Power Moon

"Why, I could never part with any of my precious Power Moons!"

- Madame Broode

Power Moons are collectible items in Super Mario Odyssey. Equivalent to the Power Stars in Super Mario 64 (and its remake), Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Shine Sprites in Super Mario Sunshine, they can be found in the various kingdoms of the game and are used to power the Odyssey, allowing Mario reach additional kingdoms.

Compared to the main collectables in previous games, the number of Power Moons per kingdom varies much more significantly, each having between 1 and 104 Moons to collect. Additionally, due to their greatly increased quantity, Mario does not leave the area once he collects one. They can be obtained in a wide variety of ways, such as collecting a Key, five Moon Shards, a sequence of notes, planting Seeds in pots, or through the Slots minigame. Each kingdom also has a unique Power Moon available in Crazy Cap, which can be bought for 100 coins. In the post-game, these can be bought in infinite supply, although they only count towards raising the global Power Moon count. When collected, Power Moons restore the player's Health Meter, air meter (if swimming), and water (if a Gushen is captured). Afterwards, they are replaced with transparent replicas, similar to Power Stars and Shine Sprites, and give five coins instead.

A small number of Power Moons in each kingdom are found floating above a metal pedestal. These are required to advance the kingdom's main story, and will play a longer collection animation. Decorated clusters of Power Moons called Multi Moons also exist in the game and are attained by defeating major bosses or clearing main story missions.

The majority of the game's unlockables are locked behind the collection of Power Moons, some requiring a number of unique Power Moons and others that can be obtained through buying Power Moon copies at Crazy Cap in the post-game. At least 124 Power Moons are required to beat the game (up to 462 can be collected prior to the final battle with Bowser). Collecting 250 Power Moons unlocks the Dark Side, and collecting 500 Power Moons unlocks the Darker Side. Collecting all 880 Power Moons turns the Odyssey's sail into a golden color and unlocks a painting in the Moon Kingdom's Wedding Hall, allowing the player to go through a harder version of the final boss fight sequence. Collecting 999 Power Moons will cause a large top hat to be placed on top of Peach's Castle. If Cappy is thrown on top of it, a special celebration will play out.

When Mario collects his first Power Moon in the Mushroom Kingdom, Cappy says that he did not know that Power Moons come in different shapes, suggesting that Power Moons and Power Stars are different forms of the same object. Additionally, the jingle that plays when a Power Moon is collected is a remixed version of the jingle that plays when Mario collects a Power Star in Super Mario 64, although the original jingle plays instead for Power Moons collected in the Mushroom Kingdom.

In the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS versions of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Power Moons are found at the end of the bonus levels Secret of the Inverted Pyramid, Mine Cart Cascade Crusade, Uptown, Downtown, and Cookatiel's Sizzling Sprint, which are based off of kingdoms from Super Mario Odyssey. They function exactly the same as the Power Stars found in the regular levels.

Colors
Power Moons feature a different color depending on the kingdom in which they are found. Their color also matches the color of the pole of the kingdom's Checkpoint Flag. In the Mushroom Kingdom, they take the form of Power Stars, except in 2D sections, where they simply appear as pixelated, gold-colored Power Moons instead.

Super Mario Odyssey

 * North American website bio: "The Odyssey requires a steady supply of Power Moons to travel. Luckily, they seem to be plentiful-although some are harder to find than others."

Names in other languages

 * For a list of the Power Moon names in other languages, see here.

Trivia

 * When Mario collects a Power Moon, he performs one of three variations of the same pose that change his right hand's gesture, all three of which are callbacks to three previous Mario titles:
 * A victory sign pose, referencing Super Mario 64
 * An open palm, referencing Super Mario Sunshine
 * A closed fist, referencing Super Mario Galaxy
 * If a Power Moon is collected in one kingdom, but put into the Odyssey in another, the Power Moon's color changes to match the kingdom color the Odyssey is currently in. However, this only happens post-game, as pre-final boss moons can only be put in the Odyssey in the same kingdom they are collected in.