You finally made it. After trekking through the Luncheon Kingdom and surviving the Ruined Kingdom’s gritty boss fight, you’ve landed in Bowser’s Kingdom. It’s gorgeous. The feudal Japanese aesthetic, the neon lanterns, the sprawling tile roofs—it’s easily one of the most stylish worlds in Super Mario Odyssey. But then you see them. Those shimmering, shell-shaped regional tokens. There are 100 Bowser’s Kingdom purple coins scattered across this massive, vertical fortress, and honestly, some of them are just plain mean.
Finding every single one is the only way to clear out the Crazy Cap shop. You want that Samurai Armor. You definitely want the Happi Outfit. And if you're a completionist, you need that Bowser Castle souvenir for the Odyssey. But hunting these things down isn't just about looking behind every corner. It's about mastering the Pokio—that little bird enemy you can capture—and realizing that Nintendo loves hiding things in the literal sky.
Why Bowser’s Kingdom Purple Coins Are a Different Kind of Grind
In most kingdoms, you’re just running around. In Bowser's, you're climbing. The verticality is the real enemy here. If you miss a cluster of coins on the Outer Wall and drop down to the Inner Wall, you’re looking at a long trek back up or a series of warp pipe transitions that break your flow. It’s annoying. You’ve got to be methodical.
Unlike the Sand Kingdom, where the coins are spread across a flat desert, these 100 coins are packed into tight, often precarious spots. Most players hit a wall around 92 or 95 coins. That final handful usually hides in places that require you to jump off a cliff you’d normally avoid or use a Pokio to flick yourself into a crevice that doesn't even look like a platform.
The Pokio Factor
You cannot finish this hunt without becoming an expert at controlling the Pokio. This is the bird that pokes its beak into walls to fling itself upward. Several clusters of Bowser’s Kingdom purple coins are tucked under eaves or on the sides of moving platforms that only the Pokio can reach.
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Pro tip: When you're flicking upward, don't just mash the button. Aim. Many coins are positioned specifically to reward a well-timed flick rather than a lucky scramble.
Where Everyone Usually Misses the Last Few
Let's get specific. There are a few spots that act as "coin traps" where players consistently overlook tokens.
First, check the Third Courtyard. There’s a spot behind the building where you find the Pokio. Most people just grab the bird and move on, but if you circle the back of the structure, there are three coins just sitting there, mocking you.
Then there’s the Inner Wall. This is where the Pokio mechanics get intense. While you're scaling the walls with the moving wooden grates, there are coins tucked into the recesses. If you’re moving too fast, you’ll fly right past them. You have to literally hang out on the wall, wait for the grates to shift, and look for those purple glints.
The "Beneath the Map" Trick
Nintendo loves the "under the bridge" trope. In the area near the Main Courtyard Entrance, don't just walk across the bridges. Look over the edge. There are coins suspended on tiny ledges beneath the main path. It’s a leap of faith. Or, more accurately, a "Cappy-dive-and-hope-for-the-best" kind of situation.
Another sneaky spot? The Souvenirs and Outfits. Okay, not the shop itself, but the roof. The roofs in Bowser's Kingdom are massive. Most of them have coins tucked near the ridges or at the very peaks. Use the power lines to get high up, then drop down onto the rooftops rather than trying to climb them from the bottom.
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Detailed Breakdown of the Hardest Clusters
If you're stuck at 97/100, you likely missed one of these three locations:
- The poison pond behind the starting area. Right when you land, most people head forward toward the first spark pylon. Don't. Turn around. There’s a Lakitu hanging out over a pool of poison. If you capture him and fish in the murky water, you’ll find some coins, but others are tucked behind the pillars surrounding the pond.
- The spin-throw columns. In the area with the moving platforms and the decorative pillars, you’ll see coins circling the tops of the columns. You have to use a spin throw (shaking the Joy-Cons or performing a circular motion with the stick) to snag all three at once while you're standing on a platform that’s actively trying to dump you into the abyss.
- The Hidden Sub-Area (The Iron Mountain). There’s a pipe that leads to a 2D 8-bit section. It’s easy to find, but it’s even easier to miss the "hidden" exit within the 2D section that leads to an extra cache of purple coins. Always look for fake walls in the 8-bit parts.
Making Sense of the Crazy Cap Prices
Why are you doing this again? Oh right, the gear. Bowser’s Kingdom has some of the best-looking cosmetic items in Super Mario Odyssey.
- Samurai Helmet & Armor: 25 coins total.
- Happi Headband & Outfit: 25 coins total.
- Bowser’s Kingdom Sticker: 5 coins.
- Bowser’s Castle Model: 25 coins.
- The Power Moon: 20 coins.
If you do the math, that hits exactly 100. There is zero margin for error. If you want that gold 100% star on your save file, you have to find every single one. No shortcuts.
Real Advice for the Final Stretch
If you’re genuinely losing your mind, use the Bowser Amiibo. If you tap it, it actually shows you the location of regional coins on your screen. Some call it cheating. I call it "preserving my sanity after thirty minutes of staring at a pagoda."
If you don't have the Amiibo, your best bet is to go to the Map screen and look at the "Checklist" for each sub-area. While it doesn't give you a GPS coordinate, it helps you narrow down which section of the fortress is still holding out on you. Most players find that their missing coins are in the "Beneath the Keep" area or tucked away in the "Outer Wall."
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Don't forget the spark pylons. Sometimes, when you're traveling as a ball of electricity, there are coins floating in the path. You have to actually tilt the stick to veer off the main wire and grab them mid-transit. It’s a bit finicky, but those are often the "phantom" coins people can't find because they assume the pylon path is just for travel, not for collectibles.
Actionable Next Steps for Completion
To wrap this up and get your 100%, follow this specific order of operations:
- Capture a Lakitu immediately at the start and scout the perimeter of the poison pools; this clears the ground-level "easy" misses.
- Sweep the rooftops by using the highest spark pylons and dropping down, rather than climbing up.
- Enter every warp pipe and 8-bit mural, ensuring you hit the "hidden" exits by jumping against the ceilings to find secret paths.
- Slow down with the Pokio. When scaling the Inner Wall, stop at every landing and rotate the camera 360 degrees. Most missed coins are hidden by the perspective of the fixed camera angles.
- Check the shop. Sometimes people actually have all the coins but forgot to buy one item, making them think they're still missing currency. Check your inventory before you go back out into the field.
Once you’ve snagged the 100th coin, head back to the Crazy Cap near the Main Courtyard. Buy the Samurai gear, put it on, and take a screenshot. You’ve earned it. The verticality of Bowser's Kingdom makes this one of the tougher hunts in the game, but it's also one of the most rewarding once that "Regional Coins 100/100" notification finally pops up.