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Super Mario Galaxy Star Guide

Part 2: Reach for the stars.

Freezeflame Galaxy

Star #1
The Frozen Peak Of Baron Brr
What is it with Mario and catching small animals? Whatever the reason for his sinister fetish, you're chasing wildlife again - a penguin this time. Skate after him by swishing the Wiimote from side to side and you should nab him easily. Your reward is a launch star to the level proper.

Read the sign. Water cold. Hurt bad. Got that? It won't damage you instantly, but landing in the water and not jumping out again is a good way to lose health. Head over to the question coin and you'll get the ice flower. Remember, Ice Mario doesn't stay cold for long, so just like Wall Kicking Up Waterfalls, you need to move fast. Once you're iced up, you need to climb up and leap across those spurting valves up above. Get to the next plateau and you can take a breather. Ready to do it again? Use those shunting Thwomps to jump to the next level, then make your way across the floating platforms. Grab the ice flower and quickly get across to the back wall, over the backwards-and-forwards Thwomp, onto a launch star and onto two more leaky valves to reach the final area.

So this is Baron Brr. He lobs ice boulders at you, but is generally not a threat at long distance. Follow the platforms around to the left, and into the cave for an ice flower (you can go the other way for some coins, if you like). Once iced up, scoot round to the front and wall kick up to the Baron. He'll hit the ground, so jump over his shockwave (it won't hurt you, but can knock you off the edge) and spin into him while you're still Ice Mario. He'll shrink, so spin him again. Then jump down, get another ice flower and repeat. You need to follow this pattern three times (why is it always three?) and the star be yours.

Star #2
Freezeflame's Blistering Core
Out of the freezer and into the...fire? Well, why not? Free the launch star pieces from the crystals and swoosh into the inferno. When you land, ignore the fuzzball enemies for now - they're slow and rubbish anyway - and make for the right hand pathway. Clamber up the pole and follow the platforms until you see the question coin. This gets you another new (old) ability - Fire Mario. Frazzle those fuzzballs and use your flames to light the torch at the bottom. This is pretty much all you need to know to finish this level - get Fire Mario, light torches to open new areas. The last room can be tricky, as you need to use the floating platform to get close enough to the final pair of torches, but you can do it. You're special.

Star #3
Hot And Cold Collide
Much like Derek Smalls, you now find yourself somewhere between fire and ice. Make your way around the hot-cold donut to the final crystal, wherein lurks a launch star. Blast off and you've now got two rooms to navigate - a cold one and a hot one. The level of the icy water and lava goes up and down, so check the colour of the ground to see where the tide will stop. You need to spin the valve to open the door out of the ice room, run around into the fire room, spin the valve to open the next door, which then gives you the fire flower. Quickly run back into the ice room, to where you started, and light the two torches. Use the new launch star to zip over to the final stage. Here you need to use the Ice Mario power to walk across the lava platforms. It's easier than it looks, provided you don't get caught out when the power expires. Just peg it down the walkways, and grab the star at the end.

BONUS: Conquering The Summit
This one is fairly easy to explain, though it can be an epic trial to actually complete. You need to go back to the lake from the Baron Brr level, only this time when you get the ice flower you're going to continue across to the leaky valves with a 1Up on top. You'll need to triple jump up them to reach the ledge, and then launch yourself to the mountain. Use Fire Mario to melt the snowmen and kill the ice bats, watch out for the shunting Thwomps and rolling boulders, and just keep making your way round and up. Some of the timing required can be tricky, and there are several nasty leaps onto thin platforms, but once you reach the three-high Thwomps you're nearly at the end. Wait for them to retract and quickly wall kick up to the top for the star.