You think you know Peach's Castle. You’ve ground-pounded the pillars to drain the moat and you’ve chased that annoying rabbit, Mips, through the basement corridors until your thumbs hurt. But honestly, the secret stars Super Mario 64 hides are the real reason this game still dominates speedrunning leaderboards and retro-gaming discussions decades after its 1996 debut. Most players stumble upon the obvious ones, like the slide behind the stained-glass window. However, if you're trying to hit that magical 120-star count, you have to look for the stuff Nintendo basically buried in the code.
It isn’t just about the 15 "Castle Secret Stars" listed in the menu. It's about the weird, specific requirements that make no sense until they do.
The Stars Everyone Forgets in the Lobby
Everyone knows the Princess’s Secret Slide. It’s right there. You jump through the face of Peach on the right side of the mezzanine. But did you know there are actually two stars in that tiny room? Most kids in the 90s grabbed the first one and bolted. To get the second, you have to finish the slide in under 21.0 seconds. It sounds easy until you realize the physics engine in this game is held together by hope and prayer. If you don't take the shortcut by jumping off the first curve, you aren't hitting that time.
Then there are the Toads.
🔗 Read more: Why the Epic Gamer Grandma Plush is Actually a Big Deal in Gaming Culture
Toads are basically living kiosks for secret stars Super Mario 64 developers didn't want to build levels for. There are three specific Toads who just hand over stars if you talk to them. One is standing right next to the entrance of Hazy Maze Cave. Another is on the second floor near Tall, Tall Mountain. The final one is hiding near Tick Tock Clock on the top floor. If you're stuck at 117 stars, it’s almost always because you ignored a Mushroom Retainer who was trying to be helpful.
The Mystery of the Shifting Sand Land Pillar
Shifting Sand Land is a nightmare for a lot of reasons—the bird that steals your hat, the instant-kill quicksand, the general sense of dread. But one of the most technical secret stars is actually inside the pyramid. You have to find five special "secrets" (which are basically invisible trigger zones) located on the sandy platforms winding around the interior.
Why is this a secret star? Because it doesn’t follow the standard "collect 8 red coins" or "beat the boss" logic. You’re literally just walking over specific geometry to make a star appear at the very bottom. Most people trigger three or four by accident and then spend twenty minutes wandering around wondering why the music is twinkling but nothing is happening. You have to hit the ones on the high ledges, then drop down to the small sand-falls. It’s tedious. It's brilliant. It's classic Miyamoto.
Bowser’s Red Coin Gauntlets
You can’t talk about secret stars Super Mario 64 without mentioning the Bowser stages. Most players just rush to the end to throw the King of Koopas into a bomb. Big mistake. Each of the three Bowser levels—Bowser in the Dark World, Bowser in the Fire Sea, and Bowser in the Sky—contains eight red coins.
The one in the Fire Sea is particularly brutal because of the rising and falling lava. You have to time your jumps on the poles perfectly. If you miss the coin behind the elevator, you’re starting the whole climb over. These stars are essential for the 120-star completion, yet the game never explicitly tells you they exist until you start collecting the coins and see the counter appear on your HUD.
💡 You might also like: The Legend of Zelda Phantom Hourglass: Why Fans Still Argue About This Stylus-Only Sequel
The Vanish Cap Under the Moat
This is arguably the coolest secret in the game. To get it, you have to go to the basement, enter the door to the right of the Hazy Maze Cave entrance, and find the room with two pillars sticking out of the water. Ground-pound them. The water drains. You can then walk out the front door of the castle into the empty moat.
Down there, you'll find a hole in the ground that leads to the Vanish Cap switch. But wait—there's a secret star here too. You have to collect eight red coins while navigating a series of narrow platforms and steep slopes. If you fall off, you end up back in the moat and have to jump back into the hole. It’s a test of the game’s somewhat janky "slippery" physics, and it’s a total rite of passage for any serious player.
That Damn Bird in the Sky
Wing Mario Over the Rainbow. Just the name sends shivers down the spines of completionists. To even access this, you need the Wing Cap and you have to stand on the giant sun carpet in the main lobby, look up into the light, and get transported to the Tower of the Wing Cap. Once the switch is pressed, you can find the actual "Over the Rainbow" level on the top floor of the castle, opposite the entrance to Rainbow Ride.
There are no enemies here. No Bowser. Just clouds, transparent platforms, and the constant threat of falling all the way back to the castle moat. You have to use the cannons to shoot Mario between clouds to collect red coins. One mistake sends you plummeting out of the level entirely. It's arguably the hardest "Secret Star" in the game because of how much time you lose every time you miss a shot.
📖 Related: Marvel Rivals Gooner Skins: Why Everyone Is Talking About Character Designs
The Rabbit: Mips and the Art of the Chase
Mips the Rabbit is a legend. He appears in the basement once you have 15 stars. Catch him, and he gives you a star. He then disappears until you have 50 stars. Then he comes back. Catch him again, and he gives you another star.
- The 15-Star Mips: He’s fast, but predictable. Corner him near the Mazy Maze Cave door.
- The 50-Star Mips: He’s significantly faster. You actually have to dive (B button while running) to grab him.
Speedrunners love Mips because you can actually use him to glitch through the "Big Star Door" without having enough stars, a technique known as Mips Clip. But for the average player, he’s just a frantic chase through a dusty basement.
The Final Count and Why It Matters
Getting all the secret stars Super Mario 64 offers isn't just for bragging rights. When you hit 120, a few things happen. The cannon outside the castle opens up. You can shoot yourself onto the roof. Up there, you find Yoshi. He doesn't let you ride him (tragic, I know), but he gives you 100 lives and upgrades your triple jump so you sparkle and take no fall damage.
It’s a strange reward for someone who has already beaten everything the game has to throw at them, but it’s the ultimate "thank you" from the developers.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
If you are staring at a save file with 110 stars and no idea where to go, follow this checklist. First, check your Toads. All three of them. Next, go back to the Bowser levels and ensure you didn't skip the red coins in your rush to get to the boss. Third, head to the "Secret" levels: the Aquarium (the small hole in the wall in the Jolly Roger Bay room), the two slide stars, and the three cap switch stages (Red, Blue, Green).
Don't forget the 100-coin stars in every main course. While those aren't technically "Secret Stars" (they are course stars), they are the ones people usually miss. Specifically in Tiny-Huge Island and Rainbow Ride, where getting 100 coins is a literal test of patience.
Check the "Castle Secret Stars" line in your pause menu. If it doesn't say 15, you've missed a Toad, a slide, a Mips, or a Bowser coin. Once that hits 15 and your level totals are all at 7, you've officially conquered one of the greatest games ever made. Go find Yoshi on the roof and enjoy the view.
Next Steps for Mastery:
Begin by verifying the three Toad locations: the basement near Hazy Maze Cave, the second floor near the spiral staircase, and the third floor near Tick Tock Clock. Once those are confirmed, revisit the Princess’s Secret Slide to ensure you’ve collected both the chest star and the "under 21 seconds" star. Finally, perform a "coin sweep" of the three Bowser stages to finalize your Castle Secret Star count.