If you grew up with a GameCube, you probably have a love-hate relationship with Isle Delfino. The music is iconic. The movement feels fluid. But then there are the blue coins super mario sunshine hides in the most obnoxious places imaginable. Honestly, they’re the reason most people never actually see the final postcard at the end of the game.
It’s a weird design choice. Nintendo basically took a vibrant, sun-soaked platformer and turned it into a pixel-hunting simulator. You’ve got 240 of these things scattered across the island. That’s a massive number. To put it in perspective, there are only 120 Shines in total.
You need 10 blue coins to buy a single Shine Sprite from the Raccoon at the Delfino Plaza pier. This means 24 of your total Shines are locked behind a scavenger hunt that often requires you to spray random walls for ten minutes. It’s tedious. It’s polarizing. Yet, somehow, we’re still talking about it twenty years later.
The mechanical nightmare of the blue coin hunt
Most Mario games have collectibles that feel rewarding to find. In Super Mario 64, you knew where the stars were. In Odyssey, the Moons are everywhere. But blue coins in this game feel like they were placed by someone who wanted to test your sanity.
Take Rico Harbor. You might be jumping around, enjoying the verticality of the cranes, and then you realize there’s a random scribble on a wall. You spray it. Nothing happens. You spray the other scribble on the far side of the map? A blue coin pops out of the first one. You have about ten seconds to get there. If you miss it, you have to do it all over again.
This "linked graffiti" mechanic is arguably the peak of the frustration. It’s not about platforming skill. It’s about knowing the map like the back of your hand. Or, let's be real, it’s about having a guide open on your phone while you play the 3D All-Stars version on Switch.
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The game doesn't track which coins you've found on a per-episode basis. It only tells you the total per world. So, if you’re at 29 out of 30 in Gelato Beach, you have to re-check every single spot. It’s brutal.
Why some episodes make it impossible
The biggest trap for new players is the episode system. Isle Delfino changes based on which "Episode" you select from the world hub. Some blue coins super mario sunshine features only appear in specific episodes.
If you’re looking for a specific butterfly to spray in Pianta Village, it might only exist in the nighttime version of the map. If you’re in the daytime version, you’re just wasting your breath. The game never explicitly tells you this. You just have to figure it out through trial and error or by spending hours on GameFAQs.
- Noki Bay is the worst offender. The underwater sections are clunky.
- The birds. Why the birds? You have to chase a blue bird and spray it until it turns into a coin.
- Mamma Beach has coins buried in the sand that only appear if you spray the exact right patch of generic-looking dunes.
The 100% completion problem
Is it even worth it? That’s the question every Mario fan asks eventually.
The reward for getting all 240 blue coins—and consequently all 120 Shines—is a screen that says "Thanks!" and a slightly different ending image. That’s it. No secret levels. No Luigi (well, not in the way you want). Just the personal satisfaction of knowing you conquered some of the most obtuse game design in Nintendo’s history.
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But there’s a certain charm to the struggle. The physics of Sunshine are uniquely "greasy." Mario moves fast, his dives cover huge distances, and FLUDD gives you a safety net that no other Mario game provides. Using the Hover Nozzle to snatch a blue coin off a disappearing cloud in Juniper Jungle feels great. It’s the getting there that hurts.
The technical side of the search
The game uses a flagging system to track these coins. Once a coin is collected, the bit is flipped in your save file. However, because the GameCube had limited memory, the game sometimes struggles to render the "sparkle" effect of a blue coin from a distance.
You literally have to be right on top of some of them for them to manifest. This is especially true for the ones hidden inside crates or behind fake walls in Delfino Plaza.
Expert runners like AverageKidd or PangaeaPanga have optimized the routes for these coins to a science, but for the average person playing on a Friday night, it feels less like a science and more like a chore.
How to actually find them without losing your mind
If you’re determined to get that 120 Shine ending, you need a strategy. Don't just wander.
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First, realize that the blue coins are categorized. There are "graffiti" coins, "enemy" coins, "environment" coins, and "NPC" coins. Some Piantas will give you a coin if you talk to them while they’re on fire or if you douse them when they’re covered in goop.
Wait until Episode 8 of every world before you start the "big hunt." Most coins are available in the final episode, though there are always one or two exceptions that require you to jump back to an earlier mission.
The legacy of the blue coins
Why did Nintendo do this? Rumor has it the game was rushed. Sunshine had a notoriously short development cycle compared to Luigi's Mansion or Wind Waker. Adding 240 blue coins was an easy way to pad the playtimer without having to design 100 unique levels.
It’s artificial longevity. It’s "bloat" before we really had a word for it in gaming. And yet, the blue coins define the Sunshine experience. They force you to look at the geometry of the world differently. You aren't just looking for the exit; you’re looking at the texture of a palm tree or the way a fruit basket is positioned.
Actionable tips for your next playthrough
Don't start collecting them randomly. If you see one, and you aren't ready to commit to finding all of them in that area, leave it. There is nothing worse than being at 19/20 and not knowing which one of the "easy" ones you already grabbed.
- Pick a world and stick to it. Don't jump between Ricco Harbor and Gelato Beach. Finish one entirely.
- Watch for the blue butterflies. They are easy to miss but always lead to a coin.
- Spray everything. If it looks like a decal, a manhole cover, or a suspicious poster, spray it.
- Use the Map. The map in the pause menu actually tracks the coin count for your current location. Check it constantly.
The quest for blue coins super mario sunshine is a rite of passage for platforming fans. It’s frustrating, it’s often unfair, and it’s occasionally boring. But when you finally see that counter hit 240, there's a sense of relief that few other games can provide. Just make sure you have a good podcast playing in the background. You’re going to be there for a while.
To truly master the hunt, start with Delfino Plaza. It has 20 coins, and most are tied to basic mechanics like spraying posters or putting out fires. It’s a good warm-up for the nightmares waiting for you in Noki Bay. Once you’ve cleared the plaza, move to Bianco Hills. It's the most straightforward "platforming" set of coins in the game. Avoid the temptation to use the Turbo Nozzle early on; most coins are designed around the Hover or Rocket nozzles. Stick to a systematic grid search of each level, and you'll hit that 100% mark much faster than someone just wandering aimlessly through the goop.