Super Mario Galaxy

Run Categories

61-star (Any%)

• Target: 2-2.5 hours (segmented); 2.5-3 hours (single-segment)

Bowser's Galaxy Reactor requires a minimum of 60 stars to enter, and unlike in Mario 64, the Grand Star from defeating Bowser counts in the star total. Times will be faster for segmented runs due to possible luck manipulation for desired comets. Requires careful route planning to find the most efficient stars possible.

61-star Runs, Completed

• MilesSMB: 3h 00m 34s single-segment
• MOKURENN91: 4h 08m 45s (not 100% legitimate, contains a large amount of video manipulation)

61-star Route (Subject to revision)

1. Gateway Galaxy - Grand Star Rescue
2. Good Egg Galaxy - Dino Piranha
3. Good Egg Galaxy - A Snack of Cosmic Proportions
4. Good Egg Galaxy - King Kaliente's Battle Fleet
5. Honeyhive Galaxy - Bee Mario Takes Flight
6. Honeyhive Galaxy - Trouble on the Tower
7. Honeyhive Galaxy - Big Bad Bugaboom
8. Loopdeeloop Galaxy - Surfing 101
9. Flipswitch Galaxy - Painting the Planet Yellow
10. Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor - Megaleg's Moon
11. Space Junk Galaxy - Pull Star Path
12. Space Junk Galaxy - Kamella's Airship Attack
13. Rolling Green Galaxy - Rolling in the Clouds
14. Honeyhive Galaxy - (may require paying 20 starbits)
15. Battlerock Galaxy - Battlerock Barrage
16. Battlerock Galaxy - Breaking into the Battlerock
17. Battlerock Galaxy - Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe
18. Battlerock Galaxy -
19. Hurry-Scurry Galaxy - Shrinking Satellite
20. Bowser's Star Reactor - The Fiery Stronghold
21. Beach Bowl Galaxy - Sunken Treasure
22. Beach Bowl Galaxy - Passing the Swim Test
23. Beach Bowl Galaxy - The Secret Undersea Cavern
24. Beach Bowl Galaxy - Wall Jumping Up Waterfalls
25. Beach Bowl Galaxy -
26. Ghostly Galaxy - Luigi in the Haunted Mansion
27. Ghostly Galaxy - A Very Spooky Sprint
28. Ghostly Galaxy - Beware of Bouldergeist
29. Ghostly Galaxy - Matter Splatter Mansion
30. Ghostly Galaxy -
31. Bubble Breeze Galaxy - Through the Poison Swamp
32. Buoy Base Galaxy -
33. Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada - Sinking the Airships
34. Good Egg Galaxy - Luigi on the Roof
35. Gusty Garden Galaxy - Bunnies in the Wind
36. Gusty Garden Galaxy - The Dirty Tricks of Major Burrows
37. Gusty Garden Galaxy - The Golden Chomp
38. Gusty Garden Galaxy - Gusty Garden's Gravity Scramble
39. Gusty Garden Galaxy -
40. Freezeflame Galaxy - The Frozen Peak of Baron Brrr
41. Freezeflame Galaxy - Conquering the Summit
42. Freezeflame Galaxy -
43. Bowser's Dark Matter Plant - Darkness on the Horizon
44. Battlerock Galaxy -
45. Gold Leaf Galaxy - Star Bunnies on the Hunt
46. Gold Leaf Galaxy - The Bell on the Big Tree
47. Gold Leaf Galaxy - Cataquack to the Skies
48. Gold Leaf Galaxy - When It Rains, It Pours
49. Gold Leaf Galaxy -
50. Sea Slide Galaxy - Going After Guppy
51. Sea Slide Galaxy - Faster than a Speeding Penguin
52. Sea Slide Galaxy -
53. Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor - King Kaliente's Spicy Return
54. Honeyhive Galaxy - Luigi in the Honeyhive Kingdom
55. Sweet Sweet Galaxy - Rocky Road
56. Sand Spiral Galaxy - Choosing a Favorite Snack
57. Deep Dark Galaxy - The Underground Ghost Ship
58. Deep Dark Galaxy - Bubble Blastoff
59. Deep Dark Galaxy - Boo in a Box
60. Deep Dark Galaxy -
61. Bowser's Galaxy Reactor - The Fate of the Universe

120-star

• Target: Under 7 hours
• Total star bits needed: 6370
• Current WR: 7:58:36 (input) segmented by MOKURENN91 (not 100% legitimate, contains a large amount of video manipulation)

Requires beating the game twice. Fifteen purple coin collect-a-thons don't appear until Bowser's Galaxy Reactor has been cleared. Then, defeating Bowser a second time unlocks Luigi as a playable character.

