? Switch (level)

The Tower of the ? Switch.

Map of Tower of the Wing Cap in Super Mario 64 DS.

The ? Switch also called ? Switches of Rainbow Tower and Tower of the ? Switch is a castle tower in the sky (presumably above Peach's Castle) that contains the red ? Switch. Upon entering the level, Mario will be granted with a Wings that he can use to fly around with. Upon landing on the tower, Mario will be able to press the Red ? Switch, which in turn will make all the Red ? Blocks solid. A Power Star can also be found here. This is the only level in the game that Mario enters the stage flying with the Wing Cap. On the other levels, he must triple jump to take off.

When the course is entered for the first time. The ? Switch, which activated all of the ? Blocks in the game once activated. However, the feel of the level more or less stayed the same. Only Mario was granted with wings upon entering. If any characters other than Mario access it, they still flip as doing a level intro, but they flip into the abyss which immediately transports them back into the castle.

The entrance is located on the first floor of castle. Once Mario has collected 14 Power Stars, sunlight will be shining down from the ceiling. If Mario stands in the sunlight and looks up, he will be transported to the level. This same picture is seen on the second floor in normal paintings that Mario can't enter, and even later in the entrance holes of Rainbow Ride and Over the Rainbows.

Although the sunlight will disappear once the ? Switch has been activated, Mario can still return to the level by standing in the same spot and looking up.

Star

There is only one level in this area. Using the wings that he is granted upon entering the level, Mario must fly around the area and collect the eight Red Coins floating in the air in the four compass directions. The Red Coins are found in groups of two. Due to the fact that Mario slowly loses altitude while flying, he'll have to reenter the level and try again if he drops below the point the coins are at.

References in other games

• Noki Bay in Super Mario Sunshine is accessed in a similar way; by standing on a similar pattern on the streets of Delfino Plaza and staring at the real sun.
• The tower the Sand Bird flies around in Super Mario Sunshine vaguely resembles the Tower of the Wing Cap, due to a similar layout.
• Mario's Rainbow Castle from Mario Party also resembles the area. Mario's wing cap even appears on a tower on the board.
• Tower of the Wing Cap from Super Mario 64 is almost identical to this course only with an ! Switch instead of a ? Switch.