes him to float, and the Bulb Berry, which allows him to find hidden platforms. New items include a drill head, used to perforate planets. Also found are two new suits called Rock Mario and Cloud Mario; the former turns Mario into a rock ball that rolls around hitting enemies, and the latter lets Mario make clouds to climb. There is also a switch that slows/stops time, a rotating item block similar to a die that Mario can use his spin attack on—gaining whatever is rolled on the block, winged Question Blocks and more. Miyamoto stated that most of what didn't make it into Super Mario Galaxy would appear in Super Mario Galaxy 2. It is like Super Mario World and also has some Super Mario World themes.

Star Bits, as well as suits such as the Bee Mushroom and other mechanics of Super Mario Galaxy reappeared in the game. However, the Comet Observatory has been eliminated as Mario's means of accessing the galaxies. The new method of traveling through space is the Starship Mario, built by Lubba. It is a planetoid in the shape of Mario's head which uses a map screen, with a word scheme similar to the ones in previous Mario games: Super Mario Bros. 3 and New Super Mario Bros.. Bowser returns as a villain for this sequel. There are several other bosses, including one that resembles a smaller version of Megaleg, a larger Major Burrows, and a giant armadillo named Rollodillo.

Luigi is also playable in the game, unlocked after Mario gets 20 Stars. Afterward, at specific points in time, Mario will find him at the beginning of a galaxy. If Mario speaks to him, Luigi will offer to take Mario's place for the duration of the time spent in the galaxy. As in the original, Luigi runs faster, jumps higher and farther, and has less traction than his brother. When the player uses Luigi to gain any star in a galaxy, that galaxy will gain a Luigi ghost they can race against. After finishing the game, the player can switch between Mario and Luigi at will on the Starship Mario.

If a player dies a certain amount of times on a single level, the Cosmic Spirit appears at a certain point in a level. When the player talks to her, she asks if Mario needs help. If the player agrees, the Cosmic Spirit turns into a small blue orb and circles Mario, then gains control of Mario's body. At any time you can press the plus button on the Wii Remote and choose to have her stop controlling Mario and you can regain control. If not, the Cosmic Spirit continues to beat the level. After she completes it—or even if she does part of it—you get a bronze star instead of a regular Power Star. It counts as a regular star and adds to your star count, but you can only get a Power Star by completing the level by yourself. The Cosmic Spirit is a similar guide found in New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns (Super Kong).

Due to high rankings, Super Mario Galaxy 2 is the second-highest rated game of all time behind The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Development

Miyamoto noted that the game would be less focused on the plot.

In an interview, he said the game would be more challenging than its predecessor. He stated that he hoped the game would be as successful as the original. Miyamoto also mentioned that some levels, maybe even several, may be repeated.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 was initially named Super Mario Galaxy More, in fact, on the code, the name Super Mario Galaxy More is still there. This was because it was initially an expansion pack for Super Mario Galaxy, containing content cut from the original, before transforming into an original game.

Story

Following off from the end of Super Mario Galaxy, Rosalina's end of game speech stating that, "The cycle repeats itself, but never quite in the same way," starts becoming true.

The game starts again with the Star Festival. Continuing from the ending of the first Super Mario Galaxy, Princess Peach invites Mario to share some cake while watching the shooting stars. On his way to Peach's Castle, Mario finds a lost Baby Luma. The Luma seems to like Mario and jumps into his hat. At Toad Town, Mario discovers Bowser attacking the castle. Bowser explains that he used the power of the Power Stars to become a giant, and kidnaps Peach and takes her away.

Mario starts at the Sky Station Galaxy, where Mario must fight Peewee Piranha. Afterwards, Mario lands on a strange planet that is inhabited by Lumas. Lubba, the captain, turns the planet into a faceship (Starship Mario) to assist Mario and Young Master Luma in their Quest for the Power Stars.

After a long journey, Mario collects enough stars to reach Bowser's main fortress. Infiltrating Bowser's fortress, Mario defeats Bowser, collects the final Grand Star, and rescues Peach. Suddenly, Rosalina and the Comet Observatory appear in front of the Starship Mario. Rosalina thanks Mario for protecting Luma, and Luma returns with Rosalina, taking Mario's hat as a souvenir. The Comet Observatory disappears while Mario and his companions return to the Mushroom Kingdom.

