SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2
Alright, next up, we have Super Mario Galaxy 2, the sequel to the landmark Super Mario Galaxy, and rightfully acclaimed in its own right. I have a feeling that Super Mario Galaxy 2 was created for largely similar reasons to Breath of the Wild's upcoming sequel in that the creators just had too many ideas for additional content that they had to create an entirely new game for it all. And you can see evidence for this throughout much of the game: it runs on the same engine, most of the unique mechanics and enemies work their way back in, much less effort was spent on the opening sequence and other cutscenes, the way different worlds are accessed is heavily simplified and plays out more like one of the 2D Mario games, and so on. But hey, it's a good game, so who's complaining.
Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Rosalina and her Lumas, Bowser, Bowser Jr., and the Toad Brigade all return, serving much the same functions as they did in the previous games. Mario acts as the player character using all the moves from the first game as well as the Bee, Boo, Spring, and Fire powerups from before, on top of new forms such as Rock Mario, that allows him to roll up into a boulder and spin at high speed, Cloud Mario, that allows him to create temporary cloud platforms beneath him when crossing great distances or trying to get up high, and the Spin Drill, a drill that lets him dig through certain areas.
Luigi acts as an alternate character to play as, so can do everything Mario can. Princess Peach is captured once again, so doesn't do much. Rosalina only appears at the end of the game this time, her observatory struggling to escape Bowser's galaxy generator. However, the Lumas all still play an important role and do everything they could before. The Toad Brigade act as your basic NPCs throughout the game, though they are joined by others. Finally, we have Bowser and Bowser Jr. Bowser spends most of the game giant-sized, floating around a small planetoid while breathing fire, tossing giant meteors at it, or punching it and causing shockwaves. Bowser Jr. spends most of his time in a little, really comfortable-looking flying machine that he can then plug into mechs such as the Boomsday Machine and the Megahammer.
Two more major characters appear in this game, the first being Yoshi, returning after not making an appearance in the first game, and the second being Lubba, a heavyweight Luma who bears an odd resemblance to a certain cartoon starfish, and generally takes the place of Rosalina in the first game, being your main exposition hound throughout your journey. Yoshi can do much of what he does in other games, with his flutter jump and his penchant for eating enemies, but he can also spit out certain enemies as projectiles, flip around little flower things with his tongue, and eat three different fruits that give him different abilities, namely: a red pepper that sends him running at top speed, a blue fruit that inflates him like a balloon and carries him up high, and a yellow fruit that lights him up and makes him able to see and stand on invisible platforms. Lubba is really just an NPC.
Speaking of NPCs, we have a few to cover this time around. The Chimp is a shades-wearing monkey who likes to challenge you to complete certain tasks, though he never partakes in them himself. Fluzzard is a giant bird Mario hangs onto and flies great distances with. Piantas, Honeybees, Gearmos, and Penguins all make a return, functioning generally the same as before, alongside the Pink Bob-Ombs of Super Mario 64 fame. Whittles (little figures made of wood) and Jibberjays (talkative little birds) also enter the fray, also mostly just acting as NPCs. And finally, we have Star Bunnies, who do what all bunnies seem to do in Mario games, run around until Mario catches them. Basic stuff.
We have a few new bosses this time around. Peewee Piranha is a baby version of the last game's Dino Piranha. King Lakitu is a giant Lakitu who can blast lightning from his cloud as well as throw spinies. Digga Leg is a smaller version of Megaleg who hops around on a small round planet and fires Diggas through the dirt. Gobblegut, and by extension Fiery Gobblegut, is a large eastern dragon who makes train sounds and eats through dirt, often burrowing all the way through a planet. Rollodillo is a large armadillo creature who can roll up into a ball. Sorbetti is a giant snow version of the Tap-Taps from the Yoshi series (we'll get there). Glamdozer is a giant version of the Pupdozer who can crawl around and spit lava. Squizzard lives in the sand and likes to throw rocks, spiky rocks, and bombs at you. Prince Pikante is a large octopus that drives around in a tank, shooting and spitting melons and meteors at you. The Whomp King returns from Super Mario 64, jumping up and slamming down to crush you. Megahammer and the Boomsday Machine are both mechs piloted by Bowser Jr., the first firing Bullet Bills from its chest and slamming its hammer arms down on you, while the Boomsday machine fires electric balls, swings around massive firebars, drives around on treads, and sometimes sucks things in. Finally, we have Bugaboom, Dino Piranha, King Kaliente, Major Burrows, Bouldergeist, and Fiery Dino Piranha all returning and functioning effectively the same.
