Il Piantissimo

"And now, we shall race to that flag!"

- Il Piantissimo

Il Piantissimo is a dark-skinned man disguised as a Pianta that the player must race in Super Mario Sunshine, similar to the Koopa the Quick races in Super Mario 64. He can be raced in Gelato Beach, Noki Bay, and Pianta Village.

Piantissimo is very overconfident, and finds himself superior to others. According to various locals at Pianta Village, he is considered a rogue, a creep, and not related to the Piantas. This could show that due to his attitude, he is left alone and barely challenged, adding to his superior personality with no one to go against it.

When Mario races against Il Piantissimo, the two must head to a flag that represents the finish line. If Mario wins, he gets a Shine Sprite. However, Mario will lose a life if Il Piantissimo finishes first. Also, if the player replays a completed Il Piantissimo episode, Il Piantissimo will be more difficult to beat.

If the game is beaten with 119 Shine Sprites or less, the ending screen will show Il Piantissimo finding Bowser Jr.'s Magic Paintbrush.

Trivia

 * When looking from under Il Piantissimo's mask's chin or through his eye holes, Il Piantissimo resembles The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time's Running Man. If players hack into the game and remove his mask, his face has the same texture as Running Man.
 * His name in Italian translates roughly to "Very Pianta". This may be due to the fact that he wants to be a Pianta, and considers himself to be extremely Pianta-like.
 * Sometimes, when Shadow Mario stops, he strikes a pose and moves his head exactly as Il Piantissimo does.
 * Its possible that he might be the Shadow Mario that appears in Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour alongside Bowser Jr. which would explain why the two are separate characters. This would also mean the Magic Paintbrush causes the transformation and not the bandanna.