_________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Super Mario 64 FAQ/Walkthrough |
| Part 2 of 2 - Game Strategy |
| |
| Version 2.5 - 07.28.2003 |
| |
| Written by Jordan Stopciati (superstar64) |
| (
[email protected]) |
|_________________________________________________________________________|
All names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners.
This document is copyright (C) 1999-2003 Jordan Stopciati.
I need to stress that this guide is split into two parts. This second part
(what you're currently viewing) talks about getting all 120 stars. The
first part has general game information.
==================================================
Updates
==================================================
June 27, 1999 - Version 1.0 - The first draft of this FAQ.
October 30, 1999 - Version 1.0.1 - A few minor updates.
August 3, 2000 - Version 1.1 - This FAQ has been stuck on my hard drive for
almost a year without posting. Think about it! I've left this FAQ alone for
almost a year! I'll just give it a buff and polish and hopefully it will be
ready for posting in a few days.
November 11, 2000 - Version 1.2 - Anyway, an important notice, because my
e-mail address has changed. See correspondence.
August 27, 2002 - Version 2.0 - It's been three years since I finished
writing the first draft for this guide, so I think a HUGE grammar makeover
is definitely past due. I am basically doing everything during this update:
improving title formatting, improving my wording in most of the
descriptions (meh, they stunk a lot!) It's all being revamped. Which is a
good thing, because I was more idiotic when I first wrote this...oh, yeah,
and the guide is split into two parts: Game Strategy and General Strategy.
More detail on that later.
July 28, 2003, Version 2.5 - Decided to add on another section to part 1:
Coin locations. I also decided to run through the FAQ and reformat, in
addition to some additions and corrections that I have never ceased to make
over the last little while.
==================================================
Table of Contents
==================================================
Part 1 - General Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Updates
Table of Contents
00. Legal Notices
01. Introduction
Background
The Story
02. Playing The Game
Controls and Moves
Game Protocol
Enemies, Bosses, and Obstacles
Items
03. General Walkthrough
04. Warps
05. Coin Locations
06. Secrets, Glitches, Etc.
07. The Luigi Factor
08. Questions
09. The Ending
10. Closing Notes
Part 2 - Game Strategy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Updates
Table of Contents
00. Legal Notices
01. The 120 Stars
Course 1 - Bob-omb Battlefield
Course 2 - Whomp's Fortress
Course 3 - Jolly Roger Bay
Course 4 - Cool, Cool Mountain
Course 5 - Big Boo's Haunt
Course 6 - Hazy Maze Cave
Course 7 - Lethal Lava Land
Course 8 - Shifting Sand Land
Course 9 - Dire, Dire Docks
Course 10 - Snowman's Land
Course 11 - Wet-Dry World
Course 12 - Tall, Tall Mountain
Course 13 - Tiny-Huge Island
Course 14 - Tick Tock Clock
Course 15 - Rainbow Ride
Castle Secret Stars
02. Cap Switch Courses
Red Switch Course - Tower of the Wing Cap
Green Switch Course - Cavern of the Metal Cap
Blue Switch Course - Vanish Cap Under the Moat
03. Bowser Courses
Bowser in the Dark World
Bowser in the Fire Sea
Bowser in the Sky
04. Closing Notes
==================================================
00. Legal Notices
==================================================
The use of any content in this guide, notably in a competing work but for
anything quoted verbatim, must be credited appropriately. Failure to do so
will result in requests to desist, up to and including legal action. *I*
wrote it, *I* should get credit for it, and even by writing this document I
do have a degree of legal protection without even registering it with a
copyright office. Distributing this work for profit without the intent to
pay me appropriate royalties and award me credit is also prohibited, and
will also result in a request to desist.
Distribution, however, is permitted - please e-mail at the address above
with a full description of your site. The most recent version of my FAQ is
ALWAYS on GameFAQs, and it is the responsibility of the person running the
site to update the guide to its most recent version. As of July 2003, the
following sites are authorized to display this guide:
- www.gamefaqs.com
- www.cheatcodes.com
- vgstrategies.about.com
- www.gamewinners.com
Finally, I disclaim myself from any damages, injuries, arrests, deaths, or
similar unsolicited acts sustained by the usage of this FAQ. I offer my
condolences in advance if it *DOES* happen, but I do NOT intend to cause
pain through this document.
As a final note rather unrelated to your legal rights, I've attempted to
make this guide as appropriate for general audiences as possible,
considering the game that it is written for. If a curse word slips through,
I apologize in advance, but to be quite honest, it's easy to miss something
when writing a guide that rivals a paperback novel in its content.
That concludes the legal notices.
--------------------------------------------------
Document Information
--------------------------------------------------
Part 1
~~~~~~~~
Program used: UltraEdit 32 v10.00c
Margins: 75 characters
File size: 120848 bytes
2508 lines
20,778 words
Part 2
~~~~~~~~
Program used: UltraEdit 32 v10.00c
Margins: 75 characters
File size: 164868 bytes
3119 lines
29,668 words
Overall
~~~~~~~~~
File size: 285716 bytes
5627 lines
50,446 words
==================================================
01. The 120 Stars
==================================================
--------------------------------------------------
Course 1 - Bob-omb Battlefield
--------------------------------------------------
Bob-omb Battlefield is the first course that you have to put up with in the
game. Several Bob-ombs walking around the field threaten to explode if they
notice you. One of the biggest obstacles is the Chain Chomp in the middle
of the course - hopefully you won't have to get too close. Finally, the
mountaintop, guarded by balls rolling down the slopes and ruled over by the
Big Bob-omb on the summit of the mountain.
To enter, go through the door with a star with no number on it, then jump
into the painting of Bob-ombs walking around. This is the first and only
course accessible to you at the beginning of the game.
Star 1: Big Bob-omb on the Summit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first star in the game really isn't that much of a challenge. What you
have to do, first of all, is reach the summit. From the entrance to the
course, go up the bridge, then cross the path of the Chain Chomp after you
turn left. Go up the stairs and cross the meadow. Go through the bars right
ahead of you, then you can either take the path guarded by rolling balls or
the short way, a steep slope. Eventually you'll get up to another meadow.
From there, continue going up the path circulating around the mountain
until you reach the summit where you will meet the Big Bob-omb.
This boss is pretty simple to defeat. He moves extremely slowly and usually
has a hard time following you. It shouldn't be hard to get behind him and
pick him up, then throw him to the ground. You'll have to repeat this
process two more times before you earn the star from him. Don't throw him
off the edge of the mountain, though. He'll just come right back up and
call you a cheater, and it won't count for one of the three times you have
to throw him down.
Star 2: Footrace with Koopa the Quick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Basically, you have to select this star if you want to earn it, so you need
to earn star 1 before you can make an attempt at this star. Once you jump
into the painting again there will be a Koopa Troopa next to your starting
point. If you talk to him, he will challenge you to a race. Once you get
the option, select "Go!" and the race will begin after the opening fanfare.
Koopa really isn't that fast, to be quite honest with you. Don't stop for
anything, try not to be delayed for long at any obstacle. In the meantime,
hold the control stick so that you continue to run at top speed. Basically,
follow the same route that you took to get to the top of the mountain in
the first star. But this time, you have to go quickly. I don't believe you
will lose the race for warping (see other guide for warp locations), but
other ways of cheating (such as cannons) are forbidden. Get to the top of
the mountain before Koopa - usually the time to beat will be about 1
minute, 30 seconds - to earn another star.
Star 3: Shoot to the Island In The Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This star will require the cannons to be opened. Talk to the Bob-omb Buddy
standing on the rock when you enter the course so he will open up the
cannons in the level for you (which were previously marked by Bob-omb Buddy
grates). After you cross the first bridge, go into the meadow to your right
and scramble up the steep rock that you see (it's rather easy to slide down
again). There is an open cannon at the top. Jump in.
Now here's where it might get tough. Move the crosshair up as high as it
will go by pushing the Control Stick down. To check, move the crosshair
down by pressing up on the control stick to check that there is a floating
island in the trajectory. Move it back up, then press A to watch a circus
act in progress. If you did this correctly, you should be on the floating
island. There is a yellow ! block that should be right in front of you.
Break it open by hitting it to get yourself another Star.
Star 4: Find the 8 Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As you know, in each level in the game there are eight red coins. Some are
in very public places, others will be harder to get. If you collect all
eight in one session on the course, you will win a star. In addition, each
red coin you pick up is worth two yellow coins. This is the first star in
the game where you'll have to deal with that. Here are the coins that you
have to find.
#1: After the first bridge you'll notice a lift. At the top is a red coin.
Just jump at the coin to get it.
#2: In the first meadow to the right, there is a red coin at the top of a
green and black rock. Just run up the rock to retrieve the coin. (I'm not
referring to the rock described in star 3, BTW.)
#3: This coin is easy to find, but hard to get. On Chain Chomp's stake, a
coin is lying right on top of it! It may seem despicable, but try to get
around him and then jump for his stake to get the coin. Just try to get out
of there unscathed. I dare you.
#4 and #5: After the swinging bridge, there is a meadow on Mario's left
side. Two red coins are in this area. Yes, you heard me right, two.
#6: At the far end of the course in the second large meadow, pass the
bridge that leads to the mountain and look for a downhill slope guarded by
a couple of Bob-ombs. Go down into the tunnel to find a 1-Up, a purple !
switch that opens up the doors to the area outside, and another coin.
#7: This coin is on the steep hill that you have to deal with as you go up
the mountain, just after the bridge.
#8: Use a cannon to shoot yourself to the floating island. Once you get on
the island, climb up the tree to earn the final red coin in this level!
The star marker is found in the meadow where you found red coins 4 and 5.
After you collect all eight red coins, the star will appear right at that
spot.
Star 5: Mario Wings To The Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This really isn't an easy star to get. The Wing Cap is a recommendation on
this star, but it's not crucial. You must have the cannons opened, first of
all, so do that if you haven't done so already. Shoot yourself up to the
floating island, then let me explain something new that will come up in the
game. In some levels, you must trigger five red numbers. If you
successfully do that, a Star will show up.
To trigger the numbers in this star, you have to shoot yourself through the
five coin rings in mid-air, just off the island. You can't get them all at
once but you should at least get the first two. The rest of them are merely
trial and error - you'll have to aim just a little bit higher. If you have
the Wing Cap, you'll have an advantage in that you can defy gravity and fly
through any remaining coin rings, but you'd need ten stars, first of all.
If you don't get them all, try again and aim a little higher: you won't get
all of the numbers by following the regular cannon trajectory. Once you
successfully get all five, a star will show up in the meadow where you
found Star 4 in this level - probably just behind your landing spot.
Star 6: Behind Chain Chomp's Gate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you tempting fate here or what!? Well...we'll see how good you really
are. For this star you have to go face-to-face with the metal machine that
Chain Champ is. Evade his dental work and get up onto the stake that he's
attached to. Pound the ground 3 times on the stake to set him free. He'll
mangle the bars which you weren't strong enough to open up. And what's the
big deal about that? Well, there's a Star behind there. So, anyway, you'll
be free of having to deal with Chain Chomp, so you can go through the open
gates and collect it. Warning: you'll have to do this all over if you want
to get the star again, because when you leave the level and come back they
won't be the same!
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay...your first 100-coin star. Select anything from star 3 on, because
it's at that point that you actually find a Koopa Troopa walking around. If
you kill this enemy you actually get a blue coin! Also, run around the
poles a few times in the level - the poles around the star marker (4 of
them), and even Chain Chomp's stake to get five yellow coins each out of
them. So far: 30 coins. Go for all the red coins you can find as well. The
final straw should be the coin rings that come from shooting off from the
cannon on the floating island. Wherever your 100th coin comes, that'll be
where the Star can be collected. It's best to refer to the coin guide in
the other section, though.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 2 - Whomp's Fortress
--------------------------------------------------
Whomp's Fortress almost seems like it could be renamed Bob-omb Battle-
field 2, mostly because of the similarities between the two levels. The
course is characterized by a large Whomp at the top of the fortress - but
it seems as if most of the enemies on this course have an obsession with
crushing anyone in their path. There are a few subtle secrets around this
level, however, more so than in the first course.
Entering this level is pretty simple, but you need one star, first of all.
After earning 1 star, open up the second door to the right from the stairs.
Jump into the painting of...errr....a fortress to enter the level.
Star 1: Chip Off Whomp's Block
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the beginning of the course you'll notice a Piranha Plant sleeping. This
is a definite risk in the level, and you must move quite slowly, otherwise
you'll disturb their sleep and they will not be impressed. (I wouldn't be
impressed if I was woken up while trying to sleep either.) You have two
options. Jump up onto the ramp above you and head up the arrows, or go the
long way across the platforms that are moving in and out, then back up the
stairs, while evading the Thwomps.
Whatever option you choose, you'll find yourself in front of another
Piranha Plant. Tip the Control Stick slightly in the direction you want to
go and slowly sneak behind it. Or if you want to tempt fate, blast by it
before it can hurt you. Then just crawl along the wall or step on the
collapsible blocks to move on to the mobile bridge. When it stops on your
side, run to the center, then run back as it is about to stop at the other
end. Avoid the Whomps, then take the lift up to the Whomp King (meh, and
he's huge too).
Once you reach the top, he'll start complaining about how we don't give him
enough respect because we walk on him all day, blah, blah, blah. Once the
fight stars, tease him into trying to flatten you, but get out of the way
before you become a permanent sidewalk fixture. Once he's on the ground,
pound the ground on his back before he gets up! Repeat this process 3 times
to get a Star.
Star 2: To The Top Of The Fortress
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you finish star 1, when you select this star Whomp will be gone and
there will be a fortress instead at the summit of the mountain. Follow the
steps from Star 1 to get up there, but this time you have to deal with
Bullet Bill firing some...errr...bullets at you up there. Find the lowest
platform on the fortress, then make your way up the steps (some of the
platforms are mobile and will move in and out). Step on the last platform
to be taken right up to the top. On the other side of the fortress you'll
find another Star.
Star 3: Shoot Into The Wild Blue
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To get this star, you need the first and second stars in the course. First
of all, find the Bob-omb Buddy by jumping up to a pool, then crossing it.
You'll see the Buddy on the other side - talk to him. After he opens up the
cannon for you, jump in and aim the crosshair of the cannon at a platform
just below a platform with a flagpole. Aim directly at the bar straight
ahead of you.
Press A to fire, then if all goes well you'll be on that platform holding
on for dear life to the bar that you were aiming towards. Push down on the
control stick to slide down. You will end up on a platform with...a star.
At least if all goes well, that's where you should end up...otherwise it's
more likely that you'll be falling out of the course or already out of it!
Star 4: Red Coins on the Floating Isle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, your objective is to get eight red coins.
#1: From the beginning of the level, head up the gentle slope towards the
wall sections moving in and out (with the googly eyes... >_>) The first red
coin is above the second wall.
#2: Keep on going across the platforms and then turn around to go up the
stairs. Once you reach the Thwomp on the stairs, pass under it and then
wait for it to slam down. Jump on it when it's on the ground. You will get
a free elevator lift to a red coin just above it.
#3 and #4: Sneak by the first Piranha Plant after you earn red coin 2 and
get to the wall to get another red coin. Turn the corner and you will spot
another one on the ledge between the two Piranha Plants.
#5: After passing the second Piranha Plant, go onto the moving arm. After
it stops on the other side, go to the edge to pick up 4 yellow coins and
the red coin.
#6: Go back to the center of the moving arm and then jump off. Errr...
yeah, you heard me right. If you get it right, you'll slide down what looks
like a granite slope and into yet another red coin.
#7: Go back to where you got red coin 5, but keep on going. Go right up to
the top of the mountain, then walk around the perimeter of the summit and
look for a large pole. Punch it to destabilize it, and then use the air
kick to knock it down. Cross this makeshift bridge to get yourself not
one...
#8: ...but two red coins in this area after crossing a couple more
platforms.
