On the eastern portion of Mario Land lies a huge mechanical statue of Mario. Whether they built the statue or just happened to take over an existing one, The Three Little Pigheads, the fifth coin holders, now call this place home. They reside inside Mario's cap, and you'll need to scale this gigantic machine to reach them. You'll first have to climb the inside of the legs filled with gears and spikes, then hop across the solid bubbles in the abdomen, then survive the battlezone that is the statue's tongue and finally move across a level made out of brick blocks to reach them. No wolf can break down this mechanical fortress, but how will it fare against an Italian plumber?
Level 1: The gears of locomotion[edit]
This is one of the larger levels of the game, featuring vertical sections that require tons of jumps. Enemies are scarce in this level, with only Koopa Troopas and Neiji, living screws, patrolling some sections of the level. There are quite a lot of built-in dangers, such as moving sawblades, razors and spiked balls. There are also horizontal gears that will move you as they rotate and vertical gears that will drop you off if you idle on it too long.
Move across the level patiently, as you have plenty of time to spend, and trying to rush through the level will result in you taking a few avoidable hits. One example of this is the second section of the level, where being too reckless canmake you fall into a spiked ball or get hit by the razor blade. At the second vertical climb, there is a section in the wall that can be burned down, which will let you access a multi-leveled chamber of coins. The final drop to the goal is a precarious one, as it is littered with floating spike balls. Thankfully, there is a carrot in a block just before this section, so you can use its glide to gently maneuver between the spiky obstacles. The ending bell should be in sight as you near the end of the treacherous fall, but you'll have to be careful as you glide to it, as there is a spike ball not far above it.
Level 2: Bubbles and balls[edit]
This level is rather straightforward, as it is almost just a flat plain with few notable features. You will meet Bomubomus again, though you'll also encounter a new enemy, the Tamanoripu. The balls these bears roll on can act as moving platforms to protect you from spikes, but you'll need to get rid of the bear hoarding it first. There are a few spikes on the floor that require you to take advantage of this, and the last quarter or so of the level makes it necessary to use the ball to get to the end.
There are two pipes near the first Tamanoripu you will see, but the left one doesn't let you go through. You'll have to go down the right one to enter a passage inhabited by Paragoombas. There seems to be nothing at first when you jump to the room above, though it you jump at the center of four balls in the background, you can find a carrot and a star, and you can exit through the left pipe. If you choose to continue down the bottom path, you will come out of a pipe that leads you to a previously inaccessible 1-Up. The large spike pit near the end requires you to use the balls from the Tamanoripu to cross safely, but watch out for the platform in the middle, as you can't pass underneath, even though the balls can. To reach the ending bell, simply ride the ball as close to it as possible and jump off from it to ring the bell.
Level 3: In bad taste[edit]
The machine's tongue is a dangerous stretch lined with spikes and flanked with Bullet Bill launchers. You'll have to dodge these living bullets while on a moving platform a difficult platforming section. In addition to this, there are multiple mechanical features in the level, with a multi-directional conveyor belt that takes you under spikes and clamps that carry you precariously over gaps. Other than the Bullet Bill, there is also the Biroron, clowns that hide in coin blocks, and Kiddokatto, which are basically faster Goombas.
In the conveyor belt section, there is a small gap between two sets of spikes, where you can reveal two hidden blocks that let you climb into a hidden area containing a bunch of coins. Later on, in the section with the clamps, you want to stay in the lower portion of the screen, as you can reach a warp pipe that takes you to a room with three Bullet Bill launchers and a 1-Up at the end. Although reaching the 1-Up os easy enough, you must be very fast to escape the room unscathed, especially when avoiding the Bullet Bills from the second launcher. To reach the bell at the end, you simply have to hang on to the clamp until you are near the bell and jump off the clamp to ring it.
Level 4: Brick blocks galore[edit]
As if the previous level wasn't hectic enough, this level has even more smartly placed obstacles. Other than the black variety of Bomubomu and the common Goombas, there are also spiked balls orbiting orbs and moving sawblades that you need to avoid. You'll even have to maneuver around three orbiting spikes to collect coins in a room. You will also have to dodge some sawblades to reach a money bag out in the open. Skillful control of your jumps and good timing is vital in this level.
Boss: The Three Little Pigheads[edit]
The Three Little Pigheads are, as their name implies, three bosses in one. They will battle you individually, and each pighead has their own form of attack. The pighead in the straw house simply rolls along the ground and rolls faster every time you attack him. The pighead in the wood house jumps around across the screen, and will jump further every time he is hit. Finally, the pighead in the brick house jumps a bit higher than the pighead in the wood house, and will jump even higher with every successful attack. Like every boss, each pighead can be defeated with 3 jumps or 6 fireballs, but since you have to fight all three, it means that their overall health is above average.
Now that you have claimed the coin from the pigheads, you will have one place left to go. The location of the last golden coin is located inside the belly of a giant turtle south of Mario Zone. Get ready to get wet in Turtle Zone!