Super Mario World ----------------- Copyright 2005 Brian McPhee Author: Brian McPhee E-mail: Kirby0215@aol.com Most Recent Update: December 31, 2005 Originally Created: May 19, 2005 Version 1.0 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------Table of Contents--------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Section 1* Introduction* Navigation* Storyline* Items & Points* Enemies* Controls* Section 2* Yoshi's Island* Donut Plains* Vanilla Dome* The Twin Bridges* Forest of Illusion* Chocolate Island* Valley of Bowser* Section 3* Yoshi's Island Secret* Donut Plains Secret* Vanilla Dome Secret* The Twin Bridges Secret* Forest of Illusion Secret* Chocolate Island Secret* Valley of Bowser Secret* Section 4* Star Road* Special World* Section 5* Enemy Changes* Goals Checklist* Minimalist Quest* Top Secret Area* GBA/SNES Changes* FAQ* Section 6* Credits and Legal Information* ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ / \ / \ ||----------------------------Section 1*-----------------------------|| \ / \_________________________________________________________________/ ======================================================================= =============================Introduction*============================= ======================================================================= Good day. It is yet another walkthrough (# 30 for me) by Kirby021591, and you're reading it. It is for Super Mario World, what is perhaps the best platform game ever created. Now, out of that, let's get to the real introduction. Super Mario World was the launch game of the new Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1990/1991/1992 (in Japan, North America, and Europe, respectively). We were all rallied up after beating the Super Mario Bros. trilogy, and it couldn't get better. But it did, and it came in the form of this game. This is my favorite platform game, probably yours too, and I was saving it as my thirtieth guide so that it would fall on a multiple of 15, my lucky number (Super Mario 64 DS was my fifteenth). First off, this game has astounding graphics. After looking at this, the NES will look like trash. Everything is bright, colorful, generated so perfectly for the setting, and the graphics are right for this game. But, graphics, as good as they are, take a backseat to the real story here - game play. In the original Super Mario Bros. (and in # 3, too), all Mario could do was jump, press B to shoot a fireball, and walk. In this game, Mario can jump, press B to shoot a fireball, and walk, but he can do a ton more, too (as can Luigi). Mario can do a new type of jump, he can make huge soaring leaps, he can ride a dinosaur named Yoshi, he can swallow enemies (and many other things with Yoshi), and plenty more. Unfortunately, though it is hardly noticeable, the Koopalings are back for this game. But, they make for good bosses because of variety (not every fight is exactly like the last one only with one new element to increase difficulty, like Super Mario Bros., quite a few bosses in Super Mario Bros. 2, and the Koopalings of Super Mario Bros. 3). If I had to rate this game, I'd give it a ten out of ten. It also proves once and for all something we've always known in our hearts. Like Disney, worlds are always better than lands. And there's always a bit more to do, too. The game counts how much of it you've beaten out of 96 goals. Can you get all 100 %? Let's find out! By the by, should you happen to see my guide on any site other than GameFaqs or its affiliated sites, please inform me via e-mail. With your help, this walkthrough will not be plagiarized. Thanks a million, my friends. As a note to posterity and all future readers of this guide, this walkthrough was completed on one of the greatest days in the history of pop culture. Yes, _Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith_ was released today - May 19, 2005. Just remember, my padawan... The saga may end, but the Force shall forever be with us. ======================================================================= ==============================Navigation*============================== ======================================================================= So, wondering why there are asterisks (*) after each section title? They are there to distinguish section title text from the rest of it, and mainly for navigational purposes. If you press CTRL and F (that's Apple and F on Macs), a search box is brought up to search the document for any text you'd like. Type in the section title, asterisk and all, and then click Find/Search. You'll first be taken to the Table of Contents, and then to the beginning of that section. But seriously, the asterisks add a decorative touch. ======================================================================= ==============================Storyline*=============================== ======================================================================= The storyline isn't great, but it doesn't have to be. We have a great setup as far as Super Mario Bros. 3 elements go, and it ties in well with the game. Below is a summary. +---------------------+ | Story Summary | +---------------------+ After being defeated by Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 3, Bowser and his children - the Koopalings - crashed their flying warship into the seas of Dinosaur Land. This strange land is home to a race of dinosaurs known as Yoshis, and Bowser made quick work of enslaving the inhabitants, kidnapping several Yoshi children, and building fortresses all over the continent to keep his prisoners in, guarded by his seven rejects (also known as his children). Coincidentally, Mario and Luigi wanted to relax after that long fight against the Koopa Troop they had in Super Mario Bros. 3, and so they decided to vacation to Dinosaur Land. As they relaxed on the beach, however, Princess Toadstool (who had come for the ride) was kidnapped! Mario and Luigi got to searching for her when they found a gigantic egg in the forest (really not that big, actually). It hatched right away (how convenient!) and out came a green dinosaur named Yoshi. He explained that Bowser had taken over Dinosaur Land and kidnapped his brethren. Yoshi gave Mario a cape he could use in his quests, as well as his assistance, and so the trio were motivated to rescue Yoshi's herd members by defeating the Koopalings and eventually finding Princess Toadstool, undoubtedly held captive by Bowser, King Koopa. Not half-bad if I do say so myself. Below I'll make a list of the cast of characters. +-----------------------+ | Game Characters | +-----------------------+ Mario: Mario is the plumber in red, also known as Super Mario and Mr. Nintendo. Mario has quite the interesting history. He was first introduced in the arcade classic, Donkey Kong. Graphics were rather bad back then, and so his system dictated how Mario looked. Mouths and hair were hard to animate, and so he took up a mustache and hat. To give the illusion that his arms were moving when he ran, he wore overalls. And of course, red is an easy color to generate, and so naturally he took it up. And so, due to the laziness of programmers, Mario was born. However, he was named Jumpman at first because of his jumping prowess. Apparently, when Minoru Arakawa, the president of Nintendo of America, saw Jumpman for the first time, the name "Mario" came right to mind. It resembled, apparently, Mario Segali, the landlord of the NOA (Nintendo of America) building. Also, another pun in Nintendo names (there are hundreds), "marui" means "round" in Japanese, and Mario is known for his pudgy appearance. Furthermore, Mario was originally a carpenter because he was working on a construction site. However, because he could travel through pipes in Mario Bros., a future title of his, he became a plumber. Furthermore, he was an Italian-American from Brooklyn, New York. He remained Italian, but he was changed to be from Mushroom Kingdom in Super Mario World 2. Anyways, you've learned much about Mario, but let us now dwell on the more recent part of his life. Mario is a hero in many a game (he has appeared in more video games than any other video game character of any console of any system). He rescues Princess Toadstool often, who is his speculated love interest, along with is overshadowed brother Luigi. The king of jumps continue to thwart his varied rivals, and he even finds time to party, play tennis, golf, and play basketball and baseball. What a guy! Luigi: The eternal understudy is always in the shadow of his glory-hog brother. Luigi is younger than Mario, and he is a thinner, taller, and greener version of the guy. They were depicted as twins in Super Mario World 2, but they clearly are not. Luigi accompanies his big brother on most of his outings, starting with their Brooklyn sewers tour in Mario Bros. in arcades. Luigi got his name from the Japanese name "ruiji," meaning similar, but also because it is an Italian name. Luigi is green because it is, like red, a very easy color to generate. Luigi has been playing second fiddle for ages, from Mario Bros. to future titles like Super Mario Sunshine. But, Luigi got thrown a bone a few times instead of being laughed at. Of course, Nintendo really disliked Luigi at first, and so he was the butt of many a cruel joke, particularly in how he was "helped out." Luigi starred in an edutainment title (edutainment = education + entertainment + garbage) called Mario is Missing (he can't even get his title in a game he stars in). In it, Luigi used his advanced knowledge of world geography and the history of such structures as the Empire State Building or the Eiffel Tower to track down Mario and stop Bowser from melting the polar ice caps. But, it was more of a slap in the face than a head start into Nintendo because the game absolutely reeked. In Paper Mario, mean brother Mario read Luigi's private diary. In it, Luigi recorded that, although he enjoyed partying with his friends, he'd like to star in a game of his own... with his name in the title. This was right before the release of the Game Cube in 2001, and it was around now that he started to be recognized as a serious character (in Mario Tennis for the N64, he got a girlfriend in Princess Daisy and a rival in Waluigi, for example). Well, lo and behold, Luigi's Mansion came out as the premiere game on the cube, and in it Luigi had to rescue his brother from King Boo, who had set up a rigged contest that Luigi won without even entering for a mansion (which turned out to be haunted and filled with Boos out to capture the Mario Bros.). So, things are looking up for the green machine. But, in this game, he will only be Player 2. Princess Toadstool: Man, she should not go on vacation. Princess Toadstool has been Mario's damsel in distress ever since Vs. Super Mario Bros. in the arcades. Before, Mario rescued Pauline (the name coming from "Perils of Pauline"), also known as "the Lady," from Donkey Kong. But, when Mushroom Kingdom was in dire straits, Mario came to her rescue by defeating Bowser so that this pretty princess in pink could reverse the hideous black magic of the Koopa Troop. Ever since, Mario has been at her side, only straying once to rescue Princess Daisy of Sarasaland. More notably, Princess Toadstool started being abducted more often, and not just by Bowser, although it would appear to be his hobby. Toadstool seems to be Mario's girlfriend, but nothing is affirmed in any of the games. Of course, it is extremely obvious, but we never really know. In any event, the two go on vacation together... Princess Toadstool got even more personal with Mario in Super Mario 64, in which she started going by the name Peach. Either name is correct, but I will refer to Princess Peach Toadstool as Toadstool throughout this guide because that was her name in this game. In Super Mario World, she plays the rescued character. What a bother it must be to be kidnapped every time you blink. Yoshi: Even since the first Super Mario Bros. game, Mr. Miyamoto (creator of Mario, Donkey Kong, and Link, to name a few) said that he wanted Mario to ride a trusty steed. Well, he could not on the NES for technical reasons, but he could on the new 16-bit system Nintendo released years later - the SNES. Yoshi fits the bill for a believable horse to Mario's knight, and he is a green (but peaceful) dinosaur with an elastic tongue, boots, and a saddle. He's just as cute as any dinosaur can be. Yoshi is also the name of the race - Yoshis are a species of dinosaur-like animals. Yoshis are all unisexual (there is only one gender among Yoshis), and they can all lay eggs. However, Yoshi is usually depicted as being male, despite his rather feminine tendencies and the rainbow-filled flowery world he lives in. They lay eggs by swallowing enemies, and they can also jump well to stomp them. Yoshi's boots allow him to jump and bounce on even spiked enemies, and his tongue will swallow just about anything. In fact, it was a group of Yoshis that defeated Baby Bowser in some of his earliest attempts at villainy, as well as one brave Yoshi who took Baby Mario to his parents despite the efforts of Baby Bowser and his caretaker Kamek. The Yoshi we all know and love, rather confusingly named Yoshi, appears in many later games, such as Super Mario 64 (DS, too) and all the party/sports Mario games. But, more often it is the race of Yoshis that make appearances, like the tropical fruit-eating breed on Isle Delfino in Super Mario Sunshine. In any case, Yoshi of this game is trying to rescue the babies of the Yoshi herd, and he became instantly popular. On an unrelated note, Yoshi is my favorite character to use in Super Smash Bros. What? The Koopalings/Koopa Kids: Ah! These wretched things are in this game? Ugh, if I had known I'd have brought a paper bag or something. I feel sick! Okay, I need to control myself... The Koopalings are Bowser's seven children that simply appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3 to be bosses. Unfortunately, we thought they went down with their ships (pun!) in Super Mario Bros. 3, but they survived. The Koopalings, seven in all, are stationed at fortresses in this game to defeat Mario. Even after this game, they reappear in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga eons later, and Larry Koopa appears in Super Mario Sunshine (when FLUDD scans Mario). Even more mind-boggling than their reappearances is the rather self-suggestive question of the origin of these children. I think that it proves beyond all doubt that Koopas can reproduce asexually. And, as it turns out, Bowser is creative with names. Because the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 3 did not give these cretins names, Americans were responsible for their oh-so-clever titles. Below I'll list their names, and what American pop culture reference is made (Ludwig von Koopa is what tipped people off to these losers being named after signers and news reporters). They are listed in order of how you fight them in Super Mario Bros. 3. Larry Koopa: Larry King Morton Koopa Jr.: Morton Downey Jr. Wendy O. Koopa: Wendy O. Williams Iggy Koopa: Iggy Pop Roy Koopa: Roy Orbison Lemmy Koopa: Lemmy of Motorhead Ludwig von Koopa: Ludwig von Beethoven Larry King is (or was. That guy must be retiring pretty soon, as he is quite old) a CNN talk show host, Morton Downey Jr. was also a talk show host in the 80's, Wendy O. Williams was a singer in the 80's band the Plasmatics, Iggy Pop is a singer from another 80's band of the same name, Roy Orbison was also a singer (responsible most notably for the songs "Pretty Woman" and "Only the Lonely"), Lemmy was the name of a singer in the band Motorhead, and Ludwig von Beethoven was a famous, rather deaf composer that lived from 1770-1827. Interestingly enough, many of them behave like those they are named after (for example, Roy Koopa wears sunglasses, and Roy Orbison often wore them, too). So, this clearly shows that Bowser is an MTV-watching pop junkie. In any case, directed at all the Canadians, Europeans, etc. reading this guide, you can thank the good old USA for these wonderfully crafted names. God bless America! Reznor: Reznor is the name of the quartet of fire-breathing rhino- looking dinosaurs who are the boss of every fortress in the game (castles are different from fortresses). Reznor is said to be under the spell of the Koopa, doing Bowser's bidding. They are very minor characters that do not reoccur in the Mario world, but they do have an interesting title. Like the Koopalings, Reznor takes its name from a famous singer - Trent Reznor of the band Nine Inch Nails. What an honor it must be to have a Mario boss named after you. Bowser: Bowser joins the ranks of Donkey Kong, Wario, Wart, Smithy, Cackletta, Tatanga, Grodus, King Boo, and others as one of Mario's archrivals, but Bowser is by far the biggest, baddest, and the most frequent of them. King Koopa was first introduced to us in Super Mario Bros. as the captor of Princess Toadstool. The ruthless "King of the Koopa" used his black Koopa magic to turn the residents of Mushroom Kingdom into horsehair grass, stones, and even coins, and he abducted Princess Toadstool to prevent her from undoing the spell (she was the only person who could reverse its ill effects). He was thwarted by Mario, or possibly by Luigi if you were playing a 2 Player Game, and Bowser fell into obscurity for a very brief time. That's because Super Mario Bros. 2 featured Wart in a Mario version of Doki Doki Panic, also known as American Super Mario Bros. 2. But, Bowser came back in force in Super Mario Bros. 3, and this time he brought the whole family. The Koopalings, all his wretched offspring, invaded many kingdoms in the "Mushroom World," transforming their kings into animals using their wands. They flew around in warships and Mario was forced to defeat all his children and liberate the kingdoms before he could move on to Bowser's home in the darkness where he had assembled an army complete with tanks. But even this was not enough to stop the stalwart plumber. Bowser has persisted, now kidnapping Toadstool just for the sport of it (or, as Paper Mario would have us believe, possibly because of his secret crush on Princess Toadstool...). Later on, the Koopalings were replaced by a rightful heir to the Koopa Royal Line throne - Bowser Jr. Bowser is Mario's recurring enemy, but the two worked together in Super Mario RPG (Bowser's castle was invaded, and it was to their mutual benefit to defeat the invader). Bowser is depicted in some games as a cunning mastermind (like in Super Mario 64), and in others like a buffoon (pretty much any Mario RPG game). He's a very dynamic character, that wily Koopa. In this game, he lucked out when his two enemies and his usual abduction victim waltzed right into his territory, but can he keep the plumbers down? And that's everything you needed to know and more about the characters in this game. Now, onto more pressing matters... ======================================================================= ============================Items & Points*============================ ======================================================================= Yoshi is not only a type of "item" or power-up, but he gives Mario a cape. So, they deserve to be classified. Ah, Magic Mushrooms really crack me up (punny, eh?). Let's get to it. +-------------+ | Items | +-------------+ Super Mushroom: A classic, this was called Magic Mushroom in the original Super Mario Bros. It transforms small Mario into Super Mario, a larger version of himself (twice as tall). In that form, Mario can take two hits before losing a life. Fire Flower: Also a classic, but this hasn't had a name change yet. When Mario touches this, his overalls become white and he gains the ability to shoot fireballs from his hands; he is Fire Mario (in the original Super Mario Bros., Mario became "Fiery Mario"). Most enemies can be defeated with fire; use it well. Cape Feather: A mystical feather introduced to Mario by Yoshi, when Mario gets this, he becomes Caped Mario. As such, he falls more slowly, can whirl about to slap enemies with his cape, and make a huge soaring leap from a running start. If on Yoshi, Yoshi also falls more slowly, but cannot "fly." NOTE: As Super Mario, Fire Mario, and Caped Mario, the protagonist of the story may take two hits before losing a life. As small Mario, one hit does it. Also, only for the Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Cape Feather, there is a stock system in place. For example, let's say that Super Mario got a Fire Flower. The Fire Flower displaces the Super Mushroom, but it does not get rid of it entirely. Instead, the Super Mushroom goes into "item stock" at the top of the screen, and it will come down so that you can take it either when you press Select or when you take damage next. Furthering our example, let us assume that If Mario takes damage, he will revert to small Mario. But, since he had the Super Mushroom in item stock, it will come down when he takes damage and Mario can grab it, thus turning him back into Super Mario. It is really quite a simple system. Below is a diagram working out my example. +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Mushroom -> | | | ^ | | | | V | | Super Mario -> Fire Flower -> Small Mario -> Super Mario | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ Super Star: Of all of Mario's transformations, the strongest is Invincible Mario. Mario assumes this form when he takes a Starman, called "Super Stars" in this game. They look just like they sound, and Mario can defeat any enemy just by running into them in this state. He can still die by falling into pits, etc., though. Power Balloon: They are scarce, but large blue balloons with P's on them are found in the game. Taking them, Mario becomes Balloon Mario, and floats straight up for a while. Eventually, he swells down. Extra Mario Mushroom: That's their official name, but I will call these "1-Up Mushrooms" throughout this guide. These add one to your total life count. They are green versions of the Super Mushroom, which is red. 3-Up Moon: Somewhere in the game, these rare items are waiting. It gives you three extra lives. Nice! Coin: There are many coins hidden throughout Dinosaur Land (well, not really hidden as much as just being there), and collecting 100 earns you a 1-Up. Pretty nifty, huh? If you destroy an enemy as Fire Mario with fireballs, they transform into a coin. Dragon Coin: These are large coins with a Yoshi head on them. There are five in each stage, and collecting all five gets you an extra life. They also count toward your coin total. In levels with six Dragon Coins in them, the sixth gives you another 1-Up on top of the other. Egg: Find these and you can mount Yoshi. If you already have Yoshi when you get one, you get a 1-Up Mushroom. See the "Controls" section for details regarding the use of Yoshi. Berry: These grow on bushes and trees, and Yoshi will eat them automatically by nearing them. Ten red Berries will give you a Super Mushroom. Two pink Berries makes Yoshi produce a cloud that rains coins and other goodies, while eight in general will earn you a 1-Up Mushroom. Yoshi's Wings: If you have Yoshi when you get this item, Yoshi will gain the wings and can fly up to a bonus stage where you can collect coins and beat the level in an alternate fashion. Key: These are found in hidden places throughout all of Dinosaur Land. Find the keyhole in the level to unlock a secret (ha!). What are they? You'll just have to see and find out. Jumping Board: These are bouncy springs that Mario can use to jump extremely high into the air. Press A at the peak of its rebound for maximum airtime. Prize Block: I will call these ? Blocks from here on out. These contain coins or other items, and they have question marks on them. Jump Block: These are blocks with musical notes on them. You can bounce on them, and they occasionally hold items inside. Rotating Block: These are yellow blocks that flip back and forth when you hit them. They can be destroyed with a spin jump by Super or Fire or Caped Mario. Just don't be in the place of the block when it stops spinning. Switch Block: These aren't really blocks but blue semi-ovals often on the ground. Hit them and they turn coins into blocks or vice versa, depending on the color. Grab Block: These are blue blocks that can be grabbed and thrown by our heroine, err, hero. Message Block: These are blocks with speakers on them that can be hit for advice and tips. If I were Mario, I'd be wondering who that was talking. Kind of creepy, really... Bonus Block: These are green blocks with a white star on them. If you have more than 30 coins when you hit it, you'll get a 1-Up Mushroom. If not, you get squat. Switch: These are huge semi-oval switches that exist in places called Switch Palaces. Jumping on them causes all blocks of that color to be filled in. There are four palaces in all, and you'll find it quite worth your time to find them. Midway Gate: Mario can pass through these as checkpoints. If you are small Mario, you receive a Super Mushroom for passing through it. If you die after that, you'll restart back at the midway gate. Goal: The end to most levels is a gate constructed with two large poles and a moving bar between them. The higher the bar is when you jump through the gate (provided you hit the gate), you get more Gold Stars. You store Gold Stars until you have 100. When you do have 100, you'll play the bonus game. Here's a run-down. +------------------+ | Bonus Game | +------------------+ The bonus game is tic-tac-toe style in which you must get three-in-a- row of any symbol - Super Mushroom, Fire Flower, and Super Star. Jump to stop them and you'll get a 1-Up for every row/column/diagonal you get. And there you go - the items! Quite a few additions were made in this game, and some were kept for later Mario games (many, actually). But, this is truly the last of the great 2D Mario games, and Nintendo lost uses for many items (namely the various blocks). Still, this is just yet another fantastic aspect of a fantastic game. That would've been the perfect place to end this section if it were just for items, but Super Mario World continues the point-theme found in most of Mario's side-scrolling adventures. Although the point system is really overlooked (luckily, as it is annoying to write guides with these point system sections) in this game, they still exist for almost no purpose. Here's how one can get points. +-----------------------+ | Point-Gathering | +-----------------------+ Note: Because they serve no real use, I omit all the ways to get points other than the useful ways that get you 1-Ups. 1) If you knock a shell into a line of enemies, it slowly builds up points and starts giving 1-Ups on the eighth hit, and another 1-Up for each time after that. 2) If you bounce on enemies in the air, you build up points just like you do in the above description. And, eight and beyond, you gain 1-Ups. There are ways to manipulate this to get unlimited 1-Ups, but there are far easier ways to get lives in this game than by doing that. 3) As Invincible Mario, you get 1-Ups by defeating many enemies in a row before your invincibility wears off. 4) If you hit a silver P Switch, enemies transform into silver coins. If you collect enough of them, you get a 1-Up. 5) Not for 1-Ups, but you get points for tons of other things, too. Defeating enemies, hitting blocks, collecting items, remaining time on the clock, and a few other things all yield points. Because points are downplayed so much in this game, though, I didn't bother to look into it any further (aside from the above tricks, points are useless anyways). And that's everything you need to know regarding items and points. Fascinating, huh? ======================================================================= ===============================Enemies*================================ ======================================================================= There are quite a few enemies to be found in Super Mario World, many of whom were finally reintroduced from the American version of Super Mario Bros. 2 to be given a new place in the Mario world. While some old timers were shortchanged in this game (like the Goomba, for instance, now looks very dumb), many found a new place in the hearts and hatred of players everywhere. Before we get into specifics on enemies, let's review just how Mario can die. -If Mario is small and he is hit by an enemy, he will lose a life. If he Super/Fire/Caped Mario, he will revert to small Mario. If Mario is on Yoshi when hit, he will lose Yoshi but not his current state. -There is a timer in each level. If it ever hits 0, you lose a life. -You automatically die, even as Invincible Mario if you fall into a pit, lava, or suction pits (for water levels). -Though you can roam at your own pace in many levels, some are side- scrollers; the screen moves at a regular rate whether you want it to or not. If you get crushed between the screen and a solid object, you will die. -If you are in front of a rotating block as it is spinning and it stops, you will die. Now, onto the enemies. I do not specify how many points they give when you defeat it because this serves no use, remember. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemy Name Notes: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Above is the setup for all entries. Simple, isn't it? Below is the actual list. They are listed in alphabetical order. In case you were wondering, I got the names from the game's credits; they list all enemies and their names after you beat the game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother Notes: In Super Mario Bros., Hammer Brothers were Koopas that threw hammers sporadically, making them the toughest common enemy in the game. In this game, our amazing friends are mounted on winged platforms and they fly about in semi-circular patterns as they throw large hammers. They resemble a blue Santa Claus in my opinion. Obviously, the hammers hurt you, so jumping on them is rather difficult to do, but it can be done to beat them. Cape spins are rather difficult to pull off, too, so use your Fire Flower if you can. The best way to beat them is to jump on their platforms from below, knocking them off of them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ball 'N' Chain Notes: A large spiky ball on a chain that rotates about a fixed point in fortresses. You can touch the chains, but not the ball. They cannot be defeated, obviously, and they usually come in groups to confuse your jumps. The best strategy is to get close to it (so that you are touching the chain but bypassed by the ball) and wait for a good opportunity to jump to safety. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Banzai Bill Notes: These are very large versions of the Bullet Bill. They are so large, in fact, that you will often have to duck in depressions or jump over them to dodge them. They can be defeated with jumps, but it is a rather risky enemy to attack. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Big Boo Notes: These are giant Boos, and they may be the same being, for that matter (in Super Mario 64, the persistent boss of the level Big Boo's Haunt was named Big Boo, and he looked quite like this). They behave like normal Boos, shying away when you look at them but hovering toward you when your back is turned. They cannot be beaten (except for one in the game that is an optional boss, but please see "Donut Plains Secret" for those details), so don't try. Instead, lure them toward you, then stop them, and repeat this until you can pass over them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Blargg Notes: This is a molten lava dragon that dwells in - what else - lava (well, technically its magma, but I shouldn't talk science in a Mario game. He goes to the moon with no air helmet in Paper Mario: TTYD, for example, not to mention the fact that he'd die as he was being shot up there via cannon. Oh well...). These creatures stick their eyes up, look around with those shifty numbers, and then jump at you in a hit- or-miss manner. Jump to avoid them and just keep on going. They can't be defeated, but they are easy to avoid, anyways. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Blurp Notes: Cheep-Cheeps are green and called Blurps in this game, and they look either really tired or really depressed. Avoid them unless you have fireballs, in which case you should flame them, because your actions are extremely limited while underwater. These guys should be dodged in almost all scenarios, however. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob-omb Notes: Walking bombs from Super Mario Bros. 2, these guys aren't doing so bad for characters that started as barely Mario enemies (Super Mario Bros. 2 is actually a game called Doki Doki Panic with Mario characters inserted into it. Before the Mario conversion, DDP was a flop. Just goes to show you how far licensing really goes). This is basically a Goomba that explodes after a while. Jump onto it and it'll flip, letting you throw it at other enemies. When it starts to flash, I suggest moving - it's going to blow up pretty soon after that. Bob- ombs are now very popular Mario characters, one of the staples of the series, even though they had such a minor role in this game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bony Beetle Notes: The skeletal, mummified remains of a Buzzy Beetle, these wander around and stop occasionally to release spikes from their back. If you want to defeat it, wait for the spikes to be withdrawn and then jump on it. Alternately, cape spin it one for me. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Boo Notes: These are ghost enemies that were first introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, but they have become a much more regular enemy in this game. Boos are rather shy ghosts, and they won't approach you when you are looking at them (instead, they cover their faces with their small arms), but they will lunge at you as soon as you turn your back. They cannot be defeated (they're already dead, duh!), but they can be stopped. Also, in some later ghost houses in the game, some Boos turn into blocks when you look at them that can be used as steppingstones. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Boo Buddies Notes: Like Boos but in groups, Boo Buddies are a large circle of Boos that is missing one member for a complete circle. They always orbit around something - a block you need to hit, a platform you need to reach, an overhang you need to get under - and you'll have to get into the circle from the gap, do whatever you need to do in the circle, and then get out through the gap when you're done. Don't touch the circle of Boos, as they cannot be defeated. