The Super Mario Galaxy series is among some of the best adventures the red and blue plumber has ever embarked on. The original Super Mario Galaxy released in November 2007 worldwide on Nintendo’s new surprise commercial hit of a system, the Wii. The Wii brought motion controls to the forefront, and many were speculating how Mario would control on the new system. The game was met with immense praise and a follow-up sequel was later released, also on the Wii, which many say is the best 3D Mario game in existence. Especially impressive when you find out how the game was initially conceived (but more on that later). The games were also huge, each task you with collecting 120 stars and defeat Bowser in order to see everything, well, ALMOST everything. Due, to the series insane amount of content, there are many crazy things that most player’s failed to pick up on. On top of that, there are some weirdly wonderful facts that can only be noticed by someone with the technical know-how, ability to research or an extremely keen eye for all things Mario Galaxy! So we have compiled a list of some of the craziest things in the Super Mario Galaxy series that you may have had no idea about! Grab your mushrooms, collect your coins, and eat those Starbits and remember to tell Rosalina about your findings on this galaxy-spanning adventure into some of the craziest things you had no idea about! To the observatory!
20 The Creepy Characters In The Distance
Our favorite weirdly wonderful thing in the Super Mario Galaxy series has to be this Spo-OOo ky one! Cue the X-Files Theme! In Super Mario Galaxy 2, at the beginning of Shiverburn Galaxy, if you look towards the distant hills in the background, just on the moonlit horizon you will see some strange and ominous alien figures. The silhouettes of whatever these creatures almost look like some kind of advanced alien race inspecting Mario from a distance ready to return with their information back to the mothership. What is makes this even more creepy is that the image in the game’s data files is called "HellValleySkyTree." The picture speaks for itself, this is probably the biggest Super Mario mystery since the “L is Real 2041” message written on the Courtyard Plaque in Super Mario 64!
19 There Is A Planetoid That References Pokemon
The stage that is known as “Buoy Base Galaxy” appears to look intriguingly similar to the shape and geometrics to that of a Pokeball. The level is spherical, which is no surprise since this is Super Mario Galaxy. However, it is divided into two halves, one being land and the other being a body water. The two masses are divided by what looks exactly like the button a Pokémon Trainer would press to send out a Pokémon. Nintendo has been known to include such references in their games throughout their long history, so it would not be crazy to assume that this is indeed a direct reference by the level designers and not just a mere coincidence. There are sure to be more on these in the list!
18 Secret Blue Rupee!
Continuing the trend of clever references, did you know that there is a hidden cluster of blue Starbits that forms the shape of a blue rupee from The Legend of Zelda series? Well, you do now! In the level titled Rolling Gizmo Galaxy, a level where you have Mario stand on and control a rolling ball across a series of platforms in the middle of the sky. You can find the shiny, blue piece of nostalgia below one of the said platforms if you angle the camera correctly. It appears to be situated will out of the level general route so you may need to use your Wiimote to collect the 5 Rupees worth of Starbits if you want to stay alive as well as obtain them all.
17 There's A SECRET 'Adult' Message On The Cover
One of the most insane things about the original Super Mario Galaxy isn’t even found IN the game, but rather ON the game. On the official Box Art for Super Mario Galaxy in both the NTSC and PAL regions, there is a hidden secret message which spells out something rather peculiar. If you look at the heading that says “Super Mario Galaxy” Obviously, there is a little twinkle of light on some letters in the graphics. If you are to spell out all the letters in the order from left to right, top to bottom. Then the message reads as “U R MR GAY.” What?? We are not sure of the intentions of this message or if it was even intended in the first place, but it is definitely either an extremely strange coincidence or a very cheeky graphic designer’s handiwork!
16 Yoshi Is A Space Dragon!
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Yoshi’s house can be found in the level titled “Sky Station Galaxy.” If you select the first mission you may notice a sign in front of the house that reads "Hello, friend! Please go around back! -Yoshi." After reading that quit the level and then enter the third mission on that level. The sign will then read “Hello, friend! Please go around back! -Yoshi the space dragon.” This easter egg has puzzled many gamers who love to look under the surface in their Nintendo games. This could be linked somehow to a statement from Miyamoto-san himself, particularly when asked how Yoshi survives in space. Miyamoto answered by saying “He is a space dinosaur.” Though this doesn’t really explain the part that reads “Dragon."
15 You Can Eat Starbits In Real Life!
The Starbits you or even your buddy on the couch can help you collect with the Wiimote in the Super Mario Galaxy games actually were heavily inspired by a Japanese candy. The sweets are known as “Konpeito” and even come in a variety of different colors. This might explain why the Hungry Lumas love them so much in the game and allow you to access different parts of the levels by feeding your collected Starbits to them. How do they taste? Well, we haven’t tried them yet, but we are told that despite the assortment of colors they come in, they all taste exactly the same and are quite bland much like a cube of sugar. Quite disappointing, especially seeing as those Lumas make them look so darn delicious!
