breakdown - EmilyEmmi/MarioHunt GitHub Wiki

Level Breakdown

In this section, I will go over every course in vanilla Super Mario 64, and give advice for the Runners for each. Sometimes, I will give specific advice for when using OMM Rebirth.

INDEX

The Castle

A picture of Princess Peach's Castle, taken from Castle Grounds. It has red towers and a stained glass window of the titular Princess Peach.

Princess Peach's Castle. Unfortunatly, the Toads and Princess Peach have been sealed within the castle walls by Bowser! It's up to the Runners to stop him and save Princess Peach. And the Toads too, I guess.

If you've read the advice page, you'll know how dangerous this castle is. Luckily, there's some special techniques you can use to gain the upper hand.

Painting Skip

By pausing right before entering a painting, then unpausing, you can skip the transition to get into levels faster. Remember that this only works for paintings; other kinds of warps, like for the Secret Aquarium, won't work.

Exiting Course

Pause Menu; options are "Exit Course" and "Exit To Castle".

There's two options in the pause menu: "Exit Course" and "Exit To Castle". "Exit Course" will warp you out of the painting or area you entered, while "Exit To Castle" will warp you back to the castle lobby, like in the original Super Mario 64. Be sure to choose whichever one suits your needs! Exit Course will make it easier to enter levels nearby, while Exit To Castle is better suited for fast getaways. Both options will fully restore your health.

You can also use Exit Course to skip the star dance animation. Pause right before grabbing a star or key, then select an option. Not only can you save some time, but this also lets you Exit To Castle right away, saving the walk after getting a Bowser Key. This won't work if you can't Exit Course yet, obviously.

The Stars

There are five stars hidden in the castle, 3 of which are from Toad. The other 2 can be obtained from Mips The Rabbit in the basement.

Toad Star 1: By the entrance to Hazy Maze Cave. He appears after collecting 12 stars.
Toad Star 2: By the stairs in the Upper Floor, across from Tall Tall Mountain. He appears at 25 stars, so he should be there by default if you've been playing a 70 star run.
Toad Star 3: To the right of Tick Tock Clock. He appears at 35 stars, so he should also be there by default.
Mips Star 1: In the basement. He appears at 15 stars.
Mips Star 2: Same location. He appears at 50 stars. Also, he's a bit faster.

Catching Mips

The rabbit in question.

The easiest way to catch Mips is to repeatedly dive as you approach. If you miss him, you'll have to chase him around the basement while the Hunters try to beat you up. In this scenario, try to chase Mips into a dead end and grab him as he turns around.

Bob-Omb Battlefield (BoB)

An picture of Bob-Omb Battlefield. It features a floating island, a Chain Chomp guarding a gate containing a Power Star, and the mountain, with King Bob-Omb standing on the summit.

Bob-Omb Battlefield! Strangely upbeat music for a war zone. This is the first course every Runner shall enter. Despite that, this course is no easy stroll.

Big Bob-Omb On The Summit

Ironically, this is one of the trickiest stars. The King himself poses no threat, but you'll have to dodge many Hunters as you battle atop the summit. I find that most Runners skip this star and go for the Island star instead, which we'll get to later.

Footrace With Koopa The Quick

You have to select this act to access this star. Koopa The Quick is, ironically, not quick. You should have little issue beating him as long as you don't use a cannon or warp. For an even faster time, try jump kicking up the slope with the Red Coin (this is easier if you hold the joystick halfway, sorry keyboard players). Once you get to the top, you'll probably have to jump off the mountain and climb back up to avoid the onslaught of Hunters.

Wall Kicks Will Work!

Here's a neat shortcut you can use against Koopa The Quick. Perform a sideflip next to the slope with the Red Coin, and wall jump off of the grassy wall. If you were close enough to the slope, you can grab the ledge and skip a large chunk of the mountain.

Shoot To The Island In The Sky

This star is impossible without opening the cannon, right? WRONG. Long jump from the very corner of the mountain with enough speed, and you can reach the island for a free star. This also lets you grab the red coin star early.

Find The 8 Red Coins

Use the technique above to collect all 8 Red Coins early. Don't forget the one behind the gate, below the entrance to the mountain.

Mario Wings To The Sky

With the vanilla moveset, you can't get this one without the wing cap. But using OMM Rebirth, the gork jump, and some Homing Cappy Throws, this star can be conquered with no wing cap or cannon use at all!

Behind Chain Chomp's Gate

You can go for this one first if you've got a significant lead or if the Hunters are focused on another player. If you don't, wait for the Hunters to spread out, then go for it.

