Super Mario Galaxy 2: Tips and Tricks

A guide by Harry

How to unlock World S:

Beat the game by defeating Bowser at the end of World 6. After watching the credits you will be able to access World S.

How to unlock Green Prankster Comets:

Once you have got 120 stars (every star in every level), go back to World 6 and defeat Bowser again. You will receive a new ending and the Green stars will begin to appear in each level throughout the game.

How to unlock the Grandmaster Galaxy:

The Grandmaster Galaxy contains the two final stars in the game: 241 and 242. To access it you need to have collected ALL 240 previous stars AND have 9999 star bits in the bank. If you need help collecting star bits please see below.

How to get easy star bits:

Go to the Melty Monster Galaxy and choose the second star. Collect the rock mushroom and go off the ramp into the launch star (while grabbing some of Star Bitsthe star bits). Hit the checkpoint in the next area and prepare to repeat from here. Knock down the bridge, and roll along the path to the star, collecting as many star bits as you can along the way.
When you reach the end, kill yourself to return to the checkpoint. When you have 999 star bits you need to leave to be able to get more. This is considered the best method because it is quick and sustainable (you should get over 100 star bits AND a 1-up mushroom each time).

How to get easy lives:

Go to the very first Galaxy in the game and make your way to the yellow platforms which raise and then dissapear. Hit the checkpoint and prepare to repeat from here. Grab the first 1-up mushroom suspended above a pair of the yellow platforms. Then pick up the big question mark coin and run along the path of musical notes.
When you reach the end you will recieve three 1-up mushrooms. Finally, activate the portal to the bonus area and quickly kill the 8 enemies to get the 1-up Mushroomfinal 3 mushrooms. Kill yourself and repeat.

How to save lives when you exit the game:

If you only have 1 save you will need to create a new one for this. When you have finished playing, save and quit to the title screen. Then, load up the other save file and talk to the mail toad.
He will give you a mysterious letter with all of the lives you had before. Finally, save and quit to the title screen again. The next time you play the game you will receive another mysterious letter from the toad with all the lives.

How to perform the 'infinite flutter jump':

This move, when perfected, can allow you to explore off-limits areas. Jump and hold A to "flutter". As Yoshi flutters, TAP Z while still holding A and then Yoshi and Mariorelease A quickly. Press A again to flutter jump again in MID AIR. The goal is to get Mario to duck, NOT dismount, then quickly flutter again. Try to catch Yoshi at the height of each flutter to perform this maneuver.

How to perform a 'super ground pound':

In mid-air, spin and then press Z to activate the super ground pound. This attack will home in on enemies, NPCs, switches and even power stars. Remember this when you have to fall onto some of the harder (green) stars.

How to change the banktoad's outfit:

The outfit changes depending on how many Star Bits you have in the bank.

How to die in the credits:

Grab a Bee Mushroom as the credits roll and wait for the Shiverburn/Snow covered area. As the page turns, fly toward the screen before you land in the snow or even come in view. You should fall to your death.
The screen will be black, and you'll hear sound effects from the credits. At the end, it will say "THE END" with "TOO BAD" in the background.