Now, descend right down to where you started the level. Pass the very first
piranha plant and head down this grassy pathway. The star marker in this
area, and if you've collected all eight red coins, the star should be there
too.
Star 5: Fall onto the Caged Island
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you pause the game and take a look at the panoramic view of the course,
you can see a cage in the sky that actually has a star in there. There is
no real way to get up there. Or is there? If you climb the tree next to
you, you'll disturb an owl. However, this owl is more than willing to give
you a ride, so press A to grab a hold of the owl and then use the control
stick to move around. You'll fly up to a high altitude, but don't take too
long: you will gradually lose height until the owl gets frustrated and
drops Mario.
Watch the shadow below you (you will see it) so that you can determine when
to drop. Once you're directly over the cage, drop, and you should get the
star. There is really no trick to it as long as you're paying attention to
what you're doing.
Star 6: Blast Away The Wall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Perhaps one of the most creative star ideas in the game. Run over to the
cannon location, jump in, and then aim the crosshair at the upper right
corner of the wall. I know you think I'm stupid, but this *is* a guide to
getting the stars, so it must have some purpose. Anyway, fire the cannon at
the wall corner and you will, believe it or not, uncover a star. To get it,
go up to the ledge above the freshly uncovered star, and then slide down
the ledge that it's on to get it. Or just shoot yourself back up there.
Either way, the star will be yours.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First of all: Get as many coins as you can out of the Whomps on this level.
Jumping on them will get you, believe it or not, one coin. Repeat five
times to get five coins, but if you jump again you don't get any more. You
can defeat them by pounding the ground when they're flattened, which will
give you five more coins for a total of ten from one enemy. When they fall,
you can profit! In addition, there is a blue coin switch at the very bottom
of the level, past the Bob-omb Buddy. Stomp it and grab the coins. With
enough patience, getting all the coins shouldn't be that hard after you get
about 50 or so with this method. Don't forget to pick up the red coins -
they count, too.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 3 - Jolly Roger Bay
--------------------------------------------------
Yes...it's the first water level that you will encounter in the game. There
are a few dry spots that you'll find, but there aren't that many. Plenty of
mysteries abound in this level, such as a sunken pirate ship wreck and an
eel that really will give you a real shock if you get too close. Not to
mention a tunnel whose origins are as of yet unknown, but it conceals a
strange mystery...
After earning 3 stars, jump into the far right door on the balcony to your
right in the main room. Jump into the painting of the pirate ship to enter
the level.
Star 1: Plunder In The Sunken Ship
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Preferably swim on the surface of the water at first, as there are less
hazards. Then, once you reach the docks, dive down and you'll see a
shipwreck at the bottom. In one of the windows, you'll spot an electric eel
with the moniker of Unagi. Swim in front of you (geez, we're getting good
at tempting fate here), and then surface. Then dive again. You'll see the
eel swimming around, so you can head in to the ship through the window that
the eel was in. Swim in and then...
..you'll see four treasure chests. There is a certain order that they have
to be opened in before you can earn this. Just swim up to and touch the
chest to open it. If you're successful, you'll get a nice fresh supply of
air bubbles and a number will appear. If you're wrong you get electrocuted
and you must start all over. The order is as follows: chest in the back,
chest on the right, chest in the front, and finally the chest on your left.
The ship will rise to the surface (and more importantly you get the air you
need). Jump up the ledges behind you to reach a ! box. Smash it for the
Star.
Star 2: Can the Eel Come Out to Play?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you've earned star 1, when you jump back into the world, you'll see
that the skies are much brighter and the ship at the bottom of the water
has risen to the surface, floating at the dock that was mentioned at star
1. Swim on the surface over to the ship, then swim right down to where the
ship used to be. You'll notice a few changes down there - a whirlpool, no
ship (duh), an eel in the cave. Hold on a sec...an eel in the cave?
Yeah, I'm referring to Unagi here. He appears to be stuck in the cave, but
if you swim in front of him like you did before, he'll rear his head and
then start swimming out (you won't even have to surface). On his tail,
you'll notice a star. Now you REALLY have to do a lot of work here. Why?
You're trying to touch the star without touching the eel, who, needless to
say, will shock you if you get too close. This really isn't easy to get,
because his tail keeps on moving from left to right. Remain close behind,
and try to get it as quickly as possible because after a while, he'll go
back into the cave and you'll have to repeat this process all over again.
The best strategy is to stick behind and time yourself so that you swim up
to his tail just as the star is there. Once you touch it, it will move off
his tail and stop right by the cave. You can just swim over there and get
it (but if you're low on air, which you might be, it wouldn't hurt to
surface before collecting the star).
Star 3: Treasure of the Ocean Cave
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After getting the first star, dive down to where you found stars 1 and 2,
and look for a cave. No, I am NOT referring to the cave that Unagi is
taking refuge in (that would be just silly), I am referring to an empty
cave. If you swim into the cave, you'll eventually surface in an open
cavern. If necessary, grab a metal cap in the level (it is an asset),
because when you come in, pillars will begin to smash all over the place
and come perilously close to hitting you. Scoot over to the platform with
four treasure chests.
Description of the star: "Treasure of the Ocean Cave". You really think
that there's going to be gold hidden in there? How does a star sound? But
first, you have to open the chests in the following order: back, left,
right, front (at least from your point of view when you arrive at the
location of the chests). If you do this correctly, you'll earn yourself a
Star that you can pick up on the center of the platform.
Star 4: Red Coins on the Ship Afloat
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, you'll have to collect eight red coins in this level. Here are
the locations of the coins:
#1: From the beginning of the course, swim over to the docks. Jump onto the
platform in the water, then jump onto the island above you with the Bob-omb
Buddy. Finally, jump onto the pole and scale it, then do a handstand to get
a coin.
#2: Get off the island and head over to the docks (hit the ! switch) to
trigger blocks that will allow you to reach the ship by bridging the gaps
in between the blocks. Jump onto the ship and wait at the shadow which
should be close to you for a red coin to come down. Jump to get it.
#3 and #4: Double-jump onto the top deck of the ship, avoiding the box with
the poison symbol on it. Once you get onto the top deck, wait for two red
coins on both sides of the ship to come down to a level you can jump to.
Then pick them both up.
#5, #6, #7, #8: Dive back into the water and look for every clam you can
under the water. Get close to it, and it will open up. Most of the time,
these opened clams will reveal coins. Two of them are close to the entrance
of the level, both in clams, while another one is close to the island with
the Bob-omb Buddy. The final clam is in the deep part of the level. It's
the only one there so it really shouldn't be hard to find...
Once you collect all of the coins, the star will appear on the top deck of
the ship. (Generally it's best to pick up coins 2, 3, and 4 last in this
case.) Get out of the water, cross the docks, get on the ship, and
double-jump to get onto the deck that it is on. Go to the tip of the deck
to find the star.
Star 5: Blast to the Stone Pillar
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Swim over to the island where you noticed the Bob-omb Buddy at the last
star. If you talk to him, he'll set up the cannon, which is on a gray rock
near the entrance of the level. Get up to the top of it and then jump into
the hole to activate the cannon. Aim for the middle point rising out of the
water ahead of you, but aim higher than normal, because you don't want to
hit too low at a broad point of the pillar and then slide down into the
water.
Fire, then if you get it right, you should be clinging on to the pillar.
Jump to the nearby platform (remember that you have to face Mario's back to
it!), then if you get onto the platform, hit the yellow ! block to earn a
star.
Star 6: Through the Jet Stream
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get onto the islands with the ! switch that activates the blocks which you
can traverse to get to the ship. Hit the green ! block, because you will
need the Metal Cap to get this star. Once you put the cap on, dive into the
water just a little bit away from the decks and head down to the bottom of
the deep part of the level - directly below you, you should see a
whirlpool, but inside you'll see a star. Normally you wouldn't be able to
get to this area, but get down inside the whirlpool's vortex and fall into
the star to get it. Remember that you have limited time to use the cap, so
don't waste a second and make sure your "touchdown" is accurate.
Star 7: Find 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The biggest source for coins is in the ocean cave - you can pick up a total
of 30 coins fron the blue coin switch alone, not to mention the 3 Goombas
in the cave. That gives you 33. In addition, picking up the 15 coins on the
docks will definitely increase your bank account. Don't forget the red
coins as well. With all those added up, you'll have 64 coins, a respectable
figure. The only problem? There's only 104 coins in the blasted world! So,
effectively, pick up all the coins from the blue coin switch in the cave -
they're along the wall. If you miss one, well, things will become rather
difficult.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 4 - Cool, Cool Mountain
--------------------------------------------------
The first snow level that you have to deal with in the game has its share
of challenges. It'll be much more difficult to move around on the icy
surface on the level, not to mention you'll probably do a lot of slipping
around on the course trying to move around. More than likely, with the
downhill flavour to this course, you probably will have a hard time getting
back up the hill after you slide down it!
After earning three stars, go in the second door to the left from the
stairs in the main room. You'll see three snowman pictures - jump in the
center one to enter the course.
Star 1: Slip Slidin' Away
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is a pretty easy star to earn, and requires nothing more than a bit of
caution. After beginning the level, you'll see a cottage straight in front
of you. Pull a Santa Claus and jump into the chimney. Straight in front of
you, you'll see a snow slide. Just jump onto it, and try to get to the
bottom of the slide. The real danger here is that there are no barriers for
the most part around the level: you have to stay on the track. The good
news is that time is not an issue here.
If you're looking for an easy shortcut, wait for a wall on your right to
appear, then look for a line of coins that is aimed towards the wall. If
you follow this line of coins, you'll go into a shortcut with a couple of
1-up Mushrooms. You'll be dropped off on the roof of the cabin from which
you can jump down to the bottom. If you took the main route and played
fair, watch out on the hairpin turn after the shortcut as well as the final
straight on which you have to deal with a series of narrow ice blocks which
make up the route.
After finishing, go outside to collect the star.
Star 2: Li'l Penguin Lost
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After beginning the level, jump up to the ledge above the cottage and
you'll see a baby penguin just walking around. Use B to pick it up, and
then try to get down to the bottom of the level by going down the "main"
slide around the outside of the mountain that will take you right down to a
ledge on which there is a snowman head. Cross the bridge with the snowman
enemies on it (just go under them when they hop in the air coming towards
you), then follow the path down to the cottage where you finished star 1.
Jump down onto solid ground where you'll find a larger penguin. If you
stand in front of her while holding the penguin she'll thank you for
finding her baby and then you get yourself the star.
The alternative here is to take the penguin down the steep, steep slope
just off the broken bridge to the right of your starting point. After you
reach the flat ledge, jump off to another ledge on the right and follow the
path down to the mom at the bottom. Don't pick up the penguin at the bottom
of the level at the top of the cottage...that isn't the one you're looking
for!
Star 3: Big Penguin Race
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed the challenge of the first star, rest assured that this
isn't the only challenge that you'll have! When you select this star, jump
back into the chimney that you went into to go down the slide. This time,
you'll notice a penguin in front of you. Talk to him by just walking up,
and he'll challenge you to a race. Say "Go!" to begin the race.
Run, jump and then press B to do a dive onto the slide as soon as you hear
the starting gun. The penguin will have a bit of a head start on you,
depending on how long it took you to get onto the slide. However once you
get going you'll get the superior start. Hold the control stick forwards
all the way, and you should pass the penguin before the first turn. You'll
get a bit of a break for a while, but once you pass the wall to the right
on the way down to the hairpin, the penguin will get very close to you. Try
to keep him behind but he may get ahead coming off the turn. In the section
surrounded by walls on both sides, try to get ahead because this is the
final kink before the ice blocks and there probably won't be any passing
there.
Should you make it to the finish line in first place, you'll receive the
star. While it certainly doesn't beat a gold medal in the Olympics, hey,
who's complaining!? By the way, don't take the shortcut mentioned in star
1...that's cheating and the penguin will take note of it!
Star 4: Frosty Slide for 8 Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, you have to search for money. Every so often, you may have to
warp back up (see "Warps") to the top of the level to get any coins that
you missed.
#1: At the beginning of the level, next to the cottage you'll find a tree.
If you scale it, you'll find a red coin at the top. Maybe that might have
been *too* easy...
#2: I know this sounds rather crazy, but DO IT! After grabbing the first
coin, return to your starting point and jump off the bridge fragment. Stop
yourself at the ledge that you find. Behind an ice block, you'll find
another red coin.
#3: If you can leap off this ledge, do so, and then head back towards the
hairpin turn on the slide on the mountain. After you pass the snowman head,
you'll find a red coin in a slight indentation in the mountain.
#4: There is a ledge below the ledge with the snowman head - with a couple
of Spindrift enemies. Turn the camera around enough and you'll notice a
small ledge just before you reach a bridge rope - but there's no bridge
there! Anyway, on the ledge you'll find the coin.
#5: Across the bridge with the snowmen jumping across it, you'll find
another broken bridge fragment. On one of the fragments, there is another
red coin.
#6: Head down to where the bottom cabin is, then go to the tree that stands
next to it. At the top of the tree, you'll find yet another red coin.
#7: The camera will probably be focused on one point of view while all of
this is happening - facing the mountain wall. A bit to the right you'll
notice a bridge leading to a platform which leads to yet another bridge
fragment. There's another red coin here.
#8: Come back out into the open, and then head to the right. Tread lightly,
because if you get this wrong you won't be coming back. Head over to the
edge of the ledge with the mother penguin. Just behind a wall jutting out
from the mountain, you'll find the final red coin perched perilously on the
edge of the level.
After you collect all eight red coins, head back to the bridge below the
mountain and walk to the edge. You'll warp to the top. Slide down the
mountain slide once again, but once you reach the hairpin turn, jump
towards where the camera is facing, off the slide. You'll find a blue coin
switch and on a platform below, the star marker as well. And if you've
collected all eight red coins, you'll find the star, too.
Star 5: Snowman's Lost His Head
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jump up to where the little penguin was in star 2, then go down to a
platform below. You'll find a Spindrift and a large snowball on a pedestal
similar to the one that the snow face below is sitting on. He'll ask if you
know anybody looking for a body. You noticed that snow face down the
mountain, and if you spoke to him, he's looking for a body - have you made
the connection yet?
Anyway, the snowball will start rolling down the slide, so get ahead of it
as quickly as possible, and slide down quickly in front of the snowball.
Just before you reach the snow face, press A to stop yourself, just in case
you slide past the face, and you don't want to do that. Stand a little bit
to the side of the snow face, and wait for the ball to come rolling down
the hill and smash into the snowman. Make sure you stay between the
snowball and the snow face to some degree, and then get out of the way at
the last instant (otherwise the ball will just roll by). Do it successfully
and the newly created snowman will give you a Star. It might warm you up,
sure, but what about the hot cocoa!?
Star 6: Wall Kicks Will Work
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hopefully you know the Wall Kick here, because it's going to be a critical
move. If you don't, now would be a good time to learn it. So, as soon as
you start, get right down to the bottom of the level where the penguin from
star 2 is. You'll see a cannon near the cabin, but get on the bridge
fragment nearby first. About halfway between the two ledges, you'll
encounter a floating island with the Bob-omb Buddy. Talk to him to open up
the cannon at the bottom of the level.
Wait for the fragment to come back (yeah, it's been moving all this time),
then go down to the cannon. Jump in and aim a little bit above a distant
ledge with a tree on it. Shoot, and if you're successful, you will land on
the ledge. Follow the narrow path past the Spindrifts and you'll find a
spinning heart. Go up the hill, and use a wall kick off the wall to the
left to get yourself up onto a platform. Once you reach the top of that
platform, wall kick off the other wall to get onto the next one, and so on.
After three wall kicks and running across the platforms, you'll reach a
floor made of ice, on which the Star is.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go down the snow slide, there is a jackpot of coins in that area. Go down
the snow slide before you do anything else first, however, because if you
get your 100th coin on the snow slide you won't be able to go back up the
slide and get it, not to mention that once you come back, it won't be
there! So, go for the coins on the slide first, which should give you a
tally of about 60 coins even with a bad run. Then, warp back up to the top
(see "Warps") and head down the slide to get the rest of the coins you
need. There's almost 80 coins on the slide, so get them, dangit!