You can also try performing Bomb Clip to grab this star quickly (Here's a tutorial I just googled). But if that technique's too tricky, there's actually another technique: The Cork Box Clip.

Stand in the bottom left corner of the gate for best results. Your character should visibly clip through the terrain.

Stand in the bottom left corner of the gate while holding the small box from the start of the level, and press Z. You'll clip

100 Coins Star (BoB)

There are 146 coins in this course. Unfortunately, a lot are in the rings in the sky, so you won't be able to get this star on your first visit. I wouldn't go for this star, personally. It doesn't seem worth the time.

Whomp's Fortress (WF)

Picture of Whomp's Fortress. It features a large fortress leading up to a single tower in the center. It also features floating islands and grassy area near the entrance.

Whomp's Fortress is the second stage, and quite the step up from Bob-Omb Battlefield. Not only is the stage much smaller, but it introduces the threat of bottomless pits- instant death if you aren't careful. This course also has many act-specific stars, so you'll have to reenter more than once.

Unlike BoB, a lot of these stars are very fast. This is a great course for getting stars, despite the risks.

Chip Off Whomp's Block

A tricky first star, like Big Bob-Omb on the Summit. Your first task is to make your way to the top of the fortress. Going the normal route will require riding an elevator, which will easily let Hunters attack you. Instead, you can climb the large pole above the Shoot Into The Wild Blue area. For an even faster trick, perform a side-flip or triple jump followed by a wall jump next to the Piranha Plant midway up the fortress. You can reach the floating island and skip right to King Whomp.

We gather here today to mourn the loss of half of this stage.

Since this is a boss fight, you'll be at the mercy of Hunters the whole time. However, this fight is trivial if you know this trick. Right when King Whomp tries to crush you, jump and do a Ground Pound. He'll phase right through you, and you'll be able to hit him immediately.

In OMM Rebirth, you can actually defeat King Whomp instantly by getting crushed while wearing the Metal Cap. This is probably unnecessary, since most players enter this stage long before unlocking the Metal Cap.

To The Top Of The Fortress

Take the same route as before, then you half to climb the tower. Jump across the platforms quickly, or do a careful wall jump onto the final platform. This last platform is an elevator, which is why being fast is priority #1. If the Hunters reach the top first, they can simply kick you off and prevent you from reaching the star.

Shoot Into The Wild Blue

"Shoot?" Yeah, right. Go below the platform with the star and perform a triple jump or side-flip followed by a wall jump to get onto the platform easily. Just be careful- this area is close to the void. A harder but less risky strategy is to jump from above and perform an air kick onto the platform.

Red Coins On The Floating Isle

If you took the shortcut, you'll have to go back for the red coins near the rotating bridge. Otherwise, getting this star should be a quick endeavor. Again, be careful near the star, as it's close to the edge of the stage. You should also take this opportunity to get the 100 coin star.

There's also a hidden warp next to the sign near the Thwomps and the Metal Cap. Many players forget about this warp, so be sure to use it to your advantage.

The hidden warp.

Fall Onto The Caged Island

Hoot the Owl can help you get this star, but it's likely you'll miss due to weird momentum-conservation bugs. Instead, you can simply long jump from the top of the fortress. Or, you could try to go for the notoriously difficult Owlless trick.

Blast Away The Wall

Show up to this star and talk to the Bob-Omb Buddy, being sure not to get kicked off. From there, run around a bit until you get the chance to get in the cannon (since one of the Hunters probably stole it). Aim for the corner of the wall (there should be a 6 above it). If you have another Runner in the stage with you, they can grab the star to save some time.

Or if you're insane, you can do cannonless.

100 Coins Star (WF)

There are 141 coins in this level. All of these are easily accessible, and because the stage is small, quick to obtain. You can actually get 10 coins from each Whomp- jump or kick on its back five times before destroying it. Show up with a fellow Runner to tackle this star in record time. Also take advantage of the hidden warp to avoid getting kicked off of the stage.

Some extra coins can be gotten in OMM Rebirth by letting Thwomps crush you while wearing the Metal Cap.

Tower Of The Wing Cap (TotWC)

Tower Of The Wing Cap. There are 4 pointed towers arranged across from each other in a square-like shape, and a larger, flatter tower in the center. Several coins are floating in the sky, including 4 coin rings, each with 2 red coins in the center.

The home of the Wing Cap Switch. The Wing Cap is extremely useful for stages such as Lethal Lava Land and Bob-Omb Battlefield. However, this is a very dangerous stage. All the Hunters have to do is fly into you, and you'll fall to your doom!

