Everyone remembers the first time they dove into the water in Jolly Roger Bay. That haunting, ambient synth music kicks in, and suddenly you're not just playing a platformer; you're exploring a lonely, aquatic graveyard. It’s atmospheric. It’s eerie. And for a lot of kids in 1996, it was kind of terrifying. But the real challenge for most players wasn't the vibe—it was figuring out Plunder in the Sunken Ship, the very first Power Star of the level. If you don't know exactly how the game’s swimming mechanics and oxygen levels interact, you’re basically just inviting Mario to drown in a very pretty 64-bit ocean.
Mario 64 changed everything about 3D movement. Still, those underwater levels have a reputation. They're slow. They're clunky. You’re constantly fighting the camera. Getting that first star in World 3 requires a bit of patience and a clear understanding of how to wake up a giant eel that definitely doesn't want to be disturbed.
Finding the Plunder in the Sunken Ship
To even get started, you have to find the ship. It’s not at the surface. You've gotta swim toward the back of the bay, past the pillars and the occasional sushi shark, until the floor drops away into a deep, dark trench. Down there, resting at the bottom, is the vessel.
Inside that ship is where the star stays locked away.
But you can't just swim through the wood. There’s a massive eel—Unagi—poking its head out of one of the windows. He’s the gatekeeper. If you get too close, he’ll lunge, and honestly, his hitbox is a little bigger than you’d think. To get him to leave, you basically have to tease him. Swim right up to his face and then quickly retreat. Once he wiggles out and starts swimming around the open water, the path is clear.
Managing Your Air
Here is the thing about Mario 64 that modern games usually shy away from: your health is your air. There is no separate "oxygen meter." If you take damage from a clam or a fish, you’re also closer to drowning. When you’re deep in the trench trying to trigger Unagi, you’re burning through your life bar.
Don't panic.
You can find bubbles rising from the floor or collect coins to Refill. Coins are literally life. It's a weird mechanic when you think about it—how does a gold coin put air in your lungs?—but it’s the only way to stay down there long enough to finish the mission without backtracking to the surface.
Opening the Chests in the Right Order
Once you swim inside the sunken ship, the physics change. The ship isn't flooded in the way you'd expect. Well, it is, but once you trigger the air pocket, the water drains out.
Wait.
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I should clarify.
When you first enter the hold, you’re underwater. There are four treasure chests sitting on the floor. If you open them in a random order, you’re going to get a nasty electric shock. It’s a puzzle. A simple one, sure, but back in the day, without a guide, it was pure trial and error.
The correct sequence is essential. You need to approach the chests in a specific pattern. If you mess up, the chests reset, and you lose health. Given that you’re likely already low on "air" from the swim down, a couple of shocks will send Mario back to the castle grounds in a hurry.
The Order of Operations:
- Go for the chest at the very back first (the one furthest from the entrance).
- Then hit the one on the left.
- Then the one on the right.
- Finally, the one in the front.
Once the last lid pops, the water starts to recede. The ship tilts. It’s one of the coolest scripted moments in the early game. Now you’re standing on dry land—or dry wood—inside a ship that is somehow magically keeping the ocean at bay.
The Final Climb
Now that the ship has risen slightly and the water is gone, you’ve got to platform your way to the top. This is where the camera usually decides to become your worst enemy. Because the ship is at an angle, Mario’s walk cycle gets a bit janky. You’ll need to jump across some floating blocks to reach the yellow "!" block at the highest point of the ship's interior.
Punch that block. There’s your Power Star.
Why This Star Still Frustrates People
It’s the eel. It’s always the eel.
In the DS remake, Super Mario 64 DS, the mechanics are slightly different because you might be playing as Yoshi, Luigi, or Wario, but the core logic of the Plunder in the Sunken Ship remains the same. The frustration usually stems from the "Unagi baiting." Sometimes he just doesn't want to move. You’ll swim in front of him, he’ll snap, and then he just sits there.
You have to be bold. You have to almost let him hit you.
Also, the "drawing distance" on the original N64 hardware was pretty limited. If you’re playing on an old CRT, the trench looks like a black void until you’re right on top of it. On the 3D All-Stars version on Switch, it's much clearer, but that almost takes away some of the mystery.
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Pro Tips for a Speedier Run
- Hold A and B: If you want to swim fast, you hold A. But if you want to maneuver, let go of A and use the joystick for tight turns.
- Surface Tension: If you’re really low on health before entering the ship, don't risk it. Swim all the way back up, grab a breath, and dive straight down. It’s faster than fumbling with bubbles.
- The Bubbles: Look for the ring of bubbles coming out of the ship’s chimney/hole. Touching these will replenish your health completely. It's a lifesaver if you've been nipped by Unagi.
Technical Nuances of the Level
Jolly Roger Bay is actually a masterclass in level scaling. Notice how the music changes? When you’re above water, it’s got a bit more "bop" to it. The moment your head goes under, the strings kick in. Koji Kondo, the composer, used a layering technique where the game just mutes or unmutes specific tracks based on Mario's coordinates.
The ship itself is actually a separate "zone" in a way. When you open those chests and the water drains, the game is actually swapping out parts of the map geometry. It’s why you can’t see the outside world clearly through the windows once the ship has "risen." It’s a clever trick to save memory on a console that only had 4MB of RAM (unless you had that chunky Expansion Pak, though that didn't help with Mario 64).
Moving Forward After the Star
Once you grab the Plunder in the Sunken Ship star, the level actually changes forever. The ship isn't at the bottom of the trench anymore. It’s floating. This opens up the next few stars, like "Can the Eel Come Out to Play?" (where you have to grab a star off the eel’s tail—way harder than the first mission) and the blast to the stone pillar.
Next Steps for Completionists:
- Re-enter the level: Notice the ship is now at the surface.
- Focus on the Eel: The second star requires you to go back to that same trench. Unagi is back, but this time he’s out of the ship and has a star attached to his tail.
- Check the Cave: Don't forget the hidden cave behind the ship's original location. There are more chests in there, and they follow a similar "order" logic.
Getting the plunder isn't just about the star; it's about unlocking the rest of the bay. Without draining that ship, you're stuck in the first phase of the level forever. Just remember: back, left, right, front. Don't let the eel scare you off, and keep an eye on those coins.