Back Into Shifting Sand Land Galaxy

One more shine sprite and one more Comet Coin left in Shifting Sand Land Galaxy, so I jump back into the painting and it is time for The Gravity Scramble.

Before I can properly start though, I need to collect five launch star pieces.

Two of them require the Fire Flower, as the only way to grab them is by lighting torches.

In my head, the plan was simple enough: grab both before the fire power ran out.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

So after wasting the first Fire Flower, I had to go back and grab another one before collecting the remaining launch star pieces.

After that little mess up, I get launched over towards a pipe, but before going in, there’s still one final Comet Coin sitting on top of a tree.

So I grab that first.

Shifting Sand Land Galaxy complete. At least I think it is. There could still be a hidden shine somewhere for all I know.

The Gravity Scramble

This is where the shine sprite name starts making sense.

Gravity changes depending on the direction of the arrows, which shift whenever Mario goes up or down slopes.

If I had really committed to the experience, I probably could have rotated the Steam Deck around to match the gravity direction.

I decided against that.

Mainly because things were already awkward enough.

During practice runs, Mario had developed a habit of landing directly on spikes.

Didn’t really matter where they were either.

He kept finding them.

You could argue that was user error.

I’m not entirely convinced.

Upside Down

The worst part comes once gravity flips upside down.

I have to jump between disappearing platforms while avoiding spikes below me.

The platforms follow a rhythm, but that didn’t stop Mario repeatedly finding ways to miss them and land directly on the spikes anyway.

Thankfully, this attempt goes a lot better than the practice runs and I eventually make it through to the next pipe.

The Final Stretch

The final area changes things again.

This time gravity is controlled by octagonal platforms. Depending on which way Mario is facing, gravity changes with him.

The final challenge involves long jumping between three octagons while spikes cover both the floor and ceiling.

I’m sure you can guess what happened here.

Mario and gravity had another disagreement.

The spikes won multiple times.

I do lose a life here, but my next attempt goes much smoother than all the practice runs, so I decide to take the win while I have it.

The shine sprite is mine.

Shifting Sand Land Galaxy complete.

What Comes Next?

Still no sign of any prankster comets.

I honestly don’t know if they exist in this hack or not.

But considering how much Mario has already been struggling with gravity, I’m hoping this shine sprite doesn’t end up getting one later.

I’ve had enough problems with spikes for now.

The Run

This is how it actually went.

Continue the Journey

← Entry 3: Into the Pyramid

Super Mario Galaxy 63 Hub

— All entries in this run.

Super Mario ROM Hacks Archive

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Dolphin Setup Guide

— How this run is even possible.

Entry 5 → Coming Soon