Whack. That's the sound of Mario’s face hitting a solid stone surface for the fiftieth time because you missed the angle by a pixel. We’ve all been there. You're in Whomp’s Fortress, the sun is shining, the music is upbeat, and there’s that one specific star—Star 4, to be exact—that feels like a weirdly aggressive geometry test. When people talk about Mario 64 Blast Away the Wall, they aren’t usually talking about a complex puzzle. They're talking about a test of patience involving a giant cannon and a very specific piece of level geometry that doesn't look like it should break, but absolutely does.
It’s one of those classic Nintendo moments. You see a star floating out in the ether, seemingly unreachable, protected by two stone pillars that look remarkably sturdy. Most of us spent hours back in 1996 trying to triple jump or long jump from the top of the fortress, hoping a lucky dive would clip the hitbox. It doesn’t work. Well, it can work if you’re a speedrunner using a precise TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedrun) setup, but for the rest of us mortals? You need the cannon.
The "Blast Away the Wall" star is officially titled "Blast to the Lonely Mushroom" in some regions or variations, but the core mechanic is always the same: you have to physically destroy a piece of the environment. This was mind-blowing for the N64 era. Most walls were just... walls. They were static textures. But here, the developers at Nintendo EAD decided to hide a collectible inside the architecture itself.
Finding the Cannon and the Setup
Before you can even think about the wall, you have to talk to the pink Bob-omb Buddy. He’s hanging out near the start of the level, tucked away on a ledge. If you don't talk to him, the cannon hatches stay locked. It’s a basic step, but you’d be surprised how many people forget it when they’re rushing.
Once the cannon is open, you’ve gotta make your way to it. It’s located near the shallow water area, right below the rotating bridge. Hop in, and the camera shifts to that iconic first-person crosshair view. This is where the frustration usually starts. The controls for the cannon in Super Mario 64 are notoriously "floaty." If you’re playing on an original N64 controller, the loose joystick makes precise aiming a nightmare. If you’re on the Switch 3D All-Stars version, the sensitivity feels just a bit off.
The Exact Aiming Point for Mario 64 Blast Away the Wall
Look at the two stone pillars protruding from the side of the fortress. You aren't aiming for the one on the far right. You’re aiming for the corner of the pillar that's closer to the center of the fortress wall. Specifically, you want to hit the very top corner of that stone structure.
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Don't aim directly at it.
Because of gravity, Mario travels in an arc. You need to aim slightly above the target. Honestly, the best way to visualize it is to align the center of your crosshair just a hair above the top edge of the stone. If you hit it right, Mario doesn't just bounce off with a "Mama mia!" instead, the stone literally shatters into several gray polygons. It's a satisfying crunch.
Once the first wall is gone, you might think you're done. Nope. There’s a second layer. You have to repeat the process, or rather, hit the specific sweet spot that triggers the star's appearance. It’s essentially a two-part demolition job. If you hit the wall and Mario just falls into the water, you're on the right track. Just climb back up, jump back in the cannon, and fire again.
Why This Star Is a Speedrunning Nightmare
In the world of 70-star or 120-star runs, Whomp's Fortress is a goldmine for time-saving. But the Mario 64 Blast Away the Wall star is a point of contention. Most high-level runners don't actually use the cannon. It’s too slow. Instead, they use a technique called "the cannonless" jump.
It involves a very precise long jump from the top of the fortress, followed by a mid-air kick or a wall kick to manipulate Mario’s velocity. It looks like magic. One second he’s on a platform, the next he’s clipping through the air and grabbing a star that hasn't even "spawned" yet in the traditional sense. For a casual player? Don't try this. You will fall into the bottomless pit a hundred times. Stick to the cannon. It’s safer, even if it feels a bit clunky.
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The physics engine in Mario 64 is a strange beast. It calculates Mario’s "squish" and "bounce" based on the angle of impact. When you're blasting at that wall, if you hit the flat side, you'll just bonk. The game only registers the "destruction" event if you hit the corner vertex. It's a weird quirk of 1990s programming.
Common Mistakes Everyone Makes
- Firing too low: Mario hits the side of the fortress and falls into the water. You lose about 30 seconds swimming back to the ramp.
- Firing too high: You fly right over the fortress and end up in the "death plane" or way back at the start of the level.
- Ignoring the Bob-omb Buddy: You jump into the hole where the cannon should be and just take fall damage.
- Wrong Pillar: Aiming for the pillar that's furthest away. That one does nothing. It's just there for decoration.
The beauty of Super Mario 64 is that it doesn't hold your hand. There is no UI marker telling you "Shoot Here." There is just a star visible in the distance and a wall that looks slightly suspicious. Shigeru Miyamoto and his team wanted players to experiment with the 3D space. They wanted you to feel the impact of Mario’s body against the world.
The Technical Reality of the Breakable Wall
From a technical standpoint, those walls are unique "Object" actors. Most of the level is static geometry, which is cheap for the N64's Reality Coprocessor to render. But the breakable walls are different. They are essentially enemies that don't move and have zero HP. When Mario’s "projectile" state (which is what he becomes when fired from a cannon) interacts with their collision box, the game triggers a "Death" animation for the wall, replaces the solid model with debris particles, and flags the Star as "active."
It's actually pretty elegant.
If you're playing the DS version (Super Mario 64 DS), things are a bit different. You might be playing as Yoshi, Luigi, or Wario. Wario makes this much easier because he’s got the sheer bulk, but the cannon mechanics remain fundamentally the same across all versions of the game. The "Remake" didn't change the collision math much, so your old muscle memory from the 90s should still work.
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How to Get the Star Every Time
If you want to stop missing, try this:
- Open the cannon (talk to the Bob-omb Buddy near the start).
- Clear out the Whomp King first if you want the level to be "cleaner," though it's not strictly necessary.
- Get in the cannon and pan your view to the right.
- Find the two pillars.
- Align the top of your crosshair (the very tip of the top line) with the top edge of the wall.
- Fire.
- If you don't hear the "shatter" sound, adjust your aim upward by a tiny nudge.
Once the wall is broken, the star appears. To actually get the star, you usually have to cannon yourself one more time, but this time aim for the star itself or the platform it's sitting on. Alternatively, you can walk around the top of the fortress and drop down, which is much less risky than trying to "thread the needle" with Mario's body again.
The Mario 64 Blast Away the Wall mission isn't hard once you know the trick, but it's a perfect example of why this game is still studied by designers today. It's about environmental storytelling. The game tells you "this wall is different" just by its placement and the way the camera frames the star.
Next time you’re playing, take a second to appreciate that crunching sound. It’s the sound of 64-bit history.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check your version: If you're on the Switch, remember that the joystick sensitivity is higher than the original N64. Use tiny, incremental movements.
- The "Safety Net": If you keep missing and falling into the water, take a moment to kill the nearby Piranha Plant. It makes the trek back to the cannon much less stressful.
- Visual Cue: Use the clouds in the background as a reference point for your crosshair. If you find a "sweet spot" cloud, remember its position relative to the pillar.
Experience the satisfaction of that wall crumbling. It’s one of the most tactile moments in early 3D gaming. Once you've cleared this, you’re well on your way to mastering Whomp’s Fortress and moving on to the much more annoying "Shoot into the Wild Blue" star. Good luck. Don't bonk.