Super Mario 63/Walkthrough

Note: This guide might contain old or outdated information.

Outside the castle

After you've played through the first tutorial, restarting the game puts Mario to the left of the castle.

• Left is the first tutorial Mushroom Kingdom.
• Jump on the green pipe and press the Down key to go to #Mushroom Kingdom 2 tutorial (secret course)
• To the right is a bridge and then the castle itself.
• Further right is a cannon (inoperable until 63rd Shine Sprite), then a moat.
• The doorway in the underwater building in the moat takes you to #Castle Basement 2.

The Secret of the Mushroom Kingdom 2 how to play (secret course)

Just work through it. This teaches you about the various F.L.U.D.D. modes.

You only have access to this after you have completed Bowser's First Trap (In The Dark World) and defeated Bowser for the first time.

Inside the castle Main Hall

File:Sm63 castle numbered.png

Door 1

The door on the far left up a few stairs leads to Bob-omb Battle Field.

Door 2

The door to the right of this leads to Snowman's Land. (requires 3 shine sprites)

Doors 3 and 5

The darker doors either side of the main double door 4 lead to Inside the Castle: Hall Staircase. In here the upper "back door" requires 10 shine sprites, and the lower door requires a key from Bowser.

Door 4

Back outside to Castle Grounds: Outside the Castle

Door 6

Leads to The Tidal Isles (castle secret star) (requires 5 shine sprites)

Door 7

Leads to #Shifting Sand Land (requires 2 shine sprites)

Door 8

Leads to Bowser's First Trap (requires 8 shine sprites)

Door 9

Stand on them to get to #The Secret of the Mushroom. These double doors lead to two staircases; the left takes you to a sling star to the shine sprite collection room, and platforms to the #Inside the Castle Upper Hallway and the Jolly Roger Bay secret course. The right takes you to a locked door that requires a second key from Bowser, and you can use a rocket FLUDD right above it for a super-secret path to The "Endless" Stairs on the left, and a Sling Star that leads to #Bowser's Castle, And the #Secret upper passages.

Door 10

Leads to Level Designer Room (requires 5 star coins)

Secret passageway 12

When you first enter the castle and it is dark, the secret passageway at the right of the main room is inaccessible, as is the #Secret of the Mushroom. As the toads say, you have to go to Door 9 and deliver the first shine sprite that you collected outside in the cut scene. This is the first shine sprite in the storyline in the Star Map.

The Secret Aquarium

Go up the either staircase and jump to the top double doors, head up and left the stairs to the spin star and two elevators. Jump off the far left elevator at the top of its travel, and spin pressing against the left wall. There's a secret passageway in this wall leading to Jolly Roger Bay.

In the course, head down into the water, stay to the left (stay away from the vortex), trigger the button that lowers a wall on the right of the vortex. Swim over there, then collect the red coins. It's pretty straightforward.

This is the third shine sprite in Castle Secret Stars: Group A in the Star Map.

The Secret of the Mushroom

In the castle, jump on top of the central tall doorway. Then look up.

tag: Gotta catch 'em all! 1-Up Mushroom!

To the left at the start just has a few blue life segments. 1-up below, but you die getting it.

Head right and up. One-up in the middle of blocks, you'll need FLUDD to get it? Above this easy. Just work your way up, stay zoomed out.

This is the first shine sprite in Castle Secret Stars: Group A in the Star Map.

Castle Star Coin prizes

12 shine sprites gives the notice "Another room has opened up in the castle upper hallway".

If you enter the top right door with a star on it and right past the level design windows, there is a series of doors.

The first doorway after some trickery gives you the Sixteen Star Coin Prize, a shine sprite (Shine 2 in Castle Secret Shines: ???) The next doorway requires 32 star coins and is pure fun (no spoiler!). (hint: it's an unlockable character)

The next doorway requires 48 star coins. You get another shine star, shining in the dark (the first in the ??? category on on the Star Map).

The last doorway in the dark requires 64 star coins and gives you access to the Mush-Room, a room filled with power-ups and boxes which contain 780 pieces.

Castle Grounds

NTM: says "No Star Selected" First floor go in either wooden door flanking the main entrance. Head up and "into" a corridor, come out in the garden.

Note: if you head to the left and zoom out, you see a door at the top of the cliff hemming you in.

Peach's Garden

(Refer to Super Mario 63/Bosses#Kamek)

This is the third shine sprite in Storyline in the Star Map.

Bob-omb Battle Field

Battle with King Bob-omb

tag: In this land, Goomba's and Bob-ombs have always been rivals. On top of Mount Bob-Omb, the king awaits any challenger. However, Goomba's have never proved strong enough. Are you willing enough to risk a Battle with King Bob-Omb?

Race up to the King (take the first cannon), grab a FLUDD, head all the way to the right. To defeat the king, refer to This page.

Island in the Sky

Before the second cannon, there's a path towards the left, go, climb the rocks without falling until you reach a cannon with a Wing Cap. Grab it, shoot yourself to the star coin and follow the coins, the star is on a platform on the right.

The Five Silver Stars

• From the second cannon aim up and slightly left
• further left in the sky, in amongst the four rotating platforms to the left of the second cannon
• further left, in the flight path from the spinning star
• further left at the top of the arc of floating pairs of logs
• further left above a platform

Collect the 8 Red Coins

tag: For some unknown reason, when 8 different Red Coins come together, a Shine Sprite is formed... Nobody understands why, but it works, so take advantage of it.

• to the right and up from start over stump
• to the right below wooden bridge and green platform.
• above gray rock toward the right
• on path to the right under cream rock in front of jail
• above wood square to the left of second cannon
• far to right just above black boulder entrance (just before secret area)
• in the high far left cloudy section above FLUDD
• further up and left in in the high far left cloudy section near diagonal green platform

You have to leave this section to get the animation of the shine sprite appearing (take the opportunity to get the gold coin in the sky up there.

The Secret of the Mountain

Go almost to the top of the black boulder section, jump off to right, in narrow deep valley, walk off the map to the far right, enter secret area. Just move through it.

Star coins

Straight up in the air from first cannon is a star coin (1)

In front of the white rock, there's a little pillar with a red coin on it, and high above there's a star coin (2)

On the path with the falling boulders, about 2/3 up, there's a high lip to the right. Climb up it and a little below in mid-air is a star coin (3).

About 3/4 up, there's another high lip on the left. Climb up it and a little below just above a ledge is a star coin (4).

At the high far left, there's another star coin (5) you can reach by flying from the far-left cannon.

In the Secret of the Mountains area, to the left of the second set of green platforms and rotating blocks is a star coin (6).

Snowman's Land

Castle star coin and easy extra life

Before you jump into the painting, jump up on the right side into a secret passageway. Spin to destroy the block and get to Castle Star Coin (1). The block releases 100 coins, so pick these up to get an extra life. Do this every time you return to the castle if you need more lives.

The Snowman's Head

Description: Snowman's Land, as you can tell by the name, is named after the giant Snowman here. On such an important landmark must lie a Shine Sprite. Go to the right, pass the two snowy rocks, continue through the mountains and get th Star Coin(1)between rotating platforms; on the icy zone, jump on the switch at the right and get on the green platform, push the penguins on left to get the Star Coin (2), head to the right, pass the igloo; on the snowman, go to the top for the Shine Sprite. When you are to the right with a Sling Star, go a bit further to the right, there's a Star Coin (3).

Iceblock Maze

Description: To the East of the Snowman's land sits a majestic sculpture of ice. But wait ! There's a Shine Sprite in it !! If you go to the left, up and back to the right, you get to the Iceblock Maze, containing a star coin(4) and a Shine Sprite. There's only one way through, just work across the bottom, up the right side, and back left. Use down arrow to crouch and X-spin and Z-stomp to break through.