121-star New Game+

• Target: Under 7 hours
• Total star bits needed: 6370

In this category, we start with Luigi immediately after unlocking him, and collect all 120 stars with him. We unlock the Grand Finale Galaxy and complete it. This prevents repetition in collecting all 120 stars twice in a single run, and shortens the run's length to a reasonable time frame.

General Tricks

• Spin + Wall jump + Spin Combo: Usually preceded by a backflip or triple jump, this move combo allows access to great heights.
• Cosmic Race Speed Boost: When racing cosmic Mario/Luigi, hold the analog stick up before the race starts and keep it up there until the timer reaches 0. Then crouch with Z when the timer reaches 2 and hit A when the race begins to gain a speed boost.
• Slope Climbing: It is possible to ascend slopes Mario/Luigi would usually slide down. An example of this can be seen here. To do this, you must first begin sliding down the slope while facing forward (in the sitting position). The best way to ensure you're facing the correct direction is to back flip onto the slope. Once you begin sliding, jump in the direction you're sliding, then immediately use your spin attack in the air while holding back the opposite direction. This technique will seem a little counterintuitive at first, because you must start by jumping in the "wrong" direction, but if you don't have forward momentum when you jump, you'll be unable to use your spin attack. In summary, the order of input should be as follows: hold forward (while sliding), jump (while still holding forward), spin attack and simultaneously switch to holding back, repeat as necessary. (Forward refers to the direction you're sliding, back refers to the opposite direction). You can also climb some slopes by spinning while running up them, as seen at the beginning of this video.
• Homing Stomp: Mario and Luigi can perform a homing attack that will automatically target nearby enemies. To perform this technique, jump and use a midair spin attack. Before the spin attack has completed its animation, press Z to use your stomp attack. If your timing was right, you'll hear a different sound effect, and Mario/Luigi's landing will look different than it does after a normal stomp. If used close to an enemy, the stomp should home in on them. While this move could occasionally be useful in combat, its most interesting property is that it also targets NPCs such as the Toads. Frequently after bouncing off of an NPC's head this way, you will receive a significant horizontal boost, sometimes even greater than that of a long jump. One application of it is this
• Spin Attack Delay Reset: Spinning on the ground and then quickly jumping will reset the spin cooldown timer, so you can spin again immediately.

Comet Stars

Prankster Comets begin to appear after 13 stars have been collected.

Every "star 4" comet mission has a prerequisite mission that must be completed in order for it to appear:

1. Dino Piranha Speed Run - Dino Piranha
2. Honeyhive Cosmic Mario Race - Trouble on the Tower
3. Pull Star Path Speed Run - Pull Star Path
4. Topmaniac's Daredevil Run - Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe
5. Fast Foes on the Cyclone Stone - The Secret Undersea Cavern
6. Bouldergeist's Daredevil Run - Beware of Bouldergeist
7. Major Burrows' Daredevil Run - Gusty Garden's Gravity Scramble
8. Frosty Cosmic Mario Race - The Freezy Peak of Baron Brrr
9. Sandblast Speed Run - Blasting through the Sand
10. Cosmic Mario Forest Race - When It Rains, It Pours
11. Underwater Cosmic Mario Race - Faster Than a Speeding Penguin
12. Fast Foes of Toy Time - The Flipswitch Chain
13. Ghost Ship Daredevil Run - Bubble Blastoff
14. Topman Tribe Speed Run - Revenge of the Topman Tribe
15. Lava Spire Daredevil Run - Through the Meteor Storm

Purple coin comets appear after completing "The Fate of the Universe." They become available in one of the 15 main courses once stars 1 and 2 have been collected in that galaxy.

Luigi Stars

There are three Luigi stars:

1. Good Egg Galaxy - Luigi on the Roof
2. Battlerock Galaxy -
3. Honeyhive Galaxy - Luigi in the Honeyhive Kingdom

They must be completed in this order, and with gaps of at least five non-Luigi stars in between each. The first Luigi mission is unlocked upon completing Ghostly Galaxy's "Luigi and the Haunted Mansion."

Levels

Levels are listed in the same order as on the star list/coin records screen.

Good Egg Galaxy

• Location: Terrace
• Entry requirement: 1 star

1. Dino Piranha: Skip the Luma near the start by long jumping as you reach the top of the castle wall. This only saves around a second, though.
2. A Snack of Cosmic Proportions (100 star bits): Use a triple jump to skip the blue Luma/pull stars. Video Also can be done using a Homing Jump Boost, which is easier. Video Instead of collecting the pull star bits on the last platform, just long jump into the center to collect the star.
3. King Kaliente's Battle Fleet: Get on the roof early.
4.  : A good time is ~2'30" left on the timer.
6. Luigi on the Roof: Get on the roof early. The fastest star in the game.

