History Videogame / SuperMarioGalaxy

* VoiceGrunting: In place of the full voice acting from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine''.

* BubbleGun: The Water Shooter obstacles create powerful water bubbles that can trap the player in a bubble and carry them in the bubble's trajectory if the player doesn't Spin to break out. Most of the time, the bubbles are a nuisance if not outright hazardous, but the second mission of Deep Dark Galaxy requires you to ride said bubbles to go to further planets.

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: A subtle example, but the first Prankster Comet will always appear immediately after Mario collects his thirteenth Power Star, no matter what order the levels are played in. The effects of these comets on the galaxies range from merely unusual (such as making Purple Coins appear, initiating a challenge with Cosmic Mario), going through potentially dangerous (making enemies and hazards move faster, dying if a Power Star isn't collected under a time limit) to genuinely lethal (dying upon the first hit from an enemy). In fact, that last effect is the most common.

* WintryAuroralSky: The entire Freezeflame Galaxy is surrounded by a massive green aurora which can not only be seen from the icy planet, but even from the fiery ones.

* ThirteenIsUnlucky: A subtle example, but the first Prankster Comet will always appear immediately after Mario collects his thirteenth Power Star, no matter what order the levels are played in.

** There are 1-up Mushrooms scattered around the observatory, and more will appear when you unlock new domes, up to a total of 5. They will even respawn if you enter and exit a dome. Combined with an additional five 1-ups you receive from Peach's letter (or in Luigi's case, ''[[UpToEleven 20]]''), you should be really well prepared to face the toughest challenges ahead without worrying about a Game Over so much.

** This game introduces the Bomb Boos, explosive shadowy Boos that you swing by their tongues into obstacles. They explode on impact, but also have a timer to prevent players from holding onto them forever.

* PortalEndpointResemblance: Most galaxy domes in Rosalina's observatory avert the trope, as they're based on the specific areas of what was originally her house (a bathroom, a kitchen, a bedoom, etc.), instead of the galaxies you can access from them. However the Engine Room plays it straight, because many active mechanisms and gizmos can be seen in it, with a Gearmo maintaining it, and one of the galaxies you can be launched onto from it is the mechanical ToyTime Galaxy (it being inhabited by multiple Gearmos also helps).

* CerebusSyndrome: For all its cheerful charm, the game includes some melancholy elements. This includes Rosalina's TearJerker storybook, as well as the ending, where [[spoiler:the entire universe is nearly destroyed due to a ''massive'' black hole and all of the Lumas throw themselves into the black hole to neutralize it and save the universe]].

* HardModeFiller: Most of the Prankster Comets in the game just make a previous mission harder for a new Star. Speedy Comets give you a time limit and take away checkpoints, Fast Foe Comets make hazards move faster (thankfully you're usually only forced to redo a ''segment'' of a mission), and Daredevil Comets make you redo a boss, or even a whole mission, with one hit point (turning Bouldergeist from a relatively easy foe to ThatOneBoss). However, the Cosmic Comets (a race against a shadowy doppelganger) and Purple Comets (a coin hunt) are unique.

* NoDamageRun: [[invoked]] The daredevil comets force you to complete a challenge without taking any damage. Usually it's redoing a boss fight, but one of the more sadistic ones-- "Lava Spire Daredevil Run" in Melty Molten Galaxy-- forces you to replay an ENTIRE LEVEL like this, namely, the "The Sinking Lava Spire" mission (this is probably because a daredevil run against [[ThatOneBoss Fiery Dino Piranha]] would be [[NintendoHard even more sadistic]] than that). There's also the second segment of "Scaling the Sticky Wall" in Honeyclimb Galaxy, when meteors can, in a single hit, rob you of your bee suit and send you falling to your death by black hole.

* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Dino Piranha is the first boss of the game and a pretty easy one at that. The [[IncendiaryExponent fiery version]] is ThatOneBoss for many, using the same attacks as the first one, as well as using its [[PlayingWithFire fire powers]] [[TakingALevelInBadass offensively and defensively]].

* TogglingSetpiecePuzzle: There are levels where Mario (and later Luigi) can find green arrows that point at the current direction of gravity. When one of these arrows is hit with a spin attack, they turn red and lean 90 or 180 degrees (depending on the case) to a new direction, shifting the gravity at it. In the case of Gusty Garden Galaxy, this is best illustrated by the color and brightness of the gizmos with toggleable gravity: When a planetoid is being pointed at by a green arrow, its biggest tiles are colored yellow with big red exclamation mark; when the arrow is hit and becomes red, those tiles turn off and become deep-green with clear-green ''question'' marks, indicating that their gravity has been turned off (Mario and Luigi then fall onto a previously-weightless planetoid that is now turned on, pointed at by the hit arrow). Using these arrows is important to make way into one of the level's stars.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: [[SaveThePrincess Princess Peach is saved]] and Bowser's plans are thwarted, but [[HeroicSacrifice the Lumas end up sacrificing themselves]] to stop [[ApocalypseHow the universe from being sucked into a black hole]], resulting in the destruction of Mario's galaxy. However, the cycle of life begins anew, with a brand new galaxy filled with all of Mario's new friends taking its place.]]
** The storybook also ends this way. [[spoiler: Rosalina's mother is "[[NeverSayDie sleeping under a tree]]" and she‘ll likely never see her father and brother again. Likewise, the Luma she was traveling never found his own mother. However, they decide to create a new family together, with Rosalina becoming the "mama" of a large group of Lumas and devoting herself to protecting the cosmos, while the Luma is reborn as a comet that powers the Comet Observatory.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Princess Peach is saved and Bowser's plans are thwarted, but [[HeroicSacrifice the Lumas end up sacrificing themselves]] to stop [[ApocalypseHow the universe from being sucked into a black hole]], resulting in the destruction of Mario's galaxy. However, the cycle of life begins anew, with a brand new galaxy filled with all of Mario's new friends taking its place.]]
** The storybook also ends this way. [[spoiler: Rosalina's mother is "[[NeverSayDie sleeping under a tree]]" and she‘ll likely never see her father and brother again. Likewise, the Luma she was traveling never found her mother. However, they decide to create a new family together, with Rosalina becoming the "mama" of a large group of Lumas and devoting herself to protecting the cosmos, while the Luma is reborn as a comet that powers the Comet Observatory.]]

-->'''Bowser:''' [[EvilLaugh BWAHAHAHA!]] Not bad! I guess I chose the right guy to be my [[ArchEnemy archenemy]].

* BigBad: [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosBowser King Bowser]] has become a GalacticConqueror with the power of the Grand Stars, and kidnaps Peach with the intent to have her become his bride as he makes himself king of the universe.

* BigBad: [[Characters/SuperMarioBrosBowser Take a wild guess]].

** Honeyhive Galaxy plays this straight since it is the traditional Mario grass area. The presence of trees, bugs, and a lot of honeybees combine it with LostWoods and HornetHole.

* LostWoods: Honeyhive and Gold Leaf, which are a bit more whimsical than your standard Lost Woods, but they do have giant bugs, lots of bees (including a power-up), and in Gold Leaf, rabbits. Enemies that are standard fare for these worlds appear too, like Wigglers and Monty Moles.

* TookALevelInBadass: Bowser. In previous titles, his goals are to kidnap Peach and [[TakeOverTheWorld take over the Mushroom Kingdom (or the world)]]. In ''Galaxy'', capturing Peach seems to just be a bonus for him; his real goal is ''[[GalacticConqueror the conquest of the entire universe.]]''