Granted I have only 6 stars, but I'm already seeing that Galaxy will not dethrone SM64DS as my favorite 3D Mario if the trends I see now continue. Music is beautiful, stages are ingenious, but as soon as I get to my first run as Bee Mario, I realize the power-up system is as moronic as Sunshine's.
There's no reason for this, since Nintendo grasps it in 2D, but not in 3D: YOU SHOULD NOT LOSE OTHERWISE PERMANENT POWER-UPS BETWEEN STAGES. Nor should you lose ANYTHING from contact with water in a series that throughout its entirety allowed chucking fireballs while submerged. If Yoshi pulls his Sunshine disappearing act in Galaxy 2, rest assured I will give Miyamoto a boot to the head myself.
Fortunately the game beats the hell out of Sunshine in every other way. Still, it'll blow if this lagging flaw continues in Galaxy 2.
Also on DeviantArt, Rumble, DLive.tv, and the Fediverse (@freespeechextremist.com and @bae.st)