Sunday, September 25, 2011

Bowser's Star Reactor - The Fiery Stronghold

Welcome to the Galaxy!
We land on a twisting path, while a remix from Super Mario 64's Road to Bowser plays. A Luma tells us that he can sense a Grand Star nearby, but this place is filled with traps and tricks. There is a 1-up in crystal on the path. Don't worry about the gravity on the twisting path: as long as you stay on the path, you'll be fine. We pass some fire blasters and Thwomp and hop on a green platform that rotates 180 degrees. We then enter a 2D area, where, if you try to steer Mario into the wall and into the screen in quick succession, you might be able to get him to spin quickly. A nearby Luma informs us, "The gravity here is all out of whack! Check the arrows!"
The arrows will tell us which way is "down": which wall Mario will stand on. It is very important to pay attention to the arrows, because they will tell you where to stand on platforms to avoid being sucked into black holes or falling into dark matter. Unfortunately, I fell in a black hole.
Take 2- We land in front of the Thwomp and make it into the gravity maze. We jump down when we're over the platform to land on it. I reached the yellow platform, which rotates to an area with a cross fire bar. We get another 1-up and pass more fire blasters and a Thwomp, taking a hit from the fire blasters. There are more fire bars after that. We finally reach some green and white checkered floors that surround a tower. Bowser appears and shoots meteors into the floor. We have to climb quickly before the floor is destroyed and falls away, possibly taking us with it. We get a Life Shroom and make it to the top of the tower.
Bowser says, "BWAHAHAHA! You finally made it! Just in time for me to stomp you into space bits!" Mario looks angry and Bowser roars, making them both float to another planet. This planet is clear with blue circular panels. Bowser breathes fire and jumps to send shockwaves over the planet. He will briefly run, then jump up high and land with a shock wave. At this point, you want to guide him into landing on a blue panel. When he does, the panel will break, revealing lava, which burns him. (It will burn you, too, if you fall in it.) This will send him running around the planet with his tail on fire. Chase him in the opposite direction. When you find him, he will stop and turn around. Spin his tail to send him spinning around the planet on his shell. Go in the opposite direction and spin when he approaches you, which counts as a hit. It's okay to miss him, but don't do it for too long, or he'll recover and you'll have to make him land on another blue panel (the panels reform, so you can use the same ones.) Do this three times to win, but the number of times you have to spin him increases when you try to get in the third hit. With the last hit, Mario and Bowser are both knocked off the planet back to the tower.
Bowser says, "WHAT?! How... Foolish Mario... My plan is too far along now! You really think you can stop me?! Bwahahaha!" Bowser spins and disappears, like in Galaxy 2. The Grand Star appears from the floor.
GRAND STAR GET #3!
Star Get #27, Galaxy Complete!, 13 Coins, 1331 Star Bits, 10 Lives
Interlude
The Grand Star and Mario fly back to the Observatory. The Grand Star flies into the beacon, making it larger and a blue-green color. The Kitchen dome opens, with 4 new galaxies available to us.
Rosalina says, "Ah! You rescued another Grand Star, and power has returned to another dome in the back of the Observatory! Hmmm, but I still don't think we have the Star Power we need to fly to the Observatory through the universe. Ohh... The villain who kidnapped your special one took her far from here, to the center of the universe. Once our Star Power is restored, the observatory will be able to go there. Then you can reunite with your special one...

Luigi
I reached Bowser in two attempts. The dialogue is the same, but he calls Luigi "Luigi" for once. Even with the Life Shroom, I defeated Bowser with 1 bar of health left.
GRAND STAR GET #3!
Star Get #27, Galaxy Complete!, 4 Coins, 1204 Star Bits, 28 Lives

Monday, September 19, 2011

Super Luigi Galaxy Complete!

I finished Super Luigi Galaxy! This includes the last two Stars. I found the game overall much easier this time than the first time I played it. It is still an enjoyable, yet challenging experience. Playing as Luigi makes some parts easier and some parts (especially those that require precision) more challenging. Overall, this was a great game. I can't wait for the next Mario game installment, Super Mario 3D Land. Luigi gets more respect in this game, including being recognized by other characters and being called by his name, which doesn't always happen. As you may have noticed, I have quite the backlog to deal with, so I will not start any new projects before Super Mario 3D Land comes out. Enjoy!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Sling Pod Galaxy - A Very Sticky Situation

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
To access this galaxy, we must feed the hungry Luma outside the Fountain 400 Star Bits.
We land in a galaxy filled with Sling Pods. This is the only way we'll get around here. The Space Fantasy music plays. We must hop in the Sling Pods and aim carefully to reach the next Sling Pod, timing it to avoid cannon fire and fire bars. There is no safety net here, so be careful. On the bright side, there are hundreds of Star Bits, so we can recover lives. About halfway through the level are Pull Stars which lead us to more Sling Pods. We must avoid four fire bars to reach the last Sling Pod. There are six fences circling the Star. We must time our last sling. The fences won't hurt you, but missing means falling into a black hole. Time it right to get the Star. This took me 15 attempts.
Star Get #26, Galaxy Complete!, 1320 Star Bits, 9 Lives

