Thirty castle Secret Stars complete Super Mario 64 DS alongside the 120 stars in its fifteen main courses. The numbers below are a guide checklist, not an order enforced by the game. Return after rescuing the required character or activating the ? Switch when a power-up is missing.
Secret Star checklist
- Stars 1–2 — The Princess’s Secret Slide
- Star 3 — The Secret Aquarium
- Stars 4–5 — Goomboss Battle
- Star 6 — Sunshine Isles
- Star 7 — ? Switch
- Stars 8–9 — Bowser in the Dark World
- Star 10 — Courtyard Red Coins
- Star 11 — Battle Fort
- Stars 12–13 — Big Boo Battle
- Stars 14–15 — Behind the Waterfall
- Stars 16–17 — Bowser in the Fire Sea
- Star 18 — The Mirror Room
- Stars 19–20 — Chief Chilly Challenge
- Stars 21–22 — The Secret Under the Moat
- Stars 23–24 — Over the Rainbows
- Stars 25–26 — Bowser in the Sky
- Stars 27–29 — Toad’s Gifts
- Star 30 — The Glowing Rabbits’ Key
Stars 1–2 — The Princess’s Secret Slide
After collecting one star, enter the door above the lobby’s right-hand stairs and jump through the Peach stained-glass window on the right. Slide to the bottom and break the yellow block for the first star.
Return for the second and finish in under twenty-one seconds. Keep a tight, controlled line through the bends and avoid braking unnecessarily. The finishing time matters; simply completing the slide twice does not award both stars.
Star 3 — The Secret Aquarium
Open the lobby’s three-star door leading to Jolly Roger Bay. Backflip into the high dark opening to the right of the entrance as viewed from inside that room.
Collect all eight Red Coins underwater: sweep the upper suspended coins, then the lower corners. The room has no normal surface for air, so keep collecting coins to replenish the Power Meter. Swim to the central star after completing the set.
Stars 4–5 — Goomboss Battle
Enter Mario’s painting behind the eight-star door beyond the Rec Room. Defeating Goomboss rescues Mario but does not replace the two separate star objectives here.
For the switch star, return as Mario, press the Star Switch on the long platform to the right of the start and wall-kick up the barred structure at the end before time expires.
For the Red Coins, return after Mario, Luigi and Wario are available and activate the ? Blocks. Collect the ordinary platform and bridge coins, use Wario’s yellow cap for the Black Brick, float as Mario to the high tree coin and use invisible Luigi to pass into the tree’s grate. Talk to the Bob-omb Buddy for all eight positions, then collect the star when the set is complete.
Star 6 — Sunshine Isles
Behind the one-star door above the lobby’s right stairs, enter the central door to the Rec Room. Jump into the beach painting on the left.
Collect the five Silver Stars marked on the map, including the one carried by Klepto. Hit the bird when it passes within reach, then recover its dropped collectible. Check the trees and island heights when following each marker. Return to the Star Sphere after gathering the full set.
Star 7 — ? Switch
With fifteen stars and Mario rescued, stand on the lobby’s sun pattern and look up into the beam of light. You enter the airborne ? Switch course as Wing Mario.
Collect the eight Red Coins in pairs around the towers. Begin high and descend through the sequence so you do not have to regain the full starting height. Land on the central tower to collect the resulting star. Ground-pound the red ? Switch as well: it activates the red ? Blocks throughout the castle courses. You can re-enter by looking up from the same sun pattern later.
Stars 8–9 — Bowser in the Dark World
Open the lobby’s large star door as Mario with twelve stars. Follow the corridor toward Peach’s picture and drop through the trapdoor. The Bowser fight at the end gives the basement key; this course also has two collectible stars.
For the Red Coins, press the first red switch and take both opening coins before its temporary paths vanish. Continue past the Amps, the ledge sliding out of the wall and the paired moving platforms. Take the coin on the spiked circular platform, then the two by the final seesaws and Bob-omb Buddy.