14 Insects In The Game Files That Were Never Used
In the game files for Super Mario Galaxy, there are a number of assets that were never used in the final game. Some of which are a variety of different Bug-like creatures that resemble something you might come across in a Metroid game. There are a couple of Dragonfly looking creatures as well as what appears to be them in their shelled state. On top of the 3D models of the bugs, they were even complete with animation, suggesting that they were only taken out later on in development. It is not known why they were taken out of the final game or what their purpose might have been, perhaps they decided to save them for Metroid Prime 3? I guess we might never know!
13 Japan Got An Oddly Translated Message
We are nowadays all too familiar with poor translations of video games after making it to the west from Japan, but this one is oddly one featured in the Japanese version of Super Mario Galaxy. In the English release of Super Mario Galaxy, when Mario obtains a Star a message pops up stating “You Got a Star!” and if it is a Grand Star it reads “You got a Grand Star!” However, the Japanese version chose to also go with English text in this instance but awkwardly reads as “Star Get!” or “Grand Star Get!” respectively. Much is confused here in the west with regards to Japanese culture, so it is unsure whether this is actually a conscious design choice catered for the Japanese audience or a poor translation error.
12 Rosalina's Storybook Was Written In One Night!
Rosalina’s Storybook, which is unlocked chapter by chapter as you progress in Super Mario Galaxy, was written by the longtime Nintendo developer and Director of the Galaxy series, Yoshiaki Koizumi all by himself. If you know that already, did you know that it was written in one night and no one else at Nintendo knew what he was working on? The secret was later revealed to none other than Shigeru Miyamoto, legendary creator of the Super Mario series. Miyamoto was surprised that he was the first one to find out and that he didn’t tell anyone, especially seeing as that it sounded like a pretty integral part of the game. Yoshiaki also mentioned in an interview that he was unsure of how a story in a Mario game would be received so this may have been why he kept it under wraps!
11 Scrapped Legend Of Zelda Idea Became A Boss
In Super Mario Galaxy, there is a boss called “Megaleg,” but did you know that its origins lie within the development of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time? We've already mentioned that during Ocarina of Time’s development Nintendo originally planned for the final showdown against Ganon to be one of gigantic proportions. Like a battle from Shadow of the Colossus, the player would have scaled a giant Ganon that would act as both the Boss and the Boss Arena at the same time. This idea was scrapped due to fears of the Nintendo 64’s capabilities but was later given new life in Super Mario Galaxy with the Boss battle against MegaLeg. The Battle has the player work their way up MegaLegs Limbs while maneuvering themselves around the robots defenses and mechanical joints and cogs.
10 Turn All The Coconuts Into Watermelons!
In the original Super Mario Galaxy, you may have come across many coconuts littered around some of the more tropical stages in the game. You also might have come across watermelons both of which Mario is able to kick towards enemies to damage them as well as just for fun. In fact, the game had you fight a giant fire octopus called “King Kaliente” by kicking watermelons in its face in order to damage it. The fun fact is that if you collect 999 Starbits then for some odd reason, all the coconuts turn into watermelons! This is likely just a little afterthought by the developers or just one very bored programmer! We are unsure whether this actually has any effect on the game or if it is something to with balancing, but nevertheless it’s definitely a crazy little thing to include!
9 Luigi Is A Playable Character
This one might be well known to any of the more hardcore Mario enthusiasts who have played the game for an ungodly amount of time. However, for those of you that gave up not long after you reached the 60-star milestone, you may be shocked to find out that you missed out on a pretty hefty reward! By collecting all 120 stars and then defeating Bowser, you can unlock Luigi as a playable character! Luigi controls slightly different to Mario, which is a nice nod to some of the earlier times Luigi has been playable in previous and some even later entries. He jumps higher than Mario but he also slides a lot more and isn’t as grippy as Mario. The extra jumping height makes him much easier to use during some puzzles, but his slippery footwork can lead to some unexpected deaths.
8 The Secret Final Stage Has its Own Secret! Secret-ception!
The Grand Finale Stage is the secret final level which can be accessed by collecting all 120 Stars and unlocking Luigi, then collecting them all again with Luigi. Once the final star is obtained by both brothers, then there is a neat little secret that is revealed. When you next see your save file within the game, you will now see a death count, showing you how many times you died with both Mario and Luigi throughout the whole game. It’s a nice touch, and it’s always great to be rewarded for completion of a game, however little it may be. It might be nice to get a little thank you message from the developers, but it is even better when you get something a little more substantial.