Chief Chilly

Description: Near the Iceblock Maze, Chief Chilly awaits anyone who darse challenge him... Who knows, maybe the reward for beating him is a Shine Sprite. You can get to him to the right; instead of going up the snowman, cross the ice and keep going across an empty screen, then you can jump onto his platform. You can also go to the left and instead going to the Iceblock Maze, continue left to his platform. Get also the FLUDD and the Star Coin (5) between the moving platforms(crouch, and when the moving platform begin to go up, shoot to the coin, fire a little longer to the wall after having it, and you should get out of this without losing life by bouncing on the wall.) To beat Chief Chilly, just keep spinning with X as you move towards him. He died the third time you knocked him off the platform.

Red coins of the Summit and Skies

Head left into cannon, fire straight up, and the cloud platform has a map that shows the coin locations.

Head left into the same cannon, fire straight up, land on snow ledge, get flying cap, triple-jump right then fly right to get red coins (1) and (2) inside rings of coins.

Repeat but triple-jump left to get the red coin to the right (3).

There's a star coin (6) further to the right of them just above the four rotating snow platforms.

If you fall down to the right and keep heading right, head up some ledges and rotating snow platforms. Careful, there's nothing to land on under here. To the right above a wooden building is a spin star, this fires you to a red coin (4). If you zoom out you can see there's another one above this (on the way from More Mountains to Mountains).

Head left to progress towards it. On the way there, there's a red coin (5) on an icy shape, then another (6) at the top of the five moving snow blocks then another (7) on an icy shape to the left of the top of the five moving snow blocks. Jump to the right at the top of the icy blocks to get to the last red coin (8).

Secret of the Igloo

Head right like for the first Shine and stop at the igloo You need the FLUDD to get in it. In the igloo's water stage, the fall makes you metal, so you sink (be careful). Make your way to the right and jump up to get the Invisibility Cap that gives you the ability to move through the barriers. Then head back left, past where you started, until you reach the spin star. The spin star sends you through the air and through an Invincibility Cap. Now you can head all the way back to the right again, but this time DON'T jump up to the star that makes you pass through things; instead, when you can see the shine sprite you have to dive down and go through the U-shaped channel. From the other (right) side you can jump out of the water and then jump to the star.

The Tidal Isles (castle secret star)

First floor first door with a star on the right, after the two staircases. There's also a secret passageway at the right of that painting room with a 1-up mushroom.

Five silver stars

Just head right for the first one. Then follow the underwater passage down and left (2). Keep heading right, jump onto the island (jump to the middle of it and/or use a crouch then up and back for a backflip jump or wait for a wave and jump up) and take the platform to the top (3).

Below this island is a cavern with two more silver stars (4, 5). Don't touch the platforms near them on the way down. Also there's a star coin under a platform you have to touch and swim off.

Shifting Sand Land

It's on the first floor, the last door with a star on the right, up the far staircase. There's also a secret passage at the left of that painting room with a hover FLUDD.

Inside the Pyramid

tag: The Ancient Pyramid of Shifting Sand Land is the burial site of the Koopa Pharoah, Yuuzgonadai.

To get this star easier, you can do the Shining Atop The Ancient Pyramid mission first to get the FLUDD. The trick to getting across the platforms and spinners going into the quicksand is to go over the spinners, and just ignore the platforms entirely. Land on the platform after and go up the elevator. Jump across the gap to the platform before the moving ones. Then quickly run across the platforms before you get crushed by the mesh. Bounce onto the green platform and grab the FLUDD. Time yourself on getting onto the moving platforms from the green one. In the maze, just spin to break through. Get the star coin first (star coin 1 in Mini Course 1in the Star Map.), then the shine sprite.

There's another star coin under a platform on the way to the pyramid. Get the FLUDD, walk partway into the pit, jump sideways to it and immediately press C or the Space bar to hover out from it. This is star coin 2 in Mini Course 1 in the Star Map.

Trekking for 8 Red-Coins

tag: Some of the Red Coins are cursed, so that you'll need some Ancient Magic to reach some of them...

Head right and blow up box for red coin (1), further right another coin (2)

Triple-jump onto roof of temple, then through sling star and head left to get red coin (3) Back onto temple, get invisibility, then through sling star and head right to get red coin in box (4) Further right and drop down to get red coin (5) at top of obelisk. To the right lower down is a red coin (6).

There's another red coin inside the excavation to the right, you need to be invisible to get to it (7)?.

Back up onto the temple roof, head right in the sky, the last green platform takes you over to a red star on top of an obelisk (8).

There's a star coin next to it, but you'll need the FLUDD to reliably get to it. This is star coin 3 in Mini Course 1 in the Star Map. If you land on that obelisk (or from the star coin), you can jump up and on your third jump, jump right a bit into a sling star. This takes you to the upper deck of the pyramid. and a FLUDD.

Shining Atop the Ancient Pyramid

tag: The Shine Sprite glows brightly from on top the pyramid, but how to get there?

Temple roof-sling star - platforms in the sky - obelisk - jump into second sling star - pyramid FLUDD, then just work your way to the top. The ledges above you will knock you down, so don't jump too hard.

Bowser's First Trap (In the Dark World)

Tag: Bowser Castle
Bowser's Trap
This is it! Go and save the Princess from Bowser!

Up the right staircase to the checkered floor, through the door. Oh no!!!

The red coins are pretty much all visible on the way up. Two are hidden by the falling blue blocks. When you make it all the way to the upper left, you get a FLUDD, iwhich lets you get the star coin that is to the right and slightly above the platform, by jetting up to it from underneath.

Red Coins (Secret Course - Bowser's Trap)

Left on platform for (1). Head right, second coin (2) is below green blocks but you have to time it. Be careful. The next coin (3) is on the suspended block after the green blocks. Don't fall off. Next one (4) is on top of the falling blue block. Jump on and ride it up to get the coin. Jump off quickly and go over the green turntable. Kill the Goombas and ride the white block up to the next turntable, after which are a series of rotating wooden logs. Go over these. Then, after the falling blue blocks, ride one up to the next red coin (5). Next coin (6) is on the Evil Elevator, half-way up. Be careful and DON'T get squashed. When you're on your way up the ramp, jump right and follow the 'pathway' across to number (7). Or, if you want things made easier with FLUDD, jump over the warp pipe at the top of the ramp, and spin attack down through the red coin (8) to the Hover FLUDD box. You will need to go slightly right or you will end up down where you started. Well done. You have got your Secret Course Shine Sprite, which will turn up next to the warp pipe to Bowser. I am very sorry if this cheat spoils your game, but I found the coins very hard to find, especially numbers 5 and 7.

Defeat Bowser

Head up the trail but when you get to the green pipe at top left, press down arrow to enter the platform. On the platform, you have to get behind bowser, press the Down key to grab his tail, then as Bowser says, press the Left and Right Arrow Keys rapidly. When he's facing one of the gray and red spheres at the edge of the platform, press the Space bar to let go of Bowser. He should fly into it. You lose a life getting behind Bowser but it's pretty doable.

Under the Castle Basement

To the left in the shallow water is the Hazy Maze Cave painting.

Further left is a door to more basement (Castle Basement 2). This door can only be opened after you complete the fight in the garden, and collect the green shine sprite.

Where the roof dips between the Hazy Maze Cave painting and this door you can jump to the roof. Jump again and there's a spin star that takes you to #Secret of the Sky (secret course).

Talk to the toad guy in the basement, he'll tell you there's a hidden door here. Indeed there is, it leads to the #Frosty Fludd (secret course)

Frosty Fludd (secret course)

tag: Even though Turbo Fludd is cold, it still runs at Turbo Speed. Group B 1st shine sprite Castle Secret Star Courses: 4th star coin

Slow your landings with spin and land vertically so you don't skid. Break into blocks using turbo, gain speed with turbo. You'll come to a star coin on the way to the shine sprite.

SPOILER: the hidden door (Frosty Fludd (secret course)) is on the wooden wall to the right of the door.

