Bianco Hills

Bianco Hills is a hilly, countryside region in the center of Isle Delfino, found northwest of Delfino Plaza, and it can be entered through the Pianta Statue in Delfino Plaza, once the player has collected at least one Shine Sprite. It consists of the Windmill Village inhabited by Piantas, the upper hilly area, and a large lake. The centerpiece of this area is the very large windmill, which is located at the end of the lake. During Mario's travels to Isle Delfino, much of Bianco Hills was, like other regions of Isle Delfino, covered in Goop. Of course, Mario got rid of the nasty graffiti with F.L.U.D.D. Bianco Hills is where Mario also first battled the infamous Petey Piranha – first they battle inside of the windmill, the next time they fight in the village. The name Bianco Hills contains the term "bianco" which is Italian for "white". The name of the level can be translated to "White Hills", which probably is a reference to the white colored houses, walls, and roads found in the level.

The musical theme of Bianco Hills is similar to those of Gelato Beach and Ricco Harbor. However, it is in the style of European folk music, with prominent use of clarinet, flute, and oboe, accompanied by tambourine, castanets, and harp.

Episode 1: The Road to the Big Windmill
The first Episode of this level begins with an introduction scene, which shows Shadow Mario standing near the bridge to the windmill, next to a Goop Generator. Large parts of the countryside are covered in thick brown goop and only the Windmill Village is relatively free of it, although there are some small blobs that generate Strollin' Stus. Due to the masses of paint outside of the village, the gate that links the village area and the lakeside area has been closed and Mario has to use a passage over the waterwheel to get to his destination. The lakeside area has some Piranhabons that keep rolling over the terrain, leaving a trail of goop behind. Mario has to battle a Piranha Plant made of goop to proceed. After the battle, a hill with a path emerges and connects to the bridge above. Mario can collect the Shine Sprite then. However, the player can choose to ignore the Shine Sprite and proceed to climb the windmill, making this the only episode in the entire game that can be skipped.

Episode 2: Down with Petey Piranha!
At the beginning of this episode, the camera zooms away from the level access point, flies over the village to the lakeside in rapid motion, then rotates around the windmill and eventually shows a shot of Petey Piranha on the rooftop with a Shine Sprite over his head. Mario has to take the same path like in the previous episode, and then ascend the windmill (which is very similar to the mountain of the Big Bob-Omb in Super Mario 64) until he reaches Petey Piranha. A cutscene will show both of them crashing through the roof into the interior of the windmill, where a boss battle will then commence.

During the battle, Petey will either use his head to swipe at Mario, or open his mouth to spit a large amount of brown goop. The moment he opens his mouth, Mario should use FLUDD to fill the Piranha Plant with water. Petey will then swell and fall over, giving Mario an opportunity to attack his belly with a Ground Pound. The player has to repeat that procedure another two times until Petey dissolves into goop and releases his Shine Sprite.

Episode 3: The Hillside Cave Secret
At the beginning, the player can see the camera showing a cave at the mountainside right over the lake. Mario has to travel to this cave in order to receive a Shine Sprite. Since the goop is gone from the level, the gate connecting the two big level areas has been re-opened and Mario can simply pass through it. To reach the cave, Mario can make use of several platforms and ropes below the bridge to the windmill. Dodging the Spiky Rings along the way, he makes his way towards his destination.

When Mario enters the cave, Shadow Mario will show up and steal FLUDD, leaving him on his own. Mario has to rely on his jumping skills alone to pass the various criss-crossing blocks, large cubes which attempt to push him off into a Bottomless Pit, and rotating stars that build a floating path. At the end near a palm tree, a Shine Sprite awaits. After Mario cleared this level, he can access it with FLUDD and a Red Coin challenge awaits.

Episode 4: Red Coins of Windmill Village
The Episode begins with a shot of Windmill Village, zooming over the buildings. This episode is a Red Coin challenge, so Mario has to collect eight Red Coins that are hidden all over the village to make a Shine Sprite appear. The coins can be found on top of the various buildings, but some of them are also hidden on the great wall that separates the village from the lakeside. Spiky Rings and Wind Duppies will try to impede the players progress, so they have to be avoided. Mario can make the great wooden platforms in the middle of the village rotate by squirting water at the big, windmill-like objects attached to them. After he collected every Red Coin, a Shine Sprite will appear on a platform high above the village, which can be accessed through a rope.

