- Location: Third floor. On the right side in a hole in the wall as you face course 14 (Tick Tock Clock).
- Description: A sky level with rainbows, magic carpets, and an airship. The course is rather perilous, being the final normal level, and can be quite challenging.
- Bob-omb Buddy: Go below the red coins (see star 3), and wall jump above the blue coin box all the way to the top. The Bob-omb Buddy is there.
- Shortcuts: When you first enter the level, turn around and long jump to the pole behind you. This way, you'll skip one hard part of the course.
- Just for fun: Go to the Bob-omb Buddy's right, and long jump straight out. You will land far, far below on another platform.
Rainbow Ride is the fifteenth course in Super Mario 64 and its remake Super Mario 64 DS. 50 stars are required to access it.
Star 1: Cruiser Crossing the Rainbow[edit]
From where you start, ride the magic carpet. Watch out for the flamethrower. If you stay off a carpet too long, it will disappear and return to the starting position, so be careful of that as well. After reaching the end of the first rainbow, take a right and ride another carpet. Ride that to the end of the line also. There will be two carpets. Take the one to the left (relative to the path of your current carpet). Be careful not to get pushed off by the spinning platform. When you reach the end, get onto the pirate ship. The star is at the bow (front) of the ship. Warning, there is a strong wind on the ship that will blow you off the deck.
Star 2: The Big House in the Sky[edit]
Follow the same path you took for the first star, but take the right carpet this time. Use double jumps to grab on to the edge of the glass blocks and pull yourself up, keeping pace with the carpet. Once you get to the big house, quickly jump off to avoid the lava blower, then jump back on. Continue riding the carpet around until you enter the house again and avoid the lava once more. The carpet will then continue upwards through the ceiling to the roof, where the star awaits.
Star 3: Coins Amassed in a Maze[edit]
Get all eight red coins. Go straight from the four spinning platforms and wall jump and backflip for all the red coins.
Star 4: Swingin' in the Breeze[edit]
Go left from the four spinning platforms and climb down the first pole. Go past the flying Shy-Guy but ignore the second pole (be careful as this is a see-saw platform) and go to Mario's right (your left) and carry on going that way. Then you'll reach a wooden slope. Make your way up and swing across to the star.
Star 5: Tricky Triangles![edit]
Go left at the four spinning platforms and go past the wooden slope. Hit the flat '!' switch to turn the triangles upside-down. Do a triple jump on the first two to skip two of the triangles. The star is at the top.
Star 6: Somewhere over the Rainbow[edit]
You will need to talk to the Bob-Omb Buddy to open the cannon. He is on the far side of the red coin maze, near the heart. You must wall kick up to speak to him.
Get to the floating ship (see star 1) and shoot out of the cannon through the rainbow ring. The star is in a yellow ? block on that island. You will have to avoid the Chuckya trying to throw you off.
NINTENDO DS: An easy way to do this is to be Luigi and grab the vanish cap before you blast off. You will then be invincible.
Star 7: Switch Star of the Manor (Nintendo DS)[edit]
As Mario, go to the flying house in the sky where you got Star 2. You will see a platform with a Star Switch on it. Step on the switch, and run back into the house. Grab the Power Flower from the ? Block and float to the roof of the house. Break the Star Sphere and collect the Star.
Star 7: 100 Coins[edit]
Collect 100 coins. This can be a very frustrating 100 coin star, as it is very easy for most of the coins to fall off platforms into the abyss, and the coins are very spread out.
- Jump on the first carpet you see and ride it to the platform with the Amp. Collect the 8 coins on it.
- Go back onto the carpet and ride it to the end of its track. Jump off, and get on the spinning platforms. Collect the two sets of 8 coins on the platforms for 16 coins total.
- Kill the Lakitu for 5 coins.
- Head to the red coin area. Kill the two Bob-ombs at the bottom for 2 coins.
- Run to the end, and hit the blue coin switch. Now you have to be very fast. Collect the first blue coin, then wallkick your way up to the top of the red coin area and get the five other blue coins for 30 coins total.
- Jump down and collect the 8 red coins for 16 coins total.
- Head back to the spinning platforms and go to the right. Slide down the pole, and kill the Fly Guy for two coins.
- There is a line of 5 coins here.
- Jump onto the tilting platform, and head to the right. The swinging platform has five coins in a column on it.
- Keep going, and there are two sets of donut blocks with 4 coins total on them.
- A little further on, there is a Goomba with a single coin.
- Still further, there is a slanted platform with five coins in a line on it.
- Backtrack a little to where the Goomba was, and head up the slope to the line of five coins. You should have 100 coins by now.
1-Up Locations[edit]
The following is a list of where to find all 9 green mushrooms in Rainbow Ride.
- Underneath the swinging platforms, there is a ! Block with a 1-Up.
- Above one of the tricky triangles there is a 1-Up.
- Use the warp to get to the top of the red coin area, where there is a ! Block which has another 1-Up.
- At the end of the top of the red coin area, there is a donut block. If you stand on it and let it descend, a 1-Up appears.
The Left Carpet[edit]
- On the top of the spinning platform with the flamethrower on the bottom, there is a 1-Up.
- The very front of the ship has a 1-Up.
- If you climb up the pole on the ship all the way to the top, a 1-Up appears.
The Right Carpet[edit]
- The second set of donut blocks has a 1-Up on it.
- On the top of the big house, there is a ! Block with a 1-Up in it.
Warp[edit]
Standing near the Red Coin area's ! Block will teleport the player to the steps of the big house.