Honeyhive Galaxy

• Location: Terrace
• Entry requirement: 3 stars

1. Bee Mario Takes Flight: Skip almost the entire level (probably impractical for SS) Shortcut to the slide portion
2. Trouble on the Tower: Get atop the tower without turning on the windmill. Video. Trouble on the Tower: Skip having to climb the windmill by falling straight onto the top of it. 1:54 in this video.
3. Big Bad Bugaboom
4.  : Jump off the fence near the fountain to land on the lower ledge.
6. Luigi in the Honeyhive Kingdom (requires completing Battlerock Galaxy's "Luigi Under the Saucer"): Spin repeatedly up the yellow slope, then use a triple jump + wall kick + spin to reach the upper ledge.

Space Junk Galaxy

• Location: Fountain
• Entry requirement: 9 stars

1. Pull Star Path: During the asteroid part, you can go over an asteroid by grabbing the 2nd, 4th and 6th pull star. Youtube link
2. Kamella's Airship Attack
3. Tarantox's Tangled Web
4.  : Silver Stars route
5. 1'16" left on timer
6. Yoshi's Unexpected Appearance (50 star bits):

Battlerock Galaxy

• Location: Fountain
• Entry requirement: 12 stars

1. Battlerock Barrage
2. Breaking into Battlerock: Inside the battlerock, destroy the ice and enter the star launcher in one shot (Video?)
3. Topmaniac and the Topman Tribe: Shortcut in the pipe section
6. Battlerock's Garbage Dump (30 star bits):
7. (requires completing Ghostly Galaxy's "Luigi and the Haunted Mansion")

Beach Bowl Galaxy

• Location: Kitchen
• Entry requirement: 16 stars

1. Sunken Treasure: Triple jump + spin onto the top of the palm tree to skip collecting the star launcher pieces. Use another triple jump + wall kick + spin to land on the upper ledge. Video
2. Passing the Swim Test
3. The Secret Undersea Cavern Shortcuts on the Cyclone Stone to skip most of it
4.  : Shortcuts on the Cyclone Stone to skip most of it
6. Wall Jumping up Waterfalls

Ghostly Galaxy

• Location: Kitchen
• Entry requirement: 20 stars

1. Luigi and the Haunted Mansion: The rainbow star (from the rock spire on the starting platform) should last long enough to defeat the Boos in the mansion (to obtain the key without turning on the lights.)
2. A Very Spooky Sprint 37:xx
3. Beware of Bouldergeist: In the sling pod area, use a triple jump to reach a higher ledge early. Triple jump shortcut Video Skip collecting star chips on the second wall. Video See MOKURENN's Part 44 for boss strategies.
4.  : See MOKURENN's Part 44
5.  : See MOKURENN's Part 43
6. Matter Splatter Mansion: Skip the first key using the purple flame or backflip + wall kick + spin. Take a shortcut to the main vertical chamber by long jumping + spinning as soon as the second set of moving platforms has gone past the second ? block.

Gusty Garden Galaxy

• Location: Bedroom
• Entry requirement: 24 stars

1. Bunnies in the Wind
2. The Dirty Tricks of Major Burrows
3. Gusty Garden's Gravity Scramble: Use a long jump in the gravity scramble to skip two sets of gravity arrows. Video
6. The Golden Chomp

Freezeflame Galaxy

• Location: Bedroom
• Entry requirement: 26 stars

1. The Frozen Peak of Baron Brrr: Take the wall-jumping shortcut to the left in the first icy water section.
2. Freezeflame's Blistering Core: Shortcuts. One of them involves a deathwarp. Skip a HUGE portion of the level
3. Hot and Cold Collide - On the first platform, you can longjump straight behind you to reach the first launch star in about 5-10 seconds (not timed). Later, when you go for the fire flower, a backflip/wall jump can get you in and out, without running behind the cage and using the screw. 1'43"
4.  : Video
6. Conquering the Summit: Shortcut to sling star. Speedrun (1'41")

Dusty Dune Galaxy

• Location: Bedroom
• Entry requirement: 29 stars

1. Soaring on the Desert Winds
2. Blasting through the Sand: Reach the ground-pound switch early by long jumping from the top of the Thwomp. Video
3. Sunbaked Sand Castle
4.  : The Thwomp trick cannot be used in this version of the star.
6. Bullet Bill on Your Back
7. (20 star bits): Inside the pyramid, use backflips to get over the walls. See MOKURENN's Part 42.

