Super Mario Sunshine/Bianco Hills

Bianco Hills is the first proper "area" that you'll encounter in Super Mario Sunshine. Like all the others, it is split into 8 episodes and there is a side-quest of collecting 100 coins.

Episode 1: Road to the Big Windmill

 * Objective: Destroy the Piranha Plant Keeper to reveal a path to the big windmill.

When you start the episode you get a quick view of Shadow Mario on top of a pile of goop. He'll be gone by the time you get there but that's your destination for this episode.

Head along the stone path following the red signs and a trail of Gold coins. You might talk so some of the Piantas on the way; some of them saw Shadow Mario pass this way but they still think you're him. The downhill part of the path is covered in water so you can slide down it as in the game previews. If you land in the river at the end you can either jump on the log here or hop up to a ledge to the left a way. You can also use the ropes to cross or simply hover over.

The stone path continues on the right, but you will meet Stus who may get in your way. In other episodes the gate through the wall on the right is open, but it's closed now because of goop on the other side. The path goes under a tall arch with bells on top; if you spray the bells a 1-Up green mushroom falls out.

Keep following the stone path until you get to a big waterwheel. To get past this water wheel, hop up to the ledge to the left of the path, then jump on to one of the paddles as it goes round and let the paddle carry you over the top of the wheel. There is a huge area covered by goop on the other side of the wall and you might as well start cleaning some of it up. You'll find that entire trees have been buried under it as well as a section of the wall. You may also find Mini Piranhas in the goop.

Keep following the stone path until you find the source of the goop, huge balls of it rolling on the ground and into a pond. (If you spray the balls you can see that they're actually rolled up piranha plants.) Avoid the balls and use FLUDD to clear the path to their source, pile of goop similar to what was covering the Grand Pianta statue. You know what to do now, spray it until a monster appears and then spray water into its mouth until you defeat it.

When the monster is dead, a ramp rises up out of the ground connecting the stone path to a bridge. This bridge takes you to an island in the middle of the pond, but that's something to explore in the next episode. For now, collect the Shine that the monster was hiding to complete the chapter.

Episode 2: Down with Petey Piranha!

 * Objective: Climb the big windmill and defeat Petey Piranha.

When you start the episode you get a view of Petey Piranha standing atop the big windmill.

Follow the path to the river and cross it as before. You'll notice that the gate through the wall on your right is now open; go through to find that more goop has appeared. Now the source is Petey Piranha throwing it from the windmill. Follow the path to the ramp that appeared in the previous episode and go up to the bridge. The bridge is still damaged though, so hover over the gap.

Once you've crossed the bridge, continue along the path as it climbs toward the windmill. Watch out for the balls of goop, similar to the ones in the previous episode that roll down the path. A jet of water near the top of the path will refill your FLUDD tank.

Keep on the path, using the FLUDD hover nozzle to jump gaps and go around vines as you spiral around the windmill. When you reach the end of the path, jump on to one of the platforms on the windmill's sails and ride it to the top. Jump on to the roof where Petey Piranha is waiting. The roof isn't strong enough for the both of you and it collapses, so you both fall and a battle begins inside the windmill.

Episode 3: The Hillside Cave Secret

 * Objective: Find the secret level and finish it.

When you start the episode you see a cave entrance in the side of a hill.

Start down the path as before and right away you'll notice that there are new enemies in this chapter. You see Seedy Pods but later on you'll see Pokeys and Hens.

Follow the path as before but this time the red arrows point to a rope passing under the bridge. Use the rope and hover from platform to platform to get to a ledge on the far side of the lake. Follow the ledge right as the arrow points to another sign where the arrow point upwards. You need to get to the rope above this spot and it's probably easiest to do a Side Somersault for this, but a Triple Jump will work as well. You should now be able to see the cave so jump and hover to it and go in.