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Bullet Bill Notes: Classic enemies, these are missiles fired from Bullet Bill Blasters, but more often than not they just appear bursting from nowhere in levels. They fly straight forward and can be jumped on, eaten, or cape-spun (though the last two options are rather risky). I'd avoid them, though. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Buzzy Beetle Notes: In the real turtle side of the Koopa family are Buzzy Beetles, what were thought to be hard enemies in Super Mario Bros. They're back for more, and their shells are flame-resistant. No problem, though, since you can just jump them. From there, you can kick their shells around just like a Koopa Troopa shell, though they yield no special effects when swallowed by Yoshi. However, the type of jump is the trick. Spin jumps are most effective; use them. With that, you kill it in one hit. Note that when you jump on it, it withdraws into its shell (much like a turtle). It will eventually stick its legs back out and take control again if you don't kick the shell. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chargin' Chuck Notes: Chuck is a sports enthusiast who wears a football helmet (and by football I mean the American version of it, not soccer) and shoulder pads, as well as all the other gear required to kick your sorry hide. Chuck attacks in a variety of ways. He is named after his tackle attack, which can break through blocks, but they can also throw footballs and baseballs (he dressed out for the wrong sport, I'm afraid), and they are more difficult to avoid than most other projectiles because of their unusual trajectory. Usually, when you jump on it the first time, he will tackle you. He also jumps, throwing his arms up in an almost volleyball fashion. Usually found around the exit of the level, he can be beaten in only a few ways. You can spin him with your cape, jump him several times (which is hard due to his rather odd bounce), or just skip over him. I'll take the latter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheep Cheep Notes: Although not officially named by the game, these are so obviously Cheep Cheeps, some of the older Mario enemies in the pack. In some levels of this game, bubbles contain enemies like Goombas, Bob- ombs, and so on, but some contain fish that flop around when their bubbles pop. These are Cheep Cheeps. Jump on them (pretty much any other means of attack will work, too) to beat them. Some Cheep Cheeps actually are found in the water, behaving much like Blurps, and others can jump out of the water to try to hit you. They all have the same weaknesses, though - jump, cape spin, fireballs, and Yoshi. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dino-Rhino Notes: This is a slower, much larger version of the Dino-Torch, making it an adult pale-green dinosaur that breathes fire. It appears in later levels. If you jump on it once, it reverts to adolescence, assuming the form of a Dino-Torch (actually, according to the manual it becomes a Mini-Rhino, but they're the same thing). From there, you can jump on it again to seal the deal. If you jump on it with Yoshi, it is beaten instantly without the Dino-Torch step. Spins of the cape and spin jumps will also defeat this interesting dinosaur. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dino-Torch Notes: These are small green dinosaurs (a rather dull green, not bright like Yoshi) that breathe fire either horizontally or vertically in some later levels. When it stops to open its mouth, it means business, and you will want to stay clear of it for a while. But, it can be defeated by most means of attack, including jumps. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dolphin Notes: These are not actually enemies, and so they cannot be defeated. But, in some levels with water on the base, these helpful mammals jump out of the water and let Mario ride them in safety above the evil Porcu-Puffer in the shallows below. Thanks a lot, guys! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dry Bones Notes: First appearing Super Mario Bros. 3, these are the skeletal remains of Koopa Troopas that still wander around. They are immune to fireballs and can be jumped on, which causes them to crumple up into a mound of bones. However, they will soon come back to life. The only good way to defeat them is to use a cape spin. That way, they won't rise again. The same goes for spin jumps. Some even throw bones at you, which is all the more reason to kill them... again. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Eeries Notes: These eerie haunts float around in long lines, moving in straight or sometimes curving patterns, and you must simply wait them out. They are unbeatable, translucent Boos without the antisocial part, and I'd just duck and hope for the best if I were you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fishbone Notes: These are skeletal fish that roam the murky waters of fortresses. They are immune to flame and most attacks - except cape spin (but that sets you up to be hit by another) - and I encourage you not to engage them. In the water, Mario is severely handicapped, and these enemies travel in schools. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fishin' Boo Notes: This is a spectral version of Fishin' Lakitu, and it rides a cloud with a fishing line out before it. The bait is a blue flame, but it is much less bait than it is a weapon. Don't touch either the ghost or the flame, as both will injure you. It is invincible; run and dodge it as best as you can. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fishin' Lakitu Notes: This is a Lakitu that holds a fishing line down with a tempting item on the end, a 1-Up Mushroom to be specific. You can take the bait and it will become a regular Lakitu, but I'd just ignore it. Lakitus are annoying with all their Spinies, and this guy won't bother you if you don't bother it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Fuzzy Notes: Fuzzies are black balls of fuzz that cannot be defeated. They are always found following the path of lines that wooden platforms, chainsaws, etc. use, and they also appear in the Yoshi's Wings little courses. Since they cannot be defeated, your best bet is to avoid these little guys. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Goomba Notes: Goombas were put in this game, but they look more like brown balls than their mushroom-like shape in their early Mario appearances as the first enemy in Super Mario Bros. They are much hardier than they were in previous games, though, and much more useful. Before, they were just simple obstacles that marched toward you mindlessly. In this game, they do much the same thing, but they do not die from one jump. Jump on one and it flips over, ready to be picked up. You can then throw it at another enemy. This kills the Goomba you threw, but it also hits another enemy. At least they got a spot in this game, regardless of how small it was. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Grinder Notes: These are chainsaw ends that appear circling stone platforms in dungeons and cutting through wood in some of the Twin Bridges stages. It cannot be defeated; just jump over it and let it be on its way. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Hothead Notes: Lil Sparky and Hothead both share the names of enemies/a boss from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. In any case, Hothead is a large version of Lil Sparky. In other words, it is a huge orb of electricity that endlessly circles around a platform. Due to high voltage, you shouldn't touch it. It is slower than its smaller counterpart, which should make it easier to avoid. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jumping Piranha Plant Notes: Like their Piranha Plant predecessors, these enemies wait in pipes for our heroes to get near. Then they jump out, quite literally (they are not rooted in the pipe), biting at the air in hopes of tasting plumber, and they then fall back into the pipe. Because of their razor teeth, they cannot be defeated with jumps. Instead, eat them with Yoshi, use fireballs, or a cape spin to defeat them. If you stand on a pipe before they jump out, they will remain in the pipe and will not attack you. Some versions of these jump out of hedges, and other more advanced Jumping Piranha Plants shoot fireballs. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Koopa Notes: These are classic Mario enemies, appearing as early as Mario Bros. as turtles named Shell Creepers. Koopa Troopas come in several forms, and they receive various colorings in this game. Each Koopa has a different effect when swallowed by Yoshi. The standard color is green or red, but this game also features blue and yellow. Blue Koopa Troopas tend to walk faster than the rest, while yellow Koopa Troopas are invincible in their shells, spinning around madly to hit Mario (actually, yellow Koopa Troopas in invincible mode can be defeated by kicking another shell into their shell). There are also Koopa Paratroopas, winged versions of their grounded counterparts, and they also come in all colors. Jump on a Koopa Paratroopa and it becomes a Koopa Troopa; jump on a Koopa Troopa to knock off its shell. These persistent turtles will then look around for their shells. You can jump on them from there to defeat them. Mario can lift and throw the shells, or kick them, to do many useful things, including beating other enemies. These characters are very cool, and I give them my seal of approval. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Lakitu Notes: Old enemies of Mario's, this is a Koopa (that is, in the same family as Koopa Troopas) that rides a cloud. Its primary method of attack (indirect as it is) is the throwing of Spinies, but it can also hurt you if you jump into it. You can beat it by jumping on it from the top, and you can also throw things into it. If you defeat it, it leaves its cloud behind, and you can jump in and float around in it. Use it in whatever ways you see fit. Take out Lakitu quickly or he'll overpower you with an army of Spinies. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Lil Sparky Notes: A bright bolt of electricity named after the sun enemy in Super Mario Bros. 3 from the desert levels, these circle around platforms in dungeons. They cannot be defeated; just dodge its simple movements. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Magikoopa Notes: These are my favorite new enemies in this game. Magikoopa are very cool sorcerer Koopas that wear blue robes and teleport before you. They use their wands to cast spells at you, and if the spell doesn't hit you, then it will hit a block. Blocks are transformed into enemies, and they command a lot of power. Since they can teleport, they often appear in places that you cannot reach and attack you from there. These have really risen in popularity. In Mario Kart 64, for example, Donkey Kong's racing seat was originally filled by a Magikoopa (in the beta version, but DK took over shortly into the project), and many various Magikoopas have served as Bowser's trustees, confidants, and right hands, from Kamek in the early days to Kammy Koopa in recent games. Anyways, Magikoopas can be beaten by jumping on them, as well as other standard means of attack. Because they only appear in fortresses, you'll never have a chance to let Yoshi take a bite. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mechakoopa Notes: Standing for Mechanical Koopas, these are Bowser's wind-up guards in his castle. Jump on it to flatten it, and (like a Goomba or Bob-omb) you can throw it from there. It will un-flatten itself eventually, meaning you should make use of it while you have the chance. Perhaps these were the inspiration for the Electro Koopas in Super Mario Sunshine. They make a few future appearances, such as one in Super Mario RPG as one of Bowser's attacks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mega Mole Notes: Larger versions of Monty Moles, these run around with their sunglasses like they're so cool. Well, maybe they are, but they cannot be beaten by most attacks. You can jump and hit a block it is on, cape spin it, or, oddly enough, Yoshi can eat it. It will plow through you if you give it the chance, but it has other uses. Namely, you can ride the top of it to cross over difficult sections, like spikes. They are actually useful in beating some levels. So, these are your unfriendly allies, I guess. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mini-Rhino Notes: This is the name the manual gives to the Dino-Torch that Dino- Rhino becomes when jumped on by Mario. It is exactly the same as Dino- Torch, though; just jump on it before it has a chance to breathe fire. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Monty Mole Notes: These enemies pop out of the ground or out of walls unexpectedly, and then scurry about when they emerge. They walk quite quickly, and I recommend jumping on them as they jump out of their burrows for a quick victory over these moles. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ninji Notes: These are very minor enemies found in Bowser's Castle. From Super Mario Bros. 2, they just jump up and down, and they look like black blobs with large eyes (black pupils). A jump on them will beat them. Although they got recognized in this game, Ninjis never became popular Mario characters, unlike Shy Guys and other enemies first introduced in Super Mario Bros. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Para-Bomb Notes: This is a Bob-omb that slowly descends to the level with a parachute. When it lands, it will become a Bob-omb (I wonder where it tucks its parachute away to...). I'd just let it hit the ground before dealing with it, although it can be beaten while in the air. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Para-Goomba Notes: These are short-lived enemies. They float down to the level via parachute, hence the para- part of their name, and then they become normal Goombas. I'd just let it fall to earth before you focus on it, although they can be defeated while aerial. Para-Goomba can also refer to the winged Goombas that make very small jumps with the aid of their wings, which transform into Goombas when hit once. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Piranha Plant Notes: Found in some levels that don't have Jumping Piranha Plants are these, the originals. They simply stick their heads down or up, depending on how their pipe is situated, and they try to bite you. They cannot be jumped on, and are weak to cape spins, fireballs, and Yoshi's appetite. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Podoboo Notes: These are fireballs that jump out of the lava to hit you when you're making tough jumps over lava. They're real old timers in Mario's line of work. They cannot be defeated (what'd you expect? They're living fire!). ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Pokey Notes: Another enemy introduced in Super Mario Bros. 2, these are large cacti (plural of cactus) that walk around in varied levels. When you are Mario, it will have three segments. With Yoshi, it will have five. If you have Yoshi, eat each segment until its fresh out. With just Mario or Luigi, jump over them unless you have a shell or block to throw at them. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Porcu-Puffer Notes: Get it? Porcupine, you see. Though they are fish, these enemies don't normally stay underwater. Instead, they swim on the surface of water in levels where the action takes place over the surface, and they will pursue you relentlessly if you don't get out of the water. It takes a bit of practice to learn how to swim with them on your tail, but it can be done. Don't bother defeating them (try throwing items at them); they come back at regular intervals, anyways. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Rex Notes: Appearing seldom are these blue alligators standing upright (they are actually dinosaurs, but they look more like gators). They often come in packs, and they march forward slowly just asking to be jumped on with those flat heads of theirs. If you jump on it, it is halfway flattened, running faster now. Jump on it again to beat it once and for all. Pretty much all other modes of offense can defeat it. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Rip Van Fish Notes: These are blue versions of Cheep-Cheeps (or Blurps) that are always found sleeping. Get close, though, and they start pursuing you. This makes them very tough enemies, and they can be defeated only with fireballs. Yes, Fire Mario is your best friend in water levels. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Spike Top Notes: Akin to Buzzy Beetles and Spinies, these basically are Buzzy Beetles with a spike on top of them. Like Spinies, their spike prevents them from being jumped on, and like Buzzy Beetles, their shells prevent them from being flamed, making them quite the worthy opponent. Avoid these adversaries if you can, or gobble them up with Yoshi. Ah, that must've caused some major indigestion. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Spiny Notes: These are spike-topped turtle thrown down by Lakitu and yet another branch of the Koopa family - the low-to-the-ground turtle-like ones. Because they have spikes on their backs, they cannot be jumped on, though fireballs work well. They come endlessly unless you defeat the source - Lakitu. I'd just run past them were I you. There are other ways of beating it, too, though, like eating, cape swinging, and as Invincible Mario. Still, just steer clear of these bad boys. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Sumo Brother Notes: A variation of the Hammer Brother from Super Mario Bros., these are advanced enemies that appear later on in the game. They sit on rows of ? Blocks and then jump to cast a flame down to the ground. The flames then grow, and they extend to the left and right into large fiery walls to hit you. Stay clear of them when under them, as the range of their attack is not so small as you might think. Get under it and jump to knock it off its block and thus defeat it if you feel the need to knock it off its high horse, err, block. They didn't go on into future games, but they still won a place in this one. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Super Koopa Notes: These Koopa Troopas have abandoned their shells in exchange for another form of flight - using the same Magic Cape that Mario does. Most fly straight forward, and one jump, fireball, etc. will defeat them. However, some have a red, flashing cape. Jump on it to get a Cape Feather afterward. These can be useful for acquiring the Cape Feather. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Swooper Notes: Bats in Mario games are called Swoopers, and it all began here. They are green-red bats that swoop down at you once before flying off to never attack you again (hence the name). They can be beaten in a variety of ways, but jumping or fireballs are your best bet. Otherwise, I'd just let it be. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thwimp Notes: These are smaller versions of the Super Mario Bros. 3 Thwomp enemies (Thwimp rhymes with wimp, you see). They are invincible, but they can be avoided. They usually come in groups and jump around from left to right. Just don't let them land on you and you're good to go. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thwomp Notes: These are large stone blocks with stern faces first introduced to the plumber brothers in Super Mario Bros. 3. When you get close to them, they fall down to crush you and then slowly rise back up. Bait them down, and then proceed right under them as they are busy rising. They cannot be beaten, but they are easy to avoid. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Torpedo Ted Notes: These are the underwater versions of Bullet Bills, launched from Torpedo Ted Launchers, no doubt. They are fired in straight lines, and you can do nothing more than avoid them. You can drop on them from above to take them out, but that sets you up for a hit by the upcoming Torpedo Ted. Like Bullet Bills, they are fired endlessly from their launchers. Good thing that these guys are only in one level. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Urchin Notes: These are blue spiky creatures that simply float up and down slightly in the water to get in your way. You can beat them by throwing blocks at them. They aren't that tough because they move very little, thank goodness. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Volcano Lotus Notes: Ugh, talk about annoying. These are plants that spew fireballs regularly. Two fall to the left, and two fall opposite the others to the right. Cape spins and that ravenous Yoshi can defeat it, but I recommend just avoiding these enemies. They're bad news, man. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Wiggler Notes: A yellow caterpillar with a flower over its head. Ah, how cute! Well, Wigglers have anger management problems, and their tempers start to flare when you jump on them. They turn red, almost like the Hulk, and they run around angrily. You can jump on them over and over again, but that does not make them prime candidates for the jump trick mentioned in "Items & Points" above (they do not yield points after turning red). The best way to beat them is to put Yoshi to work swallowing it. I'd avoid it otherwise. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- And those are all the enemies in the game. The list excludes the bosses (except for Big Boo because it also appears as an enemy), but the bosses are Reznor, Iggy Koopa, Morton Koopa Jr., Lemmy Koopa, Ludwig von Koopa, Roy Koopa, Wedny O. Koopa, Larry Koopa, and Bowser himself, not to mention the enemy/boss Big Boo. But with as many enemies as there are, most appear in very small parts and limited numbers. ======================================================================= ===============================Controls*=============================== ======================================================================= Here I'll discuss how one can control Mario and Luigi, as well as our brand new friend Yoshi. Mario and brother have learned a few new tricks this time around, and they'll make use of them. Regular Mario is listed separately from Super/Fire/Caped Mario. All of the transformations can do all the things that small Mario can, so their sections list only the things that that particular Mario can do uniquely. Super Mario moves apply to Fire and Caped Mario, too. ------------------- Map Screen Controls ------------------- D-Pad: The Directional Pad is used on the Map Screen to move your character in the direction of the level you want to go to, provided that the path exists (paths are opened when you beat a level through a certain exit). It can also be used to see the map when your viewing it. Start: Press this to see the rest of the map, which is quite well made, might I add. The D-Pad lets you scroll through the map of Dinosaur Land, one neat-o place. Press Start again to stop viewing the map. This cannot be done in World 1, but it can be done in most other worlds. It is also used to select an option like "Continue without save," for instance. A/B/X/Y: This lets you enter a level. Quite a nice selection of possible buttons, isn't it? L/R/A: If you're playing a 2 Player Game, you can press L or R to exchange lives with your friend. If you are playing with only one controller, though, use the A button to exchange lives. ---------------------- Regular Mario Controls ---------------------- D-Pad: The + - shaped Directional Pad can be used to move Mario left and right, make Mario look up, and take a pipe down when standing on it (assuming you can take the pipe down, of course). A: Use this to jump off of Yoshi. It is also a weaker version of the spin jump. B: Use this to do a standard jump or to swim when underwater. When jumping, hold B to jump higher. X/Y: These buttons do the same thing. Hold it to let Mario run, or press it when approaching a shell or key to pick them up. When you pick up an item, you must hold X or Y to keep holding the item. Also, when at doors, press this to open them. If you run and then jump, you will do Mario's highest jump (if you have a cape, this jump results in flying). It can also be used on fences to punch the wire. L: Move slightly to the left on the screen. R: Move slightly to the right on the screen. This is somewhat useful for seeing what's coming up, though not that good, really. Start: Pause and un-pause the game. Select: Use this to drop a stock item (the one you have in reserve in the box at the top of the screen). Start + Select: If you press these in that order (Start and then Select) in a level that you've cleared, you can return to the Map Screen. -------------------- Super Mario Controls -------------------- D-Pad: You can press down on the D-Pad to duck as Super Mario. The same goes for Fire Mario and Caped Mario. A: As Super Mario, you can also use A to do a spin jump, a short spinning hop that can break through blocks. Technically, regular Mario can do this, too, but his cannot break blocks. ------------------- Fire Mario Controls ------------------- X/Y: This lets you throw a fireball forward (you can have up to two on the screen at any given time). -------------------- Caped Mario Controls -------------------- Fly: Not so much as flying as it is a huge jump, but Caped Mario can run forward until he is running at full speed and then jump to take off into the air. Hold down on D-Pad to slam into the ground, and hold down and then curve up to let Mario slow his fall. Hold Y to fall slowly when in the air with the Cape. Cape Spin: Press Y while on the ground to spin around, slapping enemies with your cape. Quite effective indeed. -------------- Yoshi Controls -------------- Basics: Yoshi has the same controls as Mario when it comes to running, jumping, pausing, etc. Yoshi only differs in a few respects. Flying: When Yoshi has wings, press B repeatedly to keep Yoshi's wings flapping, which prevents him from falling. High Jump: One advantage to Yoshi is the very high jump you can achieve with him. If you jump as Yoshi (B) and then press A to let Mario jump off Yoshi, you have the effect of a double jump for Mario. Tongue/Hold/Spit: Yoshi's strong point is his elastic tongue. Press Y to swallow an enemy or item (provided that they are able to be swallowed). If you swallow an item like a key or an enemy like a Koopa Troopa, you can hold Y to keep them in your mouth. Note that Yoshi WILL swallow enemies eventually if they are kept in his mouth. Some enemies and items are swallowed immediately. For example, power-ups and coins that you get will be given to Mario immediately. When you press Y again from holding it, Yoshi can spit out whatever it was that was in his mouth. This is how Yoshi can carry items and kick shells. Note that anything the Y Button can be used for can also be done with the X Button. Colored Yoshis: Somewhere in the game, there are three different colored Yoshis besides green - blue, yellow, and red. If fed enough enemies, they babies mature into adults. Each color has a special effect. Red Yoshis can shoot fireballs by spitting out shells they swallow (no matter the color). Yellow Yoshis can jump and stomp the ground, causing sand clouds to hit enemies around the landing point, when they have a shell in their mouths. And Blue Yoshis are the best - they can start flying after swallowing any colored shell. Yoshi becomes blue after getting Wings, by the way. Also, Yoshi has the same effects for colored shells he swallows; for example, Yoshi can spit fireballs when he swallows a red shell, or he can fly when he swallows a blue shell. Yoshi: Yoshi is also kind of like a power-up, too, and not just a third character to control. If Mario is riding Yoshi and the dynamic duo is hit, Mario takes no damage. Instead, Yoshi takes the brunt of it, which causes him to kick Mario off and start running about wildly. You can catch up with Yoshi if you'd like and get back on your partner, or you can watch him run off a cliff in a frenzy. You get Yoshis by getting Eggs, items in some ? Blocks. Yoshi will not accompany Mario inside of fortresses, ghost houses, or castles. Yoshi will come in underwater levels, though. To access some secrets, Yoshi is needed. Remember, we aren't just in this to rescue Princess Toadstool; we're out to help out the kidnapped babies of the Yoshi herd, too, from those disgusting Koopalings. - --- - And there you have it, folks! The interchangeable nature of the X and Y buttons give the players great freedom for holding the controller and developing their own style of play. Personally, I use the Y Button for everything (as would the great majority of people, I would imagine). The only difficulty in this game as far as controls are concerned was jumping; on the NES, the A Button was used to jump. This has caused me quite a few lives when I threw a fireball instead of jumping or I leaped off of Yoshi for no good reason... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ / \ / \ ||----------------------------Section 2*-----------------------------|| \ / \_________________________________________________________________/ This section contains a complete guide through the game, stopping to hit all switch palaces. It does not reveal, however, any of the secret exits in the game; this is a totally non-secret guide to the game. Section 3 has all the secret stuff, and Section 4 has all the really secret stuff. ======================================================================= ============================Yoshi's Island*============================ ======================================================================= The ideal starting area for our jump-happy heroes, this is a diverse region with a grassy level, a mountain level, a water level, a switch palace, and a fortress at the end. This is also the first place Yoshis were ever seen, which is supposedly why (according to the instruction booklet) Yoshis are named Yoshis; they are named after the island. However, I think Nintendo would now have us believe just the opposite - that the island is named after its cute dinosaur inhabitants. Whichever is true, you're looking at an easy level. I don't see why Bowser even bothered to siege it if he was going to do such a lousy job with it. +---------------------+ | Yoshi's House | +---------------------+ This is a real short level... You start out here at Yoshi's humble abode. If you hit the Message Block, it acts as an answering machine for Yoshi. He's not home right now (he's out rescuing his friends who were captured by Bowser). Well, that was a hoot. Exit in either direction and you'll have beaten this sorry excuse of a level. +------------------------+ | Yoshi's Island 1 | +------------------------+ To the left of Yoshi's House is this level. The yellow dot indicates that there is only one exit to this level (red indicates multiple). As you enter, a shell-less Koopa slides down to you. Jump on it to flatten and beat it. Now run right, jumping onto the slanted ledge and then jumping for a Dragon Coin. As you go right, you'll meet two new enemies - the Banzai Bill and the Rex. Banzai Bills are gigantic missiles fired at you. Although they can be jumped on to be defeated, you are small right now and they will go right over your head. The Rex is that blue alligator ahead of you. If you jump on its head, it will flatten into a half-stomped Rex. Jump on it again to beat it. Continue right to see a Prize Block, which I will call ? Blocks throughout this walkthrough, fluttering to the left. Hit it and out comes a Super Mushroom (I will call them "Mushrooms"). Touch it and Mario grows to become Super Mario. As such, he can afford two hits before dying and he can break bricks with his spin jump (A). Ahead, you'll defeat three Rexes as you climb up a pipe and then jump to a series of slanted ledges. Jump from them until you reach the second Dragon Coin of the stage. If you collect them all, you get a 1-Up. Continue forward and a Mushroom pops out of the bush. Now, assuming you're still Super Mario (you revert to regular Mario if hit as Super Mario), the Mushroom will enter the blue box at the top of the screen. You can press Select to drop the item down for your use, but it will drop automatically when you are hit. This is called your "stock item." Now, defeat the Rex here and go right to see a Jumping Piranha Plant. These carnivorous plants leap from pipes to bite you. When it's down, jump over the pipe to the right. See those yellow blocks? They are called Rotating Blocks. As Super Mario, you can bust through them with a spin jump (A). Do so and then crouch (down on the D-Pad) to take the pipe down. Here, collect the coins (collect 100 to earn an extra life) and then smash the Rotating Blocks ahead for the third Dragon Coin in the level. Now go right, walking into the pipe to be launched out of it and through the midway gate. The midway gate is a checkpoint for you to reach so that you can start there again if you die. Notice the yellow outline here (it will be important later) and go forward. The Message Block here tells you about stock items. Defeat the upcoming Rex and then jump up the platforms here to reach the fourth Dragon Coin. Now, see the slope? A cool trick you can do is slide down it. To do this, stand on the slope and hold down. You'll slide right through a Rex coming up the slope. Now, ahead is a depression. Get in and press down to avoid an oncoming Banzai Bill. Now, to the right is a Message Block. It tells you how to pick up an item - press Y or X when next to it. To throw it (you want to aim at the Rotating Block above), move the control pad in the direction you want to throw it (up in this case) and then release the X/Y Button. Practice here by throwing the shell up at the Rotating Block, releasing a 1-Up Mushroom. Now, a Banzai Bill will be fired at you. This time, practice jumping on it (B) to beat it. Also, jump over the pit ahead to catch the 1-Up Mushroom (don't go after it if you miss it). Ahead, jump onto the Rotating Block and hit the ? Block for a Fire Flower. With this, Mario can shoot fireballs (A or Y or X) at enemies, turning