Gold Leaf Galaxy

• Location: Engine Room
• Entry requirement: 34 stars

1. Star Bunnies on the Hunt: Use triple jump spin wall jump thing. Video
2. Cataquack to the Skies: Use triple jump spins instead of cataquacks. Video
3. When it Rains, it Pours: Wall jump shortcut plus tower climbing shortcut. Video
4. - Wall jump shortcut
6. Bell on the Big Tree

Sea Slide Galaxy

• Location: Engine Room
• Entry requirement: 36 stars

1. Going after Guppy
2. Faster than a Speeding Penguin 47:15
3. The Silver Stars of Sea Slide: Collect all silver stars without transforming into Bee Mario. Video
6. Hurry, He's Hungry (40 star bits):

Toy Time Galaxy

• Location: Engine Room
• Entry requirement: 40 stars

1. Heavy Metal Mecha-Bowser: Shortcut climbing the giant robot. Timesaver at the start Video Complete the level without Spring Mario with backflip/triple jump + wall jump + spin combos.
2. Mario Meets Mario
3. Bouncing Down Cake Lane: Reach the top of the mole cannon without spring mario with triple jump + wall jump + spin.
5.  : Route
6. The Flipswitch Chain (50 star bits):

Deep Dark Galaxy

• Location: Garden
• Entry requirement: 46 stars

1. The Underground Ghost Ship: Use the cannon to reach the ghost ship directly, skipping almost the entire level. Video
2. Bubble Blastoff: Use the cannon to reach the upper area directly. Speedrun (1'17")
3. Guppy and the Underground Lake
6. Boo in a Box

Dreadnought Galaxy

• Location: Garden
• Entry requirement: 49 stars

1. Infiltrating the Dreadnought - The final section can be cleared without filling the water. Use a backflip + spin + wall kick + spin on the pillar right before the star. Speedrun (2'16")
2. Dreadnought's Colossal Cannons: Skip over the first set of flipswitch panels by backflipping over the laser beams. In the "Colossal Cannons" section, use long jumps and hop on cannonballs to skip portions of the rides. Video 1 Video 2
3. Revenge of the Topman Tribe
6. Dreadnought's Garbage Dump

Melty Molten Galaxy

• Location: Garden
• Entry requirement: 52 stars

1. The Sinking Lava Spire: Volcano edge shortcut Lava spire shortcuts
2. Through the Meteor Storm: Bullet Bill shortcut. Skip the entire Thwomp Planet. Video
3. Fiery Dino Piranha: Skip the fire bubbles. (Requires at least 3 units of health.) Video
4.  : Speedrun (2'14")
6. Burning Tide (80 star bits):

Gateway Galaxy

• Location: Gate
• Entry requirement: 0 stars to enter initially; Engine Room unlocked (34+ stars) to return

1. Grand Star Rescue: Shoot the Luma bunnies with star bits on the home planet. Skip the Luma text in the Grand Star's chamber by jumping immediately after landing.

Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor

• Location: Terrace
• Entry requirement: 8 stars

1. Megaleg's Moon: Backflip over the fence on Megaleg's head and lure a Bullet Bill directly to the Grand Star to skip a hit.

Bowser's Star Reactor

• Location: Fountain
• Entry requirement: 15 stars

1. The Fiery Stronghold: On the crumbling staircase, use a long jump to reach Bowser directly.

Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada

• Location: Kitchen
• Entry requirement: 23 stars

1. Sinking the Airships: Skip almost the entire level with the first cannon. Video

Bowser's Dark Matter Plant

• Location: Bedroom
• Entry requirement: 33 stars

1. Darkness on the Horizon: Some shortcuts can be taken on the section with the gravity arrows and moving platforms. See Paraxade's Video ( 4:45-5:16) Also, in the last part of the level with the frozen Lumas and green/white checkerboard paths, use triple jumps + spins and long jumps to avoid saving the Lumas.

Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor

• Location: Engine Room
• Entry requirement: 45 stars

1. King Kaliente's Spicy Return: When you reach the two mini-Kalientes, get in between them and spin attack to hit both coconuts at once.

Bowser's Galaxy Reactor

• Location: Comet Observatory - Talk to Rosetta
• Entry requirement: 60 stars + "Darkness on the Horizon" cleared

1. The Fate of the Universe: In Section 2 (with the moving platforms over lava), long jump in the opposite direction and get burnt once to reach the warp point immediately.

Loopdeeloop Galaxy

• Location: Terrace
• Entry requirement: 5 stars

1. Surfing 101 55:61

Flipswitch Galaxy

• Location: Terrace
• Entry requirement: Complete Honeyhive Galaxy #2 - "Trouble on the Tower"

1. Painting the Planet Yellow: The fastest route is to color the right face, long jump to the left face, then ride the moving spike platform to the top face.