Enter the cave and you'll see a short cutscene where Shadow Mario steals the FLUDD. Something similar happens in every secret area. Now it's time for a mini-level, accompanied by some of the greatest video game music ever; a sort of a cappella version of the classic Super Mario Bros. theme tune. (About 50 years ago a group called the Swingle Singers did this with Bach and Mozart.) This mini-level can be very tricky as it's easy to misjudge your jumps with out the FLUDD to help you, but you better get used to it as this is one of the easy ones! The best piece of advice here is be careful and make full use of the camera controls so you know where you're jumping.

Start by hopping up the sliding blocks to a light green block with two nails in it. Jump on the nail on the right and ground pound it three times to get a 1-Up; now, as long as you can make it this far, it doesn't matter how many tries it takes to get through this because you won't run out of lives.

Next comes a large number of small orange cubes that move around. Their movements repeat so on each block find a pattern that will get you to a block one closer to the far side. It takes some patience to not get caught by surprise.

Now you must cross a narrow bridge where multicolored cubes slide across and push you off if you let them. This is a matter of timing.

Finally you have to use two rotating stars as platforms to get over a long gap. In addition to rotating, the stars slow move forward and backwards, so pick your time to jump when you don't have to jump as far. There is a 1-Up above the second star it you're brave enough to jump for it.

When you make it to the end, grab the Shine... quick before you fall off again!

Episode 4: Red Coins of Windmill Village

 * Objective: Collect the 8 red coins

When you start the episode you see the windmill village and a few red coins are visible.

If you've played Super Mario 64, you'll know how this works. There are 8 red coins dotted around the level which you need to find, and they are sometime pretty well hidden. Here are the locations of the 8 coins:


 * 1) From the start point follow the path and cross the stream. There is a red coin between the two ropes connecting the buildings on your left. Use a double jump or a wall kick to get to the lower rope from the ground.
 * 2) Now use the ropes here to get to the roof of the building on the right and find a coin there.
 * 3) From here, look further right to see a red coin on top of the big white archway. Get over to it by hovering and using the tightrope.
 * 4) Continue along the top of the wall toward the bells and find the next coin in a little archway next to them.
 * 5) Keep going and follow the path as it winds around over the arch you just went through. Watch out for the Wind elemental trying to knock you off! The next coin is at the end.
 * 6) Another rope starts here; use it to cross to the roof of a nearby building. Jump over the red bead following the rope when it reaches you because it can give you a shock. Grab the next coin from the roof.
 * 7) The next coin is between the two large windmills beyond this. Hover to one of the platforms attached to the nearest one, then use FLUDD to spin the windmill until the platform is next to the coin. Hover to one of the platforms on the other windmill grabbing the coin on the way.
 * 8) From here, hover over to the building with two little towers on the roof. (You can also triple jump to a ledge here if you need to.) Wall jump between these towers to get on to the roof where you'll find the final coin.

The Shine will appear on a high platform above where you found coin 6. To get it, hover over to the other little tower then follow the rope up.

You may notice that toolboxes appear in this chapter. There is a blue one right in front of the first coin. There is a hologram of a red one on the roof of the building to the left, but you need to find the real one first to use it. You can find it on some platforms that have appeared in the lake near the hillside cave. The Rocket attachment will make it easier to reach some areas in the level.

Episode 5: Petey Piranha Strikes Back

 * Objective: Beat Petey Piranha again.

When you start the episode you see the windmill village covered in goop and Petey Piranha asleep nearby.

You might want to start by cleaning up the village a bit, but eventually you need to get to the top of the cliff behind the village. One way to do this is using a rope connected to the house with two towers, though there's an easier way. Near the cliff face there is a Pianta buried under the goop (you'll just see his hat). Spray all the goop around him then spray him clean. Before you talk to him make sure you are facing the cliff face and he is between you and the cliff. This is because as a present for saving him, he'll throw you up on the ledge above. Turns out there are quite a few Piantas who will throw you. They call themselves Chucksters and they always throw you directly behind them. Once freed, the Chuckster will start wandering around, so if you need to do it second time you may have to wait until he's in position again.

Climb on the big steps the reach the top of the hill, cleaning the goop as you go so you don't slip in it. There is another Pianta stuck in the goop here and he'll give you a hint if you free him.