Secret of the Sky (secret course)

Zoom out here with - to more easily see the coin locations.

Head right and rocket up the column of coins, fall slightly left to the cloud with red coin (1).

Jump right onto the hilly area. Rocket up the column of coins above it to the wide cloud above, then rocket up and slightly left (following the left red arrows) for red coin (2). You'll hit a strong updraft, get the coin and zoom past the coin. You can aim for a row of four rotating platforms above. Use them to move left onto a small cloud for red coin (3).

Fall down from this onto a fairly big floating green island. On the top of it is a row of coins, red coin (4) is at the left end. The wind blows you away from this, either walk slowly towards it or rocket out of the wind to the left edge of this floating island to land on the coin.

If you zoom out you can see below you a hollow in this floating island. Walk to the right edge of the island, fall off, stay to the left of the updraft, and steer down and left to land on the the cloud below the island. Rocket up and left, following the red arrow, to get the red coin in the hollow (5).

Jump and fall to the right to get back to the wide cloud. There's a red arrow pointing up and right to a series of platforms leading to a red coin (6). Because of the wind, it's easier to rocket up and right and past all these, land on the coin, then jump the platforms to head left.

Fall back to the ground and head left following the arrows back towards where you started. You'll come to a big gap with clouds and wind rushing upwards, in the middle of it is a ring of coins with a red coin (7). Below this is a star coin (1), but it's hard to get to because of the updraft. this is in an upward wind. One way to obtain is to ground pound in the air downward until you grab the coin. Another way to get to it is to stand on the lip of the earth to its left facing it, and press down to zoom downwards to it.

From the right edge of this rocket up to get back to the wide cloud. Rocket up again under the right red arrow pointing up. You'll pass the hollow island on your left, move right where the red arrow points right to fall on a cloud. To your right is a column of coins in an updraft between two red arrows, jump to it and rocket up. At the top of this updraft jump right onto a cloud next to a wooden tippy beam. Run across this for the red coin (8). The animation shows where the shine sprite (it's in Castle Secret Stars Group B) appears — to the left and way up atop a column of coins. You can just drift up the updraft.

Castle Basement 2

• Note: Hazy Maze Cave is optional to do before unlocking Castle Basement 2

You can not enter this area until you get a "special" (green) shrine, Or another way requires about 10 attempts more or less. (So if you want to do it the turbo fludd way, here's how. Go to the basement and stand by the door, next hold space/c. when the ceiling at the end of the "one way" slide jump twice, then when you're near the top, spam jump, again you most likely aren't going to be able to get it on your first attempt, but that's okay, here's how to do it the normal way) You have to enter the garden above the basement and head right. You will meet Kamek which you will have to fight. Dodge his attacks until he leaves and you have to fight Goomboss. Make sure to ground pound onto his head or your attack is useless. After he dies, you can collect the "special" shrine.

That takes you to, from left to right:

• Boo's Mansion painting
• #Wet-Dry World painting
• a star doorway (to #Castle Basement 3),
• a door flanked with two buttons that takes you to the castle moat #Outside the Castle.

Land on the right button to raise the water, and you can jump into the black above the basement ceiling at two points.

If you head up, you can get the Lead star which makes you heavy not effected by water or lava. The Lead star is so you can go into the paintings when they are underwater. If you head left and up, you enter secret passageways. One takes you to the #Shifting Sand Land painting room (you can still jump out of it), the next takes you to #Bob-omb Battle Field painting room. There's a hover FLUDD here which makes it easy to get to the #Secret upper passages. There's another passageway blocked by Bowser.

If you jump right over the gray rotating squares, you get to a warp tube that takes you to #Thwomp's Castle (secret course).

Thwomp's Castle (secret course)

tag: "Hey you Goomba! Can you move under me? Good; just a little more to the right; little more, perfect..... SMASH!! Mwahaha!" Just move through it. Use double left or right keys for a burst of speed; it's often safer to jump on top of a thwomp block, or the topmost of a set of thwomp blocks. Get Castle Secret Star group B

Castle Basement 3

The door at the bottom of the diagonal water passage takes you to #Bowser's Second Trap (secret course)

Hazy Maze Cave

6 star coins, various boxes.

The Underground Lake

Move right, keep moving right, when you're warned about the bottomless pit go up and make your way over. You fall down the passage with a red coin (3) and a star coin (4).

To the right and up from the Spin Star is a metal cap. This is for "The Secret of the Lake" mission below, so just head to the left, into the water, over a ledge and then jump up to the left and get the shine sprite.

The Deadly Toxic Maze

The only way out of this is to rocket out through a false ceiling near the start, so in general don't take it if you're pursuing other goals. From the magic carpet room go left, and fall into the toxic ooze.

In the toxic maze upper passage, to the right of the green vertical platform, there's a spinning heart on dry land. To the right and above this is a metal star that makes you impervious to the toxic ooze.

In the toxic maze middle passage there's a spinning heart above three gray stones in the ooze.

Further right past this is a set of passages in the roof that leads to another metal star that makes you impervious to the toxic ooze, and also a star coin (6).

Further past this is a wide open roof area with another spinning heart.

Move all the way through it to the right, and there's a shine sprite!

The Caged Shine Sprite

Rocket up from mushroom near red FLUDD box. Head left then up, then rocket through the roof to an upper passage, head right. (On one of the wooden balance beams across the chasm, there's an arrow up. Jump up and slightly to the right, rocket up, and get a star coin (2)

Make your way across another chasm with lots of coins and critters at upper right. Get to the top, head right, fall down, fall through the false floor and you're next to the shine sprite. There's an invisibility cap in here too.

Excavating the 8 Red Coins

(This mission contains Star Coins 1-5 as well.)

Head right, get the red FLUDD. Rocket straight up. In the upper left of this room is a Zoom instruction sign and a red coin (1). Directly to the left of these is a hidden passage in the wall with a Star Coin (1). Directly above the Zoom sign is another hidden passage; rocket up to get the second red coin (2). Exit this room to the right.

Jump to the first wooden tip lever. Straight up is a Star Coin (2). Exit with a careful fall into the Pit Room below. Head out of the Pit Room to the right (beware falling boulders). Just before the exit, rocket straight up into where the boulders are falling from; to the right is a Star Coin (3). Go back down and exit the Pit Room to the right.

Fall down the vertical passage using a Spin Attack. To the left is a Star Coin (4) and to the right is a red coin (3). Land at the bottom of the vertical passage (the far left of this room contains "Underground Lake" Shine Sprite) then turn around and head back up with the Spin Star. Exit to the left, back into the Pit Room.

Make your way to the far left of the Pit Room and go down the Vertical Hallway. Exit out the second hallway down, the first on the right. This passage leads to a cavern with rotating green platforms; partway up there is a red coin (4), and way up is another red coin (5). Rocket out the top of this and come out into the Pit Room. Either exit to the left and return to the Vertical Hallway or fall to the bottom of the cavern with rotating green platform and go left to rejoin the Vertical Hallway.

Head down. Once on the ground, head left along this to the Side Room with the magic carpet, and the Red Coin Map sign.

Above is a huge cavern. Near the top right is the last Star Coin (5) for this mission. As the map shows, it has red coins (6) (7) and (8). Get them and the Shine Sprite appears in this room.

(To the left of the magic carpet is a flat section with ledges visible below it within the rock. This is the top of the Emergency Exit from the Toxic Maze below, where Star Coin (6) is hiding.)

The Secret of the Lake

Locate the 5 Silver Stars.

From "The Underground Lake", get the metal cap and stomp through the underwater block to the far left. Then just move around. The rings of coins give you air as well as health, so get them after you get the stars.

Boo's Mansion

There's a small building on the left, the main building.

There's an invisibility (?) star cap far to the right in front of the main building.

The basement

The small building on the left has a shaft that falls to the basement.