Now for our regular enemies! Koopas return, bringing with them Dry Bones, Lakitus, Spinies, Hammer Bros, Boomerang Bros, Magikoopas, and Mechakoopas, each of which function more or less the same as before, although Dry Bones seems to now have a variant that can eat through literal matter. Goombas also return, bringing Paragoombas with them as well as the Octoombas, who are now called Octoombas instead of Electrogoombas. Piranha Plants and their spiky variants (including the black-headed one famously known as Fire Piranha) return, as do Boos and Bomb Boos, alongside what look like Boo versions of the Octoombas. They all act mostly the same. Bloopers and Cheep Cheeps return, acting mostly as basic swimming enemies, though Cheep Cheeps now have a spiky variant. Monty Mole doesn't appear, but the Undergrunts and Undergrunt Gunners do. Bats, Wigglers, Pokeys, Fuzzies, Skeeters, Chain Chomps, Bullet Bills, Bob-Ombs, Whomps, and Thwomps all do exactly as they are famous for. Blaargs don't quite return but they do have a couple variants in the Magmaarghs, who do the same thing.
From the first Galaxy game, we also have the Mandibug, Octopus, Topman, Crabber, Flipbug, Sproing, Sprangler, Cluckboom and Gringill enemies all return, all functioning in the same way, alongside new enemies such as: Choppah, a fat green enemy that flies around like a helicopter; Smeech, who latches onto Yoshi; Twirlip, a flower that spins around; Digga, a living drill; Pupdozer, a slow dinosaur creature that walks back and forth; Swaphopper, a robotic enemy with a spike on one side and a weakpoint on the other; Flaptack, which seems to be a relative of the Cluckboom, but it divebombs its enemies with its headspike instead; Tongari, a hermit crab; Kleptoad, a frog that runs around and steals things; Fizzlit, a purple enemy that melts into a puddle of electricity; Bee Eater, a spiky plant that lunges at you; and Snoodle, a wavy polyp-like enemy that doesn't like light. None of them particularly scream playable.
Next up, let's tackle the stages. This game is centered on the Starship Mario, a hubworld shaped like Mario's head. I'm not going to lie, a stage set here would be awesome. After that, we have an assortment of 49 worlds, none of which are quite as well divided between full-on stages and one-offs like the first game. However, in general, each group of levels is divided into four levels with six possible stars to collect, and two more with only four, plus a final world to fight either Bowser or Bowser Jr. I think my best bet is to pick the six-star worlds and leave it at that, with a Bowser world to represent the whole, like last time. The six-star worlds are:
1. Sky Station Galaxy: a basic starting stage
2. Yoshi Star Galaxy: another basic stage and your introduction to Yoshi
3. Spin-dig Galaxy: a rocky, dirt-based stage and your introduction to the spin drill
4. Fluffy Bluff Galaxy: a cloud-themed world and your introduction to Cloud Mario
5. Puzzle Plank Galaxy: a stage based on different puzzle-themed elements
6. Boulder Bowl Galaxy: a rocky stage and your introduction to Rock Mario
7. Hightail Falls Galaxy: a waterfall stage that makes great use of the Pepper ability for Yoshi
8. Cosmic Cove Galaxy: a water level
9. Cloudy Court Galaxy: another cloud level
10. Tall Trunk Galaxy: a large tree level with a slide
11. Haunty Halls Galaxy: a ghost level
12. Freezy Flake Galaxy: a snow level (with some lava)
13. Supermassive Galaxy: a level where everything is gigantic
14. Flipsville Galaxy: a house-themed level where you're constantly flipping perspective
15. Starshine Beach Galaxy: a beach level
16. Chompworks Galaxy: a factory-themed stage where they apparently produce Chain Chomps
17. Space Storm Galaxy: sorta like Dreadnought Galaxy from the last game
18. Boo Moon Galaxy: another ghost level
19. Slipsand Galaxy: a desert level
20. Shiverburn Galaxy: a fire and ice level just like Freezeflame from the last game
21. Melty Monster Galaxy: a lava level with an awesome theme song
22. Clockwork Ruins Galaxy: a really creative level set in constantly moving ruins
23. Throwback Galaxy: a recreation of Super Mario 64's Whomp's Fortress
24. Battle Belt Galaxy: a gauntlet of various enemies throughout the game
There we go, that cuts it down at least a little.
Next up, we have most of the items of the first game returning, as well as the Spin Drill, the Cloud Flower, and the Rock Mushroom. Seems pretty solid.
Let's see what we've got!