For the switch star, reach the pipe at the end and press the nearby Star Switch. Return across the stone seesaws to the sphere before its timer expires. Clear that route before starting and use controlled long jumps instead of waiting at each tilt.
Star 10 — Courtyard Red Coins
Take either plain wooden door at the rear of the lobby and follow the corridor into the courtyard. Use Mario, Luigi or Wario; Yoshi cannot defeat the Boos by himself.
Defeat the eight small Boos carrying Red Coins. Face away to make a Boo solid and approach, then jump and ground-pound it. Collect the coin it leaves before moving to the next. The eighth completes the star set. This is outside Big Boo’s Haunt, so do not enter the cage before finishing the courtyard sweep.
Star 11 — Battle Fort
In the courtyard’s far-right corner, break the three ordinary bricks with a character other than Yoshi. Drop through the hole into Battle Fort.
Collect the five Silver Stars marked on the lower-screen map. Work around the fort’s ledges and moving obstacles, checking the marker height before each jump. Return to the sphere with all five. A hit can scatter a carried star, so recover it before continuing around the course.
Stars 12–13 — Big Boo Battle
Enter Luigi’s painting in the mansion attic. To reach the final mirror room, follow the doors to the right, then up, right and up on the lower-screen map. Defeating King Boo earns Luigi’s key; the stars are separate return visits.
For the hidden star, come back as Luigi. Use the third room’s Power Flower, continue through the correct doors and pass through the Boo picture in the last room while invisible.
For the Red Coins, use the Bob-omb Buddy in room four to mark them. Take one in room one, two in room two, two in room three, two in room four and the last in the next room’s Black Brick. Mario’s balloon power reaches the high third-room coin; the yellow cap provides Wario for the final brick. Collect the resulting star in that last room.
Stars 14–15 — Behind the Waterfall
In Hazy Maze Cave, ride Dorrie across the underground lake to the raised double doors rather than the central island. Enter the next liquid-metal pool to reach Behind the Waterfall. Activate the ? Blocks first.
Use Mario’s Power Flower at the end of the left branch to float to the star high above the block. Avoid the current on the right: it carries you outside the castle.
For the second star, collect the eight Red Coins. Wario’s metal transformation lets you walk through the current to the underwater coins; gather the dry-ground coins as well. Refresh the flower before a long submerged section so the current does not sweep you out mid-route.
Stars 16–17 — Bowser in the Fire Sea
Open the basement’s thirty-star door as Mario and collect Board Bowser’s Sub in Dire, Dire Docks. The watery wall moves back, exposing the shaft to this Bowser stage.
Collect the eight Red Coins while climbing. Search the dead-end grated ramp, the tilting platform by the Bob-omb Buddy, the enclosed grating, the space beneath the lift, the platform beside the blue pyramid, the moving ramps, the late fire jet and the top of the final rising pole. For the lift coin, step on the lift and leave it so you can reach the space it uncovers.
For the timed star, reach the high stone platform above the last rising pole and press its Star Switch. Follow the route back toward the sphere before the countdown ends. Complete each collectible before dropping into Bowser’s funnel; the boss itself awards the upstairs key rather than these two stars.
Star 18 — The Mirror Room
After Bowser in the Fire Sea, use the upstairs key and enter the room with the large mirror as Luigi. Take one of the Power Flowers on the pedestals to become invisible.
Walk through the mirror and enter the door at the far end of the reflected room. The empty white room beyond contains the star. The nearby Wario painting leads to a different stage, so do not jump into it when following this objective.
Stars 19–20 — Chief Chilly Challenge
Enter Wario’s painting on the far side of the mirror as invisible Luigi. Defeating Chief Chilly gives Wario’s key; return afterward for the stars if the required caps were not yet available.
For the Black Brick star, pick up Wario’s yellow cap before crossing the large gap. Use the Power Flower after it to become metal, take the left branch into the wind and break the Black Brick at its end.