Fall down the shaft, then head right and get the turbo FLUDD. Just before the shine sprite (trick!, see later), there's a big pool of water. If you go down into the water (use the sideways turbo FLUDD to zoom through) and head left and down there's a red coin (1) and another red coin (2) if you take the passage that doubles back. If you head left at the top there's a spin star that shoots you to the top.

Basement Shine Sprite

If you travel to the far right and jump for the shine sprite, it turns into Big Boo!

Quickly head back left using turbo FLUDD, away from Big Boo. You have to activate the first switch to turn on the lights, go through a simple maze in the water (or rocket over it), activate the second switch, and then there's a caption telling you to ram into Big Boo with turbo FLUDD who should be lumbering after you. You'll stun him, then run in the other direction and prepare to do it again. Do this three times and the shine sprite is at the far right, for real.

The main building, ground floor and upper floor

In the main building ground floor there are four dark wood doors:

• The far left door is locked (...at first!)
• The next door over takes you to the floor of a room filled with Boos.
• The first door on the right of the entrance has a lock symbol on it and you need the first key from this level to enter.
• The far right door has some platforms on the way to a door to another room. (If you fall down you land in the basement.) In this other room grab the turbo FLUDD make your way up to the top and right to get a purple key. If you head across and left, there's a red coin (3) (this is all much easier if you have the hover FLUDD).

Once you have that key, travel back to the main building ground floor and use it on the third door with the lock symbol.

This is Big Boo's Staircase. To get to the second staircase, do a crouch then backflip from near the top of the first staircase. The door at the top of this takes you to a main room, which is actually just above the main building ground floor. The door to the right of where you came in takes you to another room, make your way to the right and just above some jet packs is a red coin (4). There are coins across this room in mid-air but they don't lead anywhere at first...

In this higher part of the main room, left across a moving green platform, always grab the Hover FLUDD here!!

The first door you come to (to the right of the FLUDD) takes you to a higher part of the room filled with Boos. If you get the invisibility cap here, you must hover across the red girder section otherwise you'll fall to the floor. Head further right to get Boo's key to the West Tower (a.k.a. The Cable Room).

Assuming you got the invisibility cap, you can fall down through red girders to the left to get a red coin (5).

In this higher part of the main room, the far left locked door to the left of the hover FLUDD takes you to the Cable Room.

Once you get the rocket FLUDD, you can boost up to the top gray platform above the moving green platform. You need invisibility to get to the #Top doors here.

Note that once you've been through the course and gotten all three FLUDDs, the next time you go through just grab one kind of FLUDD and you just rocket to the higher part of the main room from the bottom of the main room.

Cable Room

If you fall down in here you land in a bunch of rotating gray squares, to the right is a locked door. "Both Green & Golden lights shimmer from the other side of the door, however, something is preventing you from opening it." Use "Z" to close out of the sign, like all signs.

If you make your way across to the right of the rotating gray squares, there's a door that takes you to the ground floor far left door (that is locked from the other side).

If you don't fall down in the cable room, just make your way around, use hover a lot. Pretty high up in the center is a red coin (6). At the very top left there's a star coin (1).

At the very top right are two doors. The first one you come to (on the left) says "There is no other side to this door, so it won't open!". The next one (on the right) takes you to a big brown room.

Big brown room

From where you come in from the Cable Room, there is a star coin (2) above you on the left. Way over and up on the right is a shine sprite behind a barrier.

The double doors to your right lead to #High outside the castle. Further right is a door but "Both Green & Golden lights shimmer from the other side of this door, however, something is preventing you from opening it."

High outside the castle

The double doors to the right lead to high on the outside of the castle where you'll find the Big Boo's Balcony shine star.

If you go left and jump on the block, you get to a door that takes you to the far left of the big brown room. Get the rocket FLUDD! You can now easily get to the above-mentioned star coin (2).

Back in the big brown room, the single door to the right of the double doors takes you to a room full of boos and a 1-up. Just spin across to it. When you exit out of the same door you come out on the right side of the big brown room!

High on the outside of the castle, if you go right and jump on the block, you get to a door "From the other side of this door, you can almost hear the sound of a Shine Sprite..."

From either high platform high outside the castle, you can rocket to a top center platform. The double doors take you to a room of books for #The Secret of the Library. If you jump above them there's a star coin (3) at the tip of the building

The Secret of the Library

Enter the second door from the left on the second floor, and get the invisibility cap. Quickly hurry out of the room. Assuming you have rocket FLUDD, blast up to the ledge INSIDE the house above floor 2. Climb into the big book and you will go to subcourse made of books. There is a star coin (4) at the middle left, and at the top, a shine sprite.

'Switch' to the Secret room

Help text: Get a Grip! This ghostly Shine Sprite has been gobbled up by the Ghost's secret room. By getting to the Ghostly Golden and Ghostly Green switches, by golly, you might get the garment, but be on the guard from the gruesome ghosts.

At first the far left door on the main building ground floor is locked. But then... ? it opens.

Make your way left across the turning gray blocks into another room containing a red coin (4), a 1-up, and at the top left, the green switch!

After operating the green switch, return to the bottom of the main building. The first door on the right of the double doors takes you to the staircase as usual, but on the landing there are now green elevator blocks above! Jump from one to another to get a red coin (5). If you get out of sync jump out of the way to avoid getting crushed and use rocket FLUDD.

Continue up the staircase to the upper part of the main room. Head left past the moving green platform to the hover FLUDD box. The door on its right with the room full of Boos now has a higher section you can get to full of green rotating squares and beams!! At the top left is a star coin (5), and at the top right is the yellow switch! If you're going for red coins, fall down from the yellow switch , if you don't have invisibility return to the center platform, and then fall through the red girders on the right for the red coin (6).

Return to the staircase, go up again to come to the higher part of the main room. The door on the far right now has green and yellow rotating blocks above! Hover, spin and bounce around, at the top right is a star coin (6). At the top left are two doorways. The first one you come to (the right one) leads to the big room, but now you're on the other side and you can get to the shine sprite!

Hunting for Red-Coins

The order suggested above is easiest. When you get the last one return to high up in the main room and the shine sprite is above and between the two doors to the right of the moving green platform.

Wet-Dry World

(Mini-Course #2)

263 coins: get a lot before heading to the underwater city where the smashable blocks have lots of coins.

The Top of the Town

Tag: Wet-Dry World is called Wet-Dry World for a reason, use that to reach the top.

The red switch on the "dock" makes wood blocks appear, leading to a blue button that raises the water level. You can also land on this blue button by firing up from the cannon.

Raise the water level, head left, get the turbo FLUDD. Go in the water and turbo left for the silver star (2), then turbo back. Make your way up using the platforms and you'll see the shine sprite in the air. First jump off and spin sideways to the star coin (1) and keep going to get the hover FLUDD. Then go back up the platforms to the shine sprite.

The 5 Secrets of the Shallows and Sky

Tag: Five Silver Stars are hidden around this place... Now to find them.

The red switch on the "dock" makes wood blocks appear, leading to a silver star (1). It's much easier to get if you acquired hover FLUDD. You can also get this star by firing mostly up and slightly right from the cannon floating to the right of the dock.

You can also fire Mario very slightly right to get the 1-up.

You can also fire Mario a little more to the right to get the star coin (2) (very hard to get). If you get rocket FLUDD you can get this star coin by jumping up off the platform with the blue switch and activating the rocket at the top of your jump.

If you use the cannon to get these, you want to catch these on the way down — if you aim right for them you may fall into the steel column on the left that leads to #Red Coins in the Underwater City and there's no way out.

Swim down to the blue switch underwater to lower the water level, then go left and spin to destroy the blocks around the silver star (2). Use the rotating green platforms to get to the invisibility star, then immediately turbo FLUDD left out of this "scene". You need to jump or hover or backflip over the low blue water switch, because you want the water to remain low. If you still have invisibility, head right into the steel cage containing a silver star (3). If you avoided raising the water level, head right a bit and ground slam the block below ground to get the next silver star (4). Head back left and use the rotating green platforms to jump to the final silver star (5). You may need to head back left either to lower the water level again for (4) or get invisibility again for (3).

