Super Mario Galaxy is more similar to Super Mario Sunshine than Super Mario 64.

"Contention 1: Flying Mario is unable to fly in Sunshine. In Galaxy and 64, Mario is able to fly." Mario has a flying substitute known as the Rocket Nozzle, along with a gliding substitute known as the Hover Nozzle. None of the games have the same type of flying. http://www.mariowiki.com... "Contention 2: Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Thwomp, Pushy Wall, and Tox Box Sunshine has a surprising lack of them, unlike Galaxy and 64." However, Sunshine and Galaxy both have Cataquacks, Bloopers, Cheep-Cheeps, and Pokey Sprouts. "Contention 3: Bowser Fights In both 64 and Galaxy, Mario fights Bowser three times, with the final time using him as the final boss. In Sunshine, Bowser is fought only once, at the end." In both Sunshine and Galaxy, Bowser Jr. is a character. In both final battles, Bowser Jr. can be seen holding Peach captive. At the end of each final battle, a dangerous event occurs (the stage dropping everybody miles below, the stage turning into a black hole), and Mario's assistant (F.L.U.D.D., Luma) becomes injured in someway. Everything is back to normal in the end. Such a fight does not occur in 64. http://www.mariowiki.com... http://www.mariowiki.com... "Contention 4: Bowser Size See Video 1, starting around 4:05. In Sunshine, Bowser is freakishly huge. In Galaxy and 64, Bowser is much closer to Mario's size." Bowser Jr.'s size is consistent in both games. http://www.mariowiki.com.... "Contention 5: Beginning of Plot In Sunshine, Mario is with Peach at the start when they go on vacation, but is later kidnapped. In Galaxy and 64, Peach sends Mario a letter, inviting him to the castle, and he never actually reaches Peach until the end." In both Sunshine and Galaxy, Mario starts the action in some unknown location (Delfino Airstrip, Gateway Galaxy), where he gains an assistant (F.L.U.D.D., Luma), and then receives one item (Shine, Star). Later in the game, Mario is able to go back and get another Shine/Star. "Contention 6: Speaking In Sunshine, as you can see from the same point in Video 1, there is a lot of speaking without subtitles .In both Galaxy and 64, only Peach does this, but not very much, and it is accompanied by subtitles." See? More characters speak in Sunshine and Galaxy. "Contention 7: Bowser Music Galaxy uses some of the Bowser Music from 54 at least in the first Bowser stage." File this under "Bowser Fights." "Contention 8: Requirements In Sunshine, one must defeat Shadow Mario seven times, once in each of the seven places. In both Galaxy and 64, Mario needs 60 Power Stars" Wrong. In Sunshine, one needs a minimum of fifty Shines, seven of them being specific. In Galaxy, one needs a minimum of sixty Stars, four of them being specific. In 64, one doesn't need any stars. (See Video 1.) http://www.youtube.com... "Contention 9: Rewards In Sunshine, the rewards are Shine Sprites. In Galaxy and 64, the rewards are Power Stars." In 64, the Stars are polygonal and yellow. The graphics are much improved in Sunshine and Galaxy, and the Stars in Galaxy shine golden, much like the Shines. "Contention 10: Sleeves In Sunshine, Mario has short sleeves. In Galaxy and 64, he has long sleeves." In 64, Mario is polygonal. Mario is not polygonal in Sunshine or Galaxy. "Contention 11: Rabbits and Penguins Sunshine has neither. Galaxy and 64 have both." Sunshine and Galaxy have Bees and Bowser Jr. "Contention 13: Boos In Sunshine, Boos don't move, sleep, and must be defeated by a Yoshi. In Galaxy and 64, Boos follow you, unless you turn around, at which point you can see what's inside it and iit[sic] stops moving." Wrong. Boos are very active in Sunshine, as well. Mario can defeat Boos on his own in 64. In Sunshine, Yoshi is required to eat the Boos. In Galaxy, light is required to defeat the Boos. For all we know, the Boos in Sunshine and Galaxy can be defeated in the same ways, but we know that they are different from the Boos in 64. http://www.mariowiki.com... "Contention 14: Variety In Sunshine, all of the places are by the water, in a mostly beach-like fashion. In Galaxy and 64, there are lava-lands (Melty Molten Galaxy, Lethal Lava Land), deserts (Dusty Dune Galaxy, Shifting Sand Land), snowy mountains (Freezeflame Galaxy, Snowman's land), and a mechanical place (Toy Time Galaxy, Tick Tock Clock)." Galaxy has plenty of beach-like galaxies. http://www.mariowiki.com... http://www.mariowiki.com... http://www.mariowiki.com... http://www.mariowiki.com... "Contention 15: Long Jump Does not appear in Sunshine." In Sunshine, Mario uses the Hover Nozzle as a mid-air jump. In Galaxy, Mario uses Star Spin as a mid-air jump. In 64, Mario falls to his death. Now, for my own contentions: Contention 1: Coins Coins make the same appearance sounds in Galaxy and Sunshine, and look the same. http://www.mariowiki.com... Contention 2: Assistant In Sunshine, Mario has F.L.U.D.D. In Galaxy, Mario has Luma. http://www.mariowiki.com... http://www.mariowiki.com... Contention 3: Graphics The graphics were nice in 64. They improved greatly in Sunshine. They improved even more greatly in Galaxy. Thus, Galaxy's graphics are more similar to those of Sunshine than those of 64. Contention 4: Bullet Bill Sunshine introduced the ability to use Bullet Bills to break cages and such. This ability was retained in Galaxy. http://www.mariowiki.com... Contention 5: Shadow Mario Sunshine had Shadow Mario. Galaxy had Cosmic Mario. http://www.mariowiki.com... http://www.mariowiki.com... Contention 5: Racing While all three games involve races against NPCs, only Sunshine and Galaxy will kill you if you fail. Contention 6: Victory Dance Galaxy and Sunshine have longer victory dances, that don't zoom out quite so much. Contention 7: Shine/Star Location In 64, the 100-coin Star appears directly over the last coin obtained. In Sunshine and Galaxy, the 100-coin item appears in a set location. Contention 8: Death http://www.youtube.com... http://www.youtube.com... http://www.youtube.com... See Video 2 (everywhere), Video 3 (1:10), and Video 4 (everywhere). In Sunshine and Galaxy, the words "Too bad!" appear when you die. Not in 64. 64 has Bowser's laugh, while Sunshine and Galaxy have funky random sounds. Contention 9: Cleaning Up Sunshine and Galaxy both have events where you must clean things up. http://www.mariowiki.com... http://www.mariowiki.com... (Scrubbing Sirena Beach) Contention 10: Watermelons Both Sunshine and Galaxy have watermelons. http://www.mariowiki.com... Contention 11: Order Sunshine and Galaxy force Mario to get the Stars/Shines in order, with only secrets and 100 coins being exceptions. 64 is more free-reign. That's eleven contentions. It's ridiculous. It's not even funny. Anyway, that will be all for now. Thanks for accepting.