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SMS Guide

Pinna 4

Pinna 4 is a commonly disliked shine. Water droplet RNG, Mario’s position, and avoiding damage inflicted by the Snooza Koopas can all affect whether you can hit a successful one cycle.

Video Explanation

One cycle vs two cycle strats

A “cycle” in Pinna 4 refers to when a player is forced to watch the “flower restoration/healing” cutscene until the large flower spawns the Shine Sprite. After any single Snooza Koopa is fully eliminated (disappears), the player will have a short window to act until the cutscene triggers.

  • Ideally you want to eliminate all five Snooza Koopas before the cutscene triggers. This is a one cycle.
  • An easier strat involves eliminating 3 Koopas during one cycle, then eliminating the 2 remaining ones in a second cycle.
  • A backup one cycle may involve eliminating 4 Koopas in one cycle or any combination of 5 Koopas in two cycles.
Tips for Koopa Management - Click for Details
  • Each Snooza Koopa must be sprayed for a certain lenght of time to be awakened.
  • When a Snooza Koopa wakes up, you can hear a “popping” sound. Use this audio cue to confirm how many Koopas are awake.
  • You must properly aggro the Snooza Koopas so that they land on the sand. If they land on grass, they won’t be vulnerable to attack.
  • If at any point you take damage from a Snooza Koopa, you will reset their aggro and must get their attention again UNLESS they have begun to attack.
  • A Snooza Koopa begins their attack once they shuffle their fins on the sand, which is both an audio and visual cue.
  • After eliminating a few Koopas, the remaining Koopas will become vulnerable for less time than the previous ones (the fight becomes harder).

Strat Demos

Watch these videos and make note of where these runners position Mario for each step.

Two Cycle (3-2)

One Cycle (Right Side)

Intermediate

One Cycle (Left Side)

Intermediate, potentially faster

One Cycle (Left Side, GP Damage Cancel)

Advanced

Final tips

  • You can delay your groundpound on the first Snooza Koopa to give you more leniency in eliminating the remaining Koopas. This sacrifices speed for lower difficulty.
  • In between cycles, if a Koopa is awake and aggros on you, Mario can be pushed towards the water by a Koopa. Stay away from the remaining Koopas to avoid this.