Super Mario Galaxy
is a 2007 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third 3D platformer game in the Super Mario series. As Mario, the player embarks on an extraterrestrial mission to rescue Princess Peach and save the universe from his arch-nemesis Bowser, after which the player can play the game as Luigi for a more challenging experience. The levels consist of galaxies filled with minor planets, asteroids, and worlds, with different variations of gravity, the central element of gameplay. The player character is controlled using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk and completes missions, fights bosses, and reaches certain areas to collect Power Stars. Certain levels also use the motion-based Wii Remote functions.
Nintendo EAD Tokyo began developing Super Mario Galaxy after the release of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat in late 2004, when Shigeru Miyamoto suggested that Nintendo commission a large-scale Mario game. The concept of spherical platforms originated from Super Mario 128, a tech demo for the GameCube shown at Nintendo Space World in 2000. Nintendo aimed to make the game appeal to players of all ages, and the team had more freedom in designing it compared to other Super Mario games because of the outer space setting. The game was directed by Yoshiaki Koizumi and the soundtrack was composed by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo, using a symphony orchestra for the first time in the series.
Super Mario Galaxy was a critical and commercial success, hailed as one of the best games in the series and one of the greatest video games of all time. It was the highest-rated game of all time on review-aggregating site GameRankings at the time of the site's closure in 2019. The game's graphics, gravity mechanics, level design, soundtrack, setting, and story all received high praise. It won several awards from top gaming publications, including multiple "Game of the Year" titles, and became the first Nintendo title to win the BAFTA Award for Best Game. The game is the ninth best-selling Wii game worldwide with sales of 12.80 million. It was released as a Nintendo Selects title in 2011, as a download via the Wii U's eShop in 2015, on the Nvidia Shield in China in 2018, and as part of the limited-run Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection for the Nintendo Switch in 2020.
A sequel, Super Mario Galaxy 2, was released for the Wii in 2010. An enhanced collection of both games was released for Nintendo Switch in October 2025, with the games also being available separately on the system's eShop. In addition, elements from both games will appear in a feature film, titled The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, serving as a sequel to 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, scheduled for an April 2026 release date.
Gameplay
Premise and setting
Super Mario Galaxy is set in outer space, where Mario travels through different galaxies to collect Power Stars, earned by completing missions, defeating a boss, or reaching a particular area. Each galaxy contains planetoids and orbiting structures for the player to explore. Each astronomical object has its own gravitational force, allowing the player to completely circumnavigate the planetoids, walking sideways or upside down. The player can usually jump from one independent object and fall towards another one nearby. Although the main gameplay is in 3D, there are several areas in the game in which the player's movements are restricted to a two-dimensional plane.The game's main hub is the Comet Observatory, a spaceship which contains six domes that provide access to most of the game's 42 available galaxies, with each dome except one holding five. Five domes end with a boss level in which the objective is to defeat Bowser or Bowser Jr. and earn a special Power Star, known as a Grand Star, that gives the player access to the next dome. The player only has access to one galaxy when they begin the game; as more Power Stars are collected, more galaxies and Stars become available. The player is awarded the ability to play as Luigi after collecting 120 Power Stars as Mario. Once 120 Power Stars are collected with both characters, the player is rewarded with one additional challenge. Completing this challenge grants the player the 121st star and a commemorative picture that can be sent to the Wii Message Board.
Controls
The player-character is controlled via the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. While most of Mario's abilities are taken directly from Super Mario 64, such as the long jump, wall jumps, and a variety of somersaults, a new feature called the Star Pointer that uses the Wii Remote's motion sensor is included. It is a small blue cursor that appears when the Wii Remote pointer is pointed at the screen. The Star Pointer is used to pick up special konpeito-shaped objects called "Star Bits", which can then be shot to stun enemies, manipulate obstacles, or feed Hungry Lumas. The pointer can also latch onto small blue objects called "Pull Stars", which can pull Mario through space. In certain levels that encase the player in a floating bubble, the Star Pointer is used to blow wind and maneuver the bubble.Early in the game, the player learns a new ability known as the "Spin" technique, which has appeared in varying forms throughout the Super Mario franchise. In Super Mario Galaxy, the "spin" is primarily used for melee attacks to stun enemies and shatter objects, as well as triggering special propellers called "Sling Stars" or "Launch Stars" that launch Mario across large distances through space. The "spin" utility is also used for climbing vines, ice skating, flipping switches, unscrewing bolts, and for activating several power-ups. Other Wii Remote functions are available for smaller quests, such as surfing aboard a manta ray or balancing atop a large ball and rolling it through an obstacle course.
