Friday, December 17, 2010

Grandmaster Galaxy - The Ultimate Test

Welcome Back to the Galaxy!
The map icon for this galaxy is a trophy that chimes when S.S. Mario is nearby. With a title like "The Ultimate Test", you know you're in for a challenge. Make no mistake: this is not Grand Finale Galaxy from Galaxy. This is no cakewalk. We have to go through six planets to the Star.
The first planet is a 2D area with Swing Flowers, Paragoombas, Bullet Bills, and bombs. Yoshi Star music plays. Green Toad is there when we land, saying "YOSHIIIIII!" Next to him, is a Yoshi egg, so break open the shell and swing to the other side. There are only three platforms to stand on. Timing is important and it is a bad idea in some areas to swing backwards, because you'll swing into a bomb or a Goomba. At the end, there is a Launch Star above a flagpole. You can either ditch Yoshi or hover up to the Launch Star, but I didn't figure that out until the last Star.
The next planet is a 5x5 flipswitch planet with lasers taking up 4 of the squares. The background is an 8-bit Mario/ Fire Luigi/ block background. I went around the square, then cleared the five in the middle, which should be done with care because all four lasers will fire at you. After clearing all of the flipswitches, a Launch Star appears, back where you landed.
The next planet is another 2D area. This area has a midgate. The music changes to Sky Station music. Blue Toad says "Move along now. Nothing to see here. I'm on CLOUD control! Haha! Get it? Instead of "crowd", I said... Aww, never mind. Wow, tough galaxy..." Yes, it is a tough galaxy. Nearby is a Cloud Flower and fans, as well as an electric fence maze. Once you get used to it, you can do some pretty awesome acrobatics in this level. There are no enemies here to worry about. There are several Cloud Flowers so you can recharge. Hitting an electric fence is instant death, so be careful. If you time your jumps carefully, you can launch with 3 clouds for the next area.
This is where things became really challenging for me. There is another midgate here. We find Yellow and Red Toad sleeping nearby. Red Toad says "Zzz.. exploration... zzz.." and Yellow Toad says "Zzz... Star Bits... zzz..." Past them, are some disappearing green platforms to Flip-Swap platforms and spiked lasers that make laser rings. There are also Octopi that make coconuts/ fire rocks aimed for you. Past four lasers is the Launch Star.
The next area has moving electric fences. Some are over giant blocks that are your platforms. Pink Toad is there, who says "I get to see Mario/ Luigi at work! Whoa..."After the blocks, we have to use the Pull Star the rest of the way, dealing with moving electric fences and Paragoombas. Towards the end, there is a stationary electric fence, and a Pull Star near by. Just sling past the Paragoomba and sling back over to the platform near the Launch Star, using the Pull Star over the platform.
The next area, the last area, is where the nightmare truly begins. The music switches over to Bowser's Galaxy Generator. It's crawling with Hammer Bros. and 3 Boomerang Bros. There are also flipping platforms. Towards the end, off the right edge of one of the platforms, is the last Comet Medal. After fighting and dodging my way through, I was surprised to find that after taking out all of the Boomerang Bros., the Star appeared. Phew! (You don't have to beat any of the Hammer Bros.)
This is undeniably a difficult level. You may want to consider getting a Co-Star to make your life easier. I didn't use a Co-Star, so I died 68 times. On the next Take, I got the Medal, beat all of the Boomerang Bros., and the Star appeared.
Star Get #241, 49 Comet Medals, 9561 Star Bits, 2732 Coins, 19 Lives
After getting this Star, nothing happens. If you talk to Lubba after this Star, he'll say "I wonder what happens when you get 9,999 Star Bits? Something nice, I bet!"
As you can see, I've been keeping track of how many Star Bits. Due to depositing some Star Bits much earlier in the game, I have more than enough to max out my account. I put in the amount needed to reach 9999 and Banktoad gives us a 1-up and says "Unbelievable! So many (Star Bits)! I can't even hold onto any more for you... What to do..." And nothing happens. Until you step on the launch pad, that is. Then we see the Prankster Comet icon over Grand Master Galaxy. It's time to get the very last Star!

No comments:

Post a Comment