"Super Mario Galaxy 2" - Charting a Course Quiz

The second galaxy of the game (after the Sky Station Galaxy), the Yoshi Star Galaxy might as well be the one to kick things off since it introduces Yoshi to the adventure at long last, making his egg available from the very start of the first Mission, Saddle Up with Yoshi.

It won't be the only visit to this Galaxy though; on his second, Mario will need to use Yoshi to fight off King Lakitu and his Spinies, which shouldn't be too hard with Yoshi-- he eats nearly everything.

The first home of the Spin Drill item, the Spin-Dig Galaxy appears on the World Map almost immediately after the Yoshi Star Galaxy, appearing when you have at least three Power Stars. Interestingly, this spot on the map also leads Mario to his first fork in the road wherein he can feed a Hungry Luma to access an alternative route. Giving this Luma 300 Star Bits opens the Flip-Swap Galaxy.

At Spin-Dig, however, you can face Digga-Leg and complete your first Silver Star Mission.

Visiting the Fluffy Bluff Galaxy en route to your first boss area should be a necessity, especially since the level gives Mario his first opportunity to try out the new Cloud Flower, giving him the power to create three temporary cloud platforms. Though the first visit here will involve locating the Toad Brigade Captain, it'll actually boiling down to locating 'The Chimp', a friendly NPC who'll have a couple Power Stars to give in this Galaxy.

The first Galaxy of World 2, Mario has no choice but to pass through this series of wood-cut planets to head through the map; his choices begin in earnest once he gets through it once. This planet gives a few options for Power Stars, but most are likely to pass through a series of platforms being actively destroyed by buzzsaws, forcing Mario to run through to avoid dropping into a black hole. Both the Mandibug Stack and Bugaboom appear as small bosses in this area.

Found in the back half of World 2, the Cosmic Cove Galaxy is actually one of three destinations at a tri-pathed fork in the road where the player can choose between it, the Wild Glide Galaxy, and the Hungry Luma-created Honeybloom Galaxy. Cosmic Cove, unlike the others, is primarily water-based, so Mario will need to dive in with the local penguin population to get what he needs before proceeding to Bowser's Lava Lair at the end of the line.

One of the first Galaxies in World 3, Mario will have a choice to make between this and Cloudy Court Galaxy if he wants to get anywhere. Tall Trunk isn't a bad idea though. Mario can lean on Yoshi for the first Mission here, learning how to use the Blimpfruit to float to victory.

The second Mission, Tall Trunk's Big Slide, will have him taking a long trip down instead, avoiding obstacles on a frictionless, gravity-defying course through the trees.

Found close to the end of World 3, the Rolling Masterpiece Galaxy is the route Mario can take if he's not interested in paying the Hungry Luma to take the other fork in the map. This lengthy course places Mario atop a Star Ball, having him maneuver with the rolling item beneath him as he navigates tricky platforms, squashes small enemies, and bumps into the bigger ones en route to the Power Star.

The second Mission here, brought on by a Prankster Comet, is simply a speed run.

The first Galaxy you're likely to encounter in World 4, the Supermassive Galaxy is on the trail provided you don't feed the Hungry Luma waiting near the start of the map. This Galaxy, in which Mario is met by numerous HUGE foes and obstacles, isn't too different from his regular platforming levels, but it does involve jumps with further reaches and clever ways of maneuvering that will have you testing your patience.

Some enemies here, you might find, may be huge but function the same as always.

Coming out of the Supermassive Galaxy you'll have the option to visit either the Flipsville Galaxy or the Honeyhop Galaxy, and if you visit the latter, taking the upper path on the map, you'll be able to put your Bee Mushroom abilities to the test, hovering around the high, water-filled cliffs of the planets found here to help the Queen Bee scratch an itch, collect Silver Stars, and reunite with The Chimp.

Although you can access the Starshine Beach Galaxy without needing to visit Honeyhop before it (by going to the Flipsville Galaxy instead), it would come next in the list here, acting as another fork in the road where you could, theoretically, also head to the Chompworks Galaxy en route to the boss.

The Starshine Beach Galaxy is a sandy and solitary map where Mario will need to either crest the placid waters with Yoshi hunting down Silver Stars or tactfully ascend a tower with the Cloud Flower to get the Power Stars.

A Galaxy filled with space detritus, this location found at the start of World 5 is a must-visit on Mario's path to the centre of the universe. What you can expect to find here is all manner of mechanical bric-a-brac, and that includes Topmen, who will only appear in this Galaxy after being more prominent in "Super Mario Galaxy". Additionally, Mario can slow down time in certain parts of this area, a new capability in this game so far.

The map for World 5 is quite unique since, upon completing the Space Storm Galaxy, Mario will be able to fly his ship into a pipe and come out in the midst of several different Galaxies, all of which he can use to beef up his Power Star count and gain access to the area's boss level. Amongst these is the Shiverburn Galaxy, a level that can only be accessed in this cluster.

It's a stage that takes full advantage of both harmful magma and slippery ice fields.

If you like lava, you'd better believe you're stuck hitting the Melty Monster Galaxy no matter what because it's the first Galaxy in World 6 and the only one accessible to you when you enter the area; at the very least you'll have to navigate several rocky planets covered almost entirely in shifting lava floes and teeming with massive monsters that want to eat or, at the least, leave their mouths wide open while traveling in normal patrol loops.

This is one of a handful of Galaxies where you'll run into The Chimp again.

There are two tracks for Mario to take in World 6 and the one route that's granted to players without paying any Hungry Luma fees will take him along the top path to the Clockwork Ruins Galaxy, a series of planets of carefully-crafted mill stones and timed traps that will require Mario to maneuver very precisely to avoid being squashed or lost to the abyss.

There's even a Hungry Luma in the Galaxy, and it'll ask for thirty coins to proceed to a new planet.

A series of small, round planets, all containing a small amount of enemies that Mario must defeat to keep advancing, the concept behind this final planet on the trail is simple: if Mario can beat it, he succeeds. This being said, though the Galaxy is quite linear, he'll have the opportunity to split off to fight Gobblegut for the second time in the game or head onward to the normal Power Star. If Mario took this route, the next Galaxy is Bowser's Galaxy Generator, the final boss battle of the game.