--------------------------------------------------
Course 5 - Big Boo's Haunt
--------------------------------------------------
Ooh...this level is spooky. This is the final level that you'll find in the
main area of the castle, and the first course that requires you to do
something else other than jumping into a painting to enter it. With lots of
Boos scattered around the level, well...if you're under 10 years old, don't
play this world late at night because you'll never get to sleep. But that's
beside the point. Anyway...
Until you get twelve stars, the wooden doors will lead to an empty hallway
that leads to another door. From there, you'll end up in the courtyard. But
once you get twelve stars, a big Boo will appear in the hall. If you get
close, he'll go through the wall. Go through the door to the courtyard,
then punch the Big Boo in the grassy area to the left. Once he dies, he'll
leave behind a cage that you must stand next to in order to enter the
level.
Star 1: Go on a Ghost Hunt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is probably one of the largest levels in the game to date, and
probably more intricate than most other levels. Anyway, go through the
double doors at the front of the mansion, then go around the first floor
and through all of the doors to get all of the Boos. If memory serves me
right, there are five on the first floor. Once you punch them all in the
back (BACKSTABBER!), or do whatever to kill them, you will be notified
through a dialogue box, and a big Boo will appear in the main lobby of the
room.
Really, there's nothing too complicated about defeating this boss. All you
have to do is punch him in the back three times. All right, all right, he's
a little bit more difficult than that - it'll be a little bit harder to get
behind him. Moreover, every time you punch the big Boo, he moves just a
little bit faster after you. But otherwise, he's a piece of...cake. Anyway,
punch him 3 times to earn yourself a Star. It'll appear on the second
floor, which is locked.
..
Oh, right! A stairway will rise up from the floor, allowing you access to
the 2nd floor from now on. Not to mention you can get the star.
Star 2: Ride Big Boo's Merry-Go-Round
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Instead of going through the main doors of the mansion, head over to the
shed building. Avoid Mr. I, and take the elevator down to the basement.
Head through the tunnels until you start to hear some circus music. (Oh,
brother...) Anyway, once you hear the music, you'll know that you are
getting close to the entrance. Look for a door on the inside of the room
that you're in, and then enter.
Great! You've found yourself on a morbid version of a merry-go-round. Sorry
folks, no refunds. Anyway, punch all the Boos that are in this area (no
easy feat, it's a crowded attraction), while trying to avoid getting flamed
by the fire that keeps on coming out of one of the stained-glass pictures
of Boo. After you kill off all of the Boos in the room, another Boo (yep,
the big one) will pop out, and once again, you have to punch it in the back
three times to defeat. Your reward? A pristine Star.
Star 3: Secret of the Haunted Books
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you enter the building, go up to the second floor and enter the first
door on Mario's left. Avoid that books that keep on flying whenever Mario
passes them, then make the U-turn and you'll end up at...a dead end!
However, once you get there, you'll find three books sticking out of the
bookshelf straight ahead of you. You'll have to jump or walk at them in the
following order: top, right, left. If you miss, a book will come out from
the shelf and hit you (causing you to lose 1 power piece).
Once you get the right combination, the bookshelf will move to the side and
uncover a door. Go through it to find a star on the very platform that you
are on. Pick it up!
Star 4: Seek the Eight Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Again*, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to get eight red
coins. You'd better get used to completing these sorts of
objectives...anyway, four of these coins are on the first floor, and four
are on the second, just as a rather rough breakdown.
#1: Well, we might as well get the hard one out of the way first. Go into
the first door on the left to find a room with a piano. The first red coin
is behind this piano, but be warned, if you get close to it, it'll go nuts!
So do it quickly, and be subtle. This one might give you a few gray hairs,
so watch out!
#2: On the first floor, enter the second room to the left from where you
enter, and you should be in a small library. Double-jump onto the bookcase
(watch out for the Bookend enemies!) to grab another red coin.
#3: There is another red coin in the same room as above, but on another
bookcase.
#4: Go through the rightmost door on the first floor. The red coin is
rather simply positioned in this room.
#5: Go up the stairs to the second floor and enter the room to the
immediate left of the stairs. Once again, the coin will be found in this
room. Okay, those might have been easy...
#6: Go into the the coffin room, the first door to the right of the stairs
after you go up to the second floor. A red coin is under one of the
coffins. Walk up to a coffin and it will lift up, allowing you to get the
coin.
#7: Stay in the same room and you'll find another red coin under another
one of the coffins in the room.
#8: In the rightmost room on the second floor, you'll find a floor that
will collapse underneath you if you stand on it. Here's the trick: the red
coin is near this floor, so just run over it and try not to fall!
Once you get all eight red coins, return to the lobby and go up the stairs.
Go to the left and proceed to the end of the balcony to find the star
marker...and the Star, too!
Star 5: Big Boo's Balcony
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head over to one of the doors on the right that leads to the library. In
one of the corners of the room, there is a raised floor. If you look up
you'll see a rather secretive platform above you. Wall kick off the wall
and jump up to the platform, then go through the door to enter a room with
a Blue Coin Switch. Look for the double doors to the camera's right, then
leave the house by those doors, where you'll encounter the big Boo for the
3rd time!
This time the situation is a little bit more claustrophobic, since you will
be fighting on a rather open balcony. But your objective is the same: punch
Big Boo in the back, or pound the ground on him, whatever. Repeat 3 times
to defeat him and earn a star. But wait a second, there's a little bit more
to earning this star than that...
After you defeat the Big Boo the star will appear, out of all places, on
THE ROOF! So, basically, what you'll have to do is long jump to the ledges
above the windows on either the left or right side (scrabbling to ensure
you get onto them), then long jump back up to the ledge on which the Star
is. The rather wide-angle camera does not help things. Whatever, if you
manage to get there, congratulations, because that's probably the hardest
part of this objective. At least to me.
Star 6: Eye to Eye in the Secret Room
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't feel like copying out the instructions to star 5, because they are
mostly the same for this star. Anyway, do the same thing with one
exception: get the Vanish Cap before you enter the room. Perform the same
instructions, except keep going in the direction that Mario is facing once
you enter the room with the double doors. Around the corner, you'll find a
picture of a Boo covering his eyes. If you still have the Vanish Cap
activated (which you should), jump through the picture and you'll find a
HUGE Mr. I in the room!
Basically this boss will fire plasma beams at you if he sees you, much like
his smaller counterpart. But running around in circles will make this guy
roll his eyes. And no, he does not have any Visine available. So, run
around in circles around the huge Mr. I and eventually he'll have a hard
time keeping up with you. This will kill him, and a star will appear at the
back of the room. Geez, this enemy could replace Ben Stein as the spokesman
for Clear Eyes... </nonsense>
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First of all, kill all the Boos around the level. There are eleven of them,
and they each are worth one blue coin. Without even realizing it you
already have 55 coins if you get this done! In addition, the blue coin
switch in the star 5 and 6 area is worth 20 more. Not to mention the 8 red
coins. Add them all together, and you have 91, so it really shouldn't be
that hard to get the rest, considering the number of enemies in this level.
(It's just nine coins that you have to get, it can't be that hard!)
--------------------------------------------------
Course 6 - Hazy Maze Cave
--------------------------------------------------
Now things start to get interesting. Hazy Maze Cave is an underground level
(a cave, perhaps?) with several different segments to it, making it hard to
find your way around the level at first. However, maps have been cleverly
scattered around the course with accompanying signs, giving you directions
to various parts of the level such as the underground cavern, black hole,
or the hazy maze.
After defeating Bowser, enter the basement and follow the passage to your
right to the door. After going through the door turn right at the fireball
face picture, and enter the blank star door. Go down the steps to find a
picture of metallic liquid, so jump in to enter.
Star 1: Swimming Beast in the Cavern
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once you enter the level, turn left and use the Long Jump to clear the pit
that you see in front of you. Make your way to the right after going
through the door, then clear the chasm with a Long Jump. Head up the hill
while trying to evade the boulders that keep on rolling down this incline,
and then turn right to find another door. Take the platform (it's actually
an elevator) down to the basement of the level.
Head down the ramp into the water, then find a blue sea dragon that very
much resembles the Pokemon Lapras (dubbed Dorrie by friend and foe alike.
And no, you have not found the Loch Ness Monster here.) Swim over to her
back and learn how to control her move- ment: whichever direction you face,
she will go in that direction. Guide her to an island in the center of the
level where the star is, then pound the ground on her back. She'll lower
her head, then get up on her head and jump to the island to get the star.
Star 2: Elevate for Eight Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Finally, a red coin star that ISN'T star number four in each course! Not
that it really makes a difference...anyway...after entering the level, turn
right and go down towards the door that you find. Slide down the pole, then
turn right and look for some steps. Jump up them to find a work elevator.
If you don't know how this works, the elevator has four buttons indicating
four different directions on it. Step on one of the buttons to move in that
direction, and step on another button to move in another direction. If you
hit a wall you'll move in the opposite direction of where you were going.
#1, #2, #3: Get on the work elevator and look for three boxes scattered
around the area. There is one silver coin in each of them, so pick those
up.
#4: On the far side of the room from where you started, you'll find a
platform with another silver coin. Step off the elevator for a moment to
pick it up, then quickly get back on before it disappears on you (yes, it
will revert to its original position if you stay off for too long).
#5: Ride along the wall to a pole close to the entrance of the room.
Nearby, you should notice a ledge with a pole on there, too. Get off the
elevator and climb up. You'll find another elevator there, but the path on
this one is automatically controlled. Step on it and then ride the elevator
(smash the block that you find) to find another red coin.
#6: The elevator will go under two platforms shaped for it, but not for
Mario. On top of one of the platforms is the red coin. Jump off the
elevator and onto the platform to get it. Repeat for another one of the
platforms which lacks a red coin and jump back on the elevator.
#7, #8: Towards the end of the circuit you'll find yet another platform
with two red coins on it. Jump off the elevator and pick them both up, then
get back on the elevator quickly.
Step off the elevator once you get back to your starting point, then slide
down the pole and head down to ground level to pick up your prize. The star
marker will have a Star hovering above it in the center of the room, right
at the bottom.
Star 3: Metal Head Mario Can Move!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Return to the cavern where you earned star 1 and get the Metal Cap from the
block that appears just as you enter the level. Follow the path down to the
water, but continue to follow it once it goes into the water (a long jump
can help in saving a little bit of time). You will be guided to a purple !
switch. Depress it while the Metal Cap effects are still active (you can't
do this when you're just normal Mario) to open a gate very close to the
switch. Jump out of the water and go through the door. Perform long jumps
across a couple of chasms to reach the star at the end of this hallway.
Star 4: Navigating the Toxic Maze
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While not necessary, the Metal Cap is an asset to earning this star,
because it means you won't have to breathe the yellowish smoke that hovers
above the level in most areas. When you are unequipped, the toxic air will
cause you to lose power gradually. It won't take long for it to kill you,
and the enemies scattered around the maze do not help.
Turn right at the beginning of the level, enter the room with the eight red
coins, then enter the first door to the left. You'll find a room with a map
and two signs, as well as several coins and a hole. Study the map - the
arrows indicate the entrance and exit, and the shelters are shown by blue
circles. You'll enter at the bottom left corner of the map. Look for the
circle right at the top center of the map - this is where you want to go.
So, jump in to the maze by going through the hole, then quickly run
forwards. Grab the Metal Cap because you'll be able to save your energy
(although if you get this right it won't take you more than about 15 to 20
seconds). At the first junction to the left after getting the Cap, take it.
Continue to run for a little while until you pass through a "dip" in the
floor. Head to the outside of the maze and double-jump to reach the
shelter. Follow the rather treacherous path - marked by flamethrowers and
bats - over to the elevator. Take it up to a closed-off room with the star.
Incidentally, had you been looking for star 1, you would have noticed this
room from the other side.
Star 5: A-Maze-Ing Emergency Exit
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lather, rinse, repeat the instructions for star 4, except look for a
shelter on the left side just after you make the left turn into the pathway
to the other shelter. Then, you'll probably spot an indentation in the
wall, so double-jump and go through the door that you find there. From
there, follow the path through some bats and take the elevator at the end
of this pathway, which will take you up above the "black hole" section of
the course. Grab and hold on to the grating above, then use the Control
Stick to swing over to the Star's platform on the right from Mario's point
of view.
* Thanks to j sampson and charmeleon132 for informing me of my accidental
reversal of stars 4 and 5. The instructions have been switched around as of
version 2.5.
Star 6: Watch for Rolling Rocks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head over to the black hole area of the level by turning left at the start.
After you get past the area where the rocks fall down (I think we all know
what the obstacle is by now), just before you enter the door to the next
room, look up and you'll see two ledges indented in the wall! So, wall kick
up the walls of this area to get to the ledge with a Star on it (the one on
the right). If you end up at the wrong one, don't worry about it. You can
easily jump over to the other side.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two words: Hazy Maze. In the maze you'll find 35 coins from the Blue Coin
Switch alone, but you must quickly follow the path that they form to the
star 5 shelter. Try killing the Mr. Is in the red coin cavern - a slight
challenge considering the size of the pillars they are on, but possible.
Not to mention the red coins. There are plenty of enemies scattered around
the level, so take advantage of what you have and use it for this level.
With the right tools you should successfully manage to get the coins that
you need.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 7 - Lethal Lava Land
--------------------------------------------------
Ooh...one of the high-heat levels for once. The big danger in this level is
('nuff said) ...the lava. If you happen to fall in, do NOT be too
concerned. You'll lose three power pieces, but you'll also be able to
control Mario as he flies high from the lava. Just focus on trying to get
back to the nearest piece of solid land, and then recovering your power. If
your power meter is full, you can survive two consecutive burnings, but
fall into the lava for the third time consecutively and you're toast. Also,
watch out for the Bullies in the level, who have a real hearkening for
Mario to have a black butt.
After you defeat Bowser follow the hallway from the first key door. Then
follow the path to the right to the picture of a fireball. Jump in to enter
the level.
Star 1: Boil the Big Bully
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you begin the course, follow the path ahead of you and go through the
arch. Once you reach the island with the bully, turn left and pass the
eyeball. Follow the path now past the Bowser puzzle, and keep on going.
Turn right across a rising and falling platform (make sure to stay in the
center of it, and tread lightly) and eventually you will reach an island
with a large Bully on it.
To defeat Bullies, the best strategy is to try and lure them close to the
lava, and then punch them in. When the Bully comes after you, punch it when
it gets close, otherwise you'll get shoved away. Stand your ground (not an
easy task), and if you manage to successfully knock it in, you'll earn a
Star. It'll appear on an island a short distance away, which is separated
from you by a field of lava. A bridge will quickly appear so you can get to
it, but watch out! It'll crumble under Mario's weight, so be fast!
Star 2: Bully the Bullies
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Follow the path that you took to get to star 1, except once you reach the
first Bully, turn right instead of left. Pass the volcano and turn right,
then jump across the rather treacherous sinking platforms. Jump onto a cage
moving across the lava field, then jump again to get to an island with 3
Bullies walking around on it. Then things are going to get difficult. This
first part is easy, though.
Knock all three Bullies into the lava by punching them in. They're easier
to boss around than their larger counterparts, so this first part shouldn't
be that hard, and you get enough coins to recover completely from a fall
into the lava. After you knock all three of them into the molten rock, a
big Bully will jump on the platform. All you have to do now is knock him in
(following the same strategy as star 1) and you'll get the Star. And this
time you don't have to do anything fancy to get it, as the Star will appear
on the same island.
Star 3: 8 Coin Puzzle with 15 Pieces
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This is definitely the easiest red coin star in the game. The coins are all
in the same area, and not only that, so is the star marker! No strings
attached! Anyway, take the route that you took to get to star 1. Eventually
you'll reach a Bowser puzzle that is constantly being scrambled and then
deciphered.
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8: Evenly scattered around the Bowser puzzle.