them into coins. Now, ahead is a pipe; wait for the Jumping Piranha Plant to get down and then jump over it, defeating the Rex and taking the final Dragon Coin of the level, earning you a 1-Up. Now, ahead is an enemy that often guards the end of levels. It is a Chargin' Chuck. This time, Chuck jumps to block you. Jump on him three times to beat him, or just jump past him. Try to jump into the bar. You get Gold Stars by jumping through the bars, and 100 will let you play a bonus game. Congratulations! You just beat the first real level of the game! +----------------------------+ | Yellow Switch Palace | +----------------------------+ A path has now opened to the north, and it leads to a high summit on which rests the Yellow Switch Palace. If you want, press Start on the Map Screen to look over Dinosaur Land and all that lies ahead. This is a once in a game opportunity (you cannot replay this level infinitely), by the way. The Yellow Switch Palace starts with a P Block, which I will call P Switches from here on out. Jump on it to fill the room with coins. Jump around on the first floor to reach the end, and then use the pipe as a steppingstone to reach the top. As you jump, you should collect at least two 1-Ups in coins (remember, you get a 1-Up per every 100 coins you collect). When it ends, go through the pipe to the right to the final room of the palace (short, huh?). Run forward and jump to pound down that switch. The Yellow Switch will turn all yellow outlines into Yellow Blocks, all of which can be hit for Mushrooms or can be used as platforms. This is the most useful (and obvious) of all the Switch Palaces in the game, though there are supposedly three other palaces out there somewhere... +------------------------+ | Yoshi's Island 2 | +------------------------+ Right of Yoshi's House is this level, the first mandatory level in the game (if you wanted to, you could have skipped Yoshi's Island 1 and the Yellow Switch Palace, though you'd be a great fool if you did). At the start, go right and pick up this red shell of a Koopa. Hold it and jump to the platform to the right, releasing it there. It will go through a line of red-shelled Koopa Troopas, common turtle enemies from the original Super Mario Bros. Notice how the points for defeating the Koopa Troopas like this stack up until you get a 1-Up at the end (nice!). Now, right of them are three blocks, one of which is a Yellow Block. Hit the central one for a Mushroom and the other two for coins. Now go right, hitting both blocks. The second one releases Yoshi. Huzzah! He's a real wimp on his own; he got captured by Bowser after only venturing this far, and Bowser's troops trapped him inside that egg. Mount Yoshi by jumping onto him. Notice the addition of music to the background tune. Now go right and hit the Message Block to learn about the spin jump. Yoshi operates a lot like Mario, but with a few key differences. First, press Y or X to let Yoshi try to swallow something in his path (he will stick his tongue out to take them). Hold Y to store some items and enemies in there, while others are consumed immediately. Secondly, you can dismount (even from jumps) Yoshi by pressing A. Third, Yoshi will take any hits that Mario takes, shielding Mario from any damage. When hit, Yoshi abandons Mario and runs around. If you are able to, you can jump back on Yoshi to reuse him. Also, when Yoshi jumps past a Berry on bushes, he automatically eats them. Ten red berries earn you a Mushroom, two pink berries earn you a coin cloud (you'll see what I mean when you get it), and eight berries get you a 1-Up. I will not specify when to eat berries. To the right, jump for the Dragon Coin among the coins and then swallow the red shell. If you release Y and spit the shell out, Yoshi will release three fireballs (this is what he does with red shells). To the right, release the shell on the green-shelled Koopa here for a visual (if Yoshi spits out a green shell, it will only have the effect of being kicked by Mario). Now, jump past its toasted remains and to Chargin' Chuck, guarding the midway gate. He cannot be eaten due to his size and uniform, but three of Yoshi's tough jumps can beat this guy easily. Jump right into the third Dragon Coin and then pass through the midway gate. That's what the Message Block talked about, by the way. Ahead, jump the pipes and hit the ? Blocks on the ground. The side ones contain coins while the central one contains an Egg to get Yoshi (if you still have Yoshi, you will get a 1-Up Mushroom). Now, jump onto the platforms and notice the shifting dirt. That signals that a Monty Mole is about to jump up. Stand over the dirt so that they jump into your boots, thus defeating themselves. If you don't, these pesky enemies will run around swiftly to try to hit you. Jump into the second Rotating Block here to create a beanstalk. Dismount Yoshi (A), leaving him at the beanstalk, and climb it to some clouds. Here, take the fourth Dragon Coin. Now drop back down to reclaim Yoshi and head right. Here, jump onto the ledge to defeat a Monty Mole (jump it, remember) and then take the fifth Dragon Coin for a 1-Up. Hit the Yellow Block to the right for a Mushroom and then head right, defeating Monty Moles as you go until you reach a blue pipe. Take it down by crouching on it and you'll reach a hidden room. Here, you can either jump with Yoshi and then jump off Yoshi with Mario (B -> A) to hit the blocks here (this is a double jump), or you can lift the Grab Blocks, the blue blocks on the ground to your right, and throw them at the ? Blocks in the air. One contains a 1-Up Mushroom, while the others contain coins. Now take the pipe to the right to emerge in the mainstream part of the level. Head right, swallowing the Jumping Piranha Plant with Yoshi, and then head right to see a P Switch surrounded by Rotating Blocks. Hit the blocks to bring down the switch and then jump on it to transform the coins here into blocks. Use them to bypass a Chargin' Chuck (this one attacks by tackling) and to jump into the bar to the right at the goal gate. +------------------------+ | Yoshi's Island 3 | +------------------------+ The classic mountain level! Ah, I love that crisp mountain air... Go right to hit a Message Block telling you stuff we already knew about Dragon Coins (they're so behind the times). Also, if you jump right onto the Yellow Blocks, you can nab a few coins hovering above them. Now head back left, jumping up the ledges to the summit of this mountain, and then jump right onto the swinging platform. Let it run by, collecting for you three coins, and then jump right to a Yellow Block. Hit it for a Mushroom and then jump onto the expanding platform to the right when it is expanding horizontally. Jump above it for a Dragon Coin and then jump right to solid ground. Repeat this process by jumping right to another swinging platform and from there you should jump right to two ? Blocks. Hit the right one for Yoshi (or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already had Yoshi) and then jump up, swallowing (and holding Y to keep it in your mouth) the red Koopa Paratroopa above you. Spit it out at the enemy to the right and then jump across the platforms here to more mountainous terrain. From here, jump right to the Yellow Blocks below. You'll find a yellow pipe left of them; take it down. Hit the P Switch down here to make the coins into blocks and then cross them over the lava. Make sure to take the second Dragon Coin at the end. Go right through the pipe to surface. Jump left for two coins and then head right to the midway gate. Defeat the upcoming Koopa Paratroopa (green) by jumping on it and then take the third Dragon Coin here. The Message Block to the right gives us a tip to use when bouncing on enemies or when jumping in shallow water. At any rate, head right and hit the Rotating Block the Koopa Troopa is standing on to knock it back onto its shell. This is a useful trick for defeating many enemies - hit the block they're standing on. Swallow the shell and keep it in storage until later. Jump right onto the ledge, hit the ? Block for a power-up, and then jump right across a swinging platform (let it swing all the way around for coins). From there, jump across the expanding platforms here (don't worry about falling; there are Yellow Blocks below you to catch your fall) and take the fourth Dragon Coin along the way. To the right, jump across these platforms to reach a Bonus Block. If you have more than 30 coins, it will yield a 1-Up Mushroom. Less than 30, it yields but a mere coin. Now, jump right to two swinging platforms and jump through the fifth Dragon Coin (1-Up if you have all five) at the end of this level. Now head right to jump through the bar of the goal gate. +------------------------+ | Yoshi's Island 4 | +------------------------+ By far the hardest level of this world, it is a semi-water level (kind of pathetic that this is the hardest level, though). In the water are Cheep Cheeps, which will jump out at you on occasion. To the right, hit the ? Block for Yoshi (or a 1-Up Mushroom if you have Yoshi) and then jump to the ledge in the water for your first Dragon Coin. Jump right again, noticing the large spikes in the water, and get a second Dragon Coin here. Continue right across this stretch to a blue pipe, taking the power-up from the ? Block on the way. Take the pipe down to enter a neat little field. Head right to find a Pokey, a moving cactus enemy from Super Mario Bros. 2. Swallow its segments with Yoshi (it will have five if you are riding Yoshi) or jump it (it will have three if you are alone) and then proceed. The pit here is bottomless; do not fall in. That will give you instant death, as the previous level should have taught you. The ahead Message Block tells you that you can exit a level you've already beaten by pressing Start and then Select while in it. Now defeat the Pokey (right), jump another gap, defeat another Pokey, and then take the pipe. Backtrack a bit for the third Dragon Coin and then return to where you were. Jump with Yoshi and then jump with Mario (a double jump) to reach the P Switch, which you want to hit. This makes an easy-to-access brick row appear. First, hit the Rotating Block to the right for a Super Star. You instantly become Invincible Mario! Run right, jumping for the fourth Dragon Coin, and plowing through the Koopa Troopas here. Now, head right, jumping the platforms to reach one platform ahead (your Star should wear off at about then) with the fifth and final Dragon Coin on it. Claim it and then jump right to a pipe. It takes you to the gate, and the Message Block here tells you how you play a bonus game if you get 100 Gold Stars (from touching the bar at the gate). Now please, finish the level. +-------------------------+ | # 1 Iggy's Castle | +-------------------------+ This is the castle of Iggy Koopa, son of Bowser, who was put in charge of conquering Yoshi's Island and then to set up Bowser's forces there. He did a lousy job at best with it, as this castle is very easy. Yoshi cannot enter the castle; it's just you. Iggy has a baby Yoshi held captive here, and only we can rescue it. Let's go! An innovative addition to this game was the wire nets, or the fences, in this game. As the Message Block tells you, jump to the fence and press up on the D-Pad to cling to the fence. You can press B to punch the fence. You can also jump. Head right to find two Koopa Troopas climbing at you. Get above them and then climb down to "jump" on them, knocking them off the fence. Further right is a Koopa Troopa behind the fence. Punch it to knock it off. Now jump right to a new fence and continue this until you reach the ? Blocks. Hit them all for coins and a power-up. If it was a Fire Flower, then hit the P Switch below to turn all the blocks into coins, causing the Fire Flower to fall right into your lap. Now head right, defeating Kooopa Troopas, and stop when you get over the lava. Enemies called Podoboos lurk in the lava, one in this particular pool of it. Podoboos are living flames from Super Mario Bros. that jump out of the lava to hit you. Wait for them to be down and go right. Here, although I don't recommend it, you can punch the square panel to get behind the fence, which works just like being in front of the fence. Continue right until you see a Message Block telling you of the Yoshi kid's mild peril in this castle. It also tells you to push Iggy Koopa into the lava pool to defeat him. Now pass through the midway gate. Press up at the door here to take it. Welcome to a side-scrolling room! I hate these... It looks like you could just sprint forward, but looks can be deceiving. At regular intervals giant sledges crush the floor, which qualifies as an instant death attack. Wait on the left side of the screen until the first sledge drops, and then run forward and duck in the depression here until the second sledge subsides. Now hit the floating ? Block for a power-up and jump right, walking with the screen, until the third sledge comes down, missing you by a bit. Now wait on the very left side of the room for the fourth sledge to fall and then rise. Jump right to see a large red door. Take it to find Iggy Koopa... Boss: Iggy Koopa Iggy was the fourth boss in Super Mario Bros 3. Bowser must've been so dissatisfied with his work that he demoted him to World 1. He deserves it, too, as he's a real pushover. He wears glasses and has a blue spiked shell with a white mohawk, somewhat like his old man. You fight on a giant platform teetering back and forth in a pool of lava. You can beat Iggy by jumping on him, which knocks him in the direction that the platform is sloped toward. Knock him twice and he'll fall into the lava, defeating him. His only attacks are rolling at you and firing fireballs at you occasionally (both of which make him highly susceptible to jumps, by the way). Once you have stomped this geek right into the lava (or magma, whichever it is), Mario has saved Yoshi's Island. Mario is then shown exiting the fortress with a yellow Yoshi egg in hand, and then blowing the castle up with dynamite. He's a regular Heinrich Schliemann. Here's what the narrator had to say about all this. "Mario has defeated the demented Iggy Koopa in castle # 1 and rescued Yoshi's friend who is still trapped in an egg. Together, they now travel to Donut Land." ======================================================================= =============================Donut Plains*============================= ======================================================================= This world introduces secret levels, and it does so in a grand fashion. However, remember that this a normal guide through the levels. Donut Plains is the name given to the land part of Donut Land (the part we will be playing through), and it a grassy area with a cavernous level and a switch palace, plus your first ghost house. It also serves as an introduction to the Cape Feather and the ever-so useful Top Secret Area, which I will explain in detail here. +----------------------+ | Donut Plains 1 | +----------------------+ As you go forward, you'll see a Super Koopa flying at you. Jump on it as just Mario and it will leave behind a Cape Feather. Grab it! These are the best items in the game in my opinion. With them, Mario can do a cape spin (Y), he can run and jump to soar, and he can slow his descents. It is a great item. Now continue forward to see yellow- caped Super Koopas, Koopa Troopas that gave up their shells to fly with Magic Capes. Jump on red-caped ones for a Cape Feather, but yellow- caped ones give nothing. Now, defeat them and then grab the Dragon Coin from above the platform. Note that Super Koopas will be flying in from all over the place in this level. Go forward to see a Chargin' Chuck. The athlete is now throwing baseballs. Jump on him and finish him off to be gone with him (you get a Mushroom earlier, by the way, from a hedge), or just cape swipe him. Note that there are coins all in the air if you want to fly to them. Now go forward, avoiding the Super Koopas, to reach an accursed enemy - the Volcano Lotus. It spits out four fireballs that rain down around it. Defeat it quickly by cape swiping it before it can. Now ahead you should jump onto the platform, float into a Dragon Coin, and land by two Rotating Blocks. Hit them for coins and then go right to an upside-down pipe. Jump into it while holding up to take it to a three- in-a-row bonus round. Jump into ? Blocks and hope for a circle. Three circles (gotten in the right order) make for a 1-Up Mushroom. There is a cheat to this, too. If you use your cape to hit the left, right, and middle blocks in that order, it always works. Now, emerge and go right to a Volcano Lotus. Defeat it in the same way we did last time and hit the next ? Block for Yoshi (or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already have Yoshi). From there, if you run straight forward and jump at maximum speed, you'll rise to some clouds on which rests the third Dragon Coin. Now drop down to the Rotating Blocks above the baseball-pitching dual Chargin' Chucks here and ehad right to another Volcano Lotus. Eat it with Yoshi and jump above for the fourth Dragon Coin. Head right, using the cape to make well-timed drops onto the Chargin' Chuck here, and then jump from the Rotating Platforms here to upper ledge to the right. Jump to avoid a barrage of Super Koopas and head right again to the fifth Dragon Coin, which makes for a 1-Up. Now head right, jumping over the Chargin' Chuck but under the Volcano Lotus to clear the level by hitting the gate. +--------------------------+ | Donut Plains 2 (A) | +--------------------------+ Ugh, I hate this level. It takes place mostly underground. But what's really bad is that it is an automatically scrolling level, like the second room of Iggy's Castle. Go forward, hitting the ? Blocks for coins and the Yellow Block for a Mushroom. That Koopa-related enemy coming at you is a Buzzy Beetle, invulnerable to fire but weak to cape and jump. I do not, however, recommend jumping on them (unless you do so with Yoshi, who can crush them in one stomp). This will make their shells bounce around and that's good for nobody. Alternately, eat them. Ahead you'll see a rising yellow stone platform. Jump onto it when it's low, grab the Dragon Coin, and then quickly exit. The potato-looking bat that swoops down at you is an aptly-named Swooper. As the screen expands to the right, hit the ? Block for a Cape Feather. Pass by the yellow stone and hit the ? Block for coins before proceeding right to a mess of these vertical rising platforms. Jump up and press Up on the D-Pad at the second upside-down green pipe you see to take it up. When you emerge, jump onto the block and float right to a Chargin' Chuck kicking footballs at you. Because of their odd trajectory, they are rather difficult to block. Deftly float down onto him over and over until he is defeated. Then head right to a pipe. Walk into it, ignoring the yellow platforms along the way, to emerge on the outside. Jump right into the goal. Congrats, you've cleared Donut Plains 2 and can now advance to the next level. But first... +--------------------------+ | Donut Plains 2 (B) | +--------------------------+ Play it again and get right up to that green pipe you took, but don't take it. We're playing again to get Dragon Coins and the other secret but still standard exit. Another Dragon Coin (second) is on the platform right below the green pipe. After jumping over one more rising pillar, you'll each a hallway filled with coins, the third Dragon Coin, Buzzy Beetles, and Swoopers. You'll find a fluttering ? Block, too, which can be hit for a power-up. Continue right and you'll notice the roof is coming down. It will not crush you, though. Keep to the right and the hallway opens up to another rising pillar session with the fourth Dragon Coin on the first pillar. Get it, jump off, and wait for it to rise and fall again before getting on again. Now, as it rises, get to the right side jump off when you see land for the fifth Dragon Coin and some regular coins (meaning a 1- Up for you). The screen now stops scrolling and you see two of the same type of enemy - Spike Top. They are like a mix between Buzzy Beetles and Spinies, which you have not yet experienced. Buzzy Beetles are immune to fire because of their shells, and Spinies are immune to jumps because of their shells. These are immune to both, and they can be beaten either by cape spins or by eating them with Yoshi. Head right into the pipe afterward and you'll reach the exit gate again. Huzzah! But don't get too happy. We still have to play this level AGAIN. +--------------------------+ | Donut Plains 2 (C) | +--------------------------+ This time I guarantee you there is a point. Get to the room with the Chargin' Chuck in it that I took you to in my guide for Donut Plains 2 (A). Here, there are two ways you might reach the third and last exit of Donut Plains 2. First, the far cooler way if you have Yoshi, is to swallow the blue shell (just press Y from outside the little cage the blue shell is in). Yoshi will become winged - the effect of the blue shells when in the mouth of Yoshi - and you can take to the skies by pressing B repeatedly. At the top, you'll reach the key and keyhole I meant for you to reach. Alternately, if you don't have Yoshi (you must be Super/Fire/Caped Mario to do this, by the way), spin jump the Rotating Blocks to clear a way to the blue shell below and then grab it. Pick it up and throw it straight into the fourth Rotating Block above. This causes a vine to grow. Jump to it and climb up the vine (just like the fences in Iggy's Castle) to the key and keyhole. Either way you reached it, grab the key and put it in the keyhole to access the secret exit of this level, opening the way to the Green Switch Palace. +---------------------------+ | Green Switch Palace | +---------------------------+ It's pretty cool that you can actually take Yoshi inside switch palaces. For the first segment of the palace, just run forward to a pipe and take it. The below route filled to the brim with red Koopa Troopas made accessible by the P Switch is just a trick that leads to a dead- end (a pit to be precise). At the top, go through the pipe of this short palace and then run forward, jumping into the Green Switch. Now all green outline blocks are filled with Green Blocks! They always contain Cape Feathers and can be used to reach formerly inaccessible areas. Huzzah! +-----------------------------+ | Donut Ghost House (A) | +-----------------------------+ Back to the level we opened up in Donut Plains 2 (A), let's head along to our local Donut Ghost House. Most worlds have ghost houses in them. These are haunted mansion inhabited by Boos and other apparitions. Yoshi cannot enter these, by the way. Luckily, this is a very easy level, and you can save after beating them. For that reason, I always play this level to save my game after beating a tough level. Now, onto the regular guide through this house. The first room contains many Boos, ghostly characters from Super Mario Bros. 3 (quite a promotion, isn't it? Before, they were misfits, but now they have their own gathering place). They will come at you if your back is turned, but they will not if you're facing them. But, these are not your normal Boos - these are gathered Boos. They are not subject to the look/look-away rule. For this part, just walk forward, jumping pits, and then press up at the door. You appear in a new room. Run forward up the stairs and take a door at the end. You reappear in the lower path of that same room you were in. Hit the Rotating Block and a P Switch pops out. Do not hit it. Instead, jump over it and go right, entering the door. When you reappear, hit the Rotating Block to make a vine start growing. Climb it up and take the door to the left here to find the exit to the Donut Ghost House, which forms a bridge on the map to the next level. +-----------------------------+ | Donut Ghost House (B) | +-----------------------------+ It is a secret, but I really want to get you this - it will help you SO much. Play the ghost house again and enter with the Cape Feather (play Donut Plains 1 a few times if you need one). Get to the end of the first segment of walkway. Now run left and take off flying. You'll go through a gap and get onto the roof of the house! Run right until you fall into a secret alcove of the mansion where all the Rotating Blocks contain 1-Up Mushrooms. Take the door here to a secret exit that creates a path on the map to a secret level. +-----------------------+ | Top Secret Area | +-----------------------+ Halleluiah! This level rules! Top Secret Area is simply five different ? Blocks. The central one contains Yoshi or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already have Yoshi. The right two contain either Mushrooms or Cape Feathers depending on your status. The left two contain either Mushrooms or Fire Flower depending on your status. That's it! Stop here whenever you need to refresh on power-ups or Yoshi. Oh, joy is me! +----------------------+ | Donut Plains 3 | +----------------------+ A classic level if I do say so myself. Jump onto the triple-swinging stone platform and ride it right to a Green Block (it contains a Cape Feather, remember). Now jump right to a wood board circling an oval outline and then to another swinging platform. On it, take the first Dragon Coin and then jump right to another platform. With Yoshi, swallow the blue-shelled Koopa here and then fly to the upper-right. You'll find some clouds here on top of which are a plethora of coins and the second Dragon Coin at the end. Fall slightly to the right at the end to land by a Message Block on a platform with a red Koopa Troopa on it. The Message Block tells you how you can slide the screen slightly left or right by pressing L or R, respectively, on your controller. Now, jump onto the wooden platform to the right and hit the ON Block to make it an OFF Block. After that, you'll find the third Dragon Coin for this level. As you go, you'll hit another block, this one an OFF to become an ON, and then you'll pass under a Fuzzy. These are black and invincible fuzz balls that you will want to dodge. At the end, drop off the platform and pass right through the midway gate. Jump right onto the platform when the Fuzzy is below it and then jump from the swinging platform to the right to the wooden platform to the right. Jump when it jumps and you'll get the fourth Dragon Coin along the way as well as reaching an aerial yellow pipe. Take it down to the 1-Up matching game. If you're Caped Mario, remember the trick to always winning. With your cape, from the left side, hit the left, right, and then central blocks. When you emerge, go back a bit to a swinging platform to take the fifth Dragon Coin, and then return to where you emerged from the pipe. Jump from there to the wooden platform to the right to the next one to the Bonus Block (if you have 30 + coins, you get a 1-Up Mushroom) and then to the exit gate. Voila! +----------------------+ | Donut Plains 4 | +----------------------+ You start out by seeing a little Koopa crawling into a yellow shell... and becoming invincible to all except Yoshi. Yes, yellow-shelled Yoshis have similar effects as Super Stars. You can't beat them, so just skip over them. Jump to the pipe and then to the ledge to the right for a Dragon Coin. On the ground, that strange round thing is a Goomba (not rendered beautifully or accurately with such good graphics, might I add... *Gripe, gripe*). Beyond it are a few more pipes with Koopa Troopas on the side. The one after the long rising green pipe can be taken down (beware Jumping Piranha Plants) to reach a secretive area. Take the pipe at the end and you'll emerge below a new enemy - the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother. He flies about and throws hammers at you. Amazing! Jump to hit the underside of his blocks to knock him off. Now, see that red object at the corner of the ground and the ledge? Run into it and you'll run up the wall! Yes, very cool. When you reach horizontal ground, take the path down here by throwing a shell at all the Goombas and then hit the ? Blocks at the end. The central one is a power-up. Now hit the Rotating Blocks and grab the power-up (unless you have a Magic Cape already). Now jump for the second Dragon Coin, enter the pipe when the Jumping Piranha Plant is down, and then jump on the Koopa Paratroopas inside. Make sure to bounce up to the third Dragon Coin in there. When you emerge, you'll be shot right to an Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother. Hit it from underneath or from above and ride its platform over the pipe to the right to reach the midway gate. Now go right, jumping a pit as you do so, to find a Para-Goomba below a ? Block. Para-Goombas are winged Goombas or ones that parachute down (as some will later on). Defeat it by jumping on it twice and then throwing the Goomba away (yes, you can lift Goombas in this game) before you hit the ? Block for Yoshi. Crush the Para-Goombas ahead (taking the fourth Dragon Coin from the first pit after Yoshi's) and stop at the transparent block. Depending on when you hit it, you'll either get a Mushroom, a Fire Flower, a Cape Feather, or a Super Star. I suggest getting the Super Star to become Invincible Mario. If you do, rush the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother to the right and ride his platform to the ledge to the right, defeating Para-Goombas all the way through. And by Para-Goombas, I mean the kind that parachute down and become Goombas upon landing. You'll find the fifth and final Dragon Coin as you run this stretch before one last Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother. Hit it from beneath and use its platform to reach the exit gates to beat this level. +---------------------------+ | # 2 Morton's Castle | +---------------------------+ Morton, the conqueror of Donut Land, has built his castle here. It is much more high-tech than Iggy's, complete with escalators, and it also introduces quite a few new enemies to the mix. Any way you slice it, Morton's going down! As you enter, two Thwimps fall down. These are tiny versions of the Thwomp (which is why their name includes "wimps"), enemies from Super Mario Bros. 3. Avoid these jumping menaces and go right to see a Ball 'N' Chain. Wait for these weapons' spiky balls to pass away from the escalator and then take it up, stopping until it is safe to advance further up the escalator. At the top, take a door to a new room. Here, you meet the Thwomp. When you get close, they come crashing down to try to crush you. Bait them down and then pass under them when they are rising. Repeat this for the Thwomp at the staircase here and then jump the lava when the Podoboo is down. Continue the Thwomp process and you'll reach the door. Guarding are the skeletal remains of a Koopa Troopa - a Dry Bones. They can be beaten with a spin jump by Super/Fire/Caped Mario or a cape spin by Caped Mario, as they will come back to life if they are simply jumped on. Now take the door. Here, the stairs emerge from the wall to the right. Climb up them to the top and then jump to the platform to the left, from whim you should climb to the left and then onto the ? Blocks. When the block moves, hit the ? Blocks for a power-up and two coins. Now get back on top and jump onto the left block when the block sliding in and out on it is moving left. Jump to the stone blocks to the left after that and take the blocks to the right to the top of the right side here and then jump left to a Dry Bones and a jumping board. Defeat the former and then bounce on the latter into the compartment above. Take the stairs up, hit the Rotating Blocks, and jump through them to another Dry Bones. Beat it and then jump to the right and then to the left so that you're on the middle block. When the blocks retract, jump out of the pit and then proceed left and then up to the three ? Blocks, all coins, and the two Dry Bones guarding them. Jump the stairs to the left to reach a series of spikes moving to the right. Use the Green Block there to stand on and jump to the block to the left when it's out, and from there jump to the right. Defeat the Dry Bones, hit the Green Block for a Cape Feather, and take the red door. Boss: Morton Koopa Jr. Morton somewhat resembles his old man. He has a green shell with white spikes, a round head, and a patch of green hair. He is also a total wimp. In Super Mario Bros. 3, he was the second boss. So, he must be really mediocre to end up as the second boss in both of his appearance games. This fight is remarkably easy. Morton comes at you. Jump on his head and he is stunned. He speeds up now, walking up the walls and then dropping onto you. Be running when he drops so that he misses you. Also, he is heavy; the shockwaves paralyze you for a second after the fall. From there, repeat the process until you've jumped on Morton's noggin three times. Alternately, Fire Mario can burn him until he loses the fight. He shrinks into a tiny little thing, disappears, and then Mario gets to work. Removing a yellow egg from the castle, Mario topples it with three jumps afterward. Now that takes talent. But, our worrisome narrator is nervous about Mario's upcoming trials. "Morton Koopa Jr. of castle # 2 is now just a memory. The next area is the underground Vanilla Dome. What traps await Mario in this new world? What will become of Princess Toadstool?" ======================================================================= =============================Vanilla Dome*============================= ======================================================================= A small world inside of a mountain, Mario must pass through dangerous magma flows, an underground lake, and a ghost house to reach his toughest castle yet. Lemmy Koopa is ruling Vanilla Dome ruthlessly with his troops, and Mario must liberate the dome! +----------------------+ | Vanilla Dome 1 | +----------------------+ Go forward to see a Spike Top climbing the stairs. Eat it with Yoshi (come with him) and then move on. A Swooper will come down at you, and a ? Block flies right to you. It contains either a Mushroom (get) or a Fire Flower (don't get). Capes are the best item in here, remember. Now, to the right are some blocks arranged in a sort of maze. Take the lower path, using Yoshi to eat the Buzzy Beetles in the way, and jump for the Dragon Coin here. Other blocks contain other items (in fact, hidden