Noki Bay: cliffs, Nokis and the poisoning eel

LocationNoki BayIsle Delfino

The level with the most bosses in all of Super Mario Sunshine. The sixth major level in the game, Noki Bay is a landscape of cliffs, waterfall and sunken ruins at the northern tip of Isle Delfino. This guide covers the Nokis who guard the city, the poisoned water that eats away at Mario and the legendary fight against Eely-Mouth's rotten teeth.

Nestled at the northern tip of Isle Delfino, Noki Bay (Baie Noki in French) is the sixth major level in Super Mario Sunshine, a landscape of dizzying cliffs, waterfall and sunken ruins.

Behind that postcard view, though, lurks a threat: poisoned water that eats away at Mario, an aquatic people driven back into the depths, and the game's most memorable fight against a sick giant eel.

Contents

• A bay perched at the north of Isle Delfino
• The Nokis, guardians of a sunken city
• Poisoned water that eats away at Mario
• The level with the most bosses
• Eely-Mouth's rotten teeth: the legendary fight
• Eight of the most dreaded episodes
• Quick facts
• FAQ

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A bay perched at the north of Isle Delfino

Tucked away, Noki Bay curls up at the very north of the Delfino archipelago, hidden behind the island's “dorsal fin”. It is a deep, narrow cove ringed by towering cliffs that cut it off from the rest of the world and give its inhabitants a natural refuge. You only reach it late in the adventure, which makes it one of the very last major levels to unlock.

The site is dominated by a huge waterfall that bursts from the top of the cliffs and pours down into the bay, fed by an underground river. To climb this wall of water, Mario has to scale three tall pillars capped with enormous shells, linked to one another by ropes strung over the void.

On the rock face, painted murals fade away when you spray them with water, revealing secret passages that lead higher up. Along the cliffside, the ruins of an ancient civilisation, half-collapsed jetties and arches, are a reminder that the bay was once a far busier place than it is today.

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The Nokis, guardians of a sunken city

The Nokis are the native aquatic species of Isle Delfino: small, shy, peaceful creatures with a shell on their back, and they give the bay its name. They are the ones who welcome Mario and steer him, between two confidences, towards the secrets of the place.

Most of them never come back up to the surface. They live in an underwater city crouched at the very bottom of the water, directly beneath the great waterfall, a maze of sunken buildings you only explore in one of the level's final episodes.

Above all, this people watches over a treasure of memory, the tomb of the ancient Noki king, buried deep in the ruins. That almost archaeological dimension makes Noki Bay one of the most lore-heavy places in all of Super Mario Sunshine, a world away from the festive, seaside mood of the first beaches.

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Poisoned water that eats away at Mario

When Mario arrives, the bay's water is poisoned. An unsettling purplish colour, it deals damage at the slightest contact and makes swimming and diving impossible until the source of the sickness has been dealt with, turning every jump over the void into a gamble.

The culprit? Eely-Mouth (Anguy in French), a giant eel lurking at the very bottom of the bay. Its dreadful dental disease, an infection oozing from its rotten teeth, is what contaminates the whole body of water and poisons the ecosystem of the Nokis.

Once the episode devoted to Eely-Mouth is over, the water turns clear and harmless again. The bay then takes on gorgeous turquoise reflections, the Nokis can breathe again and exploring the depths finally becomes peaceful, revealing a sumptuous underwater setting.

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The level with the most bosses

Noki Bay holds a curious record: it is the level that gathers the most bosses in the whole game. Where the other worlds make do with one or two fights, the bay lines up four, all quite different.

• A Monty Mole, guardian of the plug that holds back the waterfall, whom you have to knock out with Bob-ombs picked up and hurled straight back.
• Gooper Blooper (Méga Bloups in French), the giant octopus already met at Ricco Harbor, back to stretch its tentacles through the booby-trapped ruins.
• Eely-Mouth (Anguy in French), the poisoning eel lurking at the bottom of the water, the bay's most iconic and most original boss.
• Shadow Mario (Antimario in French), the dark double who bolts along the cliffs and has to be sprayed from a distance to make him drop his Shine Sprite.

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Eely-Mouth's rotten teeth: the legendary fight

The fight against Eely-Mouth is one of the most memorable moments in Super Mario Sunshine. After diving down to the bottom of the bay, Mario perches on the huge eel's snout and finds a gaping maw bristling with rotten teeth of a sickly purple.

The idea is as simple as it is unexpected: play dentist. With FLUDD, Mario's famous water pack, you have to clean the infected teeth one by one while dodging bubbles of toxic gas and the beast's attempts to suck in and swallow the plumber.

When the last golden tooth finally bursts, Eely-Mouth is cured, the poison fades away and a Shine Sprite springs out as a reward. Few platformer bosses turn action into care like this, and that offbeat twist is exactly what made the fight a cult favourite among fans.

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Eight of the most dreaded episodes

With its eight episodes (and eleven Shine Sprites to collect), Noki Bay ranks among the densest levels in Super Mario Sunshine. Its extreme verticality, its smooth walls and its ropes strung over the void make it particularly demanding ground for the player.

Many players cite it as one of the hardest stretches in the game, mainly because of its FLUDD-less secret levels, where the slightest misjudged jump sends you all the way back to the foot of the cliffs and forces you to start over.

Between its sacred waterfall, its mysterious people, its sunken ruins and its eel with a toothache, Noki Bay distils everything that makes Super Mario Sunshine so singular. It remains one of the most striking settings in the whole Isle Delfino adventure.

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Noki Bay at a glance

French name	Baie Noki
English name	Noki Bay
Game	Super Mario Sunshine (2002)
Location	North of Isle Delfino
Inhabitants	The Nokis (shell-backed people)
Bosses	Monty Mole, Gooper Blooper, Eely-Mouth, Shadow Mario
Episodes	10
Standout feature	The level with the most bosses in the game

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FAQ

• What is the French name of Noki Bay?
  In Europe, the level is officially called Baie Noki in French. It is the sixth major world in Super Mario Sunshine, set at the very north of Isle Delfino.
• Why is the water in Noki Bay poisoned?
  The water is contaminated by Eely-Mouth (Anguy in French), a giant eel suffering from a severe dental disease. Once its teeth have been cleaned, the water turns clear and harmless again.
• Who are the Nokis?
  The Nokis are the native aquatic species of Isle Delfino, small shell-backed creatures who live in an underwater city and guard the tomb of their ancient king.
• How many bosses does Noki Bay have?
  Four, the highest number in the game: a Monty Mole, Gooper Blooper, the eel Eely-Mouth and Shadow Mario, Mario's dark double.
• How do you beat Eely-Mouth, the eel of Noki Bay?
  You have to perch on its snout and clean its rotten teeth one by one with FLUDD, dodging the toxic bubbles, until the last golden tooth bursts.

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