Episode 5: Petey Piranha Strikes Back
This Episode, which parodies the name of the movie Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (even parodying the level's episode number, since this is the fifth episode), sets in with another shot of Windmill Village, but this time, the entire Village is covered in goop. Some of the villagers are buried under the substance, so Mario has to free them. The villagers will tell Mario they saw a huge plant creature venturing to the cliffs north of town. Mario can make his way up to the cliffside using FLUDD, or he can make use of a Pianta near the cliff who will throw Mario away when he talks to him. If the timing is right, the player can use this to make Mario get tossed up on top of the cliffs. There he will once again find Petey Piranha, sleeping. Mario can make the big plant wake up by shooting a Thingus at him, which will cause Petey to move over and harass the village.

Petey Piranha will use his leaves to move through the air and hover over Windmill Village. Occasionally, he will spit blobs of goop at Mario. Mario has to bring him down by shooting water or a thingus at him, while he is not moving (Petey is invulnerable while in motion). This will cause Petey to fall down and allow Mario to attack him. On the ground, Petey can cause tornadoes that blow Mario away, or use the same goop-spitting attack like in the second Episode. Like before, Mario has to fill him up with water until he falls over and attack his belly to harm him. Petey will then rise into the air and has to be brought down again.

Episode 6: The Secret of the Dirty Lake
The introduction of this episode shows a shot of the lakeside and zooms over the lake. The lake has become polluted with toxic Goop, turning the water into an expansive health hazard for Mario. He must therefore find the source of the pollution, which comes in the form of the Cliff Spring Cave, a small cave near the lake with toxic Goop oozing out of it. Mario must make effective use of the lily pads floating on the surface of the lake to move carefully over to the cave. However, the player must be extremely cautious, as the poisonous effect of the toxic water causes the lily pads to rot away if Mario remains on them for too long. Alternately, he can simply perform a Spin Jump from the path near the Big Windmill and then use the Hover Nozzle to reach several floating logs near the mouth of the cave.

Inside the cave, another secret level challenge awaits Mario, who again has F.L.U.D.D. taken away from him by Shadow Mario. The challenge consists of various red and blue platforms that alternately flip over, floating cubes that rotate in midair (forcing Mario to switch his position on the cube if he doesn’t want to fall off), and a pair of fast-moving triangular blocks that will try to push Mario off the ledge. The player also has the opportunity to collect two 1-Up Mushrooms along the way. At the end of the level, near a palm tree, the Shine Sprite awaits. A timed Red Coin challenge can be accessed if Mario re-enters this level after he has already completed it the first time.

Episode 7: Shadow Mario on the Loose
This is the Shadow Mario Episode of Bianco Hills. The player has to complete it in order to get access to the final level and beat the final boss. The Episode sets in with a view of the level access area and zooms in on Shadow Mario who is waiting in front of the wet slope. Mario has to pursue him through Windmill Village and spray him with water until he gives up and releases a Shine Sprite. For some unexplained reason, Shadow Mario is shown swimming through the river that runs through Windmill Village without taking damage.

Episode 8: The Red Coins of the Lake
The final Episode of this level is completely optional and not needed in order to reach the final stage. It sets in with a shot of the lake surface which is now completely free of any goop and zooms further over the water. Mario has to collect another set of eight Red Coins in order to complete this challenge. The coins are positioned over the lake and Mario has to use wooden platforms and ropes to collect all of them, while avoiding Spiky Rings and Wind Duppies which will try to make him fall down. FLUDD's Rocket Nozzle, which can be found, in some places of this level, can prove useful when trying to reach the ropes that are tighted over the lake. A Yoshi Egg can be found at the beginning of the level and hatched with one of the several fruits that lie around all over the landscape. However, Yoshi has no significant use in this Episode.

Official Profiles and Statistics
''This lush community of villas is located at the foot of Corona Mountain. Its famous windmills spin peacefully in the gentle sea breezes.''

Trivia

 * In Italian, the word "bianco" means white.