Super Mario Galaxy

Overview

Super Mario Galaxy is the third 3D entry in the Super Mario series and, by almost any measure, one of the greatest games ever made. Released for Wii in November 2007, it takes Mario out of the Mushroom Kingdom entirely — launching him into outer space, across 42 galaxies, through environments that no Mario game had ever attempted before. Gravity bends around spherical planetoids. Mario runs along the outside of tiny worlds. The camera orbits with him. Nothing quite like it had existed before.

The game arrived at a moment when the Wii had proven its motion controls could work for casual games — and Super Mario Galaxy proved they could work for a masterpiece. Using the Wii Remote to collect Star Bits and perform the spin move, with the Nunchuk handling movement, the controls are intuitive yet deep. It went on to win a BAFTA, score 97/100 on Metacritic (one of the highest scores ever recorded), and sell over 12 million copies worldwide.

Mario and Peach soar through the cosmos

Pull Stars in the Space Junk Galaxy

The game was developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo — the same team that created Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat — under the direction of Yoshiaki Koizumi and produced by Shigeru Miyamoto. Its development traced back to a Super Mario 128 tech demo shown at SpaceWorld 2000, which demonstrated 128 Marios moving simultaneously on spherical surfaces — the seed of what would eventually become Galaxy.

Story

Once every hundred years, a great comet flies over the Mushroom Kingdom. From it fall shooting stars which the Toads gather as Star Bits — mysterious fragments that coalesce into Power Stars. It is a time of celebration: the Star Festival.

The Star Festival — the opening of Super Mario Galaxy

Princess Peach invites Mario to the festival with a letter: “I’ll be waiting for you at the castle on the night of the Star Festival. There’s something I’d like to give you.” Mario sets off — but arrives to find Bowser attacking. The Koopa King tears Peach’s castle from the ground with a massive UFO and hurls it into space. Mario is launched into the cosmos by a mysterious object.

He awakens on the Comet Observatory — a star-shaped space station home to Rosalina, a mysterious cosmic guardian, and her family of star children called Lumas. Bowser has stolen the observatory’s Power Stars and Grand Stars, leaving it adrift. Mario must travel across the galaxies to recover them, power the Observatory, and rescue Princess Peach from Bowser’s new kingdom at the centre of the universe.

Mario meets Rosalina in the Comet Observatory library

Gameplay & controls

Super Mario Galaxy builds on the 3D platforming of Super Mario 64 and Sunshine but transforms it fundamentally with one core idea: gravity is directional. Each planetoid, planet and asteroid has its own gravitational pull. Mario walks around their surfaces — upside-down, sideways, in loops — with the camera adjusting constantly to keep it comprehensible. The result is an experience unlike any platformer before it.

Core controls

Prankster Comets

Prankster Comets appear over galaxies and add special challenge missions. There are five types:

Playing as Luigi

After completing the main game, Luigi becomes fully playable for the entire adventure. He handles differently from Mario — jumping higher and further but with less traction, making him harder to control but faster across open ground. Collecting all 120 stars with Luigi unlocks a special ending.

The Comet Observatory

The Comet Observatory is Mario’s hub world — a beautiful, star-shaped space station that serves as home to Rosalina and the Lumas. As Mario collects Grand Stars, he restores power to the Observatory’s six domes, each of which opens access to a new set of galaxies. The Observatory itself is explorable, with different areas unlocking throughout the game:

The Terrace

First dome — opened from the start. Home to Good Egg Galaxy, Honeyhive Galaxy and other early galaxies. Bright, welcoming and earthlike.

The Fountain

Second dome — the water and ice galaxies. Space Junk, Battlerock, Rolling Green and more. Opens after collecting 1 Grand Star.

The Bedroom

Third dome — eerie ghost and nighttime galaxies. Ghostly Galaxy, Boo’s Boneyard, Gusty Garden and more.

