Saturday, December 31, 2011

Super Mario 3D Land: 5-5

The level starts with a giant Tanooki Goomba. We take it out with a few fireballs. The item block on the right is a propeller block and we use it to hop up the clouds. We also use it to kill the tall stack of Goombas for a 1-up. We spring up, then drop down to the left for the first Star Coin, propelling back up to safety. We hop up some clouds to some binoculars. We can look through them even with the propeller block on our head. We see Toad with a propeller block, too. He drops down to the location of the flagpole. We reach the midpoint. I tried to reach the second Star Coin, but fell.
Take 2- I fell.
Take 3- We get the second Star Coin by jumping from a springy mushroom, dropping down a little, then using the propeller block to reach it and get to safety. We get a Tanooki Suit from a giant Tanooki Goomba and spin a gear in a brick block in the upper left corner. There's a clock on a nearby platform and a P-Switch that makes rings. We use the propeller block to drop down to platforms and reach the third Star Coin. We take it to the flagpole for a 1-up.

Super Mario 3D Land: 5-4

This level is crawling with Monty Moles. We have to stomp them twice to kill them. An Underground remix plays. We climb up and duck to reach the second Star Coin. We backtrack on a higher path and find the first Star Coin by hitting invisible blocks and jumping to it. We get it a Fire Flower, but it still takes two fireballs to kill the larger Monty Moles. We return to the midpoint and drop down. We go into the green pipe occupied by a Rocky Wrench for coins and a clock. We duck into an arrow past the three Monty Moles in a row for a clock and the third Star Coin. We take the second green pipe to the right to reach the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 5-3

We need 40 Star Coins to unlock this level. The Super Mario 3 music plays. We hop on a yellow platform and transfer before it reaches a large cube of spiked blocks. We transfer to a blue swing and hop off on another level. We get a Boomerang Flower and hop on another yellow platform, with another moving in parallel. When the platforms reach the red stairs, we hop off before they go under. We reach the midpoint after avoiding enemies that behave like Bramballs. We cross some dropping platforms to a blue swing. We hop over a block while swinging for the first Star Coin. We hop to another swing and immediately transfer to a yellow platform. I fell off after jumping into a spike block.
Take 2- We get the first Star Coin and fell.
Take 3- We get the first Star Coin and a Fire Flower. We climb up the pole to reach the block to Coin Heaven. We get a Starman and run. As always, there's a Star Coin at the end: the second one. We go down the dropping platforms to parallel yellow platforms, that change heights. On the left is the third Star Coin. We miss the platform when we try to hop on.
Take 4- We fell.
Take 5- See Take 2.
Take 6- The gold block appears. We get the first two Star Coins. We get the third Star Coin and fall.
Take 7- We get all three Star Coins and make it to the end of the yellow platforms' line. We take a swing to the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 5-2

We hear Mario walk through a door into a room with item blocks forming an exclamation point. We walk to the right to the next room. We hop over Spinies over quicksand and move right. Next is a room with rolling spikes and a Spiny, then a spinning spike bar. We die from a spike bar.
Take 2- The path to the right from the spike bar leads to an item block with 5 coins. The green path at the top leads to the midpoint. There are patches of lava below. We enter a purple Mystery Box and get coins. We take a yellow platform up and go through the doorway. At the end of a long hallway with rolling spikes is the last Star Coin. We'll go back a little later for the first two. There's a doorway on the right to cross gaps of lava and lava pillars. The door at the end takes us to the flagpole.
Take 3- We died from a torch.
Take 4- We find the first Star Coin in the room with the spike bar. We go to the area to the south, jumping up to find it. We reach the flagpole.
Take 5- We return with a Fire Flower. We go into the room to the right of the spike bar and light all four torches. The Zelda chime sounds and the gate to the right lowers. There's the second Star Coin. We reach the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 5-1

It's time to meet the Boomerang Flower. Now, we can throw boomerangs. The desert music plays on this rocky level. To the left is a green pipe. We jump to the left from the blocks for the first Star Coin. Under the blue bridge is a P-Switch that makes Super Mario 2 musical notes for a Boomerang Flower. We pass a couple of Tanooki Thwomps, whose tails are kind of springy. Above the second Thwomp is the second Star Coin. At the top is a ramp to a door to the midpoint. The rock bridge slowly crumbles and falls. The octangonal area rises. A Boomerang Bro drops down, then some spike balls. Then a Squizzard-like enemy appears, then more spike balls. We jump for the third Star Coin and fall off.
Take 2- We get the third Star Coin with a Boomerang. We get another Boomerang Flower from the Red Coins. The platforms enter into a tube so the spike balls bounce off the walls. We reach the top and let the spike balls roll away. We climb the stairs with Pokeys and reach a cannon. We aim through the ring for a 1-up at the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 4- Airship

We shoot from a cannon to the Airship, which an auto-sidescroller. We have to deal with the red and blue flipping platforms. We fell off.
Take 2- We get the first Star Coin by walking around instead of taking the short cut while dodging Rocky Wrenches. We drop down below the rolling spikes to get the second Star Coin, but were too far to the left and died.
Take 3- I got the first Star Coin and fell.
Take 4- We get the first two Star Coins. We fell from trying to kill a Boomerang Bro.
Take 5- We get all three Star Coins. The third Star Coin flips with the platform, so walk over when the blue platforms are up. The end Airships are pink. Could this mean something? We go down the green pipe. The interior is also pink and it means something. Instead of Boom Boom, we are met by a Koopa with a ponytail and a Boomerang. Her name is Pom Pom. We got in one hit and she flew over and dropped on us with her shell.
Take 6- The gold block appeared. See Take 5.
Take 7- We got the first two coins and fell.
Take 8- We got all three Star Coins and got in two hits.
Take 9- We fell.
Take 10- We get all three Star Coins and drop to the Airship below the one with the pipe. There's a 1-up there. We die after two hits.
Take 11- Another gold block with a P-Wing shows up. We're ignoring it as well. We die in battle.
Take 12- We get all three Star Coins and die after one hit.
Take 13- We get all three Star Coins and fell.
Take 14- See Take 13.
Take 15- We get all three Star Coins and beat her. Using the Tanooki Tail works. We go through the pipe and get a 1-up at the flagpole.

Mario walks through the night and finds another envelope. The picture inside shows Peach chased by stacked Goombas. She yells, "Help me!" Shaking makes her jump and the Goombas shake. Mario runs off, jumping over two Monty Moles.

Super Mario 3D Land: 4-5

It's time to deal more with the green tile bridges! We need them to cross gaps, so don't rush ahead. We use the set of four to reach a level with a Boomerang Bro. We hop in a purple Mystery Box to get Coins. I fell trying to get the first Star Coin.
Take 2- We reach the Boomerang Bro and hit both switches to make a bridge to the next platform and the first Star Coin to the right. We take the orange Mystery Box to the midpoint. I make another bridge, where we have to avoid spike blocks. I missed the second Star Coin because I reached the orange Mystery Box on the platform first. I died from a boomerang.
Take 3- We get the second Star Coin by staying on the edge of the moving yellow platform while it passes the Mystery Box. We warp. The bridges in the left corner take us to the third Star Coin. We are hit by a boomerang.
Take 4- We fell.
Take 5- We get the last two Star Coins and take out the Boomerang Bro. The bridges to the right lead to some clocks and the other set lead to an orange Mystery Box to the flagpole. Wall jump from the left bridge onto the right bridge to the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 4-4

It's time for a Ghost House! The ghostly waltz music from Super Mario Galaxy plays. There are Boos here, some that will appear from thin air. We approach the edge of the floor to make checked platforms appear. We hit the P-Switch to make coins appear that show us the way. We fell off.
Take 2- We hit the P-Switch and follow the coins to an orange Mystery Box. The first Star Coin is floating around a few ghosts. We hit a Boo and use a red ! block to reach the midpoint. We hit the blocks for a Starman and destroy the Boos for a Tanooki Suit. We walk to the lower right corner and run into a cutout pipe to make a green pipe appear. There is an optical illusion room with a clock and the second Star Coin. I jumped off the lower left corner and died.
Take 3- We get the Tanooki Suit and the second Star Coin. We go to the upper right corner to an orange Mystery Box. We take two lefts to reach the third Star Coin. Afterwards, we are followed by a giant Boo and we fell off.
Take 4- We get a Tanooki Suit and the last two Star Coins. We avoid the giant Boo and get a Starman to take him out at the end, near the purple door. We go out the door and get a 1-up at the flapole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 4-3

We need 30 Star Coins to unlock this level. We don't lose the Star Coins. There are several rotating blocks here. Super Mario 3 music plays. If you can handle the rotating block levels in Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Super Mario Sunshine, you'll be fine. The first Star Coin is over the second rotating block, which is blue. I tried to stomp a brick block with a tail and fell off.
Take 2- I got the first Star Coin and a Tanooki Suit. Unfortunately, I fell off a green block.
Take 3- I fell off.
Take 4- We get the first Star Coin and go to Coin Heaven. There, we get a Starman and a 1-up from running into all of the enemies. As always, at the end is a Star Coin. We hit the red ! block for blocks to the midpoint and binoculars. We see Toad and he throws the third Star Coin out over the blocks. We fell off.
Take 5- We fell off.
Take 6- The gold block appears again. We get the third Star Coin over a blue rotating cube and a 1-up from Red Coins. We fell off.
Take 7- We get the third Star Coin and a Tanooki Suit from Red Coins. We get a 1-up at the goal.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Super Mario 3D Land: 4-2

We land in a tower-like level where an Underground remix plays. There's an Ink Piranha in the right corner. We climb the steps and find the first Star Coin above the Ink Piranha on that level. We hit the red ! Block for blocks to form a stairway up. They don't last long, but we can hit the block as many times as we need. We hit another set on the next level, to the right. After we ascend, we duck into the crevice on the left to drop to the second Star Coin. We spring back up. The third Star Coin is just above the last ! Block. We get it by using the block to make three blocks, then wall jumping between them and the right wall. We use four springs to reach the green pipe to the flagpole.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Super Mario 3D Land: 4- Mystery Box

Time for another Mystery Box! We have to defeat a Goomba and a Piranha Plant, then collect the Coins, including a Star Coin. We get all the coins.