in those Rotating Blocks are power-ups, a Cape Feather, a 1-Up Mushroom, and coins. With the Dragon Coin, head left and reenter the tunnel, this time exiting it to the right. Here, jump the pit and then use your cape (or the Buzzy Beetle) to hit the ? Block. Chances are it's a Fire Flower that you don't want to get. Move on to the right where you'll find a red Koopa to swallow and a pipe to take. Here, hit the ? Block for a Super Star and then jump onto the ledge. It slowly sinks into the lava; run right and plow through enemies, taking the second Dragon Coin at the end. When you emerge from the pipe you take, jump right to a midway gate. Drop down with the coins to the lower level. Head right, eating a Buzzy Beetle as you go, and hit the Rotating Blocks to access the upper tunnel. Now, if you are big, get hit to become small. Take the narrow upper path and push the Grab Block aside to reach the third Dragon Coin. Now drop down from that, hit the ? Block for a Mushroom, and then jump right to a pipe. Jump over these pipes, bouncing on the Koopa Paratroopa to reach the fourth Dragon Coin, and then launch the Buzzy Beetle's shell up the slope you come to. Climb it up and take the upper path (if you're big. If not, take the lower path, moving the Grab Block). Spin jump the Rotating Blocks and go right to the fifth Dragon Coin(also a 1-Up). Now go back to the upper path and go right on it, jumping on the Buzzy Beetle and kicking its shell at Chargin' Chuck (who is busting out his footballs, I see). Now leap right to the bar of the gate, finishing this level. +--------------------------+ | Vanilla Dome 2 (A) | +--------------------------+ Learn hatred, my friend, and learn it now! This is your first (possibly second) real water level, and it blows big time. You fall down into a pool of water. Swim right and out of it to find a Cheep Cheep, this one out of water. Stomp it and go right to find a Buzzy Beetle. Dispose of it and then fall into the water to the right. Hit the ? Blocks, one of which contains a Fire Flower. In water levels, Fire Flowers are the best power-up to have; get it. I'll assume you have Yoshi for this level, though. Sink down and eat the Cheep Cheep here, or use fire if you don't have Yoshi (for this level, Yoshi should serve as your first defense and fire your second). Swim right, eat another Cheep Cheep, and then you'll reach a block. Out of cruelty, the designers of this game made this a vine. Hit it, abandon Yoshi (we're all on an equal playing field now) and climb it up. Jump right, defeating the Buzzy Beetle and holding its shell, and then jump a gap to reach a new ledge. Pass right over these blocks and then jump down to the Dragon Coin and into the water. Swim right, flaming a Cheep Cheep as you go, and head right to an open area. Here, swim to the left side of the above opening and jump to hit an invisible block containing a 1-Up Mushroom (POINT A HERE). The other blocks merely have coins and a Cape Feather in it, which on normal circumstances would be great. However, these times call for skipping it. Now go right, hitting that ? Block for a Fire Flower (get it). Now jump right onto the ledge and then jump left onto the other ledge, getting the second Dragon Coin as you do. If you want, you can continue left to get a Fire Flower (do NOT hit the P Switch). Now jump back right to find a series of Rotating Blocks. Let Chargin' Chuck tackle through them to create a path and then head right, defeating a Buzzy Beetle as you go, to reach the midway gate. Go right, baiting the Chargin' Chuck to bust through the Rotating Blocks in your way. Now, as you go right you'll come to a changing block. Hit it for a Super Star and continue right, sliding on the slope (getting the third Dragon Coin on the way) to the end. Hit the P Switch here to pass through the blocks and then go right over the ledges to reach the fourth Dragon Coin on the top. Now go back left, jump down onto the green pipe (take it down). It's an icy sub-world in here. Go right, defeating Buzzy Beetles and jumping a watery gap, to reach a coin block. When you emerge, head right under a group of Swoopers, past three Chargin' Chucks, and then over a Spike Top to the exit gate. We may now proceed to Vanilla Ghost House, but there's more to do in Vanilla Dome 2. Note: We only collected four Dragon Coins this time, but the fifth is located in a somewhat secretive location. Below, in the secret walkthrough of Vanilla Dome 2, I will guide you to this Dragon Coin (it is rather difficult to get all five at once, though). +--------------------------+ | Vanilla Dome 2 (B) | +--------------------------+ Get to the point in the previous walkthrough that I directed you to get an invisible 1-Up Mushroom from a block by three ? Blocks over the water. In the guide, I wrote "(POINT A HERE)" to mark that spot. Swim right to a ? Block containing a Fire Flower. Hit it and jump right, then left to a new ledge. When you go left, pick up the P Switch. Do NOT hit the switch yet. Pick it up, jump through the coins, and then hit the P Switch. The brown blocks transform into coins! Jump through the coins to the ledge to the left. Drop left of them through the three-by-three coins here and you'll fall into some water. Jump left from it to land and grab a Dragon Coin (that's the missing one from the above guide). Also, to the left is a key. Pick it up and get into the water to the left. Swim past the Cheep Cheeps (do not get hit) and you'll see a keyhole by them. Insert the key and you'll have found the secret exit to this level. +-------------------------+ | Red Switch Palace | +-------------------------+ Though this is one of the most useless blocks to unlock, we should hit all of them. Here, you'll start out by a P Switch. Don't hit it. If you do, the blocks will come undone and the yellow Koopa Troopa in here will pulverize you. Instead, jump across the blocks, collecting coins, and going through the pipe at the end. Now jump onto the Red Switch. All red outline blocks will turn into Red Blocks, all of which containing nothing by the way (they cannot be hit). Useless? Quite, if you refer to power-ups. However, they are mostly used as platforms to jump onto or off of. +---------------------------+ | Vanilla Ghost House | +---------------------------+ A great increase in difficulty from that pathetic Donut Ghost House, but still not tough. After venturing inside alone, two ghosts will hover at you. These are called Eeries, and they always fly to the left or right in patterned movements. Continue right and you'll find the Boo Buddies, a large circle of Boos with one gap in them. Use that gap to reach the Dragon Coin below them and the ? Block (a power-up) above. Now head right, avoiding the Boos here as you jump from platform to platform. On one platform is the second Dragon Coin. As you continue you'll reach two rows of Rotating Blocks, and between them is a beast known as Big Boo. It behaves like normal Boos, but it is much larger. Hit the Rotating Blocks to get to the top row and then jump over them. Right, you'll find a second. Hit the ? Block, staring at the Big Boo the entire time, until the Cape Feather falls to you. Now leap over it to find a ring of Boo Buddies. They circle around the third Dragon Coin and a coin block. Pass them, taking both coins, and take the door here to a new room. As you go right, you'll reach a giant green bubble. Either avoid it, as it is deadly, by letting it pass over you (this requires moving left, though), or jump it with Caped Mario's drifting descent. Continue right, avoiding two bubbles at a time eventually, and stop when you find three Rotating Blocks. Hit the central one to find a P Switch. Don't hit it yet. Carry it right past a door (do not take it. It leads to a point in the previous room) and collect the fourth Dragon Coin along the way. Now collect the coins to the right and then hit it. A door appears (normally, it would be blocked off by the coins which become blocks), and you want to take it. When you reappear, you'll be outside before the exit. Note: The fifth Dragon Coin in this level was quite cleverly hidden, and I did not lead you to it in the mainstream guide. However, it is located in the first room. When you reach the end with the Boo Buddies, start running (you must be Caped Mario to do this) and take off flying at the end wall. You'll reach a gap in the roof that you can use to get onto the roof (left). Head left now, avoiding two Eeries that come your way, and collect coins as you go. The last four coins surround the fifth Dragon Coin. +----------------------+ | Vanilla Dome 3 | +----------------------+ Now here's a cool level. Go right and jump onto the skull platform. It floats along the lava. Now, notice those two eyes peering out of the lava. This is your first glance at a Blargg, lava-dwelling dinosaurs that became quite popular in Yoshi-based games. When the eyes submerge, the Blargg is about to strike; jump to avoid it mauling you with a tackle. Now, here come ? Blocks. The upper one contains a 1-Up Mushroom and the other two contain coins. Now, avoid a second Blargg and jump onto land. Eat the Jumping Piranha Plants if you have Yoshi and then climb the pipes to reach the top. Slide down this slope and take the first Dragon Coin. Now jump onto the skull platform and ride it across the lava, avoiding a few Blarggs to come to land. Now, go right all the way here against the pipe, turn around, and make a running jump into flight. As you rise straight up, you'll find a niche in the wall that you can go through above. This leads to one of the best items in the game - a 3-Up Moon. It gives you three extra lives, and it is very rare. Now, from there, drop back down to that platform that you took off from. Go all the way right again and jump to hit an invisible block. Use it to reach the pipes. Drop in, hit the ? Block for a Cape Feather, and then jump right over the pipe. Now, stop when you're over the pipe and run forward to maximum speed. Jump to start flying and you'll reach another secret alcove. Go right in it to reach a green pipe. Take it for one of those matching bonus games. Remember the cheat if you have the Cape Feather - use your cape swipe to hit the left, right, and middle blocks from the left for a guaranteed 1-Up Mushroom. Now, at the top, you'll emerge from a pipe later on in the level. Go left and take the yellow pipe here to an icy world. Just jump over the water and bounce on the red Koopa Paratroopa at the end for the second Dragon Coin. Now hit the ? Block to the right and take the pipe up. When you emerge, go right and either run up the pipe or bounce up (if you have Yoshi) to reach the midway gate (be sure to stomp the red shell to reach it!). Hit the above block for either Yoshi or a 1-Up Mushroom if you have Yoshi. Go right and hop onto the skull platform to sail over the lava. For the first segment, you just jump over some Blarggs. Then you reach a steep drop, kind of like a lava-fall, and you'll want to jump to the stone platform here. When the skull platform is below it, jump right to the third Dragon Coin. After that and one more Blargg, you'll reach land. Assuming you still have Yoshi, eat the Spike Tops here and head right. Jump over some Buzzy Beetles and gaps to reach the fourth Dragon Coin, and jump right to reach a ? Block for a power-up. Now jump right again to a long ledge. Get to the right side, turn left, and start running. Take off to flying at the end and you'll reach a small hallway to the upper-right. Jump over the snapper plants here as you head right, getting the fifth Dragon Coin, and hit the P Switch at the end. A staircase of ? Blocks is formed, leading you right to the goal gate. Note: There is actually a sixth Dragon Coin in this level. If you don't take the bonus room pipe we took and continue on the lava as you would normally, you'll reach a Dragon Coin down the hallway before a series of Piranha Plants. +----------------------+ | Vanilla Dome 4 | +----------------------+ This level introduces you to Bullet Bills. They are constantly being fired from the distance, and they are simply smaller versions of the Banzai Bill (from Yoshi's Island 1). They can be jumped on, eaten, or cape spun. Also, notice that this level would seem to be outside. This is rather odd considering that it is in Vanilla Dome, but oh well. Run forward and dodge some Bullet Bills to drop to the first Dragon Coin. Now, see that green spring to the right? Jump on the edge and press B to bounce straight up. Now go right, defeating red Koopa Paratroopas and dodging the melee of Bullet Bills, to reach a Mushroom below a series of these green springs (don't get it unless you need it). Now jump right to a series of green springs, in the center of which is the second Dragon Coin. Just bounce along them, avoiding missiles, to reach ground. Hit the ? Block found here for a power-up and then go right to a green spring. Bounce from it to a small set of platforms with Koopa Paratroopas hovering around it before you bounce to higher ground. Here, jump right at the end to pass through the midway gate's tape. It is around here that Bullet Bills stop being fired individually and start being fired from all angles. It shouldn't be hard, but careful movements can avoid them. Now, the second pipe in the upcoming series of Jumping Piranha Plants and green springs can be taken down. Jump to the skull platform here to ride it across the lava. Jump over the shorter block stacks and duck under large ones. At the very end, you'll be many coins richer and you can jump for the third Dragon Coin. Now jump right when you emerge and jump over the high pillar and down under the green spring to the fourth Dragon Coin. Continue right, using green springs and Koopa Paratroopas to bounce over pits, and you'll see a red winged turtle flying by the fifth Dragon Coin. Jump on it and bounce to collect this coin, making for a 1-Up. Right of that is the goal gate. +--------------------------+ | # 3 Lemmy's Castle | +--------------------------+ Come with as Caped Mario with a Cape Feather in item stock. Lemmy is often depicted, not only by his sprite but also by official game art, as a severely odd fellow. Yes, I think there's something wrong with this guy. In any case, Bowser's "special" child was assigned Vanilla Dome to conquer, and his castle is moderately easy. Still, it's your toughest castle yet. We must liberate Vanilla Dome and rescue another member of Yoshi's herd! Let's rumble, Lemmy! One of the coolest enemies in the game appears next to you - a Magikoopa. These robed Koopa sorcerers cast spells at you, but they affect other things, too. Defeat them by jumping, although you actually need their help from time to time. If a Magikoopa casts a spell at you from below, they will hit one of the Rotating Blocks you're on. This turns the block into a yellow-shelled Koopa Troopa (oh, their terrible black magic!). You can use that opening made to fall down to the lower level if you're too lazy to do a spin jump. Note that at least two of the upper blocks contain a 1-Up Mushroom. When you've reached the end of the passage and Podoboos, go right past some Magikoopas and hit the ? Block for a power-up. Now, here is something rather unique of castles - water. But, we don't want to go in it. Jump to the Rotating Block to the right and jump along them to reach a P Switch. Pick it up and head right until you see several coins arranged like the lower half of a box. Just get the two on the left side and then jump back to the pair of Rotating Blocks to the left. Drop the P Switch there and hit it, causing the coins to manifest into blocks below a door. Jump to the door and take it to reach the midway gate. Note: If you could not reach the door, a shortcut here, then you could go right of where the door is, over some lava (Podoboo inclusive), and you'll reach a staircase that leads to a door. Below, you'll start out the paragraph with the sentence "Go right until you reach the edge of this hallway." From there, go right and hit the Rotating Block for a 1-Up Mushroom and continue right to a door. It leads to a new room. Go right until you reach the edge of this hallway. See the stones rising to the right? When they are up, jump onto them and wait for it to lower. When it does, jump to the top of the uppermost block and then jump right to a Dry Bones. Spin jump or cape spin it to beat it in one hit permanently. Now, to the right is a lowering block meant to crush you. Wait for it to rise and then jump into the opening, then jumping over the lava (beware the Podoboo there) to another Dry Bones. Defeat it and look right. When the block there is up so that the lava is not covering the floor, jump to it. As the block lowers, jumping to the overhang and wait there until the block begins to rise. Get on the ground and jump right to defeat a Dry Bones. From there, wait for the block to the right to lower and jump right on it to a stationary platform. When the Podoboo is down and the passage is open, jump through the opening and run right to the Mushroom alcove. Wait there to avoid being crushed and then let the roof rise. When it does, get out of the alcove and go right to another staircase. Get on it and step down as the stairs rise above the lava. Jump right from there to a new platform and then jump right to a hallway when the Podoboo is down. Defeat the Dry Bones and then use the elevator to the right to reach another stationary platform. Take the next elevator down, defeat the Dry Bones, and take the next one up. Then jump right, hit the Green Block for a Cape Feather, and take the red door... Boss: Lemmy Koopa Lemmy was the sixth boss in Super Mario Bros. 3; he has experienced a halving in rank. And for good reason, too. This guy is not quite right in the head if you ask me. In this battle, there are seven pipes on the ground over a pool of lava (you cannot fall in; don't worry about the lava), and a Podoboo is ricocheting off the walls and bouncing about. Out of the pipe will come Lemmy and two dummies. Lemmy himself has a yellow shell, a white mohawk, and a clownish attitude. He may stick is tail up out a pipe, he may make faces at you, and so on. His strategy is to get you to hit the Podoboo (why doesn't he just stay in one pipe?). To beat him, jump on the real Lemmy when it emerges from a pipe. Three bumps and he'll throw his arms back in pain, open his mouth as if to shriek, and he'll fall from his pipe into the lava. Easy! After taking the yellow egg from the castle, Mario grabs a hammer and smashes the castle to bits, just like he was in Donkey Kong or something. The narrator was intrigued. We can answer yes to his question, by the way. "Mario has triumphed over Lemmy Koopa of castle # 3. Mario's quest is starting to get much more difficult. Have you found the Red and Green Switches yet?" ======================================================================= ===========================The Twin Bridges*=========================== ======================================================================= A warp pipe in Vanilla Dome leads out of the cavern and right to a bridge. Some might consider the second bridge of these bridges to be the land mass below the bridge, but it is said that there was once a second manmade bridge above the first one. In any case, Mario must cross the wooden bridge - Cheese Bridge - to reach a ladder that leads to Ludwig von Koopa's castle. Ludwig must feel really ripped off; he governs one of the smallest areas in the game (actually, it's much more extensive than this, but it requires the use of secret exits to fully expand the area. +------------------------------+ | Cheese Bridge Area (A) | +------------------------------+ Go forward and hit the ? Block for a power-up. Now jump onto the wooden platform to the right. Three Dragon Coins can be found around here, but they are rather difficult to get. Eventually, two more wooden platforms become accessible, and chainsaws start to zip around the lines. Jump the chainsaws and grab the Dragon Coins. The first and third Dragon Coins are on the lowest level, while the second is on the upper level. At the end, you can jump right to the midway gate (jump from the ? Block if you can't reach it). Hit the ? Block for Wings, an item that Yoshi can use only. Assuming you don't get them, jump to the rope of the machine to the right and ride across the gap to a small bridge. Jump right from there and hit the ? Block for a Cape Feather. Now jump onto the rope of the machine here to get the fourth Dragon Coin before you drop to the pipe, which you should take. As you jump across the platforms to the right, Bullet Bills will be fired from all intermediate directions (northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest). Avoid them and take the pipe at the end up. Jump to the rope of the machine to the right and you'll start going. Chainsaws are found in this area, and you'll have to climb (or jump, the smarter thing to do) up or down to avoid their cutting edges. Along the way is the fifth Dragon Coin. Take it and continue riding the machine down to the end of the level - the goal gate. +------------------------------+ | Cheese Bridge Area (B) | +------------------------------+ Bring Yoshi along this time to Cheese Bridge Area. Get to the midway gate using the above guide. Hit the ? Block next to it and Wings come out. Jump into them and Yoshi will take to the skies, turning blue in color, to a short bonus round. Flying, press B repeatedly like swimming. The screen slowly scrolls right, and there are only Fuzzies circling around blocks to stand in your way. Collect coins as you go and then fall down at the end when you see an arrow made of blocks pointing down. You beat the level! The point? It's a really cool little bonus area and it lets you get Blue Yoshi. If you ever want one, go play this level. But, for the sake of any-time uses, I'll assume you don't have one for all future levels. +-----------------------+ | Cookie Mountain | +-----------------------+ The name of the mountain that Ludwig's castle rests on, Cookie Mountain is a pretty easy level. Defeat the Koopa that comes at you and the Monty Mole that pops up and head right. The enemy here is called a Sumo Brother. They are pretty rare, and they are always found on rows of ? Blocks. Jump from below to hit the block they're standing on to beat them. If not, they'll stamp the blocks and cause a spark to fall down and set the nearby grass on fire, which will hurt you. When it's defeated, hit the ? Blocks for coins and a power-up. Now jump right over the pit and jump on the slanted ledges for a Dragon Coin. Now, jump to the ledge to the right and you'll reach a path leading down. Use repetitive cape spins (assuming you have them) to defeat the Monty Moles as you head down these paths, and then go right to jump over a pit and onto a new ledge. Five Monty Moles will pop out to fight you (ahem, cape swipes, ahem). Beat them and then jump the pipe, which is home to a Jumping Piranha Plant, by the way, and then jump the pit to the right. Here, jump into the air for the Dragon Coin here and then run past the Sumo Brothers on the Jump Blocks (those musical note blocks). Now jump through the midway gate from the green, Jumping Piranha Plant-inhabited pipe. Go right past some Monty Moles, killing or avoiding them if you'd like, and you'll reach some Rotating Blocks. Hit the third one form the left and a vine rises up. Take it to the third Dragon Coin. Now drop back down to earth. Do not enter the pipe. Instead, hit the block to the right between the two Jump Blocks to free Yoshi (or, I reiterate, a 1- Up Mushroom if you already have Yoshi). Now go right, jumping on these platforms for the fourth Dragon Coin, and defeat the Monty Moles. Eat the pink berry here and then jump the gap, eating the pink berry there. Voila! A cloud is, um, excreted from Yoshi and it drops coins! Neat-o! Now go right, hitting the block here with your cape (if you have it) to get a Super Star. Now go right, defeating the Jumping Piranha Plant that spews fireballs, and go right to a series of filled gaps (that is, filled if you hit the Green/Red Switches) on top of which is the fifth Dragon Coin. Now continue right, jumping a pit, to find two Sumo Brothers. Hit them from below (there are coins and a Cape Feather in those blocks) and then go right. Cape spin the jumping Chargin' Chuck here to beat him and then use the block by the pipe to reach the goal gate and exit. +---------------------------+ | # 4 Ludwig's Castle | +---------------------------+ The conclusion to this rather short world is a castle even easier than # 3. Enter with two Cape Feathers - one for Caped Mario and one in item stock. Ludwig von Koopa is responsible for barring your progress to the east, and he must be stopped once and for all to emancipate whoever lives on this bridge! You start in a long hallway. Go right in it and you'll have a short drop to find a new enemy - a Bony Beetle. These are the mummified remains of Buzzy Beetles, and they can be defeated in either one of two ways - spin jump by non-small Mario or a cape spin by Caped Mario. It can be jumped on, but it will come back to life like a Dry Bones. Now jump to the upper block here when the Ball 'N' Chain is down and jump to the next hallway. Use your better judgment to pass by the Ball 'N' Chains and to defeat the Bony Beetles here. You can duck to survive the strike of many of the Ball 'N' Chains. When you reach the end, do not pick up the Mushroom unless you were hit and then go through the door. The sky is falling! Yes, the roof is spiked and it is slowly caving in on you. Wait for Podoboos to go down and jump across the lava pits as you go left past some Bony Beetles, too. You'll soon reach an ON/OFF Block. Hit it and the roof begins to rise. Continue left, leaping over lava gaps and beating Bony Beetles. The roof will soon reach the top and then start to lower again. Continue on, though, until you reach the final stretch - a long pathway to the left. Run on it until you reach a door, which you should take. It's a wire net a la Iggy's Castle! Jump onto it and start climbing. Like before, Y and X can punch while B is to jump. Climb up the wire net, sticking to the right side as you do so, and go through the first opening. At the end of it is a ? Block containing a power-up. Return to the fence and start climbing again. There are several possible routes, but I suggest just climbing straight up, defeating Koopa Troopas on the nets as you go. At the top, take the red door to the master of the castle. Boss: Ludwig von Koopa Go right to find Ludwig, Bowser's son with white hair (not a mohawk, interestingly enough, a bright yellow and spiked shell, and quite a bit of fight in him. Ludwig was the boss of the seventh world in Super Mario Bros. 3, making this a demotion for him, but he still is the only one of the Koopalings in this game to have a completely unique fighting style. As you begin, Ludwig will fire several fireballs at you. Jump over them and he'll withdraw into his shell, sliding around the ground to hit you (just like yellow-shelled invincible Koopa Troopas). And when he's done with that, Ludwig will make a huge, flipping jump over to you. He will then resume his pattern of spitting fireballs. To beat Ludwig, all you must do is jump on his head three times. After three hits, he shrinks like Morton Koopa Jr. and disappears into a puff of smoke. Hooray! Afterward, Mario takes the golden Yoshi egg out and hits a dynamite pack. However, it rockets the castle into the horizon, strangely, causing it to hit a hill in the background. Even on the map, that hill will have a bandage on it for the rest of the game. The narrator, also the one in the Message Blocks, no doubt, still questions Mario's skills. "Ludwig von Koopa's days of composing Koopa symphonies in castle # 4 are over. The Forest of Illusion lies ahead. Mario must use his brain to solve the puzzles of this perplexing forest." ======================================================================= ==========================Forest of Illusion*========================== ======================================================================= This confusing forest features tons of secret exits, and the normal exits all lead to dead-ends. Only by solving the mysteries of the forest can Mario hope to find his way out of the forest and into Roy Koopa's castle. For this section, I will first cover how to beat every single (non- secret) level in this place the normal way. We will go for a switch palace along the way as we head clockwise and then find the exit to this place, as well as all the secret exits to complete the path (without finding the secret level). As a note of interest, the paths in this place make the shape of the head of Link, the Hylian hero of a personal favorite series of mine, The Legend of Zelda. It looks just like his head in the A Link to the Past style (you know, the sign that they show in Kakariko Village that says "Wanted" and shows a caricature of Link). +--------------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 1 (A) | +--------------------------------+ Walking toward you is a Wiggler, a new enemy. If you jump on them, they blow their tops and turn red. Do not, though. Jump over the peaceful caterpillar and then jump over the gap to the right. Use the Rotating Block to jump to the ? Block for a power-up. Now jump right over a series of small ledges with red Koopa Troopas on them to reach one with a Wiggler and Goombas on it. Hit the ? Block for Yoshi (or a 1-Up Mushroom if you had Yoshi). Now we're talking! Eat the Wiggler and Goombas and then head right. Eat the Para-Goomba here and then use the spring to reach a pink berry above you. Now hop the pit and hit the block for a 1-Up Mushroom (be sure to eat the Wiggler, too). Hit the Jump Block that the 1-Up Mushroom is on as it slides right to knock it up and then jump for it as it falls into the pit to the right. Here, head over several Wigglers to reach the midway gate. Shortly after it is a transparent block. Hit it and get a Super Star, trust me. As Invincible Mario, ride right under the enemies that emerge from the Rotating Block, making sure to hit all of them. The more enemies you defeat while invincible, the more points you get and eventually the more extra lives you get! Stop when you reach a ? Block, though. Hit it and out comes a new item - a Power Balloon. Jump into it and you'll abandon Yoshi, but Mario will inflate to Balloon Mario. Float the rest of the way right in this Dragon Coin-less level to reach the goal gate. +--------------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 1 (B) | +--------------------------------+ Get to the Power Balloon in the above guide and stop there. Hit it and inflate yourself to Balloon Mario. Instead of going right, though, get below the path to the left and head left. Avoid a red Koopa Paratroopa as you go and you'll a ? Block above a keyhole. Wait to deflate, hit the ? Block, and out comes a key. Insert the key into the keyhole and you've found the secret exit, which gives us access to the Forest Ghost House. +--------------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 2 (A) | +--------------------------------+ Even though we could go to the Forest Ghost House, I chose not to because, as I said earlier, we are going to clear this world in a clockwise manner wherever possible. This is an underwater level; come with two Fire Flowers. When you start, you'll notice a green, depressed-looking fish called a Blurp swimming along here in a straight fashion, not even bothering to try to hit you. Let it go by (it can be cape spun, fired, or eaten, though) and then skip over the Green Block. Now head right under the Blurps to find two new enemies - Urchins. They float up and down to get in your way. Let them float out of the way and then pass by. Now, to the right another Urchin and a school of Blurps are coming. Wait them out or flame them and then rise up. As the Urchin comes out, take the Dragon Coin, and then go back down and up when the Urchin goes in (I'm trying to make sense here; stay with me). Now, do you see the Grab Block to the right? Grab it and throw it at the Urchin to your right. It is almost the only way to beat one. Now go right and up, and then drop down (make sure to avoid any Urchins along the way). Ignore the Grab Block on the bottom and go right until you can no longer. Swim upward now to a ? Block containing a Fire Flower and then swim right. Go completely right and swim over some Urchins to find the second Dragon Coin guarded by a Rip Van Fish. These pursuing fish are sleeping at first, but they start to chase you when awakened. Now go left, drop all the way to the bottom, hit the invisible blocks in the alcove as you head right for a 1-Up Mushroom, and take the third Dragon Coin at the end guarded by a Rip Van Fish. Now, return to where the two rising Urchins were (you may want to reverse the order of how you collect the Dragon Coins) and go under them. Swim right past these Urchins to a hallway. The fourth Dragon Coin is guarded by an Urchin here. Now continue right until you can fall down all the way to a Yellow Block (POINT B HERE). Head right from it, swimming past a legion of Rip Van Fishes, and take the fifth Dragon Coin from one of the upper alcoves. Keep swimming and running right until you reach the goal gate. +--------------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 2 (B) | +--------------------------------+ Forest of Illusion 3 is now open, but we will not go to it just yet. Get to the point in the level using the guide above that I marked with the phrase "(POINT B HERE)" above. It is toward the end, just a little ways left of the goal gate and Chargin' Chuck by it (what's a Chargin' Chuck doing underwater?). When you reach the Yellow Block, notice a wall to the left. Well, it is in the background, my friend. Swim left through the wall and you'll find a key and keyhole. Use them to find the secret exit of this level. +--------------------------+ | Blue Switch Palace | +--------------------------+ Those creatures above you are Spinies, basically Spike Tops without the fire-resistance. Now, you can either head right here without stopping to hit the P Switches, or you can hit the P Switches. Here's what you'll want to do: jump on the blue P Switch to make the Spinies fall to the lower block level. Then wait for that switch to wear off and hit the silver P Switch, turning all the Spinies into silver coins. Collect all the silver coins and