Super Mario Star Road/Max Coin Guide

This guide is a compilation of suggestions, advice, and strategies to help players taking part in the challenge of the maximum coin score for Super Mario Star Road's levels. and to complement the information available in the main article on the hack. A total of 2992 coins are obtainable. Some aspects to have in mind at attempting this challenge:

Star Road Screen — Scores for a file with maximum coin scores

Save states are advised: As you will see, some of this coins are BRUTAL to get. By save-stating, you will be able to try as many times as you need without the need to reStart levels. Also, it can help you when collecting coins from defeated enemies, which may have despawned or fallen out of the level.

The guide was constructed based on the 1.0.1. version, as this is considered to be the final version of the game. No information is available at the moment regarding coin count variations between this and other versions of the game. This also means rereleases or mods like Deluxe, Retooled or he green comet edit were unaccounted for.

As a rule, no glitches were allowed: As this will only document “casual play” coin counts. No duplication, BLJs, clipping, frame walking or others are taken into account to max out in coin counts.

Some ability will be required: To be able to perform some strategies, you will need to feel good with SM64 controls. Try to hone your triple jumps, walljumps, longjumps and dives as they will help a lot. Be aware that you will also need to climb on steep slopes for some coins, so practice either jump-kicks up slopes or jump backwards while sliding (jump kick in midair after slide while holding your direction back).

Knowing some basic aspects of SM64 coin collection is required: You will need to know some basics of coin spawning in the game. Know that the draw distance is awful. Remember running around poles gives you coins. Groundpounding Big Goomba's will give you 5 coins instead of 1 coin, etcetera.

Consider researching a bit about object placement in SM64: It’s not mandatory at all, but it can help you know when you might have failed. Knowing beforehand how SM64 has specific object placements such as how many coins are normally placed when appearing as lines or circles, how many coins can come from “!” blocks, and about how enemy placements (i.e, Goomba trios) can help you to know what coins you may be missing.

For the main courses, Star selection is important: As the changing objects between each Act may cause the level's coin count to vary. In general, Acts with boss fights (such as Big Bob-omb, Whomp King, Big Boo) are not recommended as they might take a couple of coins away. Read more about Acts here.

That being said, the stages will contain the course name, the suggested Star act and max achievable coin count.

C1: Bob-omb Island[]

Suggested Act: Star 4: Find The Red 8 Coins
Max Coins: 147

Bom-omb Island: Max Coin Count — Bob-omb Island: Max Coin Count

Bob-omb Islands is a very straightforward level for this challenge- just keep in mind that once a Bob-omb explodes, you will need to get the coin before it despawns, as even if the enemy respawns, the coin will be gone forever.

There are some coins that are hard to forget such as the ones below the ship’s bow. Beware of the Goomba in the ship, as it can fall to the water and die, thus preventing you from getting its coin.

C2: Sky Land Resort[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: Red Coins Of The Sky
Max Coins: 156

Sky Land Resort will introduce two enemies you will need weary of in this challenge:

First, the Whomps. You see, Whomps sometimes decide to NOT turn around after reaching a ledge, and considering you can get 10 coins from them (5 from jumping in their backs, 5 for ground pounding them at the end) you can imagine how frustrating these guys can be. Just remember you should prioritize Whomps when you see them.

Second, Fly Guys: These tent to appear in places where defeating them and collecting their 2 coins is hard. They usually are near platforms with little to no room. Also, if you just simply jump on them, Mario will be sent flying and slowly helicopter his way back to the floor. To prevent this, defeat them by groundpounding. Remember that coins have a RNG horizontal speed value, so the coins might go flying. Just keep trying.

That aside, Sky Land Resort is a pretty uneventful level. Remember to check all ceilings and you should be fine.

C3: Piranha Plant Pond[]

Piranha Plant Pond's Max Coin Count
Extra Piranha Plant in Act 1
Extra "!" BLock in Act 1

Mandatory Act: Star 1: Climb The Ruins
Max Coins: 151

Here is where we reach our first mandatory act Star. Act 1 in Course 3 actually contains an extra Piranha Plant by the ruins and an extra “!” block with 3 coins, thus bringing the total to 151 total obtainable coins, so if you’re planning on maxing here you must select Act 1.