Super Mario 3D Land: 4-1

This level starts off as a grassy mountain. There are Super Mario 2 musical notes in a shrub near the Piranhas. We use it to get a Fire Flower. We use the binoculars to find Toad, who throws a 1-up our way. At the top of the stairs is a brick block in the wall. There's a Koopa there, but we use a Tanooki Suit to break it. Inside is the first Star Coin. We ride the carousel up and spring to Coin Heaven. At the end is the second Star Coin. We reach the midpoint. To the left is a cannon, which we use to get the third Star Coin. We start walking up the tall tree near where we landed. At the top of the tree is the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 3-Airship

It's time for another Aiship! This one is not an auto-sidescroller. We launch onto the deck from a cannon. We walk around, noticing the Bob-ombs. We get the first Star Coin to the left of the left spike pillar. We hop over there when after it retreats. Past the right spike pillar, we dodge spike balls from a shooter that aims for us. We reach the midpoint and look through the binoculars. Toad will drop a Super Shroom for us. We also discover the location of a Star Coin. We get a Fire Flower from a Bob-omb blowing up a crate. We then cross a bridge with several spiked pillars, standing in the gaps between them, which are a different shade of brown. We walk towards the screen from the second gap to find the second Star Coin over a dropping platform. We reach the green pipe to Boom-Boom. This time, the floor moves in two different directions, making landing hits a little more difficult. We get in all three hits and take the green pipe. There's a clock here, as well as the third Star Coin on the mast at the bow. We reach the flagpole.

Mario runs out into the night and finds another envelope. It shows Peach thinking of Mario. She calls his name. Shaking makes the Mario jump and a Goomba or Luigi appear from behind the castle wall. We pass a Monty Mole on our way to World 4.

Super Mario 3D Land: 3-5

We need 15 Star Coins to unlock this level. It's an auto-sidescroller with Super Mario 3 music. There are several yellow cracker-like platforms moving to the left. Over a couple of brick blocks is the first Star Coin. To get the second Star Coin, we let the dropping platform drop a little, then jump to get it and bounce off the green enemy to safety. We then use an orange Mystery Box to warp. The sidescrolling stops when we reach the orange Mystery Box and starts again when we warp. The midpoint is here. I lingered by the midpoint and died.
Take 2- We move forward onto yellow rectangular platforms coming towards us. Towards the end of it, on the left is the third Star Coin. There's another orange Mystery Box to warp us to the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 3-4

It's winter in this level, with appropriate music that reminds me of a piece from the Legend of Zelda. We must cross tightropes, some of which are crawling with Fuzzies. We bouncing up the tightropes attached to the tall tree and hit the purple arrow blocks from below so we can reach the first Star Coin. After crossing the gap with the tightrope, we warp using an orange Mystery Box. We cross a long tightrope, but hit a purple arrow block so we can reach a rainbow musical note block to Coin Heaven. We get a Starman and run through the enemies and get some coins, including the second Star Coin at the end. Next are two parallel tightropes, each with three Fuzzies. We can dodge them with another set of parallel tightropes above. We warp using an orange Mystery Box. We jump up the tightropes and cross another set of parallel tightropes. We drop down into the alcove for Super Mario 2 musical notes and a Tanooki Suit. While collecting the musical notes, we cross another tightrope to a flying item block that will take us to the third Star Coin and another orange Mystery Box, which takes us to the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 3-3

We skip over the blue Toad House for a cloth and mattress-filled level with a Super Mario 3 remix. We drop behind the cloth cube behind the item block to a cube with a gear that takes us to a green pipe. Above the two rows of coins is the first Star Coin. We go through the other green pipe and free a Chomp. To the left is a long bridge of drop-away platforms. We get the Starman on the bridge and cross the bridge, jumping across the gaps. We die trying to get the Red Coins.
Take 2- We get the first Star Coin and cross the bridge to the midpoint. We take the left path of dropping platforms and wall jump up, collecting clocks. At the top ledge is the second Star Coin. We pass another Chomp and see Toad with the binoculars. He throws out the third Star Coin. We fell off.
Take 3- We get the last two Star Coins and use an orange Mystery Box to warp. After that, we climb the dropping stairs for a 1-up at the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 3-2

Time to go swimming! And, as in Galaxy and Galaxy 2, the beach music changes when you're underwater. There are lots of Cheep-Cheep. We go through the green pipe and appear outside. We follow the P-Switch coins back into the water. We go around back and come forward to pass the wall. We lose our items to a Blooper after getting a Fire Flower. We find a hole in the wall that takes us to the first Star Coin. After reaching the midpoint, we dive back in, dealing with with spiked fish and eels. Past the second eel is a way to the surface where the third Star Coin. The pipe there will take us to the higher level near the flagpole, so we can get a 1-up.
Take 2- There is a hole in front of the first eel. Down there is a green pipe. The pipe takes you to the second Star Coin. We reach the flagpole.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Super Mario 3D Land: 3-1

World 3 seems like a beach/ water world. 3-1 is more like a desert level, with Egyptian-themed music. We collect Super Mario 2 musical notes for a Tanooki Suit, passing Pokeys and enemies that look like small Squizzards. We walk around the right side of the tower and find a brick block to the second Star Coin. We hop into the cannon on the left side and aim for the 1-up, which is a cutout. An invisible block in the back has a real 1-up. We aim for the ring, pass a walking Thwomp, and go in the door. We pass the two Thwomps and use an orange Mystery Box to warp to the midpoint. Outside, we climb stairs that move in and out of the walls to another door. We miss a Red Coin on the way. Inside we see more walking Thwomps. At the end, we wall jump from the top of the Thwomp for the third Star Coin. We leave through the door and reach the flagpole.
We get a message: "Tap the world tabs on the Touch Screen to go back to the worlds you've visited before.
Take 2- We aim the cannon at the wall above the Star Coin on the moving yellow platform outside the tower to get it. We get a Tanooki Suit from the Red Coins. We get a 1-up at the goal.

Super Mario 3D Land: 2- Airship

It's time for our first Airship of the game! We launch aboard from a cannon. This is an auto-sidescroller. We take the orange Mystery Box for the first Star Coin. We are squished between the screen and a wall.
Take 2- We fell off the tightrope.
Take 3- See Take 1.
Take 4- We get the first Star Coin and wall jump for the second. The Bullet Bills have Tanooki Tails, as well. We reach the end pipe and drop down. We fall off, seeing the third Star Coin below.
Take 5- We get all three Star Coins, dropping down between the ship with the Tanooki Bullet Bills and the end ship. At the lower right corner where the pipe is an invisible block at the same level as the platform with a 1-up. We go through the pipe and meet Boom Boom, an enemy we haven't seen in a long time (Super Mario 3). We stomp him for a hit. After the hit, he'll spin around the room in his shell. We get in two more hits and win. He gives us lots of coins and we go through the pipe. We climb up the stairs to the flagpole.
On to World 3! At night, Mario finds another envelope. Bowser and Peach are on an Airship, as well as other enemies. Peach calls for help. Shaking makes the Airships shake.

Super Mario 3D Land: 2-4 -- Think Before You Jump

The red and blue flipping platforms from Galaxy 2 make a reappearance. This time, their flipping is cued by your jumps. I take a hit from a Bee. There are Bowser blocks that will make Goombas appear. I got the first Star Coin and fell off.
Take 2- We get the first Star Coin and go to Coin Heaven. We don't get all of the coins and drop back to the main level. We spin the gear for a 1-up. We fell.
Take 3- We fell.
Take 4- We get the first Star Coin and go to Coin Heaven. I fell from Coin Heaven. We reach the goal.
Take 5- We fell.
Take 6- The second Star Coin is at the top of Coin Heaven. We fell.
Take 7- We get the second Star Coin. The third Star Coin is above the flying Item Block over the last set of flipping platforms. We get a 1-up at the goal. I recommend the Tanooki Suit.

Super Mario 3D Land: 2-3

Here's where things really start to look like Galaxy. We land on 8-bit Mario. The Item Block has a Propeller Block. The P-Switches make coins to collect for applause. The higher P-Switch requires the Propeller Block. All we have to do to activate the Propeller Block is to jump and hold down (A) or (B). We jump down to lower platforms, including an 8-Bit Mushroom. We get the second Star Coin by falling through the hoop to it and hold (A) to activate the Propeller to safety. Next is 8-bit Peach. We use the Starman to take out some green enemies for a ring of coins. We take an orange Mystery Box to an 8-bit area. We hop up the stairs and reach the flagpole.
Take 2- We grab a Tanooki Suit from 1-1. We get the musical notes, which play a Super Mario 3 remix, for a 1-up. We spin the gear on the mushroom for Red Coins for a 1-up. The gear on Peach takes us to the third Star Coin. We get two 1-ups at the goal, one for having the Propeller Block.
Take 3- There is a brick block concealing a gear on Mario's right foot. (All of the gears are concealed by brick blocks.) We spin it for a long time, reaching 8-bit Fire Luigi with the first Star Coin. We reach the goal for two 1-ups.

Super Mario 3D Land: 2- Mystery Box

We have a Fire Flower to take out two Fire Piranhas. We take them out and grab some coins, including the Star Coin.

Super Mario 3D Land: 2-2

We find ourselves in an underground level. I found the first Star Coin by dropping down and wall jumping to the rectangular shadow. Alternatively, you can reach it using the green tile bridge. We cross over purple water with another bridge, jumping over the gap. I took the bridge on the left, but tried to turn back and fell in.
Take 2- We go through the green pipe, where coins form "3D". The pipe takes us up near the bridge to the first Star Coin. My jump was short and I fell in.
Take 3- We get the first Star Coin and make it to the midpoint flag. We go up a couple of steps and hop behind the wall for a clock and the second Star Coin. We then take a long bridge out of and back into the building and go through a green pipe. We get a 1-up at the goal.
Take 4- We reach the midpoint, finding out that either bridge to the midpoint will work. We fell in the water.
Take 5- We fell in the water.
Take 6- See Take 5.
Take 7- See Take 5.
Take 8- See Take 5.
Take 9- See Take 5.
Take 10- See Take 5.
Take 11- I found the third Star Coin. Go through the green pipe to the goal. As Tanooki Mario, spin the left wall to destroy some blocks, duck and walk under the wall, and jump to get it.

Super Mario 3D Land: 2-1

This level starts us outside a castle. We use the binoculars and Toad throws us Star Coin. We get a Super Shroom and a Tanooki Suit. We take out some cutout Goombas and spring on mushroom blocks to reach the first Star Coin. We get a 1-up for pounding the tall stack of Goombas. The green pipe takes us to an optical illusion room. The eye square adjusts the camera to reveal the true location of the Star Coin. The P-Switch to the left of the green pipe makes music notes that play Super Mario 2 music for a 1-up and applause. We climb up the green stairs and duck through a small hole for another 1-up. I tried to jump for the third Star Coin, but fell.
Take 2- We get the first two Star Coins and the musical notes for a Tanooki Suit. We get the third Star Coin by walking behind the stairs. We deal with the yellow platforms by transferring at the top. We spring to an orange Mystery Box and warp. We step on a green tile, which folds out to form a bridge with coins. We have a time limit to cross before it folds back on itself. Getting all the coins results in applause. We use another set to reach a spring to the flagpole. (You can activate it multiple times.)

