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Paragoombas
These guys are great. Not only do they make great target practice for Yoshi’s strawberry bootlace tongue, but should they fly into a spot of reversed gravity they flip madly on the spot, unable to work out which way is down.
Perspective shift
Mario’s virtual cameraman has a great eye for shots. When Mario drills into planets the view zooms out to chart his journey. And when a sling star is activated, the camera soars gracefully after Mario, giving you just enough time to aim the pointer at secret stashes of star bits as you whizz through the cosmos.
Piantas
By all means celebrate Delfino Island’s cameo here, but remember – it means welcoming these dumb galoots back into the picture. Also remember that they wear grass skirts. Dear Piantas, do not enter reversed gravity. Thanks.
Pin swinging
If Yoshi isn’t wall-running, Mario is swinging up pins in gymnastic 2D sections. Watch out, Prince of Persia, you’ve got a fat plumber on your tail.
Purple monsters
As yet unnamed. Shaped like teeth, these purple monsters hover for a second before sending out a beam of electrified light. As it sweeps across the floor like a spotlight beam, Mario is advised to turn Solid Snake and avoid.
Retro classics
As we sat down to play Galaxy, Nintendo claimed that they were firing up the orchestra for another epic soundtrack. The MIDI ditties we heard hint at jolly tunes to come, bar the odd excellent outburst of retro tunes. Setting a dash pepper sprint to Super Mario World’s athletic theme is perfect.
Rock Mario
Say hello to Mario’s new boulder form. Scoff the stone mushrooms and Mario dons a granite hat. (We make it sound like a Mafia execution. It’s not that sinister). Shake the remote and he rolls into a crushing boulder, dashing through crystals and barriers, but at the expense of control. Expect plenty of Monkey Ball-esque fall outs.
Rollodillo
Rock Mario gets to fight an armoured armadillo boss thing (only the most technical terms for you, dear reader). Run circles around him until he tires – then whomp his exposed backside. Ball. Backside. Could go horribly wrong.
Snow day
Nintendo have crafted a pristine winter wonder, full of lush banks of white powder and ornate snow sculptures. Then, in a masochistic twist, they pump Mario full of fire flowers and send him on a destructive rampage. Forget greenhouse gases: Mario’s the biggest environmental danger around here.
Snow fight
Setting fire to Goomba snow statues reveals a smouldering snow boulder ripe for a rolling. Get some momentum going and you can roll a giant snowball several times the size of Mario himself – it could almost be a planet in its own right. Far funnier is going to work on Bowser’s snow statue – each hit whittles him further to his knees.
Sonic?
Nah.
Spikes
Oh, so wall-jumping’s easy, eh? Well how about wall-jumping… on some spikes? It’s as if EAD Tokyo created a harmless game and then gave it to a total jerk to paint with horrible things. Why do you torment us so, Nintendo? We thought we were friends.
Spin jumps
Mario’s spin jump undermined some of Galaxy’s platforming elements, so Nintendo have reined in the ability this time out. A far greater emphasis has been placed on long jumps and Yoshi’s flutter jump. And in the Flip Swap Galaxy, spin jumping is your enemy: platforms disappear from under your feet when you perform the move.
Star bits
Rarely do you need to fiddle with the camera. Messing around with the view, however, does let you drink in the more panoramic views and reveals bonus star bits nestling on the horizon.
Star fruit
Some sling stars (the gates that shoot Mario between planetoids) are hidden inside bulbous peaches. Yoshi can chew them down to the precious pip, but his tongue has to be in range first – and getting there is often a platforming puzzle in itself.
STRIKE!
Nintendo really know how to debut an idea. Boulder Bowl Galaxy sees Mario wear the Rock suit for the first time. Initially he rolls around an arena, where fences help keep him from the edge. Thwack into a metal drawbridge, however, and Mario finds himself on an intergalactic bowling lane. Not only is scattering pins a clattering joy, but the lane ends with a ramp for a tummy-turning leap into inky space. Awesome.
Suits
So far we’ve spotted Bee suit, Boo suit, fire flowers and – *shudder* – Spring Mario. No sighting of Ice Mario yet. Don’t tell us he melted.
Super guide
Super Guide, an automated playing service for the skill impaired, turned out well in New Super Mario Bros Wii. What was feared as a casual sell-out was anything but – the hand-holding opportunity allowed Nintendo to make NSMBW harder than they would have done without it. Mario Galaxy 2 will feature an evolved (i.e., yet to be defined) Super Guide, enabling the uncompromising edge felt in the levels tested to date.