C4: Chuckya Harbor[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: The Chuckya's Red Coins
Max Coins: 202

Chuckya Harbor has one big coin count maxing at 202. Most of the coins here are out on the open. Some advice should go to "manually" defeat the Skeeters by swimming and jumping out of the water, rather than using the shell to crash them.

The blue coin switch coins are easier to collect if you climb up to the last coin, then jump and groundpound, rather than jumping back and forth from each pole, as the time limit is pretty thin. Otherwise just take your time.

C5: Gloomy Garden[]

Mandatory Act: Star 5: Haunted Ride For 8 Red Coins
Max Coins: 139

Gloomy Garden is very peculiar due to the differences between its Acts. Enemies will vary a lot; even red coins will not appear unless Act 5 is selected.

Gloomy Garden on Act 5, including red coins, contains 139 coins total, while other Acts such as 2 and 3 will contain only 138 coins, thus making Act 5 mandatory for this challenge.

Not much is to be said here except that the blue coin switch can be hard for it's very thin time limit. It’s to be noted that you don’t need to stand directly on the battlement stacks the coins appear to collect them, as just standing beside them can count for grabbing them. Longjumps can help here.

C6: Colorful Coral Caverns[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: Red Coins Of The Deep
Max Coins: 137

Colorful Coral Caverns is hard one in the list. In fact, it has nothing to do with the water portions of the level (although draw distance can throw you off) but with the blue coin switch. See, the time in this one is very, very thin, requiring almost perfect timing (or slowing down the emulator, if possible).

The blue coin switch spawns four coins divided into three groups, each one located above some wooden poles you must wall jump to get. Regular wall jumps won’t give you enough height to reach them, so you'll need to double-jump (second "A" press jump) and wall jump to make it.

Colorful Coral Cavern's Blue Coin Switch Strategy

To get these coins, please refer the image on the right to know the pole numerations and strategy advised.

First, double-jump and wall jump to the first coin on pole 1. Then, proceed to triple-jump and wall jump onto pole 2 to grab the second coin.

When reaching the floor, use the momentum form the previous step to back flick in the direction of the third and final pole, momentum you can conserve to do a double-jump and wall jump to get the final two coins on pole 3 just in time.

C7: Koopa Canyon[]

Mandatory Act: Star 5: Glide From The Quicksand Tornado
Max Coins: 152

With Koopa Canyon, Star Road introduces one of the most dreaded mechanics of this run: the Dragon Coins. Dragon Coins are a mechanic brought back from Super Mario World; they are coins with Yoshi’s face on it.

As in Super Mario World, there are five coins per level, but different to that game, they do not count as points but rather as two coins. The problem with them is that they are often hidden away, or located in places difficult to reach.

For Koopa Canyon the locations of the Dragon Coins are as follows:

Dragon Coins:[]

In a pit on the right after Starting the level (requires walljump).
On top of one of the pyramid four pillars.
On the back wall of the pyramid.
In the triangular shaped stone next to the final two red coins.
On a slope in the south-western corner of the map.

The one dragon coin that is a pain get is the last one, and mainly the reason why Act 5 is required. To get to it, you have to use the tornados up until the ledge where the Star is located.

After that, you must perform either jump kicks to go up the slope or use the slide – jumpkick in midair while holding back technique until you reach the corner of the slope in the southwestern part of the level. Due to draw distance, you won’t be able to see it at first, but trust us, it’s there.

C8: Large Leaf Forest[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: Vine-Climbing For 8 Red Coins
Max Coins: 132

Large Leaf Forest has no real problems as the two courses before. In fact, most of the coins are very straightforward.

Remain cautious about not letting the coins fall from enemies when defeating them in the tree branches, and defeat the Chuckya before activating the blue coin switch. Here are the dragon coins for this course:

Dragon Coins:[]

On a slope, in the southeastern corner of the map.
On a slope, in the northwestern corner of the map.
Underwater, below the flower lily pad.
On a slope, in the southwestern corner of the map next to the lily pads. May require a precise triple jump then belly dive to reach it.
On the tip of a tree branch in the big tree.

C9: Mad Musical Mess[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: The 8 Musical Red Coins
Max Coins: 154

Incredibly, Mad Musical Mess is not so hard as a level to max on coins. It has its difficult moments, but no coin is as infuriating as it could be, considering the fame of this level.

