Power Star
- This article is about a collectible item. For information about the Gaddget from Mario Party Advance, see here. For a collectible essential to winning in the Mario Party games, see here. For the collectibles essential to winning in Mario Party 9, see here.
| Power Star | |
|---|---|
| |
| First appearance | Super Mario 64 (1996) |
| Latest appearance | Super Mario 3D All Stars (2020) |
- “Hey, you have 77 Power Stars! How lucky! ♪”
- —Lubba, Super Mario Galaxy 2
Power Stars are collectible items that can grant Mario access to more levels in-game (like Flagpoles from the original Super Mario Bros. and the New Super Mario Bros. series); however, regular Stars only give limited invincibility. In Super Mario 64, Super Mario 64 DS, Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 when the star for any given level has been collected, playing the level again will turn the Star into a transparent version of itself. This Star can be collected, but it will not add to the player's total Star count. In all, there are 754 Power Stars in these four games combined. In Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Odyssey, they are replaced by Shine Sprites and Power Moons respectively.
History
Super Mario series
Super Mario 64 / Super Mario 64 DS
In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS, Power Stars are spread throughout the worlds, and Mario (along with Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario in the Nintendo DS remake) is sent to go find them all. There are six Power Stars (seven in the DS remake) to collect in each world, and after finding 70 of them (or 80 in the DS remake), the final boss can be defeated. There are 120 Power Stars total in Super Mario 64; this was increased to 150 in the DS version due to 15 extra Secret Stars and 15 additional course stars. After a long quest, Mario manages to find all the Power Stars and restore them to Princess Peach's Castle, freeing Princess Peach and the Toads.
Super Mario Galaxy
Power Stars make a return in the Wii game Super Mario Galaxy, where there are a total of 121 stars to collect for each Mario and Luigi (for a total of 242).
There are four types of Power Stars: First, there are regular Power Stars which serve the same purpose in other 3D Mario games. The second kind is the three Green Power Stars that, in addition to acting as normal Power Stars, unlock the Green Launch Star in the Comet Observatory which leads to the Trial Galaxies. The third type is the Red Power Star. There is only one; it appears in the Super Mario Galaxy mission "Gateway's Purple Coins". Last are the seven Grand Stars, the first of which, and the only one obtained without a boss fight, is the first star in Gateway Galaxy. Subsequently, the other six Grand Stars are each collected by beating Bowser or Bowser Jr.. These power up the Comet Observatory and unlock new Domes to explore.
There are also Silver Stars, which aren't as powerful as the regular Power Stars. Five Silver Stars are equal to one Power Star. They can combine to form a Power Star.
In the Hurry-Scurry Galaxy, collecting Rainbow Notes turns the black hole into a Power Star.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, Power Stars play the same role as in Super Mario Galaxy. There are 242 Power Stars in total (116 normal Power Stars, 6 Grand Stars, and 120 Green Stars). If the Cosmic Spirit is used to complete a mission, the star collected will be a Bronze Star instead of a gold one.
Super Mario Odyssey
Power Stars, looking as they originally did, reappear in Super Mario Odyssey, but only in the Mushroom Kingdom. They replace the Power Moons for that portion of the game. However, they are still referred to as Power Moons, even when being collected. The reason for this is hinted at by Cappy when collecting one for the first time, as he suggests that Power Stars and Power Moons are the same objects with different shapes. The jingle that plays upon collecting a Power Star in Super Mario 64 replaces the standard Power Moon jingle in this kingdom. When loaded into the Odyssey, they appear as regular Power Moons, even if loaded into the ship in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Mario Pinball Land
Power Stars reappear in the game Mario Pinball Land, working just like they do in Super Mario 64, obtained after completing certain trials, such as defeating a boss or a certain number of enemies in time, and their use is to make Mario's way to Bowser. At the end, the number of Power Stars obtained determines how much the point bonus is worth.
Super Smash Bros. series
- Main article: Grand Star (Final Smash)
A Power Star appears in Rosalina's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it is replaced with a Grand Star.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Power Stars reappear in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, appearing at the end of each stage. However, unlike in previous 3D platformers, which has the Power Stars counted when collected, the game does not count Power Stars, treating them more as Flagpoles in that they only serve to be the end of the level.
Super Mario Maker
In Super Mario Maker, both the Captain Toad and Toadette Mystery Mushroom costumes hold up a Power Star in their poses when the player presses 
.
See also
- Giant Star
- Green Power Star
- Red Power Star
- Bronze Star
- Silver Star
- Grand Star
- Bonus Star
- Shine Sprite
- Star (Mario Party series)
- Power Moon
- Multi-Moon
Names in Other Languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | パワースター pawā sutā |
Power Star |
| Dutch | Krachtster | Power Star |
| French | Étoile de Puissance Super Étoile (SMG 1 & 2) |
Star of Power Super Star |
| German | Power-Stern | Power Star |
| Italian | Superstella | Superstar |
| Romanian | Super Stea | Superstar |
| Spanish (Americas) | Cosmoestrella (SMG manual) | Cosmicstar |
| Spanish (Europe) | Superestrella (SMG 1 & 2 in-game) Estrella de Poder |
Superstar Power Star |
Trivia
- In both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, the shadows of Power Stars when they hover over the ground are shaped like a circle, while the shadows of Grand Stars are shaped like a Grand Star viewed from the top down.
- Super Mario 64 DS is the only game where Power Stars can bounce around an area non-stop, just like Silver Stars in the same game. However, this only applies to the multiplayer mode.
- In Super Mario 64 DS, there are two Power Stars stuck together in the same area when finding the 8 Red Coins in the Big Boo Battle course. This glitch can effectively total the star count to 151.
- Super Mario 64 actually has a total of 121 (151 in the DS remake) Power Stars to be collected, if one counts the Giant Power Star. Since the original game never saves when Mario collects it, the total can only go up to 120, while in the DS remake the game is, indeed, saved after collecting it, but the star is not added into the count (keeping the count on 150).
- Power Stars and Shine Sprites are transparent on the mission select screen and golden in the level when one has not collected the Star/Shine. They are golden on the mission select and transparent in the level when they have been collected.
- Power Stars in Super Mario Odyssey closely resemble Starmen.
