Super Mario 64 is full of diverse worlds, but Dire Dire Docks greatly stands out by having the game’s only mandatory level, as players have to complete its first mission to progress to the second Bowser stage. If that wasn’t odd enough, this small industrial port is far more small and compact than nearly any level in the game, including its swimming level peers Jolly Roger Bay and Wet-Dry World.

If anyone plans to collect every star in the game, they’ll have to come back to collect seven different stars. With how constrained this environment is, it’s easy to get confused or overwhelmed by the density of stars and objects, so here’s exactly how to get each one of them as efficiently as possible.

7 Board Bowser’s Sub

The first star takes a little time to reach, but it’s fairly straightforward and allows the player to explore the level before coming back for harder challenges. Simply swim down the large watery pit beside the spawn point, and there will be a circular tunnel on the wall near the bottom. Swim through it to reach the port section of the level, and there’ll be a massive submarine with a star on top.

There’s a large purple button that can make temporary platforms to climb, to save a little time a player can just climb on the rudder at the back of the submarine and walk right up. The star is just near the front of the ship with no enemies or obstacles in the way.

6 Chests in the Current

This is one of the trickier levels in the world, mostly because it involves being underwater and risking damage. At the bottom of the starting area are several treasure chests, and the player just has to swim over and touch them in the correct order. The first chest is the one directly next to a clam, then just swim counterclockwise around the area to open the others.

The last chest is the one on top of the hill, and it’s important to be careful. Going into this whirlpool is the biggest hazard in the game, and even swimming by the final chest is close enough to start sucking the player in. Be ready to swim fast when going for the last one and retreat over to where the star spawns.

5 Pole-Jumping for Red Coins

This is a level that can be somewhat frustrating, but more because it’ll cause players to waste time instead of lives. Swim through the tunnel to the port section and hit the large purple button on the docks by the wall, and it’ll bring you up to several moving poles on the ceiling with red coins floating in midair and in cages around the room.

Falling won’t be fatal since it’s only water underneath, and there are no troublesome enemies in this section, so it’s unlikely to need a restart. However, swimming back to the platform switch to get back to the ceiling can be time-consuming, so camera controls frequently and jump between poles carefully.

4 100 Coin Star

Like every world in Super Mario 64, this level has one unnamed star that requires the player to get 100 coins, but this one is much easier than the others. As a result, it can be most convenient to complete this at the same time as the Red Coin star, since both can be collected in the same mission so long as the 100 Coin Star is nabbed first.

There are only a few more than 100 coins in the level, so players have to scavenge both sections fully. To do this most efficiently, try grabbing all the regular coins in the starting area before moving to the port area to save from going back and forth, and with enough time all of them can be found.

3 Through the Jet Stream

When heading towards the purple switch in the previous star, some might have noticed a pair of power-up boxes sitting in cages right next to it. These are for the Vanish Cap and Metal Cap, both of which are needed to get two stars in this stage, so make sure to unlock both from their secret areas. The Vanish Cap’s level is through a door hidden in the moat surrounding Princess Peach’s Castle, and the Metal Cap’s level is through a black pool in Hazy Maze Cave.

For Through the Jet Stream, players only need the Metal Cap. Swim into the port area and swim from above the jet shooting form the floor, which should be shooting out translucent rings if players choose this star after jumping through the entrance. After enough rings, a star should appear inside, but to get it, go to the surface to grab a Metal Cap from the dock by the purple switch, and then just sink down into the jet.

2 The Manta Ray’s Reward

This star is much more difficult than the rest, but just like Pole-Jumping for Red Coins, there’s little consequence for failing besides taking lots of time. In the starting area is now a Manta Ray swimming through the water, with rings spawning from its tail just like in Through the Jet Stream.

Swim through five of these rings, and the star will spawn precariously above the deadly vortex. These rings can sometimes not register if the player isn’t centered enough, but if players use the slower flutter kick swim by holding A, it’ll give them far better controls so that they can go through the exact center of each ring.

1 Collect the Caps…

It doesn’t come up often, but one bizarre aspect of Super Mario 64’s power-ups is that they can stack together, meaning players can wear several caps all at once if they’re close to each other. That’s exactly what players need for Collect the Caps…, which requires you to wear the Metal Cap and the Vanish Cap at the same time.

Just go to the boxes in the port area, and the Metal Cap will help you sink to the bottom faster than you can swim. Once at the bottom, you should see a star inside a sealed red cage at the bottom of the water along the wall, which you can walk through thanks to the Vanish Cap. Once inside, this final star of Dire Dire Docks is all yours.

NEXT: Super Mario: Ranking All 9 Levels In Super Mario Sunshine