La Place Delfino et sa fontaine centrale, entourée de bâtiments colorés

Delfino Plaza: the tropical hub of Mario Sunshine

1532 words | Reading time : 7 minute(s)

LocationDelfino PlazaPiantas

A sun-drenched crossroads hiding sewers and fifteen Shine Sprites. Known as Delfino Plaza, this seaside town is the starting point and the home base of the entire Super Mario Sunshine adventure. This guide covers the neighbourhood life of the Piantas and the Nokis, the Shine Gate, the secret sewers and the fifteen Shine Sprites waiting to be tracked down on the spot.

Nestled on the coast of Isle Delfino, Delfino Plaza is the starting point and the home base of the entire adventure of Super Mario Sunshine, released in 2002 on GameCube. This little town, bathed in sunshine and edged with turquoise water, serves as Mario's central hub during a holiday that quickly turns into a nightmare.

Far more than a simple level-select menu, the plaza is a living stage you roam across, solve puzzles in and watch transform as the story unfolds.

Contents

The crossroads of the whole adventure

Delfino Plaza is the game's central hub: from here Mario reaches the seven main worlds of the island. After every mission, successful or failed, he is automatically brought back here, which makes the plaza his permanent base camp from the beginning to the end of the adventure.

You open up the levels by spraying the golden M-shaped graffiti hidden all over town. Each portal you reveal leads to a different world: one through the lighthouse, another through the boathouse, another still through the big statue. The plaza therefore works as a fully playable world map, explored on foot, by swimming or by bouncing from rooftop to rooftop. Getting around efficiently means mastering FLUDD, whether to hover above the water, rocket upwards or slide across the wet cobblestones.

Delfino Plaza and its colourful houses around the central pool
Everything runs through the plaza: it is the crossroads leading to the island's eight areas.

Piantas, Nokis and neighbourhood life

The plaza is populated overwhelmingly by Piantas, those stocky, cheerful residents topped with a small living palm tree. You also run into a few Nokis, the island's shell-dwelling people, not to mention the Pianta guards who keep watch over the town. The locals happily comment on Mario's comings and goings, and their mood shifts as the island regains — or loses — its light.

The setting overflows with detail: an imposing Pianta statue stands at the centre of the plaza, a lighthouse watches over the open sea, a boathouse lines the docks and fruit stalls offer coconuts, pineapples and durians. None of it is purely decorative, because the statue and the lighthouse conceal portals to the worlds, while bringing certain fruits back to the vendors unlocks passages and rewards.

A square on Isle Delfino brought to life by its residents
Piantas and Nokis share the neighbourhoods: the plaza lives to their rhythm.

The Shine Gate, a sanctuary of light

Rising above the plaza stands the Shine Gate , a historic monument adorned at its centre with a gigantic effigy of a Shine Sprite . This is where those spirits of light once gathered, the source of energy that keeps the island bright and prosperous. Its golden silhouette, a great archway crowned by a radiant Shine Sprite, is the natural landmark for finding your bearings in town.

When the fake Mario coats the effigy in black goop, the Shine Sprites desert the gate and the town falls dark. To restore it, Mario has to rise up to the effigy using the rocket nozzle of the FLUDD (the water pack strapped to his back), then scrub it clean with a jet of water; a well-hidden Shine Sprite then appears high above the monument, reachable only in rocket mode.

The secret sewers beneath the town

Beneath the plaza's cobblestones stretches a vast network of underground sewers that quietly connects the different neighbourhoods. You get down there through manholes and pipes scattered across the surface, often tucked behind a low wall or under a platform, and easy to miss on a first visit.

These tunnels are a genuine treasure chest: they are packed with coins, blue coins (the precious currency you trade for Shine Sprites) and 1-Up Mushrooms. Some passages even come out at strategic spots around the plaza, offering welcome shortcuts. Combing methodically through this underground is essential for anyone aiming to complete the plaza one hundred per cent.

15 Shine Sprites to track down

Delfino Plaza and its immediate surroundings alone hide 15 Shine Sprites, as many as some of the main worlds. The Shine Sprite claimed at the top of Corona Mountain is also tied to the plaza's counter, which makes it one of the richest areas in the game for collectibles. Some challenges call for patience and a healthy dose of exploration, since nothing on screen points these Shine Sprites out.

  • Cleaning certain golden objects as well as the effigy on the Shine Gate makes hidden Shine Sprites appear.
  • Some timed obstacle courses and platforming challenges reward your agility and your mastery of FLUDD.
  • Hidden clues, revealed with a jet of water, and favours done for the locals unlock the last Shine Sprites, often the trickiest ones.

A detail for completionists: while each main world holds 30 blue coins, the plaza has only 20, which pushes you to explore every last nook and cranny.

Graffiti, a trial and a flood

Delfino Plaza is the stage for the drama that sets the adventure in motion. An evil Mario lookalike, Shadow Mario, smears the island with toxic graffiti: the Shine Sprites flee, the island sinks into gloom and the Piantas wrongly accuse Mario.

Arrested and then found guilty, Mario is sentenced to a form of community service: cleaning the entire island and unmasking the real culprit. We learn later that this fake Mario is none other than Bowser Jr., armed with a magic paintbrush; he is also the one who tries to kidnap Princess Peach in the plaza.

The climax strikes the plaza itself: it ends up flooded with boiling water gushing from Corona Mountain, forcing the Piantas to take refuge on the rooftops. The threat is never limited to a mere level layout: it is the residents' own home that is directly put at risk, proof that the plaza is a truly living place.

Delfino Plaza at a glance

French name Place Delfino
Original name Delfino Plaza
Type of location Central hub town of Isle Delfino
Game Super Mario Sunshine (GameCube)
Release 2002 (Japan: July; Europe: October)
Residents Piantas, a few Nokis
Shine Sprites to collect 16 (including the Corona Mountain one)
Blue coins 20

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FAQ

  • What is Delfino Plaza for in Super Mario Sunshine?
    It is the game's central hub: from this plaza, Mario reaches the seven main worlds of Isle Delfino, and he is sent back to it automatically after every mission.
  • How many Shine Sprites can you collect in Delfino Plaza?
    Fifteen Shine Sprites are hidden in the plaza and its immediate surroundings, and the Corona Mountain Shine Sprite counts towards that total as well.
  • Who lives in Delfino Plaza?
    It is populated mostly by Piantas, topped with a small palm tree, along with a few Nokis, the island's shell-dwelling people.
  • Why is Mario wrongly accused at the start of the game?
    A lookalike, Shadow Mario in the original version, covers the island in toxic graffiti; the locals think they recognise Mario, who is put on trial and sentenced to clean the island.
  • What is the Shine Gate?
    It is the great monument overlooking the plaza, adorned with a Shine Sprite effigy, where the Shine Sprites once gathered before the fake Mario defiled it.
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