Power-ups and lives
Seven power-ups grant Mario temporary abilities. For example, special mushrooms bestow the player with a Bee, Boo, or Spring Mushroom. The Bee Mushroom allows Mario to hover through the air, climb on honeycombs, and walk on clouds and flowers; the Boo Mushroom allows him to float through the air, become transparent, and move through certain obstacles; and the Spring Mushroom allows him to jump to high areas that would be otherwise inaccessible. The Fire Flower allows Mario to throw fireballs at enemies, and the Ice Flower grants flame attack immunity and allows Mario to create hexagonal ice tiles to cover any liquid surface he walks on. The Rainbow Star grants Mario invincibility and lets him run faster, while the Red Star allows him to fly for brief periods of time by shaking the Wii Remote as well as attract nearby coins and Star Bits.Mario's health consists of a three-piece health meter, which is depleted through contact with enemies and hazards. When swimming underwater, Mario has an air supply meter, which quickly depletes his main health meter if it runs out. Mario's health and air supply can be restored by collecting coins, or through touching bubbles if underwater. When the health meter becomes empty, the player loses a life and must go back to a predetermined checkpoint. The health meter can temporarily expand to six units through the use of a Life Mushroom. Instant death can occur by being swallowed by quicksand or dark matter, by being crushed by hazards, or by falling into black holes or other bottomless pits. The player can obtain extra lives by collecting 1-Up Mushrooms, 50 coins without losing a life, or 50 Star Bits.
Multiplayer
Super Mario Galaxy has a co-operative two-player option called "Co-Star" mode, in which one player controls Mario while the other uses only the Wii Remote to control a second Star Pointer on-screen to gather Star Bits and shoot them at enemies. The second player can also make Mario jump, and the height of Mario's jump can be increased if the first and second player press the A button at the same time. The second player can prevent some enemies from moving by aiming the pointer star at them and holding the A button.Plot
The centennial Star Festival is held to watch a comet pass by the Mushroom Kingdom. On the night of the Star Festival, Princess Peach discovers a star-shaped creature called a Luma and invites Mario to the festival to show it to him. As Mario approaches the castle, Bowser attacks the Mushroom Kingdom with a fleet of airships and a massive flying saucer, which he uses to lift Peach's castle into outer space. Mario attempts to enter the castle but is attacked by Kamek, one of Bowser's minions, and cast loose into space, with the Luma following after him.Awakening on a small planet, Mario is introduced to Rosalina, a guardian of the cosmos and caretaker of the Luma and his brethren, who resides in a starship called the Comet Observatory. Rosalina explains that during a centennial visit to her home world, Bowser attacked the Observatory and stole the Power Stars that act as its power source, rendering it immobile. Bestowed with the power to travel through space by the Luma that Peach found, Mario sets off on a journey across the universe to reclaim the Power Stars and restore power to Rosalina's observatory. Along the way, he finds friends from the Mushroom Kingdom such as Luigi and the Toads while fighting Bowser and Bowser Jr. at certain points.
Upon collecting enough Power Stars, the Comet Observatory flies to the center of the universe, where Bowser is holding Peach captive. While confronting Bowser, Mario learns that he plans to rule the entire universe with Peach at his side. Mario defeats Bowser and frees Peach, but one of the galaxy's planets collapses on itself, becoming a supermassive black hole that begins consuming the entire universe. The Lumas sacrifice themselves and jump into the black hole to destroy it, causing the black hole to collapse into a singularity; the universe is recreated entirely as the singularity explodes in a supernova. Rosalina appears to Mario, revealing that dying stars are later reborn as new stars, allowing the cycle of life to continue. Mario then awakens in the recreated Mushroom Kingdom alongside Peach and Bowser, and he celebrates the new galaxy that has emerged in the skies. If the player collects 120 stars, Rosalina will thank the player and, with the reborn Lumas, leave aboard the Comet Observatory to travel the cosmos again.