Any piece that wiggles is eventually going to move to an open space
adjacent to it, so watch out. If you fall into the lava, don't worry about
it too much because all the red coins are there to refresh your power
meter! The Star will appear on a corner of the puzzle that is not a puzzle
piece.
Star 4: Red-Hot Log Rolling
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you were to look straight ahead from Mario's point of view at the
beginning of the level, you would notice a structure in front of you, which
is your next destination. At the first Bully, turn right and follow a path
over to an island with two Bullies. Kill them off if you want, then step
onto the wire platform next to the island, which will start moving as you
step out of it. Avoid the fire lines "breathing" out of the lava - it's a
good idea to turn the camera around to get an advance glimpse of them -
then eventually the platform will stop at the structure that was mentioned
earlier.
Straight ahead of you there is a log that rolls under your feet. Jump on it
and run towards the far end of the level - the log will move in the
opposite direction. Jump onto the platform that you see on the other side,
and then head down to the bottom of this stone platform to collect your
prize.
Star 5: Hot-Foot-It Into The Volcano
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While collecting several of the stars in this course you may have noticed a
volcano in the center of your level - that is your next target for another
star. Turn right at the first Bully, jump across the unstable platforms,
then jump onto the moving platform that is going across the volcano. If an
eruption is in progress, wait for it to end, and then jump into the
volcano.
Run and jump along the perimeter of the volcano (it should be to your
right) that gradually ascends up to the top - continue to follow the path
as far as you can go. Eventually you'll reach a set of poles - climb up
them and eventually you'll reach the top of the volcano. On a pedestal,
you'll find a star. Ahem... *coughpickitupcough*
Star 6: Elevator Tour in the Volcano
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, go into the volcano, but instead, look behind Mario (in the
opposite direction to star 5) and you'll find an elevator. Turn in that
direction and jump across the rocks to get there. Jump on the elevator and
wait for it to reach a second elevator, at which time you jump onto that
one. It'll eventually lead you to a pole. Jump up onto the pole and scale
it, then jump up the floating islands that you'll find. On the last one,
you'll find yet another star.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once you make an attempt to get this star, select star 5 or 6 on the Star
Select screen when you enter the level. "What's the difference?" you're
asking. With stars 5 or 6, a yellow ! block will appear just beyond the
arch at the starting point of the level. Inside? A Koopa shell. You can use
this to pick up a lot of coins that are sitting on such places as some of
the rock faces on the perimeter of the level (a few of them even have
1-Ups). Once you've picked up all the coins possible to get in the level,
enter the volcano, because you can't come out once you go in. In addition
--------------------------------------------------
Course 8 - Shifting Sand Land
--------------------------------------------------
While Mario would probably love to be suntanning right about now, he'll
probably get a little bit more of a sunburn than he wants. Yup, that's
right, this level is based in the desert - a desert with a lot of sand.
Lots of quicksand scattered around the level will make one misstep fatal,
not to mention lots of sand storms that may toss Mario way up into the air
uncontrollably. The biggest landmark of the level is a pyramid in plain
view.
After defeating Bowser for the first time, go down to the basement and walk
through the hallway to the right. Turn right after going through the door
and turn left at the fireball face picture. Follow it to a dead end...or is
it? Jump into the wall to enter the course.
Star 1: In The Talons Of The Big Bird
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We're not referring to the Sesame Street character here, by the way. Far
from it. From the beginning of the level, head over to the area of the
level which has a lot of Tox Boxes on it. Before you step on the grid, take
caution and ensure your path is clear: if you fall into the sand below,
you're not coming out. So be careful here. Anyway, cross the grid until you
reach the area of the course where there is a pool and...a bird?
Clutching...a star? Yup. So give the birdie a good bonk (with a jump,
punch, or any other move) to teach him a lesson. Get up on the pillar
closest to you, and then hit him and the star will head down to the ground.
Get down from the pillar to collect your bounty on the desert sands.
Star 2: Shining Atop The Pyramid
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you so happen to head back to where the bird is, you'll find that he has
a knack for stealing things in general: now that he doesn't have a star, he
has an obsession with Mario's cap. If he does, just give him a good hit and
you'll get your cap back. But head over to that region in any case, because
that's where your next mission will take place, Agent Linguine...
Get to the back of the pyramid, behind those two pillars. You'll spot a
little ledge that you can make a long jump to (but it's not easy, and
sliding down the pyramid face into the quicksand is a huge risk). Simply go
up the pyramid in a counter-clockwise direction jumping to each flat ledge
(watch your step, the ledges are narrow!), until you reach a small niche in
the pyramid. There's a Star in there. An alternate solution, however, is to
use the Wing Cap to fly into the niche, which is a lot easier and has
almost no risk whatsoever.
Star 3: Inside the Ancient Pyramid
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go around to the back of the pyramid where you went up to get the 2nd star
in this level. This time, go through the hole that you see at the back, and
you will find yourself inside the pyramid. Turn right, and follow the route
that you see right up to the very top of the pyramid. There's really not
that much to it. Avoid the mummified enemies (Spindel and Grindel...are
they related?) and gradually you'll get yourself to the top. If you ever
get stuck in the quicksand on the floor in this level, by the way, keep
jumping. Make your way over to the low platforms in the sand and you can
get back on solid ground.
Star 4: Stand Tall on the Four Pillars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Use the Wing Cap to fly to each of the four pillars. So, basically, pick up
the Wing Cap on top of the stone building at the beginning of the course
(use a backwards or side somersault to get up to the top), and then fly to
each of the four pillars that you find. Just stand there for a brief
moment, then fly to the next one, and so on, and so forth. After you've
done this, the top of the pyramid will explode, revealing a hole in the
center that you can go through. Interesting, isn't it? Well make sure that
you have enough time left to fly over, and then land on top of the pyramid
and hop into the hole.
So anyway, you'll land in the elevator, so enjoy your ride down to almost
the bottom of the pyramid. But your objective is far from over. Once you
reach the bottom, you'll see a hole in front of you. Go through it. I DARE
you. No wait, it must have *some* purpose, so really you might as well go
through it in any case. Anyway, once you get down there, step on what
*looks* like a brick platform. Is it a brick platform!? NO! You've just
awakened a couple of angry hands (a.k.a. the boss known as Eyerok). Judging
by their dialogue, they must have a voice that croaks more than a
100-year-old man.
So, anyway, give them a good fight - not very easy, considering that you're
fighting over a bottomless pit that the hands are more than willing to
shove you over. To beat them, you have to punch their eyes in the middle of
the hands when they open. So take advantage of their vulnerability when
they show it, but keep an eye on both hands, because if one can be
attacked, the other may well attack *you*. And make sure not to fall into
the bottomless pit below you. Three hits on the eye on each hand will
destroy it. If you are successful, pick up the Star that they leave behind.
Star 5: Free Flying for Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Probably one of the easier stars, since four of them are in roughly the
same location on the course. The rest are scattered in a totally different
manner.
#1: After you enter the course turn around and look behind you. You'll see
a red coin RIGHT at the edge of the course. Head over there and get it, but
look out for the quicksand! One misstep, and you will be gone, so it
doesn't hurt to be surefooted here.
#2: Back at the start of the level, head over to the stone building at the
front of the level. There are two large, smashable blocks in this area. The
one at the back, if smashed, will reward you with a coin.
#3: On the grid, you'll find a square that has a red coin on it. It can
easily be retrieved, but be careful of the quicksand and Tox Boxes.
#4: Once you've made your way over to where the bird is (yeah, the same one
that has a knack for stealing Mario's cap), dive into the pool near the
palm tree. There's a red coin in the pool.
#5, #6, #7, #8: Grab a Wing Cap and fly around the pyramid. There are four
red coins, all near the pillars. They should be really easy to get, so just
focus on getting them and you really shouldn't have to worry about anything
else.
After collecting all eight red coins, fly or run over to the stone building
where red coin 2 was. Jump up onto the top of the structure, where you'll
find the Star Marker. And the Star, too.
Star 6: Pyramid Puzzle
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head into the pyramid, much like you did to get star 3. Keep on going up,
but once you reach the sand river to Mario's right, keep an eye on it
because that's going to be part of your next task. Once you reach the top
of the falls where all the sand pours out, press C-up, then look down and
you'll notice several platforms on the sides of the falls with one coin
each on them. Jump onto the top platform (you should know what side it's
on) and get the coin to trigger a number. Then fall down to the other side
of the falls to land on another platform and get another number. Fall down
back to the other side to land on a third platform, then jump into the
sand.
Keep on tapping A to get out of the sand, as it's critical that you stay on
top of it. You'll see a coin straight ahead as the river turns to the left,
pick it up to get a 4th number. Finally, there's another turn in the river,
with another coin. Pick that last coin up to get the fifth number and cause
a Star to show up at the end of the river. Keep on jumping and stay on top
of things, and if you manage to jump high enough you should manage to get
the Star successfully.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just remember one thing: once you're in the pyramid, you can't get out. So
get all the coins outside that you can, and then once you're ready, enter
the pyramid. There's a Blue Coin Switch in the pyramid, so that will
successfully boost your coin total by a moderate amount. There are no real
major sources of coins in this level - just go around and take every
opportunity that you can.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 9 - Dire, Dire Docks
--------------------------------------------------
Yes, it's another water level, but this one is unique in that it has two
areas: the main part of the course, and then the Bowser's Sub area where
you'll find a submarine with Bowser's mug on it. Two totally distinct
levels, but they are both equally important, so watch out. In addition,
earning one of the stars in this level will unlock the second Bowser
course.
After earning 30 stars, enter the large Star Door in the basement. The
water wall in front of you is the entrance. Simply run into the water wall
to enter the course.
Star 1: Board Bowser's Sub
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you enter the level, dive into the water. Towards the bottom of the
level, you'll notice an underwater tunnel. Swim to it, then follow the
arrows that are indicated on the tunnel walls. Every so often, you will get
the opportunity to surface, so do so, as you may very well need some air.
Follow the arrows until you reach a new area in which you'll find a
submarine with a picture of Bowser on it. Get out of the water and hit the
purple ! switch that you'll find on the dock.
Right next to you, you'll find some boxes. Jump up to get on top of
Bowser's sub. There is a star on top, so just go over there to get it.
(Note: After getting this star, you will be able to enter the Bowser in the
Fire Sea level, but you won't be able to get this star again because
Bowser's Sub will not appear again regardless of what star in this level
you select.)
Star 2: Chests in the Current
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yet another annoying treasure chest puzzle that you have to solve, but the
rules are the same. In the first part of the level, you'll find four
treasure chests scattered around the whirlpool. I've drawn a bad ASCII map
just to give you an idea of the order that you must open the chests in,
because they are not easy to figure out by just writing it in words.
_
____ / \ Whirlpool
| #3 | \_/
|____| ____ ____
| #4 | | #2 |
Clam |____| |____|
____ o o o o o o (coin rings)
| #1 | o o o o o o
|____| * (star location)
|======|
Tunnel
I'm hoping that'll give you all the help that you need. But once you open
up that fourth chest, do an about-face VERY quickly and swim away from the
whirlpool! You don't want to get sucked in after you've gotten the star,
like what happened to me once! Anyway, the star will appear behind you, so
swim over to get it.
Star 3: Pole Jumping for Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While it might not be the most difficult Red Coin star in the game, it sure
is fun to try out and provides a nice challenge. Go back to the Bowser's
Sub part of the level, and surface. Hit the same purple ! switch that you
hit to get to the Bowser's Sub star, but if you turn the camera around
enough you'll find that it also creates blocks on another side of the dock
that you're on. Climb the blocks on the other side to get up to some
floating platforms, on which you'll find some red coins. Turn the camera
around so that it faces a wire wall at the other side of the level.
#1: This one is on the platform on which you start your journey to get the
red coins.
#2, #3, #4: Look to the left for a pole on a predetermined path. When it
comes to the island that you're currently on, jump on it. Slide down or
climb up at the appropriate time to pick up three coins on the path, then
let the pole reverse direction back to your starting point.
#5: Back on the island which you started from, take the only other pole
that stops here. Eventually you'll stop at another one with the star marker
- take the pole that is on the left. When it stops and intersects with
another pole, turn Mario's back to the pole and jump off to the next one.
Then turn your back around again to jump to yet another pole almost
immediately after. Jump to an island with a blue coin switch there before
taking yet another pole to yet another platform which has wire walls on
almost all sides. There is a red coin on this island, so quickly jump off
the pole, get the coin, and jump back on again once you approach it. Return
to the star marker island.
#6: From above, take yet another pole that leads to what appears to be some
wire walls. This pole will intersect with another one that runs parallel to
this wire wall, so jump off of it and climb to roughly the middle of the
pole to pick up a red coin in the air.
#7, #8: This one required correct timing. Inside the wire wall there is
another pole moving from side to side. Because it's on a different
sequence, you must wait for it to reach a point where you can jump through
a gap in the wire wall to the other pole. Once this time comes, jump in and
slide to the middle of the pole to pick up two coins on either side of the
path. Repeat to get back on the other pole.
After you get all eight red coins (shouldn't be that hard), the star marker
will appear on the platform mentioned above. Come back the way you came to
get coin 6 to get to the platform.
Star 4: Through the Jet Stream
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head back to the Bowser's Sub part of the level (geez, this place has no
shortage of stars!) Anyway, when you enter you'll see a grate with rings
floating out of it. Position yourself in the water so that the rings will
float to where you are, without too much movement on your part. Pass
through five rings to activate a star, but here's the trick: you can't get
down there because of an excessive current! So, basically, you'll have to
get the Metal Cap from the block on the surface, then jump down and walk
through the excessive current to get the star. (Geez...that's the same
thing that we had to do in course 3! Can't Nintendo think up any new
ideas!?) Yeah, this one's simple.
Star 5: The Manta Ray's Reward
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What!? ANOTHER water ring star? Well, okay, this one might be a little bit
different. After you enter the course you'll see a manta ray swimming
around and leaving some water rings behind. Yup, you heard me right. They
say you shouldn't tailgate on the highway, but hey, this is water, so the
heck with that. So, get behind the manta ray and swim through the rings
that he's leaving behind. Guess what!? Numbers will appear! So, follow the
manta ray until you pass through five consecutive rings, then the star will
appear above the whirlpool. (Gah! They had to make it easy to appear, but
hard to retrieve...)
Anyway, picking up the star isn't as hard as it looks: make sure that there
are no baddies swimming around nearby, then get directly over the star and
swim straight down towards it. You'd better be pretty confident because if
you screw up and miss the story, you will get sucked into the whirlpool,
and lose a life.
Star 6: Collect the Caps...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, back to Bowser's Sub once again...anyway, you'll notice a Star in the
level in, you guessed it, a cage. No, you can't get there normally so once
again you'll have to utilize some caps. It's ironic that there are two caps
in this level - this is the only one that does, so use it. Surface and jump
onto the docks, then get the Vanish Cap, run through the wall, and get the
Metal Cap on the other side of the wall. Jump in the water and head towards
the cage. The metal cap will let you walk underwater to the cage and the
vanish cap will allow you to go through it. From there, jump to pick up the
star.
(Note: You *could* just pick up the Vanish Cap and swim over there, but
c'mon! This is the only opportunity you get in the game to use two caps at
once, why waste it!)
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as a little note, this was my 120th and final star the first time that
I beat the game, so this one has, shall I say, *memories* for me as I
picked up the sixth coin in a coin ring on the ground of the Bowser's Sub
area. (Now you KNOW that I know this game far too well) Anyway, there's
only 106 coins in this course, so pick up every coin that you can. On the
floating platforms there is a blue coin switch that'll give you 30 coins,
so use it!
--------------------------------------------------
Course 10 - Snowman's Land
--------------------------------------------------
The second of two snow levels. This level will be more difficult than Cool,
Cool Mountain, with several new challenges: a couple of freezing cold lakes
that increase the risk of hypothermia, not to mention a huge snowman that
will blow Mario off the mountain if you let him - and to add insult to
injury, you'll also lose your cap! Several more enemies make it a lot more
challenging.