Super Mario 3D Land: 1-Castle

We run through the castle gates and the doors slam shut. We drop down, dodging fire-breathing enemies, fire bars, and Podoboos. The first Star Coin is over the hole of the first gear. Jump high, as there is a Podoboo in the lava below. We ride a platform on the lava and lose our Tanooki Suit to a lava pillar. We kill a Hammer Bro and keep going to the midpoint. To the side of the long fire bar is the second Star Coin. Next are two Thwomps. The third Star Coin is in the alcove behind the second Thwomp, so we wall jump for it. We walk to the edge of the path when Bowser appears far ahead. He shoots large fire balls, which we can dodge by dropping to the lower parts of the floor. We hear Toad's voice. He will follow us along the way until we face him. I took a hit from a fire ball and passed him when he jumped. He has a Tanooki Tail. He jumped in front of me and I died.
Take 2- We get the Star Coins and above the third Star Coin is a set of binoculars, showing us that the goal is at the top of a tall tower. There's a 1-up up there as well. I jumped off into the lava and died instantly.
Take 3- We get the last two Star Coins and face Bowser. We run into him, then pass him, landing on a Bowser switch at the end. The bridge falls apart and he falls into the lava, revealing that he was a Goomba with a dark Tanooki Leaf. The gate to the right lifts up. Toad is here, jumping for joy. At the end is an orange ! Mystery Box. It warps us to the top of the tower and we get a clock. We hop up the crates and reach the flagpole.
A path to World 2 opens up. We wander into the night and find another envelope with a picture. It shows Bowser ordering Goombas, some with tails. Shaking makes the Goombas jump.

Super Mario 3D Land: 1-Toad House

We stop at the Toad House and get a message: "Welcome to the Toad House! There's a present here for you! I wonder what's inside..." We go inside and open the present. It's a Fire Flower. We have a Tanooki Suit in reserve, so we leave it. The Toad House disappears.

Super Mario 3D Land: 1-4

We need at least three Star Coins to open the black box at 1-4. It becomes a new level. There's a green arrow platform on a track, so we hop on. A Super Mario 3 remix plays. We let the platform go over the geyser to get it on the tracks for the first Star Coin. At tne end of the track is the midpoint flag. We take the next platform and let it drop down, then backtrack to the left, for the second Star Coin. Unfortunately, the track ended and we fell off.
Take 2- We got the second Star Coin and transferred to the next planet. We stop to check out the Mystery Box for a Tanooki Suit and coins. I fell off at the geyser.
Take 3- We got the second Star Coin and fell off the track.
Take 4- We got the second Star Coin, the Tanooki suit, and the third Star Coin, which we reach by a geyser. I fell off.
Take 5- See Take 2.
Take 6- A gold box with a leaf appeared. It's probably Super Guide, so I ignored it. See Take 3.
Take 7- We got the second and third Star Coins. We reach the end of the track, the geysers boosting us so we could land on the lower track. We go through a green pipe for the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 1-3

This level takes place on a wooden structure in the mountains. We start the level and check out the binoculars. We zoom in on Toad, who throws out a Star Coin over a musical note block. We kick a Koopa shell down the wooden structure for a 1-up. We enter the Mystery Box for coins. We tilt the green arrow platform in the direction we want to go to cross the gap. There's a midpoint flag and Fire Piranha. We pound the right stump to get a Tanooki Suit. We go the right and find a rainbow musical note block, which takes us to Coin Heaven and the second Star Coin. The Red Coin Ring produces only 5 Red Coins, which give a 1-up, which fell off the clouds. We backtrack to where the path forks to the right and forward. We drop down to the clouds for the third Star Coin. We reach the flagpole by dropping down, and crossing the gap with the green arrow platform, with 62 seconds to spare.

Super Mario 3D Land: 1- Mystery Box

We hop into the Mystery Box and get a message: "Welcome to the Mystery Box! Clear the room and get the item before time runs out. You might even find a Star Coin! The clock is ticking!"
We get a Fire Flower to destroy two Goomba cutouts in under 10 seconds. The Bonus Area music from Galaxy 2 plays. Once we do, a Star Coin and a bunch of coins drop down. I grabbed the Star Coin and got all but three coins before time ran out. We get a message: "Did you get the Star Medal? Mystery Boxes you play will be sent with your Mii to other players from now on, if you're using StreetPass. You might also receive new Mystery Boxes from them through StreetPass! That's it for now. See you in the next Mystery Box!" We leave the Mystery Box and it becomes hollow and inactive.

Super Mario 3D Land: 1-2

We start the level and walk past a spike ball swinging from a chain. A remix of the Underground theme plays. We get a Fire Flower and lose it to an Ink Piranha, who spits ink blots onto the screen. We lose our Super Shroom to another Ink Piranha. Killing them removes the ink blots. We can stomp on them to take them out. On the spinning platform with the second Ink Piranha, we find the first Star Coin. We died from a Goomba.
Take 2- We get a Fire Flower and the first Star Coin. We lose the Fire Flower to a torch. We pass the four stacked Goombas by ducking into the alcove in the wall and reach the midpoint. The lone coin in the corner makes more coins. We get applause if we get them all. Along the left wall are some coins. They hide blocks, one of which has a Starman. We run around, taking out Ink Piranhas, Koopas, Goombas, and a spike ball for 1-ups. The second Star Coin is here, over a yellow moving platform. We carefully cross the narrow wooden bridge, then walk to the back wall and kill the Ink Piranhas for the third Star Coin. We get a 1-up at the flagpole.

Super Mario 3D Land: 1-1

It's time for our first level! We cross the bridge and get some coins, then hit a block for a Tanooki leaf to become Tanooki Mario. Towards the front is the first Star Coin over a tight rope near the broken bridge, which bears a strong to the Comet Medals in Galaxy 2. I will try to collect all of these, hopefully on my first try. If we stay towards the front of the screen, we'll find a hole in the wall blocked by a crate. We break it with our tail and go through the tunnel for a 1-up. We go up the yellow platforms and find the midpoint, which is a Bowser flag. We run through the puffy flowers to pick up an extra Super Shroom. Then, we go into the tunnel. In one of the brick blocks is a gear we can spin as Tanooki Mario. The gear raises the platform outside, where we find an extra time clock and some coins. Unfortunately, I jumped down too close to the screen and fell off the edge.
Take 2- We get a Tanooki Suit from a Tanooki Goomba and spin the gear again. The clock adds 100 seconds to our time limit. We find some binoculars we can look into without time penalty. We see the flagpole as well as a Toad, who tries to reach the flagpole, but falls short. We find the third Star Coin over a tight rope by the colorful blocks accessible using the music note block. We slid off again.
Take 3- We get the 1-up in the tunnel and go onto the block overhead for another 1-up. We find a green pipe by climbing the tree near the left fence on the same level as the midpoint flag. We do a handstand and jump to the musical note blocks. Here we come to the optical illusion room, with the second Star Coin. The brick block with the eye is lined up with the block the Star Coin is on, so jump from there. We get a Starman and kill some Goombas before heading to the flagpole. We reach the flagpole with 50 seconds left. The game automatically saves.

Super Mario 3D Land - Super Mario 3 meets Galaxy

It's a blustery and stormy night. Leaves are blown from the trees. We hear Bowser's laugh. The next day, we find Mario and the Toads walking from the castle to a Tanooki-shaped rock. They find a letter floating in the air. Inside is a picture of Bowser holding Peach with leaves blowing around. Bowser laughs and Peachs calls, "Mario!" (The 3D effect works on the picture, as well as the gyroscope.) Mario and the Toads freak out and run off to World 1. The Toads run off ahead and Mario starts at 1-1. Here we go!

Monday, December 26, 2011

Grand Finale Galaxy - The Star Festival

Now that we have 120 Stars, we land on the deck and Rosalina says, "We now have enough Star Power to go to another world. But before that, we must help your special one. Are you prepared to travel to the center of the universe?" We say "yes", because there's nothing else we need to do here. We go battle Bowser once more, taking four attempts with Mario and eight with Luigi. After the credits roll, we see Rosalina on the Gate planet, saying, "Thank you! I will watch over you from beyond the stars. She walks through one of the houses to the Observatory and it takes off. We see a white Luma waving from a wrecked Starshroom. When we play as Mario, we get a message: "You can now play as Luigi!", while we hear Luigi say, "Super Luigi Galaxy!" After collecting the same 120 Stars with Luigi and beating Bowser once again, we get a new message: "The Grand Finale Galaxy is now open!" We can play this mission as Mario and Luigi, by changing the character on the file, which now has two gold crowns. To access the galaxy, we go to the Trial Galaxies planet and go to the other side, where we find a fourth green Luma.

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on our home planet on the night of the Star Festival, where we hear a lot about the "brave" Toad Brigade. We also meet characters from our adventures, like a Bee, who wants our autograph. There are Purple Coins to collect in a linear fashion. Only one coin is remotely hidden, on top of a Starshroom. This is a nice cool-down from some of the more intense missions. It is very difficult to die here, but it is possible. Some of the more interesting quotes include a Gearmo, who says, "Remember, good, clean fun is only good when it's clean!" and Yellow Toad, wearing a pack, who says, "I'm doing my best impression of the Toad Brigade captain! Not bad, eh?" We find a sign, that says, "Heyyy, it's me! Yeah, me, Bill Board! Your world is such a cool place! If only I weren't a... sign." On our way to the castle, Red Toad stops us, saying, "Mr. Maaario! You gotta hear this! We did such a good job, they're promoting us to Royal Guards! With me as the Royal Guard Commander, nobody will ever kidnap Princess Peach again! EVER! Koopas... Boos... Giant, overgrown moles... Whatever! Bring it on!" If only that were true. Blue Toad questions Red Toad's promotion, making us not the only ones to do so. Near the castle are some Star Bunnies, one of which who says, "STAR Festival? STAR Bunnies? Yes, I'm sensing a connection here. We know who the REAL heroes of this story are!" At the bridge to the castle, we find Pink Toad, who has one last letter for us. We can't go into the castle, or on the bridge, so we talk to him before we get the Star. He says, "Mario, there's a congratulations letter here for you! Do you want it?" We say "yes" and he says, "I sent a letter to the Wii Message Board so look out for it!" It's a picture of Mario and Peach at the Star Festival. We get the Star.
Star Get #121, Galaxy Complete!, 3 Coins, 3380 Star Bits, 4 Lives

Luigi
We wander through the Star Festival, talking to everyone and collecting Purple Coins. Everyone calls Luigi by his name. We are informed of the Toad Brigade's promotion and get the rest of the coins. Pink Toad's letter has a picture of Luigi, Rosalina, and the Toad Brigade at the Star Festival, even though Rosalina's nowhere to be found. We get the Star.
Star Get #121, Galaxy Complete!, 2814 Star Bits, 4 Lives

Well, that's the last time I'll be saying "Star Get" for a while. That's the last Star of Super Mario Galaxy! I've covered all of the Star-based Mario games available (Super Mario Sunshine has Shines). I had a great time playing this game and blogging about it. The next game I'm playing is Super Mario 3D Land. Stay tuned!

