The 121st Star

The 121st Star is an anomalous Power Star that can be found in many personalized copies. It was one of the most popular rumors when Super Mario 64 was released. The way to get the 121st Star was very inconsistent, though some methods were more common than others.

List of Methods
Below is a list of some of the many ways to supposedly unlock the 121st Star. Note that some of these may be fabricated due to the widespread nature of this rumor.


 * Collecting 100 coins in The Princess' Secret Slide, which is impossible without cheats in standard copies.
 * Collecting the star seen in Unused Level 99.
 * Somehow activating the Toad's Tool 64 Star.
 * Grabbing any star from unused courses/sub areas implemented by the A.I.
 * Backwards Long Jumping into an area containing the star.
 * Finding a second Secret Aquarium and obtaining a star there.
 * Completing a seventh mission in any course, despite there only being 6 missions and a 100 coin star in standard copies.
 * Obtaining 8 red coins in a Yellow Cap Switch level, similarly to the other 3 cap switch levels.
 * Obtaining it from Yoshi upon speaking to him, along with the other gifts obtained from them. This does not happen in standard copies.
 * Reaching the Behind the Waterfall area.
 * Finding a 4th star-giving Toad.
 * Finding a 3rd MIPS the Rabbit, or Mipsy.
 * Finding a 16th course or new secret level and collecting one of the stars.
 * Using the Vanish Cap to get behind the mirror in the Second Floor.
 * Obtaining the star at the end of Bowser in the Sky. Notably, this does not increment the star counter in standard copies.
 * Obtaining the Eternal Star.

Trivia

 * A similar rumor exists for the DS version about a "151st" star.