Characters

Protagonists

• Mario
• Luigi
• Yoshi
• Princess Peach
• Rosalina
• Toad
• Toad Brigade
• Piantas
• Penguru
• Queen Bee
• Bees
• Penguins
• Gearmos
• Lubba
• Luma Shop
• Hungry Luma
• Luma
• Giant Luma
• Bob-omb Buddies
• Star Bunnies
• Signposts
• Coach
• Co-Star Luma
• Cosmic Spirit
• The Chimp
• Whittles
• Fluzzard
• Jibberjays

Antagonists

• Bowser
• Bowser Jr.
• Peewee Piranha
• Giga Lakitu
• Digga-Leg
• Gobblegut
• Bugaboom
• Rollodillo
• Sorbetti
• Megahammer
• Glamdozer
• Squizzard
• Prince Pikante
• Bowser Jr.'s Boomsday Machine
• Whomp King
• Fire Gobblegut
• Giant Bowser
• Dino Piranha
• King Kaliente
• Major Burrows
• Bouldergeist
• Fiery Dino Piranha

Enemies

• Amps
• Astro Goombas
• Banzai Bill
• Bats
• Bloopers
• Bob-ombs
• Bomb Boos
• Boos
• Boulders
• Brrr Bits
• Bullet Bills
• Burn Bits
• Chain Chomps
• Cheep-Cheeps
• Cluckbooms
• Crabbers
• Dry Bones
• Firebars
• Fire Shooters
• Flipbugs
• Golden Chomps
• Goombas
• Grand Goombas
• Gringills
• Incoming Chomps
• Jack O'Goombas
• Jellyfish
• Koopa Troopas
• Magikoopas
• Mandibugs
• Mecha-Koopas
• Mines
• Octoguys
• Octoombas
• Piranha Plants
• Pokey Sprouts
• Porcu-Puffers
• Pushy Walls
• Slurples
• Spiky Plants
• Spoings
• Spanglers
• Starbags
• Stretch Plants
• Thwomps
• Tox Boxes
• Undergrunt Gunners
• Urchins
• Water Shooters
• Wigglers

New Enemies

• Big Boos
• Boomerang Bros.
• Choppahs
• Cosmic Clones
• Diggas
• Elite Octoombas
• Fizzlits
• Flaptacks
• Flimps
• Fuzzies
• Gargantua Koopa Troopas
• Grand Paragoombas
• Grinders
• Gummits
• Hammer Bros.
• Kleptoads
• Lakitus
• Ledge Hammers
• Magmaarghs
• Magmaws
• Mattermouths
• Mega Wigglers
• Octoboos
• Paragoombas
• Pinheads
• Piranhacus Gigantici
• Prickly Piranha Plants
• Pupdozers
• Rhomps
• Silver Chomps
• Skeeters
• Smeeches
• Snoodles
• Spinies
• Spiny Hermits
• Super Thwomps
• Swaphoppers
• Twirlips
• Whimps
• Whomps

Transformations

Some of Mario's power-ups have returned from the first game, including some new ones. Yoshi also has power-ups of his own.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 includes all of the power-ups featured in Super Mario Galaxy except for Ice Mario and Flying Mario. However, the data for those suits was placed in the game, but never used. They can still be seen and used if the player hacks the game.

Mario

• Fire Mario
• Boo Mario
• Bee Mario
• Spring Mario
• Rock Mario
• Cloud Mario
• Rainbow Mario

Yoshi

• Dash Yoshi
• Blimp Yoshi
• Bulb Yoshi

Galaxies and Missions

(*) = Unlocked by feeding a Hungry Luma.

Music

Much of the music in the game is reused or reorchestrated from past Mario titles. Examples of which are:

• The theme heard on Starship Mario is a remix of the music box theme from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, though most fans disagree.
• In Puzzle Plank Galaxy, music from Super Mario Bros. 2 can be heard while collecting musical notes.
• In Hightails Falls Galaxy, one of the overworld themes from Super Mario World can be heard.
• In Haunty Halls Galaxy, music from the ghost houses in Super Mario World can be heard.
• The music heard during the slide portion of Tall Trunk Galaxy and the music in rolling coaster galaxy are from Super Mario 64's Peach's Secret Slide.
• Throwback Galaxy includes some of the original music from the Whomp's Fortress level of Super Mario 64. The galaxy's name suggests that it is intentionally added for nostalgic purposes.
• Themes from the original Super Mario Galaxy were reused for this game.

Trivia

• This game shows Mario, Peach and the rest of the characters maybe 100 years old, though this is purely speculation.
• Bowser must be beaten twice in order to collect the green stars. This is done when 120 stars are collected.

Reception

Super Mario Galaxy 2 has received overwhelming universal acclaim, earning a metacritic average of 97.35%, and a GameRankings average of 97/100. IGN rewarded the game a 10/10, and an editor's choice award. They later took a vote and saw that Mario Galaxy 2 was by popular vote the best Wii game of 2010. 1UP.com awarded the game an A. Edge gave the game a 10/10. The Japanese magazine marked Mario Galaxy 2 with a 37/40 (9.25/10). Game Informer saw Super Mario Galaxy 2 worthy of a 9.25/10, with Game Pro and Game Spy awarding a similar score of 4.5/5 stars. GamesRadar and GameSpot gave the game 10/10. The Official Nintendo Magazine and GameTrailers both gave the game a 97/100 (9.7/10).

The platforming, gimmicks, level design, graphics, and music have garnered undeniable acclaim, with many claiming Super Mario Galaxy 2 as a "bolder" take on the Galaxy formula.

Gallery

To view Super Mario Galaxy 2's image gallery click here