Go over to the ledge to see some Pig Puffs bouncing around and one of them will attach itself to FLUDD; you should see Petey Piranha sleeping on a pillar in the distance. You can fire the Pig Puff like a rocket by spraying FLUDD, so aim for Petey using Mario-Cam and let it fly. A direct hit will wake Petey up and he'll fly around. He goes right for the village so you need to follow him there to fight.

Episode 6: The Secret of the Dirty Lake

 * Objective: Find the secret level and finish it.

When you start the episode you see the lake covered in greenish scum and a cave opening next to it.



Head over to the lake and you'll see that its surface is covered with toxic sludge, but note that the water underneath is clean and you can swim underwater as long as your air holds out.

Your destination is a cave behind the big windmill since that's where the pollution is pouring out into the lake. You may have noticed this in earlier chapters when it was locked, but now it's open and there is a group of logs just below it.

To reach it, hop onto one of the lily pad boats floating near the shore. These boats were here in previous episodes so you might want to go back and practice on them with clear water. In this chapter the polluted water has made them rot, so you only have a limited amount of time to pilot your way to the next leaf before it disintegrates and dumps you in the water. With some skill and luck you should be able to make it to the logs floating in front of cave. Another, perhaps faster way of getting there is to climb up to the back of the windmill, then take a running jump off the spiral path and about halfway through your freefall, use the hover nozzle to hover to the group of logs. If you don't quite make it, swim quickly to logs and climb onto one before the toxic sludge does too much damage.

Once you are on the logs, make your way into the cave and jump on the mysterious grey and white box. It's the turbo nozzle!! (Activating it here will make the hologram on the wall real for when you come back to the level. Carry on inside the cave until you reach another one of those evil secret levels with the cool music.

From the start of course, you need to get across the blue and red sliding platforms. These flip over but they always alternate. So if you're on a blue platform and see a red one nearby flip, hop over to it since it will be safe until after the blue one flips, and similarly if you're on a red platform. One way that seems to work for getting across is to wait until the closest red platform heads to the right, then hop to the blue platform in front of you, left to the red one, left again to the blue one in the corner, then forward a couple of times to reach safety. There is a multicolored star here with a 1-Up as a reward for making it.

Now you see a cube in front of you. To reach it, wall-jump off the wall on the right. This takes some practice but there is a ledge below to catch you if you don't get it. As soon as you land on the cube it starts moving, ride it while trying to stay on top as it rolls. It goes almost all the way to the next platform and you need to do another wall jump to reach safety again, this time with no safety net. Dash past the sliding prisms so you don't get pushed off, and hop to the next cube. This goes straight up and passes by a second 1-Up. Now there is a more complicated version of the sliding platforms obstacle. Getting over this is tricky and you may have to do a bit of back-tracking to avoid falling off, but one route that seems to work is to start when the nearest red platform is moving past you to the left, then keep more or less to the left as you try to progress. Beyond this is the last platform, so claim your Shiny reward.

Episode 7: Shadow Mario on the Loose

 * Objective: Catch Shadow Mario.

Ah, a nice easy Shine. You deserve one after the previous episode. Shadow Mario returns and you just need to keep chasing him around and spraying him, just as when he kidnapped Peach in Delfino Plaza. If you lose him, just keep searching and follow the evil music. When you've sprayed him enough he'll fall over and give up a Shine. (Episode 7 in every level involves catching Shadow Mario.)

Episode 8: The Red Coins of the Lake

 * Objective: Collect the 8 red coins.

When you start the episode you get a view of the lake. You may have noticed additional windmill being added around the lake as the episodes progressed, and now the construction is complete with tall windmills connected by ropes scattered around the lake.

You need to collect Red coins as in Episode 4, but this time all the coins are located above or near the lake. If you've freed Yoshi's on the island then there will be a Yoshi egg right where you start the level, but you don't need Yoshi to get the Shine for this episode. The Rocket Nozzle will make getting to the Red coins easier though. Get this from the platforms on the lake just below the hillside cave entrance.