you'll get a 1-Up. Neat-o! Now take the pipe to the right to the main switch room. Run forward, jump, and you'll have pressed the Blue Switch. Now all outlined blocks have become full Blue Blocks. Huzzah! Blue Blocks don't contain anything, but they can be used on very rare occasions to jump from and onto. +--------------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 3 (A) | +--------------------------------+ Enter the bubble! Most enemies in this level appear in bubbles, and only be popping them can you set them loose. The enemy you see coming at you at first is a Bob-omb, an old Super Mario Bros. 2 enemy. Jump on it and then throw it before it explodes, kind of like a Goomba. Now head right, avoiding a Goomba bubble, and jump over the pit after the pipes, taking the first Dragon Coin as you make your jump over it. Now, here you should jump to the jumping board and bounce up over the pipe. Hit the ? Block for an Egg to come out (Yoshi or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already have Yoshi). Now jump into the pipe to the right to play the matching 1-Up game. When you reappear, go right and jump a gap to reach a Rotating Block pair. Hit the lower one to knock a red shell into the upper one, setting loose a jumping board. Carry it right, drop it, and then bounce to the yellow pipe. Jump right to the second Dragon Coin and then jump the gap. Here, run right before the Goombas fall down and you'll pass right through the midway gate, meeting all your checkpoint needs. Jump over the gap to the right and then onto the pipe. Jump through the third Dragon Coin to land on the other pipe. Now go right, under some bubbles, to reach a green pipe. Jump over it and hit the ? Blocks for coins. Continue right to more coin blocks, in the middle of which is the fourth Dragon Coin. After it you'll find Chargin' Chuck. Jump over him to the pipe, drop to the fifth Dragon Coin, and then jump to the goal gate. +------------------------------+ | Forest Ghost House (A) | +------------------------------+ We now have formed a circle, so let's start out. Go right to see a Big Boo. Avoid it and continue right past some minor Boos and eventually you'll find another Big Boo. Bait it forward and then jump over it to another hallway. Run forward to an opening and lead the Boos out toward you, who you should then jump over to the right. Continue right avoiding Boos and jump to the upper hallway. Duck under the oncoming Eeries and then drop to the lower hallway. Run forward under more Eeries to reach two ? Blocks, the right of which contains a power-up, and a Dragon Coin. Now go right to a door, which you should take. Run forward in here (this room is a lot like the first room of Donut Ghost House) and jump over the blocks when appropriate. There are two ? Blocks, one of each type (Fire Flower, Cape Feather), before you find the third Dragon Coin. The second Dragon Coin was right after the Cape Feather ? Block. Upon getting the third Dragon Coin, head right to grab the fourth Dragon Coin (if you are small, you can hit the Rotating Block right of it for a 1-Up Mushroom). Now grab the P Switch and run right, jumping over the first door and getting into the little alcove guarded by a row of coins at the rightmost side of the room. Hit it then and take the glass door that appears. You appear on the roof of the first room. Go left until you reach the fifth Dragon Coin, and then go further left to a door. Here, take the 3-Up Moon and jump into the goal tape. +------------------------------+ | Forest Ghost House (B) | +------------------------------+ The last step we took did nothing, but this last one will. Follow the guide until you get the fifth Dragon Coin. Then go right to the first door you reached and take it. It's the same goal as before, minus the 3-Up Moon. Jump into the goal gate and a new level is opened. +----------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 4 | +----------------------------+ This level features Fishin' Lakitu. He's above you with a tantalizing 1-Up Mushroom dangling from his fishing line. If you get it at any point in the level, Fishin' Lakitu become Lakitu. Lakitu will throw Spinies at you and be extremely annoying; don't touch his line. Go right from the start to reach a stair set of Rotating Blocks with a Dragon Coin right of the top. Jump for it and then head right. In the blue pipe you come to is a Lakitu. Avoid it and head right hitting a transparent block there for whatever power-up you're in need of. Continue right and jump over the green pipe here (there's a Fire Flower in the ? Block line around the Rotating Block over here. Spinies are weak to cape spins, fireballs, and Yoshi only). Also, get the second Dragon Coin under the blocks here. Now jump right past a blue pipe and onto a rising green pipe (like in Donut Plains 4). Jump down to a Dragon Coin as you go, our third, and hop the pit to the right. Jump over the pipes and go right under the yellow tube here to find a yellow pipe. Defeat the Lakitu inside and then jump left onto the yellow tube to pass through the midway gate. Jump right to see some stairs. Take them down, hit the P Switch, and collect the coins while avoiding the Spinies. When that's done with, advance to the right and climb the stairs. Avoid the Koopa Paratroopa and jump to the green pipe to the right, second from the left, and take it down if you want coins. If you do take it down, swim left past the Blurps and pick up coins as you go until you reach an orange pipe. Take it up to be by the orange pipes before the checkpoint again. In either case, get back to the green pipe. Jump onto the one right of it and then to the rotating blocks to the right. Lakitu will hover real close to you now. Jump on him and steal his cloud! COOL! Hover up and collect coins, the fourth Dragon Coin in particular. Now head right over some Grab Blocks and Koopa Troopas to reach a Chargin' Chuck and the fifth Dragon Coin. Right of it is the goal gate. +--------------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 3 (B) | +--------------------------------+ Let's now return to Forest of Illusion 3. By the way, you should now be able to see Link, A Link to the Past caricature-style, made up of the paths here. The Blue Palace Switch is his nose, the Forest Ghost House-Forest of Illusion 4 path is his hat, and the rest forms his head. But, he's missing a neck, and we need to make him one. That's right; I mean we need to make an exit of this forest (also, it is quite appropriate that the Forest of Illusion should have Link's head outline in it, considering that Link spent his childhood in Kokiri Forest)! The secret path in this level is painfully obvious, but I will explain all. Follow the guide for this level in the sub-section of this section entitled "Forest of Illusion 3 (A)" until you reach the Chargin' Chuck before the goal gate. You must be Super/Fire/Caped Mario to do this, by the way. Enter the green pipe to the right and spin jump the Rotating Blocks here. Hmm, wouldn't have thought of that, now would you have? Please, tell me you disagree with that statement... Lift the key and insert it into the keyhole. Presto! We're out of the Forest of Illusion and to Roy's Castle. +------------------------+ | # 5 Roy's Castle | +------------------------+ Roy Koopa is the cool Koopa Kid of the pack. With his sunglasses and all, he probably didn't need to rule the forest, but that's what he got stuck with. His castle isn't half-hard, but it's definitely tougher than Ludwig's Castle. Anyways, there's still a Yoshi trapped in there, and it's up to us to save it! Let's rock, Roy! And I'm not talking about Roy Orbison, either! This castle actually has Dragon Coins in it. Go forward and drop onto the brown platform. It begins to move! Jump for the first Dragon Coin as it runs horizontally and then stay on the middle block of it as much as you can. Follow its winding movements while avoiding Podoboos and you'll soon cross the lava completely to enter a similar room with spikes on the roof and floor. Here you'll collect the second Dragon Coin and continue this platform-walking. The third and fourth Dragon Coins are also here, but they are under falling spikes. So, either grab them before the spikes fall or after the spikes fall, and then jump off the platform when it passes the spiked room. Jump across the gap to the right and then wait for the brown spike to fall. Now, see the P Switch here? Grab it and go past the third Podoboo here before hitting it. The Bowser statue above that spits fire will fall, and so will a 1-Up Mushroom, right to you. With it, head right and into a new chamber. Hit the Green Block for a Cape Feather and jump right for the fifth Dragon Coin. Go right again, this time jumping to a Bowser statue as you avoid the Podoboo, and then take the red door to your destiny. Boss: Roy Koopa Roy got no promotion at all; he was and still is the fifth boss in both Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. He is a blue-shelled Koopaling with white spikes on it, shades, and arched eyebrows. He fights just like his brother, Morton Koopa Jr. That is, walls fall down and puncture the floor of the arena. Roy then runs forward at you. He will then run up the wall and drop onto you. First, you can avoid his attack of falling onto you by simply moving when he drops. When he lands, the shockwaves from this heavy Koopaling will paralyze you both for a second, and he then resumes attacking. As he runs forward to the walls, jump on his head. Three jumps and you win. Roy is also weak to fireballs. The only difference between the fight with Morton Koopa Jr. is the walls - they close in on you during each of Roy's attacks. Hit him three times before you are crushed and you've saved Forest of Illusion. Roy shrinks and disappears in a poof of smoke, and Mario uses dynamite to blow up the castle. However, when he hit the switch, it didn't explode. When he went to check out the castle, it did explode, and so Mario looks all burnt and crispy now. Ha, ha, Mario! But, another one of Yoshi's friends is safe. The narrator thinks that Mario will gain a few pounds shortly. "Mario found his way through the Forest of Illusion and has put an end to Roy Koopa of castle # 5. Onward to the dangerous (but tasty) Chocolate Island!" ======================================================================= ===========================Chocolate Island*=========================== ======================================================================= Whether or not this place is actually made of chocolate is a mystery, but it is a highly mountain area with a ghost house and the works. Wendy O. Koopa, Bowser's little girl (and only daughter), reigns supreme in this rather large region. Still, Mario isn't afraid to fight girls, and he's going to defeat Wendy and her troops in one climactic duel! To the flagship! +--------------------------+ | Chocolate Island 1 | +--------------------------+ Ahead of you is a Dino-Rhino, a large fire-breathing dinosaur. Jump on its head and it becomes the smaller Mini-Rhino, which can be defeated in any number of ways. For your purposes, just jump on this skittish creature. Now, go forward and down comes a Dino-Torch, which is essentially the same thing as a Mini-Rhino. Jump on it, cape spin, fireball it, eat it with Yoshi - just beat it. Go forward and onto the ledge here, and then head forward. You'll get a Mushroom from the hedge here when you approach a Dino-Rhino, and after it is straight path up to a depression. Defeat the Dino-Torches and go forward, defeating more enemies. Soon you'll reach a Jumping Piranha Plant in a pipe, and after it is the first Dragon Coin. After it is a yellow pipe. Take it down and run forward to a spring. Use it to cross the gap and pass through the midway gate. Go right to discover a P Switch. Hit it and jump over the Chargin' Chuck and plants here to two slanted ledges. Jump right of them to a second Dragon Coin and land on the ledge. Go right on it, defeating enemies along the way, to reach a fluttering ? Block. Hit it for a power-up along the Fire Flower side of the power-up family. Further right is a gap with the third Dragon Coin over it. When you land, hit the ? Block for Yoshi or a 1-Up Mushroom if you have Yoshi already. Jump right, taking the fourth Dragon Coin over the Yellow Block, and take the second blue pipe here down. It's a water sub-level! Go right along it and jump onto the back of these friendly Dolphins. Ride them across the water over the Porcu- Puffers below. At the end, take the pipe up to be shot from the pipe to a jumping board with the fifth Dragon Coin over it. TO the right is the goal gate. +-------------------------+ | Choco-Ghost House | +-------------------------+ Ahead, jump over the moving gap and then over two Eeries. After another hop session, duck down to avoid a platoon of Eeries and then jump over another moving gap. After more of the same ahead, you'll see above you a Fishin' Boo. It basically the same as a Fishin' Lakitu, only it has a blue flame on the end of its line. As a result, it is deadly to the touch. Run forward, jumping over an Eerie, and then wait for an Eerie to pass over you after the next staircase. Then go right to see a ? Block. Hit it, wait for the five Eeries to pass, and then take the power-up. After it are three sets of Eeries and moving gaps. Get over it as well as you can and go right. See those blocks? They are actually Boos in disguise. When Mario looks at them, they become blocks, when his back is turned, they assume their true form. Quickly hit the ? Block over them for a power-up and then head right. The Boo Buddies here travel in a line and ricochet off the walls; get out of there to the right quickly. Continue right past a few more to find one of those block Boos. Lead it left. Make it stop when it is at the foot of the platform that the door is on. Jump from the block to the door and take it to reach the goal gate of this ghost house. +--------------------------+ | Chocolate Island 2 | +--------------------------+ Depending on how fast you are, the level is different. So, we're looking to get done at times that will be easy for everyone using this guide to match. I'll divide each section into time increments and screens, each numbered. 1) First, use the spring and the ledges to get to the very top of this first mountain. Head right until you see two coins against the wall. Fall down, having collected two obvious Dragon Coins and Yoshi from a ? Block along the way, and enter the pipe. 2) Here we have lots of slanted ledges with Koopa Paratroopas on them. Just jump across them, defeating Koopa Paratroopas if you want, and you'll reach the pipe easily. Make sure that you reach the end with between 240 and 250 seconds on the clock. 3) Here run right and defeat the Dino-Rhinos and Dino-Torches as you go. Make sure to collect the third Dragon Coin here, too. Take the pipe at the end. 4) Use a spring to jump across a large gap. Defeat the Rexes and then hit the goal gate. Note: It would seem impossible to get more than three Dragon Coins in this level using this method. Below is an alternate way to get through the level, getting five Dragon Coins as you do so. Though there is a sixth Dragon Coin, it is impossible to get all of them in one playing of this level. 1) Go right and jump onto the ledge to the right. Jump right of the spring on the ledge right of it to find an invisible block (it is the width of one block away from the high ? Block above). Now use that block to get the coins out of the ? Block (if you stand on the very left edge and jump, you'll get many. You want to do this, as you need to get many coins for this to work). Go right now, getting the Dragon Coin, and then continue right for Yoshi in the ? Block and another Dragon Coin to the right. Fall down and take the pipe. 2) Go right and hit the ? Block for a coin. Now go right over some Rexes and jump to the jumping board to the right and bounce over the gap. Now go right, beating the Rexes, to find two silver pipes with one Jumping Piranha Plant apiece. Above one is the third Dragon Coin; take it by jumping when they are down from the pipe. Moving on, go right to find more Rexes to beat and three ? Blocks. The lower two contain coins while the uppermost one contains a power-up. The pipe is to the right. 3) This is just a screen full of Mushrooms in bubbles. Pop them if you want one and continue right. In the water about halfway through, which you can enter, by the way, there is the fourth Dragon Coin. Take the pipe at the end. 4) This is just a blocked-off path leading to the goal gate (that is, blocked off if you have hit all the switches of the Switch Palaces). If you hit the Rotating Blocks, you'll uncover another P Switch that will turn the coins in the air to blocks (just in case you didn't get the Switch Palaces beat). If you have all colored blocks filled in, though, simply run over them to the goal gate. If you carry a P Switch into the goal gate, it will turn into a 1-Up Mushroom. Also, the fifth Dragon Coin is at the very end of the lower block path. There is a third way to beat this level, but that will be covered in the secrets section (see Section 3, "Chocolate Island Secret"). +------------------------------+ | Chocolate Island 3 (A) | +------------------------------+ This level is pretty fun for one in Chocolate Island. Go forward and jump onto the swinging platform. Jump to the one to the right afterward and then to the first Dragon Coin on the platform to the right. Now go right past three more swinging platforms and jump to the ? Block here for either a Mushroom or a Cape Feather. Now go right, jumping to the swinging platforms (ride the second one all the way around for the second Dragon Coin) and then jump into the blue pipe above the third. Here, ride the swinging platform around for coins and jump to the third Dragon Coin. When you're content with your coin count, take the green pipe in the lower-right corner down. When you emerge, jump to the swinging platform to the right and stop at the third in the series. Hit the ? Block for a power-up and take the fourth Dragon Coin to the right. Continue to the right on these swinging platforms, hitting the Green Block for a Cape Feather as you go, and stop at the next swinging platform to nab the fifth and final Dragon Coin. Now jump to land to the right and hit the block there to make a vine rise. Climb it up and jump right to the goal. +------------------------------+ | Chocolate Island 3 (B) | +------------------------------+ On the map, just look at we accomplished. Nothing, that's what. All we did was make a circle around some rocks and returned to Chocolate Island 3. Obviously, we need to find a secret level, and I know just the dinosaur to do it. Get Yoshi and get through the level up to the vine we took. Swallow the blue-shelled Koopa Troopa here and hold it in Yoshi's mouth. Now fly right under the regular goal until you reach land. Hit the Rotating Blocks for one 1-Up Mushroom apiece and then go through this secret goal gate. +--------------------------+ | Chocolate Fortress | +--------------------------+ These are not castles, but fortresses. The difference? A Koopaling is not the boss of a fortress, it is Reznor. Furthermore, forts are harder to beat than castles. Come with a Cape Feather in item stock and wear the Magic Cape, too. Go forward and jump between the two wooden stakes. Cape spin the Dry Bones and jump through the stakes again. Now go forward, jumping under another stake and going down a hallway. See that black stuff? That's tar, and you will get sucked in and die if you fall into it. Jump right to the ? Block, hit it for a Cape Feather or Mushroom, and then cape spin the Dry Bones. Wait for the fire to go down and the stake to go up. Step back and then run over the pit (you'll be able to if you run fast enough). Avoid oncoming fire (this feels like a castle in Super Mario Bros.) and then jump over the rising stake to the right. Jump under the falling stake to the right and jump right to ground. Go right on those Blue Blocks (they came in handy a little bit, now didn't they?) and then jump over the stakes to the right when one is falling. After jumping three more series of stakes in the midst of all those flames, go forward to the midway gate and take the door. Go forward and the Thwomp will drop. Drop, too, and hold right on the control pad to get into the hallway here. Ahead, avoid a few more Thwomps and a Thwimp to reach another Thwomp before the three ? Blocks. Jump over the pit to the right, let the Thwimp jump over you, and then go forward and then duke out another Thwomp. Ahead, a Thwimp is trapped by Red Blocks (ha, what a loser!). Duke out another Thwomp, skip over one in the spikes, and then pass some Thwimps. After another few Thwomps, the last of which are blocked by colored blocks, and a Thwimp, you'll reach a Green Block. Hit it for a Cape Feather and go right to a black door. Enter... Boss: Reznor This is a quartet of dinosaurs that resemble rhinoceroses on a spinning wheel over lava. Run forward, avoid their fireballs, and hit the block that each dinosaur is on to knock them off. Easy, right? Well, the floor soon starts to crumble. You'll have time to knock off three of these monsters before the floor crumbling becomes an issue. When you can, jump onto one of the platforms the Reznor were previously on and wait for your chance to hit the final rhino from below. Make your landing and you will have beaten the fortress, the only mandatory one in the game. Soon we will be able to reach Wendy O. Koopa... +--------------------------+ | Chocolate Island 4 | +--------------------------+ Slide down the slope and jump to the earthen platform to the right. From there, continue right to reach a lower platform. Take it to a Dragon Coin and then proceed right to a series of platforms. Jump across them to reach a slope to the right after a gray falling platform. From the slope, jump left to the second Dragon Coin. Now go right until you reach an edge. Drop off and you'll land on Blue Blocks. Go left, take 3 1-Up Mushrooms, and then go right to a series of Rotating Blocks. In the middle of them is the third Dragon Coin. Hit the third one from the left in the lower stack to set free a P Switch. Hit it and then go into the alcoves, the upper for the fourth Dragon Coin, the lower for a pipe. Here, hit the P Switch to make the below area open. You'll be falling by a series of alcoves. The third one contains the fifth Dragon Coin. But, if you wanted to know, here's a list of what else can be found in those alcoves... 1) Coins 2) Cape Feather 3) Dragon Coin # 5 4) 1-Up Mushroom 5) Super Star 6) Mushroom 7) 5 1-Up Mushrooms 8) Cape Feather 9) Fire Flower 10) Coins 11) 3 1-Up Mushrooms Ground) Jumping Boards At the end of whichever you enter, go right and take the pipe there back to the main level. When you emerge, go right past some Mega Moles and tar to the goal gate. +--------------------------+ | Chocolate Island 5 | +--------------------------+ Go right past some caged in Spinies until you see a ? Block. Hit it for Yoshi. Huzzah! Now swallow the P Switch and carry it right until you see a Dragon Coin and a Spiny in the same cage. Press the switch after spitting it out and grab the coin. Now go right, jump onto the yellow pipe, and take it down. Here, head right and head past the bubbles, grabbing two Dragon Coins as you go, to reach a blue pipe. When you emerge, jump into the water behind you and swim back to land. From there, jump back left and get the fourth Dragon Coin over the water. Now return right to the pipe that you came out of and go right a bit more for the midway gate. Use the cape to slowly descend right, passing through the fifth Dragon Coin above the second green pipe (assuming you have a cape). Continuing jumping across these pipes until you reach expanding platforms. Cross them when they are horizontally extending and you'll reach a green pipe. Wait for it to rise and then jump right to the Chargin' Chuck. If you are Caped Mario, fall slowly onto him until he is beaten, and then grab the sixth Dragon Coin he was guarding for yet another 1-Up. To the right, jump over three (!) Chargin' Chucks to the goal gate. That was an easy level for so far into the game... Note: As it turns out, this level has a seventh Dragon Coin in it! When you are going in the beginning area, jump around above the screen and you'll find it above the yellow pipe (not exactly, but close to there). +--------------------------+ | # 6 Wendy's Castle | +--------------------------+ Wendy O. Koopa is going down! The occupation master of Chocolate Island, she's all there is between us and... apparently a dead-end. We'll have freed all of Dinosaur Land, but where is Bowser hiding? And where is Larry Koopa, the only remaining Koopaling, hiding? Well, it can't hurt to free another of Yoshi's herd members and kick Wendy's sorry hide while we're at it; let's get to it! Ahead is an advanced Dry Bones. It is advanced because it throws bones at you, making it much more of a danger than the others of its kind. Go forward, cape spin or spin jump it, and then continue forward. Stop at the springs, and do not step near them. Wait and a gigantic spiked pillar with a sharp end will fall down to crush you if you were there. Wait for it to rise up and then bounce on the jumping boards to the next hallway. Here, drop down and run forward into a depression. On this semi- transparent dotted line comes a Grinder, saw-like circular blades. Duck to avoid it and let it pass over you. Then get out and walk forward, stopping when you see the opening above. Jump when another Grinder comes into it and then proceed. Jump the lava pit to the platform here composed of blocks (be wary of Podoboos, too) to land near some more Grinders. These follow a set path, however - the first one a rectangular box. Wait in the depression beneath the box for the giant spiky pillar to rise and then run forward until you reach the long rectangular outline. Now, stand in the first part, jump or duck when appropriate to avoid the Grinders, and then advance when the crushing pillars rise. In this manner you should make it to the end of this segment. Here, jump across the blocks, waiting for Grinders to be out of the way and ducking to avoid them is they make a jump risky, and you'll reach another hallway. Go down it to find rapid-fall pillars. Pass these three quickly and go right to reach a door (take it!) and the midway gate. Go right to find a new enemy - Lil Sparky. In Super Mario Bros. 3, these were annoying enemies that looked like suns that chased you through the desert levels. Now they are much less menacing; they circle stone platforms. If you have the Magic Cape, even less so. Jump onto the platform when it is down and then jump to the hallway to the right. Go right to find a Hothead, a larger, slower version of the Lil Sparky. Jump onto its platform, using the cape to slow your descent if you risk touching that ball of electricity, and jump to the platform to the right as the stairs are rising. Quickly go over them and jump to another stone block. Then jump right when the overhang is up. Now jump right to two moving platforms and then onto a block with a Lil Sparky on it. Wait for the overhang to the right to rise, drop to the gray block below, and ride it right to another block with a Hothead on it. Jump right onto the Dry Bones' platform and then jump right to the Hotheads platform when it is down and the Lil Sparky above is up. Jump right, hit the Green Block for a Cape Feather, and then take the red door. Boss: Wendy O. Koopa Wendy was the third boss in the last game. The opposite of Lemmy has occurred, her rank has been doubled. In fact, Lemmy and Wendy switch positions in this game and Super Mario Bros. 3. Even more interestingly, Wendy and Lemmy use the same fighting style! This time, though, the seven pipes have the same width, they are level, and there are two Podoboos in the room, not just one. Wendy is a Koopa with lipstick-applied lips, a pink polka-dotted bow, and a red shell with spikes on the back. She seems to hate you, too. She doesn't make as many weird faces as Lemmy did (that guy was just plain crazy), but she does glare at you and give you the finger (okay, I made that part up). Like Lemmy, jump on the real ones and not her two duds three times and she falls through the pipe and into the lava. And like Lemmy, she throws her arms back, drops her jaw in pain, and then falls into the lava. So, Mario takes the shell out, gets a paintbrush, and then erases the castle from existence. Cool! As always, the narrator is omniscient and worrisome. "Wendy O. Koopa in castle # 6 has sung her last song. Mario must meet the challenge that is now before him. There is a sunken ship that appears to be a gateway to the Valley of Bowser." ======================================================================= ===========================Valley of Bowser*=========================== ======================================================================= The Valley of Bowser is dark, lightning-filled, and all-around terrifying. But, the entrance to it has yet to be opened. It is a sunken ship, the same ship that the Koopalings used to terrorize the kingdoms in the Mushroom World in Super Mario Bros. 3. If Mario can find the gate in it to Valley of Bowser, he will then find Bowser and his son Larry Koopa, who is serving as Bowser's guard dog and the master of Valley of Bowser while Bowser pulls all the strings. We must defeat the father and son! As for the sunken ship, we beat it once; we can beat it again, right? +-------------------------+ | Sunken Ghost Ship | +-------------------------+ It is underwater and, much like its Super Mario Bros. 3 incarnation, filled to the brim with Bullet Bills and Bullet Bill Blasters. I don't see how the gunpowder could still work underwater, but oh well... Swim right and over the Bullet Bill Blasters until you see an opening below. Drop in and go right to a yellow pipe, which you should take. Swim right over some Eeries and then get on the ground. I hope you have Yoshi and two Capes, by the way, as you'll want them around now. As you go, Boos will appear in random places every so often. To make matters worse, Eeries occasionally fly by. At the end, you'll reach two normal Boos by a circle of Boo Buddies. Face them both and get into the circle when you can. Float there for a second and then rise out of the circle, and then you'll reach another circle. Go in them, drop down to the pipe below, and take it. Here, you'll get a Starman and start falling. Hit enemies and use the Magic Cape to slow your fall and hopefully collect the Dragon Coins here. At the bottom, you'll land on some platforms. If you have the Magic Cape, fly around here for coins and tons of items. When you're ready, falling through the opening. At the bottom is a ? Orb, as I call it. Touch it to activate... it. Out of the water rises a gigantic cave shaped in the head of Bowser. Swim into it to find the Valley of Bowser... +--------------------------+ | Valley of Bowser 1 | +--------------------------+ This cavernous level starts with a Mega Mole to the right. It is caged in by Red Blocks, however. On it is a Chargin' Chuck; beat or skip it and then take the lower fork in the road. Bust through some Grab Blocks (Chargin' Chuck does the rest) and you'll find the first Dragon Coin. Now go back and take the upper path, weary of the many Mega Moles here. When you reach a fork in the road, take the uppermost path to reach the second Dragon Coin. Now go back and take the middle path right and fall to the water. Jump out of it, jump left to the ledge, and then jump right to the upper path. Head right on it, cautious of an upcoming Mega Mole, and then take the lower route when you reach the fork in the road. Take it to a midway gate. Go back left and take the upper route. Ride the Mega Mole here across these plants and then jump right to a 3-Up Moon. Now go back left, drop onto the Blue Block, and then drop left onto a Mega Mole trapped in a whole. Go right now to reach one large fork in the road. First, take the upper path, one below the uppermost. It leads to the third Dragon Coin. Take the one above the bottommost one to the fourth Dragon Coin, and go left a bit, hit the space in the opening to fill the gap with invisible blocks, and then go all the way to jump back to the middle path. Jump onto it and then go right to some yellow blocks. Let Chargin' Chuck make a path for you and then jump right onto the Rotating Block there. Jump right and take the lower path here, waiting at the hole for the Mega Mole to drop into it, and then fall to the fifth and final Dragon Coin. Now return to the Rotating Block that we got to after the end of the middle path of the previous fork in the road. In other words, go left until you reach a floating Rotating Block. Go right past a Mega Mole and let a Chargin' Chuck bust through the Grab Blocks. Avoid him, take the pipe, and then jump through the tape of the goal gate. +--------------------------+ | Valley of Bowser 2 | +--------------------------+ Come prepared for this lousy level - bring Cape Feathers. This first part is the hardest. Jump onto the yellow platform and let a Swooper fly over you. As soon as you hear the Swooper wing-flutter sound, drop to the next yellow platform. Repeat this a few times (do NOT hit the Koopa Troopas. Just let them be) until you reach a ? Block. It contains a power-up, and you should get it, but wait for a yellow Koopa Troopa in invincible mode to dive in. If you can, grab the shell of the adjacent green Koopa Troopa and kick it into the yellow's shell to defeat them both. Or, if you are cautious, just skip over the ? Block completely. Now, repeat the Swooper-sound-drop technique above until you reach a Yellow Block. First, get the Dragon Coin (# 1) from on the nearby platform. Now it is safe to get the Yellow Block. Note that, if you are small Mario, it may be a better idea to pass through the midway gate before hitting the Yellow Block (that way, you'll be Super Mario with a Mushroom in stock, not just Super Mario). Now, jump on ahead to the midway gate and take the pipe. First, look left and jump up these steps. Then jump at the very end, setting free either a Mushroom or a Cape Feather for your use. Now go right. There are Wings in that ? Block, but they aren't important. Ahead is a very dangerous part of the level. Get into the notch when it is down and then wait for it to rise to the uppermost