Mission: Difference between revisions

Missions first appear in ''[[Super Mario 64]]''. There are six missions in each of the game's fifteen main courses, which can be selected from when [[Mario]] enters one of the courses. Uncompleted missions are represented by translucent blue Power Stars, while completed ones are represented by regular Power Stars. Mario can only select the first mission in each course when he enters it. Individual missions only rarely contain differences in level design in this game, mostly limited to the appearance of mission-relevant characters or bosses, such as the [[King Bob-omb|Big Bob-omb]] only appearing when [[Big Bob-omb on the Summit]] is selected in [[Bob-omb Battlefield]], though there are occasionally more subtle differences as well, such as there being three [[iron ball]]s rolling around in a ditch in Bob-omb Battlefield during [[Footrace with Koopa the Quick]] as opposed to two in every other mission. Since the level design changes little between missions, Power Stars belonging to missions other than the one selected can be obtained the majority of the time. Collecting a Power Star from a later mission causes that mission and only that mission to become unlocked prematurely, though selecting it does not actually alter the level design to match the mission unless the earlier one has been completed.

Each of the main courses also contains an additional Power Star that appears regardless of the selected mission once Mario collects 100 [[coin]]s in a single visit to that level. These Power Stars are not themselves part of any mission, and are listed separately in mission selection menus.

In ''[[Super Mario Sunshine]]'', there are eight proper episodes in each of the seven main levels, which can be selected from upon entering a level. Each mission is represented by a translucent blue Shine Sprite if it has not completed, and a golden one if it has been completed. Like in ''Super Mario 64'', episodes are unlocked in order starting with the first. Compared to ''Super Mario 64'', however, there are far more level design changes between episodes, with the placement of enemies, [[coin]]s, terrain features, interactive objects, friendly characters, [[goop]], and even [[tree]]s regularly varying from one episode to the next. Friendly characters also typically have different dialogue between episodes, usually forming an ongoing narrative that plays out through the episodes of each level. Due to the greater variance between episodes, it is usually impossible to obtain episode-based Shine Sprites other than the one that pertains to the selected episode. There are several exceptions to this, however, most notably the case of being able to complete Episode 2 of [[Bianco Hills]] ([[Down with Petey Piranha!]]) while Episode 1 ([[Road to the Big Windmill]]) is selected. Unlike in ''Super Mario 64'', this unlocks the episode numbered after the one that was collected out of order, allowing further episodes to be selected out of order. It is also possible to collect the Shine Sprites from Bianco Hills' Episode 3 ([[The Hillside Cave Secret]]) and Episode 6 ([[The Secret of the Dirty Lake]]) in later episodes, though doing so does not allow the player to skip anything. The Shine Sprite for Episode 8 of [[Gelato Beach]] ([[The Watermelon Festival]]) can also be collected early in any of the other episodes through a glitch, as it is always visible inside a glass tank in the [[Surf Cabana]]. If this is done, all intervening episodes between the one in which the Shine Sprite was collected and The Watermelon Festival are also unlocked, and can be selected from then on.

Like in ''Super Mario 64'', each main level, as well as [[Delfino Plaza]], the game's hub area, contains an additional Shine Sprite not part of any episode that appears in any episode once Mario collects 100 coins. These Shine Sprites are once again not considered to be part of any particular episode, and are listed separately when selecting an episode.

Missions in ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'' function largely the same as those in ''Super Mario Galaxy'', with each of the game's 242 unique Power Star in the game being designated as a named mission. In this game, galaxies contain only one or two regular missions, and one or two additional missions beyond that (for a total of two to three), which can once again be hidden missions, Prankster Comet missions, or letter missions (which are received from a variety of different characters in place of Luigi, such as a [[Gearmo]] in the [[Space Storm Galaxy]] and [[The Chimp]] in various other galaxies throughout the game). In addition to the two or three normal Power Star missions in each galaxy, there are an equal number of Green Star Prankster Comet missions in each galaxy except for the [[Grandmaster Galaxy]], which are only unlocked once Mario and Luigi collect all 120 initially available Power Stars and complete the first mission of [[Bowser's Galaxy Generator]], [[Bowser's Fortified Fortress]]. Unlike most missions which are named descriptively, Green Star missions are named Green Star 1, Green Star 2, and (if the galaxy has three Green Stars) Green Star 3 in every galaxy they appear in, and they are all unlocked at once. Green Star missions send Mario or Luigi to one of the galaxy's regular missions when selected, as the Green Stars occupy hidden locations in the galaxies in which they are found. As a result of the Green Stars' inclusion, each galaxy has a total of four to six missions.

In ''[[Super Mario Odyssey]]'', the role of missions is changed considerably. While all of the game's Power Moons have unique names much like missions in the previous games, they are, for the most part, not associated with specific missions, which there are between zero and five of in each of the game's kingdoms. Missions are the main story objectives in each kingdom, and usually require Mario to collect certain Power Moons and especially [[Multi Moon]]s in order to be completed. Completing all missions in each kingdom aside from the [[Dark Side]] and [[Darker Side]] allows Mario to receive the [[List of Power Moons in the Mushroom Kingdom#Achieve World Peace|Achieve World Peace]] Power Moon from [[Toadette]] in the [[Mushroom Kingdom (Super Mario Odyssey)|Mushroom Kingdom]].