Melty Molten Galaxy - Red-Hot Purple Coins

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
The Purple Coins here are pretty visible, but the ones that are hidden are in and along the side of the volcano, which won't erupt, under bobbing platform, and under the rock where several steam vents are. The area is under the Sling Star. Avoid the lava and get the Life Shroom. There aren't many coins. This took me two attempts.
Star Get #120, Galaxy Complete!, 4 Coins, 3188 Star Bits, 16 Lives

Luigi
The coins are in the same locations and, once again, this took me two attempts.
Star Get #120, Galaxy Complete!, 2474 Star Bits, 30 Lives

Deep Dark Galaxy - Plunder the Purple Coins

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the area with the ship. There are several Purple Coins on the ship. Some of the coins are in the pool with the grate behind where we land. We can collect the coins by spinning in the water. You'll find some on the ledges. A few are over the water by the wall and some are just off the ship, on the sides and off the stern. Two are just under the crows nest, so we wall jump and spin to reach these otherwise frustrating coins. We reach one coin high off the ship by long jumping from the crow's nest. The Star appears on the deck.
Star Get #119, Galaxy Complete!, 5 Coins, 3112 Star Bits, 16 Lives

Luigi
The Purple Coins are in the same place and we get them all on our first try.
Star Get #119, Galaxy Complete!, 2399 Star Bits, 28 Lives

Freezeflame Galaxy - Purple Coins on the Summit

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
It's time for another exploration mission. This one takes place on the main ice planet of Freezeflame. We have to go to the summit and where Baron Brrr was. At the base of the slide, Pink Toad shivers, saying, "I l-l-looked in the water, but there were no P-P-Purple Coins. C-Can't... remove... s-s-snorkel... " Aww, thanks, Pink Toad. Poor guy, but at least we know not to bother looking in the water. Once we get the Ice Flower, we can get the Purple Coins over the rocks in the water and the ones on the slide overhead. We can reach them by skating to the Sling Star near the ? Coin. On our way to the summit, we should not sling immediately, as there is a Purple Coin there. At the summit, we find Red Toad, who says, "The summit. It is always the pure essence of challenge that burns in an adventurer's heart. Leaping from here will take all the boldness you possess. You better make sure it's a long jump." Great, another leap of faith. If we approach the edge, we'll see two small peaks below with Purple Coins. We line ourselves up and take a long jump leap of faith. We land successfully and jump normally to the second peak. There is a Sling Star that takes us to the base of the slide, where two coins are hiding. Once we get all the coins, we get the Star. This takes two attempts.
Star Get #118, Galaxy Complete!, 64 Coins, 3087 Star Bits, 15 Lives

Luigi
We get the coins at the base of the slide first, knowing where they are. We get all 100 coins and the Star.
Star Get #118, Galaxy Complete!, 50 Coins, 2385 Star Bits, 28 Lives

Dreadnought Galaxy - Battlestation's Purple Coins

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
This is like Purple Coins on the Battlerock, but less forgiving. The layout hasn't changed. You'll want the 1-up and Life Shroom. The platforms regenerate and you can rest by staying on a platform when it reaches the end of its line. It won't fall away until you transfer. There are coins above and below the Thwomp. Things get hectic around the barrage at the top of the Dreadnought: increased cannon fire and the coins aren't in a single line. We reach the last Purple Coin in flight from the Launch Star over the right laser. This took me 17 attempts. The Gearmo at the end, (talking to him will kill you if you don't have 100 Coins), says, "You did it! Wow, you really worked for it." Yes, yes we did.
Star Get #117, Galaxy Complete!, 3003 Star Bits, 13 Lives

Luigi
We get all 100 Purple Coin in 4 attempts. This was a little easier after the practice.
Star Get #117, Galaxy Complete!, 2335 Star Bits, 25 Lives

Gusty Garden Galaxy - Purple Coins on the Puzzle Cube

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on the Puzzle Cube, which has 150 Purple Coins, and we have 2:30 to collect 100 of them. It's pretty easy to run out of time here. I go for the coins I can reach with little difficulty, avoiding the ones on the narrow planks. We also have to return to the fountain for the Star. This took me two attempts and I got the coins with 16 seconds left and 11 left when I got the Star.
Star Get #116, Galaxy Complete!, 3 Coins, 2957 Star Bits, 8 Lives

Luigi
This took me one attempt to get 100 coins, leaving 9 seconds to get the Star, which I got with 5 seconds to spare.
Star Get #116, Galaxy Complete!, 1 Coin, 2351 Star Bits, 23 Lives

Gold Leaf Galaxy - Purple Coins in the Woods

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We have 3:30 to collect all 100 Purple Coins along the path. The galaxy is set up the same way as in When It Rains, It Pours. There are four Purple Coins in the stump at the top of the first set of blocks. Bees along the way let you know how many coins you should have when you reach them. Before we go to the observation deck, we get coins near the spring. We go to the top of the observation deck, where we'll get the Star. I got all of the coins with 36 seconds left and got the Star in the center with 29 seconds to spare. If you fall off the platforms, just start over. It will take too much time to climb back up.
Star Get #115, Galaxy Complete!, 2955 Star Bits, 9 Lives

Luigi
I got all 100 coins without any problems and with 35 seconds to spare. I got the Star with 30 seconds left.
Star Get #115, Galaxy Complete!, 1 Coin, 2351 Star Bits, 23 Lives

Dusty Dune Galaxy - Purple Coins in the Desert

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on the planet where we flip to the blue and yellow areas. Most of the Purple Coins are on the platforms, but some are high in the air, reachable by tornado. A few are over a Thwomp. We go through the area like before, and find some coins on the tower with the switch. We pound the switch so we can reach the coins on the other side using the tower. Take note that a few of the coins are at the base of the tower. One Purple Coin is near the hole where we can flip, but it is in the air, so backflip and spin to get it.
Star Get #114, Galaxy Complete!, 2952 Star Bits, 9 Lives

Luigi
This took me three attempts because I kept falling in the quicksand. Green Toad lets us know that there are no coins in the sand.
Star Get #114, Galaxy Complete!, 2348 Star Bits, 23 Lives

Toy Time Galaxy - Luigi's Purple Coins

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
It's now time for another of my least favorite Stars. We fly in around 8-bit Mario, and, as you may have guessed, there's an 8-bit Luigi on the other side. Instead of lava, some of the green parts are goop, so falling in means instant death. There are 150 Purple Coins and we have 3 minutes to collect 100. Some of the coins are clustered off the planet. To get those, we have to walk off and immediately spin back to safety. A large set of coins are clustered into four lines that we must long-jump over to reach. I don't long-jump under pressure very well, so getting these coins is difficult. For those who cannot long-jump under pressure, fear not! You don't need to long jump to complete this mission. It makes the mission easier, but it's still not easy. Don't run around a lot near the foot you land on: this will start yellow platforms flipping and make green tiles disappear. The Star will appear where you landed, so you need a way back. I go to the yellow flipping platforms and work my way towards the cap, then to the punching hand, where there's a 1-up, then to the buttons. During some of the long jumps, you may land on the buttons. I get the coins on the buttons to add to my total, and head for the foot with about 80 coins. This took me 47 attempts to get 100 Purple Coins. I got 100 coins with 28 seconds to spare and got the Star with 23 left.
Star Get #113, Galaxy Complete!, 2920 Star Bits, 12 Lives

Luigi
With as much practice as I got, this was a bit easier. I didn't use long-jumps and it took me 19 attempts.
Star Get #113, Galaxy Complete!, 2256 Star Bits, 24 Lives

Beach Bowl Galaxy - Beachcombing for Purple Coins

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
The Purple Coins are scattered all over the main planet; underwater, in the air, and on top of the planet. Check the tops of all of the palm trees; some of the less obvious coins are there. We can reach some coins using the swing and the vine. In the middle of the water is a rock with a Purple Coin, so we wall-jump and spin to reach it. There's a Spring Shroom on the planet, so we can reach the coin high behind the waterfall and spring to the top parts of the planet for more coins. There is a white circular rock with coins high above it. We need to spring to reach them. There are more Purple Coins at the very top of the planet. The Star appears by the coach.
Star Get #112, Galaxy Complete!, 2189 Star Bits, 15 Lives

Luigi
We search high and low over the planet and find all 100 coins in the same locations.
Star Get #112, Galaxy Complete!, 2143 Star Bits, 25 Lives

Sea Slide Galaxy - Purple Coins by the Seaside

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We have no time limit in Sea Slide, so it's exploration time! The Toads tell us that there aren't any Purple Coin in the water, nor the center island, so our lives are a little easier. We get a Bee Suit so we can collect the coins in the air and over the clouds. You'll find coins everywhere else, on tops of trees, the tower, and on Starshrooms. I recommend going in one direction around the planet. The Star appears over the flagpole on the tower, so we'll need the Bee Suit to reach it.
Star Get #111, Galaxy Complete!, 2180 Star Bits, 15 Lives

Luigi
This took me three attempts, as I ran out of flight power at inopportune times and fell off the planet.
Star Get #111, Galaxy Complete!, 2140 Star Bits, 25 Lives

Ghostly Galaxy - Purple Coins in the Bone Pen

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the Bone Pen, which is filled with Purple Coins we must get using Pull Stars. There are pieces of meat which are obstacles that will bounce us around. There are 150 Purple Coins available, but we only need 100 for the Star. We have 1 minute to get the coins and the Star. The Star will appear in the center, so we'll want to be in that area when we get close to 100 coins and time starts to run out. On one attempt, I got 100 coins, with only 1 second left, so I died from failure. I finally got 100 coins on my 15th attempt and got the Star with 5 seconds to spare. There is a Life Shroom and a 1-up in the Bone Pen as well. I recommend getting them both.
Star Get #110, Galaxy Complete!, 2076 Star Bits, 13 Lives

Luigi
I found this mission a little easier with Luigi, after having so much practice. I got the Star in two attempts, with 6 seconds to spare.
Star Get #110, Galaxy Complete!, 2046 Star Bits, 26 Lives