level. When it doing this, run through the upper path until you hit a wall you cannot run through. Now, wait for the block to move all the way down and then start back going up. When it passes the second notch here, run forward and stop below the little niche above. As it is going down, sprint forth until you are stopped by a wall. Now, when the block is dropping, run left, take the second Dragon Coin, and then run all the way right until the stone prevents you. Now that you're there, wait for the block to go all the way up and start going down. As it goes down, hold right on the D-Pad so that Mario runs forward, stopping at the little bunker in the floor. Then, as it rises, run forward until you get out of that little hallway. Let the block rise up, run left for the third Dragon Coin, and then run back to safety. As the block is rising, run forward over the hall and stop at a particularly large hole. Now run forward to another hole in the ceiling for safety, let the block drop, rise again, and run right to a different hole. As it is dropping, run right until you see a very high alcove above (the space made by the alcove and the hall should form a T on its side, by the way). Now let the block drop and then run right as it rises, stopping at the alcove above. Now, as it drops, run straight to the pipe out of this area. Here, run forward, jumping when you need to over two Mega Moles, until you reach the goal gate. +--------------------------+ | Valley Ghost House | +--------------------------+ Aw, they just had to stick one of these in here... right after we beat that sunken ship ghost house... Run forward and jump the green bubble. Hit the ? Block for either a Mushroom or a Fire Flower and then jump right over the gap, claiming the Dragon Coin along the way. After a few more rather simple jumps over green bubbles through coins, you'll reach a door. Take it, of course! Now, when you emerge, the first thing to do is jump up (holding Y as you do so) to the top of the Rotating Block. You'll have to make it a running jump. That way, when you get to the top, you'll grab the P Switch and then take the second Dragon Coin. Now hit the P Switch and run left, grabbing the Super Star that falls (it's kind of cool to defeat Boos...), and jump the gaps to reach the third Dragon Coin an later a door. Take it and you'll reappear in a new room. First, go all the way left to find the fourth Dragon Coin. Now go right a bit and take that door. When you reappear, you'll be in the same room as before. Hit the P Switch, run right for the fifth Dragon Coin, and then continue right to a hallway. Take the first door, go left to another door, take it, and you'll reappear below the P Switch in the same area as before. Now that we have all the Dragon Coins, let's find an exit. Hit the P Switch and then sprint right. Ignore everything else; you just want to get to that hallway to the right and run through it. If you do reach the end, you'll get a 1-Up Mushroom. Now, you want to take the fourth door from the left, the second door from the right. It leads to the exit of this level, the last mandatory ghost house. +--------------------------+ | Valley of Bowser 3 | +--------------------------+ Huzzah! I love these outdoors levels. Stomp or run under the oncoming Koopa Paratroopas and run right. Jump to the platform, hit the ? Block for a power-up, and then jump right to the platform there. It will run for the number of seconds in the circle on it. This one runs for one second. This in mind, head right until you reach the first part of the level over a real gap. Jump onto the platform here and then jump to the first Dragon Coin. Bounce off the Koopa Paratroopa to the 4-platform and ride right until it hits one, at which point you should jump down to the lower 1- platforms. Ride them right through the second Dragon Coin and then to solid ground. From there, jump to the 1-platform and drop to the 4- platform below, making sure to get the third Dragon Coin as you fall. Now, jump to the yellow pipe, decommission the Koopa Troopa, and take it down to the 1-Up bonus game. When you emerge, jump on the spring through the midway gate and then to the ? Block for a power-up. Jump right and jump up these ledges to the ropes to the right. Being Fire Mario comes in handy for this next part; you can flame all these Koopas complicating your jumps. At the end, jump right to a normal platform and then jump right to a 4-platform. Follow it until you see the fourth Dragon Coin (jump through it to another 4-platform) and you'll ride over a Banzai Bill. Now after a small series of 1- platforms (jump a Banzai Bill and bounce on it when it comes your way), you'll reach a 4-platform. Toward the end of its cycle, drop to the fifth Dragon Coin and onto a 4-platform. Had you taken the upper platform, you'd reach a 1-Up Mushroom, but it is harder to reach. At the end of the cycle of the 4- platform, jump to land and then jump through the tape of the goal gate. +--------------------------+ | Valley of Bowser 4 | +--------------------------+ Go forward to see a very unique Chargin' Chuck. Seriously, I don't know what sport involves shoveling boulders and then launching them at people, but there must be one... Avoid his boulders and jump to the gray platform in the lava. It will sink; jump off of it immediately to the right. Now head up the slope, wary of the presence of shoveling Chargin' Chuck. Defeat him at the top, hit the Yellow Block to the right if you need a Mushroom, and then jump to the sinking platform in the lava. Jump over or under the Koopa Troopas here and head over the series of the platforms to reach a green pipe. Do not take it (it leads to a lousy ice sub-world with nothing in it but monsters and a Cape Feather power-up), but instead hit the Rotating Block to the right. Climb the vine and jump right. Yoshi! Hit the ? Block for the Egg. If you want to keep Yoshi, fall down the first pit and hold right as you do so. If you are Caped Mario, using the cape to slow your descent helps. At the bottom, go right over a pit to more sinking platforms. Now jump right over the Koopa Paratroopa and land before the boulder hits that area on safe ground. Now jump right onto the sinking platform in the lava and leap through the midway gate just to the upper-right. Instantly, a Chargin' Chucks boulder assaults you. Wait it out and then go under the overhang to attack the athletic jerk. If you jump onto the Yellow Block to the right, you can hit the ? Block above it for a Cape Feather. Now jump right onto the platform and then onto safe rock, pass under the Chargin' Chuck, and then jump up to the high ledge here. Fall cautiously here; there is lava below and you'll most likely land on a sinking platform. Jump right onto regular terrain and then run right. After another Chargin' Chuck assault, head right until you see a Koopa Paratroopa (the slow descent with the Magic Cape helps a lot here). Bounce off of it and then land to the right on a sinking platform. Jump right further to reach a jumping board. For cover, stand on the end of the Blue Blocks to its right until you have a good opening (the boulders aren't in the way). Jump onto the board, bounce up, defeat or skip the Chargin' Chuck. Drop right onto sinking platforms and then jump to the goal gate. +--------------------------+ | # 7 Larry's Castle | +--------------------------+ While Bowser looks over his prisoner princess and commandeers the entire Koopa army, his son Larry takes on two responsibilities. First, he must look over the Valley of Bowser as its master, and then he must serve as Bowser's guard dog, so to speak - he's Bowser's final defense. This is Larry's time to shine, especially since he was the first Koopaling to fall to the plumber duo in Super Mario Bros. 3. Let's ruin it for him! Come with two Cape Feather (one on, one in stock) and then run forward. Drop onto the platform and the blocks begin to move. First they move up over some spikes. As they do this, you must dodge several Ball 'N' Chains. Do so (it's pretty simple) and you'll then make a drop for some lava. Stick to the very first block as the platform rises straight up to the first Dragon Coin. It then turns left through a labyrinth of Ball 'N' Chains. When it starts passing under a row of these blocks and Ball 'N' Chains, head left and wait for it to start rising up (when it does, jump for the second Dragon Coin). As it travels right, hit the Yellow Block if you got hit earlier, and then continue walking with it. It stops to take a drop around one Ball 'N' Chain, but nimble movements and quick reactions will prevent a hit. As it continues its cycle down, it will eventually almost touch lava and turn right. Now it rises. Over some spikes you'll find the third Dragon Coin. Now, ride the platform all the way down into the pit, which leads to the midway gate and 1-Up. Head right, take the door, and you'll reappear in a new room. Go right down a short escalator and continue right to defeat a Dry Bones. And what do you know; a Magikoopa appears to the right! Wait for it to disappear and then jump onto the ledge, passing under the stakes as they rise. At the end you'll fall down to a Dry Bones. Defeat it, and then stop. If you are still Caped Mario, cape swipe the blocks to the right and proceed. If not, wait for a few seconds for a Magikoopa to appear. Jump over its magic attack so that it hits the blocks and then proceed. Either way, when you get over, hit the Yellow Block for a possible Mushroom and then jump over the stakes to a Dry Bones. Beat it and jump over the lava to the right, careful to avoid the Podoboo. Like last time, either cape spin the Rotating Blocks and pass through them or let a Magikoopa transform the blocks into enemies, thus creating a hole. When you pass through, jump between the stakes here and then over the lava to the right. Here, after another session of Podoboos, Magikoopa, and wooden stakes, you'll reach a Dry Bones followed by an escalator. Take the latter down, defeat another Dry Bones and Magikoopa in your way, and then hit the Green Block for a Cape Feather. Enter the red door... Boss: Larry Koopa Larry got the biggest promotion of all his siblings; he was the first boss in Super Mario Bros. 3, and now he is the final. He also mimics his brother, Iggy Koopa. Larry himself has a mohawk, a green shell with white spikes, glasses, and a platform rocking in lava currents as three Podoboos jump out constantly. The Podoboos mark the only difference between this fight and our previous skirmish with that dork Iggy. Larry will roll toward you if you're close enough and will also throw fireballs at you. Jump to avoid these. Now, Larry Koopa and his family are all weak to lava; you need to push him in. To do this, jump on his head when the platform is teetering in a certain direction. He'll roll backward in that way. Now, wait for the platform to teeter in the opposite direction and then to teeter back to the side Larry is on. Jump on Larry again and he'll roll right into the lava. Hooray for Mario! He finally beat each and every one of those losers! Mario escorts the Yoshi egg out of there and then lifts the castle. After giving it a good kick into the distance, Mario gives the peace sign. With all seven of the Koopalings defeated, the narrator is still in suspense over whether or not Mario can really beat Bowser. He (or she?) has this to say about it. "Mario has defeated Larry Koopa in castle # 7. All that is left is Bowser's Castle where Princess Toadstool is being held. Can Mario rescue her and restore peace to Dinosaur Land?" +------------------+ | Front Door | +------------------+ This is it! We've trekked through Yoshi's Island, Donut Land, Vanilla Dome, the Twin Bridges, Forest of Illusion, Chocolate Island, and the Valley of Bowser, and now we are here at the gates of Bowser's Castle. We have defeated each of his children and liberated much of Dinosaur Land. But, Bowser will infect the land again if we give him the chance, and Princess Toadstool is still in his wretched hands. We must defeat Bowser! And so the clash between Mario and Bowser begins again this day. Let's rock! The first segment of Bowser's Castle is a series of doors, each numbered and different. They all lead to the same place, but you must decide which to take. I advise you take # 2 because it is the easiest, but I will guide you through them all. 1) Giant sledges are dropping onto the ground around here as Podoboos jump out of the lava. Also, this screens scrolls right. Wait for as long as you can for the first sledge to drop, and then jump over the lava and go right past the range of the sledge. Continue right until you reach the Red Blocks. Stop there and resist the screen until the sledge has fallen. Jump under the Podoboo at that point and then go to he first Green Block to the right. Wait there for the sledge to fall, and then take the door to the right. 2) It's a large wire net. Jump on and head right. Podoboos bounce around the room and there are spikes below, as well as Koopa Troopas on the net. The Koopa Troopas are only on the backside, making it very easy just to go right and reach the door, avoiding Podoboos all the way. 3) This is a rather interesting room. First, those mechanical enemies in here are Mechakoopas, wind-up soldiers that Bowser uses occasionally. Walk forward through this curtain and then jump through the curtain above. Jump left of there through another curtain and then walk right a bit, wary of the Mechakoopa here, to jump upward through another curtain. Walk right and fall through the next holey curtain ahead. Continue right to drop through more curtains and reach another Mechakoopa followed by the door out of here. 4) It's a series of blocks and Lil Sparkies. Drop to the gray block below and duck as it goes right. Jump to the block to the right when you can and then jump right to the gray block (drop to the lower one afterward). Now after a simple series of Lil Sparky platforms with one Hothead tossed in, you'll reach the door out of here. After you take a door, you'll reach four new options. Door # 5 is the easiest in my opinion, but I will cover all four possible doors from here. 5) Thwomps and stone spiky stakes are assembled. Wait for them to fall and then draw as close to the spiked pillar as you can without being hit. As they start to rise, sprint right. You should pass right under the Thwomps and reach the door before the pillars can strike. Easy! 6) It's an underwater vertical shaft filled with Dry Bones and traps. Swim right and get onto the platform the Dry Bones is on. Duck to avoid being hit by the bones it throws and wait for the spikes to withdraw into the walls. Now swim left, go up, and hit the ? Block for a power-up. See these fish here? These are Fishbones, the remains of fish that lurk in castles and fortresses. Swim straight up, stay between the spike walls, and then go up again. If you time it right, you'll go straight up past the Dry Bones. Now swim through the Ball 'N' Chains to reach the right alcove (for safety, as you wait, stick to the left side of the alcove). When the opening is clear, rise up and swim left. Rise up and you'll reach a pipe out of this room. 7) This is a fairly straight forward but tough room. Walk forward, avoiding the flames of the Bowser statues here. The grey ones can be touched (just not their fire), while the golden ones cannot be touched (they can jump and track you). All you have to do is make your way to the right without being roasted by flames or crushed by statues. 8) It's Chargin' Chuck mania! They are a special type that crouches and then makes huge leaps (much like how the heroes can jump in Super Mario Bros. 2 after crouching) to try to tackle you aerially. Just get to the end alive to reach the exit. All the doors lead to the same room. It is dark currently. Go forward and hit the ? Block to make a disco ball above light up a portion of the room. Go forward to find a Ninji, old Super Mario Bros. 2 enemies. Just jump on it to beat it. Now jump right onto one of the blocks there and then jump right to another Ninji. Also coming down is a new enemy - a Mechakoopa. These machines are a lot like Goombas. They walk forward and can be jumped on. In so doing, they are flattened and you can pick them up. I suggest throwing this one into the lava to the left. To the right, defeat two more Ninjis and then you'll find a Mechakoopa. Jump on it, lift it, and then throw it through the two Ninjis to the right and into the lava. Now you'll pass over a bridge in the lava to the ominous red door that marks the end of every castle. Take it to your destiny. BOSS: BOWSER You are atop a turret of the tower when Bowser descends down on you in his propeller-powered air ride with a clown expression on it. And then comes Bowser, looking different from his usual depictions (he actually has a yellowish stomach and chest, yellow spikes, and he doesn't look nearly that sinister), although his air ride has since become a very popular mode of transportation for the King of the Koopa. As the fight begins, Bowser hovers over the arena menacingly but not actually hitting you. He soon throws down two Mechakoopas, though. Jump on each and then throw them straight up so that they land on Bowser's head. He is hit! He throws his hands up into the air, faces the screen (notice how the air ride has a tear in its eye), and stars appear above his head. Hit him twice in this manner and he flies off into the background. He then returns to drop flames onto the arena to hit you (to avoid them, stand in one block away from the right edge of the turret). Princess Toadstool appears, saying "Help!" as she waves her arms in an Olive Oyl fashion (from Popeye), and then throwing you a Super Mushroom. Take it and then prepare for round two of this battle between good and evil. Bowser hovers about above you for a bit and then he turns the air ride upside-down to drop... a gigantic boulder on you that somewhat resembles a bowling ball. Jump over it and the second boulder he sends down at you. Bowser will hover above again and drop two more Mechakoopas. Flatten them with a stomp, throw them up to hit Bowser, and then repeat. Two hits of this and Bowser takes off into the distance. He then returns from the front of the screen, drops several flames (again, avoid them by standing one square away from the rightmost block of the arena), and then comes back for another round. Before that, though, Toadstool emerges to give you another Mushroom to use. The third round of battle then begins. Bowser now drops down, bouncing on his propeller, in an attempt to crush you beneath his own weight. Run around to avoid it and wait for him to stop to throw two Mechakoopas into the mix. Since they can obviously complicate matters, jump onto one immediately and toss it up at Bowser, who will foolishly bounce right into it. From there, Bowser will probably crush the next Mechakoopa with his own attacks. Wait out another stomping period and then throw one final Mechakoopa at him. Bowser's air ride runs out of steam and it falls over, dropping Pricess Toadstool to you. Bowser takes off into the distance, finally defeated. Toadstool gives Mario a kiss, and fireworks start to show. Dinosaur Land is saved, and everyone is reunited with their kidnapped friends. The narrator now speaks his last. "Mario's adventure is over. Mario, the Princess, Yoshi, and his friends are going to take a vacation." Mario leading Princess Toadstool on Yoshi and the seven Yoshi eggs march through Dinosaur Land, passing through the fortress, the watery mountain, the forest, the sky, the flat land with mountainous background, the mountainous, and the hilly land backgrounds to reach Yoshi's House. There, a Red, Blue, and Yellow Yoshi are celebrating, and the eggs then break open. Remember, they are not hatching. According to the manual, they are Yoshi's infant friends that are trapped in eggs (already born). One is green, while there are two of each other color - yellow, red, and blue. "Thank You" is written on the tree, and then they show all the enemies (actually, they leave out quite a few, such as Ninji, Jumping Piranha Plant, Magikoopa, and some others). And at the very end, they show Mario and Luigi around the rescued Princess Toadstool. The End. CONGRATULATIONS! You beat the game. But, there's still a lot more to do I haven't covered. You'll want to play this game again and again, especially after you've unlocked all the secrets. So far, you've only beaten 53/96 of the game. That means that 47/96 of Dinosaur Land is still in peril! Check out Section 3 and Section 4 for all the secret level guides. You've done good, my friend. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ / \ / \ ||----------------------------Section 3*-----------------------------|| \ / \_________________________________________________________________/ Here I will cover how to get all the secret exits, levels, and shortcuts in the game, excluding Star Road and Special World (see Section 4 for them). They are arranged by world. Here, I cover all the optional levels, including Switch Palaces, Top Secret Area, Yoshi's Island 1, and all the fortresses, etc. that we didn't hit in Section 2 (also all the alternate exits in Section 2 levels). ======================================================================= ========================Yoshi's Island Secret*========================= ======================================================================= There are very few secrets in here, and all of them are obvious. Although it just barely makes the cut as a secret, Yoshi's Island 1 is optional, and so we have a guide for it (as well as the Yellow Switch Palace). +------------------------+ | Yoshi's Island 1 | +------------------------+ To the left of Yoshi's House is this level. The yellow dot indicates that there is only one exit to this level (red indicates multiple). As you enter, a shell-less Koopa slides down to you. Jump on it to flatten and beat it. Now run right, jumping onto the slanted ledge and then jumping for a Dragon Coin. As you go right, you'll meet two new enemies - the Banzai Bill and the Rex. Banzai Bills are gigantic missiles fired at you. Although they can be jumped on to be defeated, you are small right now and they will go right over your head. The Rex is that blue alligator ahead of you. If you jump on its head, it will flatten into a half-stomped Rex. Jump on it again to beat it. Continue right to see a Prize Block, which I will call ? Blocks throughout this walkthrough, fluttering to the left. Hit it and out comes a Super Mushroom (I will call them "Mushrooms"). Touch it and Mario grows to become Super Mario. As such, he can afford two hits before dying and he can break bricks with his spin jump (A). Ahead, you'll defeat three Rexes as you climb up a pipe and then jump to a series of slanted ledges. Jump from them until you reach the second Dragon Coin of the stage. If you collect them all, you get a 1-Up. Continue forward and a Mushroom pops out of the bush. Now, assuming you're still Super Mario (you revert to regular Mario if hit as Super Mario), the Mushroom will enter the blue box at the top of the screen. You can press Select to drop the item down for your use, but it will drop automatically when you are hit. This is called your "stock item." Now, defeat the Rex here and go right to see a Jumping Piranha Plant. These carnivorous plants leap from pipes to bite you. When it's down, jump over the pipe to the right. See those yellow blocks? They are called Rotating Blocks. As Super Mario, you can bust through them with a spin jump (A). Do so and then crouch (down on the D-Pad) to take the pipe down. Here, collect the coins (collect 100 to earn an extra life) and then smash the Rotating Blocks ahead for the third Dragon Coin in the level. Now go right, walking into the pipe to be launched out of it and through the midway gate. The midway gate is a checkpoint for you to reach so that you can start there again if you die. Notice the yellow outline here (it will be important later) and go forward. The Message Block here tells you about stock items. Defeat the upcoming Rex and then jump up the platforms here to reach the fourth Dragon Coin. Now, see the slope? A cool trick you can do is slide down it. To do this, stand on the slope and hold down. You'll slide right through a Rex coming up the slope. Now, ahead is a depression. Get in and press down to avoid an oncoming Banzai Bill. Now, to the right is a Message Block. It tells you how to pick up an item - press Y or X when next to it. To throw it (you want to aim at the Rotating Block above), move the control pad in the direction you want to throw it (up in this case) and then release the X/Y Button. Practice here by throwing the shell up at the Rotating Block, releasing a 1-Up Mushroom. Now, a Banzai Bill will be fired at you. This time, practice jumping on it (B) to beat it. Also, jump over the pit ahead to catch the 1-Up Mushroom (don't go after it if you miss it). Ahead, jump onto the Rotating Block and hit the ? Block for a Fire Flower. With this, Mario can shoot fireballs (A or Y or X) at enemies, turning them into coins. Now, ahead is a pipe; wait for the Jumping Piranha Plant to get down and then jump over it, defeating the Rex and taking the final Dragon Coin of the level, earning you a 1-Up. Now, ahead is an enemy that often guards the end of levels. It is a Chargin' Chuck. This time, Chuck jumps to block you. Jump on him three times to beat him, or just jump past him. Try to jump into the bar. You get Gold Stars by jumping through the bars, and 100 will let you play a bonus game. Congratulations! You just beat the first real level of the game! Unlocks: Yellow Switch Palace +----------------------------+ | Yellow Switch Palace | +----------------------------+ A path has now opened to the north, and it leads to a high summit on which rests the Yellow Switch Palace. If you want, press Start on the Map Screen to look over Dinosaur Land and all that lies ahead. This is a once in a game opportunity (you cannot replay this level infinitely), by the way. The Yellow Switch Palace starts with a P Block, which I will call P Switches from here on out. Jump on it to fill the room with coins. Jump around on the first floor to reach the end, and then use the pipe as a steppingstone to reach the top. As you jump, you should collect at least two 1-Ups in coins (remember, you get a 1-Up per every 100 coins you collect). When it ends, go through the pipe to the right to the final room of the palace (short, huh?). Run forward and jump to pound down that switch. The Yellow Switch will turn all yellow outlines into Yellow Blocks, all of which can be hit for Mushrooms or can be used as platforms. This is the most useful (and obvious) of all the Switch Palaces in the game, though there are supposedly three other palaces out there somewhere... ======================================================================= =========================Donut Plains Secret*========================== ======================================================================= Now we're talking! There are many secrets in Donut Plains, and most of those secrets lead to other secrets. And they should, considering that this is the first world to contain red dot levels. Note: To access some secrets, I advise that you already have the Green Palace Switch hit (that is in this section, by the way). +----------------------+ | Donut Plains 1 | +----------------------+ As you go forward, you'll see a Super Koopa flying at you. Jump on it as just Mario and it will leave behind a Cape Feather. Grab it! These are the best items in the game in my opinion. With them, Mario can do a cape spin (Y), he can run and jump to soar, and he can slow his descents. It is a great item. Now continue forward to see yellow- caped Super Koopas, Koopa Troopas that gave up their shells to fly with Magic Capes. Jump on red-caped ones for a Cape Feather, but yellow- caped ones give nothing. Now, defeat them and then grab the Dragon Coin from above the platform. Note that Super Koopas will be flying in from all over the place in this level. Go forward to see a Chargin' Chuck. The athlete is now throwing baseballs. Jump on him and finish him off to be gone with him (you get a Mushroom earlier, by the way, from a hedge), or just cape swipe him. Note that there are coins all in the air if you want to fly to them. Now go forward, avoiding the Super Koopas, to reach an accursed enemy - the Volcano Lotus. It spits out four fireballs that rain down around it. Defeat it quickly by cape swiping it before it can. Now ahead you should jump onto the platform, float into a Dragon Coin, and land by two Rotating Blocks. Hit them for coins and then go right to an upside-down pipe. Jump into it while holding up to take it to a three- in-a-row bonus round. Jump into ? Blocks and hope for a circle. Three circles (gotten in the right order) make for a 1-Up Mushroom. There is a cheat to this, too. If you use your cape to hit the left, right, and middle blocks in that order, it always works. Now, emerge and go right to a Volcano Lotus. Defeat it in the same way we did last time and hit the next ? Block for Yoshi (or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already have Yoshi). From there, if you run straight forward and jump at maximum speed, you'll rise to some clouds on which rests the third Dragon Coin. Now drop down to the Rotating Blocks above the baseball-pitching dual Chargin' Chucks here and head right to another Volcano Lotus. Eat it with Yoshi and jump above for the fourth Dragon Coin. Head right, using the cape to make well-timed drops onto the Chargin' Chuck here, and then jump from the Rotating Platforms here to upper ledge to the right. Jump to avoid a barrage of Super Koopas and head right again to the fifth Dragon Coin, which makes for a 1-Up. Now jump over the green pipe. If you've hit the Green Switch, the blocks to the right are filled in. If this is the case, run forward as solo Mario and you'll scale them! If not, you can always try to fly up there with Caped Mario. At the top, grab the key and insert it into the keyhole. Unlocks: Donut Secret 1 +--------------------------+ | Donut Secret 1 (A) | +--------------------------+ Come with Yoshi and two Cape Feathers in stock (or Fire Flowers, which may be better suited for you). This water level has two exits, a normal one and a secret one. Swim over the sleeping fish below - a Rip Van Fish - to reach two new types of fish. The vertically moving one is a Cheep Cheep, while the depressed one heading left is a Blurp. Eat them if you want and go right. Here, continue right past a Rip Van Fish below and eat the Rip Van Fish on the ? Blocks to reach the first Dragon Coin above. Now swim right to a blue pipe. Here, hit the ? Block to the left to set loose a Power Balloon. Jump into it to become Balloon Mario. Rise up, only moving to avoid Koopa Paratroopas, and you'll reach a Dragon Coin at the top followed by the third Dragon Coin at the very top. When you fall down, reclaim Yoshi and take the pipe out. When you reappear, take the fourth Dragon Coin from below and swim right. Defeat the Rip Van Fish by eating it and then hit the ? Block if you want a power-up. Now swim right past some Cheep Cheeps and over a Blurp to reach two blue blocks (defeat any enemies in the way). Dismount from Yoshi for now, lift the blocks, and take the fifth Dragon Coin of the level. Hit the P Switch (POINT C HERE) further to the right and then swim right, collecting a sixth Dragon Coin (an extra 1-Up!) from above. Continue right to see a large block with coins around it. Get to the top of the block and pass over it for a 1-Up. Now float back down and pass a Rip Van Fish to reach the goal gate. Unlocks: Donut Ghost House +--------------------------+ | Donut Secret 1 (B) | +--------------------------+ The other exit unlocks an actually secret level, not just a shortcut to Donut Ghost House. Get to the point in the above guide that I mention the P Switch. It is marked by "(POINT C HERE)" at that time in the above guide. From there, hit the P Switch and swim right. You'll soon reach a row of coins by a ? Block. Hit the ? Block to knock out a key. Right of it is the keyhole; insert the key into the keyhole and the secret level is found. Unlocks: Donut Secret House +------------------------------+ | Donut Secret House (A) | +------------------------------+ From here, you can either activate a Star Road portal or take a sneak peak at the Valley of Bowser, the final area of the game. Go forward and walk into the Boo Buddies' circle. Then fall and go right out of the circle. Avoid the Eerie (you'd have to try to get hit by it) and jump on the P Switch to bring a jumping board down. Turn backward, bounce on it, and then land facing right. Big Boo to the right will come at you in the air and then stop. Run under him and continue right to reach a door. Take it. Here, hit the ? Block to the left if you want a Fire Flower or Mushroom. Now go left still, jumping a Boo and then turning around to hold it off. Now jump into the Boo Buddies circle, holding off the Boos coming at you from the right, and jump out when you can. Collect the coins here in the shape of a door and continue left past Boos to reach a P Switch. By the way, the Message Block on the way talked about the five entrances to Star Road somewhere in Dinosaur Land. Anyways, hit the P Switch and run right, entering the glass door that was closed off by the coins you got earlier. Now jump through the goal gate to the right. Mission accomplished. Unlocks: Donut Secret 2 +------------------------------+ | Donut Secret House (B) | +------------------------------+ Get to the part in the guide above for Donut Secret House (A) where you reach the Message Block about Star Road. Left of it is a P Switch; hit it. Now go to the right and stand in front of the door surrounded by the Rotating Blocks that rests on these temporary ? Blocks. Do not take it, though. Hit the block right over it to activate a vine. Climb up it and go right on it to a glass door. Boss: Big Boo Notice the presence of two small Boos here. Stand in a corner so that you can see all of them. Out of nowhere, a transparent Big Boo appears. It is the boss of Donut Secret House! Pick up one of the Grab Blocks below and then chuck it at Big Boo. He will flash for a moment and then turn almost completely invisible for a second as he relocates himself. When he reappears, throw another Grab Block into him, always wary of the two