After getting the second key from Bowser, enter the key door and enter the
star door which is in a niche in the wall. You'll find a room with a mirror
on the far wall. Next to the Bob-omb painting you'll see a snowman
painting. Look away from the mirror and you'll see the Bob-omb painting,
but not the snowman painting. Jump into the wall where the painting
*should* be.
Star 1: Snowman's Big Head
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the beginning of the level, head towards the lake with cold water with
a couple of Spindrift enemies around it. On the island in the center of the
lake you'll notice several triangle blocks coming out of some sort of ice
machine. So, get to the island, then triple jump or double-jump over the
ice blocks to get onto the mountain. Then, just go up the path until you
reach the ice platform.
You'll see a penguin walking across this ice platform (it kind of looks as
if the snowman is holding it). Once you step on the snowman he'll make a
comment (hey, what's with calling Mario a snow flea anyway!?) and start
blowing. Walk next to or jump on top of the penguin (the latter is
preferable) to get across, then continue climbing to reach the snowman's
head, plus a Star.
(Alternative: jump into the cannon and launch yourself to the snowman's
head. You'll have to open up the cannon first, however, so you have to talk
to the Bob-omb Buddy in the igloo in this level. I'll indicate where it is
later.)
Star 2: Chill With The Bully
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some things never change. Such as knocking angry enemies into lethally
dangerous substances (like, in this case, freezing water!) As you were
going to get Star 1, you would have noticed a Bully with icy colours
walking around on the platform. Head up the ramp to the platform, and let
the fight begin. But the rules are the same: knock him off before he knocks
YOU off.
Use a lot of punches to get him off the platform. Just lure him close to
the edge, then use a punch to knock him off. Be careful, the icy surface
does not have much traction, so you may have a hard time coming to a stop!
The water below is like lava: it will burn you, and if you have a full
power meter you'll only get three strikes. Anyway, knock the Bully into the
freezing water for a Star. The lesson? Frostbite doesn't pay.
Star 3: In the Deep Freeze
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, cool, a puzzle. Just to your left after you enter the level, you'll
find a block of ice, with none other than a Star encased inside it. So
maybe it won't be that easy...anyway, enter the ice puzzle via the far
entrance, then keep on tapping A to jump while moving around the ice
puzzle. Most of the time Mario will appear to hop a bit, but eventually
you'll reach a section where Mario jumps his regular height. Jump and you
might hang on to an ice block even higher up.
From here you can jump to the roof of this structure. There is a hole
directly on top of where the Star is. Drop through the hole and you'll get
the Star! There, that wasn't hard, was it!? (Well, at least because I was
describing it...)
Star 4: Whirl From the Freezing Pond
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head over to the freezing pond (not the one that you get frostbite from,
the one in which you lose power quickly if you swim in it) and look for a
Spindrift in the water. Once you find a couple, hop on it. You should know
that by hopping on these guys you not only get a few coins, but Mario will
also fly, helicopter style, for a few seconds. Once you start to fly, aim
yourself behind the wall straight ahead. There are two yellow ! boxes. The
one on the left contains a Star (break it and collect), but don't forget
this place too fast as you will need to return once again.
Star 5: Shell Shreddin' for Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head back to where you got the fourth star by following the same
instructions. The yellow ! box on the right contains a Koopa shell (rad,
man! ^_^), so hop on it and head up the hill to your right to start getting
tricked out for red coins.
#1, #2, #3, #4: After you pick up the shell, head up the hill on your right
and shred down this area to pick up four red coins.
#5: Drop down to the right after you've picked up the fourth red coin and
you'll find another one in the area where the Spindrift and yellow ! block
are.
#6, #7: Here's where you REALLY need the shell. Below the platform where
the Bully is, on the frozen water you'll find two red coins. Just skim
through and pick them up, but make sure not to hit one of those rocks
sticking out of the water, otherwise you will easily get frostbite!
#8: Keep on going to the corner of the level to pick up the eighth and
final red coin.
Head back to where you started the level to find the Star Marker in a bit
of a dip.
Star 6: Into the Igloo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over on the island with the freezing pond you might notice a ramp with a
few yellow coins. It might be time to investigate. So, head up the snow-
man mountain again, but just as you finish crossing, fall off the bridge
just as you're about to reach where the first star was. You'll fall into a
small area with an igloo (and the line of coins led up here). You can also
pick up the Koopa shell and surf up the steep yellow coin trail to get to
this area.
So, what do you have to do? In a corner of the igloo you'll find a Vanish
Cap block, but you might have noticed a Star encased in ice. Take a guess
at what you're going to use the cap for. You guessed it. Put the cap on,
then double jump or triple jump to the platform where the Star is on. Well,
that wasn't that hard. For those of you asking about where the Bob-omb
Buddy was, he's to the left immediately after the entrance to the igloo.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The igloo contains a group of coins that kind of reminds me of old games
such as SMB3 where you had 30, maybe even 40 coins all in one group. (The
euphoria of picking up a stash full of coins in one room in SMW is one I
won't soon forget.) Geez, those were the days. Well, rest assured that
Nintendo hasn't let those opportunities escape them, as in an ice wall
you'll find a group of 20 coins. Grab the Vanish Cap to get them! It's a
lot of money, do not pass it up! One of the best things about the igloo is
that once you enter, you can actually leave and return to the main world
(unlike the pyramid in Shifting Sand Land or the volcano in Lethal Lava
Land).
--------------------------------------------------
Course 11 - Wet-Dry World
--------------------------------------------------
This is definitely the best course in the game (at least in my opinion).
The biggest challenge is various multicoloured diamonds scattered around
the level. Should you touch one, the water level will rise (or fall) to
that point. This will help you get up to higher areas in the level, or
perhaps even to a whole new area in the level that you couldn't reach
before. Whatever, this is unique, and I like it.
After you enter the second key door on the second floor, after you enter
the door from the spiral stairs you'll see a picture of a water spider.
Jump into the picture, but the water level that you start with depends at
what point you jump into the painting. Jumping in at the lowest point will
make the water very shallow, while jumping at the highest point floods the
course (hence the sign "The city welcomes visitors with the depth they
bring as they enter").
Star 1: Shocking Arrow Lifts!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you enter the level, jump reasonably high so that the level is flooded
(probably about 2/3 of the way up.) From your starting position swim
throughout the level until you find two platforms. They will lead up to a
third structure (if the platforms are not floating, you should raise the
water level by touching a diamond higher up). Once you get up to the next
floating platform you'll find some very small floating platforms.
These platforms have arrows on them to indicate which direction that they
move in. While avoiding the Amp that is moving around in circles throughout
this maze, step to all of the platforms (it's very easy, each lift moves
you adjacent to the next one) to find a brick structure. In the yellow
block, there is a Star waiting for you.
Star 2: Top O' the Town
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get up to the third and last floor on the large brick structure in the
level (preferably jump in to the painting so that the water level is
roughly two-thirds up.) Either push the block over and jump up onto the
ledge just up above, or do a side somersault off the platform on the ground
to get to it. Then, head to the left, throw the Chuckya to pick up some
coins (not necessary), and walk across the platform where the two Amps are
circulating, making sure not to get hit. Avoid the black fire ball in the
center of a floating island, and jump between the rotating islands to reach
an island with a yellow block. Break it to receive a star.
Star 3: Secrets in the Shallows and Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The water must be drained to the lowest possible level here (touch the
diamond in the far corner of the level next to the cage) to begin. Once
again, you have to trigger five red numbers - here's how you do it.
#1: Head back to the other side of the level and push the brick that you
find along the far wall (just run up to it and keep on pushing the stick in
the direction that you want to go to push the brick). You'll trigger a red
number as you go along the wall.
#2: Continue to push the brick until it's under the yellow ! block. Jump on
the brick and break the yellow ! block to trigger another red number (and
you'll get 10 coins, too!)
#3: Head up to the first floor of the structure and push the brick that you
find in the wall a little bit more inside the hole that it's in to trigger
yet another number.
#4: On the third floor of the structure (raise the water level after
getting the third red number) you'll find a column with a yellow ! block
and a sign, also guarded by an Amp. Get on top of the column and break the
block to get 10 coins (nice) and another red number.
#5: Hit the flat ! switch on this floor to make some steps appear that lead
to the top of the cage. At the top there is yet another yellow block -
break it for 10 coins and the final red number.
On the dock with the flat ! switch below you, the star will appear. The
water level might be higher than the dock level, so either swim down to get
it, or if the water is low enough, jump onto the floating platform and then
jump up to get it. Who knows, you may need to raise the water level
slightly.
Star 4: Express Elevator - Hurry Up!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Make sure that the water level is at its lowest point. Go to the bottom of
the cage in the 3-story structure and punch the wooden block to open up a
passage between the inside of the cage and the outside. Go back to the top
of the main structure WITHOUT raising the water level (try to get the
sweeper enemies to fling you up to the next floor, it can be done, and you
won't lose any power by doing it).
Once you get up to the 3rd floor, hit the ! switch to trigger the steps up
to the top of the cage. Then comes the section where you REALLY have to be
fast. Step onto the platform to the left and it will start to go down. Once
it reaches the bottom, run inside the cage, then do a side somersault back
onto the elevator. If you do it before it moves up again, you'll end up
inside the cage. You might have noticed a Star inside the cage - once you
reach the top, it's yours. Congratulations.
Star 5: Go To Town for Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you enter the level, use a backward somersault to enter the painting
at the highest possible point. Jump to the edge of the grate in the corner
of the level, then jump into the water and swim through the tunnel that
you'll see below you. Go through the grates to reach the "town" section of
the level. Swim to the bottom of the level and touch a diamond to lower the
water to surface level (since that's all you'll need here). Then, you can
pick up the red coins in this area.
#1, #2: These ones are pretty simple. They're found on the ground, so just
head over to the main square of the town. Punch a box to grab a coin and
the other one is actually on the church-like building in this area.
#3, #4: Once you get close to the church-like building, walk carefully on
the ledges that make up the corners of the main square. At each end you
will find boxes. Both contain red coins - punch them to open them up.
#5, #6, #7, #8: Wall kick up to the top of the buildings to pick up the
remaining four coins in this level. Just smash all the boxes to grab their
coins.
Head back to the church-like building near the main square to find the Star
Marker.
Star 6: Quick Race Through Downtown!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll need to have the Vanish Cap if you want to get this star. Head back
to the underwater town, and drain the water again. You might want to run
this route for practice a few times before you actually give it a shot.
Anyway, get the vanish cap in the open, then head to the other side of the
level and hit the flat ! switch. Then, run around the corner to find the
grate straight ahead. Go through the grate, get on the block that was
created by the ! switch, and jump up onto the structure. Jump up the
various steps to get your Star.
If it so happens that you're inside the grate but time has run out, you can
either wall kick off the grate, or do a side somersault up onto the
structure. All is not lost, remember.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Try and get all of the coins in the main level and then enter the town to
finish it off - I think it's near-impossible to get out of the town once
you get in barring a slight bit of luck. There are 30 coins from some of
the various yellow ! blocks scattered throughout the level (10 each, 3
blocks), so definitely make a point to pick those up. Also remember to kill
off the water bugs to pick up a few coins - there are several of them
scattered throughout the level.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 12 - Tall, Tall Mountain
--------------------------------------------------
Well, what do you know, another mountain course. This level is pretty
linear so it won't be hard to find various places around the course. For
the most part, you have to go pretty far up the mountain, so watch out for
the obstacles that you have to avoid. Nothing extremely hard about this
area however, so enjoy it, dangit!
To enter the course, go through the second key door and find a picture of a
mountain with mushroom platforms (it's smaller than most of the other
pictures in the room). Jump in to enter the course.
Star 1: Scale the Mountain
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Errr...this star is ridiculously easy. The objective is simple: get to the
top of the mountain for a Star! Okay, maybe it isn't that simple. You have
to deal with a lot of obstacles along the way, such as some large balls
that will roll down the hill about halfway through much like the ones on
Bob-omb Battlefield. In addition you'll have to deal with a rolling log and
a HUGE gas over the waterfall that will require nothing short of a massive
long jump. After crossing the bridge over the waterfall for the last time,
however, there won't be much separating you between a Star at the summit,
with the possible exception of a few narrow paths and some vines that
inhibit jumping slightly. You can just pick the star up.
Star 2: Mystery of the Monkey Cage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, climb to the top of the mountain, and this time you'll have a
monkey at the top waiting for you. And this guy's a real pain in the butt
to catch because he'll keep on running away from you! If you are able to
corner him and don't pick him up (with B) fast, he'll jump over you, and so
on, and so forth. Gah, this is really tough, but once you manage to pick
him up (might take a little while the first time you try to get this star),
he'll offer you a deal.
"I'll give you something really, really good." It really shouldn't be too
much of a decision - let the monkey go, just follow him down to the cage
that you passed by on the way up to the summit (I'm hoping you took note of
the Star in there...), he'll open it up and the Star will head down to that
island near the waterfall (where the first monkey that you passed on the
way up is). So, just take a dive, then swim over to the island to pick it
up.
Star 3: Scary 'Shrooms, Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oy, this one may be tough, but with all the 1-Ups that you can pick up on
this course, you'd think that if you lose out here, it's not a big deal.
It's not, but pick up a few of the green fungi on your way just in case.
Head up the mountain up to the patch of mushrooms that appears to be
growing out of thin air. Oooh, scary! But hold on a second, there are red
coins on these mushrooms!
#1, #2, #3, #4: Jump to each mushroom VERY CAREFULLY. You do not want to
slip and fall HERE, especially if you are afraid of heights. Just to be
sure, you might want to pick up the 1-Up in the yellow ! block to
compensate for the life you may lose if you fail. Pick up those 4 reds,
then jump off the mushrooms.
Head around the corner to find a bunch of moles jumping up. There's a
vine-covered wall to the left.
#5, #6, #7, #8: Jump up the platforms that stick out from the vine- covered
wall to nab the remaining four red coins.
Right next to this area you'll find a mushroom, which has the Star Marker.
After you've collected all eight red coins, it'll contain the Star, too.
Star 4: Mysterious Mountainside
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, head up the mountain again. (*ahem* You have NO choice) After you
clear the waterfall with the HUGE long jump, you'll find a floating cloud
(Fwoosh) to your right that can easily blow you off the mountain. Walk
around the corner of this area and you'll find a wall that appears to be
sunken into the mountain and discolored just a bit. If you walk up to it,
you'd find that it shimmers. C'mon, this is worth investigating! Jump in!
Straight ahead is one of the hardest slides in the game (I correct myself:
*the* hardest slide in the game). So, slide down and follow the path down
(observe the arrow markers and so on, Watson). This almost certainly is the
hardest slide of the game, but one of the things it DOES have is a lot of
coins, and once you get to the bottom, slide into the hole to leave. Once
you jump out you'll end up in a hole in the mountainside where you'll find
a Star!
Star 5: Breathtaking View From Bridge
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get close to the top of the level, but not to the summit. When you're on
the narrow bridge that is close to the summit, you'll find a Star (yes, you
heard me right, a Star) in a hole in the waterfall. You can take a risk and
long jump to it, or you can take the safe method. Run back and hit the
purple ! switch. In addition to placing a block above a vertical line of
coins, the switch will trigger a block just in front of the waterfall. So
jump to the box, which will make it easier for you to walk in and get your
prize.
Star 6: Blast to the Lonely Mushroom
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the beginning of the level, if you bothered to turn the camera around
just a little bit, you'd notice a mushroom all on its own out there. Guess
what? It has a Star. Well, getting there is easier said than done -
needless to say, you can't just long jump over there. So, head up the
mountain until you reach where the monkey, Fly Guy, and log are. Use C-up
to look around and you should spot the Bob-omb Buddy just below you. Talk
to him and he'll open up the cannon. From here is where it gets hard!