Battlerock Galaxy - Purple Coins on the Battlerock

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
This is one of the missions with an implicit time limit. (All missions with some sort of time limit have the Purple Coin music.) We land on the saucer, which starts moving through the path of the cannons. The Purple Coins are all reachable from the saucer. Some are under the saucer, as well as a Life Shroom. Some are over the electric fences, which we can backflip for. If we miss a couple, we can try to jump for them, knowing the saucer's gravity will keep us from dying. We get them all and the Star appears on the next saucer. We have until the saucer passes out of reach to collect the coins. If we don't get them all, the Gearmo will tell us, and we'll die from failure. If you can't reach them all, just leave so you won't lose lives.
Star Get #109, Galaxy Complete!, 2045 Star Bits, 13 Lives

Luigi
This is more difficult with Luigi, as he slides around on the saucer. It may lead us to miss coins and slide into hazards. We got them all on our fourth attempt. If turning off the sound helps you concentrate, go for it.
Star Get #109, Galaxy Complete!, 2013 Star Bits, 25 Lives

Honeyhive Galaxy - The Honeyhive's Purple Coins

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
It's time for an exploratory Purple Coin mission! We have to go all over the main planet. One coin is one the ledge near where we'd normally find a 1-up. Some of these will be easy to find, so I'll just describe the hidden ones. Near the swing set is a ledge we can hop over. There's a coin on the ledge and a few more behind it. Near the waterfall is a tall stack of rocks with a Purple Coin behind it. There are coins around the largest tree, which we can reach using a vine. Near the tree is Purple Coin high above a block. We have to use the spring, springing from the edge and spin to the block. Two more coins are behind the tree Luigi was clinging to. We pound the switch so we can reach the top of the planet. There are a few coins on the ledges. On the back edge, toward the Queen Bee's castle, are a couple of blocks on the other side of the ledge. We hop down and get the coins, finding more coins behind the waterfall. There are more coins on the slide below the stump and along the honey path. Once we get all 100, the Star appears near where we started, so proceed carefully back.
Star Get #108, Galaxy Complete!, 4 Coins, 2027 Star Bits, 13 Lives

Luigi
This takes us two attempts as we fell off with 90 Purple Coins, which is extremely frustrating. We get all 100 Purple Coins, which are in the same location.
Star Get #108, Galaxy Complete!, 3 Coins, 2002 Star Bits, 24 Lives

Space Junk Galaxy - Purple Coin Spacewalk

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land at the start of the path where we got the Silver Stars earlier. This is our first instance of the Purple Coin music, a remix of Gusty Garden's music. This means that we have some sort of time limit, explicit or implicit. We have 2 minutes to collect all of the Purple Coins and the Star. The Purple Coins are clustered in groups of then, so visualize a path and go for it. The path is not continuous, so don't rush and be prepared for leaps of faith. You can't adjust the camera. I went to the back of the path from one side and work my way back to the front. The Star will appear where you started. I got all 100 Coins with 43 seconds and got the Star with 28 seconds to spare.
Star Get #107, Galaxy Complete!, 10 Lives

Luigi
This may be a little more difficult as Luigi, as precision is something we need to keep from falling off. Jump to stop if the sliding is too much. This took me three attempts. I got all the coins with 53 seconds left and the Star with 38.
Star Get #107, Galaxy Complete!, 22 Lives

Good Egg Galaxy - Purple Coin Omelet

We arrive back on the Observatory, with a gold crown on our file. Rosalina greets us, "Welcome back! I knew you would return eventually. Please look down at your feet." We see the number 15. "This number you see represents the number of Power Stars you need to access another world. Whether you succeed or fail, just attempting the challenge will show something about your character." Looking at the map, we see a purple comet marker on the map. We head out to the Good Egg Galaxy.

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
The Purple Coin Comet is in orbit. We land on one of the planets surrounding the pill-shaped planet. A sign nearby says, "Collect 100 Purple Coins to make something neat happen!" So, the comet makes Purple Coins appear. There are two main types of Purple Coin missions: ones that make you explore the galaxy more thoroughly and see things that you may have missed and ones that give you a time limit to collect them, which are usually located on one planet. This is a very simple mission: follow the trail of coins to the Launch Star. While in flight, you'll pick up some more. This is the area where you'll fly through another Launch Star mid-flight. To activate these Launch Stars, start shaking the Wiimote as you approach it. It's too late if you start shaking when you pass through it. There are some coins on the path of the mid-flight Launch Stars, bringing our total to 100. The Star appears on the planet we started on.
Star Get #106, Galaxy Complete!, 1 Coin, 1927 Star Bits, 10 Lives
Now the last few galaxies will get Galaxy Complete markers.

Luigi
Time for more Purple Coins. We double launch, collecting the coins in the air and on land. We get the Star.
Star Get #106, Galaxy Complete!, 1933 Star Bits, 4 Lives

Bowser's Galaxy Reactor - The Fate of the Universe

Now that we have all available Stars, it's time to challenge Bowser! (You can challenge him once you have 60 Stars and unlock the Engine Room Dome, but you'll still have to battle him once more to unlock the rest of the Stars for completion.) We talk to Rosalina, who says, "It's time. Do you want to go to the location of your special one at the Center of the Universe?" We say "yes" and she replies, "All right, then. Off we go!" Rosalina waves her wand and the Observatory reassembles into a spaceship with a shield. We take off, burning the Airships in our path to Peach's Castle. Rosalina says, "There is a warp field inside the castle! Go Mario! They are inside! Hurry!" A bridge forms to the castle.
Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on the edge of some castle towers, where new music, Bowser's Galaxy Reactor plays. We see spotlights moving around. There are two Lumas nearby. One says, "Those spotlights have their own gravity. Try sticking to them!" The other says, "Mama says this fight isn't just for us, it's also about saving your special one. Please be careful! Whatever you do... DON'T FAIL!" With these words of encouragement, we move forward. We hop into a spotlight and follow it to other spotlights around the towers. We walk up the stairs to the first of many beams- blue lights that will transport us from planet to planet, instead of Launch Stars. In each beam are two rings of Star Bits, so collect them while going to the next planet. The next planet is a lava planet. We go over a rolling planet, then bobbing platforms, then rock that tilts away into the lava. We take a beam to an ice planet. There are blocks we can skate on that form a path ahead of us, like in Space Junk. They will fall away after a while. Below is ice so cold that we bounce off of it in pain, like lava. We stay to the left and reach the next beam to a planet covered in quicksand. We dodge fire bars and go right on the rolling path. This beam takes us to a 2D area with blocks that fly to make our path. We wall-jump for a 1-up and go up to an area with gravity arrows. We dodge fire bars and take the last beam to a lava tube. We have to dodge Bullet Bills and Banzai Bills while platforming through the lava tube. At the end of the lava tube is a Launch Star. It took me two attempts to reach the Launch Star.
We land at the base of green checked stairs. Bowser Jr. appears on an Airship, saying, "Looking for Princess Peach? Too bad! 'Cause she's with me!" We see Peach clinging to the mast, quietly calling, "Mario!" Mario puts on his angry face and the Airship flies behind Bowser at the top of the stairs. We start to climb up the stairs, when Jr.'s Airship starts firing meteors to destroy the stairs. We have to move quickly, especially if we want the 1-up and Life Shroom. I just get the Life Shroom and reach the top of the stairs. Bowser says, "Finally! You got here just in time to see the creation of my galaxy in the center of the universe! Watch and weep! From this galaxy, I'll rule a great galactic empire with Peach by my side. It will last forever! I will rule every pitiful corner of the universe. So, Mario, as you can see, I got big plans. And stomping you is at the top of my list!" He roars and we float off to a new planet. It's time for the final battle! A boulder forms around Bowser and he rolls around. We have to spin his face, which requires good timing. If we time it incorrectly, we'll take damage and he'll start the cycle all over again. After we hit him, he'll spin around the planet until we spin him again. That is one hit. We have to hit him twice. After the second hit, we float to another planet with sling plants. Spinning a sling plant into him will send him spinning again, so we spin him some more times for another hit. After two hits, we'll float again to another planet inside a hollow "sun" planet. This is the familiar battle: lure him to land on blue circles, where he'll burn himself, run around the planet in the opposite direction and spin him a few more times. We get in our last two hits here, for a grand total of six. Bowser falls into the "sun" planet and the Grand Star appears from a blue disc. We get it.
GRAND STAR GET #7!
Mario flies with the Grand Star and picks up Peach, who falls from the Airship. They land at the start of the galaxy. The planet breaks apart and starts flaring. Bowser walks over the crumbling planet, saying, "NOOOO! My galaxy! My empire! This can't be happening..." The planet expands, then collapses into a black hole, dragging everything in the area into it, including Airships, the castle, the Observatory, and everyone on board. Before Mario is drawn in, the Luma appears from his hat and waves goodbye, and dives into the black hole along with all the other Lumas. The black hole spins and twists, then explodes.
Mario floats in space and wakes up, seeing a giant Rosalina and hearing the sound of babies crying. She says, "Do you hear the baby stars? These newborns will grow up to become galaxies someday. When stars die, they turn to stardust and scatter across the cosmos. Eventually, that stardust reforms to create a new star... And so the cycle of life continues. But the cycles never repeats itself in quite the same way... So... you'll see."
A butterfly lands on Mario's cap as he sleeps on the grass. He wakes up to find himself back on his home planet, near the castle, with everyone dancing and celebrating. Peach and Bowser wake up. Mario looks up and hears Rosalina, who says, "Yes... All new life... Carries the essence of the stars... Even all of you..." Mario stands up and says, "Welcome! Welcome new galaxy!" As his voice echoes, so ends the most deus ex machina ending in all of Mario history. The credits roll.
Star Get #105, 10 Coins, 1868 Star Bits, 30 Lives

Interlude
A new chapter has been added to the Story Book and the Purple Comet has appeared.

Luigi
We tell Rosalina that we want to go to the center of the universe, so the Observatory morphs into a spaceship and we fly to the castle. Rosalina sends us off with a "Go, Luigi!" and we land in the galaxy. On our third attempt, we reach Bowser. He and Peach call Luigi by his name and the battle starts. It's the same battle: six hits, two on each planet for the Grand Star.
GRAND STAR GET #7!
The planet collapses into a black hole and the Lumas sacrifice themselves to save everyone. Luigi wakes up on the home planet and says, "Welcome! Welcome new galaxy!" The credits roll.
Star Get #105, 1930 Star Bits, 53 Lives

Interlude
A new chapter has been added to the story book and the Purple Comet has appeared.