Flight For 8 Red Coins

Fly carefully. Wait to enter this stage until the Hunters are distracted, because dodging them whilst collecting the coins is nearly impossible. If you miss any of the Red Coins, you can't go back unless you're using OMM Rebirth. Plus, you'll be trapped with all of the Hunters on a small platform.

... Or are you?

ColbyRayz! discovered that if you fly to edge of the stage, you'll leave the course without losing a life. This turns TotWC from a nightmare scenario into a breeze, provided you can pull off the triple jump needed to take off. Now you can even hit the switch and run!

Jolly Roger Bay (JRB)

Jolly Roger Bay. The area is covered in a thick, blue-green mist. A mastless ship can be seen floating off to the right. Several stalagmites are poking out of the water.

Wait, I thought Cool Cool Mountain was Course 3? Nope, the first water level is, but everyone would prefer to put it off for later. The swimming physics haven't exactly aged well, especially for any poor keyboard players. Water levels in MarioHunt are not fun, because Mario lost his gills in the jump to 3D. Not only does the water's surface heal Runners much slower, but Hunters have an upgraded punch that travels faster. The worst part is that most of the Stars here are unobtainable in Act 1. Don't expect smooth sailing, considering the sunken ship.

Plunder In The Sunken Ship

TERRIBLE. First, push your nose against Unagi, then swim up for air. Hopefully, Unagi moves out of the entrance. After making your way inside, grab the Treasure Chest that's placed away from the others, then grab the rest in a clockwise motion, starting with the one in the top left (when facing towards the other end of the ship).

Bottom Left, Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Middle.

Finally, swim quickly to the box to avoid having to platform. If the Hunters corner you while in the ship, you're done for. Thankfully, the Hunters cannot open the chests themselves.

If you're using OMM Rebirth, you can simply open the Exclamation Box using Cappy (although the chests will be needed in order to leave).

Can The Eel Come Out To Play?

Another difficult star. Unlike the sunken ship star, you'll have to loiter around Unagi for a bit before he'll come out to play. Once he does, quickly swim into his tail to get the star.

Treasure Of The Ocean Cave

Probably your best bet if you're entering this level for the first time. After swimming into the titular Ocean Cave, reach the chests and open them in this order: Up, Left, Right, Down. You'll need to dodge the Hunters until the Star appears.

Advice for swimming in general: Try to swim erratically so it's harder for Hunters to hit you. To swim as quickly as possible, press A at the end of each stroke, in a rhythm. In OMM Rebirth, you can swim much faster by first Ground-Pounding, then holding B. This will drain your air much faster, but you can easily outswim the Hunters. Be sure to grab some coins so you're less vulnerable when you reach the cave.

Red Coins On The Ship Afloat

Unfortunately, three of the red coins are on the ship, which isn't available in Act 1. While one can be reached with a Long Jump, the other two, as well as the star itself, cannot be reached with the vanilla moveset.

Many of the red coins are also hidden within clams. You'll have to swim next to the clam, then stop before it opens. Otherwise, you'll be knocked back. When Faster Swimming is enabled, this will warp you to the surface, making this even more frustrating. There are no red coins in the Ocean Cave.

In OMM Rebirth, you can simply throw Cappy upwards to collect the red coins. For collecting the star, you can jump from the Blast To The Stone Pillar ledge, or perform a Vertical Cap Bounce. If you can't do this, you'll have to enter the Ship, then open the chests to get the ship to appear on the water's surface. You can also collect the coins in the clams by simply throwing Cappy at them.

Blast To The Stone Pillar

You'll need the cannon for this Star, which can't be opened in Act 1. Once the cannon is opened, aim for directly above the stalagmite, about the center of the cloud in the background.

Aim directly above the stalagmite, about the center of the cloud.

But what if I told you don't actually need the cannon? This pretty controversial trick lets you simple walk up the pole. For coop, the trick is significantly easier on keyboard.

And for OMM Rebirth, you can just like, wall jump or something. You can actually Spin Jump straight up the stalagmites, even.

Through The Jet Stream

Usually, you need the Metal Cap for this Star. However, with some practice, you can actually reach the Star just by swimming. Press A about the end of each stroke to swim as fast as possible.

100 Coins Star (JRB)

This is only barely possible in Act 1. There are only 104 coins in this entire course (the lowest in the game, even lower than the infamous 106 in Dire Dire Docks), so exactly 100 can be obtained in Act 1. Obviously, this is a bit easier in OMM. Overall, I wouldn't recommend attempting this star at all.