Super Mario Galaxy 2 Hands-On

Meanwhile, the Spin Dig Galaxy introduces a brand new drill tool. With this, you can burrow through dirt from one side of a planetoid to the other. Initially, it’s used for puzzle solving, Mario drilling to the top of otherwise unreachable towers, before Nintendo puts it to a sterner test in another boss fight. This time you’re facing Digga-Leg, cousin of the first game’s Megaleg. Circling a tiny planet, the robot propels shark-like drill creatures from one side to the other, as Mario attempts to bore through the Oreo-cookie mud to smash Digga-Leg’s glass underside containing the star. Getting the timing just right is quite a fine art, especially once the boss starts regularly flipping over to protect his weakened underneath.

Chasing the dragon. Or being chased by it, anyway.

Two more encounters also impress: the enormous Gobbleguts is a serpentine creation with a head like Bowser and an appetite to match, munching through another small planet with a tiny window of opportunity to bash his bloated belly rings as he literally gets stuck in. The lack of space is a common denominator in these scraps – where Galaxy gave players room to manoeuvre, here things are more cramped, more intense. Finally, Bowser Jr’s Mega Malletoid sees Bowser’s precocious offspring piloting a gargantuan robot which fires large and small missiles at Mario. Though this time, our rotund hero is not alone, with a certain greedy green friend ready to gobble up Bullet Bills and spit them back at Malletoid’s weak points.

Yoshi’s return is one of Galaxy 2’s most significant new features, and it’s aboard Mario’s trusty steed that levels take more of a departure from the usual template. Tall Trunk Galaxy holds a vertical trail of blimp fruit, with Mario holding onto an inflated Yoshi, as he ascends the tree in question. Later, a side-scrolling section uses the remote pointer as Yoshi’s tongue, as he eats spiked plants in mid-air to open a path to the exit. Hightail Falls Galaxy, meanwhile, sees Yoshi sprint up vertiginously steep ramps after gobbling a spicy red pepper. Fail to reach the top before its fiery power has run dry and you’ll slip down, often plummeting into a black hole.

Once again, Yoshi does all the legwork while Mario claims the rewards.

It’s just three short months until the world is given the keys to Nintendo’s newest toybox. On this early evidence, even if the packaging remains broadly similar, the contents will be just as endlessly surprising and joyous as they were last time.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is out on 23rd May in North America and 11th June in Europe. Australian and Japanese release dates haven’t been pinned down just yet. Why not check out Chris Schilling’s blog while you’re waiting?