Loopdeeswoop Galaxy - The Galaxy's Greatest Wave

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We access this galaxy from the green Luma on the blue part of the planet. We land in the galaxy with a large, looping river floating in space. The Beach Bowl music plays. It's time to go ray surfing again! We hop over to the coach, who says, "You again? Back for more ray surfing? This course is a monster. You sure you want to try? No / Yes" We say "yes" and he says, "OK, you got three minutes to get back here. Stay calm, and just enjoy the surf." The best time is 01:30:00, but I'm going to take my time here. I took it slow, especially on the turns. The water is much choppier than Loopdeeloop. This took me two attempts. I reached the end. The coach says, "02:15:45? Great work! Try to do even better next time!" He pulls out a Star and it flies over the first place ranking. Now that I have the Star, my work here is done, and I am not going to try to improve my score with Mario. Let's see if I can do better with Luigi.
Star Get #104, Galaxy Complete!, 14 Coins, 35 Lives

Luigi
Before we talk to the coach, we talk to one of the penguins, who says, "Don't forget how to control Ray! That could end badly." Indeed, it could. It takes me two attempts, but I finish faster with Luigi, with a time of 01:55:08. We get the Star.
Star Get #104, Galaxy Complete!, 6 Coins, 1767 Star Bits, 51 Lives

Bubble Blast Galaxy - The Electric Labyrinth

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We can access this galaxy from the green Luma over the green part of the planet. We land on a star-shaped platform with five green pipes. The Space Fantasy music plays. What we have to do is collect five Launch Star Chips, each one accessible by one pipe. We can get them in any order we choose, so we start with the lower left pipe. We must get all of the Launch Star Chips using a bubble. We take the bubble past fire blasters to get it. We then go back behind the grate platform the pipe took us to for the Sling Star back to the star planet. (We need to use the Sling Star to get out of the area and back to the star planet.) The upper left pipe take us to an area with moving electric fences. The lower right pipe takes us to a path where we have to dodge moving Amps. The upper right pipe takes us to an asteroid field. The top pipe takes us to a path with spinning grates. This is probably the easiest Launch Star Chip to get, so I get it last. We sling back to the star planet and launch from the Launch Star.
If the first area was too easy for you, this next area requires high precision with the bubble. We will be chased by Bullet Bills through a path lined with electric fences and riddled with traps. Thankfully, there a 1-ups along the way and obstacles that will stop the Bullet Bills. Things will really start picking up once you pass the green grates. The path will narrow and several Bullet Bills will begin to chase you. You'll want to speed up, but also need to steer very carefully. At the end of the path is the Star. This took me seven attempts.
Star Get #103, Galaxy Complete!, 23 Coins, 1668 Star Bits, 30 Lives

Luigi
We land in the galaxy and start collecting Launch Star Chips in the same order. It took me three attempts to collect all of the Launch Star Chips and I reached the Star in that same attempt.
Star Get #103, Galaxy Complete!, 23 Coins, 1756 Star Bits, 47 Lives

Rolling Gizmo Galaxy - Gizmos, Gears, and Gadgets

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
It's now time to start the Trial Galaxies! We can reach the planet using the green Launch Star or the Red Star. It doesn't matter what order you do them in. They are all challenging galaxies. If we speak to the green Luma over the yellow part of the planet, he'll take us to the Rolling Gizmo Galaxy.
We land in the galaxy with a Star Ball where a remix of the Super Mario 3 music plays. We walk out on the narrow path to take out the Goomba and get the 1-up. We return for the Star Ball. We cross the narrow path and ram into the steel blocks to destroy them. Destroy the ones on the left to make a clear path to knock down the bridge. We roll into the basin and launch to a funnel-shaped planet with coins. We collect as many as we can before falling through to the rails to the next planet. We roll to a rotating platform, then a spinning gear. With good timing, we must jump from the gear to a platform without being pushed off by a moving block. Next is an orange gear with bombs. We then pass a Goomba and hop onto some ramps. The last ramp leads to a set of rails that fling us around past Star Bits. We have to deal with moving blocks on a narrow path to the basin. The Star flies to the top of the flagpole. This took two attempts.
Star Get #102, Galaxy Complete!, 28 Coins, 1580 Star Bits, 26 Lives

Luigi
Once again, we have to roll the Star Ball through this challenging course. It took me four attempts.
Star Get #102, Galaxy Complete!, 21 Coins, 1640 Star Bits, 42 Lives

Snow Cap Galaxy - Star Bunnies in the Snow

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We feed a hungry Luma 1600 Star Bits to access this galaxy. We land on a glass sphere with a treasure chest on the top. The cold Freezeflame music plays. The shell we need to open the chest is at the bottom of the sphere. The treasure chest contains a Sling Star which takes us to a pill-shaped planet. There are three Star Bunnies on the planet. One says, "Let's play chase! Can you catch us all before the time runs out, boiyoing?" We have 150 seconds to catch all three of them. Around the planet, especially under the snow (which can be cleared using the Star Cursor), are five flipswitches. Clearing them opens up one end of the planet, where we find a Fire Flower. One of the Star Bunnies is hiding in a snowman, so we take out the snowmen with fireballs. We chase the Star Bunny into the alcove at the end of the planet to make catching him easier. One of the snowmen contains a shell, which we can use to open the treasure chest with another Star Bunny. The last Star Bunny is hiding in one of the holes covered by the snow. Clear as much snow as you can using the Star Cursor and walk around to find him. I caught them all with 6 seconds remaining. The last Star Bunny says, "Eep! You're fast! I give up! here, take this Star, boiyoing!" He flips and pulls out the Star.
Star Get #101, Galaxy Complete!, 2 Coins, 1510 Star Bits, 17 Lives

Luigi
We feed a hungry Luma 1600 Star Bits to reach this galaxy. We open the treasure chest with the shell and sling to the pill-shaped planet. We chase the Star Bunnies, finding them in the same places. We catch the last one with 42 seconds to spare.
Star Get #101, Galaxy Complete!, 1 Coin, 1524 Star Bits, 38 Lives

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Melty Molten Galaxy - Fiery Dino Piranha

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the galaxy and take a new path that leads to the base of the volcano, then under the rock where the Sling Star to the side of the volcano would be. There are steam vents and a green pipe here. We climb up the rocks, dodging the steam, to reach the pipe. There is a steel planet near the planet that is just before the spire. We must kill all of the Li'l Cinders for the Launch Star. This takes us to a similar, rolling planet with flares flying over. The Launch Star is at the end, which takes us to a 2D circular planet with moving platforms on tracks, and Launch Star Chips. Three are close to the lava at the center and two are on the outer edge, as well as a Life Shroom. The Launch Star will appear where we landed.
We take Sling Stars through bobbing platforms and pass a Luma Shop. We reach the Launch Star.
We land on a black and red flaming egg. It starts walking around and we spin its tail, when it's not on fire. This cracks the egg to reveal Fiery Dino Piranha, which is a black Dino Piranha with flame-colored petals, and a tail that periodically flares up. We defeat him the same way. After the second hit, his tail leaves a trail of fire. He takes two more hits before he explodes into the Star.
Star Get #100, 10 Coins, 3059 Star Bits, 16 Lives

Luigi
This Star took me three attempts. We reach the pipe, sling, and launch four times to the egg. We got the Life Shroom for the battle. We get in all four hits, leaving us with one remaining health bar.
Star Get #100, 1 Coin, 3064 Star Bits, 37 Lives

Melty Molten Galaxy - Lava Spire Daredevil Run

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We now begin one of my least favorite Stars. We have to reach the Star on the spire without taking damage, and there are no checkpoints. On my first playthrough, this took over 60 attempts. At that time, I collected the maximum number of Star Bits per mission: 999. Thankfully, I've improved greatly since then. Without a Co-Star, this took me three attempts. It's the same mission, but you have to be extra careful.
Star Get #99, 2942 Star Bits, 14 Lives

Luigi
This mission also took me three attempts with Luigi. As Luigi slides to a stop, I recommend jumping so he doesn't slide into anything that can hurt you.
Star Get #99, 2911 Star Bits, 34 Lives

Melty Molten Galaxy - Through the Meteor Storm

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on the main planet, where meteors rain down from the sky. We don't want to stop and watch this meteor shower. The bobbing platforms disappeared. We lead the fire enemies to the two torches for the Launch Star. We land on a 2D planet with Thwomps and more meteors. The Launch Star is on the other side across a gap that is too wide for a long-jump, so we have to walk around. We have to dodge the Thwomps and meteors. We pick up a 1-up from an alcove beneath a Thwomp. We climb over obstacles and reach the Launch Star. There are a Life Shroom and Launch Star Chips on a hardened lava planet, one of which is in a crate. We launch and fly through the storm. We land on a tube planet with a Launch Star in a cage. We lead a Bullet Bill to the cage.
The Launch Star takes us to the last area, which is a tube of lava in front of a flagpole. To get the Star, we must roll the Star Ball to the basin in front of the flagpole. This is a little difficult and took me seven attempts. Thankfully, there are 1-ups in the area. A remix of the Star Ball music plays. We have to go through the tube, which rotates and has holes in it, which can be difficult to see. Past the tube are lava circles we must hop to to reach the flagpole. We perform a handstand from the flagpole to get the Star.
Star Get #98, 14 Coins, 2783 Star Bits, 13 Lives

Luigi
We land and light the torches. We launch, get the 1-up from the alcove under the Thwomp, launch again for the Life Shroom, and get the Launch Star Chips. We reach the Star Ball and get the Star in 5 attempts.
Star Get #98, 17 Coins, 2747 Star Bits, 33 Lives

Melty Molten Galaxy - Burning Tide

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
The hungry Luma past the volcano wants 80 Star Bits, so we collect as many as we can from the main planet: from crystals, the lava (there's a ring of them), and from the volcano. By the time we reach him, we have enough, so he transforms into a spherical planet of lava and rock. The lava on the planet ebbs and flows, like a tide. There are Silver Stars we must collect here, but we can only reach them when the tide is low. One is over a flagpole, one over a block, a firebar, and near the vents. The Star appears over the lava. Wait until the lava goes down to get it.
Star Get #97, 13 Coins, 2720 Star Bits, 12 Lives

Luigi
We land in the galaxy and get enough Star Bits for the hungry Luma. We launch to the new planet and collect the Silver Stars and the Star.
Star Get #97, 6 Coins, 31 Lives

Melty Molten Galaxy - The Sinking Lava Spire

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on a lava-filled planet where the Melty Molten music plays. We walk around lava pools and avoid steam vents. We jump across the lava, timing our jump to avoid the lava pillars that appear when we approach. Next are the tilting and bobbing grate platforms in the lava. We jump from the green ramp to a large rock formation. We avoid the steam vents and pound a rock to drop a rock formation so we can wall-jump, after the steam vents release some steam. At the top of the rock, we sling to the side of the volcano, then sling to the Launch Star at the mouth of the volcano. We drop down into the volcano and pound the switch for Star Bits as the lava level rises. We sling back up and launch as the volcano erupts behind us. We sling immediately and land on a clear sphere. One of the clear spheres has a hungry Luma, who wants 80 Star Bits. We don't have enough, so we move on. There are Pull Stars for us to navigate the large spheres that are like small suns and stars. We get a Life Shroom and avoid the flares. In quick succession, we launch twice. Flying over the lava, we collect the Star Bits at the lava's surface. There's a disc in the lava that we sling from to a solid lava core. We collect the Launch Star Chips, killing the fiery enemies.
We then launch to the spire, which is surrounded by a rock "fence". Leading up to the spire are rocks that tilt away into the lava. Once we land on the spire, the ground starts shaking, the "fence" falls away, and the lava starts rising. We have to climb to the top of the spire where the Star awaits. We go around to the right, waiting for the red crystal to drop. We pass boulders that roll into the lava. Pounding the stone switch makes a rock wall drop down so we can wall-jump up. We must do this quickly, as the lava keeps rising while the rock falls. We walk around to the left and wall-jump off the wood to reach the top. We break the crystal and a fire enemy pushes us into the Star.
Star Get #96, 9 Coins, 2696 Star Bits, 10 Lives

Interlude
A hungry Luma appears.