The Engine Room

Fourth dome — mechanical and fiery galaxies. Buoy Base, Bowser Jr.’s Airship Armada, Freezeflame Galaxy.

Galaxies

There are 42 dedicated galaxies across 6 domes. Each galaxy contains multiple Power Star missions, and some have hidden stars unlocked via Prankster Comets or secret paths. Here are key galaxies from each dome:

Good Egg GalaxyThe Terrace

The very first galaxy. Earthlike planetoids with Dino Piranha as the boss. Teaches the basics of spherical gravity and spin attacks.

Ghostly GalaxyThe Bedroom

A haunted galaxy of ghost houses and Boo-filled caverns. Bouldergeist is the boss — a ghost made of rock that must be hit with Star Bits.

Buoy Base GalaxyThe Engine Room

A waterlogged mechanical fortress. One of the game’s most memorable levels — a giant underwater sphere that must be drained to access its core.

Gusty Garden GalaxyThe Garden

Floating gardens with powerful wind currents. Features the iconic giant beanstalk ascent and one of the game’s most beloved music tracks.

Freezeflame GalaxyThe Bedroom

Split between ice and fire — one side frozen, one volcanic. Ice Mario and Fire Mario are both essential across its missions.

Dusty Dune GalaxyThe Engine Room

A vast desert galaxy with quicksand, sand tornadoes and subterranean tunnels. Mario must use air currents and careful movement to progress.

Sea Slide GalaxyThe Garden

A gorgeous ocean galaxy with surfing mechanics, underwater sections and a giant eel encounter. One of the most visually stunning galaxies.

Toy Time GalaxyThe Engine Room

A giant toy box in space — with a famous mission where Mario must traverse a gigantic 8-bit Super Mario Bros. obstacle course stamped onto a flat planet.

Bowser’s Star ReactorBowser Strongholds

First Bowser encounter — a lava and fire platforming gauntlet culminating in Bowser himself. Sets the template for the game’s three Bowser fights.

Bowser’s Galaxy ReactorFinal Battle

The final galaxy — at the centre of the universe. An epic, multi-stage gauntlet ending in the definitive showdown with Bowser for the fate of everything.

Characters

Super Mario Galaxy introduces one of the most beloved new characters in the franchise’s history alongside the familiar cast:

MarioPlayable (single player)

The hero. His spin move — triggered by shaking the Wii Remote — is his most versatile ability ever. Collect 120 Power Stars to save Peach.

LuigiPlayable (post-game)

Unlocked after completing the game. Higher jump, less traction — harder to control but faster. Collecting all stars with Luigi unlocks a special ending.

RosalinaGuardian of the Observatory

The mysterious cosmic guardian who watches over the Lumas. Her backstory, told through a storybook in the Observatory library, is genuinely moving.

LumasStar children

Rosalina’s star-shaped children. They inhabit the Observatory and transform themselves into galaxies when fed Star Bits. Each has its own personality.

Princess PeachCaptured by Bowser

Kidnapped during the Star Festival and held at the centre of the universe. Communicates with Mario via projections during his journey.

Toad BrigadeExplorers

A team of five Toads who travel between galaxies in their own spaceship, helping Mario find hidden items and clues.

Power-ups

Super Mario Galaxy introduces an entirely new set of power-ups — most unique to this game — each transforming Mario’s abilities in spectacular ways:

Bee Mushroom→ Bee Mario

Hover by shaking the remote, cling to honeycombs and walk on clouds. The Flying Meter depletes quickly — water and damage cancel the form.

Boo Mushroom→ Boo Mario

Mario becomes a ghost. Float freely, pass through certain barriers and read “Booish” boards. Enemy Boos fall in love with him.

Ice Flower→ Ice Mario

Creates ice platforms on water and lava, skates continuously over liquid surfaces and can wall-jump between waterfalls. 30 seconds.

Fire Flower→ Fire Mario

Throws fireballs by shaking the remote — lights torches and defeats enemies. 30 seconds. The only classic series power-up to return.

