If you’ve ever found yourself swearing at a GameCube controller while staring at a giant puddle of rainbow-colored sludge, you’re probably in Ricco Harbor. Honestly, it’s one of the best-looking levels in Super Mario Sunshine, but it’s also a total nightmare for completionists. The reason? The Ricco Harbor blue coins. There are 30 of them. Finding every single one is basically a rite of passage for anyone trying to hit that 120-shine mark, and let’s be real, a few of them are just plain mean.
Mario games usually reward exploration, but Sunshine feels like it’s testing your patience. You aren't just jumping; you're scrubbing. You're spraying graffiti. You're spray-painting walls like an underwater vandal just to see if a blue coin pops out. It’s weird. It’s frustrating. Yet, there’s something oddly satisfying about finally hearing that "ding" when you find the one coin you’ve been missing for three hours.
The Problem With the Ricco Harbor Blue Coin Hunt
The main issue is the episode system. Unlike modern open-world games where everything is available at once, Super Mario Sunshine hides certain blue coins behind specific episodes. If you are looking for a coin in Episode 1 that only spawns in Episode 8, you are going to lose your mind. Ricco Harbor is notorious for this.
Take the Blooper Surfing Safari, for example. You’ve got coins hidden in the water, coins hidden on the rafters, and coins that only appear if you spray a very specific, non-descript wall. It’s not intuitive. Most players end up following a guide because the alternative is spraying every single square inch of the harbor with FLUDD. That’s not gameplay; that’s a chore.
And let’s talk about the physics. Ricco Harbor is vertical. You spend half your time on narrow beams or hanging from fences. One wrong move and you’re falling into the water, losing all your momentum. It’s a lot. You’ve gotta have a plan before you dive in.
Where Most People Get Stuck in the Harbor
There are a few "bottleneck" coins that stop most players in their tracks. The first is the graffiti pairs. You know the ones. You spray an "X" on one wall, and a blue coin appears across the map. You have about ten seconds to get there. In Ricco Harbor, these are located on the cliffs and the shipyard structures. If you don't have the Turbo Nozzle or a really good grasp of the Rocket Nozzle, you're toast.
Then there are the "Hidden M" tags. These are everywhere. You’ll find them on the side of the helipad, near the tower, and tucked away behind crates.
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- Check the top of the lighthouse.
- Look under the helipad platform.
- Don't forget the cages.
- Spray the fish hanging in the market area (yes, seriously).
Speaking of the market, there’s a blue coin hidden inside a basket. You have to spray the basket until it breaks. Why? Who knows. It’s just how Isle Delfino works. The game doesn't tell you this. You just have to be curious enough to spray everything that looks remotely like a prop.
Using the Bloopers to Your Advantage
A huge chunk of the Ricco Harbor blue coins are tied to the Blooper racing episodes. Most people hate these because the handling is... well, it’s slippery. But you need them. There are blue coins floating in the water that are almost impossible to grab without a Blooper because of the speed required.
Pro tip: The different colored Bloopers have different stats. The green one is slow but easy to handle. The pink one is fast but handles like a bar of soap. For the blue coins scattered around the harbor's pillars, stick with the green or yellow Bloopers. You need precision more than raw speed. If you overshoot a coin, you usually end up hitting a wall and losing a life. It’s annoying. It’s also classic GameCube-era difficulty.
The Secret Cages and the Vertical Climb
The upper rafters of Ricco Harbor are a maze. You have to use the fences to climb, flip, and maneuver around. There are blue coins hidden inside the yellow cages that require you to find a specific entry point from above or below.
One of the most missed coins is located at the very top of the crane. You have to ride the platforms, time your jumps, and hope the camera doesn't freak out. The camera is arguably the hardest boss in Super Mario Sunshine. When you’re high up in the rafters of Ricco Harbor, it loves to get stuck behind a beam or zoom in way too close to Mario’s head.
If you're struggling, try switching to the "sideways" camera view. It helps you judge the distance between the platforms better. Also, don't be afraid to use the Hover Nozzle for tiny corrections. It’s your best friend here.
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Don't Forget the Fruit and the NPCs
One of the most "Sunshine" mechanics is feeding the Yoshis or interacting with the environment in ways that don't involve jumping. In Ricco Harbor, there are blue coins tied to cleaning up the place.
Have you seen those blue butterflies? Spray them. Have you seen the little blue birds? Spray them too. It feels a bit mean, but they turn into blue coins. There’s also a coin you get for spraying a burning NPC or a specific pile of sludge that isn't part of a main mission. The game rewards you for being a janitor. It's a weird design choice, but it’s consistent.
Why Ricco Harbor Blue Coins Matter for 100% Completion
You might be wondering if it's even worth it. You need 10 blue coins to buy one Shine Sprite from the raccoon in Delfino Plaza. Since there are 240 blue coins in the whole game, they account for 24 Shines. You literally cannot finish the game properly without them.
Ricco Harbor is one of the more "dense" levels. Because the area is relatively small compared to Noki Bay or Pianta Village, the coins are packed closer together. This makes it a great place to farm Shines if you know where to look. But if you're going in blind, it's a headache.
Most people give up on the 100% run because of the blue coins. They find 28 or 29 and then spend days looking for the last one. Usually, that last one is the "X" graffiti or a butterfly they missed near the start of the level.
Actionable Strategy for Your Next Run
If you’re going back to Isle Delfino to finally 100% this thing, here is how you should handle Ricco Harbor. Don't just wander around. It won't work.
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First, pick Episode 8. Most of the coins are available in this episode, and the ones that aren't are usually tied to the Blooper races in earlier episodes. Start by clearing the ground level. Spray every "M" tag, every butterfly, and every weird-looking crate.
Second, get the Rocket Nozzle. It makes reaching the rafters a billion times easier than trying to use the trampolines or the moving platforms. Once you're up there, work your way from the lighthouse over to the shipyard.
Third, pay attention to the water. Use the Bloopers to grab the floating coins early so you don't have to go back and redo the races later. If you see a trail of regular coins, there is almost always a blue coin at the end of it.
Finally, keep a mental checklist. Or an actual checklist. Seriously. There is nothing worse than forgetting which "X" tag you already sprayed. The game doesn't track them individually for you, so once you pick it up, it’s gone. If you're at 29 coins and don't know which one is missing, you have to re-check every single location. It’s brutal.
Ricco Harbor is a beautiful, messy, vertical playground. It represents everything great and everything frustrating about Super Mario Sunshine. The blue coins are the peak of that frustration, but getting that final Shine makes it all feel earned. Just remember to spray the birds. Always spray the birds.
To wrap this up, the search for every Ricco Harbor blue coin is less about platforming skill and more about observation. You have to look at the world differently. Look for the "X," look for the "M," and look for anything that doesn't quite belong in a sunny tropical harbor. Once you master the layout, you'll realize that the coins aren't just collectibles—they're a tour of the level's best (and most hidden) details.
Check your total count in the pause menu often. If you’re stuck at 29, re-visit the cliffs near the entrance. There is a wall there that many people forget to spray because it looks like a background texture. It isn't. Happy hunting, and try not to fall off the rafters.