Super Mario 64 is regarded as a Nintendo classic and for good reason. It revolutionized the world of 3D gaming and many future Mario games have always called back to it in some shape or form. It has 120 stars with 15 courses and as a result, there’s a lot of fun to be had by beating the game. However, with the game’s difficult controls and camera control, even the best players have difficulty with some stars and we’re here to count down five of the hardest.
5. Blast Away the Wall
This one is at the bottom of the list because if you know what you’re going for, this isn’t that difficult. But if you’re going into this star blind, this is frustrating. The game gives no real hint as to where you’re supposed to blast or what wall. Some people might say the timed star on the secret slide is harder to get, but at least that has a hint as to how to get it. It’s a vague hint but a hint nonetheless, it’s better than nothing. This provides no hint whatsoever and the moment you figure out how easy it is to get it, it’s downright frustrating.
4. Pyramid Puzzle
The final star of Shifting Sand Land requires you to go to the top of the pyramid and gradually jump down to get five unique coins to obtain a star. You’ll know which coins are the right ones by the distinct sound and counter indicating how many you’ve collected so you don’t have to worry about knowing whether or not you’re getting the right ones. What you do have to worry about are the tiny platforms pictured here. While the last two coins are easy to obtain as you can collect them in the sand stream, the first three are on these small platforms. Safely jumping onto them is difficult given their size and the eccentric camera mechanics. As a result, players can’t properly see where to jump for each one. Thankfully if you can manage the first three, it’s smooth sailing from there but those first three are infuriatingly time-consuming.
3. Wing Mario Over the Rainbow
This is one of the last secret stars the game has to offer and it truly is a hard one. The goal is to collect eight red coins scattered all throughout the level with the wing cap. This can be frustrating with the difficult flight controls and the fact that some of the coins are placed in awkward places that require precision in flying. You also have to consistently get a wing cap as it is very easy for your current one to fade away while coin collecting. It is very easy to misjudge landing on a cloud which will lead to you falling to your death. And while you don’t lose a life, it is frustrating that you are dropped outside of the castle and have to go all the way back up to the top of the tower to redo it all over again. Even at a player’s best, this is a difficult star people will yearn to get out of the way fast.
2. Stomp on the Thwomp
The penultimate course of the game, Tick Tock Clock, has many difficult stars to obtain but this is the one I remember being the most frustrating. This is a star that requires you to climb all the way to the top on a moving clock to obtain it. One wrong jump and you either fall to your death or you fall so far down making for a frustrating climb back up. The only way to actually get to the Thwomp is through a moving clock hand and given the hazards you have to dodge to reach that hand, your best bet is to set the movement to fast so you can get to it quicker. The only upside is once you actually reach the Thwomp, it’s pretty easy. But overall, the precision required at every turn to reach this star is so nerve-racking, it’s one of those stars I never look forward to doing.
1. 100 coins in Rainbow Ride
Much like Tick Tock Clock, Rainbow Ride has no shortage of difficult stars to obtain but this is the one I remember being the hardest. The 100 coins are scattered all throughout the level and as a result, you will have to leap from place to place, leaving the safe haven of the carpets to acquire all of them. And much like Tick Tock Clock, one wrong jump, at any point, can ruin your run at the worst possible moment. But by far the hardest part of the level and what sets it apart from the Tick Tock Clock 100 coin star is the blue coin switch. At least the blue coins in that level were easy to obtain and bring you one step closer to 100 coins. These blue coins require a series of well-timed wall jumps to get all of them. And one mistimed wall jump will send you back down causing you to lose time in obtaining all of them. And if you do miss them, you might as well start over since there is no way of making up for that loss. All of these factors make the 100 coin star of Rainbow Ride, the hardest Super Mario 64 star.
Everyone who’s played this game has a different level of skill. Therefore some stars can be harder than others. But the bottom line is that no matter how good you are at this game, there will always be at least one frustrating star. What Super Mario 64 stars are hard for you? Any do you think I missed? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!