Super Mario Sunshine has long been considered one of the most difficult Super Mario games in existence. Now with its inclusion in the Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection for the Nintendo Switch, an entirely new generation of gamers are riding rollercoasters and cursing at watermelons as they try to collect all the game's shine sprites.
Here we take a look at the most difficult, fiddly, time-consuming, and irritating shines in the game and how to get them. These tips, tricks, and hints should help you stave off some of that frustration as you make your way around the Isle of Delfino, taking in the sights and cleaning up the place.
10 Pinna Park Episode 3 Red Coin Level: Pirate Ships
The worst thing about this section of Pinna Park is the camera angles and the enemies. You're climbing all over and it can be very difficult to see. The level starts with a coin in front of the ships and a person telling you that they do a full rotation every three swings. Once you know when this is, use the boats to grab the first two coins then get onto the top left platform to grab another.
Next, you need to make sure you ground pound the enemy from above before you flip the grid to grab the coins underneath. Next climb across and up the underside of the steep grid to flip the Electrokoopers away before you walk over the top. There's a final red coin and blue coin along another grid and the shine will appear on the top platform.
9 Gelato Beach Episode 2: Mirror Madness! Tilt, Slam, Bam!
This is one of the earliest tricky levels but it's actually fairly easy once you figure out the technique. You'll need to use FLUDD to get on to each mirror and then squirt the Cataquacks.
They are heavier than you so they'll start to tip the mirror. You need to keep squirting until they go right up to the edge and end up with just one foot stuck onto the mirror. Then quickly run to the other side of the mirror and ground pound it. This part can be tricky due to the camera angles but the ground pound should change the mirrors angle quickly, flinging the Cataquack off.
There are three mirrors in total and they have one, two, and three Cataquacks on so start with one so you can perfect the technique while you don't have extras trying to chase you. With more than one, you'll need to push them all, although only one at once will go onto one leg.
8 Pianta Village Episode 3: The Gloopy Inferno
The biggest nightmare with this level is that you don't have FLUDD but you do have a lot of lava to deal with. The idea is that you run around, find a hole by the spa then ground-pound it to reach the underside of the village. What follows is a nightmare journey past Klambers and Red Electrokoopas.
Instead, there are a few alternatives. One of the easiest is running up to the right until you find the river then run along the river up to the end. From here, if you try and exit you'll get green goop squirted at you. Jumping in and out of the water on this left side of the waterfall will allow a platform of green goop to form.
Once the platform is a decent size you can land on it and jump spin from the edge to reach the island on the other side. Once here jump up the platforms and you'll find FLUDD. Now it's just a case of using it to get over to the large tree, climbing up then jumping over to the golden looking mushroom with a resident on top. Cleaning him will reward your shine.
7 Pinna Park Episode 8: Rollercoaster Balloons
For this level, you need to get on the rollercoaster then hit all the balloons while riding it. You can only hit them with the rocket provided and the level is limited by your three loops.
We recommend riding it the first time and simply getting used to where everything is since you can rotate yourself as you go around. Don't try and hit them all at once, instead try and grab some from groups, in particular, leaving just a few for the next time around.
Mainly, this level is just a case of practicing and keeping going. It's not long but it can be annoying since the rockets don't have great aim and being on the coaster can be distracting and nauseating for anyone with motion sickness. If you fail you'll simply hit the iconic "too bad" message and can then restart.
6 Noki Bay Episode Six: The Shell's Secret
This hidden level requires you to first get up to the shell high in the middle of the initial level. To do this you'll need to use the ropes. You can jump in the middle to fire yourself up and you'll need to use this plus climbing to get up high enough. Just watch out for the spikes.
Once into the platform level, the key is to go slowly and watch the timings. It's also good to remember that Mario can grab onto the edges of things, wall jump up corners, land on top of nails, and climb poles. The level is a pain but slow and steady is the key. It's very systematic so watch how the different parts move.
