Notable Star Relocation

Notable Star Relocation is an anomaly where stars found in certain levels are drastically changed in location and/or the circumstances for spawning it. These often have vastly different goals than the original, such as shifting from fighting a boss to finding the star somewhere else in the level.

This anomaly appears similar in nature to Dynamic Level Rearrangement, which also commonly appears alongside Notable Star Relocation, though if it is actually a part of Dynamic Level Rearrangement or a separate anomaly is unclear. It is believed to most commonly recreate stars from earlier builds of Super Mario 64, though can deviate from this pattern.

Notable Star Relocation appears to mainly replace stars that have a minimal impact on the course, or are relatively easy or quick to collect. It is believed to do this to keep the main theme of the course in tact. However, other missions have been replaced, likely due to being similar to that mission.

Examples
Below is a list of examples of Notable Star Relocation. Note that these may differ from some personalized copies and are simply the most common manifestations.

The Easy Way Out
The Easy Way Out is one of the most inconsistent examples of Notable Star Relocation. It most commonly replaces the Shoot To The Island In The Sky mission of Bob-omb Battlefield. It is usually tied to the gate found in the level's canyon.

Surfing Through The Flaming Sea
Surfing Through The Flaming Sea appears in Lethal Lava Land, replacing Boil The Big Bully. In this mission, the player has to use a Koopa shell to surf over the lava to reach the star.

Meet The Penguin Family
Meet The Penguin Family appears in Cool, Cool Mountain, replacing Lil' Penguin Lost. This is another inconsistent instance of Notable Star Relocation, though is often related to the Penguins found in the level.

Drain The Dock
Drain The Dock appears in Dire, Dire Docks, replacing Collect The Caps. In this mission, the player has to find a way to drain either part of the course, either spawning a star or allowing access to an area containing the star.

Break The Box
Break The Box appears in Jolly Roger Bay, replacing Through The Jet Stream. In this mission, the player has to find a way to break the box found on top of the afloat ship, often by ground pounding it. Breaking the box will spawn the star.

Climbing The Mast
Climbing The Mast appears in Jolly Roger Bay, replacing Through The Jet Stream. In this mission, the player has to climb a mast that appears on the afloat ship, to reach the star on top of the mast.

Break Down The Wall
Break Down The Wall appears in Whomp's Fortress, replacing Blast Away The Wall. In this mission, the player has to break the wall that would contain the Whomp's Fortress 1-Up. The star will appear in place of the 1-up.

Sliding Down For 8 Red Coins
Sliding Down For 8 Red Coins appears in Tall, Tall Mountain, replacing Scary 'Shrooms, Red Coins. In this mission, the player has to obtain the 8 red coins in the level in the slide segment of the course, with the star appearing at the end of the slide.

Open The 4 Pillars
Open The 4 Pillars appears in Shifting Sand Land, replacing Pyramid Puzzle. In this mission, the player has to stand on the 4 pillars found in the main part of the course, which will remove the pyramid's top and reveal the star. Notably, the hole leading into the pyramid will usually disappear when this star manifests. This example of Notable Star Relocation usually appears alongside Hand To Hand Combat.

Hand To Hand Combat
Hand To Hand Combat appears in Shifting Sand Land, replacing Stand Tall On 4 Pillars. In this mission, the player has to reach Eyerok's chamber without using the hole in the top of the pyramid, likely due to stairs being in the pyramid leading to the entrance. The player must then fight Eyerok and obtain the star like usual. This example of Notable Star Relocation usually appears alongside Open The 4 Pillars.

Run-Away Chain Chomp
Run-Away Chain Chomp appears in Bob-omb Battlefield, replacing Shoot To The Island In The Sky. In this mission, the player has to take the star from the tail of the Chain Chomp similarly to the Can The Eel Come Out To Play? mission of Jolly Roger Bay. The Chain Chomp will be detached from it's pole, and instead be jumping around the course similarly to the Silver Star mission in Bob-omb Battlefield seen in Super Mario 64 DS.

Flood The Town
Flood The Town appears in Wet-Dry World, replacing Quick Race Through Downtown. This mission is inconsistent, though has to do with flooding the downtown part of the level. This usually allows the player to reach a small area containing the mission's star. Rarely, a unique NPC is reported to appear in this mission to give Mario the star after the town is flooded.

Stomp The Goombas
Stomp The Goombas appears in Tiny-Huge Island, replacing Pluck The Piranha Flower. In this mission, the player has to defeat several large Goombas found in the huge part of the level, spawning a star.

Open Snowman's Mouth
Open Snowman's Mouth appears in Snowman's Land, replacing Whirl From The Freezing Pond. In this mission, the player has to find a way to open the large snowman's mouth, which will allow access to the star. The snowman will either spit the star out or allow access to an area inside of the mouth which will contain the star.

Eye To Eye In The Underground Waterway
Eye To Eye In The Underground Waterway appears in Big Boo's Haunt, replacing Eye To Eye In The Secret Room. In this mission, the player has to find the Big Mr. I in the basement section of the course and then defeat it, which will spawn the star. Notably, when this example of Notable Star Relocation appears, the room the Big Mr. I appears inside in standard copies usually disappears.

Theorizing
It is believed that Notable Star Relocation is the result of the Personalization A.I. recreating stars from early builds of Super Mario 64, while also creating entirely new stars, possibly as a malfunction. Why exactly this is done is unknown, though it is likely a result of Dynamic Level Rearrangement and the AI personalizing the game to the player.