 * 1) Go to the grove of trees and find the two small windmills next to the lake. The coin is floating above the rope that connects the windmills. It's easy to get with the Rocket nozzle; just stand in the shadow of the coin and take off.
 * 2) Hop onto a lily pad boat and propel it to the right of the bridge and find a group of 4 gold coins with a red coin above them. Rocket from the lily pad to reach the Red one.
 * 3) The next coin is above the trail of platforms that crosses under the bridge. Rocket up to one of the platforms and hop to the rope where the coin is.
 * 4) Go back to the platforms where you picked up the Rocket nozzle. The next coin is above a rope that passes over these platforms.
 * 5) Continue going up this rope until you reach a windmill with flags. Jump to avoid being hit by a Wind Elemental; these will be quite common when you're high up like this. Follow the next rope, jumping to avoid the electric beads, until you're above the bridge and the next coin should be right there.
 * 6) Keep following the rope to the next platform. Then follow the next rope left. If you fall at some point then you can easily get back to this point by rocketing from the path near the bridge. Beat the Pokey on the next platform by jumping on his head but be very careful not to fall. Cross the next rope which has a coin above it.
 * 7) Keep following the rope to the next one which also has a coin above it. This time it's a bit higher up so you may need to switch to Mario-cam to find it.
 * 8) The last coin is above a rope that's not connected to the others. You can reach it with the Rocket nozzle but perhaps it's easier with the Hover nozzle. Drop down and get the Blue toolbox near the base of the big windmill, then use the windmill blades as in Episode 2 to get some height and hover over to one of the platforms holding up the rope.

The Shine will appear in a little alcove in the big windmill, hover over from the windmill blades but if you still have the Rocket nozzle it will be easy to just rocket up there.

100 coins Shine

 * Total coins: 150–170
 * Recommended unlocking Yoshi first.

Grab 100 coins in Episode 8. The key points for 100 coins include:
 * Spray the Mini Pokeys until they crash into a wall for three coins each.
 * Spray the windows in the village, usually the ones over doors drop a coin.
 * Jump on the Pokeys while they are standing up for three coins.
 * Spray the Seedy Pods, the small blue enemies, from a distance, and then run up and jump on them for a single coin. Or just have Yoshi eat them.
 * Sprinkler Squirt inside the rings of flowers for 6–8 coins.
 * Traverse the trees; defeat the Seedy Pods for coins and grab the coins lying around as well. For empty trees, spray them for coins. You'll get a total of 15–20 coins.
 * Turbo around the lake for about 15–20 coins.
 * Walk the ropes above the lake for another 10–15 coins.
 * Spray the mini windmills to make a coins pop out of the platforms on top.
 * If you have Yoshi, spray down the beehives hanging from the trees and eat the bees. Completely destroy both beehives for a total of about 38 coins.
 * There a a few more coins to get by having Yoshi eat the yellow butterflies.

Secret Shine #1
Start Episode 3 and enter the Hillside Cave as before. As with every secret area, you can replay it for another shine. However, this time you have to get red coins within a time limit. Luckily, you have FLUDD back.

At the start is a red block. Ground pound it to make the red coins appear and the timer start. You have one minute. The first red coin is right in front of you - it's on the left side on the second block. The next four are trickier. Get the lower-right coin first, then the lower-left, upper-left, and finally the red coin in the upper-right. From there, hover to the two stars for red coins 6 and 7. Hover back to the bridge and hover onto a cube. From there, hover to the single star to your left for the last red coin. After getting it, a new Shine will appear next to the old one and the timer will stop. Hover back to the bridge and jump across the stars.

Secret Shine #2
Start Episode 6 and enter the secret area for the replay. This time, you get 1:30 to get the red coins. (Before you enter this puzzle while you are in the cave DO NOT get the turbo nozel!!!) Hover over to the first red coin. It's by the red platform in the middle. The next is on top of a star. Just below it is a 1-up - get that, too. The third is in between the red arrows. Next, hop on the block. Stand on the green corner for red coin 4, then yellow corner for the 1-up, and between the orange and blue corners for red coin 5. Red coin 6 is at the far left corner. Red coin 7 is in the middle, and at the back right is the last red coin.