If you got all five stars, head left to the platform where you start. You can raise the water level using the blue switch in a niche in the far left wall, or if you have rocket FLUDD from exploring the Underwater City, you can use that to get there.

Red Coins in the Underwater City

The switch on the "dock" makes wood blocks appear, leading to a blue button that raises the water level.

After the water level is higher, get in the cannon, fire about half-way between straight up and right so that you fall down the blocked-off passage on the right. Get the turbo FLUDD, use it to zoom through the passage further left.

In the new room jump up and turbo sideways to get the star coin (3).

Get the metal cap above the raise water switch (it's already set), jump left take the green platforms through the rings and spin to destroy the blocks on the left full of coins and a red coin (1).

Fall down past the platforms and on the yellow stone building is another block you can spin to destroy for coins and red coin (2) on left...

Fall down further and in the middle of the rotating green platforms is another red coin (3).

There's a coin on your left but you need invisibility to get it. Follow the blue arrows to the switch to lower the water level.

Head to the far right where there's an invisibility cap under a stompable block; get it, rush back left (use turbo FLUDD) and into the cage to get the red coin (4). There's also an invisibility cap in here.

While invisible, go to the jagged rocks, jump up onto the rotating platforms above them, jump across to the brown building behind the blue switch, then across and right to rotating blocks to a rocket FLUDD behind a metal fence. Use hover FLUDD if you mis-time it to keep heading up. If you run out of invisibility, repeat. It's worth getting rocket FLUDD.

Now that you have rocket FLUDD, you can rocket up to the ledge with a red coin (5) above you, spin to break through the blocks guarding it. To the left are rotating platforms with a red coin (6) in the middle.

Go back down to the bottom. The water should still be low, so you can stomp to break through the stone protecting the red switch. This makes a lot of wooeden blocks appear to the right. If you race through them you can use them to move to the right and then up to the a walled off area above that contains red coins (7) and (8). But if you run out of time and the blocks disappear, just use rocket FLUDD to get there. Stomp the stone protected them and collect the coins.

Make your way back down and left and the shine sprite appears on top of the building behind the low blue switch. Use rocket FLUDD or the rotating platforms to get to it.

Star Coin rewards

At 16, tag: You can now enter the first room right of the Level Designer. In the room is a reward of a Star Sprite. There is a hole in the ground that you can simply double jump over. You now have a free Star Sprite!

At 32, tag: You now have collected half the Star Coins in the Game! For it, you receive a Special Prize!! Check out the hallway to the right of the Level Designer to see what it is. Spoiler: Every time you walk through the door, you can change characters between Mario and Luigi. Luigi actually jumps slightly higher than Mario.

At 48, tag: With 48 Star Coins, you receive a third prize!!! Check out the hallway to the right of the level designer from Inside the Castle Grounds from castle shines sprites to check it out all!

Bowser's Second Trap (Fire Sea Course)

tag: ........ Bowser definitely didn't construct all of this just to stall you... In fact, this Fortress looks hundreds of years old........ But if Bowser didn't make this........ then who made it? ...... And why?......

Spin to break through the first "solid" wall. General strategy: if you're falling, spin and aim for something solid.

On the row of triangular platforms that rise and lower out of the lava, stand on the very tip of the triangle and you won't get hurt when it sinks.

8 Red Coins

The platform paddlewheel is hard. But the heart on its left recharges your health if you run through it. Take advantage of this; get rid of the creatures, get the red coin (1) in the paddlewheel's path. If you wind up falling into the lava aim for the jet on the left and it will shoot you up and back to the heart.

The three dropping plinths are tricky, you have to jump just right off the middle one. You can either jump onto the tallest, or jump over it and spin down to a platform on its right that lifts you back up.

In the metal cage, don't jump, just stay low to avoid the fire jets above. There's a red coin (2) in the cage amongst the jets, you have to jump off the moving platform and spin over to it, trying to avoid the jets. There's another red coin (3) below the platform, you have to fall off the platform as it goes up then fall under it to the course below.

In the area the platform brings you to there is a row of coins to your right then a column of coins down. If you jump over here you land on top of the metal cage with the jets and you can re-enter the cage by jumping off and spinning back inside. Anyway, move left. Jump off the front of the platform early and spin at the blocks to collect coins and get health back. The last platform over a red coin (4) and fire jet is hard, just keep watching and time your jump onto the platform.

All the platforms and lava rocks after this sink rapidly, so hustle through them. At the top of the lava rocks is a star coin (1), and on the left side of it is a red coin (5). As this collapses prepare to enter the spin star it exposes.

The spin star takes you to more triangular platforms, just take your time. There's a red coin (6) you can run to at "low tide". Get the turbo FLUDD and use it to get past the next falling block, then get the rocket FLUDD int the structure. Spin for coins in the blocks, then fall to get the red coin (7) and life. In theory you could use the rocket to power out of the lava without burning. Then you have to drop down to the lava and come back out in a 'V' shape; again you can try to use rocket FLUDD to avoid getting burned. Land on the far side of the building and then rocket to its roof to collect the final red coin (8)!

Defeat Bowser again

Follow the same path, but now run across the wooden bridge and meet Bowser! It's the same technique as the first #Defeat Bowser. Duck and jump his fireballs, jump over his shockwave, when he jumps in the air run to the other side of him, jump his shockwave, grab his tail, spin him, and toss him in the nearest gray and red sphere. (Easier said than done!) There's a bug here, it's possible to throw Bowser past the gray and red sphere on the left so that he just cycles around it.

Secret upper passages

Go up the staircase to the right-side checkerboard level. At its end jump to the right. #12 on the map. You should pass straight into a secret passage in the black castle wall at about the level of the big windows. If you have problems getting to it, triple jump off the checkerboard level to the right, press against the wall, and spin. This secret passage takes you to a dip in the ceiling above the staircase from the top double doors (that takes you to the spin star and two green platforms). If you jump up and to the right you can see a hidden double door in the blackness with a big star on it. This is easy to get to if you have the hover FLUDD from the ceiling of #Castle Basement 2. Without hover FLUDD, it's very hard to reach. You have to jump up, twirl, immediately jump up and to the right and twirl, then jump up again, (alternative: do a triple jump, then jump again to also reach it.)

After you open the door, you're on top of a wall surrounded by spin stars. At the top left spin star, don't fire, just fall out of it. Jump up the platforms on the left, jump left into a hidden passage in the wall that leads to a secret area. #Magma Maze (secret course).

Below the pattern of spin stars are two doors. The door to the left takes you to a passageway that takes you to #Inside the Castle upper hallway. The dark wood door takes you to a high door outside the castle to the left of #Peach's Garden!

To the right of these are some platforms that take you to a rocket FLUDD and turbo FLUDD. below those platforms is a secret passage that falls into the upper hallway.

The leftmost passage takes you to the Hover FLUDD, and the Bombomb Battlefield & Shifting Sand Land painting rooms. The one next to it leads to the staircase between the "star-and-elevators" room and the upper hallway.

Inside the Castle Upper Hallway

From left to right,

• #Lethal Lava Land painting
• star doorway to glassy room with spin star that launches you to #Kamek's Castle (secret course).
• the double doorway you came in, but if you take this, it leads you to a door with a lock. Careful, if you go through that door the door is locked from the other side, unless (?) you've defeated #Bowser's Second Trap (secret course).
• #Tall Tall Mountain painting
• you can't jump into the high mystery cloud painting, but (SPOILER) a Toad tells you you can stomp underneath it to get to #The Cave of Empuzzlement (secret course).
• stairs up to a doorway to #Top of the Castle: Star Room, but "You need a special Red Shine Sprite to open this door!" from #Kamek's Castle (secret course).