7 Coincidence Or Another Smart Reference?
In the Orginal Super Mario Galaxy, there is a level called Dusty Dune Galaxy. This may or may not be a reference to the Dusty Dune Desert from the popular retro Nintendo RPG on the Super NES, Earthbound. It is probably more likely a coincidence as Nintendo seemingly don’t give much love to the old franchise apart from in Smash Bros. but who knows? This is not the only reference to past franchises Nintendo made in the game. There is a planetoid in the level titles Space Junk Galaxy that looks pretty much identical to the ship from Pikmin 2 on the Gamecube. This is more likely to be a smart little reference as the name of the level could also be referencing Pikmins protagonist Olimar who is a tiny astronaut that collects junk items left by humans.
6 Slight Oversight By Nintendo
Nintendo is pretty well known for their commitment to producing extremely polished games with very little flaws in terms of presentation and design. Their games do tend to come out in a brilliantly strong state at release even in this day and age! Then again, nobody is perfect, and Super Mario Galaxy which is another extremely well-polished game, even for Nintendo’s high standards, it is home to a little peculiar oversight. If you play as Luigi and then play the mission “Luigi and the Haunted Mansion” then you might be in for a little continuity error. The level usually tasks Mario with the task of rescuing Luigi from a haunted mansion in a nice nod to the Gamecube title. However, as Luigi, you still hear him call out for Mario’s help to rescue him!
5 Proof That Super Mario Galaxy 2 Was Originally An Expansion?
It was a surprise to everyone when it was announced that Nintendo was going to release a sequel to the original Super Mario Galaxy. And many thought it would just be an expansion with more levels to add to the already meaty experience of the first game. We were surprised again to find out that the game was not just reusing assets from the original and that it was in many people’s opinion even better than the first! A little piece of information found in Super Mario Galaxy 2’s internal disc ID might have revealed that the project may have started out as an expansion rather than the true sequel we know and love. The ID is titled “Super Mario Galaxy More,” in other words meaning more of the original Galaxy game. Nintendo obviously had too many ideas for the space setting to warrant anything less than a full game!
4 The Reactin’ Captain!
In Super Mario Galaxy 2 if you collect a certain amount of Starbits and talk to the Captain luma he will react to your situation and say a special piece of dialogue for your troubles. If you collect x777 or x7777 Starbits, he will then say “Hey, you have 7777 Starbits! How Lucky!” It doesn’t end there though, if you have the maximum amount of x9999 Starbits then he will say “What happens when you get 9999 Starbits? Something nice I bet!”. So I bet you're probably wondering, what DOES happen when you collect 9999 Starbits? Well, I’m glad you asked. If you deposit it all in the Toad Bank, then you unlock the Perfect Run mission for the Grandmaster Galaxy the ultimate level in the game. This would surely be helpful to anyone still wondering how to get 100% completion!
3 Super Mario Sunshine Galaxy
In Super Mario Galaxy 2 there is a huge homage to Mario’s underappreciated Gamecube adventure, Super Mario Sunshine. There is a level called Twisty Trials Galaxy in World 5 which has an area exactly the same as an area in Super Mario Sunshine’s Delfino Resort! It comes complete with Piantas, the citizens of Delfino who I would assume already owe a huge debt to Mario seeing as he previously cleaned up their island! The level called “Spinning, Spinning and Spinning” is the same as the trial area seen in “The Secret of Ricco Harbour” in Super Mario Sunshine. It’s a great nod to one of Mario’s less widely admired titles, sure to please it die hard cult following that gained traction years after its initial release. I wonder if they will do this for another groundbreaking Mario game…..
2 ….Super Mario 64 Galaxy!
So it appears they totally did! Again, In Super Mario Galaxy 2 they included a level subtly named Throwback Galaxy. This level is a near perfect recreation of the beloved Whomp’s Fortress in the Nintendo 64 launch title, Super Mario 64. You know the one where you jump on the Thwomps back? The only difference is that you don’t have to jump through a painting to get there! Well that may not be entirely true, there are a few differences in terms of level design, plus the graphics are updated, but enough is intact to send you on a good old nostalgia trip. Also, Bob-omb Buddy is there, and he even seems to slightly remember Mario because he mentions that he looks familiar. Then again, you would remember if you saw a short, Italian plumber with a huge mustache jumping really high and shouting “Woohoo!”, right?
1 Secret Behind Readable Door
In the original Super Mario Galaxy, there is a level called Good Egg Galaxy which serves as Yoshi’s holiday home in space. There is a door to his house that when approached, the game displays a button prompt and the message “Read” much like if you were to read a sign. It was discovered that the developers used a shortcut to prevent another few lines of code having to be written and you can see the proof for yourself. If you angle the camera correctly, you can see that behind the door there is a sign just like the others you see in the game. It seems that they used the regular sign object and hid it behind the door to make it appear as if Mario is reading a message left by Yoshi.