However, this is the introductory level for another hard enemy – the Bzzap! (paper bees). These ones behave like Fly Guys but are much faster and due to their 2D sprites, their hit boxes are harder to predict- groundpounding will work though.

Thankfully, Mad Musical Mess doesn’t have any dragon coins, so no tricky hiding spots this time!

C10: Melting Snow Peaks[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: Cliff Jumping For Red Coins
Max Coins: 184

This is arguably the hardest level for this challenge, and surprisingly, it's not due to dragon coins; rather, it's Mr. Blizzards (AKA Snowmen). There are two types: stationary and jumping.

Jumping Snowmen cannot be defeated, and to defeat stationary Snowmen, you must run around them in a circle so they lose their balance and fall down, yielding three coins in the process. Most of them shouldn’t pose a problem to you, however, we have our special three cases.

Right after you start the level, if you go right down a slope, you will find 4 stationary Mr. Blizzards. Number 3 is really not a problem. Number 2 can prove a little challenging as there’s little room (but enough) to circle around it. Number 1 and Number 4, ohhh they both need their own section.

Mr. Blizzard number 1 is on the edge of the slope, meaning half of the area around it will make Mario slip, thus preventing you from circling around it. Also, there’s an abyss on its right, meaning if you even are able to circle and not slip, you will probably hit it and the recoil will send you down the cliff. Fortunately, there’s a solution for this evil snowman.

Uphill, where a Chill Bully waits, there is a “!” Block containing a Koopa shell. Turns out the wall of the abyss is climbable while riding a Koopa Shell, so if you are able to bring it to the Mr. Blizzard, you can circle around it much more easily. Even so, it can take a number of tries to do it.

After you see it fall, DO NOT get dismount the Koopa shell, as crashing will make you slip and put you in the risk of sliding and making the coins despawn.
Mr. Blizzard number 2 is in an even worse location. After you pass the slopes, there is a staircase leading to the Snowmen’s lair. In one of those tiny stairs, he rises, to bring torment to Mario’s coin collecting mission.

You don’t have room to circle him around, and due to the wall properties of the stair, the Koopa shell will break. You can try one of two solutions for this one:
1. The first solution involves jumpkicking back and forth the snowman’s head in a circular kind of fashion. If you are persistent, the Mr. Blizzard will follow and eventually trip over.

1. Solution two is a little easier. This is a strategy similar to that used to defeat one specific Mr. I in Hazy Mazy Cave, back in Vanilla SM64. If you hit an enemy, you will be able to get some invincibility frames. Use this to “clip” inside the Mr. Blizzard. You won’t take damage this way. Now what you have to do is make tiny little circles inside the snowman. If you do it right, it will start spinning, and can be defeated.

This is truly the hardest part of all this challenge. And even when done, it’s not over with this level. There are other couple of hard spots, but the Mr. Blizzards is what took the main focus.

Other advice for this course: defeat the Shy Guys as soon as possible so they don’t yeet themselves off the cliff. Take care of the Chill Bully on the top of the tower- not by throwing him off the map, but by slowly taking him to the center ice lake (the one by the "burning" waterfall.

Money Bags can be annoying due to coin speed RNG, but just keep trying. After all, you defeated the nasty Snowmen.

C11: Colossal Candy Clutter[]

Suggested Act: Star 6: Playful Red Coins
Max Coins: 211

So, you want a break after all that hassle in Course 10? Well, too bad for you because here is Colossal Candy Clutter. This course has THE hardest locations of the dragon coins. We will touch on one specifically later, but first some advice for this course and the entire challenge.

The two Whomps at the start are your priority. As said before, they won’t turn around on the wafer cookies they patrol, so defeat them before they get too close to the edge of their platforms. Also, keep in mind that some enemies (especially Goombas and Shy Guys) might fall of the edge to the death barrier.

However, worry not! If a level has a way of warping (either teleport or warp pipe), just go through it and they will respawn in their original places (with coins and all), as long as they were not defeated before.

This level has one warp pipe at the end of Tuxie’s Slide and another floating near the bell tower. Whomps, on the other hand, won’t reset their positions, hence making them a priority. As for Big Goombas, remember that groundpounds will yield a blue coin instead of a gold coin.

