I remember whenever I’d get a frog or Tanooki suit from a yellow mushroom house in Super Mario Bros. 3, I’d hoard it in my inventory and never use it. I never thought I’d find another one, and all it took was one hit from a hammer brother and the suit was history. Before I knew it though, I’d be in a world with no water. I’d panic, activate the frog suit where I shouldn’t have, and then I’d be stuck hopping around on land like an idiot.
From the looks of Super Mario Galaxy that process is set to repeat itself. One of the few hands-on previews I read this morning of Galaxy shows that a new suit, the Bee Suit, will be featured in the game.
We spent a few minutes in the Honeybee Galaxy and got a first look at a new super power-up: the bee suit. In this level Mario has been summoned by the queen bee of the land, but of course she’s all the way across a crevice and beyond a mountain. What’s a plumber to do? Grab hold of the new bee power-up to grant Mario insect wings that are perfect for flying with a tap of the A button. Once in the air, Mario picks up a “fly” meter that depletes with each wing stroke. Once that meter runs out, he falls back to the ground. Other bee-tastic abilities include the talent of walking on large flowers (stepping on these platforms as regular Mario causes them to collapse) and the skill of climbing up honeycombs.
The preview was very positive overall, and said that the game doesn’t really rely on any waggling or swishing or anything; just some fun 3-D Mario action. AMN calls it yet another “Mario masterpiece.”