The Wing Cap Challenge

It was finally time to tackle the Wing Cap red coins. Out of everything I’ve faced during this run, this one had been sitting in the back of my mind as the biggest hurdle. I had already struggled with the red coins in Bowser in the Fire Sea earlier in the run, so the idea of doing something similar in a stage built entirely around flying didn’t exactly fill me with confidence.

The level wastes no time throwing you into the air. As soon as I entered, Mario was already flying, which meant I had no choice but to try and take mental notes of where each coin was while keeping control of the flight. I could see seven of them fairly quickly, but I knew the eighth would probably reveal itself mid-flight.

Finding the Right Flight

My first attempt didn’t go particularly well. Somewhere during the chaos my brain decided it would be a good idea to create a savestate while I was flying. I’m still not entirely sure why that happened.

The second attempt was slightly better. I managed to line up a few coins, but my altitude was too low to collect some of the others. Rather than force it and lose the run completely, I accepted the attempt as a loss and reset.

The third attempt was the one that mattered. I managed to control Mario just enough to sweep through every coin in a single flight. Once the star appeared, I didn’t hesitate. Unsure of how much time remained on the Wing Cap, I made a direct line for it and secured the star.

The Wing Cap red coins were done. And with that, the final flight challenge of the run was behind me.

Two Courses Remain

After leaving the stage I headed back upstairs in the castle. At this point there were only two courses left before the final challenge: Big Boo’s Haunt and Wet-Dry World.

I had a fifty–fifty choice between the two entrances. I took the right-hand side.

Waiting behind it was Big Boo’s Haunt.

A Haunted Start

The course immediately rewarded me with a bit of luck. After defeating one of the bosses — the Big Eye — I found a star within reach and grabbed it straight away. There are several bosses scattered throughout this level, including the Big Eye and three different Big Boos.

The star from that boss didn’t spawn in a location I was entirely confident about reaching, so I opted to collect the easier one first. On my second visit I tracked down the original star again, and this time it appeared much closer to me.

Ghost Hunting

I knew one of the Big Boos would be waiting near the carousel. My instinct told me that particular encounter wouldn’t be moved somewhere strange given how the room works. Sure enough, after clearing out the smaller Boos, the Big Boo appeared exactly where I expected.

One of the ghosts also mentioned that ghosts never truly die, which at least confirmed the location of another Boo needed for the “Go on a Ghost Hunt” star. While exploring the area I also spotted one of the red coins, giving me another clue for the final collection in this level.

Making the Most of Momentum

With the course practically handing out stars at this point, I decided to attempt the 100-coin star while I was already exploring the mansion. My thinking was simple: collect the 100-coin star along with either the red coin star or the “Go on a Ghost Hunt” star, leaving the remaining objective for my final visit here.

I searched nearly every room in the mansion, deliberately leaving the roof area for later. In fact, I only abandoned that plan because I fell off the roof and ended up back near the carousel. While there I grabbed the nearby red coin and discovered the final Boo needed to trigger the third Big Boo encounter.

With the coin total finally reaching one hundred, I collected the 100-coin star and immediately attacked the first Big Boo I encountered outside the mansion grounds. As luck would have it, it turned out to be exactly the Boo I needed, which meant another star was secured.

The Final Stretch

That leaves the red coin star still waiting in Big Boo’s Haunt. Once that’s finished, only Wet-Dry World remains before the path to Bowser in the Sky opens.

The day ends with the total sitting at 111 stars.

Just eight more before the final course unlocks.

Continue the Journey

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