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 Big 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, Delfino Plaza 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. It was composed by Koji Kondo.

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 Big Windmill, next to a Goop Generator.

From the start of the level, Mario can look down to see Delfino Plaza and Ricco Harbor. Mario can not jump down due to an invisible wall stopping him. Even if there wasn't an invisible wall, Mario will lose a life like as if he fell into a bottomless pit.

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 popping out of the Goop Generator that keep rolling over the terrain, leaving a trail of goop behind. Mario has to battle a Polluted Piranha Plant 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 Big Windmill and battle Petey Piranha, making this the only episode in the entire game that can be skipped. Also, if Mario talks to a Pianta on the way up, he'll say that Mario is getting ahead of himself. This may be a reference to Super Mario 64, where Mario can frequently get Power Stars which are not necessarily in his current objective.


 * Enemies
 * Swoopin' Stu
 * Seedy Pod
 * Piranhabon
 * Polluted Piranha Plant

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 Big 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. He must then carefully traverse the large gap in the bridge using the Hover Nozzle, after which he has to continue to walk along the trail leading up to the Big Windmill. The players must be careful not to fall off the side or touch the rolling Piranhabons or Goop, until they reach the curved ramp leading partway up the Big Windmill.

Climbing up this ramp, Mario must now avoid Piranha Plants and more Goop, while periodically using the Hover Nozzle to maneuver around the spiky vines blocking the way. When he finally reaches the top of the ramp, Mario will see the four fan blades of the Big Windmill rotating just above a small landing with a Pianta on it. He must now jump onto one of the platforms located on the ends of the each of the four fan blades and wait until he is gradually carried to the top of the Big Windmill by the fan blades' rotation. Petey Piranha will be waiting on the roof of the Big Windmill, which Mario must jump onto. A brief cutscene will show Petey Piranha screeching, followed by both of them crashing through the roof and landing inside the interior of the Big Windmill, where a boss battle will ensue.

For the duration of the battle, Petey will be positioned at the center of the circular interior of the Big Windmill. There will be Goop covering part of the battle area, and Swoopin' Stus and Piranha Plants will emerge from the Goop to attack the player. During the battle, Petey will either use his head to swipe at Mario, or open his mouth to spit out a large quantity of brown Goop. The moment he opens his mouth, Mario must use F.L.U.D.D. to fill Petey Pirahna's belly with water. Petey's stomach will then swell, and he will fall over, giving Mario an opportunity to Ground Pound his belly button, which will cause him to spit the water back up and sustain damage. The player must repeat this procedure an additional two times, after which Petey will dissolve into a mass of brown Goop and releases his Shine Sprite for the player to collect.


 * Enemies
 * Swoopin' Stu
 * Seedy Pod
 * Piranhabon
 * Piranha Plant
 * Petey Pirahna

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.


 * Enemies
 * Seedy Pod
 * Coo Coo
 * Pokey
 * Pokey Sprouts
 * Spiky Rings

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.


 * Enemies
 * Wind Duppies
 * Spiky Rings
 * Coo Coo

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-Blue Flipping Platforms, 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 is 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. F.L.U.D.D.'s Rocket Nozzle, which can be found, in some places of this level, can prove useful when trying to reach the ropes high 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, being the only level in Bianco Hills that has Yoshi in it. However, Yoshi has no significant use in this episode, besides perhaps collecting Blue Coins in the form of blue Butterflies.

Secret Shine 1: Red Coins of the Hillside Cave
In this level, Mario must replay the The Hillside Cave Secret level, though this time he must enter the Hillside Cave and collect eight Red Coins. If he manages to collect them all before the 1:00 time limit is up, a Shine Sprite will be revealed.

Secret Shine 2: Red Coins of the Dirty Lake
In this level, Mario must replay the The Secret of the Dirty Lake level, though this time he must enter the Cliff Spring Cave and collect eight Red Coins. If he manages to collect them all before the 1:30 time limit is up, a Shine Sprite will be revealed. This time, Mario has the aid of F.L.U.D.D., so the level is a lot easier.

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.
 * Ironically, in all the languages besides Italian, the name uses "bianco" instead of the translation of "white".