Head back to where you found the moles. I believe the trick to getting down
to that platform that you see down there is to just barely grab on to the
ledge. Or perhaps you can ride the gusts down? I've never noticed any, but
get down there any way that you can, and walk across the ledge to reach the
cannon. Jump in, then aim a little bit above the mushroom (reasonably high,
because you don't want to undershoot). Fire, then it gets easy. If you're
above the mushroom but you might overshoot, pound the ground over the
mushroom if you can. It's possible to slide yourself on (I have done it),
but it's hard! Either way, you'll be on the mushroom and you can pick up
your reward. And a Vanilla Coke if you're thirsty. (Well, any soft drink
that you like...)
There are a couple of alternatives. Keep going around the mountain until
you reach the platform with the monkey and the Fly Guy. You have two
options: jump on the Fly Guy, then use the "helicopter" move that occurs to
steer yourself to the mushroom which is a reasonably distance on the other
side of the log. Alternatively, you can go onto the log, and walk straight
on towards the mushroom on the other side. Once you reach the end, perform
a long jump onto the mushroom. I've tried those once each and both failed,
but they're much closer to getting it right then the cannon-shooting method
above and I'm sure with another attempt here or there I could get both of
them.
Thanks to brain_damij and Anubis IV, respectively, for the suggestions.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*cough*slide*cough*! Yes, you heard me right, take the slide for about 60
coins, and take advantage of every one! But make sure of this: you do NOT
want to pick up your 100th coin on the slide (the Star won't be around if
you come back to try and get it). So, as you're heading up the level, try
not to pick up too many coins. You can come back and get them later after
you exit the slide by jumping off that indentation in the mountain.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 13 - Tiny-Huge Island
--------------------------------------------------
Another pretty neat course to try out. The really big thing about this
level is that it comes in two forms: tiny and huge. You can jump into warp
pipes scattered around the level to change your form at any time from Small
Mario to Large Mario. Some levels will require to perform certain tasks
while you're small, others when you're large, and others when you're
combinations of small and large. It's not easy! But use the clue names as
hints as to what size you should be!
Go through the door with the star on it after you enter the second key door
(the one that's NOT in a hole in the wall). You'll find a hall straight
ahead of you. Turn left, turn right, and look straight to find pictures of
Goombas in all directions. The center picture is normal-sized, but it's a
dummy picture. The left one will make you huge Mario (puny picture), and
the right one will make you small Mario (enormous picture).
Star 1: Pluck the Piranha Flower
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You will need to begin the level as large Mario, so jump into the painting
on the left. Head to the left after you start the level and jump across the
platforms to reach a platform with a pipe (jumping into these will change
Mario's size between small and large). Hop in, and Mario will hop out, much
smaller. When you were big Mario, the plants were extremely small, but now
they're enormous! There are five of them total around here - three on one
side of the warp pipe, two on the other, so jump on the leaves - which is
pretty much all you can do - to defeat them and get two yellow coins. Once
you TKO all five, you'll earn the Star.
Star 2: The Tip Top of the Huge Island
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, this one's a piece of cake. Jump into the painting on the right to
enter the world as small Mario, then head through the hole on your right to
make your way up the mountain. There's really nothing to it assuming you
have well-timed jumps and so forth. Once you get close to the hole where
the black balls come out and spill down the mountain, jump up the ledges
above you, then cross the bridge that you find to reach a yellow ! block.
Blow it to pieces to expose a Star in all of its glory.
However, there is a much EASIER way to get this star. Begin the level as
huge Mario, then head over to the piranha plants from star 1. On a ledge
below you'll find a purple ! switch. Hit it to expose some blocks, then
jump up onto the mountain above and head over to the warp pipe. Jump in to
the warp pipe, then jump up the ledges and walk across the bridge. This
method is MUCH faster than going all the way around the island.
Star 3: Rematch with Koopa the Quick
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like the last two stars that you got here, you really should start as big
Mario for this in order to move up the mountain that much faster. Head up
the mountain, past the hole where the balls roll out, to find a Koopa
Troopa. (Hold on a sec, remember this area!) Head back up the hill and jump
in the warp pipe, then head back to the same area as small Mario. (You
*could* go the long way around with small Mario, but I'm trying to save you
time here!) Here you'll find Koopa the Quick waiting for you, who has some
new shoes, and has been training, etc. Not to mention he wants to challenge
you again. Accept.
Now THIS race is hard! While the previous one was a piece of cake, this one
is certainly not. You'll have to basically long jump every chance you can
if you want to have a chance at beating Koopa, as your running speed is
rather inferior. Once you head down the slope, long jump down the (you
will get hurt, but take the pain) and run across the bridge - against the
wind - without long jumping. Koopa will probably be right behind you, but
that's where he'll stay assuming that you provide absolutely no room as you
head to the finish line marked by the Koopa shell flag. From here, talk to
him to earn a star.
Star 4: Five Itty, Bitty Secrets
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This one requires you to be huge Mario to get this star. You must find five
secret places to trigger your five red numbers.
#1: Jump over the platforms and step on the ! switch. Jump up to where the
large balls are rolling down, and head up the slope to where they are
released. Walk in front of the tunnel that they are released from to
trigger a red number.
#2: Jump up the platforms above point #1 and walk up the mountain to the
top. Just pass through the center of the mountain to trigger a second
number.
#3: Slide down (hopefully to the water area of the level). Look for a stone
wall where you would enter through from the starting point if you were
small Mario. Jump in front of the entrance to get another number.
#4: Head up the sandy slope where the two coins and the fire-breathing
sphere are. Jump up to the bridge which leads to a tunnel. Pass by the
tunnel for yet another number.
#5: Go to the other side of the lake to find a very small cannon opening -
walk over it for the final red number.
The Star will appear on the far away island that you may have noticed from
star 2. To get it, head down to where the Piranha Plants are, and hit the !
switch to reveal a bridge - yup, to the island. From there you can pick up
the star quite easily.
Star 5: Wiggler's Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You have to be small Mario here. Pass through the hole on your right, then
swim through the lake. You'll spot an open cannon (if it is not open, warp
to large Mario nearby, then head back down to this area to talk to the
Bob-omb Buddy. Then warp back to small Mario on the nearby island and come
back down here). Anyway, once it's open, use the cannon to shoot yourself
up to a ledge with a couple of Goombas. From here you may notice a bridge
that you would have seen from star 4. Walk across it and enter the cave.
#1: This is on the rather narrow platform on which you begin when you enter
the cave. Walk over and get it.
#2: Make a well-timed jump to a platform farthest to the right. There is
another red coin here.
#3: Make another jump to a nearby platform straight ahead to get yet
another coin.
#4: Jump again to a platform just slightly to the left for yet another
coin.
#5: Jump forwards to a platform that's just a little bit lower than all the
others that you've been on (it's in the same grouping as all these other
platforms). There is another coin here.
#6: Make a long jump down to a platform in the corner of the level, with
two pillars rising from it smashed against the wall. Wall-kick off one of
them and you should reach the one with a red coin on top. (The other is a
1-Up mushroom.)
#7: Make a good jump to a slightly higher platform from here, where you
should nab yet another red coin.
#8: This is perhaps the hardest coin to get, and the fact that there is a
bottomless pit separating you from it does not make things any less
intimidating. Jump at the platform above with a blue coin switch. Run at
the red coin on the other side of the platform while making sure to avoid
the flame sphere.
Once you pick the final coin up, the Star will appear on the lowest
platform in this area. It shouldn't be hard to get with a good jump.
Star 6: Make Wiggler Squirm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey, a task where your actions as huge/small Mario help the other! I
would've loved to see more tasks like this! Anyway, go to the top of the
course as large Mario. Pound the ground on the small hole and you'll drain
the water on the top of this mountain, but that's not the only thing you'll
do. Slide down and jump into a warp pipe to change your size, then go back
to the top as small Mario, and jump in the hole. Apparently, you've managed
to enrage a caterpillar by flooding his home, so now he basically wants to
kick you in the butt.
Anyway, pound the ground on Wiggler's head three times (each time you'll
get him a little bit more angry, until he starts calling Mario "linguine
breath"), to get yourself the Star. The odd thing is that he manages to
calm down after getting stomped three times...anyway, you'll get yourself
the Star, so congratulations.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This has to be the EASIEST 100 coin Star in the game. There are over 200
coins in the level, but you have to keep on switching between small and
large Mario to really take advantage of it. Worth noting is that you can
perform a ground pound on the Goombas when you're small Mario, and get a
blue coin instead of just a yellow. That would be a stupid sacrifice to
make if you were to give it up. Stomp on the Goombas. Be good to your
families. And come back to read the next course. Meh, I've been watching
too much Family Feud.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 14 - Tick Tock Clock
--------------------------------------------------
Oh, so you want to play with time, don't you? Anyway, you'll have to earn
some stars while having to deal with some clock parts scattered all around
the level (in the meantime you have to make sure you don't get knocked into
a bottomless pit somehow). There are plenty of fire spheres and Amps around
the level, so watch out for those. In addition, when you enter the level,
the face of the clock will determine the speed of the level. When the
minute hand shows "12", the clock will be still. When the minute hand shows
"3", the clock will be moving slowly. When the minute hand shows "9", the
clock will be moving fast, but at "6", the parts won't be working properly
so watch out!
Anyway, on the second floor, head up the stairs and go through the large
Star Door after you get 50 Stars. Head through the clock face (see above
for a little bit more information on that) to enter the course.
Star 1: Roll Into the Cage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can either stop the clock or keep it moving here, but you probably
should stop it, mostly because it's easier. Head to the left after you
start the level, then jump up the platforms and gradually work your way up
the perimeter of the clock. Eventually you'll reach a cage, in which you'll
find a star. Jump onto the conveyor belt below (this is why the clock
should be stopped: it's easier to get the Star when the belt isn't
counteracting your movement), then jump into the cage to get the Star.
Star 2: Pit and the Pendulums
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Perhaps named after Poe's short story? Beats me. Anyway, you should
probably stop the clock for this one (once again, because it's easier).
Anyway, follow the instructions for the first star, EXCEPT once you reach
the cage where the first star was, keep going and you'll find a pole. Climb
it, and head over to where the Heave-ho is. Jump onto the triangular
platform then you'll reach another platform with a pit below you (mmm-hmmm)
and a couple of pendulums (got it), which is basically the end of the path
that you're on. As you may guess, the Star is just past these obstacles,
but you don't have to put up with them if the clock is stopped.
Alternatively, if you want to skip the rather twisting path, just long-jump
to the star. Credit to Thps93 for the suggestion.
Star 3: Get a Hand
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To get this star you won't have to climb up the clock even as far as the
first star. However, you do need to have the clock moving. I personally
prefer to have the clock at 3, because you'll be able to deal with the
obstacles much more easily and they won't be behaving unpredictably or too
quickly for your liking. Anyway, climb up the clock like you did for stars
1 and 2 and you'll reach a platform with a fire- breathing sphere and a
hand moving around the clock. Wait for the hour or minute hand (how should
*I* know what it's supposed to be!?) to take you to the other side, where
you'll find a Star in a hole in the wall.
Star 4: Stomp on the Thwomp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You'll need to have the clock moving slowly, so enter when the clock is at
3. Anyway, climb up to the top, but when you reach the pole with the Amp,
don't continue to the left, jump off and then head onto the platform to
your right. Do a couple of tricky jumps over the platforms that you see and
then you should be on another path that runs around the perimeter of the
clock. Keep on climbing up until you reach the top of the level - and
you'll find yet another clock hand. Jump on the clock hand and let it take
you around to the Thwomp on the other side of the clock. Use a double or
triple jump to get on top of him, and you'll be taken up to the platform
where the Star is.
Star 5: Timed Jumps on Moving Bars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About three-quarters of the way up the clock you'll spot a cage. To the
left, you'll find three bars that keep on popping out of the wall in a
rather staggered formation. If you time your jumps right, you'll be able to
jump up these bars, and retrieve the star. (Note: This is after the pole
with the Amp.) This Star requires the clock to be on the move, so put it on
three and you should get it. With enough skill, even, you can get this star
without the clock moving.
Star 6: Stop Time for Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the minute hand is at twelve, enter the level and look to your right.
You'll find some brown platforms with some red coins - but they aren't
moving, so you can just jump from platform to platform all the way up to
the top to pick them all up.
#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8: Evenly arranged on these platforms in a
formation of two coins wide, four coins high.
Gosh, this is so unbelievably easy. The only risk is falling off of these
platforms, but even then there's a spinning heart nearby to bail you out!
Once you get all eight, the Star will appear in mid-air. Head up to one of
of the platforms, from which you can jump off and get the Star.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You should probably put the clock on 12 for this one, because it'll help
you get the coins much easier without having to worry about the obstacles.
Plus, you should definitely learn to try and get up towards the "Stomp on
the Thwomp" area without the clock moving. Climb up the pole with the Amp,
double jump and catch the platform, aim a bit to the left, and wall kick.
You should catch the triangle-shaped platform easily, and you can go up for
more coins. That's the way I managed to get up, but find your own
solutions. It is possible, so don't get discouraged, as you should be able
to do it.
As for coins, there are five yellow ! boxes with 10 coins each, so pick
those up and make sure to get every one. Also, hit the blue coin switch
near the Pit and the Pendulums star for 35 more coins. From here it should
be a piece of cake.
--------------------------------------------------
Course 15 - Rainbow Ride
--------------------------------------------------
Perhaps one of the more complicated courses in the game, the primary form
of transportation throughout this level is (surprise) magic carpet.
Surprise, surprise...well, you have to get around somehow, don't you? The
real challenge, however, are the flames being spat out that you have to
deal with throughout the level. Ultimately, you won't get challenged much,
though.
Star 1: Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This one's pretty easy. At the beginning of the level, get on the magic
carpet that you find there and ride it as far as possible. (Duck under the
flame if you have to deal with it). You'll reach a few spinning islands. Go
right where you'll find another carpet, and keep on riding it (while
avoiding the obstacles that you find along the way. Don't stay off the
carpet for too long, otherwise it'll disappear and you'll be out of a
ride!)
Once you reach the junction of two carpets, take the one to the left until
you reach the flying ship. You'll go around a floating island a few times,
but jump off the carpet once you reach the plank hanging off the ship. Walk
across it to the ship, then head over to the plank at the front to pick up
a star. Be careful, it's windy up here!
Star 2: The Big House in the Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Take the same path as you did to get the first star. When you reach the
carpet junction, however, take the carpet to the right. Stay on it until
you reach the large house in the sky - you'll pass through it twice. If you
can get past the fire (you don't want to touch it, otherwise you'll get
flamed and almost be guaranteed to run off the carpet!), you'll end up
heading upwards towards the roof. Jump off the carpet once you reach the
top to find a yellow ! block. Smash it for a Star.
Star 3: Coins Amassed in a Maze
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head over to the four spinning platforms by taking the carpet from the
start. Go straight, and you'll find yourself in a vertical maze, where you
will find your eight red coins. Basically, you'll have to jump from
platform to platform to pick up the eight red coins scattered around the
maze.
#1: From the star marker in a gap at the bottom of the maze, make some good
long jumps into a gap on the left side. There is a coin in here.
#2: Long-jump across the gap and grab onto a ledge that you'll see above.
There is yet another ledge on the other side and a rather long passageway
over to a flame sphere and a red coin at the end. Just make sure not to get
burnt in the process.
#3: From here, go to the other end and jump again to reach yet another
ledge. Long jump onto yet another ledge that looks much like a staircase,
then make a well-judged leap over the gap below to pick up a coin right in
the middle of it.
#4: Head back to the staircase ledge and jump over to another ledge above
and to the right. There is a red coin on it.
#5: Make another good jump to a rather small ledge in the air (to your
left) with a coin on it.
#6: Trying to build up as much speed as you can, long jump from this ledge
to the left onto a gradually sloping ledge on the other side, above where
you got red coin 3. There is a coin up here.
#7: Head back to where you got coin 4, then jump up onto a higher floor on
this ledge. There is a slope that you can't hope to stand on to your right,
but slide down anyway and make a jump towards a coin in the air, while
avoiding the flame sphere nestled in the corner. Land on what appears to be
a "cross" platform below.