Characters:
Mario: multiple different types of jumps and punches, wing cap, metal cap, pixel cap, ride on shell, fire from cannon, slide on belly, use F.L.U.D.D., spin, shoot starbits, warpstar, pull star, fly as a bee, cling to honey, pass through walls (Boo), skate across ice, throw fireballs, fly, invincibility, spring, rock, cloud, drill
Luigi: clone of Mario
F.L.U.D.D.: spray forward stream, jetpack hover, rocket nozzle, spin and spray, launch missiles, shoot bubbles
Peach: nothing, parasol, jet
Toad: nothing, give star, spaceship, headlamp
Toadsworth: nothing
Yoshi: hop around, flutter jump, egg, tongue, spray fruit juice, spit enemies, flip around flowers, run really fast, inflate, glow
Rosalina: nothing
Luma: spit star bits, eat star bits, transform into warpstars, pull stars, planets, spin, and become bunnies
Bowser: tromp around, breathe fire, charge, tip stage, create shockwaves, hang out in hot tub, breathe meteors, spinning punch, curl into boulder, spin in shell, command airships, fly, be giant, throw meteors, punch with shockwaves
Bowser Jr.: transform, paintbrush, flying machine, shoot bullet bills, mini airship, cannonballs, magikoopas, Megaleg, Megahammer, Boomsday Machine
Shadow Mario: run, jump, paint, paintbrush, tongue, fiery paint trail, command Mechabowser
Lubba: not much
Pianta: nothing, chuck you
Noki: nothing, tuck in shell
Honeybee: fly, climb on honey, spear, butt bash
Goomba: walk around, spin like a top, minis, giants, helmet, pumpkin, Paragoomba
Koopas: run away, pop from shell, race, Snooza Koopa, Electrokoopa, tuck into shell, used as projectile
Dry Bones: fall apart, eat matter
Piranha Plant: sleep, bite, spit paint, bob around, spiky
Petey Piranha: fly with leaves, roar, spit goop, Piranhabons, create tornadoes
Boo: float around, Big Boo, turn into blocks, pass through walls, hide face, explode, swing around by tongue, turn invisible
King Boo: roulette wheel, slot machine, spit bubbles, fruit, enemies, Boos
Blooper: crawl around, surf, spit ink, swim
Gooper Blooper: slap tentacles, spray ink, spin and spray
Lakitu: float, drop Spinies, use camera, blast lightning
Shy Guy: Fly Guy, fire, Snufit float, fire pellets
Hammer Bros: throw hammers, throw boomerangs, hop around
Magikoopa: cast spell, summon shells, throw fireballs, teleport
Monty Mole: jump, throw rocks, drive tank, throw Bob-Ombs, fire Bullet Bills, pop up, throw wrench, dig in ground, fire bubbles
Bob-Omb: explode, fire cannons, pick up and throw (Big Bob-Omb)
Cheep Cheep: swim, spikes
<Tentative> Chain Chomp, Wiggler, Whomp, Strollin' Stu, Il Piantissimo, Gearmo, Penguin, The Chimp
Bosses:
Big Bob-Omb
King Whomp
Big Boo
Big Bully
Eyerok
Chill Bully
Gooper Blooper
Manta Ray
Wiggler
Dino Piranha
King Kaliente
Bugaboom
Megaleg
Tarantox
Topmaniac
Bouldergeist
Major Burrows
Baron Brrr
Bonefin
Peewee Piranha
King Lakitu
Digga Leg
Gobblegut
Rollodillo
Sorbetti
Glamdozer
Squizzard
Prince Pikante
Stages:
Princess Peach's Castle (Melee)
Princess Peach's Castle (Inside)
Bob-Omb Battlefield
Whomp's Fortress
Jolly Roger Bay
Cool Cool Mountain
Big Boo's Haunt
Hazy Maze Cave
Lethal Lava Land
Shifting Sand Land
Dire Dire Docks
Snowman's Land
Wet-Dry World
Tall Tall Mountain
Tiny-Huge Island
Tick Tock Clock
Rainbow Ride
Bowser's World
Delfino Plaza
Bianco Hills
Ricco Harbor
Gelato Beach
Pinna Park
Sirena Beach
Noki Bay
Pianta Village
Corona Mountain
Toad Village
Gateway Galaxy
Comet Observatory
Good Egg Galaxy
Honeyhive Galaxy
Space Junk Galaxy
Battlerock Galaxy
Beach Bowl Galaxy
Ghostly Galaxy
Gusty Garden Galaxy
Freezeflame Galaxy
Gold Leaf Galaxy
Sea Slide Galaxy
Toy Time Galaxy
Deep Dark Galaxy
Dreadnought Galaxy
Melty Molten Galaxy
Bowser's Galaxy Reactor
Starship Mario
Sky Station Galaxy
Yoshi Star Galaxy
Spin-Dig Galaxy
Fluffy Bluff Galaxy
Puzzle Plank Galaxy
Boulder Bowl Galaxy
Hightail Falls Galaxy
Cosmic Cove Galaxy
Cloudy Court Galaxy
Tall Trunk Galaxy
Haunty Halls Galaxy
Freezy Flake Galaxy
Supermassive Galaxy
Flipsville Galaxy
Starshine Beach Galaxy
Chompworks Galaxy
Space Storm Galaxy
Boo Moon Galaxy
Slipsand Galaxy
Shiverburn Galaxy
Melty Monster Galaxy
Clockwork Ruins Galaxy
Throwback Galaxy
Battle Belt Galaxy
Items:
Wing Cap
Metal Cap
Pixel Cap
Green Shell
Bob-Omb
Bullet Bill
Coin
Star
Box
F.L.U.D.D.
Shine Sprite
Fruit
Star Bits
Invincibility Star
Fire Flower
Ice Flower
Red Star
Bee Mushroom
Boo Mushroom
Spring Mushroom
Warp Star
Pull Star
Spin Drill
Cloud Flower
Rock Mushroom
Thanks for reading! Next up, we finish up our mainline 3D games with Super Mario Odyssey!
