Persistence
Persistence is a property that refers to the circumstances under which the changes caused by an action (such as collecting an item or killing an enemy) will "persist", or remain the same without resetting back to its default state.
As an example, killing an enemy results in a change; namely, that the enemy is no longer there. Running a distance away from this enemy's spawn point and then returning will revert this change, by causing the enemy to respawn. Therefore, this change is said to have local persistence (described in further detail below).
Categories of persistence
There are four different levels of persistence: save file, kingdom, scene and local. Each refers to a different requirement for the change to be reverted.
Save file persistence
Save file persistence refers to changes that are permanent with regard to the save file they are performed on, and cannot be reverted unless one starts the game over on a new file. Some examples of actions with save file persistence include:
- Collecting a new Power Moon or Multi Moon for the first time
- Collecting new regional coins for the first time
- Collecting a large coin stack
- Planting a small seed in a pot
- Planting a large seed (with the exception of those used to access loading zones)
- Opening a door with a red hat emblem
Kingdom persistence
Kingdom persistence refers to changes that remain until one travels to a different kingdom; entering a sub-world will not reset them. This is the least common type of persistence, and most of the actions in this category are obscure or lesser-known. Some examples of these actions include:
- Collecting new Moon Shards for the first time
- Breaking a cage, as seen in the Sand Kingdom and Lost Kingdom
- Breaking fossils in the Cascade Kingdom using Chain Chomps or the T-Rex
- Draining the moat in the Mushroom Kingdom
- Lighting the lanterns in the Cap Kingdom using Cappy
- Defeating Madame Broode in the Underground Moon Caverns
- Placing sheep in a sheep pen
- Defeating an Astro-Lanceur
- Collecting the coins leading into the Employees Only room in the Sand Kingdom
Interestingly, if one travels to another kingdom via a Warp Painting, the kingdom-persisting changes from the previous kingdom will not be reset. The game retains these changes for the current kingdom and one previous kingdom, but only if a Warp Painting is used for travel. Traveling to another kingdom using the Odyssey will always reset these changes.
Scene persistence
Scene persistence refers to changes that do not revert until the player loads a new scene. (In most cases, this is equivalent to entering a different level, but there are a few instances of levels that exist in the same stage, such as the Metro Kingdom overworld and the New Donk City Hall Auditorium.) The majority of changes fall into this category. Some examples include:
- Collecting gray Power Moons, Moon Shards or regional coins
- Causing a Power Moon, coins or a heart to spawn
- Collecting coins (with the exception of those leading into the Employees Only room)
- Hitting a ? Block
- Breaking most objects, including crates, blocks and nuts
- Planting a large seed that is used to access a loading zone
There are some changes that have scene-level persistence but have alternative ways to revert them besides loading a new scene. One example of this is removing a hat from an enemy – while it can be reverted by loading a new scene, it will also be reverted if the enemy is killed and allowed to respawn.
Local persistence
The final category of persistence is local persistence, which refers to changes that can be reverted simply by moving a certain distance away from the location of the change, or in some cases, by pointing the camera away. The main example of this type of persistence is killing certain enemies (such as Mini Goombas).