#8: In the open on this cross platform, there is the final red coin.
Once you pick up all eight coins, you'll find the Star down at the bottom
of the maze near where you attempted to get the first coin.
Star 4: Swingin' in the Breeze
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This time, once you reach the spinning platforms, turn left. Once you reach
the unstable bridge, go to the right and follow the path throughout this
area. You will eventually reach what looks like a couple of "doughnut
lifts", so step on them to get up to a higher ledge. The only problem? They
sink after Mario steps on them for a second, so you'll have to be fast.
Anyway, head down the path until you reach a very steep wooden ramp with
some steps coming out of it. Jump up the steps, then turn left and cross
the moving platform that's moving from side to side. On the other side,
you'll find the star.
(P.S.: If you're looking for a shortcut, you can turn around from where you
start the level, and jump right to the pole that you slide down to get to
this area of the level. Just do a long jump. It takes practice, but you can
clear it.)
Star 5: Tricky Triangles!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Head in the same direction as star 4, but once you reach the steps, keep
going in the same direction that you were before. Cross the moving bridge,
and do some quick movements over to the purple ! switch on the other side.
Here, you'll find some triangles (okay, pyramids) that you can't climb up.
If you hit the switch, you flip the triangles upside-down so you can climb
up them. So, step on it, then do some quick jumping up to the top, because
you'll only have about ten seconds before they revert to their original
state! If you manage to get up to the ledge above them before time runs
out, you'll find a Star at the top.
Star 6: Somewhere Over The Rainbow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I find that they're naming quite a few Stars after song titles...what's
next, Tiny Bubbles!? No wait, this is the last "regular" star...anyway, you
have to get the cannon set up to earn this star. Head back to the red coin
maze, then head to the back where the blue coin switch and spinning heart
are. Wall kick off the wall, and be prepared to wall kick about eight times
(it's not easy and requires metronomic consistency, trust me) all the way
to the top, where you will find the Bob-omb Buddy.
Now, get back to the spinning islands and get on the magic carpet to head
over to the pirate ship where you got the first star. At the back, you will
notice a cannon. Get in, and fire yourself "over the rainbow" - in other
words, through the rainbow circle - onto the nearby island towards the pole
that you find there. Slide down, but watch out for a Chuckya waiting for
you - it could ruin your chance for a star in a second. Break the yellow !
block waiting for you there to get the last regular main course Star in the
game.
Star 7: Get 100 Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good luck. After all, you should be pretty good at Mario 64 by now! The
greatest source of coins is, without a doubt, at the far end of the
vertical maze, where you can break the blue coin switch and wall kick to
the top for five more blue coins in addition to the one at the bottom. If
you fail to get up, there will be a lot of tears, since you've just thrown
away 25 coins - no small figure. There are no major coin sources - your
best bet is to explore each facet of the level in order to get maximum
coins.
--------------------------------------------------
Castle Secret Stars
--------------------------------------------------
Throughout the game, there are fifteen Stars hidden around the castle that
have not been hidden in any of the main courses. I'll list them in the
order that you will probably get them.
Star 1: Princess' Secret Slide
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After earning one Power Star, open up the door on the second floor with a
star with a 1 on it. Jump in the stained-glass window of the Princess on
the right to enter the secret slide. This one's pretty simple: all you have
to do is get to the bottom of the slide, and you get this first Star - it's
a piece of cake. Time really does not matter. Once you get to the bottom,
break the yellow ! block to pick up the Star.
Star 2: Princess' Secret Slide II: Speed Record
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ah, now *here's* where the challenge comes. Head back to the secret slide
mentioned in star 1, but this time, to get this star you must slide down
the course in 20.9 seconds, or lower. You really need to be familiar with
the course if you want to get this. It's a good idea to press A and then B
to dive onto the slide and then perform your run headfirst - that will
probably make the difference here. Stay right to the inside of the turn for
a good time. The Star will appear just in front of the finish line if you
succeed.
Star 3: The Secret Aquarium
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After earning three stars, enter the room that leads to the Jolly Roger Bay
course. Turn around to the right and look up to find Toad, and a hole in
the wall (yup, this is worth inspecting). Double-jump up to the hole and
then walk inside to enter this secret course. Collect the 8 red coins to
earn the star.
#1, #2, #3, #4: Towards the top of the level, you'll find four coin rings
in various parts of the level. The first four red coins are in the coin
rings.
#5, #6, #7, #8: Dive down to the bottom to pick up four more red coins in
the corners of the level.
There's no place to surface here, so you won't be able to recover your
power, but with all the coins in this room, how would you? Unless you
*intentionally* did it...anyway...the star will appear at the bottom of the
course, you can just swim down and get it.
Star 4: 8 Red Coins in Bowser in the Dark World
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Collect eight red coins in the first Bowser course (open up the large Star
door after getting eight stars) to get a Star. See "Bowser Courses" for
more information.
Star 5: 8 Red Coins in the Wing Cap Course
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Collect eight red coins in the Wing Cap course to get yourself a Star
(you'll need ten stars, strain your neck and look up on the sun carpet to
enter the course). See "Cap Switch Courses" for more info.
Star 6: 8 Red Coins in the Metal Cap Course
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get the eight red coins in the Metal Cap course to earn a Star (after
defeating Bowser, enter course 6 and jump in a pool of liquid metal inside
the course). See "Cap Switch Courses" for more detail.
Star 7: 8 Red Coins in the Vanish Cap Course
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Find the eight red coins in the Vanish Cap course to get yet another Star
(after defeating Bowser, drain the moat and enter the hole that has been
exposed). Once again, see "Cap Switch Courses".
Star 8: Talk to Toad
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Geez, you see this guy in a lot of spots, but there are some instances when
you start to wonder what he does when you don't see him. Well, I have your
answer. After you get fifteen stars, enter the course 6 (Hazy Maze Cave)
door in the basement, and you'll find him next to the pool. He'll say
something to the effect of "Hey, take a look at this!" and you get your
Star. Cool! See, talking CAN help!
Star 9: Bunny in the Basement
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After you get 15 stars, a yellow rabbit by the name of Mips will appear in
the basement, and you have to pick that sucker up. Sounds simple, right?
Just one problem: whenever you get close, he keeps on hopping away.
Patience is the key word here - eventually, if you dive at him enough and
anticipate his movement, you *will* manage to get him and get yourself a
Star in return.
Star 10: 8 Red Coins in Bowser in the Fire Sea
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After getting 30 stars, open up the large Star Door and earn star 1 in
course 9, then earn the eight red coins in this level to earn, yes, another
star. (See "Bowser Courses"...)
Star 11: Talk to Toad Once Again
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After defeating Bowser for the second time, talk to one of the two Toads in
the hallway behind the second key door. One of them holds yet another star!
Star 12: Get that !(*#$)# Bunny Again...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After getting fifty Stars, head back down to the basement to find Mips
waiting for you. Catch him again to earn yet another star - once again,
keep on diving at him, it's not much harder than your last encounter with
him!
Star 13: Maintain the Conversation with Toad...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once you get fifty Stars, head up to the second floor gallery, then head up
the steps and open up the Star Door. You'll find Toad standing there, and
guess what else he's picked up? Geez, could you let Mario do the work!?
Star 14: Wing Mario over the Rainbow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the room where you find courses 14 and 15, find an entrance like the
course 15 entrance, except on the left side. Jump in to enter another
secret course, and this one is a real pain in the butt! The eight red coins
are all found on clouds in this bonus course, so use the cannons found on
the "solid" islands and the Wing Caps found on almost all islands to grab
all eight red coins in this area.
#1: This first one is near your starting point on the very same cloud that
you begin on.
#2: From the direction which you face to begin the level, turn left and use
the Wing Cap to fly down to an island (a rainbow connects the two clouds).
There is a Wing Cap block and a red coin here.
#3: Fly down to a "solid" island below you on which you'll find a cannon,
Bob-omb Buddy (talk to it!), Wing Cap, and red coin.
#4: Jump in the cannon and launch yourself to an island that has a HUGE
rainbow connected to it as well as another one to the main island, making
sure you have the wing cap. There's a Wing Cap block and red coin here.
#5: It's best to use one of two cannons in this level to get this coin.
There are two "wispy" clouds in this level that you can't land on. One of
them holds a 1-Up Mushroom, the other cloud on the other side holds a red
coin. Accuracy is important.
#6: Fly to the "cannon island" that is highest on the course. Aim the
cannon to the left towards an island high in the air that has some "ropes"
dangling from it. Aim towards the center rope. With a successful landing,
slide down a bit to grab another red coin, then slide down to land on an
island with a Wing Cap block.
#7, #8: Shoot yourself from the cannon again while making sure you have a
Wing Cap, except aim to get on top of the island with the ropes. With a
successful flight, you should land on top of the island and find two red
coins, a Wing Cap block, and a yellow ! block that holds a 1-Up Mushroom.
After getting all eight red coins, the star appears on the central island
where you began the level. Don't fall out of the course from bad flying or
running out of Wing Cap time, because if you do, you'll end up in the fish
pond outside the castle and have to go all the way back up there to try
again. =P
Star 15: 8 Red Coins in Bowser in the Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After earning 70 Stars, open up the final large Star Door, then head up the
stairs and jump into the hole. Pick up the eight red coins to get the 120th
and final star in the game! (Yeah, yeah, see Bowser Courses...blah blah...I
know you hate cross-references...)
Anyway, those are the 120 Stars in the game!
==================================================
02. Cap Switch Courses
==================================================
As mentioned in the first part of the guide, by jumping on the cap switches
in each of the following levels, you turn all transparent blocks of that
colour to solid blocks so that you can earn the appropriate cap the next
time you come back to that level.
--------------------------------------------------
Red Switch Course - Tower of the Wing Cap
--------------------------------------------------
After you collect ten stars in the game, you will notice a ray of sunlight
shining down on the sun rug in the center of the main room. If you stand on
the main rug, press C-up to go up close to Mario, and look up, you will be
transported to the Wing Cap level.
The red switch can be found by simply flying down to the center tower once
you start the level. By jumping on the switch, you change all red
transparent blocks to solid blocks.
In this level, eight red coins can be found. They're extremely easy to
find. All you really have to do is fly in a gradually descending circle and
you should get them all.
#1, #2: Straight ahead of you from your starting point and a little bit to
the left. Fly through the middle of the coin ring to get both of them.
#3, #4: Bank a little bit to the left while gradually decreasing altitude
to fly through another coin ring and get two more coins.
#5, #6: Once again, turn a bit to the left while still going down to fly
through yet another coin ring.
#7, #8: Repeat the process one last time.
The Star will appear on the center tower. It's critical to be accurate
here, because you only get limited time with the Wing Cap and it's so hard
to gain back lost altitude. The added speed that you gain from flying down
also makes it hard. If you miss a coin, try to get it, but that may be the
end of that attempt.
Significantly, falling out of the course on this level does NOT result in
you losing a life. You will be taken back to the main castle room.
--------------------------------------------------
Green Switch Course - Cavern of the Metal Cap
--------------------------------------------------
The green switch course is unique: you must enter a regular course to
access it. After you defeat Bowser for the first time, open up the key door
in the basement and go to the Hazy Maze Cave entrance. From there, go down
to the underwater lake (read the HMC guide in the 120 Stars section for
more details). Ride the sea dragon over to a set of double doors with a
platform you can jump on. Go through the doors and jump in the liquid metal
pool at the end of the hallway to enter the level.
From the entrance to the level, head down towards the junction and then
turn left. Hop along the islands at the sides of the fast-moving stream and
eventually you'll see the green switch on its own island at the end of the
tunnel. Jump on it to turn all green transparent blocks to solid blocks.
In this level as well, you can earn 8 red coins.
#1, #2: Just after you turn left into the main part of the level, while
facing the green switch, look to the right for a rather small cavern. There
are two red coins and a 1-Up Mushroom in here.
#3, #4: Continue moving down the level until you reach the island on which
the green switch is found. There are two more red coins on each side of the
switch.
#5, #6, #7, #8: Hit the switch and get the Metal Cap from a nearby island
around the switch. Jump into the water and walk around the island on which
the green switch resides to pick up one, two, three, four coins.
The star will appear at the back side of the island. Pick it up to leave
the Metal Cap course and return to the Hazy Maze Cave entrance room.
If you are not equipped with the Metal Cap power and fall into the water,
the current will take you over the edge of the waterfall at the other side
of the course. You will be dropped off at the waterfall just outside the
castle.
--------------------------------------------------
Blue Switch Course - Vanish Cap Under the Moat
--------------------------------------------------
After defeating Bowser, unlock the basement door and look for the door
opposite the entrance door to Hazy Maze Cave. Open it up, dive into the
pool, and then surface on the other side where you will notice a pair of
pillars just standing there. A sign will read, "It is decreed that one
shall pound the pillars." Make good of that statement by pounding the
ground on both pillars to drain the water and leaving this area by the door
that was submerged in water. You'll notice that there's believe it or not,
no water in the moat. Turn right after leaving, then run down to the grate
that was closed when the moat was full. You'll enter the Vanish Cap level.
You'll start off with the Vanish Cap capability, so go down the slide from
your starting point. Once you reach the bottom, stop yourself by pressing Z
and then run down the path to the right, all the while avoiding all the
fire spheres that you have to deal with. By the time you reach the yellow !
block in this level the vanish cap's effects will probably have worn off.
Take the lifts, then the unstable platform, and then a few more lifts to
get to the blue switch. Step on it to make all transparent blue blocks
solid.
The eight red coins are reasonably scattered around the level.
#1, #2, #3, #4: These are all on the slide at the beginning of the level.
Stay to the left to get the first coin on the ledge, then stay to the right
(making sure not to have too much speed) to get the second on another ledge
almost immediately afterward. Continue sliding to get on another ledge,
then stop yourself and jump off to the right to grab another coin. If you
miss any of them, crawl up the slide - it is long and tedious but works.
#5, #6: Continue through the course until you reach the unstable lever
after the first lift. The two coins are on either side.
#7: After the next two lifts there is another coin that should be right in
your flight path to the third lift. Jump right through it.
#8: As the lift comes up, time the double jump just before the lift
platform flips over so that you grab onto the floor. There is a red coin
immediately before the blue switch.
To get the star, make sure the blue switch is depressed, then use the
Vanish Cap to go through the wall nearby (which conceals three yellow
coins) and get the Star.
Fall off to leave the level - you won't lose a life and you'll emerge from
the hole next to the waterfall. There are several 1-Ups on the slide,
however, in addition to one that you can get if you collect all three coins
in the wall where the star marker is.
==================================================
03. Bowser Courses
==================================================
Throughout the game, you'll have to fight Bowser three times. For the first
two fights, defeating him will result in opening up new courses around the
castle, while beating him the third and final time means that you have
successfully beat the game, and you'll get a well-privileged look at the
ending credits. Each time, it'll be a harder battle, so look out!
--------------------------------------------------
Bowser in the Dark World
--------------------------------------------------
After you get eight stars, open up the large Star Door on the second floor
of the castle. You will enter a long hallway. At the end is a picture of
Peach, but it will change to Bowser as you get closer to it. Eventually,
you'll reach a trap door and the floor will open up so that you can enter
the level.
Course Walkthrough
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first part is pretty linear, so just head down the steps and cross the
bridge by either walking slowly across it, or just long jump across. Run
across the path of the flame thrower, then jump onto the moving platform
closest to you and get off at the other side. Head up the slope while
avoiding the flames, jump onto the platform nearest to you, then jump off
to reach a platform with Goombas (hit the yellow ! block for a 1-Up).
Run over the bridge and head up the slope. You'll notice some Amps
circulating around some crystals, so avoid them and head up towards the
next part. Jump up the moving bridge, then down the other side when it
appears. Jump onto the moving platforms, then when the two sets are
adjacent, move from one to the other, then jump onto the nearby platform
once you get the chance.