Boos here. Make sure that you do not fall into a pit you make by lifting Grab Blocks. One more hit with a Grab Block and Bi Boo is defeated. He drops down to the basement and the level is cleared. Congratulations on beating one of the only three totally unique bosses in the game. You can see Star World 1's guide with all the other Star World guides in "Star Road" in Section 4. Unlocks: Star World 1 +----------------------+ | Donut Secret 2 | +----------------------+ Along with a peek at the final area in the game, this secret level is the only completely ice one. There is little friction here, so tread carefully. Go right and jump for the first Dragon Coin from the first ledge. Now go right and hit the Rotating Block utilizing the jumping board there to make a vine appear. Take it up, hit the Rotating Block there for a Super Star, and then jump right for the second Dragon Coin. Head right, pummeling the Spike Top and grabbing the third Dragon Coin, and then jump into the air and take the fourth Dragon Coin. Now head right over some plants to reach a green pipe. Take it up and use the Power Balloon in the block to go right to a blue pipe. When you emerge, go right (jumping over four Spike Tops!), jump across the gaps, and then drop down onto the red Koopa Paratroopas. By hitting them in a series like this, you'll get a 1-Up from points stacking up. Here, pass through the goal gate to the right. Note: If you want the fifth Dragon Coin, do not take the green pipe recommended in the guide above. Instead, go right to find it in the midst of several Spike Tops. It's just one more jump to the right to rejoin the normal guide above. Also, a pipe shortcut is activated to... Unlocks: Donut Plains 3 +----------------------+ | Donut Plains 2 | +----------------------+ Go forward, hitting the ? Blocks for coins and the Yellow Block for a Mushroom. That Koopa-related enemy coming at you is a Buzzy Beetle, invulnerable to fire but weak to cape and jump. I do not, however, recommend jumping on them (unless you do so with Yoshi, who can crush them in one stomp). This will make their shells bounce around and that's good for nobody. Alternately, eat them. Ahead you'll see a rising yellow stone platform. Jump onto it when it's low, grab the Dragon Coin, and then quickly exit. The potato-looking bat that swoops down at you is an aptly-named Swooper. As the screen expands to the right, hit the ? Block for a Cape Feather. Pass by the yellow stone and hit the ? Block for coins before proceeding right to a mess of these vertical rising platforms. Jump up and press Up on the D-Pad at the second upside-down green pipe you see to take it up. When you emerge, jump onto the block and float right to a Chargin' Chuck kicking footballs at you. Get to the room with the Chargin' Chuck in it that I took you to in my guide for Donut Plains 2 (A). Here, there are two ways you might reach the third and last exit of Donut Plains 2. First, the far cooler way if you have Yoshi, is to swallow the blue shell (just press Y from outside the little cage the blue shell is in). Yoshi will become winged - the effect of the blue shells when in the mouth of Yoshi - and you can take to the skies by pressing B repeatedly. At the top, you'll reach the key and keyhole I meant for you to reach. Alternately, if you don't have Yoshi (you must be Super/Fire/Caped Mario to do this, by the way), spin jump the Rotating Blocks to clear a way to the blue shell below and then grab it. Pick it up and throw it straight into the fourth Rotating Block above. This causes a vine to grow. Jump to it and climb up the vine (just like the fences in Iggy's Castle) to the key and keyhole. Either way you reached it, grab the key and put it in the keyhole to access the secret exit of this level, opening the way to the Green Switch Palace. Unlocks: Green Switch Palace +---------------------------+ | Green Switch Palace | +---------------------------+ It's pretty cool that you can actually take Yoshi inside switch palaces. For the first segment of the palace, just run forward to a pipe and take it. The below route filled to the brim with red Koopa Troopas made accessible by the P Switch is just a trick that leads to a dead- end (a pit to be precise). At the top, go through the pipe of this short palace and then run forward, jumping into the Green Switch. Now all green outline blocks are filled with Green Blocks! They always contain Cape Feathers and can be used to reach formerly inaccessible areas. Huzzah! +-------------------------+ | Donut Ghost House | +-------------------------+ Play the normal ghost house and enter with the Cape Feather (play Donut Plains 1 a few times if you need one). Get to the end of the first segment of walkway. Now run left and take off flying. You'll go through a gap and get onto the roof of the house! Run right until you fall into a secret alcove of the mansion where all the Rotating Blocks contain 1-Up Mushrooms. Take the door here to a secret exit that creates a path on the map to a secret level. Unlocks: Top Secret Area +-----------------------+ | Top Secret Area | +-----------------------+ Halleluiah! This level rules! Top Secret Area is simply five different ? Blocks. The central one contains Yoshi or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already have Yoshi. The right two contain either Mushrooms or Cape Feathers depending on your status. The left two contain either Mushrooms or Fire Flower depending on your status. That's it! Stop here whenever you need to refresh on power-ups or Yoshi. Oh, joy is me! ======================================================================= =========================Vanilla Dome Secret*========================== ======================================================================= Aside from a Switch Palace, the secret in the first level of this world can let you totally skip Lemmy's Castle and access secret areas in the Twin Bridges world. So, yes, there are quite a few secrets in Vanilla Dome, most leading to Butter Bridge. For your sake, I'll give the secret exit leading to the Red Switch Palace first. +----------------------+ | Vanilla Dome 2 | +----------------------+ You fall down into a pool of water. Swim right and out of it to find a Cheep Cheep, this one out of water. Stomp it and go right to find a Buzzy Beetle. Dispose of it and then fall into the water to the right. Hit the ? Blocks, one of which contains a Fire Flower. In water levels, Fire Flowers are the best power-up to have; get it. I'll assume you have Yoshi for this level, though. Sink down and eat the Cheep Cheep here, or use fire if you don't have Yoshi (for this level, Yoshi should serve as your first defense and fire your second). Swim right, eat another Cheep Cheep, and then you'll reach a block. Out of cruelty, the designers of this game made this a vine. Hit it, abandon Yoshi (we're all on an equal playing field now) and climb it up. Jump right, defeating the Buzzy Beetle and holding its shell, and then jump a gap to reach a new ledge. Pass right over these blocks and then jump down to the Dragon Coin and into the water. Swim right, flaming a Cheep Cheep as you go, and head right to an open area. Here, swim to the left side of the above opening and jump to hit an invisible block containing a 1-Up Mushroom. Swim right to a ? Block containing a Fire Flower. Hit it and jump right, then left to a new ledge. When you go left, pick up the P Switch. Do NOT hit the switch yet. Pick it up, jump through the coins, and then hit the P Switch. The brown blocks transform into coins! Jump through the coins to the ledge to the left. Drop left of them through the three-by-three coins here and you'll fall into some water. Jump left from it to land and grab a Dragon Coin (that's the missing one from the above guide). Also, to the left is a key. Pick it up and get into the water to the left. Swim past the Cheep Cheeps (do not get hit) and you'll see a keyhole by them. Insert the key and you'll have found the secret exit to this level. Unlocks: Red Switch Palace +-------------------------+ | Red Switch Palace | +-------------------------+ Though this is one of the most useless blocks to unlock, we should hit all of them. Here, you'll start out by a P Switch. Don't hit it. If you do, the blocks will come undone and the yellow Koopa Troopa in here will pulverize you. Instead, jump across the blocks, collecting coins, and going through the pipe at the end. Now jump onto the Red Switch. All red outline blocks will turn into Red Blocks, all of which containing nothing by the way (they cannot be hit). Useless? Quite, if you refer to power-ups. However, they are mostly used as platforms to jump onto or off of. +----------------------+ | Vanilla Dome 1 | +----------------------+ Go right down these steps and past some Spike Tops and below Swoopers. Hit the fluttering ? Block for a power-up and then jump right over a gap to a new ledge. If you came with Yoshi as I recommend, walk down the lower path and eat the Buzzy Beetles as you go. At the end, jump up, hit a Rotating Block, and jump out of this containment cage of blocks. Now jump right to some Red Blocks that form staircase to a Rotating Block. Hit said block to make a vine appear. Climb it up and then go right at the top to move a key into its keyhole. Unlocks: Vanilla Secret 1 +----------------------------+ | Vanilla Secret 1 (A) | +----------------------------+ An interesting level, it rises vertically instead of going right like most of them do. Jump right onto the ledges until you hit the right wall, and then turn left and jump onto the green springs here. Bounce up to the top level here and drop right for the first Dragon Coin. Now jump right onto the pipe and hit the Rotating Block to make a vine rise up. Collect the Dragon Coin to the right and then get back onto the vine. Jump left, hit that Rotating Block, and climb the vine. Now go all the way left from the top and fall into the alcove there for the third Dragon Coin. Exit it with the green springs and then go back right to a jumping board (POINT D HERE). When the Koopa Paratroopas above move out of the way, bounce up through them to the next level. Now go left, jumping on these ledges until you reach the green pipe. Jump right to the next blocks and then jump right for the fourth Dragon Coin. And if you bring the jumping board (lower-right) up here, you can bounce to the fifth Dragon Coin. Now go all the way left, bounce up the springs, and go right to a pipe. Walk straight forward under the Chargin' Chuck kicking footballs and jump into the goal gate. Unlocks: Vanilla Secret 2 +----------------------------+ | Vanilla Secret 1 (B) | +----------------------------+ It is not necessary, but it helps to have the Blue Blocks filled (see "Forest of Illusion Secret" for details regarding how to fill them in at the Blue Switch Palace), and I will assume you have them unlocked. Get to the point right before the Koopa Paratroopa congregation over the first jumping board. In the above guide, it is marked as "(POINT D HERE)" for your convenience. Once there, lift the jumping board up and jump left and set it on the Blue Blocks. Now bounce up to a pipe to the left. When you emerge from the pipe, go right and jump over the footballs of Chargin' Chuck to reach the goal gate. This unlocks a path to Star Road, which is covered in Section 4 under "Star Road." Unlocks: Star World 2 +------------------------+ | Vanilla Secret 2 | +------------------------+ Go right and stomp the Koopa Paratroopas coming at you. From there, jump the gap to the right and hit the ? Block for an Egg, which will yield either Yoshi or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already had Yoshi. From where you get him, stand on the block and jump up off Yoshi to reach some clouds. Go right on them to reach the first Dragon Coin, and then return to Yoshi. Go right, hit a Koopa Paratroopa shell into the Green Block for a Cape Feather, and then go right further. After some Koopa Paratroopas, you'll reach the second Dragon Coin. After even more Koopa Paratroopas, you'll reach a ? Block with either a Mushroom or a Fire Flower in it. Take either and then go forward to a purplish pink pipe. Take the third Dragon Coin between them and then head right over a second Jumping Piranha Plant. Jump onto the slanted ledge, eat the oncoming Spiny, and then go right to find a Lakitu in a pipe. Beat him, hit the third over Jump Block from the left, and continue right to find the fourth Dragon Coin between the blocks here (the ? Block contains several coins, by the way). Now go right a bit to find several Spinies with four Rotating Blocks over them. Hit the second to knock out a silver P Switch. Hit it to make all the Spinies turn into silver coins! Run through them for several 1-Ups and then continue right. Hit the ? Block the Chargin' Chuck is on to beat it, jump onto the Koopa Paratroopas to the right, and then pass through the tape of the goal gate. Note: If you want it, the fifth Dragon Coin is found in a pipe. When you reach the Chargin' Chuck, left of it is a Lakitu in a pipe. Defeat it, take it down, and hit the P Switch. Cross over for a lot of coins and you'll find Dragon Coin # 5 at the end. When you take the pipe up at the end, you'll be launched forward and into the goal gate. Unlocks: Vanilla Secret 3 +------------------------+ | Vanilla Secret 3 | +------------------------+ This is one of the few levels to feature Dolphins, the helpful, bespectacled (actually, their goggles) mammals of the sea. Dolphins represent an on-and-off trend in Nintendo Mario games - dolphins - just like the penguin craze at the beginning of the N64 days. Anyways, come here with Cape Feathers aplenty and Yoshi. For this first part, run straight forward and take off flying, and stop when you see land beneath you. Take the first Dragon Coin here, hit the ? Block for a Cape Feather, and then take off flying right again. When you hit land next, take the second Dragon Coin and take off flying again. Stop when you next reach land and then ride the dolphins ahead through the midway gate. Ride more dolphins to the right over the Porcu-Puffer below, terror of the shallows, and you'll reach some platforms with the third Dragon Coin by them. Continue right to a series of arrows made of coins. Jump forward, having a slow descent as you go, and you'll hit water. Quickly jump out and float right, repeating this until you reach land. Make sure to nab the fourth Dragon Coin before walking into the warp pipe. Take the pipe and the fifth Dragon Coin above your emergence pipe. Now jump into the goal gate. Note: So, why did we take all these precautions and get through this level rather cheaply? Porcu-Puffers are found in these waters, and they will pursue you relentlessly. It takes a bit of practice to know how to evade them in the water effectively, especially when there are two, and you are much safer in the air than the water. Unlocks: Vanilla Fortress +------------------------+ | Vanilla Fortress | +------------------------+ It's an underwater fortress... Come with a Cape Feather and another in item stock if you'd like, though it's not needed. Swim right past two Ball 'N' Chains and then float down. Even if you're big, walk into the spikes. To the right you'll reach a green pipe. Take it for a major shortcut. Swim forward, avoiding Fishbones, and then bait the Thwomp to the right down. Walk forward as it rises and then swim right to a ? Block. Hit it for a power-up and then go back left. Swim up here, wary of the Fishbones, and now swim right. After several Ball 'N' Chains (just swim along the upper level and avoid their spikes. Then, as the chain passes over you, swim right and repeat), you'll drop down to a Fishbone. Let it pass and then go right to more Ball 'N' Chains (the aquatic kind is twice as deadly). The floor has a Dry Bones on it, and that is dangerous (it can throw bones). So, swim right past the chained maces when they brush past each other and separate, and then you'll swim into a hallway. Stay low until the Fishbone can pass. Then swim over the Bony Beetles, hit the Yellow Block for a Mushroom, and take the red door. Boss: Reznor Luckily this boss fight isn't underwater... This is a quartet of dinosaurs that resemble rhinoceroses on a spinning wheel over lava. Run forward, avoid their fireballs, and hit the block that each dinosaur is on to knock them off. Easy, right? Well, the floor soon starts to crumble. You'll have time to knock off three of these monsters before the floor crumbling becomes an issue. When you can, jump onto one of the platforms the Reznor were previously on and wait for your chance to hit the final rhino from below. Unlocks: Butter Bridge 1 ======================================================================= =======================The Twin Bridges Secret*======================== ======================================================================= Twin Bridges has a few secrets. At first, it seems like the smallest world in the game with only two levels. However, we soon realize that it is much more extensive that you might think, and it actually beats out Yoshi's Island for level-count. See "Vanilla Dome Secret" above if you need to know how to unlock the Butter Bridge levels. +-----------------------+ | Butter Bridge 1 | +-----------------------+ This level scrolls to the right completely. Jump right when you can and then hop in place on the mushroom platform here. Repeat this to the right and then jump to another set of these to the right. Jump from the red Koopa Paratroopa to the falling platform to the right and take the first Dragon Coin there. Now get onto the mushroom platform and then bounce onto the red Koopa Paratroopa here to go through the second Dragon Coin and onto wood to the right. Now jump onto the mushroom platform to the right and let it drop a bit so that you can jump up and through the third Dragon Coin. Now jump onto the Koopa Paratroopas to the right and bounce on them if you want (either way, you'll land on the wood bridge to the right). Now jump right until you see two very tall mushroom platforms with a Dragon Coin (# 4) way below them. Let the first platform sink down and then bounce on the Koopa Paratroopas, hopefully getting the Dragon Coin as you go, and landing on the mushroom platform to the right. When the screen scrolls that way, jump onto the solid platform to the right. Now drop onto the lower bridge to the right, hit the ? Block for a Cape Feather, collect it, and then jump up these Rotating Blocks to the top layer. Jump to the right onto the mushroom platform, then jump and bounce on the Koopa Paratroopa to the next mushroom platform, and then jump to the gray platform, taking the fifth Dragon Coin before you jump to the bridge to the right. Now let the screen extend to the right so that you can take a Bonus Block's coin or 1-Up Mushroom, and then bounce on these Koopa Paratroopas down to the blue pipe. Take it down to a goal gate and then pass through the tape. Unlocks: Butter Bridge 2 +-----------------------+ | Butter Bridge 2 | +-----------------------+ Walk forward and jump on the Super Koopas, the second for a Cape Feather. Now jump right past two gaps and then over two Super Koopas. Lift the green shell and toss it upward to hit the ? Block for a Cape Feather (or Mushroom), and then go right. Past a few Super Koopas you'll be able to bounce up to the first Dragon Coin. Now, jump right and tread cautiously; Koopas above will kick shells down at you. There is also a barrage of Super Koopas, making this stretch all the more deadly. To avoid it, though, bounce on a Super Koopa to the first platform and (assuming you are Caped Mario) hover to the next platform, and to the next, and so on until you reach the last one. Take the second Dragon Coin then and jump right. A bit to the right is the midway gate. Head right beyond a melee of red-caped Super Koopas (not the type that leave Cape Feathers, unfortunately) to reach a Green Block. Hit it for a Cape Feather and then drop right into the second blue pipe there. Jump onto the rope immediately and ride right through the third Dragon Coin and a bunch of coins. Take the pipe up at the end and head right. After several well-planned aerial dives, the Super Koopas start coming randomly as you reach the end of the bridge. Jump right past more platforms and stop at the bridge segment by the fourth Dragon Coin. When a Super Koopa is below it, drop through the coin and bounce off of them to safety. Now we have four Dragon Coins... Go right and avoid one final Super Koopa dive to reach the goal gate. Note: Although I did not cover it in the guide above, the fifth Dragon Coin here can be found if you run forward at the beginning of the level, start flying, and then dive down and swoop up repeatedly to stay in the air. You'll find some clouds with the Dragon Coin above them, and they are right over the series of ledges that lead to the first Dragon Coin. Unlocks: # 4 Ludwig's Castle +------------------------------+ | Cheese Bridge Area (A) | +------------------------------+ Aside from the normal exit, there are two other exits that are secret. The first one I'll show you is quite cool. Come with Yoshi. You must keep him at least until the midway gate. Go forward and hit the ? Block for a power-up. Now jump onto the wooden platform to the right. Three Dragon Coins can be found around here, but they are rather difficult to get. Eventually, two more wooden platforms become accessible, and chainsaws start to zip around the lines. Jump the chainsaws and grab the Dragon Coins. The first and third Dragon Coins are on the lowest level, while the second is on the upper level. At the end, you can jump right to the midway gate (jump from the ? Block if you can't reach it). Now, you must have Yoshi to make this work. Hit the ? Block by the gate and Wings will come out. Jump through them and Yoshi will turn blue, taking to the skies for a little bonus area. Flying, press B repeatedly like swimming. The screen slowly scrolls right, and there are only Fuzzies circling around blocks to stand in your way. Collect coins as you go and then fall down at the end when you see an arrow made of blocks pointing down. You beat the level! The point? It's a really cool little bonus area and it lets you get Blue Yoshi without going to Star Road. +------------------------------+ | Cheese Bridge Area (B) | +------------------------------+ This is probably the hardest to find secret exit in the game, and I'm not talking about the Yoshi's Wings secret exit (see above for that secret exit). To get this, get to the very end of the level as either 1) Caped Mario or 2) Mario and Yoshi. Below I have explanations for getting to the secret exit as numbered. The secret exit is behind the goal gate, and you have to go under the regular one to reach the secret one. These are strategies to do just that, listed in order of difficulty (lower the number, greater the difficulty). 1) This is incredibly hard to do. If you are Caped Mario only without Yoshi, you're going to have to find a good place to start flying from. It is my experience that the long wooden bridge before the yellow pipe is the best place to do this. Now, fly forward and take a dive as you see the goal gate. You must go under it and then pull up at the last second to go right past it. Easier said than done, huh? Good luck with that. 2) First off, getting there with Yoshi is rather difficult. When you reach the yellow pipe in the normal guide, go back a bit to the long bridge. Now run forward and take off flying. As you come down, Yoshi will have to bounce on chainsaws in the air to land on the platform to the right. Now, when you reach the goal gate, jump forward to get under it and then jump off of Yoshi when you are under it and to the right. You will land on stable land past the goal gate. Too bad Yoshi had to make the ultimate sacrifice, though. Pick one of these strategies to get past the normal goal gate. From there, go right and jump to a platform with a 3-Up Moon on it. Then jump through the tape of the secret goal gate to the right. Unlocks: Soda Lake +-----------------+ | Soda Lake | +-----------------+ A vine now appears leading into the water below. It's Soda Lake, quite the tough water level. Come with Yoshi and two Cape Feathers. This level is home to the one and only Torpedo Teds, the aquatic Bullet Bills of Super Mario World... Go right and eat the Blurp. Swim towards the top to avoid the Torpedo Teds below. Now, when you see the ? Block, get down onto the ground. The ? Block contains a power-up airing on the Fire Flower side of the tree, and you really don't need it for this level. Now swim right, between the Torpedo Teds for a risky Dragon Coin if you want (the best strategy is to swoop in, take the Dragon Coin, and then swim back up quickly to avoid fire), and continue right. Yep, they can fire in reverse, too! Stick to the ground and swim for the second Dragon Coin if you want. Now swim up, go right, drop down for the third Dragon Coin, and then float back up. Stay up as you go right and then drop down when the Torpedo Teds have just fired. Get in line with the bottommost Torpedo Ted launcher so that you cannot be hit and then swim right past them when they fire again. Now stop to the right for the fourth Dragon Coin and continue right past more Torpedo Teds. Take the final Dragon Coin right, in the center of those three merchants of death, and then swim further right. After a hallway that is pretty much impossible to avoid in terms of Torpedo Teds, you'll reach the pipe out of here. Jump right through the goal gate and rejoice! Now Mario can swim down a waterfall (on the map) and around to an island to reach a portal to Star Road. Remember, see Section 4 on details on Star Road and Special World levels. Unlocks: Star World 3 ======================================================================= ======================Forest of Illusion Secret*======================= ======================================================================= Every normal level in this place is red! Yes, there are tons of secrets to be found here, but I will only cover some of them. To learn the secret and pointless paths that connect the regular levels, see the guide. The Section 2 walkthrough for this covers: - Both exits of Forest of Illusion 1 - Both exits of Forest of Illusion 2 - Both exits of Forest of Illusion 3 - All three exits of Forest Ghost House - The normal exit of Forest of Illusion 4 As such, I will not cover them in this section, except, of course, the Blue Switch Palace. +----------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 2 | +----------------------------+ This is an underwater level; come with two Fire Flowers. When you start, you'll notice a green, depressed-looking fish called a Blurp swimming along here in a straight fashion, not even bothering to try to hit you. Let it go by (it can be cape spun, fired, or eaten, though) and then skip over the Green Block. Now head right under the Blurps to find two new enemies - Urchins. They float up and down to get in your way. Let them float out of the way and then pass by. Now, to the right another Urchin and a school of Blurps are coming. Wait them out or flame them and then rise up. As the Urchin comes out, take the Dragon Coin, and then go back down and up when the Urchin goes in (I'm trying to make sense here; stay with me). Now, do you see the Grab Block to the right? Grab it and throw it at the Urchin to your right. It is almost the only way to beat one. Now go right and up, and then drop down (make sure to avoid any Urchins along the way). Ignore the Grab Block on the bottom and go right until you can no longer. Swim upward now to a ? Block containing a Fire Flower and then swim right. Go completely right and swim over some Urchins to find the second Dragon Coin guarded by a Rip Van Fish. These pursuing fish are sleeping at first, but they start to chase you when awakened. Now go left, drop all the way to the bottom, hit the invisible blocks in the alcove as you head right for a 1-Up Mushroom, and take the third Dragon Coin at the end guarded by a Rip Van Fish. Now, return to where the two rising Urchins were (you may want to reverse the order of how you collect the Dragon Coins) and go under them. Swim right past these Urchins to a hallway. The fourth Dragon Coin is guarded by an Urchin here. Now continue right until you can fall down all the way to a Yellow Block. When you reach the Yellow Block, notice a wall to the left. Well, it is in the background, my friend. Swim left through the wall and you'll find a key and keyhole. Use them to find the secret exit of this level. Unlocks: Blue Switch Palace +--------------------------+ | Blue Switch Palace | +--------------------------+ Those creatures above you are Spinies, basically Spike Tops without the fire-resistance. Now, you can either head right here without stopping to hit the P Switches, or you can hit the P Switches. Here's what you'll want to do: jump on the blue P Switch to make the Spinies fall to the lower block level. Then wait for that switch to wear off and hit the silver P Switch, turning all the Spinies into silver coins. Collect all the silver coins and you'll get a 1-Up. Neat-o! Now take the pipe to the right to the main switch room. Run forward, jump, and you'll have pressed the Blue Switch. Now all outlined blocks have become full Blue Blocks. Huzzah! Blue Blocks don't contain anything, but they can be used on very rare occasions to jump from and onto. +----------------------------+ | Forest of Illusion 4 | +----------------------------+ This level features Fishin' Lakitu. He's above you with a tantalizing 1-Up Mushroom dangling from his fishing line. If you get it at any point in the level, Fishin' Lakitu become Lakitu. Lakitu will throw Spinies at you and be extremely annoying; don't touch his line. Go right from the start to reach a stair set of Rotating Blocks with a Dragon Coin right of the top. Jump for it and then head right. In the blue pipe you come to is a Lakitu. Avoid it and head right hitting a transparent block there for whatever power-up you're in need of. Continue right and jump over the green pipe here (there's a Fire Flower in the ? Block line around the Rotating Block over here. Spinies are weak to cape spins, fireballs, and Yoshi only). Also, get the second Dragon Coin under the blocks here. Now jump right past a blue pipe and onto a rising green pipe (like in Donut Plains 4). Jump down to a Dragon Coin as you go, our third, and hop the pit to the right. Jump over the pipes and go right under the yellow tube here to find a yellow pipe. Defeat the Lakitu inside and then jump left onto the yellow tube to pass through the midway gate. Jump over the yellow pipe to the right and you'll reach some stairs. If you have the Magic Cape, jump right and use a slow descent to reach the top of the blue pipe that this Lakitu is in. Oust him from it with a good jump and then take it down. Grab the key and place it in the keyhole. Mission accomplished! Unlocks: Forest Secret Area +--------------------------+ | Forest Secret Area | +--------------------------+ This is hardly a level, but I'll cover it regardless. Go forward to find one of the platforms that Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brothers use (only one block larger) and hop onto it or the second. Depending on which you choose, you'll be led through the level differently and be able to get different items. The first one leads to all the Dragon Coins but one, by the way. Below is a list of which platform to take at which cross-over (the blocks go up or down, reverse direction, and then cross paths before beginning again). Up or down refers to which direction they are going. Start) Up: Nothing Down: Coins 1) Up: Coin Down: Coins, Dragon Coin # 1 2) Up: Coins, Dragon Coin # 2 Down: ? Block, Coins 3) Up: Coins Down: ? Block 4) Up: Dragon Coin # 3 Down: Coins 5) Up: Dragon Coin # 4 Down: 1-Up, Coins 6) Up: Dragon Coin # 5 Down: Coins 7) Up: Exit Down: Exit Using this information, the best path to take would probably be Down, Down, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, and Up, if you wanted to get all the Dragon Coins. Go Up on the last cross-over so that it's easier to jump through the goal gate when the tape is high to get more Gold Stars. This should be a piece of cake, especially since you just have to avoid Koopa Paratroopas all the way through. Unlocks: Forest Fortress +-----------------------+ | Forest Fortress | +-----------------------+ Stay put for a second. A giant sledge will fall down and would crush you if you had moved. Now run forward as it rises and duck in the depression. Let the sledge here fall onto the ground and then run right when the Grinders are up to the right corner in the next depression. Duck and continue right past the Red Blocks and stand a good distance from them. When the sledge falls, remain where you are in safety and wait for the screen to scroll further to the right. Another sledge will then fall. Wait for it to rise and then run right under the Grinders and past the Green Blocks. As the screen expands, run past the Blue Blocks and stand against the screen to avoid the sledge about to crush you. Now take the door to the right to a new room (what else?). Jump the Grinder coming at you and go right to a pool of lava. When the dual Podoboos fall into it, jump the lava and climb the staircase. Drop down when the Grinders are separate and then jump over them to the right and run up the wall to a Yellow Block. Hit it for a Mushroom and then jump over the gap to the right when the rightmost Podoboo falls. See the stone bridge to the right over the lava? Grinders are patrolling its surface, and you'll have to jump from top to top (wait for Podoboos before making jumps) of the stone blocks above it to make it across safely. Now go as right as you can without falling into the lava. Hopefully, the Grinder to the right will go into the lava. Now jump it and jump the Grinders to get onto the upper block here. Wait for the next Grinders to pass under you and then jump to the next upper block, and then to the next. Run up the wall and you'll reach the red door to the boss. Boss: Reznor Deja vu! This is a quartet of dinosaurs that resemble rhinoceroses on a spinning wheel over lava. Run forward, avoid their fireballs, and hit the block that each dinosaur is on to knock them off. Easy, right? Well, the floor soon starts to crumble. You'll have time to knock off three of these monsters before the floor crumbling becomes an issue. When you can, jump onto one of the platforms the Reznor were previously on and wait for your chance to hit the final rhino from below. Make your landing and you will have beaten the fortress. Huzzah! This creates a portal to Star World 4, but that is covered in Section 4 under the section title "Star Road." Unlocks: Star World 4 ======================================================================= =======================Chocolate Island Secret*======================== ======================================================================= Not counting Chocolate Island 3 where you have to use the secret exit to progress in the game, this section will cover the very short secrets in this world. Let's get to it. +--------------------------+ | Chocolate Island 2 | +--------------------------+ As the Message Block at the beginning says, the path you take in this level differs depending on the number of coins and the time it takes you to get to the next pipe. Below is a guide to each screen you'll come to (this one's easy, don't worry). 