Rolling Green Galaxy

• Location: Fountain
• Entry requirement: 11 stars

1. Rolling in the Clouds: When given a choice of paths, take the right one instead of the left.

Hurry-Scurry Galaxy

• Location: Fountain
• Entry requirement: 18 stars

1. Shrinking Satellite

Bubble Breeze Galaxy

• Location: Kitchen
• Entry requirement: 19 stars

1. Through the Poison Swamp: Skip almost all of the second half of the level. Video

Sweet Sweet Galaxy

• Location: Comet Observatory - Hungry Luma outside Terrace
• Entry requirement: Complete Honeyhive Galaxy #3 - "Big Bad Bugaboom" + 400 star bits

1. Rocky Road

Sling Pod Galaxy

• Location: Comet Observatory - Hungry Luma outside Fountain
• Entry requirement: Complete Space Junk Galaxy #3 - "Tarantox's Tangled Web" + 400 star bits

1. A Very Sticky Situation

Buoy Base Galaxy

• Location: Kitchen
• Entry requirement: 30 stars

1. The Floating Fortress

Drip Drop Galaxy

• Location: Comet Observatory - Hungry Luma outside Kitchen
• Entry requirement: Complete Beach Bowl Galaxy #1 - "Sunken Treasure" + 600 star bits

1. Giant Eel Outbreak

Boo's Boneyard Galaxy

• Location: Comet Observatory - Hungry Luma outside Gateway
• Entry requirement: Complete Gateway Galaxy - "Gateway's Purple Coins" + 1200 star bits

1. Racing the Spooky Speedster 33:xx

Honeyclimb Galaxy

• Location: Bedroom
• Entry requirement: 35 stars

1. Scaling the Sticky Wall: See MOKURENN's Part ??

Snow Cap Galaxy

• Location: Comet Observatory - Hungry Luma outside Garden
• Entry requirement: Complete Melty Molten Galaxy #1 - "The Sinking Lava Spire" + 1600 star bits

1. Star Bunnies in the Snow: Rabbit locations: snowman (activate 5 flipswitch panels to unlock fire flower), chest (destroy snowman for a green shell), burrow near plant outside Fire Flower alcove (blow away snow to uncover)

Bonefin Galaxy

• Location: Engine Room
• Entry requirement: 55 stars + Complete Drip Drop Galaxy - "Giant Eel Outbreak"

1. Kingfin's Fearsome Waters

Sand Spiral Galaxy

• Location: Comet Observatory - Hungry Luma outside Engine Room
• Entry requirement: Complete Sea Slide Galaxy #2 - "Faster than a Speeding Penguin" + 1000 star bits

1. Choosing a Favorite Snack: Choose the Boo Suit: it is quicker than the Bee Suit. Also, you can Long Jump with Rainbow Mario from platform to platform.

Matter Splatter Galaxy

• Location: Garden
• Entry requirement: 50 stars

1. Watch Your Step: See MOKURENN's Part ??

Bigmouth Galaxy

• Location: Comet Observatory - Hungry Luma outside Bedroom
• Entry requirement: Complete Dusty Dune Galaxy #1 - "Soaring the Desert Winds" + 800 star bits

1. Bigmouth's Gold Bait: To access the higher body of water (with the gold shell) early, swim to the surface of the lower body, then use a spin to leap out of the water + wall kick. This skips collecting the star chips on the ocean floor.

Rolling Gizmo Galaxy

• Location: Planet of Trials
• Entry requirement: 3 green stars (Battlerock #7, Buoy Base #2, Dusty Dune #7)

1. Gizmos, Gears, and Gadgets: In the starting section, you can skip breaking the blocks by rolling on the edge.

Loopdeeswoop Galaxy

• Location: Planet of Trials
• Entry requirement: 3 green stars (Battlerock #7, Buoy Base #2, Dusty Dune #7)

1. The Galaxy's Greatest Wave: 48"21 We can skip the loop-de-loop by jumping right before it starts.

Bubble Blast Galaxy

• Location: Planet of Trials
• Entry requirement: 3 green stars (Battlerock #7, Buoy Base #2, Dusty Dune #7)

1. The Electric Labyrinth: Skip a pipe.

Grand Finale Galaxy

• Location: Planet of Trials
• Entry requirement: 120 stars with Luigi (240 stars total)

1. The Star Festival: You can skip talking with the leader of the toad brigade by approaching the gate a bit from the right and long jumping past him.

See Also

• Star Times - Speediest times for individual star missions.