To your right you'll find several moving bridges - move quickly from one to
the next, then jump down to the bottom once again. Jump up the ledges and
then hit the ! switch to turn the slope in front of Mario into steps that
he can climb. Jump up the steps quickly before the ticking stops and it
reverts back, then jump into the pipe to face Bowser.
The Fight
~~~~~~~~~~~
Putting aside the fact that Bowser sees himself as a lot more than he is,
this battle really shouldn't be that difficult. All he really does is stomp
around a lot and jump, and moves about at a snail's pace. When he does,
Mario will be shaken for a moment, preventing him from moving, but
otherwise it shouldn't be that hard to throw Bowser into a bomb. If Mario
gets too close he may decide to breathe some fire (however, once the flames
die out, sometimes they reveal energy-replenishing coins).
Just get behind Bowser (it's pretty easy if you do a side somersault over
him), then use B to pick him up. Swing the control stick around to swing
Bowser in large circles. The faster you swing, the farther he will fly once
you press B and let him go. It's best to be close to a bomb when you do
this, since it will increase the chance that you will be successful.
Eight Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pick up all eight red coins in this level to get a Castle Secret Star.
#1: At the beginning of the course, if you turn the camera around 180
degrees you'll notice a red coin behind your starting point. Head down the
level to find a purple ! switch in front of the flame thrower. Step on it,
then quickly run back to find some boxes that you can step on that lead you
to the coin. Be quick here, since the boxes will disappear after a few
seconds.
#2: Run back after you get the first coin. If the switch has been
deactivated then hit it again. You'll notice a red coin right in front of
the flame machine - walk onto the box that the switch reveals to get it.
#3: Continue through the level. Eventually you'll reach an area with
several Amp enemies rotating around crystals. The red coin is behind the
second crystal coming out of the ground.
#4: Continue up the level until you reach a moving platform moving between
both sides of a yellow ! block. The red coin is right next to the platform,
on the far side of the block.
#5: Jump onto the platforms that move in a circular motion and move to the
far left of one of them to pick up another red coin.
#6: After getting off these platforms, you'll see a ledge to your left next
to the Goomba. Get on this ledge and cross it (be careful, it is very
narrow). You'll find an Amp, a ring of yellow coins, and a red coin behind
the "point" that you find on this platform.
#7: Go back across the bridge to the main route. Jump across the unstable
platforms, then jump down to the ground. Turn the camera around to find a
red coin on a ledge. Make a well-judged jump over to retrieve it.
#8: Jump to the final platform above the unstable platforms by either
jumping up there on the way, or long jumping from the purple ! switch. Long
jump (or just jump) across the rather high platforms (you'll pick up some
1-Ups too) to find the final red coin.
The Star will appear behind the warp pipe which leads to Bowser. Unlike
other stars, you won't leave the course after you get it.
--------------------------------------------------
Bowser In The Fire Sea
--------------------------------------------------
After earning 30 stars, enter the large Star Door in the basement. Enter
the water wall that you find there and get the star "Board Bowser's Sub"
(see "The 120 Stars" for more details). Once you successfully earn the
Star, the water wall will move back to reveal the entrance to the next
Bowser level - a hole in the floor. Jump in to enter the next level.
Course Walkthrough
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Don't think that this one is going to be easier than the first one. Trust
me, the level of difficulty has gone up, since if you fall, you will most
likely fall into lava and get flamed (and that hurts if you didn't know
already!) Anyway, hop on the cage at the beginning of the level. Jump over
the platform that it passes through, and when the platform sinks down, step
on the unstable islands to the left until the cage surfaces. Then jump off,
battle with a Bully if you want, and keep going.
Head over past the Goombas (if you got hurt at any time use the Spinning
Heart to recover), then jump onto the pole, turn the camera around so
you're facing where you came from, and adjust yourself so that Mario's back
is in that direction. Dismount and jump across the unstable platforms (they
tilt horizontally). Keep going, so climb up the next pole (you'll receive a
1-Up). Jump onto the next elevator to reach the next part of the course.
Walk across the wire grating, then either long jump across the lava lake or
take the bridge that's moving around (I prefer the former). Jump up the
slope, then hang on to or walk over the wire net below with the ring of red
coins. Take a ride on the platforms moving around to get to an island with
a couple of Bullies on it. Kill them off, then head onto an accordion-like
structure up ahead (the platform's floors move up and down, much like an
accordion). Anyway, climb up to the top and wait for the top section to
reach another platform if you haven't done so already. Head up the
stone-lined path for the next section.
Jump across the platforms that keep on rising and falling into the lava,
avoiding the flame throwers all this time (gah, this has to be the most
intimidating part of the level...) and making sure that when the platforms
reach their lowest point, you're in the center where there is no lava. Once
you reach the end, jump onto a pole and slide down, jump on a platform,
then jump on another pole and jump over to a stone ledge. Run across the
unstable blocks next to you, then jump into the funnel that concludes the
course to be warped to Bowser.
The Fight
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Now hand back those Stars! My troops in the wall need them! Bwa ha ha!"
Yup, Bowser's ego has still swelled even after you defeated him the first
time. Well, he's got every right to be (what!?), because he's got some new
moves that Mario has to deal with. This time, when you begin the fight he
will immediately jump on the platform that you and him are on. So, it will
tilt to a ridiculous degree, making it more difficult to stay on the
platform. Not to mention he will charge at Mario (apparently he will not
bother breathing fire, there is enough below you). In addition, he'll
teleport around the level in order to try and defeat you.
Basically, the strategy here is don't go to Bowser, make him come to you.
Seriously. >_> Stand close to a bomb, and wait for him to charge at Mario
if he's close by. Once he gets close, run with him, then do a side
somersault over his head. Bowser will have a hard time keeping his balance
while he's at the edge of the platform, so take the opportunity to snatch
his tail, spin him around, and throw him into the nearby bomb (because of
the larger size of the platform, this can be more difficult). Once again,
one hit does the trick. If you're successful, you'll get the second Key,
and access to the key door on the second floor of the castle - behind which
you'll find 4 more courses.
Eight Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As usual, if you pick up all eight coins in one shot, you'll earn a Castle
Secret Star. But with the expanded size of this level, it might be a little
bit more difficult.
#1: After you begin the level, once you reach the first Bully head up the
grating straight ahead. Follow the path that you find up to a coin ring on
a wire platform, with a Red Coin in the air (incidentally enough, above a
hole in the grating). Jump over to get it.
#2: Return to the main route and keep on going. Once you reach the unstable
platforms that tilt to the left or right, go to the edge of the first one
to pick up a coin. Be careful not to let the platform tilt too far, causing
you to slide off!
#3: Keep on going. Once you reach the multicoloured room after climbing the
pole, head over to the far corner and pick up - you guessed it - yet
another red coin.
#4: On the elevator to the left, there's nothing. However, hop on it and
then jump off back to where you were to expose a red coin. Jump out of this
room to grab it, but be prepared to pound the ground just as you're about
to reach the ground to minimize damage. (You *can* go through the spinning
heart you find there, though...) Sure, you went backwards a bit there, but
hey, 2 steps forward, 1 back.
#5: After you take the elevator up to the next pole you'll notice a slope
that you have to go over before the wire net. To the right you'll find a
bridge. Head up, knock off the Bullies that happen to be guarding your coin
(this could be tough, so make sure you're on the platform before you do
battle), then just collect it.
#6: Keep on going until you reach the accordion platforms. On one of the
floors you might notice a shadow of something - if you let the structure
move to its highest position, you'll notice a red coin. Just jump, and be a
little more rich.
#7: Tempting fate here? You can say that again. On the final floor, there
are several platforms sinking into the lava, plus several flame throwers.
Your red coin is right in front of one of them, so be quick in grabbing the
coin (making sure your timing is when the flame is "off") and get the heck
out of there as soon as you can.
#8: Above the final pole in the level, you'll find the last red coin. Yeah,
this one's easy...
..but getting to the Star is not. It'll appear close to the end of the
course, on top of the stone structure where the final two poles are. While
getting up there is rather difficult (you need to execute a rather
difficult somersault onto a narrow ledge), once you get up there, it's
simple. Walk carefully across the ledge to pick up the Star. Not to mention
you can get a 1-Up as a bonus!
--------------------------------------------------
Bowser in the Sky
--------------------------------------------------
Yup, it's your final battle. Head up to the second floor, and head up the
staircase. You'll find a large star door, which can be opened if you have
50 Stars. However, you can't get to this final level unless you get 70
Stars. Head up the steps behind the clock, and you'll find another star
door - but it can be opened. However, if you don't have 70 Stars yet, the
staircase in front of you will never end.
You must get 70 Stars before you can enter the final Bowser level. Once you
do, open up the door, then head up the stairs (no, they're not endless
anymore), then jump into the hole on the floor to head to the final level.
Course Walkthrough
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gah, this one is long, and complicated, and stuff...anyway, at the
beginning of the level jump across the platforms, then jump onto the bridge
coming in and out of the wall. Keep going across the S-shaped unstable
platform (stay at one end for a moment, then at the other to make sure that
it's balanced.) Head up the extremely steep slope (strangely, Mario can run
up slopes this steep), then head down the stone path, past the spinning
island, back onto another stone path.
Jump onto the unstable bridge, then jump onto a lift with four platforms
spinning in a circle. What you should do here is try to double-jump up to
the floor above you, either by using two different lifts or any other way.
The path straight ahead is not recommended, mostly because it's a pain in
the butt to take and much more perilous. Anyway, jump up there, leap across
the gap, then hit the purple ! switch to turn the steep slope in front of
you into a neat set of stairs that you can go up.
Head up the slope, avoiding the flame throwers all the time, then turn
around 180 degrees and head back down in the other direction (avoiding more
of the flames as you go). Head across the checkerboard platform (watch for
the piranha plant), then jump onto the platform with an arrow on it to be
taken in the direction indicated by the arrow. Jump whenever you need to
across the airborne platforms, then cross the platform with the Bob-ombs as
well as the spinning islands. Head up the pole on the second spinning
island. You're almost done...
Jump onto the pole ahead of you, then leap off onto another stone path.
Eventually you will reach a circular lift much like the one you encountered
earlier in the level. Hop on, then you'll find another lift intersecting
with it - jump onto another platform when you can, then leap onto the final
floor. Run across the platform with the Goombas (it's very windy here,
making it hard to make progress) but head up the stairs and jump into the
pipe to head to your final battle.
The Final Fight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yup...it's your final battle and this time the music composer for Mario 64
decided to compose some tense organ music (that has to be the worst music
track in the game...) just for this event. To tell the truth, I really,
really think it stinks, but that's not the reason that this section is IN
the guide...I'm not supposed to be a music critic, you know. My music exams
are less than perfect! =P
Anyway, Bowser's back to face you one more time, looking more dangerous
than ever (or is it just the scene?) Plenty more attacks for you to deal
with, such as: when he jumps, he'll send shockwaves throughout the whole
arena that will damage Mario. With a couple of jumps over the white
shockwaves, however, you'll be able to avoid them. He still charges, like
your last battle, but appears to have abandoned the teleport ability. Plus,
he can breathe fire all over the whole arena, not to mention just towards
Mario. It's a pain in the butt trying to evade the former! Luckily, once
they burn out you might able to pick out a few coins that will replenish
your energy.
So, what do you do? Throw Bowser into a bomb. Yeah, but it isn't as easy as
you may think - actually, throwing him into one bomb isn't enough. You have
to throw Bowser into THREE bombs if you want to win. Plus, if you
accidentally throw him off the platform, he'll break off a segment of the
arena once he comes back. Basically, follow the same strategy as I
mentioned for the first couple of battles: tease him towards you, then when
he's struggling to get his balance, grab him by the tail and throw him in.
But once you succeed twice, things get more difficult: Bowser will go on a
rampage and break off several pieces of the platform, causing it to be
shaped like a star. Now it's more claustrophobic, not to mention that you
only have three bombs left that you can throw Bowser into (yes, you started
with 5). The worst part is that they're all pretty far away, so it'll take
a fair bit of luck to hit one of them. Try to get Bowser to the edge of one
of the sides of the Star, then rotate the Control Stick reasonably quickly
to insure that Bowser will make it to the bomb once you release him (making
sure that your timing is right on). With a lucky release point, you'll make
it. After talking to Bowser, he'll leave behind a large Star. Pick it up to
go to the ending (and a well-deserved one at that).
Congratulations. Add the game to your "I BEAT IT!" collection.
Eight Red Coins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, they're all found around the level, and if you pick up all
eight, you get yourself - you guessed it - another Castle Secret Star.
#1: After you jump up the first few platforms, you'll find a platform with
a movable box. Push it back towards your starting point, then get on top of
it and you'll see a coin. Jump out at the coin to obtain it, but make sure
you land on the block by pushing back a little bit.
#2: Keep on going throughout the level until you reach a spinning platform.
Pass it, then you'll spot a red coin in the corner on the stone path. Kill
off the Piranha Plant that appears when you get close, then pick it up.
#3: At the end of this stone path, before you reach the unstable platform
jump down onto a ledge below. Keep on heading down until you reach the
lower level of the world. Turn the camera around 180 degrees and you'll
spot a red coin on a small ledge. Jump down to get it.
#4: Head down the course and use the lift to jump onto another floor. Jump
over the gap, use the steps to get up, and at the top of the slope that you
head up you'll find a red coin in the air just next to the line of coins
that you find.
#5: As you take the lift after the checkerboard-coloured platform, you will
see a diamond-shaped prism. Jump off the lift, then hop up to get it (but
make sure you end up back on the elevator as you will probably slide right
back down again).
#6: On one of the rotating islands straight ahead, there is a flame sphere.
The red coin is right next to it in the center of the island. (How
treacherous!)
#7: Once you get up to the next floor you'll notice some platforms coming
in and out of the wall. There's a pole in the center, in addition to a red
coin. Just jump over there and get it, dangit, it's not that hard.
#8: Right at the end of the course, below the steps to the warp pipe you
will find a ledge. There is a red coin directly under the stairs.
The Star will appear behind the warp pipe at the very end of the course.
==================================================
04. Closing Notes
==================================================
Even though the credit should be all mine for actually having the tenacity
to write up so much information with so little motivation, the following
people do deserve credit for the influence
- Coffee's (Michael Gonzalez') Super Mario 64 FAQ, the main source for the
enemy listings in this game.
- The new-defunct N64CC.com, which was the main contribution for the
cheats when I originally wrote this FAQ.
- My parents. Without them buying me an N64 and the game, I wouldn't be
writing this today.
- One of my old classmates Stephen, who bailed me out when I had a few
problems earlier on in the game. Also to Stefano, for being a witness
when I actually beat the game. Good times.
- The creators of UltraEdit v10.00c.
- The SM64 team, who did such a worthy job of creating perhaps one of the
best platform games ever, and bridging the quantum gap between 2-D and
3-D games. Kudos!
- The numerous people that have sent me e-mails, making suggestions,
providing praise, and so forth. You've made the four years that I've
been working on this guide worth it.
- Jeff "CJayC" Veasey, webmaster of GameFAQs.com, who took the time to put
this FAQ online.
- You, the reader, for actually caring enough and having enough dedication
(if you can manage to get through all of this without frustration, I
commend you.)
And that brings an end to an era. I'd like to thank you for reading my
Super Mario 64 FAQ, and I hope that you received the help that you needed
from it. Even though to many people a four-year project (totally serious!)
may seem like a burden, sharing my wealth of knowledge makes it worth the
time.
Feel free to contact me at the following e-mail address:
[email protected]. This e-mail address is open to suggestions for this
guide, useful tips, compliments, questions, or usage requests. Please
abstain from hate mail, disruptive, flaming, or trolling e-mails, questions
to which the answer is clearly stated here, or unnecessarily personal
e-mails, which will all be deleted without response.
Check out my contributor page at GameFAQs.com here:
<
http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/3848.html>
Once again, thank you very much. Ciao. ^_^
This document is copyright (C) 1999 - 2003 Jordan Stopciati.
*** END DOCUMENT - PART 2 ***