5 Pianta Village Episode 8: Fluff Festival Coin Hunt
The main issue with this level is that the coins can be tricky to find and there are a few things you need to know so you don't come unstuck. Watching a walkthrough can help.
First head over the mushrooms onto the bamboo grid and navigate to the moving platform by going up and across the roof. If you then hold up on the control stick while gliding you can get on the roof and use FLUDD to grab the first coin.
Next, go across the mushrooms and over the bridge. This takes you to the top of the level where you'll see coins on the leaves of the large tree, in the long grass, under a tree in the middle, and in a small pool of water. There's also one on the cliff edge behind the water but grab it quick as there are bees close by. You'll also find a coin in a pile of crates on the edge of the island.
Finally, there's a new FLUDD nozzle high up on the middle tree. You'll need to use this to jet through the clouds and reach a leaf full of coins that leads to the final red coin and a jump over the clouds for the shine sprite.
4 Gelato Beach Episode 8: The Watermelon Festival
The Watermelon Festival has become notorious for sounding far more fun than it actually is. You simply need to go up a hill and push a watermelon back down. Sounds easy right? Sadly, that isn't the case since the watermelon will break if it falls too far or hits people, Cataquacks, and other obstacles.
Getting up the hill is quite simple. Head to the right, past the quacks then wall jump up the cliff. You can then use FLUDD to reach the watermelon. The difficult part is getting it back down the hill. Luckily there are some paths that are easier than others.
Taking the watermelon down the left side on the path is risky in terms of hitting the water but if you can control it there are fewer Cataquacks this way. You can also go down the small path to the right but this requires going very slowly so you don't push it down a steep edge. The main thing is don't just push it straight forward as this mostly always ends in disaster.
3 Secret Red Coin Level: Pachinko Machine
To access the Pachinko Machine secret level you can actually use a wall jump and FLUDD to sneakily enter through the top of a bridge. In this giant pachinko machine, the frustration is in being unable to see where the coins are once you start playing. For this reason, it's worth noting the layout when the level begins.
One of the best strategies is to move towards the back of the entry ground pound, throwing you into the machine. After the ground pound press nothing at all, so you land on a pin just above the center. From here you can use spin jumps and use your FLUDD to navigate to the individual platforms.
Alternatively, you can use FLUDD to try and adjust before you fall, aiming to land straight in the gaps. Just note that FLUDD will draw you towards the center in this level, so it can make directions very tricky.
2 Secret Red Coin Level: Lily Pad Ride
The lily pad ride is a hidden level that's accessible through a warp pipe on the southeast island in Delfino Plaza. The pipe is initially blocked by an orange. This means you need to take Yoshi across a number of boats to get to the island and unblock it. However, there is a sneaky way to avoid this irritation.
Once in the level, you need to use FLUDD to steer down the river and collect the coins. If you land in the water your health will go down, fast. This means that collecting the coins can be very tricky and once you hit the end the warp pipe will force a restart of the entire process.
To avoid this you can use FLUDD to reach the edge of the river then simply walk back down the side and you'll find a new lily pad at the start of the level, giving you another chance to collect the remaining coins.
1 Corona Mountain: Father And Son Shine!
While we'd expect the last level of this game to be difficult, for many people this is the most difficult section of any Mario level ever, hence its inclusion. Your final shine sprite technically comes from Bowser himself who is at the end of this section of chaos but this lava lake is the real end boss for many.
It all begins with a death ride across platforms filled with spikes and flames, all suspended over lava. A single hit from any of them means instant death. You'll need to use FLUDD to stay over the platforms until you can safely land, then quickly take off again before they become dangerous once more. Don't forget to refill on the regular platforms which have water jets. Watching the level being played to see the timings can really help here.
Next is the real boss, the boat. You need to use FLUDD to very slowly navigate to the platform at the back before shooting up through the clouds to find Bowser. He has your final shine but we won't spoil that fight, since it's this platform and boat system that's the most difficult part of completing your shine collection.