Magma Maze (secret course)

tag: Somewhere in these molten caverns, there lies an oasis of Water (and a Shine Sprite).

Head right, spin through the wood, head up keeping to the left, when you can't go any higher follow the passage left to an area with a FLUDD!

If you fall down from here. There's an underwater maze, but the current pushes you right, so it's hard to get to the coins at the far left.

If you head right and up from the start, you come to a rocket FLUDD. You can use this starting at the perches to its left to head higher and up to the right, past the irritating red rockets to a star coin (1).

From the start, you need to follow the passages up and slightly to the right before heading left, across some hot lava (bounce off the shells) to reach the turbo FLUDD you need to get through the water. Once you get this, turbo back over the lava, fall down through the level until you come to the water, head left, and when you come to the strong current, turbo left through the water until you arrive on land at the shine sprite. This is the middle of the Castle Secret Stars 3 group.

Kamek's Castle (storyline course)

tag: So this is where Kamek lives; It seems kind of small compared to how important Kamek is to Bowser...

Move through this. Don't rush too quickly through it, otherwise you can move beyond the visible area. In the boss battle, spin like crazy to push the big guy off the platform. You get a red shine sprite! It helps to destroy one of the gray cracked blocks and then stand on the other side. This way, the giant Bully runs off the edge by himself. He may walk over it a few times before finally falling through. You must do this to him 3x, and he grows larger with each fall. However, he will always be able to fit down the hole, regardless of size.

This is the 4th shine sprite in the storyline group in the Star Map.

Lethal Lava Land

The Bully's Tower

tag: The Bully-Toad War (abbreviated as: B.T.W.) is reaching its climax! The Blue Toads now have the key to victory, but can you help them achieve it?

Head right, enter the toad tower to get the hover FLUDD, head past the bomb field, and at the top of the smaller reddish tower is a star coin (1) Where the rockets fire at you, jump over and twirl to get coins. Head up and enter the tower. In the tower just spin a lot to push bullies out of the way. Hop off the orange platform just as the fire jets start.

Into the Volcano

tag: The Volcano has been rather volatile recently, perhaps due to a shine sprite?

Head left, jump a lot as much of the land sinks. You are heading past the steps area where the red coins are. There's a star coin (2) low in the lava. You can head up into the red coin area to get the metal cap to easily get this without losing life.

Get the rocket FLUDD below the volcano. You can also head further left and get a turbo FLUDD from the next outcropping. Then rocket up following the red arrow to go inside the volcano. Then your motion through the volcano is just speed and timing. There's a star coin (3) It only gets worse, you'll lose some lives. In the final section of fast-moving lava, skip platforms and if you do burn take advantage of the big jump it gives you.

The Lava Wheel

tag: The Toad's Lava-Wheel, which power's [sic] their Lava Castle, appears to have Silver Stars in it!

Just head right. At the toad fortress you can use the spin star to launch up in the air. At the top of the tower there's a metal cap you can use so the lava won't hurt you for a while. Head right past the battlefield, jump and hover through the fast platforms, then use the spin stars to launch you onto the lava wheel. Head as far as you can to the right to give yourself more time to drop inside and grab the silver stars and also a star coin (4). The last silver coin is very close to the hub.

The Secret of the Fortress

tag: A Secret passage lies hidden inside Blue Toad's Fortress... if only you could find it..

Enter the fortress and spin and jump a lot.

spoiler: spin to destroy the lower left corner brick in the left column of water.

This takes you to a crazy level full of bullets. As the signs say, spin to destroy bullets and land on bullets for a jump. There's a star coin (5) near the top of the level, you'll probably die getting it.

Red-Hot Red Coins

Head left over the falling structures to the green platform that rises up. There's a red coin (1) underneath it.

From the top of this green platform head right and spin into the spin star. This sends you to the top of the falling structures and you should get the red coin (2) there.

Take the green diagonal platform up and left. The map on the platform shows the red coin locations.

Head up to the right to get a red coin (3) and the hover FLUDD. Jump up and hover onto the rotating green platforms and get the red coin (4) in the middle. Jump up and right over logs to get a red coin (5).

Head up the logs to the left onto the platform. Skip the metal cap (??) and fall through the gray supports and hover to get the star coin (6) underneath it.

Go back up to the platform with the map, go left onto the three fast rotating platforms and get the red coin (6). You can fall down from here onto land.

Head back up the platforms, and this time get the metal cap. Arrows appear directing you downwards. Fall down into the lava, and under the balance beam get the last two red coins (7 and 8).

Tall Tall Mountain

Go left at the start for a star coin (1) in an updraft.

On the path to the right between two platforms is a star coin (2). But as you'll fall without FLUDDs, grab it after you finish the silver star part.

Doing 'Blast off to the Lonely Mushroom' first is recommended so you get rocket FLUDD and hover FLUDD.

Scale the Mountain

tag: Here in Tall Tall Mountain, anyone who can climb all the way to the top deserves a reward. Your reward... is a Shine Sprite...

Rocket up as above until you reach the level of three rotating blocks. Rocket to the round platform above, jump up-right and rocket again in order to land on a platform with a cave entrance. Keep going up from there until you get the start sprite on the summit.

The Red Coins of the Mountain

Head right for the first red coin (1), and in the rotating platforms another red coin (2). The rotating platforms around red coin 2 is fast, so be careful.

Keep going to the backside and find red coins (3 and 4) either side of the four rotating green platforms. Get the second one by jumping and spinning from the pointy rock on the right.

There's another red coin (5) to the right of three rotating platforms. Go up and find two more red coins (6 and 7) either side of another set of four rotating platforms. Go higher, get on the green platform that moves to the right, and get set to jump up and spin for the final red coin (8) and another star coin (3).

Silver stars in the skies

Rocket up to the rock block above. Rocket again and steer to the right. You will end up in the middle part of the water fall. Go right for the turbo FLUDD if you like, and rocket up to the level of rotating blocks. Go left from there.

The hover FLUDD is tricky to get, as there's an up-bound current. Going up will see a rocket FLUDD. Rocketing right there will get you a star coin (x). Traverse the space above. The leftmost silver star is inside a brick box with sliding platform entrance, so time your rocket FLUDD thrust. The rest of them should be easy enough. Keep rocketing when you are out of the current. The rightmost FLUDD is lower than the others, jump from the rightmost cloud platform.

Blast off to the Lonely Mushroom

Go to the backside and to the right of the red coin star sprite look for a down arrow. Pressing down there will place you in a cannon. Aim right and shoot. You will find yourself in a new section.

Grab the rocket FLUDD and then jump onto the mushroom platform. Rocket to the higher mushroom and again on the balance platform to the right (watch out the Yoshis). Carefully traverse the rotating green platforms and you'll see another rocket FLUDD. After that, jump onto the green platforms one by one until you need to rocket. On the second rocket, jump then rocket, otherwise you won't go high enough.

Once you are at it, if you grab the stuff on the moving platforms, prepare to quickly jump off and FLUDD as they are traps. Go left over the rotating blocks and carefully fend off the creep on the small platform. Jump left then rocket to grab the star coin (6) and go to the right for the star sprite.

The Secret of the Mountainside

"Scale the mountain" halfway until you enter the cave entrance. Go through the course to get the star sprite. As the first step is to get the invisibility star, take in mind that steel cages act as gaps, and beware not to smash the wooden blocks.

Go get the invincibility star on the right. Now wooden blocks are gaps, so keep yourself on the metal platform. Go all the way left until you reach the rotating star. Spin up and you'll get the first silver star.

The second silver star is on the top-left, beyond a diagonal row of rotating blocks. The third and fourth silver stars are on the outermost (cyan) circle of rotating platforms. Keep yourself on a platform to get both. After that find a orange platform and jump on it (preferably doing it at the upper part to avoid falling into the void). Do the same into the green platform. The last silver star is at the bottom of the green circle and the star sprite is on the top of it.