Dragon Coins:[]

On top of Tuxie’s Slide Goal Cage – Requires wall jump before reaching the goal.
Above exit warp pipe from Tuxie’s Slide – Requires precise longjump from a platform where a Chuckya is – Just above the chocolate bar.
On the roof of the bell tower – Requires cannon.
On the roof of the southwestern fortress tower – Requires longjumping from floating warp pipe next the dominoes.
Behind the bullseye target, on the tripod supporting it – Requires cannon.

Colossal Candy Clutter's Fifth Dragon Coin

These locations are brutal- most of them will kill you if you don’t make it on the first shot. As we did give an explanation of how to get the first four, let’s focus on the last one (Bullseye – hardest).

At first, you might think this location is a troll, but it is real, as there are always 5 dragon coins per stage, and this level is no exception. The probable only way you might reach this without using advanced moves or clipping through models is by firing Mario out from the cannon in a high arch, so when Mario is falling, he lands exactly on the platform. This means you’ll have to aim the cannon in the exact position for this to work.

There’s little "guide" that may help, yet this may take multiple attempts. If you aim the cannon to the bullseye and then go straight up, you will stumble with what seems to be a “Reverse L” kinda shape in the skybox (it’s barely noticeable, so refer to the highlighted shape in the image).

Colossal Candy Clutter's Fifth Dragon Coin Strategy - Reverse "L" Shape

If you align the L just barely touching the bottom circle of your cannon view, you MAY hit the spot and land just perfectly in the platform.

Colossal Candy Clutter's Fifth Dragon Coin Obtained

C12: Cloudrail Station[]

Suggested Act: Star 6: Airborne Red Coins
Max Coins: 205

Cloudrail Station is our first breather; no more dragon coins, and no more precise cannon shots. Most coins are fairly easy to acquire. Just remember if one Goomba decides “take a dive” into the skies, there is a teleporter on a leaf so you can respwan them again.

Try to lure all Bzzaps! to solid ground before defeating them. There is only one Bzzap! that may bring you trouble on the way to the Fluffy Castle, as you must defeat it on the riding platform (a couple of tries with a savestate may help you here).

If you find yourself short of five coins, there is a sneaky Crazed/Music Crate inside a cloud on a platform near the flower that you may have missed.

C13: Fatal Flame Falls[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: Burning Red Coins
Max Coins: 152

Fatal Flame Falls is really easy. Just take your time and you’ll make it. Our advice would be to take care of the Goombas as soon as you can, as they can fall into lava and lose their coin.

For Bullies that are higher up, lower them to be closer to the ground platforms, and then smack them into the lava. Be sure to get the Swoops as well.

C14: Bob-omb Battle Factory[]

Suggested Act: Star 5: The Rusty Red Coins
Max Coins: 165

Bob-omb Battle Factory is a special case. While you can get only 165 coins, there are actually 175 of them as there are two “impossible 5-coin rows” in the level.

Funnily enough, Skelux was warned about one of them and said he was going to remove it on the next patch, yet they’re both still there. If you position your camera right, you can actually see them. You might find them easier if you were to change to Lakitu’s view, as in this game, it clips through textures easily.

One of them, is next to the Chain Chomp inside a slope you can walk up:

Bob-omb Battle Factory's First Impossible Coin Row

The other one is actually way down above the death barrier:

Bob-omb Battle Factory's Second Impossible Coin Row

As for the obtainable coins- try to defeat Fly Guys on wider platforms to catch their coins, and to take caution with boxes as in-game physics might send them flying away after you break their boxes.

C15: Starlight Runway[]

Mandatory Act: Star 2: Climb Through The Machinery
Max Coins: 169

Starlight Runway has a mandatory Star in Act 2, as you will need the wooden robots to reach the machinery hall with some juicy coins- they won’t spawn unless you select this Star.

Most of the coins can be easily obtained, but take it slow with enemies as always. It’s possible to wall jump back to the main area from Handroid’s slope, but if you feel uncomfortable doing so, you can leave the final Sniffits here and collect Handroid’s Star to record the coin counter, at the cost of a slightly lower coin count.

WC: Windy Wing Cap Well[]

Max Coins: 70

The last cap stage is not hard at all. Just keep in mind that the floating circles have an awful draw distance so they might throw you off. Otherwise, every coin is pretty much easy to acquire. Remember to prioritize enemies first, then stationary coins.

VC: Puzzle of the Vanish Cap[]

Max Coins: 28

Puzzle of the Vanish Cap's Max Coin Count

Puzzle of the Vanish Cap is found within Gloomy Garden. It’s really no brainer here, just collect the coins you see taking special care of enemies like Boos and Goombas.

