Isle Delfino

Isle Delfino is a tropical island which appears in the Mario franchise. It is a vacation resort consisting of several attractions, and its capital area is Delfino Plaza. Isle Delfino is primarily inhabited by Piantas and Nokis. Isle Delfino makes its first and most notable appearance in Super Mario Sunshine in which it is the main setting.

"Delfino" is the Italian word for "dolphin," which Isle Delfino is in the shape of. The dolphin shape of the island is a reference to "Project Dolphin," which was the Nintendo GameCube's code name in early stages of its development.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine's intro, Mario, Princess Peach, and Toadsworth are on the Toad Express, traveling to Isle Delfino. As the plane approach the island, a welcome video starts playing on the in-flight screen. In it, a Pianta welcomes tourists to Isle Delfino, highlighting their quality resort facilities, an amusement park, and seafood. The Toad Express lands on the Delfino Airstrip, albeit slightly askew because of a massive multicolored Goop near the center of the runway. Delfino Airstrip is the first location that Mario visits on Isle Delfino, and is where he meets F.L.U.D.D., who allows him to clean the Goop and defeat the Gatekeeper within it. In doing so, Mario earns his first Shine Sprite, but the Isle Delfino Police suddenly come to arrest him.

In the following court trial, Mario is wrongfully charged with the crime of covering Isle Delfino in Goop and stealing all of the Shine Sprites, both of which were actually done by Shadow Mario. The Shine Sprites collectively belong at the Shine Gate, serving as a light source for Isle Delfino, especially Delfino Plaza, to prevent it from being covered in darkness. The trial concludes that Mario is ordered to clean all of the Goop and retrieve all of the Shine Sprites and that he may not leave Isle Delfino until he has done so.

At Pinna Park, it is revealed that Shadow Mario is Bowser Jr., who is specifically responsible for polluting Isle Delfino. Later on, when Mario defeats both Bowser Jr. and Bowser at Corona Mountain, he and the others are free to enjoy the rest of their vacation at Isle Delfino. The end credits show photographs of Mario and the others doing various activities around Isle Delfino.

Trivia

 * In the real world, there is an archipelago named off the coast of, and one of its islands, Gallo Lungo, is coincidentally shaped like a dolphin. Unlike Isle Delfino, Gallo Lungo does not have a dorsal fin-like shape on the side, and the tail fin is connected to the main island instead of being a separate one.