The Cave of Empuzzlement (castle grounds)

tag: Be careful, this labryinth of Locked Cannon, Metal Bricks, Invisible Walls, Floating Elevators, Rocket Fludd, and Turbo Fludd will twist and mutilate your mind beyond sanity.

Raise the water to get to the invisibility cap, run back, lower the water, break through the block, get the metal cap to break the block that's still underwater, then turbo FLUDD right in the long passageway to the button that uncovers the cannon. Turbo FLUDD back, raise the water all the way up, get in the cannon and fire yourself up and to the right to land in the narrow passage to the shine star.(This is the 1st star in the 3rd castle secret star group.)

Level Designer room

In the Level Designer room, hop on the ledge with the black paintings, and triple jump off of the platform towards the right wall to enter a hidden passage. This takes you to a star coin (#2 of Castle Star Coins). This is easier to do when you've got Hover FLUDD. The castle Hover FLUDD is in the secret passage to the left of the Shifting Sand Land painting, just as the castle Rocket FLUDD and Turbo FLUDD are in the cheat Upper Hallway, next to the main entrance to the Level Designer. Hover FLUDD off, and take the secret passage. This leads you to above the door locked with the Second Bowser Key. After that, it's easy. So far Hover FLUDD up and you should find a secret door with a star on it. Go through here and you've got the other 2 FLUDDs. Then go down the right passageway and you've got into the Upper Hallway. Happy Shine Sprite hunting.

Top of the Castle: Star Room

• Far left is a cloud painting to #Rainbow Ride
• Jump up the red steps to a doorway to Top of the Castle: The Staircase, which falls into a room from which you can see #Bowser's Castle. Take the spin star to get there. (To skip this, you can grab the rocket nozzle from the 'fake' Upper Hallway. If you go to the Main Hall of the castle, stand under the Sun on the wall above the entrance to the elevator room and blast with the rocket nozzle, you skip straight to the entrance to #Bowser's Castle. You can then use the spin star to enter the level from there.)
• Jump up to the clock in here for #Tick Tock Clock
• To the right, jump up and take the spin star to #A Galaxy of Stars (secret course).

Rainbow Ride

You may want to do the #Floating Mansion in the Sky first so that you get rocket FLUDD early on.

Cruiser Crossin' the Rainbow

Ride the magic rainbow carpets all the way to beautiful blue sky and across fluffy clouds of cotton candy and golden concoctions of sweet riches to the magical floating ship in the sky.

Ride the first rainbow carpet, jumping over stone obstacles. Get the hover FLUDD. Before going on the next one, go to the wide platform on the left and get the star coin (1).

The next magic carpet is a bear, especially when you come to the V shape. Hover off, rush up the logs to the top. Even if you fall some ways behind you can bounce off creatures and bullets to catch up with the carpet. In the next section it's easier to hover and bounce off creatures above the carpet, and wait for it to catch up with you.

At the end of the second magic carpet, as the sign says "You could go either Right ot [sic] the Cruising Ship, or Left, to the Floating Mansion in the Sky.

So head right onto an equally hard magic carpet. You don't have to spin destroy all the blocks. There is a star coin (2?) as you ride up. If you fall behind in the spinning blocks you can hover and bounce off creatures all the way to the end where the ship in the sky is, and get the shine sprite.

The ship has a cannon...

The Floating Mansion in the Sky

tag: For some reason, an old, cranky rich geezer decided to buy a giant floating house, and he's left a Shine Sprite in there.

Same first two magic carpets, then head left as the sign says.

Jump over the transparent blocks, spin to break into the balance beam as the carpet goes above you and spin again to get out. The carpet next goes below a transparent block, here you must jump off in advance, jump and hover across the falling logs and then jump back on. As everywhere else, jump up and kill creatures in your way. Near the top of this block there's a star coin (3?) that you can fall onto as the carpet comes, then spin to get into the mansion. Whew!

Get the turbo FLUDD and rocket FLUDD in here, then go up and out the top of the mansion for the shine sprite!

Tricky Triangles

Ride the first magic carpet to its end. Go to the right and hop on the gray hammers across to the spinning triangles and onto a blue-brick platform. You come to a passage with a falling slab. Dodge the bullets or spin on them, wait for the slab to come up by the side of the passage. Get the hover FLUDD, then head across the spinning triangles and collapsing lumps. Operate the red switch to make it easier to race across the tops of triangles above to the next section. Eventually you get to the shine star.

There may be a cheat to bypass this. If you have rocket FLUDD, instead of falling down the passage, rocket up to a ledge above where the warp tube for #The Secret of the Triangle Tower is. If you jump sideways from here and rocket up, you can get to the shine sprite without going the long way.

The Secret of the Triangle Tower

tag: That Blue-Brick tower to the right has a small ledge full of secrets, but it's too high to reach without Rocket Fludd...

Indeed. Just head to the the blue-brick platform, and rocket up to a warp tube. This takes you to a course where precision jumping is critical. About two-thirds of the way through there is a green platform with a Goomba on it that moves to the left. As it passes over two swinging hammers, there is a rotating triangle above. If you jump when you see this, and jump again when near it, you can land on the rotating triangle and then jump to the star coin (5) above.

The Maze of Red Coins

Ride the first red carpet then go left. On the way to it is a star coin (6) underneath a ledge that you can get to by landing on a green platform below; if you don't have a rocket FLUDD to get back you can jump right and spin to fall back to the start. If you continue left past this you come to a complicated gray structure. All eight red coins are in here along with a hover FLUDD and the shine star you get as a reward. Just jump and hover FLUDD to get them all. One of them is below a gray platform that lowers. There's also a star coin (4) but it's only accessible with rocket FLUDD.

Tick Tock Clock

This is mini course 3.

The Top of the Clock

tag: Make your way across this wacky world of Chronoic Chaos.

Go left then up and right, (ignoring the complicated pendulums for now), to the spin star which launches you into the second area. Ignore the red coins there for now, instead go up and right and get the hover FLUDD. Above it is a star coin (1).

Go left across the silver blocks with conveyor belts to the spin star which launches you into the third area.

In the third you have to jump onto one of the pair of yellow balls on a rod to get up to the rocket FLUDD and a star coin (3).

Then, move across until you get to the small green vertical platform. From this, jump on the minute hand of the clock, keep adjusting your position as it sweeps around, and jump off at the 12 o'clock position to the shine sprite!

The Flippin' Red Coins

Red Coins can be tricky, but did you know that they can actually flip you off (the platform)?

Just head up to the area with them. As you start, when you get to the orange block against the left wall, use the rocket FLUDD to get the hover FLUDD in an alcove in the left wall. With rocket FLUDD they're easy.

The Pit of the Pendelums

tag: Swing across along the Giant Pendelums to reach this Shine Sprite.

Either land on the yellow balls of the series of pendulums and swing across, or just rocket up to the shine star on the left wall. Above the forest of pendulums is a star coin (2).

A Galaxy of Stars (secret course)

tag: Collect the five Silver Stars around this Galaxy; from sunken in floating seas, spinning within planet's cores, to locked inside castles.

Go right to get a silver star (1) under a big spinning green planet.

Come back, get on the rotating platforms, spin star to top of spinning green planet. Go left and fall below the curved gray structure to get the silver star (2).

Return to the this gray structure and go left and up and jump into the water to get another silver star (3). Then return to the gray structure and take the spin star above it to the spinning green planet with lots of tunnels. Above it is a silver star (4) and towards the lower right is the last silver star (5). Just move around from piece to piece.

Bowser's Castle

Once you have progressed far enough in your struggle through this, the room from which a sling star launches you to the castle has a warp pipe shortcut that takes you to the air level above the spires.

Bowser's Castle Red-Coins

Make your way across the front, there is a red coin (1) in the lava, between some rotating green platforms, then enter the castle proper.

