One of the first things you will notice about the moon is the low gravity, meaning Mario’s jumps have quite a bit of extra length and height to them. Go behind the Odyssey when you gain control and look for the smaller of the two craters, where there will be a shadow. While standing in the shadow, jump straight up to uncover a hidden coin block, then stand on that one and jump to find another. There will be a total of three hidden blocks and above the third one will be a Power Moon (Shining Above the Moon) . See the tall ridge nearby? On the northern side is a ledge you can jump to that has a flower spring, which will launch you to the top, where you can find three purple coins (3) .

Head straight east from those purple coins to the edge of the moon, just past the little spot where it is raised, to find a ledge below you with a pipe. This takes you to a short 8-bit mural, complete with moon physics and some Fuzzies. Jump past the first set, then the second circling the next platform. From there, it’s a simple hop to the ledge with the Power Moon (Along the Cliff Face) . Move back to the wall and get a running start, as you’ll be jumping to the platform above the Fuzzies, where you’ll find three more purple coins (6) . That is all for the first area of the moon, so head north from the Odyssey and find the ramp going down.

At the bottom of the ramp, there will be a hole in the wall, which houses another three purple coins (9) . Continue northeast to the edge of this area to find a lower ledge with a scarecrow. This one will spawn some pretty spaced out platforms, but the moon’s gravity will make it easy to get to them via long jumps. Quickly grab the moon at the end (Moon Kingdom Timer Challenge 1) and jump onto the mainland. Keep going west now, past some Moonsnakes, and you will see some octopus floating not too far from there. Once you get into range, it will start shooting some needle-like shells at you.

Jump onto the platform to grab the four purple coins (13) , then leap and ground pound the top of the creature to defeat it, if you want. Look for the double crater nearby, which has a rock in the middle of it, and pick up said rock. While carrying it, smash it against another rock to spawn a moon; you would have to kick this around to break it normally, which can be problematic with the low gravity (Rolling Rock on the Moon) . To the south of there is an elevated area, with the first thing being seen is another rabbit. This one can be especially annoying with the gravity, but do the same thing as always to get another Power Moon (Caught Hopping on the Moon!) .

There is a spot you can walljump to the southwest, leading to a plateau with three purple coins (16) . Head north and at the bridge, jump on over to the pillar with the four purple coins (20) , then finish crossing the bridge and touching the checkpoint flag. There will be a big platform off to your west, which seems a bit too far for a normal jump. However, there are boost flowers in the vicinity, which can be used to achieve that jump without any trouble. When you get over there, look behind the chest for a small ledge that has three purple coins (23) , then open the chest for a Power Moon (Cliffside Treasure Chest) .

Return to the mainland and leap up to the area with the octopus, which is hovering around a huge crater with one of the mysterious white cubes. On the side opposite of where you hopped up is a musical note near an isolated platform. Touch the note to make two lines of smaller notes appear, so long jump to collect them both and get another Power Moon (Taking Notes: On the Moon’s Surface) . Double back to the main area and use the boost flower to continue north, where you will find a checkpoint flag, a cave entrance and another octopus.

Touch the flag and ignore the cave, then defeat the octopus, as you want to grab the purple coins in the air. You can simply do this by using the flower spring below them, netting yourself another six coins (29) . Northeast of those coins is a slightly hidden path that leads to Sphynx, but you can’t do anything with him yet, so ignore him and enter that cave now.

Underground Moon Caverns¶

Well, it looks like gravity is back to normal down here, so you won’t have the extra floaty jumps to save you from pits. Also, there is a lot of lava, so you’ll need to be even more careful. As soon as you land, you should notice one of the Bowser statues in the immediate vicinity has a familiar thing on its head, meaning you can capture it. Do this and move it out of the way to unveil a small hole with a Power Moon (Under the Bowser Statue) . Drop down to the platform below you with the flying bones, called Parabones, who you will need to capture for the next little section.

