Super Mario Galaxy Star Guide
Part 1: A short time ago in a Galaxy waiting for you at home...
Battlerock Galaxy
Star #1
Battlerock Barrage
It's all about the over-under on this one. Leap from silver disc to silver disc, until you reach the one with the blue screw. Spin on top of this to set it in motion, and then get ready to dodge the barrage. As well as avoiding the cannonballs, keep your eyes on the obstacles that are headed your way. You can duck under the girders, but the electrical fields can only be evaded by running to the underside of the disc. Once you reach the end, it's time to use our old pals, Bullet Bills, to smash open those domes and snaffle the goodies within.
Star #2
Breaking Into The Battlerock
Welcome back to an old foe - the Bob-omb. You'll be using them a lot in this level to blow open cages, so get used to picking them up and then navigating past obstacles in order to throw them where they're needed. After the multi-coloured orb planet, you'll have to navigate a minefield using pull stars, which isn't too tricky provided you go slowly enough not to build up too much momentum. There's a Super Mario mushroom on the coloured orbs, which should keep you invincible just long enough to plough through, should you struggle. Once you reach the Battlerock, just jump down the pipe and then stun and throw Bob-ombs to open up the cannon hole. Drop in, aim yourself at the floating crystal in the middle and fire away to free a Luma and get another launch star. Then its simply a question of carrying a Bob-omb from one end of the rocket to the other - it's easier to jump over the electrical barriers rather than finding the gaps - and blow open the last cannon. Aim yourself at the power star, wait for a clear shot and away you go.
Star #3
Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe
The trickiest parts of this level are bouncing the spinning tops into the lasers and navigating another gravity-flipping 2D section filled with rotating platforms and lava. Once you reach Topmaniac, in a showdown that will be familiar to anyone seduced by the Beyblade craze, you simply have to jump on the centre - avoiding the spikes - and then spin it into the lasers. Do this - you guessed it - three times, and the star is yours. If you're struggling, there's a Luma right next to the boss battle arena who will sell you an extra life or a health power-up for 30 star bits. You can shoot the yellow targets on the floor for a quick coin top-up during the fight as well.
BONUS: Battlerock's Garbage Dump
When you reach the multi-coloured planet made up of orbs, during Breaking Into Battlerock, you'll find another hungry Luma. Feed it 30 star bits and it'll TRANSFOOOORM into a launch star to the garbage dump. Throw Bob-ombs to destroy all the trash piles within 30 seconds to get the hidden star. It's not as easy as it looks, since the Bob-ombs have long fuses you'll only have enough time to throw five or six before time runs out. Aim for gaps close to as many piles as possible to speed things up, and make sure you get the ones furthest away right at the start.
Rolling Green Galaxy
Star #1
Rolling In The Clouds
Mario does Monkey Ball, and it's all fairly self-explanatory. Hold the Wiimote vertically and gently tilt it in the direction you want to travel. Slow and steady is the way to go and, if you don't want to risk grabbing the question coins for additional star bits, this shouldn't tax you. Climb the flagpole at the end to snatch that star.
Hurry-Scurry Galaxy
Star #1
Shrinking Satellite
The tiles shrink as you step on them, and that black hole looks awfully hungry. Thankfully, they don't shrink too fast so you've got just enough time to deal with that Goomba and, if you're nimble enough, take a short detour to grab that extra life at the end of the first path. Collecting all the musical notes on the geometric planet shape is tougher, but if you follow the line and keep moving it's not as hard as it looks. The black hole then turns into the power star, so just drop straight down to pick it up.
Bowser's Star Reactor
Grand Star #3
The Fiery Furnace
Reaching Bowser is pretty straightforward - just keep following the path, paying close attention to the gravity during the 2D section. When you first see Bowser he'll start gobbing fireballs at you, destroying the walkway, so move fast. After a bit of typical supervillain banter, you're both transported to a glass planet with a handy core of piping hot magma. Bowser loves to stomp, so the trick is to get him to slap his crusty old feet onto the circular glass windows. This will set his tail on fire, and he'll start running around and around the globe. You can't catch him, so simply see which way he goes, then run the opposite way to head him off. Spin into him to knock him over, then spin him again to damage him. Do this the magical three times, and he'll vanish in a puff of BWAH-HA-HA. The third Grand Star pops out of the globe, so snag it to head back to the observatory.
BONUS: Sling Pod Galaxy
Feed 400 star bits to the Luma next to the Fountain observatory to gain access to this bonus stage.
Star #1
A Very Sticky Situation
Timing is the key to this one. Twang Mario through the obstacle course using the sling pods and occasional pull star. There are extra lives and star bits galore for those who dare to take a more dangerous route but, even if you play it safe, it can be tricky lining up the shots from one pod to the next. Take advantage of the fact that Mario can still pick up coins while being stretched on the sling pods, and don't forget you can hold him on the pull stars while you sweep the screen for star bits. As well as another power star, this level can easily earn you over 100 star bits so it's worth taking it slow and grabbing everything you can.
NEXT: Mario tackles the Kitchen and the Bedroom. So very kinky.