Grand Star

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This article is about the giant Power Stars in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. For the giant star that appears at the end of Super Mario 64, see Jumbo Star. For Rosalina's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, see Grand Star (move).
Grand Star
A Grand Star from Mario Kart Tour
Artwork of a Grand Star from Mario Kart Tour
First appearance Super Mario Galaxy (2007)
Latest appearance Super Mario 3D All-Stars (2020)
“Oh, thank you for saving the Grand Star. These star people are my family... They mean so much to me.”
Rosalina, Super Mario Galaxy

Grand Stars are large and powerful Power Stars sometimes appearing in the Super Mario franchise. In Super Mario Galaxy, their first appearance, Grand Stars are used to provide power to the six domes onboard the Comet Observatory, thereby allowing the player to reach more galaxies as the events of the game progress. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Grand Stars still allow the player to reach more and more galaxies, but they now provide direct access to the next World via their transformation into a Portal instead.

Rosalina emblem from Mario Kart 8
Rosalina's emblem

Rosalina has a Grand Star as her emblem throughout many of her other appearances, including Super Mario 3D World and various spinoff games of the Super Mario franchise, including the Mario Tennis series, the Mario Kart series, and the Mario Party series. In Super Mario 3D World, her emblem can be seen whenever she grabs a Goal Pole or touches a Checkpoint Flag, and on Rosalina's Character Switch. In Mini Mario & Friends: amiibo Challenge, the Grand Star is similarly used to signify Mini Rosalina's levels.

History[edit]

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario Galaxy[edit]

You want this Grand Star so bad? You're gonna have to take it from me!”
Bowser Jr., Super Mario Galaxy
Grand Star in the Gateway Galaxy
Mario holding the first Grand Star in the game

Super Mario Galaxy is the first game in which Grand Stars appear. All of them are stolen by Bowser to be used for his own evil ambitions. As Mario recovers them, he gradually gains access to different parts of Rosalina's Comet Observatory due to the Grand Stars being the power source of the Comet Observatory's Beacon, which in turn sustains all life onboard the observatory. As each Grand Star is found, a path to the next dome is created. Counting the Grand Star obtained from clearing Bowser's Galaxy Reactor, it is only required to obtain 6 of the 7 Grand Stars to complete the game. It is possible to completely skip the Grand Star from the Engine Room, as Bowser's Galaxy Reactor can be unlocked as soon as the previous dome is cleared, provided the player has 60 Power Stars.

The following Grand Stars can be obtained in the following galaxies by completing the following missions (listed in parentheses). For the first six, they unlock the following areas of the Comet Observatory:

  1. Gateway Galaxy (Grand Star Rescue): Gate
  2. Bowser Jr.'s Robot Reactor (Megaleg's Moon): Terrace
  3. Bowser's Star Reactor (The Fiery Stronghold): Fountain
  4. Bowser Jr.'s Airship Armada (Sinking the Airships): Kitchen
  5. Bowser's Dark Matter Plant (Darkness on the Horizon): Bedroom
  6. Bowser Jr.'s Lava Reactor (King Kaliente's Spicy Return): Engine Room
  7. Bowser's Galaxy Reactor (The Fate of the Universe)

Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]

“My dad's gonna get angry if I let you get another Grand Star... Time to break out my Boomsday Machine!”
Bowser Jr., Super Mario Galaxy 2
A Portal created by a Grand Star in World 3 in Super Mario Galaxy 2

Grand Stars make another appearance in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the 2010 sequel to Super Mario Galaxy. In this game, the Grand Stars are once again under the control of Bowser and Bowser Jr. This time around, Grand Stars restore power to Starship Mario, and also create the Portals leading from one World to the next. In addition to this, the Grand Stars in this game are apparently responsible for Bowser's enormous size, as he has eaten them to make himself considerably larger. After Mario defeats one of Bowser Jr.'s machines or henchmen, it will explode and release a Grand Star. After Mario defeats Bowser, he will cough up a Grand Star and shrink to his normal size. During the final battle in Bowser's Galaxy Generator, he is actually able to swallow the Grand Star again, making himself a great deal larger than he had been and leading to the final segment of the battle. Interestingly, the Grand Stars seem to have a side effect when misused, one that causes Bowser to become extremely tiny after the final battle, as seen in the end credits of the game. Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla is the only galaxy in the game where, if Mario accepts the help of the Cosmic Spirit, the Grand Star will turn into a Bronze Grand Star.

The following Grand Stars can be obtained from the following galaxies by clearing the following missions (listed in parentheses):

  1. Bowser Jr.'s Fiery Flotilla (Gobblegut's Aching Belly)
  2. Bowser's Lava Lair (Bowser's Big Lava Power Party)
  3. Bowser Jr.'s Fearsome Fleet (Bowser Jr.'s Mighty Megahammer)
  4. Bowser's Gravity Gauntlet (Breaking into Bowser's Castle)
  5. Bowser Jr.'s Boom Bunker (Bowser Jr.'s Boomsday Machine)
  6. Bowser's Galaxy Generator (Bowser's Fortified Fortress)

Mario Kart series[edit]

While Grand Stars have not appeared physically in the Mario Kart series, they have been consistently used as Rosalina's emblem, and later, Baby Rosalina's as well. In the latter's case, the emblem features a Grand Star inside blue bonnet frills.

Mario Kart 8 / Mario Kart 8 Deluxe[edit]

In Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a floating Grand Star replaces the star icon that can be seen rotating on top of the tower in the city in N64 Rainbow Road.

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

Grand Stars appear in Mario Kart Tour as collectibles, earned by attaining a certain score after each race, completing tour challenges, Gold Pass challenges, daily challenges (prior to the Wedding Tour), and by using star tickets. Prior to the Baby Rosalina Tour, to unlock more cups and progress further through each tour, a certain number of Grand Stars was required. In every tour, each tour gift also requires a certain number of Grand Stars to open. From the Baby Rosalina Tour to the 2022 Anniversary Tour, Grand Stars also unlocked free pipe launches from the weekly spotlight pipes. When the player has opened every tour gift, any subsequent Grand Stars earned are converted to 100 coins each, and when a new tour begins, the total is reset to zero. Rosalina (Swimwear)'s teal swimdress is also decorated with Grand Stars.

Minecraft[edit]

In the Super Mario Mash-up in Minecraft, Nether Stars are replaced by Grand Stars.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Rosalina's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate utilizes a Grand Star in place of the Power Star from the previous installments.

Profiles[edit]

Mario Kart Tour[edit]

  • Mario Kart Tour Twitter: Collect Grand Stars by earning points in races or by testing your driving skills in challenges! The more Grand Stars you earn, the more Cups and Tour Gifts you unlock. Try to collect enough Grand Stars to unlock everything in a single tour![1]

Gallery[edit]

See also[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese グランドスター
Gurando sutā
Grand Star

Chinese (simplified) 崇高之星[2]
Chónggāo zhī Xīng
Star of Sublime

Chinese (traditional) 光榮之星
Guāngróng zhī Xīng
Star of Glory

Dutch Superster
Superstar
French Grande étoile
Big Star
German Großer Stern
Big Star
Italian Megastella
Megastar
Korean 그랜드스타
Geuraendeu Seuta
Grand Star

Portuguese Maxiestrela
Maxi star
Russian Великая звезда
Velikaya zvezda
Grand Star

Spanish Maxiestrella
Maxi star

Trivia[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ mariokarttourEN (October 4, 2019). X. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  2. ^ Super Mario Galaxy Nvidia Shield screenshot thread. X. Retrieved March 27, 2018.