Luigi
We feed the Fountain's hungry Luma 400 Star Bits to access this galaxy. This took me 4 attempts, dying twice from cannons, and overshooting a Sling Pod.
Star Get #26, Galaxy Complete!, 1169 Star Bits, 27 Lives

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

3DS News

Nintendo is treating us to some excellent news this week. First off, we have official release dates for the next two Mario games: Super Mario 3D Land on November 13 and Mario Kart 7 on December 4. Mario Kart 7 will feature Metal Mario and Lakitu as playable charactes and there will be new powerups, including the Fire Flower. Players will also have the option to play in first-person mode and steer using the gyroscopic sensor. (These are United States release dates. Check your region's Nintendo website for your region's release dates.) Luigi's Mansion 2 and Paper Mario will be released sometime in 2012.

Also, a new color is coming for the 3DS in Japan this October. It's Misty Pink. See the following link for the color. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/corporate/release/2011/110913.html

Nintendo is also adding a second joystick as an attachment to the 3DS. It is compatible with games released so far. It now gives players dual analog controls. See the following link. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/3ds/hardware/accessories/index.html

Kid Icarus: Uprising will not see a 2011 release, as game developers stated that they need more time. They plan a 2012 release for the game.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Battlerock Galaxy - Topmaniac's Daredevil Run

Welcome to the Galaxy!
To make things a little easier, we land on the battle arena saucer. The daredevil music plays. We enter the arena and start the battle. The battle isn't too difficult; just avoid Topmaniac's spikes and kill off the red Topmen before going for the third hit. They will try to use their spike when you land from the third stomp. Get in three hits and the Star is yours.
Star Get #25, 1434 Star Bits, 18 Lives

Luigi
This Star took me 6 attempts, namely because I did not kill the red Topmen. In one attempt, Topmaniac landed on me. On the 6th attempt, I defeated Topmaniac, killing the red Topmen first.
Star Get #25, 1259 Star Bits, 24 Lives

Battlerock Galaxy - Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on a saucer and take out the Rocky Wrenches on the saucers. We use the Pull Stars to reach the next saucer with Amps. We sling to another saucer that moves through a field of bombs. We reach the Launch Star and find a Luma in a cage surrounded by electric fences. To open this type of cage, we must spin a red Topman into the electric fence. On this planet is a Life Shroom above a rising platform. Once we free the Luma, it says "Thank you! Oh, sweet freedom! I'll show you a shortcut as your reward. And... TRANSFORM!" The Luma becomes a Launch Star and we launch over to a corner of the Battlerock. We take out the Rocky Wrench and break open the crate in the back corner for a green pipe that leads us inside.

This area is a 2D area with gravity arrows. The Underground remix plays. There are patches of lava and moving platforms which can push you into other gravity fields. There are arrows on the wall that we can spin to change the direction of the gravity. If the platforms pin you to the ceiling, you'll die instantly. We walk on the ceiling and fall through an area with lots of Star Bits. We use a spring to reach a green pipe. There's a purple spring laser that springs us to a Sling Star, which takes us to a moving yellow platform while an alarm sounds. We land in an area with two red Topmen and two sets of electric fences: one green and one red. We spin both Topmen into the electric fences and gravity pulls us outside, past where the electric fences were, to a Launch Star. There's nothing of interest down there if you drop down. We launch, with Mario facing the camera with explosions in the background.

We land on another saucer, while the pre-battle music plays. On the other side of the saucer is the battle arena. We climb up the stairs and look up, seeing Topmaniac hovering overhead. We hop into the arena, which is lined with an electric fence. Topmaniac descends and the battle starts. This is a simple battle: stomp Topmaniac and spin him into the electric fence. Do this three times and the battle is over. After the second hit, instead of small yellow Topmen, red Topmen appear. Avoid Topmaniac's spikes and this should be an easy battle. Topmaniac explodes into the Star.
Star Get #24, 12 Coins, 1398 Star Bits, 18 Lives

Luigi
We kill the Rocky Wrenches and use a Pull Star to reach the next saucer. We sling to the saucer that moves and launch at the end of its path. We free the Luma using the red Topmen and get the Life Shroom. We launch, take out the Rocky Wrench, and find the pipe inside the crate. In the 2D area with gravity arrows, we take a short cut by backflipping into the area with the blue arrows. We spring from the purple lasers to a Sling Star. We land on a descending circle that stops in an area with electric fences and Topmen. We use gravity to take us to the Launch Star. We launch facing the camera, with explosions in the background. We land on the underside of the saucer that is the battle arena. We start the battle and defeat Topmaniac for the Star.
Star Get #24, 13 Coins, 1100 Star Bits, 26 Lives