Alright, listen up muffins. Some of you are new to the Super Mario series — and if you are, where have you been? Most of you are not. And yet a large majority of you appear to be confused about one thing in particular in Super Mario Odyssey: Power Moons.
What?
In previous Super Mario games, Mario has always had a thing he needed to collect in order to unlock access to the next level. For Super Mario Sunshine, it was Shrine Sprites. Super Mario 64 and the Super Mario Galaxy games had Power Stars. For Super Mario Odyssey, it’s Power Moons.
Each Kingdom has its own unique moon color. Sometimes you’ll find a Multi Moon, which is three Power Moons connected together. Prior to Super Mario Odyssey‘s release, a Multi Moon was called a Grand Moon, as show in footage from E3.
Are They The Same As Stars?
Not quite. Power Moons power up the Odyssey, the hat-shaped airship Mario and his new companion Cappy use to travel between kingdoms. To “finish” each kingdom and travel to the next, Mario must collect a certain number of Power Moons to fill up the Odyssey’s sail and and move along.
Also, collecting a Power Moon will not boot you from the level, the same way collecting Stars and Sprites did. In fact, there are dozens of Power Moons in each level, so take your time collecting them and leave when you are good and ready.
As You Go for Power Moons…
There are over 800 Power Moons in Super Mario Odyssey. Some are in plain sight, others are hidden away, in puzzles, or behind your boss battle. A few things to remember while you’re looking for them:
- You can’t get every Power Moon on your first visit to a world. You’ll unlock skills later in the game that will help you get the more obscured and harder-to-reach Moons. Backtracking should be expected.
- You’ll be rewarded for getting more Power Moons than you need to power the Odyssey off a given world. Without spoiling anything, trust us when we say those bonus Moons you collect will pay off later in the game.
- Hidden down green warp pipes are special challenges areas. Each area has two Moons: one near the exit, one hidden in the level.
- See a sparkling golden or rainbow glow on the ground? Ground pound on it. It’s a Moon.
- Each world-specific costume for Mario allows you to find and unlock one Moon. Prioritize buying them.
Happy hunting, travelers!
