The A-Z of Super Mario Galaxy 2

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A virtual Encyclopedia Galactica of Mario factoids

Can it please be May 23 already? We are going crazy waiting for Super Mario Galaxy 2, picking up whatever info we can find. But now we've got it all in one place, with this amazingly huge list of everything we know about SMG2 from A to Z. Get ready for Mario Nirvavna folks.

Lets-a-go!!!

These activate hidden dexterity tests far beyond the original’s difficulty. Supermassive Galaxy, for example, presents a time-sensitive zigzag of coins: only four perfect consecutive long jumps will grab them in time.

2D

Galaxy 2 likes 2D platforming. Likes it, likes it. Bee and Boo Mario get in on the action: Bee gets the Honeybloom Galaxy and Boo explores the labyrinthine corridors of a haunted manor, vaporising through walls, thus causing an instant migraine for the level designer.

Abstract levels
Where original galaxies felt like realistic places (well, as realistic as a giant intergalactic fishbowl can be), Galaxy 2 has more abstract lumps of surreal fun. Corridors are slowly munched by ghouls and wooden cliffs are traversed on dino back. The ingredients are play, play and more play. And a teaspoon of death.

Airships

Bowser Jr’s propeller-lifted fleet returns. In a move surely/maybe/definitely not inspired by Star Wars, the lead-in to one boss fight sees Mario weave between the ships on a floating metal slab. Squint and he and Yoshi could almost be flying the Millennium Falcon – albeit if you shaved Chewbacca and painted him green.

Bee Mario
We’re surprised to see the buzzer return – his hover jump was originally intended as a substitute for Yoshi’s flutter jump. In Honeybloom’s Bumble Beginnings task – climbing the outside of a waterfall-covered cube – Bee Mario’s water allergy forces pixel perfect hovering. He can even bound on giant grapes. Oh to be a bee!

Blarg

Remember him? This magma-soaked dino once melted Mario’s heels in Super Mario World’s Vanilla Dome. That said, this gloopy mound is missing Blarg’s signature teeth. Too much lava and not enough Colgate will do that to you. Or it could be an all-new menace. Either way: do not touch.

Bonsly’s ghost
Floor-eating Bonsly heads. They present a mirror image of Galaxy 1’s Matter Splatter Galaxy: where that stage only existed in brief glimpses, this is a complete level dissolving before your very eyes.

Boo Mario

Or as we call him, Dead Mario. Boo mushrooms were sighted in 2009’s E3 trailer, promising phantom moustache action. Hopefully he’ll feature more prominently. Dripping with Nintendo character, the original’s powerups were victims of EAD Tokyo’s ideas diarrhea: expunged before we had time to draw in the nutrients.

Boo maze

Last year’s E3 footage revealed a planet patrolled by Boos. Spinning under foot, it’s like a giant hedge maze that circles 360 degrees to feed back into itself. Ulp. Mario will cope better in this haunted mansion, where fans buffet him around like a leaf on the wind. Very Forrest Gump.

Bullet Bill

If New Super Mario Bros Wii’s hectic Bill barrage was Nintendo ‘doing’ bullet hell, then Yoshi’s Bill-spitting technique is Nintendo ‘doing’ shmups. The remote pointer gobbles and aims with such easy abandon it resembles a cuter version of Predator’s minigun. Even better: starman Mario crumbles Bills under foot, even giant Banzai Bills.

Butt stomps

Hitting Z for a butt stomp has always been one of gaming’s more tactile thrills; an underside button for Mario’s underside. The Puzzling Pictureblock level uses Mario’s magic cheeks to thump together a sliding picture puzzle. Yes, it might leave nasty splinters, but the golden prize is worth it.