For the Red Coins, collect one on the large-gap moving platform and one in the updraft beyond the right branch. Take one by the frozen lake, one beside the Bullies and two on the moving ice blocks. Invisible Luigi reaches the seventh behind the bars. Use the nearby red cap and the same ? Block as Mario to float to the final elevated coin, then collect the star near that cap.
Stars 21–22 — The Secret Under the Moat
Use the basement’s water passage to reach the room with two square pillars. Ground-pound both to drain the castle moat. Go outside through the exposed door and break the Black Brick in the drained moat as Wario, revealing the secret course.
For the Red Coins, take the four on ledges down the opening slope, then the three along the moving platforms and seesaws. The eighth is at the far end beside Luigi’s cap and the ? Block. Become invisible Luigi to pass through the bars to the star.
For the switch star, use the red cap near the bottom of the opening slope and become balloon Mario. Float to the elevated Star Switch, activate it and use the next Power Flower to climb toward the high sphere before the timer runs out. These are DS Power Flower puzzles, not a blue Cap Switch activation.
Stars 23–24 — Over the Rainbows
Beyond the tower’s fifty-star door, enter the high opening opposite Rainbow Ride. Bring Mario and activate the ? Blocks. Take the feather and fly between the cloud islands for all eight Red Coins. Speak to the Bob-omb Buddy on the lowest platform to open the cannons for the high reaches.
For the second star, fly to that Buddy’s platform and put on Wario’s yellow cap. Use the cannon to reach the cloud island with a tree, aiming to catch the trunk. Break the Black Brick there for the star. A missed landing can send you outside the castle, so line up the tree rather than aiming at the island’s edge.
Stars 25–26 — Bowser in the Sky
Enter the tower as Mario and collect eighty stars to pass the endless stairs. This final Bowser course contains two Secret Stars in addition to the final boss reward.
For the switch star, pass the rotating platform with the empty sphere and reach the large seesaw. Drop to the lower floor beneath it, press the Star Switch and return to that earlier sphere before time expires.
For the Red Coins, push the starting metal box beneath the first coin. Take one near the empty sphere, one on the lower switch floor’s projecting ledge and one above the slope beyond the Bob-omb Buddy. Continue for the coin above the wooden obstacle on the moving platform, the next rotating platform’s coin and the coin atop the second pole. The eighth is on the narrow ledge beneath the final stairs to Bowser’s pipe. Collect the star before entering the boss arena.
Stars 27–29 — Toad’s Gifts
Speak to the Toad beside Hazy Maze Cave’s metal-pool entrance in the basement, the Toad opposite Tall, Tall Mountain’s painting upstairs and the Toad near Tick Tock Clock in the tower. Each eventually awards one star when your progress is sufficient.
If a Toad gives only advice on an early visit, return after collecting more stars. These gifts are separate from mission totals, so check all three when the main courses show complete rows but the overall counter is still short. The conversation must finish for the reward to appear.
Star 30 — The Glowing Rabbits’ Key
Speak to the Toad in the Rec Room and catch ordinary rabbits first. After fifty stars, glowing white rabbits can randomly replace previously caught rabbits; their appearance becomes more likely after eighty. Catch eight glowing rabbits in total and save when offered.
For a convenient repeatable search, choose Yoshi and inspect his three rabbits in front of the castle. Enter and leave the front door to reload their area, catching any glowing rabbit you see. You do not need eight different fixed locations. The eighth gives the key to the white-bordered door beside Wario’s room. Open it for the final Secret Star; it does not unlock another playable character.
Defeat Bowser and finish the file
For the first two Bowser fights, run behind him, grab his tail, swing him around and release him toward an edge bomb. A successful bomb hit wins the key; merely throwing him off the platform does not. Jump away from his landing shockwaves and collect recovery coins if available.
The final Bowser needs three bomb hits. After the arena breaks, wait for a clear opportunity rather than grabbing the tail at the rim. Use Mario to reach this final encounter, clear it to rescue Peach and return afterward for any missing collectibles. The final rescue reward is separate from the checklist of 150 collectible stars.