Noki Bay

"This bay actually contains the tomb of an ancient Noki king! When you spray water on the wall paintings, a path usually opens. It's almost like magic!"

- Noki elder

Noki Bay is one of the areas of Isle Delfino, the main setting of Super Mario Sunshine. Noki Bay is located at the north behind the island's "dorsal fin." As the name implies, this area is a home to the Nokis. In order to access Noki Bay, the player has to have collected at least twenty Shine Sprites. Doing so will cause a column of light to appear at the pier of Delfino Plaza, and staring up into it will transport Mario to Noki Bay, similar to the method used when entering the Tower of the Wing Cap in Super Mario 64.

Noki Bay is notable for having by far the fewest interactive friendly characters of any major area in Super Mario Sunshine. Throughout all of Noki Bay's episodes, the only characters who Mario can talk to are the Noki elder, his grandson, the grandson's wife (who also carries their infant child), and the Raccoon who runs the mudboat rental shop. However, many more friendly Nokis appear in the underwater city in Episode 8, but they cannot be spoken to.

Layout
Noki Bay has several platforms along the mountain and large pillar-like structures rising out of the water. The pillars have large shells at the top, with one leading to a secret course, and the pillars are connected together by ropes. Before completing Episode 4, the water in the bay is polluted and will damage Mario if he tries to swim in it. In several of the episodes, there are a number of platforms floating in the water, with some being trampolines.

Directly ahead of where the player starts is a large cliff-side with many platforms leading up it. Mario has to make use of Lifts and Wall Jumps in order to progress upward. During the first episode, many of the platforms are covered by goop, and washing away the graffiti on the walls will cause the platforms to reappear. At the top of all the platforms is a hole where a large waterfall is flowing out of. At the bottom of the waterfall is a large cavern where Episodes 4 and 8 take place.

To the left of the players starting point is a coastal area where a large ruin is embedded in the cliff. Placed along the cliff are several markings that will recede into the wall and reveal a path when sprayed. At the base of the cliff and along the coast is a Boat Rental shop run by a Raccoon, who according to a nearby sign charges 90,000 coins for his rentals. In the first episode, the shop's mudboat is adrift due to the waterfall being clogged, but in later episodes, the raccoon allows Mario to use the boat for free. After Mario cleans Eely Mouth's teeth and the bay's water is clear again, the raccoon thanks Mario for cleaning the bay.

Enemies

 * Bloopers (during Episode 2)
 * Bob-ombs (during Episode 1)
 * Cheep-Cheeps
 * Hatopops
 * Swoopin' Stus (during Episode 1)
 * Wire Traps
 * Monty Mole (Boss of Episode 1)
 * Gooper Blooper (Boss of Episode 2)
 * Eely-Mouth (Boss of Episode 4)
 * Shadow Mario (Boss of Episode 7)

Blue Coin locations
NOTE: Due to the nature of Episode 3, no blue coins can be obtained during that episode.

Hover Nozzle

 * Right next to the mudboat shop.

Rocket Nozzle

 * Mario must climb the southwestern (north being the ocean) wall to find the nozzle box at the top. Only available in Episodes 1, 2, 6, and 7.

Turbo Nozzle

 * There is a hole in the wall that is close to the start of the waterfall where the nozzle box can be found. It is only available in Episode 6. In any other episode, it is replaced with a 1-Up Mushroom trapped inside an ice block.

Official Description
''Steep cliffs and sea beds are what the Nokis call home. The huge waterfall and three soaring towers resonate with mystic history.''

Music
The theme heard in Noki Bay is performed by a wide variety of different flutes (such as the Western flute and panflute, among others). They are accompanied by harp, xylophones, and various other percussion instruments. It was composed by Shinobu Tanaka.

Trivia

 * Noki Bay is the only area in the game that cannot be clearly seen from any other location. Additionally, Corona Mountain is the only other location that can be seen from Noki Bay. If a player climbs to the very top of Pianta Village, it is possible to see the cut in the cliff where the bay resides, but the details of the level are not visible.
 * In the Super Mario Sunshine intro, the waterfall, along with a few shell structures of the bay, can be briefly seen in the welcome video.
 * Despite Yoshi not appearing in any of the Noki Bay episodes, a version of the Noki Bay theme music with Yoshi's bongo drums can be found in the game's coding.
 * Noki Bay has the most bosses in Super Mario Sunshine with a total count of 3 bosses, not including Shadow Mario/Bowser Jr.
 * Noki Bay has the deepest water levels in all the areas of the game.
 * When the player is fighting Gooper Blooper in the second mission, the music when fighting a Gatekeeper plays instead of the regular boss theme, indicating it is intended as a miniboss theme.

Baia Paradiso Baia dei Noki