Today Nintendo announced July 1 as the Australian release date for its upcoming Super Mario Galaxy 2 (SMG2) title.

SMG 2 is the highly anticipated sequel to Super Mario Galaxy (SMG), which was released in 27 November 2007 and is still in the Nintendo Wii top ten highest selling games. SMG2 is toted as an improvement on the first game, with new power-ups such as a drill to tunnel through surfaces and a new Boulder “bowling ball” suit to punch and smash through obstacles and enemies alike.

Yoshi will make an appearance as a playable character on some levels of the game, with power-ups such as eating items like a ‘Dash Pepper’ that will get him running up vertical walls, and the ‘Blimp Fruit’ which willl transform him into an air flotation device.

In a recent interview with Game Informer, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto explained the new functionality of the pointer combined with the ridable Yoshi.

“More exactly, aiming the pointer at specific enemies makes Yoshi swallow that enemy. We used to have the gem-capture functionality, and that helped decide where Mario was going to move ahead. With Super Mario Galaxy 2, you can actually identify and point at things that Yoshi can grab with his tongue and then grab that point in order to reach additional points,” he said.

Advanced players will be able to collect Comet Metals that unlock harder levels and new challenges. The game is said to be more challenging than the original, which will explain why the purchase will include a “Super Guide” — a DVD of hints and tips for beginner and expert Mario Galaxy players alike.

As of April 2010 there was a 1.79 million Nintendo Wii install base in Australia — a hefty increase to the 500,00 units sold as at July 2008.

Image credit: Delimiter screenshot of Nintento promotional trailer

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1. Robotic Buttocks
   Posted 17/05/2010 at 3:35 pm | Permalink | Reply

   Sweeet. Finally some Yoshi action. I think I’ve still got a lot to finish on the first one.

   • Renai LeMay
     Posted 18/05/2010 at 1:24 pm | Permalink | Reply

     Yoshi sux. I really didn’t enjoy the bits with Yoshi in Super Mario World on SNES — or even the new Mario on Wii. He’s a gimmick which takes Mario away from its core platforming goodness and back to the prehistoric dinosaur age :)

2. Myke
   Posted 17/05/2010 at 4:26 pm | Permalink | Reply

   Excellent, though I’m more interested in the extra levels than any improvement to the game play – the original is pretty swish.

   • Renai LeMay
     Posted 18/05/2010 at 1:24 pm | Permalink | Reply

     +1. I’m really not that keen on all the suits and so on — you didn’t need 50 suits to enjoy Super Mario World or Mario Bros 3. But the innovative level design is fantastic, more please.