Information About Kingfin
The Bonefin Galaxy
What is the Bonefin Galaxy?
The Bonefin Galaxy is a secret galaxy accessed from the Engine Room dome in Super Mario Galaxy. You need to collect 55 stars and collect the 1 star in the Drip Drop Galaxy to make it appear on the map.
Any Landscape at all?
The Bonefin Galaxy is basically a planet which is completely covered in water and has a foreboding armoured shell around the entire planet. The underwater surface is extremely volcanic and various steam vents, open craters and volcanos can be seen underwater. For some reason, there are also Koopa Shells, indicating some life was here before whatever totally destroyed this place...
Any Previous Mushroom Kingdom Visitors?
Ignoring various fan works that have people visiting this area and being scared away by Kingfin and his army of robotic piranhas, there are signs the Toad Brigade, or at least some of it's ex members visited this place and never returned. An empty Toad Star Shroom floats in orbit around the planet with a few star bits, and a treasure chest lies on the ocean floor with a 1 up mushroom. There is also a life shroom, which oddly seems to be found in dangerous situations or in levels where bosses in Bowser's army pose a threat to Mario and Luigi...
How many Stars?
Only one star can be found in this galaxy, and that is held by Kingfin. The only star mission's title is 'Kingfin's Fearsome Waters'.
About Kingfin
Who is Kingfin?
This is Kingfin:
If you are reading this, you probably know who Kingfin is and probably think Kingfin is one of, if not THE best boss in Super Mario Galaxy (maybe or not better than Bowser).
What the hell is this creature?
It's a boss which is in Bowser's army, and is a gigantic (think about bus size gigantic) skeletal shark with glowing eyes that shoot beams of light and that has the odd ability to summon infinite hordes of robotic piranha fish to destroy it's enemies.
How do you know it helps Bowser?
Well it kinda tries to kill Mario and Luigi, and is also seen in one of the wallpaper images on an official Nintendo site which shows Bowser and Bowser Jr surrounded by their army of bosses from Super Mario Galaxy. This wallpaper shows Kingfin near Bowser, Bowser Jr, Kamella, Megaleg, Major Burrows, Topmaniac, Baron Brrr, Bouldergeist, Dino Piranha, Tarantox, King Kaliente, etc.
What the heck are those robo piranha things it summons?
I have no idea. Some people call them Bonefins, as an explanation for why the galaxy is called the Bonefin Galaxy, but the game itself never actually names anything other than Kingfin and the Bonefin Galaxy in said level.
Origin?
No idea. I'd say either it was the cause of the planet's total collapse and ecological status, and became too powerful for any other life forms in the area, or was an ancient creature that somehow got ressurected, possibly by the Power Star. This second idea is partly supported by how after attacking the boss a few times, there are electrical sparks coming out the creature which suggest some kind of magic brought it back...
On another random thought, considering what happens to Bowser when he falls in lava a few times (Dry Bowser), it is possible that the volcanic eruptions or some kind of volcanic activity did the same thing to Kingfin as being dropped in a lava pool did to Bowser.
And some Random Minor Facts
This is the first or second totally optional boss in Super Mario Galaxy, and the only boss found in a secret, one mission level.
It takes five hits from Koopa Shells to defeat Kingfin.
The battle music is the same as the battle music when fighting Bouldergeist. But on the CD, the undead boss music is actually named 'Kingfin'.
It's name is a pun based on the word Kingpin, which means the leader of an organisation.
In theory, this is one of two bosses which has no real forewarning in the game or backstory. Many others are hinted about their existance by the NPC characters, or by possible involvement in the starting cut scene (Topmaniac may own the UFO used by Bowser in the attack on Toad Town), and the other boss with no backstory in this game or forewarning is Baron Brrr. These bosses are not mentioned by any non playable character and could in theory be classed as a Giant Space Flea from Nowhere. Then again, most people pretty much forget about Baron Brrr pretty quickly as a boss, and most people ignore any lack of backstory to Kingfin because of how cool the boss is (and because it's likely the last friendly NPC that could warn of a deadly monster became it's last meal, as shown by the empty space ship).
According to Mario Wiki, it's very similar to a Fish Bone or Jean De Fillet from the past Mario games, which are normal sized skeletal fish, and may well be their leader.
I don't know how the shell of the planet actually stays up, because during the battle, Kingfin literally smashes the rock supports of the shell like planet surface to pieces.
How to Defeat Kingfin in Super Mario Galaxy
Video by Game Spin
Defeating Kingfin (text guide)
As you enter the battle, the ominous jaws type theme starts and the teeth of this creature appear, eventually panning out to reveal... a 50 foot long skeletal shark with sinister glowing eyes! Yeah, this boss will make you scared out your wits at first, but be calm. There is a way to beat him.
First, find a shell (red is homing if you can't aim well underwater) and fire it at Kingfin. He'll glow red a bit and get hit. This then summons two robotic piranha fish that work like Torpedo Teds (underwater Bullet Bill missiles). Keep swimming quickly to stay out their way and keep your health and air up. After the third hit, FOUR of those things appear. Hit Kingfin twice more to see an awesome explosion scene and get your hard earned star.
Source: The DS Ultimate Mario Galaxy Boss Guide
Any other places to find information about Kingfin?
Even though this fan listing information FAQ has given 99.9% of the information there actually is about this boss, there are other places. You can search 'Kingfin' in the Youtube search engine, or you can use these two references given below:
Kingfin Page on Mario Wiki (the be all and end all reference to Mario):
Kingfin Page at Mario Monsters (an excellent information source for information about various enemies, bosses and random creatures in the Mario series):
About Super Mario Galaxy
What is Super Mario Galaxy
It's a 3D Mario Adventure game released in 2007 for the Nintendo Wii console. It seemingly sold over a million copies world wide.
What is Bowser's Plan in Super Mario Galaxy?
His plan is to use the stolen power stars to create his own galaxy in the centre of the universe and then rule both said galaxy and the rest of it. His other plans involved things like Dark Matter and such like.
What Happens in the ending?
Mario rescues Peach and the final Grand Star, Bowser's Star goes supernova, forming a black hole which starts sucking in all of Bowser's fleet (airships, final galaxy, Topmaniac's UFO...), Princess Peach's Castle and the Comet Observatory as well as pretty much everything else. The Lumas sacrifice themselves to stop the black hole, something happens with Rosalina and Mario/Luigi then the universe is rebuilt and everyone is having a party back in the Mushroom Kingdom, with Bowser totally confused and seemingly every character from the game there. And although Dino Piranha is seen in the ending, I have no idea what happens to the other boss characters (Kingfin, Topmaniac, King Kaliente...), but I'd assume they were revived in the same way as the rest of the characters in the game.
What do you mean the Kingfin Boss Music was used elsewhere?
While it's named for Kingfin, it's actually used as the general undead boss music and is first heard in the Ghostly Galaxy when facing Bouldergeist.
Who's Bouldergeist?
This is:
Yes, he may or may not be related to Bogmire from Luigi's Mansion, but that's all in an article on the main DS Ultimate site.