MC: Creepy Cap Cave[]

Max Coins: 68

Creepy Cap Cave has really no difficult parts. Just beware of collecting all coins in the slide before reaching the main cavern as coming back the slope could prove nearly impossible.

B1: Bowser's Slippery Swamp[]

Max Coins: 90

Bowser's Slippery Swamp's Max Coin Count

Bowser’s Slippery Swamp is the first Bowser stage in this hack. The swamp can be hard to traverse as it provides instant death upon contact - quicksand. S

ome advice in this one includes keeping in mind that the Swoops (bats) are not coming back after their first tackle, so you should try to defeat them as soon as you see them. Also, be careful with the Scuttlebugs as their coins might fly off.

When reaching the boss battle with Pernicious Piranha Flowers, there are a couple of poles that might be hard due to their placement near the edge. Also remember to collect the final coins of the final Piranha Flower before grabbing the key, as it will teleport you out of the level.

B2: Bowser's Retro Remix Castle[]

Max Coins: 51

Bowser's Retro Remix Castle Max Coin Count

Bowser’s Retro Remix Castle is up next. There are a couple of hard areas. But first, let’s get out of the way the dragon coins.

Dragon Coins:[]

On the first hanging ceiling.
Above, next to a wall where there are two tall cannons.
Above one Piranha Plant.
Next to a pit in the balcony abyss where you get the secret Star – requires wall jumps.
Floating above before the boss door.

The really hard coins are a line of five below a hanging ceiling on the way to the secret Star. Normally you go up the ceiling and avoid the Amp that is there, however, to get the coins, you must hang and climb to get them. If the Amp touches you, you will fall to your doom. It will take some tries but if you keep making circular movements you may be able to avoid the amp and go back to safety.

The other hard part is to eliminate the normal Bullies on the boss room. At first you might think it’s impossible as if the Bullies fall all the way to the lava pit, the coins will fall in the lava and disappear. Also, if you were to follow, you would meet your scorching demise.

However, it’s possible to do something similar one does when collecting the coins from Bullies in the volcano from Lethal Lava Land and push them to a “safer” platform. This way you can collect the coins they leave when defeated.

Fortunately for us, there is a floating staircase to the Bullies platform and the initial platform is next to the lava lake, outside the pit. Remember the Bullies will always be pushed the way Mario is seeing when they get hit, so be sure to align Mario’s vision to the staircase. Now just take your time and hit one by one until you reach the spawning platform, where you can then kick them to the lava and collect their coin.

Afterwards, defeat the Blueberry Bully and end the level.

B3: Bowser's Rainbow Rumble[]

Max Coins: 56

Bowser's Rainbow Rumble's Max Coin Count

The final Bowser Stage. Remember that while you can collect coins inside of Bowsers Fight Arena, as done with Vanilla SM64 Bowser stages, this ones are infinite, thus, banned from the challenge. Only the ones in the main part of the level are valid, with those totalling 56 coins. Thankfully, no hard ones this time either. Just careful with Sniffits and Goombas and you’ll be fine.

SC1: Mushroom Mountain Town[]

Max Coins: 68

Mushroom Mountain Town is the first secret course of the game, and among the easier levels for this challenge. In fact, the most difficult one comes from a red coin, which requires a well-placed triple-jump-dive onto an islet with a house on it.

Otherwise, just remember wooden posts will give you five coins if you circle around them three times.

SC2: Sandy Slide Secret[]

Max Coins: 85

Sandy Slide Secret is found above the main hall’s chandelier chain.

You might think this one is impossible, but in contrast to what the sign at the beginning of the level says, it’s possible to get back to the main track without losing a life by performing a well-timed longjump onto the right mountain, and climbing the pink construction beam when exiting the warp pipe at the end.

This can allow you to retry the last part or even go back to the Sphinx and Beams section of the slide. Paper Pokeys are placed on firm ground so you can stand there to defeat them.

SC3: Hidden Palace Finale[]

Max Coins: 20

Thankfully the final stage doesn’t have any dragon coins or secret slopes. It already has enough challenge as it is. The 20 coins here are in plain sight. A couple of Goombas guard some of them and maybe the final coin in the slope might make you climb the castle again, but other than that, you did it!