Tower of the Wing Cap

Tower of the Wing Cap is a castle tower in the sky that contains the Wing Cap Switch, appearing in both Super Mario 64 and its remake.

Entry
The entrance is located on the first floor of Princess Peach's Castle. Once Mario has collected ten Power Stars (fourteen in Super Mario 64 DS), sunlight will be shining down from the ceiling. If Mario stands in the sunlight and looks up, he will be transported to the level. The cloud pattern on the ceiling can also be seen on the second floor in normal paintings that Mario can't enter, and even later in the entrance holes of Rainbow Ride and Wing Mario Over the Rainbow.

Although the sunlight will disappear once the red switch has been activated, Mario can still return to the level by standing in the same spot and looking up. This is useful if one has not yet gained the Red Coin Power Star from the course.

Layout
Upon entering the level, Mario will immediately appear in flight as Wing Mario. Upon landing on the tower, Mario will be able to press the red Cap Switch, which in turn will make all the red ! Blocks solid. A Power Star can also be found here after the player collects the eight Red Coins. This is the only location that Mario enters as Wing Mario; in other courses, he must collect a Wing Cap from a Red Block and either launch from a cannon or triple jump to take off.

In Super Mario 64 DS, the area is simply titled '''? Switch'''. The red switch is also changed from a ! Switch to the namesake ? Switch, which likewise activates all of the ? Blocks in the game. In addition, only Mario is granted with wings upon entering; if any characters other than Mario access it, they still flip as they normally do during a course intro, but plummet into the abyss which promptly transports them back into the castle.

When Mario accesses the ? Switch course for the first time, it is mistakenly described as the "? Switches of Rainbow Tower" despite only one such switch existing in this version.

Star
There is only one Power Star to collect in this area. Using the wings that he is granted upon entering the level, Mario must fly around the area and collect the eight Red Coins floating in the air in the four compass directions. The Red Coins are found in groups of two. Due to the fact that Mario slowly loses altitude while flying, he'll have to reenter the level and try again if he drops below the point the coins are at.

References in other games

 * Noki Bay in Super Mario Sunshine is accessed in a similar way; by standing on a similar pattern on the streets of Delfino Plaza and staring at the real sun.
 * The tower the Sand Bird flies around in Super Mario Sunshine vaguely resembles the Tower of the Wing Cap, due to a similar layout.
 * Mario's Rainbow Castle from Mario Party also resembles the area. Mario's Wing Cap even appears on a tower on the board.

Wolken-Turm