Star Bunnies in the Snow
The Snow Cap Galaxy will be unlocked after you complete the mission “Overcome the Fire Boiler” in the Melty Molten Galaxy. You need at least 53 Power Stars. Then a Hungry Luma appears in the loft of the comet observatory, which you have to feed with a total of 1,600 Star Bits. After arriving in the new galaxy, you first land on a small, transparent glass planet. On its top is a locked treasure chest, while on the opposite bottom is a green Koopa shell. Run down over the surface and pick up the tank. Then return to the treasure chest and throw the tank against it with a rotation of the Wii remote control. The chest opens and releases a Launch Star that will transport you to the actual snow capsule planet.
On the snow-capped, elongated planet, three snow bunnies await you. You have to find and catch all three within two minutes and 30 seconds. As soon as the challenge begins, the countdown runs. Your first destination is the five blue ground switches that are distributed across the entire surface. One is directly on the way in front of your starting position. Run over it so it turns yellow, and then keep to the left. In the first smaller snow field is another switch hidden. Move the Wii Remote’s star pointer over the snow to temporarily sweep it away and expose the switch. Run over it and follow the way to the larger snow field at the Snowmen. Here are two more ground switches, which you also have to make visible with the star pointer and then enter. The fifth switch is located at the end of the planet near one of the large round floor plates. Once all five switches are activated, the large depressions at both ends of the planet open. In one of them, a Fire Flower appears, which you need for the next two snow bunnies.
Collect the Fire Flower and run as Fire Mario to the two great snowmen in the middle of the planet. Stand in front of it with a little distance and throw fireballs on the first snowman with a rotation of the Wii remote control. As soon as it melts, the first snow bunny comes out. He begins to run away immediately and changes direction regularly. You can catch it now or first melt the second snowman. Inside it is a green Koopa shell that you need for the next rabbit. Pick up the tank and run to the great treasure chest at the opposite end of the planet. Align Mario as closely as possible on the chest and throw the tank against it. As soon as the chest breaks, the second snow bunny jumps out and begins to walk across the planet as well.
The third snow bunny hides in one of the small holes under the snow cover. These are distributed over the larger snow fields and can be exposed with the star pointer. Searches especially the snow fields around the center of the planet and moves the pointer over the striking small depressions. Some of the holes contain only Star bits, but from one of them the desired rabbit jumps. You can shoot over the exposed holes to examine them. Which of the holes contains the hare may differ between the attempts. Therefore, not only memorize a certain position, but also search the snow fields as systematically as possible. Once you have discovered the rabbit, you can focus completely on catching.
The easiest way to catch the snowbunnies is by driving them into one of the two great depressions at the ends of the planet. On the open snow surface, they are faster than Mario and often suddenly hit hooks. Therefore, do not just run after them permanently, but try to cut off their path. If possible, move on a shorter line in the direction in which the hare is fleeing and pushes it to the north or south end of the planet. Once he jumps into one of the depressions, he has significantly less space to dodge and moves slower. Jump after him and run straight to catch him. It works particularly well to initially position oneself on the edge of the depression and to drive the rabbit into it from the opposite side. If he changes direction several times, you can catch up faster with a long jump. For this purpose, hold the Z key while running and then press the jump key. On the narrow edges of the depressions, however, you should prefer ordinary jumps so that Mario does not fly over the rabbit.
A safe procedure is to activate all five ground switches first and thus open the two trapping pits. Then you melt both snowmen, open the treasure chest with the green Koopa shell and search for the last rabbit in the snowy holes. Then you drive the released hares one after the other into the depressions and catch them there. So you no longer have to search for objects or hidden switches when actually catching. If you already get a favorable opportunity when exposing the hares to catch one of them in a depression, you can of course catch him immediately. Always pay attention to the countdown and avoid chasing a rabbit over the entire planet surface for too long. Especially on the snow-covered surfaces, Mario easily slips out of the desired direction and loses valuable seconds.
Once you have caught the third snow bunny within the given time, the challenge ends and the bunny hands you the Power Star you are looking for. Collect him to complete the only mission of the Snow Cap Galaxy. If the time runs out before, you lose a life and must start the challenge again. For the next attempt, you should especially remember the positions of the five ground switches and the two snowmen. The most important help in catching remains the two large depressions, where the hares are much easier to catch than on the open snow surface.