Luigi
We sling to and launch from the volcano. After getting the Life Shroom, we launch three times to the spire. We lost our Life Shroom to the lava, but got the Star.
Star Get #96, 9 Coins, 2663 Star Bits, 30 Lives

Dreadnought Galaxy - Topman Tribe Speed Run

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the galaxy, with 6 minutes to reach and battle Topmaniac and get the Star. It's a generous time limit, but it the cannons could slow us down. Oddly enough, during one of my attempts, I lost all of my health from the cannons, but could still move around and attempt to go through the cannon fire. Eventually, the game registered the fact that I was out of health. I reached the cannons at 5 minutes, Topmaniac at 3:30 to go and defeated him with 3:08 left. This took four attempts.
Star Get #95, 1 Coin, 2619 Star Bits, 9 Lives

Luigi
We have six minutes to get the Star. I started the battle with 2:31 on the clock and beat Topmaniac at 2:04.
Star Get #95, 2 Coins, 2576 Star Bits, 29 Lives

Matter Splatter Galaxy - Watch Your Step

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in a galaxy with a green background, where the Space Fantasy music plays. There are lines bouncing off the floor, temporarily making it visible. This is like Matter Splatter Mansion. We reach the end of the path, dodging Magikoopas, and reach a green pipe. It takes us to an area with a "spotlight" moving side to side. We move to the right and wall-jump up. The "spotlight" moves to the left and takes us to another green pipe. Here, we get the Spring Suit and the ? Coin, which moves the "spotlight" vertically. We have to keep up by springing. We can go through the pink grates. There's a 1-up on one of the swings. At the top, there's a Sling Star on the swing which takes us automatically to a green pipe. The green pipe leads us to a dark area with the Star far in the distance. The "spotlight" will make parts of a branched path visible. Some areas will dead end, not leaving you with much room to backtrack. Magikoopas will appear, so be prepared to deal with them. The path you should take is left, left, right, and left to the Star. This took five takes.
Star Get #94, Galaxy Complete!, 1 Coin, 2599 Star Bits, 12 Lives

Luigi
We land in the galaxy and wall-jump up the first pair of pillars for a 1-up. We reach the first two green pipes. We spring up to the Sling Star, getting a 1-up on the way. We sling to the green pipe and reach the Star using the same path.
Star Get #94, Galaxy Complete!, 1 Coin, 2517 Star Bits, 28 Lives

Dreadnought Galaxy - Revenge of the Topman Tribe

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on the disc planet and use a green spring Topman to reach the Sling Star. This planet containas a Luma in a cage. We must free it by spinning two red Topmen into the electric fences. The Luma transforms into a Sling Star and we land on a cube. We use a green Topman to reach a 1up and pound the switch for Pull Star Chips, one of which we need a green Topman to reach. We use the Pull Stars to reach the Launch Star and land on a rocket-shaped planet.
Underneath the planet is a Life Shroom. We have to use the Pull Stars ahead of us to reach the Launch Star, while dodging cannon fire and bombs. I died from a cannon ball.
Take 2- I got the Life Shroom and made it through, which requires precise timing to dodge the cannonballs. We launch and land on a long, blue platform with spike lasers. There are lines on the floor that tell us how far the laser will go. We just hop over the laser rings to dodge them. There is a Life Shroom, if you need it (if you have 4+ health, you won't get nine bars of health. You will refill your health meter to a maximum of 6). We reach the Launch Star at the end of the path.
We land on a disc and the pre-battle music plays. We walk to the other side of the planet and go up the stairs to the battle arena. We see Topmaniac hovering overhead and that there are only short electric fences that move around instead of one surrounding the entire arena. We jump into the arena to start the battle. It's the same battle as last time, but we have to spin him into one of the the short, moving electric fences. He takes three hits and explodes.
Star Get #93, 1 Coin, 2321 Star Bits, 10 Lives

Luigi
We land on the disc and spring to the Sling Star. We spin the Topmen into the electric fence and sling to the planet with the Pull Star Chips. We launch, get the Life Shroom, and use the Pull Stars to reach the Launch Star. After that, we dodge ring lasers and launch to the battle arena. We start the battle, get in three hits, and get the Star.
Star Get #93, 2 Coins, 2397 Star Bits, 25 Lives

Dreadnought Galaxy - Dreadnought's Garbage Dump

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the galaxy on a disc. Underneath the disc is a green pipe that takes us to a bowl-shaped planet similar to the Battlerock's Ammo Depot. We talk to the Gearmo, who says, "You know how hard it is keeping a dreadnought clean? And then someone comes and drops a load of trash in the ammo depot! Heyyyy... we have plenty of bombs. Maybe you could use them to blow up all this trash? No/ Yes" We say "yes" and he replies, "Gee, thanks!" Once again, we have the blow up trash with bombs in under 30 seconds challenge, this time, with more trash. We should aim for the lights on the floor as to where we should throw the bombs. Thankfully, failure does not result in death and we can try as many times as we need. It took me 18 attempts for me go get it, with three seconds to spare. The Gearmo says, "Wow! I'm never going to take out the trash again now that I know you can just BLOW IT UP! Oh! Take this as my thanks! I found it lying around. Maybe it will help you. You blew that trash to bits! Thanks!" He pulls out the Star and flies near the bombs. Yes, Gearmo, this Star will help us greatly.
Star Get #92, 2 Coins, 2258 Star Bits, 9 Lives

Luigi
We land on the disc and go through the green pipe on the other side to reach the ammo depot. It takes me 14 attempts this time, and I have three seconds remaining. The Gearmo gives us the Star.
Star Get #92, 26 Lives

Dreadnought Galaxy - Dreadnought's Colossal Cannons

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on a grate lined with electric fences. Ahead of us is a series of nuts on a bolt. We have to cross the gap by staying on the right side of the nut, like log-rolling. We can accomplish this by hopping. There is a safety net below, with a 1-up in a cage. We can break the cage open using the Bob-ombs. On the other side of the gap are some flipswitches, as well as Mini Chomps that will roll continuously down the slope and get in your way. We clear the first set of flipswitches to make the electric fences disappear. Clearing the second set removes the second set of electric fences and makes the Mini Chomps poof into Star Bits. Past that are two sets of nuts and bolts. While on the second nut and bolt, we have to fire coconuts back at two Octopi. This is a very easily place to fall from. Taking out the Octopi lowers a bridge so we can reach the Launch Star.
We fly along the side of the Dreadnought and land on a platform on the side. There are several cannons firing, just as in Battlerock Galaxy. We have to take a yellow striped platform to the Star while dodging cannon fire. This time, however, the platform does not have it's own gravity that will draw you to it if you fall off. I recommend staying in the center, only moving to dodge, and ducking if you can. At the same time we have to dodge cannon fire, we have to platform, dodging electric fences and changing platforms that are above or below us. At one point, we will come across a Thwomp in our path. If you miss the platform, it's okay: go to the left side of the Thwomp and wait; the platform will reappear shortly. Soon after, we must transfer to another platform that lies sideways and travels vertically. That one leads to one that is upside down and travels horizontally. We have to backflip over obstacles and transfer to another platform that is right side up. Here the cannon fire intensity increases. We have to go over several platform obstacles and catch up with the platform at the end (this one will also regenerate). Where we meet up with it again, we find two spring lasers. We spring from the one on the right for the Star. This took me five attempts.
Star Get #91, 3 Coins, 2257 Star Bits, 9 Lives

Luigi
We land in the galaxy and log-roll the nut to the flipswitches. We clear the flipswitches and log-roll two more nuts before launching. We land on the side of the Dreadnought and dodge cannon fire while overcoming obstacles and transfering platforms five times. We spring from the right purple laser to the Star. This took four attempts.
Star Get #91, 3 Coins, 2312 Star Bits, 26 Lives

Friday, December 23, 2011

Dreadnought Galaxy - Infiltrating the Dreadnought

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on a hourglass-shaped planet encircled by lasers. The Space Fantasy music plays. We reach the top, where a purple laser springs us to the Launch Star. We fly along the Dreadnought, a large spaceship. We land on the outside of the ship, where a green pipe is in a cage. We take out the Helmet Goombas by spinning them so they flip over, then stomping them. Once they're all gone, the cage disappears and we can go through the pipe.
The pipe takes us to a 2D area with an Underground theme remix. We go over moving yellow platforms and up steps to two walls that close in so we can wall jump up. On the left side is a Life Shroom. We go to the right, where there are yellow platforms that rise to the ceiling, which can crush us. We flip the arrow at the end, which makes the wall the floor. The yellow platforms now form stairs so we can progress. We go to the right, dodging the cannon balls. Two yellow platforms come together, which can crush us. We flip another gravity arrow, so now we have to spring up above the yellow platforms, but time it so we land on top of them when they close. We use a purple laser spring to go over some spikes to a pipe.
The pipe takes us outside, where the Battlerock music plays. We land on the bottom tier of some rotating discs. A Spring Topman appears out of a black hole so we can reach a higher tier and the lower tier falls away. The tier below will fall away once we land on the tier above. At the top are walls that lower down so we can wall-jump up them. At the top is the Launch Star.
We land on a cube and some laser flip over onto the cube, so we have to dodge them while walking around to the Sling Star. The Space Fantasy music plays. We land on a planet where the Star is on a platform too high to reach from the ground. There is a Bill Blaster, so we lead a Bullet Bill to a cage with a fountain in it. The cage breaks and the planet floods. Lasers that were floating in the air flip over and come down to the planet, lasers directed into the water (they can still hurt you in the water). The Battlerock music now plays. We can now use the tops of the lasers as platforms and they take us to where we need to go. We climb up the floating stairs and take the laser to the right. We transfer to the next laser and dodge the lasers on the grassy area. We ride the next laser and the path forks. The laser on the right will take us to a 1-up and the one on the left will take us to the platform with the Star.
Star Get #90, 7 Coins, 2126 Star Bits, 20 Lives