Spring Mushroom→ Spring Mario

Mario becomes a coiled spring and continuously bounces. Hold jump to build height. Tricky but essential for high-altitude platforms.

Rock Mushroom→ Rock Mario

Mario rolls into a boulder, smashing crystal clusters and enemies. Steer by tilting — hard to stop once rolling.

Bosses

Most bosses are enhanced versions of regular enemies, and nearly all telegraph their weaknesses through environmental hints in the level before the fight. All are defeated using the spin attack on their vulnerable points:

Dino PiranhaGood Egg Galaxy

A giant egg-hatched dinosaur piranha. Hit its bulbous tail with a spin to damage it. The fiery variant in later galaxies requires ice-based attacks.

King KalienteBowser Jr.’s Lava Reactor

A lava octopus in a boiling ocean. Deflect his fireballs back with a spin, then hurl them into his eye. Two phases with coconuts required.

Baron BrrrFreezeflame Galaxy

An icy baron who summons ice shards and freezes platforms. Use Ice Mario’s ability or carefully spin-attack him to chip away his armour.

Major BurrowsGusty Garden Galaxy

An armoured mole who burrows underground between charges. Stun him with a spin when he surfaces, then ground-pound his exposed back.

KingfinBonefin Galaxy

A skeletal shark lurking in deep underwater caverns. Lure his homing shells back into him — timing and awareness are critical in the confined space.

Bowser Jr.Multiple airship galaxies

Appears three times, each in his Koopa Clown Car. Deflect his cannonballs back at him or use the environment to force him off his platform.

Reception

Super Mario Galaxy received universal acclaim on release and has retained its status as one of the greatest games ever made. Its Metacritic score of 97/100 — from 73 critical outlets — makes it the fourth highest-rated game on the site of all time, behind only Ocarina of Time, SoulCalibur and GTA IV. It was the highest-rated game on GameRankings (with at least 20 reviews) before that site closed in 2019.

Critics praised the game’s artistic vision, its orchestral soundtrack (one of the first Mario games with a full live orchestra), the inventive use of gravity mechanics, and the deeply felt story of Rosalina and the Lumas. It won a BAFTA for Best Game in 2008 and multiple Game of the Year awards. Sales surpassed 12 million copies worldwide.

Trivia & facts

• Super Mario Galaxy began life as the Super Mario 128 tech demo shown at SpaceWorld 2000 — a demonstration of 128 Marios moving simultaneously on spherical surfaces that wowed the industry but never became a game until Galaxy
• The game’s development was originally codenamed “Super Mario Revolution” in 2005, after the Wii’s internal codename “Revolution”
• It was the first 3D Mario game where Wiggler appeared as a standard enemy rather than a boss
• The game opens with a letter from Peach to Mario — a direct callback to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS
• Super Mario Galaxy won a BAFTA for Best Game in 2008 — one of the first Nintendo games to win the award
• The game features the first full live orchestral soundtrack in the main Mario series — composed by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo
• The sequel Super Mario Galaxy 2 was announced at E3 2009 — notably not at the same E3 where Galaxy was announced, but two years later
• Yoshi’s head can be spotted as a small planet in Space Junk Galaxy — an Easter egg foreshadowing Galaxy 2
• The soundtrack contains heavy remixes of Super Mario Bros. 3’s music, particularly in the Bowser boss stages
• Like Paper Mario, Bowser steals Peach’s entire castle to capture the princess — lifting the whole structure into space
• A planet in the game bears a strong resemblance to a giant Megavitamin from Dr. Mario
• The game was released in Korea under the translated title “Super Mario Wii: Galaxy Adventure”
• A trading card game based on Super Mario Galaxy was released, featuring characters, items and enemies from the game
• There are visual similarities between the Ricco Harbor Blooper Safari minigame from Sunshine and Galaxy’s surfing sections in Sea Slide Galaxy

Videos

Four videos from our collection covering Super Mario Galaxy:

Reference & downloads