There are a total of 35 Shines not associated with any of the actual islands in the game. Some will be available as you progress on the main islands, but some won’t be available until you clear the main story, which happens after defeating Fury Bowser upon collecting 50 Shines. Since the map is mostly divided into three separate areas, the extra Shines will also be divided into those areas, too. This page will deal with all of the Shines in the Ruins Giga Bell region.

Cold Cove Combat¶

Head towards Slipskate Slope and instead of going up to the actual island itself, stay on the bit underneath it. There will be purple button on the one spot, which when you Ground Pound it, will create an arena with some enemies for you to defeat. It’s nothing too crazy, as it’s just a bunch of Cat Goombas and some Fire Piranha Plants. Defeat them all and you will earn another Cat Shine.

Toad Brigade: Stuck under the Slope¶

After the previous Shine, head up to Slipskate Slope and grab one of the Propeller Blocks from the question mark boxes. Don’t worry about the ice skate, as it’s not needed, but the Propeller Block is highly recommended (or the Tanooki Suit). Travel past the first set of spikes on the ground and drop down to the next section. As soon as you do, with the wall to your back, look out over the right edge. There is a ledge underneath the bridge, where you will find another Toad Brigade member. Note that it is possible to simply slide down the wall and land on it, but it’s safer to float down with either the Propeller Block or Tanooki Suit. Approach the Toad to get the Cat Shine.

Gazing Down at the Islands¶

Head towards the island with the Ruins Giga Bell and you should see some Fury Blocks there. You will need to have Bowser destroy them, which will reveal a cannon. This cannon will shoot you up to a platform in the sky. You should see a Shine in the distance, which looks a bit impossible to get, but if you go straight, you should run along invisible cloud platforms. So, keep moving straight forward and you will reach the island with the Cat Shine.

Hurry! Swim and Slide!¶

Drop down to the water after getting the previous Shine and you should see a Plessie ring in the middle of the water, so grab her and head over to it. Passing through it will start a timed challenge, requiring you to grab the Cat Shine at the end. Note that you should follow the path given to you, as it contains the speed boost pads, which helps a lot.

Lost Kittens near the Ruins¶

Travel to the island with the Ruins Giga Bell and you will find one of those mother cats there, who is looking down because she lost her kittens. Yes, you will need to retrieve three lost kittens and bring them back to her. Once you’ve brought back all three kittens, you will earn the Cat Shine.

• Kitten #1 - You will need the Cat Suit for this one, so make sure you have one before attempting to grab it. Travel to Clawswipe Colosseum and you will find this kitten on top of the gate. Grab it and use the platforms slightly underwater (with the Cheep Cheeps) to return to the mother.

• Kitten #2 - This one will be on the little piece of shore near the cannon that shot you to Gazing Down at the Islands.

• Kitten #3 - This kitten is a problematic one, as it’s found by the gate that leads to Crisp Climb Castle. Getting the kitten is the easy part, but getting it back to the mother is the annoyance. You probably saw some platforms rising out of the water near Crisp Climb, so head over to that area and jump on them while holding the kitten. Hop onto the moving set of platforms when you can and ride them until you can hop back off by Trickity Tower. From there, you will need to run back to the Giga Bell on foot, so try to avoid water if you can.

Dash and Smash in the Clouds¶

By the Ruins Giga Bell, there is a small island that has some bell trees on it. Climb the tallest one and you will find a cloud cannon there, bringing you to a bonus area. Similar to the previous one, you need to defeat all of the enemies here, with the game giving you some Stars to do it. You don’t need to use them to defeat the enemies, but it certainly helps. Make sure you defeat all of the enemies before jumping down to the lower section, as there is no way back up and you would have to start over again. Once you defeat all of the enemies, you will spawn the Cat Shine at the end.

Ruins Rabbit Plays Tag¶

To the north of Clawswipe Colosseum, there will be a small island that has a rabbit on it. As you approach it, the rabbit will begin running away and you will have to give chase. Simply touching the rabbit will reward you with a Cat Shine and Plessie will slowly catch up on it normally. Note that since the area is pretty open, there’s not really much else to say about this one, so you shouldn’t have much trouble.

Plessie Medal Mania¶

Just northwest of the icon for Trickity Tower on the map will be a dock, with a Plessie medal right in front of it. It might seem like the medals will continue appearing on the waters, but they will end up on the icy platforms at the base of Crisp Climb Castle. You will need to leave Plessie at one point, though, to reach the higher ledge and the medal there. After that, you will drop back down and find Plessie again to get the rest of the medals and the Cat Shine.

Lake Rabbit Plays Tag¶

On a small island south of Crisp Climb Castle, you will find another rabbit that will run away once you get close enough. If you let the rabbit do its thing, it will take you on quite the tour, as it brings you through the secret tunnel behind the waterfall, through the Lakeside Giga Bell region and back to the Ruins area. It doesn’t really do anything tricky, though, so you should easily catch up to it and get yourself another Cat Shine.

Go with the Floe¶

Travel to Crisp Climb Castle and look for the set of platforms that rises out of the water and moves south-by-southeast. You will want to jump on this set of moving platforms, as it will eventually drop you off at Trickity Tower. Along the way, you will see a Cat Shine in the air. Get on the tallest part of the set of platforms to grab it.

Hurry! Slide through the Sky!¶

If you look southeast from the main gate for Crisp Climb Castle, you will see a ring with Plessie’s image on it. Pass through this to begin a time trial, where you need to navigate to the end and grab the Cat Shine. It’s best to stay on the course set out for you, since it is filled with the speed boost pads, which will likely be needed to reach the end in time. You will also need to get on the floating platforms, as the Shine is on one at the end.

Slippery Skirmish¶

Not far from the main gate for Crisp Climb Castle, you should see the familiar large purple switch that you can Ground Pound. Do that to cause a barrier to appear, along with some enemies. You will be facing off against some Cheep Cheeps and Snow Pokeys. You can attack the latter with power-ups to slowly bring their head closer to the ground, which is their weak spot. The Cheep Cheeps in the water aren’t anything special, but there is a slightly hidden one in the water behind the tallest ledge here. Once you’ve defeated all of the enemies, snatch the Cat Shine that appears.

Toad Brigade: Cuddly Castaway¶

This Toad Brigade member is located on an island in the far north of the Ruins area. Once you reach the far north, you will see some springs there to fling Mario over the black goop. Reach the island and you will find the Toad surrounded by some cute cuddly kittens (or the Fury Cats, if Bowser is awake). Approach him to be given another Cat Shine.