There are four doors around this room, each leading to a course that has a red key.

Enter the door on the left and work around to get a red Bowser Key (1) and a red coin (2).

Then enter the door on the right and do likewise. Use the metal cap to charge through the lava. After getting the second red Bowser Key (2), go to the top, get the red coin (3), then get the invisibility cap (which makes it easier to get past the falling gray platforms by running through a grate), then get the 1-up and make your way back to the main room.

If you hurried back to the main room from this lower-right door and still have invisibility, return to the middle of the room. Above the big door into the main room, between two sets of brown rotating platforms, is a grated area. With invisibility, you fall into this and get a star coin (3 of Storyline star coins).

If you have the turbo FLUDD, or you can time your jumps on creatures and bullets, you can use them to get to the two upper doors in this castle main room. Otherwise return to the center up the falling logs and use the platforms to get to the cannon. First shoot straight up from the cannon to get another red coin (4). Then, use the cannon to shoot you to the left at about 45 degrees, aiming just below the walls that surround the platform above the cannon. (zoom out). Instead, if you want you can shoot yourself to a door to the outside and go to higher levels to get turbo and rocket FLUDDs; but you'll have to return to this big room to get the other two red keys in the two high rooms.

So shoot yourself far to the left or otherwise get to the far left across some gaps to a door higher up in the main room on the left.

This takes you to an outside lava level. go left, use the health heart. There are two red coins (5 and 6) in and to the side of the tower at the left, and at the top is another Bowser red key (3).

Return to the castle, head right to a similar door high on the right.

This room has a trick fall-away floor that takes you to a wildly mixed-up level. Get invisibility on the far side of the ice and return to the toad person in the metal box who activates a platform. Ride this to get a red coin (7), then ride it again and jump across the penguin creatures. High up at the right by a rotating wooden cross is the last red coin (8), you can get to it by jumping off the tip of the cross and spinning. Make your way back across and get the final Bowser Key (4). Below it there's a star coin (x), but it's tricky to get. You have to rush across the vertical passages below it and be ready with rocket FLUDD as you fall. You can balance on the top of the walls between the passages and then turbo FLUDD through the grate to the passage to the star coin.

Return to the main room and collect the shine star for the red coins at the center platform. (But you'll have to do the whole thing all over again.)

The Final Battle

Return to the castle (unfortunately any FLUDD jetpacks you collected on previous attempts don't work on the way to the castle). Repeat the four rooms off the main room in the castle to get all four red keys (within the castle the game remembers any FLUDD jetpacks you collected on previous trips).

Now return to the cannon and aim up and slightly left or right to bounce off the walls around the high platform above the cannon. You should land on this platform, and you can go through a door to an outside rampart high up on the castle.

The left door here has a rocket FLUDD past some lava. Make your way up, eventually come to a door that lets you out at the top of the left spire of the castle. There's another door in the center, and a symmetrical one high up one on the right spire.

(The right door on this rampart takes you to the room with two angled spin stars.)

This right door takes you to a room with a turbo FLUDD. Use the rocket to make some parts easier.

Take either left or right spire to get to the upper level, hop across to the center even taller spire and go inside.

In here you can use turbo FLUDD to break through to the invisibility star.

Then a long long climb up the inside of the spire.

Finally get to a top left exit door, which takes you outside the spire. Run through the health heart, rocket or FLUDD up to a door above, and meet Bowser in his jetcraft.

Bowser fires various destructive projectiles and fire at you, then he shoots the multicolored rings that turn into creatures and a blue coin. Watch for an arrow to appear pointing at his jetcraft, and then jump on him to do damage. Do this three times, and you will beat him. But wait! That was just a robot!

Now a sling star will appear, and also a pipe which will return you to the castle. This pipe works both ways, and makes skipping Bowser's castle and going straight to Bowser possible.

(WARNING!: after this point if you get a game over you have to start this section of the final battle over again till you beat it, it's extremely frustrating!) Jump into the sling star and then go up the tallest tower, the hover FLUDD makes things easier. Near the top, there is a star coin (5 in the Storyline coins). After various levels of hard, a sling-star takes you up to the top. You will meet Bowser with "THE Meteor of Ultimate Destruction". The Final Battle works like the battles with Bowser in his traps. Grab his tail... but then you jump into the air. Remember your physics, if you do, you should knock Bowser into a sphere. Do that three times to defeat him.

<SPOILERS AHEAD>

Then, Kamek swings by, who informs you that the Meteor is too close to stop, but then reverses Bowser's force field, trapping the Meteor explosion in his castle. She gives Peach a ride to the Mushroom Castle, but part of the Meteor knocks Mario off the castle roof.

<END OF SPOILERS>

This section is timed. In the first part, keep up with the scrolling screen without falling into the lava. In the second part, triple jump on to the spinning platforms high in the air. If you don't do that, and fall onto the lower platforms, Bowser's Door will sink too far. On the finish platform, part will fall away, so jump off of it fast. The third part contains many Big Bullies. Either avoid them, or use them as a sort of trampoline. Take the sling-star past the falling Orb of Power and back to Mushroom Castle!!!

64th shine sprites and star coin

63 shine sprites gives Congratulations! You have unlocked 1 short of Every Shine Sprite in the game. But I doubt you can [sic] the last Shine Sprite. It's hidden so well, you'll have to be able to leap over Waterfalls to get it. Oh, By the way, the Cannon outside the Castle is unlocked....

So go outside, get in the cannon and launch yourself high above the castle. You should land on the roof. You can double jump to higher roofs of the castle turret. The last roof is tricky, you have to jump onto the diagonal edge of it. Then walk up to the flag and jump up to a spin star that gives you lives and a winged fly cap. Go back to the cannon and now launch yourself right and past the pool. With the winged cap you should get to the edge of the Mushroom Kingdom.

The Edge of the Mushroom Kingdom

You need the rocket FLUDD to go higher, but to get to it you need an invisibility cap. So go right, do not destroy wooden blocks. At the far right jump across to the turbo FLUDD box and you should get the invisibility star. (If you jump to the invisibility star, you will immediately fall through the metal.) With invisibility you can return on the wooden blocks and get the rocket FLUDD.

Get this and follow the red arrows up to clouds. Time your rocket jumps to avoid creatures above. There's another rocket FLUDD box on a cloud, and additional red arrows pointing up. However, you will not be able to get to additional platforms and a 1-up up and to the left with just the rocket FLUDD.

If you want you can rocket upwards and slightly to the left to reach Castle Star Coin 3 (the 64th star coin!). Zoom out with the - key and aim for it. If you miss, hold down the Right Arrow and X key to travel right and return to clouds. If you get this 64th star coin, the message is

tag: You got a Star Coin! Oh Dear!! It appears as if you have all 64 Star Coins!!! Every single one!!! For this, you have unlocked your final special prize!! You can collect it in the hallway to the right of the Level Designer!!

To continue on, from the cloud platform with the rocket FLUDD you must first go right to get a flying star ("Wing cap"). You can either jump across all the creatures, or just rocket to the right and spin tapping the right key. The flying star is in a pocket of bouncy birds. Get it and return to the left to the cloud platform.

Now its the tricky part. You need to use the rocket FLUDD near the up arrows, and then quickly hit the down arrow to start flying and then control the up arrow to aim yourself.

Now just follow the path without any big trouble to get your last shine sprite! No message will be displayed congratulating you for this great achievement though.

End-Game Easter Egg

Under normal conditions, after you complete the game and the credits have passed, you will see a "The End???" and Mario will say, "Thank you for playing my game!" However, if you beat the game after collecting every shine sprite and star coin, the message is "The End" and he will say, "Hey, you're very good! See you next time!"

OTHER TAGS

Bob-Omb Battlefield: Hasn't really got a tag. Passageway of Secrets: tag: Shhh! You are in Princess Peach's secret passageway of secrets, secretly used to secretly travel secretly from room to room in secretistical secretism.