They operate just as Paragoombas do, so fly across the lava, avoiding the other Parabones, lava geysers and Sherm fire. Once across, release the Parabones and capture the Sherm that’s not on the little ledge. Turn around to the Parabones and look up and to the left to see some purple coins on top of a pillar. Getting them can prove a little difficult, but this is a reminder that Sherm fire can actually nab objects, so use the Sherm to collect the three purple coins (32) . Now, cross the bridge in the other direction, blowing up the cage for a Life-Up Heart if you need it.

Drop the Sherm and pick up another Parabone, then fly under the bridge you just crossed to find three more purple coins (35) . If you go to the end, you should notice a locked tile behind the cage with the spark pylon. You can find the key in a hole behind the pillar that’s near the end platform, which will make a Power Moon appear once acquired (In a Hole in the Magma) . Take the spark pylon up to the next area to find a big button and some Hammer Bros a little ways away. Before you hit the button, look back to the entrance and you should be able to make out a hole in the giant pillar above the green pipe. Make a note of this for a little later, as you will be going there.

Hitting the big red button will cause a platform to start moving, which you’ll need to use to get to the other side. However, there are some dirt blocks in the way, so you will have to quickly capture a Hammer Bro and use their handy tools to break the blocks in the way. The next section is another moving platform, but you have to contend with Wigglers this time. Capture one while on your way and stretch around the corner, then quickly stretch to pick up the three purple coins before you reach the end (38) . Note that if you die before reach the next platform, then you will have to start over from the very beginning.

Once you reach the platform past the Wigglers, then you’ll get an invisible checkpoint. Upon stepping foot on the bridge, a large Bullet Bill (called a Banzai Bill) appears and comes right at you. Remember that hole by the entrance? Well, you will want to capture a Banzai Bill and fly all the way back there, noting that shaking the controller is required to reach the hole. You’ll find a chest with a Power Moon inside (Fly to the Treasure Chest and Back) and a spark pylon to bring you back. Capture another Banzai Bill and fly through the bricks and into the first wall you see, while holding forward, which should have Mario grab the ledge.

There will be another Power Moon waiting for you here (Around the Barrier Wall) , but it looks like you might be stranded, although you’re actually not. Get far enough along this ledge to where you can capture a Bullet Bill, then head around the next wall to the ledge there. Here, you can grab another Banzai Bill and you’ll want to go around to collect the three purple coins on the one side (41) , then fly to the end. You’re not finished with everything yet, though, as you want to sit at the edge and grab the Bullet Bill coming from the back end of the Banzai launcher. Fly back to the platform the Banzai was coming from and ground pound the middle of the upper portion to unearth a Power Moon (On Top of the Cannon) .

Return to the platform at the end with the Moe-Eye and hit the button, which should quickly show and hide the path. Use the Moe-Eye to reveal the path, but be quick, as you are on a timer. This is worsened by the three purple coins you need to collect (44) , plus the fact you start over from the Banzai Bill section should you die. Once you get across, take the spark pylon to a new area, with a familiar enemy to those who have played older Mario titles. The Chargin’ Chuck here is new to Odyssey up to this point and yes, you can capture him. His only ability is to charge, which you do by holding down Y/X and releasing it when you see the full charge.

The Chargin’ Chuck will plow forward in this state, destroying certain blocks and even the rolling boulders, until he bonks on a wall. So, use the first Chuck to tackle your way past the boulders, then wait for an opening to get to the second Chuck. Use this one to cross the gaps and reach three purple coins (47) , then charge up the path with the boulders to reach the end, where another spark pylon waits for you. This one will bring you to a large platform above your current location, where you will be pitted in a rematch with Madame Broodal. This fight is the same as the one in Cascade Kingdom, except her Chain Chomp will be wearing multiple hats. Once you defeat her again, you’ll be able to exit the underground.

Crashing the Wedding¶

Back on the moon’s surface, you will find yourself above where Sphynx was located, so follow the path around to a checkpoint flag. The chapel with Bowser and Peach is right in front of you, but before you barge in through the front door, head to the back end of the cathedral to find a frog. Use this to get on top of the chapel and look on the eastern side for a spire that is glowing. Hook and keep your hat on this spire until a Power Moon pops out of it (The Tip of a White Spire) . Your frog likely despawned by now, so head back down and grab it again, this time jumping to the very top of the chapel for the final three purple coins (50) . Drop down to the bell and enter the hole underneath it to appear on top of the rafters inside, where you’ll find another Power Moon (Up in the Rafters) . That’s all there is to do now, so drop down and open the door to confront Bowser and get ready for a boss fight.