Luigi
It took me four attempts to reach this Star. We spring to the Launch Star and go through the pipe after killing the Helmet Goomba. We get the Life Shroom, flip gravity twice, and take the green pipe music. We use the spring Topmen and wall-jump up yellow platforms to reach the Launch Star. We sling to the next planet, open the cage with the fountain with a Bullet Bill, and ride the lasers to reach the Star.
Star Get #90, 1 Coin, 2218 Star Bits, 28 Lives

Deep Dark Galaxy - Ghost Ship Daredevil Run

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land near the ghost ship and climb aboard to start the battle. The Boos will go after you, so take care of anything else you'd like to do before the battle starts quickly and safely. It's the same battle as last time, but you can't take any damage. I won on my fourth attempt.
Star Get #89, 2043 Star Bits, 19 Lives

Luigi
We have to battle Kamella again without taking damage. This took me two attempts.
Star Get #89, 2123 Star Bits, 31 Lives

Deep Dark Galaxy - Guppy and the Underground Lake

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the galaxy to find the Toad Brigade roasting meat on the beach. They say that Guppy's in the underground lake. The cannon is covered, so we walk through the cave to the pool and dive to the bottom, where Guppy is. (Don't bother getting the shell before talking to Guppy). We approach Guppy, who says, "What, you again? You got to be kidding me. You want to run me out of this lake? You got to get through all eight rings!" We get through the first two rings before we pass a shell and grab it. We get through all eight rings and the Star appears in front of Guppy.
Star Get #88, 4 Coins, 1969 Star Bits, 21

Luigi
We get a 1-up from the Starshroom and dive to Guppy. We swim through the rings, which restore air. After swimming through the eighth, we get the Star.
Star Get #88, 1 Coin, 2093 Star Bits, 32 Lives

Deep Dark Galaxy - Bubble Blastoff

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the galaxy to find the cannon taken over by a Monty Mole in a water-blasting turret. The Toad Bridgade is hiding behind umbrellas. Red Toad says, "That Undergrunt Gunner is keeping us from exploring the area!" To reach him, we must backflip onto the turret and pound it. After the second hit, we have to deal with rapid fire from the turret. The third hit will make it explode. This will give us access to the cannon. The gate to the pool is open and there are three unlit torches this time. On my first playthrough, I did not realize that there were three torches, and only lit two with the Fire Flower from the planet with the pink Octoombas. I knew something was supposed to happen (lighting all three gives us an Ice Flower so we can progress), so I hopped in the cannon once more and aimed at the water blasters I saw in the opening cutscenes. I missed a lot, but eventually aimed correctly and landed in front of a water blaster that took me to the next part of the level. I do not recommend this method, but it can be done. Once we get the Ice Flower, we skate over the pool to the poles with water sprayers that we can freeze. We use these to reach more poles to a grassy area. We follow the grass around to a blue star disc floating in midair. Its ? Coin makes 5 Sling Stars. They will take us to the edge of the pool, high on the rock formations. We go to the right until we find the water blaster.
The water bubble will take us to the next planet, which has bouncing Cheep-Cheep. (The water there is too shallow for them). There are stumps on the planet we must pound to activate the water blaster, which takes us to a large spherical planet made of glass and filled with water. There are giant tennis balls rolling around inside, a watermelon at the center, and a laser firing laser rings over the planet's surface. We see a dancing Blue Toad, who says, "There's a Power Star hidden inside that watermelon! Use ground pounds to make those tennis balls hit that watermelon to get that Power Star." Now that we know what to do, we line ourselves with the path of the tennis balls and pound them when they're underfoot. We pound all three in, the watermelon expanding with each hit. Once the third one hits, the watermelon expands to the point that the glass breaks and the Star appears from the fruit. The laser is still firing, so get the Star quickly.
Star Get #87, 11 Coins, 1898 Star Bits, 20 Lives

Luigi
We land in the galaxy and pound the turret to open the cannon. We get the Rainbow Star and the Fire Flower and return to the beach to light the three torches for the Ice Flower. We climb the water sprayers and backflip and spin to the water blasters. We blastoff twice, stopping on the planet with the Cheep-Cheep to pound the stumps. We pound the tennis balls into the watermelon for the Star.
Star Get #87, 6 Coins, 2072 Star Bits, 31 Lives

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Deep Dark Galaxy - The Underground Ghost Ship

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land in the galaxy and get the 1-up on the Starshroom. We hop into the cannon and decide to aim for the other planet in the sky. We land on a Gate-like planet with a screw. We remove the screw and the planet starts shrinking, revealing coins circling the planet. We collect as many as we can before the planet disappears entirely. We fall to the planet with the Fire Flower and pink Octoombas. We get the Fire Flower and sling back to the beach. We need to light the torches, but I decide to chase a blue crab around, trying to hit it with a fireball. We are successful and get a 1-up. We hop back in the cannon, get the Rainbow Star, and then get the Fire Flower to light the torches. The gate drops and we dive in the pool, this time following the Star Bit arrow. We spin the switches to remove the gates. We dodge a jellyfish and surface. There is a large ship floating in another pool of water. There are Boos floating around and a ledge with a Life Shroom on it. Under the ship are coins and a ? Coin that makes two large rings of Star Bits.
We board the ship and Kamella appears. It's a similar battle to last time. Wait for her to use green magic to give you a shell and hit her with it. After the second hit, she flies over to the crow's nest and summons two Magikoopas. We have to climb up the pole at the stern to reach the crow's nest where the battle continues. Four hits and she's finished. She screams, explodes, and her wand cracks, freeing the Star.
Star Get #86, 61 Coins, 1754 Star Bits, 18 Lives

Luigi
We land in the galaxy, hop in the cannon, get the Rainbow Star, and the Fire Flower. We light the torches and dive to the Star Bit arrow and the spin the switches to open the gates. We get the Life Shroom and the ? Coin from beneath the ship. We climb aboard the ship and start the battle with Kamella. We get in all four hits for the Star.
Star Get #86, 5 Coins, 2012 Star Bits, 30 Lives

Deep Dark Galaxy - Boo in a Box

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We land on a beach where the Ghostly Galaxy music plays. There is a Starshroom with a 1-up on top on the beach. In the center of the beach is a cannon. We hop in and aim at the Rainbow Star. We get it and land on a spherical plant crawling with pink Octoombas, run around and take them out, getting lots of Star Bits. Once the power runs out, we grab the Fire Flower and sling back down to the beach, landing on a palm tree and jumping down.
At one end of the beach is a gate flanked by two torches we must light. You may want to long-jump so you can light the torches before the power runs out. You can always use the cannon to go back to that planet to get another Fire Flower should you run out of power. Once we light the torches, the gate drops, giving us access to a pool in the back. The music changes. We dive into the pool, seeing Bloopers as we dive. There is a shelf with a Star Bit arrow, but we ignore is and dive to the bottom. We grab a shell and see a split shipwreck. We take the shell to the half that is surrounded by bombs. We fire the shell at the shipwreck and the bombs and wreck explode. This reveals a Launch Star. We must use the Launch Star before the bombs regenerate.
The Launch Star takes us out from under the planet into a purple box in space. The music played in Ghostly Galaxy's mansion plays here. There are a Boo and an Urchin inside. The Star is inside the Boo. We have no way to get the Star at this point, so we approach the wall with the pegs and use them to reach and spin the gravity arrow. The gravity switches and the Urchin and Boo follow. The Urchin will follow us around, trying to hit us. We use the spring to reach the gravity arrow and spin it again. Then, we use the water blaster to reach the gravity arrow and spin it. We land on the side of the box with a crystal. We break it to let in a beam of light and lead the Boo into it. The Boo explodes and the Star flies to the side of the cube we started on. We use the water blaster to shoot a water bubble to take us near the gravity arrow and spin it once more. We get the Star.
Star Get #85, 4 Coins, 1537 Star Bits, 11 Lives

Luigi
We land in the galaxy and talk to the Toad Brigade. Red Toad says, "We're currently on vaca... er... I mean, galactic survey duty! Please be patient with us." Green Toad says, "Cannon! Get all you can in the cannon!" We use the cannon, get the Rainbow Star, and take out the pink Octoombas. We get the Fire Flower and sling back to the beach. We light the torches and dive to the bottom of the pool. After getting the shell, we aim it at the half of the shipwreck surrounded by bombs. We launch into the box. We keep flipping around the box with the gravity arrows, until we break the crystal and let the light shine in. We lure the Boo into the light and flip to reach the Star. This took three tries because the Urchin kept killing me.
Star Get #85, 2 Coins, 1859 Star Bits, 27 Lives

Boo's Boneyard Galaxy - Racing the Spooky Speedster

Welcome to the Galaxy!
Mario
We feed a hungry Luma 1200 Star Bits to access this galaxy. We land on a skull planet and go through the orange pipe at the top. This is a 2D area. We slide down the rock and find our path blocked by crystal. There is a Boo Shroom nearby, so we shake to go through the crystal. We go to the Boo we raced in Ghostly Galaxy. He gives the same speech and we accept his challenge to race. As always, the best time is 01:30:00. Once we start, the walls will start undulating and distorting. The finish line is at the bottom, so we need ways to fall faster. We can do this by avoiding bumping into the walls, crystal, and springs as much as possible and using the fans, some of which are activated by ? Coins. Unfortunately, if you lose the race, you die from failure.
Take 2- This time, I won. We reach the finish line, which is a bunch of skulls and a pile of bones. The Boo says, "Ehee hee hee... 00:49:51? Well, a promise is a promise, so take this Star!"
Star Get #84, Galaxy Complete!, 37 Coins, 1451 Star Bits, 9 Lives

Luigi
We feed a hungry Luma 1200 Star Bits to access this galaxy. We land on the skull and go through the orange pipe. We get the Boo Shroom and challenge the Boo to a race. This took me three tries. I won with a time of 00:59:01.
Star Get #84, Galaxy Complete!, 34 Coins, 1729 Star Bits, 27 Lives