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, as he will finish the course with the previous time of the player.

If the game is beaten with all 120 Shine Sprites, 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, implying that the developers used the same movement model for both characters.
 * II Piantissimo is somewhat similar to Chopperbird from Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. They are both humans dressed up as other creatures who race the player.