BOSS - Bowser on the Moon¶

The final story fight against Bowser plays out the same as the one in the Cloud Kingdom. He will begin by tossing his hat at you, so get ready to counter by throwing your hat at it to knock it to the ground, then run into it to put it on Mario himself. This will prompt Bowser to jump around the edge of the arena and upon landing, he will create a shockwave. Once he stops, Bowser will toss some boulders at you, which you can break by attacking with Bowser’s hat. When you get close enough, you begin attacking with your flurry of punches, but when you see Bowser get knocked back a tiny bit, get ready to jump as he will attempt a tail sweep. After dodging it, you can continue your assault and finally get the first hit on Bowser.

Upon damaging Bowser once, he will jump into the center of the arena and breathe fire, sweeping it back and forth. The hitbox on this fire is a bit weird, as you can usually jump to just avoid it. This will then move into the second phase, where Bowser will have three dummy hats in addition to his real one. Note that the fake ones can produce hearts, should you be in need of them. When you get his hat again, Bowser will start off by throwing flaming shells, which explode upon hitting them. After the flaming shells will come the normal boulders, then you can attack him. Bowser will do two tail sweeps this time, back-to-back, then the second hit will be confirmed.

The final phase is just the same as the previous two, but Bowser will toss out more fake hats and all of the objects he throws will be the flaming shells. For the final hit, you need to watch out for the extra tail sweep after the three initial ones. When you finally hit Bowser for the third time, the fight will be over and the game will end…

The Aftermath¶

Well, the game won’t end just yet, as when you regain control and approach Princess Peach and Bowser, some things start to happen. You end up falling through the ground and land in some area below, so just follow the path down to meet up with Peach and Bowser. It looks like you can’t do anything here, but you have a hat that can possess things by tossing it at them, so why not try it out on Bowser. As it turns out, it actually works and you have control of Bowser now. You can shake the controller to have Bowser spit some fireballs, while pressing Y/X will have him swipe his claws in front of it.

The first portion of the escape will be just running forward with Bowser and breaking blocks in the way. When you get to a giant wall, just keep smacking it and it will break, opening up the level a bit. As you move forward, the ground will turn to gold and start falling shortly after that, so you will want to be quick. Be on the lookout for blocks falling from the sky, as they will break into four pieces that move in four different directions, but you can destroy these with your attacks.

As the path curves to your right, jump up to the next section and you’ll come to a pillar. Hit the base while avoiding the falling rocks, which are marked by light on the ground, and the pillar will fall to form a bridge. This leads to a pipe and an 8-bit mural, where you’ll need to destroy giant blocks and jump your way to the top. Once you get to the top, you will revert back to normal Bowser and have to bust through two more walls. After the second wall, there will be one final wall that will begin glowing gold as you strike it; keep meleeing it and it will break, revealing one final area.

With some new music, your objective here is to run around and destroy the supports of the four pillars while avoiding debris and not falling into pits. Once you break all four pillars, you can head into the center of the area and starting smacking around the cube. Similar to the golden wall, it will begin glowing as you hit it and when it breaks, there will be a spark pylon underneath it. Jump into the spark pylon to set off the ending, so sit back and enjoy it!

Whats Next?¶

You may have finished the main game, but there is still so much more waiting for you after the credits have stopped rolling. You will appear in a new kingdom, the Mushroom Kingdom, where more Power Moons and other goodies await, but revisiting the other kingdoms will also prove useful. Remember those mysterious white cubes that you ran across that seemingly did nothing? Well, hitting those now will make miscellaneous new Power Moons appear throughout their respective kingdoms. Other than the Mushroom Kingdom, you are finished with the purple coins, so there’s nothing left to collect but Power Moons now.