Secret of the Haunted Books

Discover the Secret of the Haunted Books in Super Mario 3D All-Stars! Follow our walkthrough to solve the library puzzle and grab the star, or learn the tricky balcony jump.

Alright, let's dive into the 'Secret of the Haunted Books' in Super Mario 64! As soon as you get control, head straight into the mansion through the main doors. Once you're in the lobby, jump up the stairs and look to your left. You'll see three doors; you want to go through the middle one to enter the library.

Now, this room has a little surprise: as you move forward, books will start flying out from the shelves! Don't worry, there's nothing you can do to stop them, so just try to move through this section as quickly as you can. Keep going until you turn a corner, and you'll see three specific books sticking out from the shelves.

These books are part of a puzzle. Hitting them in the right order will make them recede back into the shelf, revealing a hidden door. If you hit the wrong one, a nasty 'Bookend' will pop out and smack you for some damage. Since there are only three, it's not too hard to figure out through trial and error, but if you want the direct answer, here it is: the correct order to hit the books is 2, then 3, then 1.

Hit them in that sequence (2-3-1), and the bookshelf will slide open, showing the path to your star. Grab it and you're done with this part!

Alternate Star:

There's also a way to snag this star without messing with the book puzzle at all! Head up to the second floor of the mansion and go through the door on the far left. This will put you out on a balcony. The star is across from you, but the jump is a bit tricky. You'll need to perform a Double Jump. For the second jump, make sure to hold the analog stick to the left. While you're in the air during that second jump, quickly pull the stick in the opposite direction (to the right) just enough to make Mario do a kick in the air instead of a dive. This should give you the extra distance needed to reach the star. You might even be able to pull off a Triple Jump if you time it perfectly!