1) Run up the ledges constantly moving right. You want to exit this screen as fast as humanly possible. Get Yoshi along the way as a safety measure and continue right, dropping down to the pipe. Do not stop for any coins. Take the pipe to the next screen. 2) This is a series of slanted ledges and Koopa Paratroopas over a bottomless chasm. You still need to be fast here. Do not risk your life; you should have plenty of time (around 30 seconds) to reach the end. However, you need to go quickly. Bounce off Koopa Paratroopas to speed the process up a bit and always be moving right. On the ledges slanted to the right, jump on, pull back a bit, and then jump to the next. At the end, you want to enter the pipe with over 250 seconds. 3) It's Chargin' Chuck mania! Three of them, all the baseball-throwing type, are stationed here. I suggest you use the colored blocks to get over them. At the end of the screen is a key. Lift it, go right a little ways, and put key A into keyhole B. By the way, press down on the map screen to go to what you unlocked (it looks like nothing happened, but it did). Unlocks: Chocolate Secret +------------------------+ | Chocolate Secret | +------------------------+ Go right and jump onto the jumping board (as if it added any real peril, there is a Blargg below it) and land to the right on safe ground. Through this hallway of two Buzzy Beetles you'll reach two Chargin' Chucks, both of the football-kicking variety. Get below the first, lift the shell of a nearby Buzzy Beetle, and then throw it up to defeat it. Now that you have your foot in the door, get on the platform the first was on and jump to the second. Upon beating him up, slide right and jump the gap to find another Chargin' Chuck who (*gasp*) kicks footballs. Now go right, not taking the green pipe. After two more Chargin' Chucks, you'll reach the midway gate floating in the air so that you must beat the nearby chuck. Here, walk forward until you fall. This is a rather fun series of slopes, and all you must do is hold down. Mario will slide down them, defeating any Buzzy Beetles in the way and jumping any plants on the path automatically. When you reach the end pipe, take it. There are many Spike Tops in this section. If you are Caped Mario, use cape- swipes to beat them and make your way up the stairs. If not, wait patiently for them to cross. Either way, jump to the gold platform here and then up over another Spike Top. Now jump right over several bunkers with Spike Tops to reach lava, in which float a few golden blocks. Jump across them quickly and you'll reach land. Hit the ? Block for a power-up and then go right to find SIX CHARGIN' CHUCKS! Run for it! When you reach the lava (or magma...), jump across the blocks and get the first Dragon Coin at the end. Now take the pipe and jump through the goal gate. Unlocks: # 6 Wendy's Castle ======================================================================= =======================Valley of Bowser Secret*======================== ======================================================================= There aren't secrets galore in Valley of Bowser, but there are enough to go around. Most are shortcuts. +------------------------------+ | Valley of Bowser 2 (A) | +------------------------------+ This first part is the hardest. Jump onto the yellow platform and let a Swooper fly over you. As soon as you hear the Swooper wing-flutter sound, drop to the next yellow platform. Repeat this a few times (do NOT hit the Koopa Troopas. Just let them be) until you reach a ? Block. It contains a power-up, and you should get it, but wait for a yellow Koopa Troopa in invincible mode to dive in. If you can, grab the shell of the adjacent green Koopa Troopa and kick it into the yellow's shell to defeat them both. Or, if you are cautious, just skip over the ? Block completely. Now, repeat the Swooper-sound-drop technique above until you reach a Yellow Block. First, get the Dragon Coin (# 1) from on the nearby platform. Now it is safe to get the Yellow Block. Note that, if you are small Mario, it may be a better idea to pass through the midway gate before hitting the Yellow Block (that way, you'll be Super Mario with a Mushroom in stock, not just Super Mario). Now, jump on ahead to the midway gate and take the pipe. You need to get to this point with Yoshi hit the ? Block to the right and Wings come out. Jump into them to be brought to a little bonus round above the clouds. Here, fly right as you get coins and four Dragon Coins in total. At the end, drop through the coin arrow and you'll have beaten the level. +------------------------------+ | Valley of Bowser 2 (B) | +------------------------------+ This first part is the hardest. Jump onto the yellow platform and let a Swooper fly over you. As soon as you hear the Swooper wing-flutter sound, drop to the next yellow platform. Repeat this a few times (do NOT hit the Koopa Troopas. Just let them be) until you reach a ? Block. It contains a power-up, and you should get it, but wait for a yellow Koopa Troopa in invincible mode to dive in. If you can, grab the shell of the adjacent green Koopa Troopa and kick it into the yellow's shell to defeat them both. Or, if you are cautious, just skip over the ? Block completely. Now, repeat the Swooper-sound-drop technique above until you reach a Yellow Block. First, get the Dragon Coin (# 1) from on the nearby platform. Now it is safe to get the Yellow Block. Note that, if you are small Mario, it may be a better idea to pass through the midway gate before hitting the Yellow Block (that way, you'll be Super Mario with a Mushroom in stock, not just Super Mario). Now, jump on ahead to the midway gate and take the pipe. First, look left and jump up these steps. Then jump at the very end, setting free either a Mushroom or a Cape Feather for your use. Now go right. There are Wings in that ? Block, but they aren't important. Ahead is a very dangerous part of the level. Get into the notch when it is down and then wait for it to rise to the uppermost level. When it doing this, run through the upper path until you hit a wall you cannot run through. Now, wait for the block to move all the way down and then start back going up. When it passes the second notch here, run forward and stop below the little niche above. As it is going down, sprint forth until you are stopped by a wall. Now, when the block is dropping, run left, take the second Dragon Coin, and then run all the way right until the stone prevents you. Now that you're there, wait for the block to go all the way up and start going down. As it goes down, hold right on the D-Pad so that Mario runs forward, stopping at the little bunker in the floor. Then, as it rises, run forward until you get out of that little hallway. Let the block rise up, run left for the third Dragon Coin, and then run back to safety. As the block is rising, run forward over the hall and stop at a particularly large hole. Now run forward to another hole in the ceiling for safety, let the block drop, rise again, and run right to a different hole. As it is dropping, run right until you see a very high alcove above (the space made by the alcove and the hall should form a T on its side, by the way). Now let the block drop and then run right as it rises, stopping at the alcove above. Now, as it drops, run straight to the pipe out of this area. Now run right on this yellow block and stop when you see the first Mega Mole of the level. Stand on the very edge of the ledge you are on (above the Mega Mole). The yellow block that was rising to crush you will lift you up. Now jump onto the roof to the left and run left until you fall to a key and a keyhole. Need I say more? Unlocks: Valley Fortress +-----------------------+ | Valley Fortress | +-----------------------+ The toughest of the forts, this is the last. Go right and stop when you see a giant spike in the roof. Wait for the spiky pillars of stone to fall before you run right under them and stop at a Green Block (hit it for a Cape Feather while you're waiting). Now run right as the pillars rise from a second crushing pound and jump up to the top where you'll see spikes to the right. Jump onto the very edge below, careful not to hit any spikes (this is overkill, seriously) and drop into the depression to the right. There are three falling spikes (the brown ones) above, and I advise that you let them fall before moving forward. Duck to avoid the fire of the Dry Bones, let the spike fall, and then defeat it with a spin jump or a cape-swing. Repeat this for a Bony Beetle and a Dry Bones to the right and you'll reach the end of that hallway. This next part is easier than it looks. Wait for the pillar to drop and then start to rise. Jump onto its platform, jump over the spikes to the right, and wait in safety. Repeat this until you must jump three pillars at one and you'll reach lava. And of course, it goes without saying that there are Podoboos in there. Jump right, defeating Bony Beetles and Dry Bones as you cross the lava, and you'll reach another spiky wall. Right of that is a short pool of lava and then some pillars. These next ones are rapid, meaning you'll have to jump when they hit the ground to get by them. The first pool has none, but the later pools of lava have Podoboos in them. After jumping over one final pillar, you'll reach that ominous red door that heralds the boss... Boss: Reznor Gladly, it's an easy boss for a pretty difficult fortress. This is a quartet of dinosaurs that resemble rhinoceroses on a spinning wheel over lava. Run forward, avoid their fireballs, and hit the block that each dinosaur is on to knock them off. Easy, right? Well, the floor soon starts to crumble. You'll have time to knock off three of these monsters before the floor crumbling becomes an issue. When you can, jump onto one of the platforms the Reznor were previously on and wait for your chance to hit the final rhino from below. Don't land in the lava and you'll have beaten the last fortress of the game. Unlocks: Back Door +-----------------+ | Back Door | +-----------------+ This is Bowser's Castle, but you enter from a different entrance (meaning you can skip the whole eight doors thing). I won't include the ending here (see Section 2 for that), but I will guide you to beat the boss. Go forward and hit the ? Block to make a disco ball above light up a portion of the room. Go forward to find a Ninji, old Super Mario Bros. 2 enemies. Just jump on it to beat it. Now jump right onto one of the blocks there and then jump right to another Ninji. Also coming down is a new enemy - a Mechakoopa. These machines are a lot like Goombas. They walk forward and can be jumped on. In so doing, they are flattened and you can pick them up. I suggest throwing this one into the lava to the left. To the right, defeat two more Ninjis and then you'll find a Mechakoopa. Jump on it, lift it, and then throw it through the two Ninjis to the right and into the lava. Now you'll pass over a bridge in the lava to the ominous red door that marks the end of every castle. Take it to your destiny. BOSS: BOWSER You are atop a turret of the tower when Bowser descends down on you in his propeller-powered air ride with a clown expression on it. And then comes Bowser, looking different from his usual depictions (he actually has a yellowish stomach and chest, yellow spikes, and he doesn't look nearly that sinister), although his air ride has since become a very popular mode of transportation for the King of the Koopa. As the fight begins, Bowser hovers over the arena menacingly but not actually hitting you. He soon throws down two Mechakoopas, though. Jump on each and then throw them straight up so that they land on Bowser's head. He is hit! He throws his hands up into the air, faces the screen (notice how the air ride has a tear in its eye), and stars appear above his head. Hit him twice in this manner and he flies off into the background. He then returns to drop flames onto the arena to hit you (to avoid them, stand in one block away from the right edge of the turret). Princess Toadstool appears, saying "Help!" as she waves her arms in an Olive Oyl fashion (from Popeye), and then throwing you a Super Mushroom. Take it and then prepare for round two of this battle between good and evil. Bowser hovers about above you for a bit and then he turns the air ride upside-down to drop... a gigantic boulder on you that somewhat resembles a bowling ball. Jump over it and the second boulder he sends down at you. Bowser will hover above again and drop two more Mechakoopas. Flatten them with a stomp, throw them up to hit Bowser, and then repeat. Two hits of this and Bowser takes off into the distance. He then returns from the front of the screen, drops several flames (again, avoid them by standing one square away from the rightmost block of the arena), and then comes back for another round. Before that, though, Toadstool emerges to give you another Mushroom to use. The third round of battle then begins. Bowser now drops down, bouncing on his propeller, in an attempt to crush you beneath his own weight. Run around to avoid it and wait for him to stop to throw two Mechakoopas into the mix. Since they can obviously complicate matters, jump onto one immediately and toss it up at Bowser, who will foolishly bounce right into it. From there, Bowser will probably crush the next Mechakoopa with his own attacks. Wait out another stomping period and then throw one final Mechakoopa at him. Bowser's air ride runs out of steam and it falls over, dropping the princess to Mario. +--------------------------+ | Valley Ghost House | +--------------------------+ Get to the P Switch (basically, just go right) in the second room and hit it. Now run right over the gaps to reach a hallway. You need to run to the very end to the fifth door, which you should take. Grab the P Switch here and use the blocks to reach the other side, and then go right through the floor. Drop the P Switch here and then hit the ? Block to make a trail of coins emerge. Use the D-Pad to control it and make it go left a bit, up, right, and gradually up. Watch out for Boos as you do this. Be sure that you are small Mario (only he can fit in the opening). Now activate the P Switch and run across the blocks to the key and keyhole in the upper-right hand corner. Fit them together to find the secret exit. Unlocks: # 7 Larry's Castle +--------------------------+ | Valley of Bowser 4 | +--------------------------+ Go forward to see a very unique Chargin' Chuck. Seriously, I don't know what sport involves shoveling boulders and then launching them at people, but there must be one... Avoid his boulders and jump to the gray platform in the lava. It will sink; jump off of it immediately to the right. Now head up the slope, wary of the presence of shoveling Chargin' Chuck. Defeat him at the top, hit the Yellow Block to the right if you need a Mushroom, and then jump to the sinking platform in the lava. Jump over or under the Koopa Troopas here and head over the series of the platforms to reach a green pipe. Do not take it (it leads to a lousy ice sub-world with nothing in it but monsters and a Cape Feather power-up), but instead hit the Rotating Block to the right. Climb the vine and jump right. Yoshi! Hit the ? Block for the Egg. If you want to keep Yoshi, fall down the first pit and hold right as you do so. If you are Caped Mario, using the cape to slow your descent helps. At the bottom, go right over a pit to more sinking platforms. Now jump right over the Koopa Paratroopa and land before the boulder hits that area on safe ground. Now jump right onto the sinking platform in the lava and leap through the midway gate just to the upper-right. Instantly, a Chargin' Chucks boulder assaults you. Wait it out and then go under the overhang to attack the athletic jerk. If you jump onto the Yellow Block to the right, you can hit the ? Block above it for a Cape Feather. Now jump right onto the platform and then onto safe rock, pass under the Chargin' Chuck, and then jump up to the high ledge here. Fall cautiously here; there is lava below and you'll most likely land on a sinking platform. Jump right onto regular terrain and then run right. After another Chargin' Chuck assault, head right until you see a Koopa Paratroopa (the slow descent with the Magic Cape helps a lot here). Bounce off of it and then land to the right on a sinking platform. Jump right further to reach a jumping board. For cover, stand on the end of the Blue Blocks to its right until you have a good opening (the boulders aren't in the way). Jump onto the board, bounce up, defeat or skip the Chargin' Chuck. Drop right onto sinking platforms and then jump to land. Here, you must have Yoshi. Swallow the key and then walk into the keyhole. Unlocks: Star World 5, Front Door ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ / \ / \ ||----------------------------Section 4*-----------------------------|| \ / \_________________________________________________________________/ ======================================================================= ==============================Star Road*=============================== ======================================================================= If you thought those were all the secrets... No, as it is, you only have 78/96 of the game beat. The other levels lie up in the cosmos... in Star Road. Here's what you must've done earlier for this section to work for you. - Unlock all the Star Roads (see "Donut Plains Secret," "Vanilla Dome Secret," "The Twin Bridges Secret," "Forest of Illusion Secret," and "Valley of Bowser Secret"). Not much, eh? Star Road is, as Geno puts it in Super Mario RPG, the place where wishes are granted. Star Road is where wishes are received, and then the wishes fall to the world in the form of stars. Unfortunately, Bowser's troops have invaded Star Road, and we must save it lest all his evil dreams be realized! Here are guides for each world, both secret and non-secret. +------------------------+ | Star World 1 (A) | +------------------------+ This the only vertically dropping level in the game. Here's your guide through it. Walk forward, take the Mushroom, and then get to the right side of the blocks. Spin jump on the block seven spaces from the wall and you'll fall straight down through the first Dragon Coin. Now go to the left side of the blocks and spin jump six blocks from the wall to get the second Dragon Coin. Now fall to the next layer and start spin jumping six blocks from the wall to reach the third Dragon Coin. Now fall to the next layer and get a Super Star. Now pummel the Koopa Troopas here and get to the left side of the Rotating Blocks. Spin jump the block ten spaces from the wall and you'll reach the fourth Dragon Coin followed closely by the fifth. Now spin jump down the spaces until you reach the bottom after many spin jumps and Koopas. Also, you may get a baby red Yoshi along the way (just abandon it for now). At the bottom, take the pipe to the right up and jump through the goal gate's tape. +------------------------+ | Star World 1 (B) | +------------------------+ Get to the second grouping of Rotating Blocks in any manner you'd like. When you do, start spin jumping the rightmost block. You'll eventually reach a key that you can place in its keyhole. Unlocks: Star World 2 +------------------------+ | Star World 2 (A) | +------------------------+ It's an underwater world! Luckily, it's way easier than normal ones. To the right, grab the baby Blue Yoshi. To make it an adult, you must feed it fish (just swim forward and it will eat enemies in your way). After so many, it becomes an adult. In the meantime, grab the Super Star and swim right! You'll soon reach a ? Block. Hit it for another Super Star (to renew your invincibility). Now continue right to pulverize your resistance and you'll reach a green pipe. Take it and jump right through the goal gate, hopefully with an adult Blue Yoshi. BLUE YOSHI: In my opinion, Blue Yoshi is the best of the clan's colors. Not only does he look quite cool, but it has a special ability: if it swallows a Koopa shell of any color, it will gain wings and be able to fly. Use Blue Yoshi in levels that require flight or are too difficult to beat on foot. This should be where you go to meet all your Blue Yoshi needs. Awesome! +------------------------+ | Star World 2 (B) | +------------------------+ This secret exit is just too obvious. Get to the pipe at the very end of the level and swim under the block it rests on. Go right for a while to find a key and a keyhole. You do the math. Unlocks: Star World 3 +------------------------+ | Star World 3 (A) | +------------------------+ A short level indeed. Go forward and take the yellow Yoshi Baby from the egg. You can feed it the Grab Blocks you are standing on or the Spinies that Lakitu is throwing down. In fact, it might be wise to press the silver P Switch when there are loads of Spinies down there. They turn into silver coins, good for 1-Ups if you get them in quantity. Anyways, the normal exit is to the right, in plain site, completely unguarded. Jump through the goal gate... YELLOW YOSHI: With its mellow yellow color and peaceful look, Yellow Yoshi stands out among his brethren. Yellow Yoshi also has a special ability. That is, when he swallows a Koopa shell of any color, he can jump and stamp the ground to kick up sand, which can hurt nearby enemies. Cool! +------------------------+ | Star World 3 (B) | +------------------------+ Of course, that's not all there is to this world (it is short, though). When you enter, get a Yellow Yoshi by feeding the baby and then hit the silver P Switch to keep Spinies off your back. Lift a Grab Block and chuck it at Lakitu, hopefully defeating him. Now his cloud is yours to take. Jump off of Yoshi to reach the cloud and then float upward. Enter this little stone structure, float left to get the key from the ? Block, and then go right to use that key in the keyhole there. Unlocks: Star World 4 +------------------------+ | Star World 4 (A) | +------------------------+ This is the longest Star Road level, and it could be a level of its own if it were placed in the stead of Vanilla Dome 4. Anyways, go forward and grab the baby Red Yoshi. Jump to the platform to the right and take it to the solid ledges to the right. Eat the Koopa Troopas there and then jump right to the swinging platform. From it, jump right and gulp down the two blue Koopa Troopas here (and their shells if possible). This will make the baby into a man - Red Yoshi. Jump right and eat the Koopa Troopa here. See the Koopa Paratroopas before you? Spit out that shell to roast them. Yes, this is the power of Red Yoshi! Now jump right for a power-up in the ? Block and jump right again. Defeat the Koopas here and then hop onto the swinging platform. When you land, head right to the swinging platform and jump onto the solid platform to your right (well, duh! Everything's to the right!). Roast the next wave of Koopa Paratroopas with the K. Troopa on the ground and then jump through the now barbecued defenses. After a few vacant platforms you'll reach a swinging triple platform. (POINT E HERE) Jump right onto the stone platform from there and use the red shell here to flame the Koopas ahead. Now go right over some Koopa Paratroopas and jump right to a ledge to a swinging platform to a stone block to a ledge. Three more swinging platforms, all empty, lead to the goal gate. RED YOSHI: Fiery Red Yoshi has a slick color and a cool power. Actually, it's not so cool as it is hot. When Red Yoshi eats a Koopa shell of any color, he can spit it out to breathe flames! Yes, three fireballs, similar to Podoboos, emerge from his mouth to roast enemies ahead. Nice! +------------------------+ | Star World 4 (B) | +------------------------+ The secret exit in this level is hidden somewhat well, but it is still rather obvious. Get to the point in the above guide where you reach the stone platform with the Koopas on it. I marked it as "(POINT E HERE)" in the guide. When there, drop from the stone blocks to a set of Green Blocks to the left (you have to have activated the Red Switch and the Green Switch to make this work). Now go right and drop to some Red Blocks. From there, hit the ? Block either with a shell (you can get one above sitting in plain site) or your Magic Cape. A key comes out, which can be used to "unlock" (pun!) the secret exit keyhole to the right. Unlocks: Star World 5 +------------------------+ | Star World 5 (A) | +------------------------+ Though not as long as Star World 4, it certainly is the hardest. Go right by jumping from falling platform to falling platform and you'll reach a P Switch and a ? Block. Hit the Rotating Block the P Switch is on and then hit the ? Block while facing the right. This will make the coins go off in a right manner. Stand there, keep facing right, and wait for it to stop. At that point, hit the P Switch to make them blocks, and then jump on the blocks to run to some Rotating Blocks. From there, bounce on the Koopa Paratroopas to land by a Yellow Yoshi egg. Pick it up and eat the next few enemies (Spinies and Jumping Piranha Plants) to make it grow. Now get on and go right to some falling platforms. You'll land on a small ledge with two Spinies coming at you. Jump over them (or eat them) and then go right. A few more jumps and you'll reach the goal gate. Now Star Road is completely connected. +------------------------+ | Star World 5 (B) | +------------------------+ Come with Blue Yoshi from Star World 2. Eat the first green Koopa Paratroopa you see and fly right. Keep flying until you are about to give way to falling, at which point you should land on some Rotating Blocks by a red Koopa Troopa. Now fly up after eating it to a few Yellow Blocks. Run past them to Green Blocks. Dismount from Yoshi and run under the block (if you are big, run toward it and then duck to slide under). Repeat this to the right on Red Blocks and then on Blue Blocks. At the end, use a key on a keyhole. Unlocks: Gnarly Gnarly is the name of the first level of the Special World, the ultimate challenge for players. That guide is below. And let's just say that something pretty cool happens when you beat the Special World's final level... ======================================================================= ============================Special World*============================= ======================================================================= To enter this secret world, you must clear the secret exit of the fifth Star World (see above section). It is a collection of several difficult levels that will put all your skills and resources to the test. Also, each level is named after a slang word like "tubular." The reward? You'll want it just because it is so interesting. Note: If you wait on the map screen long enough, the music from World 1-1 in the SNES reincarnation of Super Mario Bros. will play. What a beat! +--------------+ | Gnarly | +--------------+ Jump onto the green springs and get onto the rope above and hit the rightmost Rotating Block. Climb the vine that comes out and stop when you reach the next set of blocks to the left (the first Dragon Coin is there). Now proceed up the vine until you reach a green spring. Use it to hit the next Rotating Block and the second Dragon Coin. Now drop down on the Jump Block and bounce into the Rotating Block above for a power-up. Now bounce onto the blocks and use them as stairs. Drop down now and collect the other three Dragon Coins along the way. At the bottom, defeat the blue Koopa Troopa and take the pipe. Outside, hit the P Switches (all three) and then go right. Defeat the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother quickly, jump on his platform, and ride it to the ledge to the right. Here, run right (the Lakitu may still be throwing silver coins depending on how fast you were) and then jump for the goal gate. +---------------+ | Tubular | +---------------+ This is easily the hardest level in the game and by a landslide. This is real torture because one hit will kill you automatically, no exceptions. Or, if it doesn't kill you, then you'll land on a platform and wait there until the timer runs out. Jump forward across the pipes, defeating Chargin' Chucks if you'd like and dodging a Jumping Piranha Plant on the way. Also, you can bounce off the second Chargin' Chuck to reach the first Dragon Coin the level has to offer. Now go right, hit the P Switch, and then drop to the jumping board below. Hit the ? Block for one of those dreaded Power Balloons. As Balloon Mario, you become regular Mario by even one hit. So, if the hit doesn't kill you, the fall will. Also note that, although I will point out their locations, I advise that you not go after Dragon Coins. They are in very risky positions for the most part, and you can get 1-Ups from different sources. When you first become Balloon Mario, rise to the right and pass through the second Dragon Coin. Now float along the top of the screen to pass through the third Dragon Coin and then hit the upper ? Block here for a new Power Balloon (yes, they wear off over time). Now head right, between the Koopa Paratroopas and the Volcano Lotuses if you really want such a RISKY fourth Dragon Coin, and then sink down so that you go under the Jumping Piranha Plant here. You want to be as low as possible for this upcoming part. Hit the ? Block the lower Chargin' Chuck is on (as if this level isn't already hard enough!) and you can renew your Power Balloon. Retrieve it carefully, though, as the above Chargin' Chuck's footballs greatly complicate matters. Now go right under another Volcano Lotus for the fifth Dragon Coin and over the next for the sixth Dragon Coin. Thank goodness, the goal gate is right after that. It's not too hard once you have had some practice, but it's impossibly difficult unless you coordinate yourself just perfectly at the end. Rather oddly, they give you the option to save the game after Tubular, showing that the developers recognize that it's one tough cookie. NOTE: vultyrex sent in a life-saving tip for this level; here it is (I advise you use it if this level troubles you): "[It is] easier [to beat Tubular if you] have Caped Mario with blue Yoshi. You go to where the P Balloon is in the ? Block first. From there you have to jump and glide over to a pipe with a baseball-type Chargin' Chuck on it. You have to land on him and kill him. Then jump up the two blocks to see the Koopa shell line. With careful movement, you can grab one of them with Yoshi and fly over the level." +----------------+ | Way Cool | +----------------+ This is nothing compared to Tubular, and it certainly is not cool, nor way. Most of the action involves hitting blocks. Jump onto the first block and hit the first ON Block into an OFF Block that you see. Get the first Dragon Coin as you go down and then jump over an oncoming chainsaw. Afterward, hit the OFF Block. Now you must avoid some Fuzzies on the line. Two of them in this unusual circular movement is a bit tricky, but if you came with Yoshi, you can jump on them and just bounce off. When you land, hit the ? Block for a power-up and then continue, hitting neither of the next two blocks. After another Fuzzy ring, you'll reach the second Dragon Coin. Hit the next block after that to take a lower route through some coins in safety, and then jump to the third Dragon Coin at the end. You'll land below on a safety platform. Go right on it over some pipes and the like to reach a ? Block. Hit it and Wings come out. I'd imagine that it is quite hard to get past the Fuzzies without Yoshi and that you came with him; I shall assume you did. Take the Wings, fly forward to get the fourth Dragon Coin, fly forward for coins, and then collect the fifth, sixth, and seventh Dragon Coins of the level. Fall through the coin arrow at the end to have beaten the level. +---------------+ | Awesome | +---------------+ An ice world, this place is more snowy than iced over. Go forward and jump the yellow-shelled Koopa Troopa coming your way to reach an expanding platform. From there, jump right to land on a Rex, but proceed right carefully. A shell-less Koopa will kick a red shell at you; be prepared. Now jump right onto the platform to defeat this Koopa and then drop onto one of the Rexes (bounce off of it for the first Dragon Coin). Now go right again, avoiding a shell, and then get out of the depression. Head right by the Rex (you can slide into it) and jump the water for the second Dragon Coin. Avoid a green shell being kicked at you and head right to find a P Switch. Jump over the gap with the Cheep Cheep below using the blocks and then avoid a green shell being kicked at you. You'll then meet a barrage of enemies - Rexes, more shell-kicking Koopas, and Koopa Troopa (as well as Paratroopas) ahead. Once you've reached the yellow shell-kicker, jump over it to a mini- bridge. This is just like Level 2-3 of Super Mario Bros. That is, Cheep Cheeps are now in abundance and they fly at you from many angles below. If you got there in time, you can hit the ? Block for a Super Star. Now run right, plowing through the Banzai Bills as Invincible Mario, and you'll jump some expanding (nice icy veneer, eh?) platforms as you go, as well as the third and Cfourth Dragon Coin. Now, after a careful series of one-block platforms, you'll reach a red Koopa Paratroopa. Wait there for your invincibility to wear off and then jump on the Koopa Paratroopa, bouncing off through the fifth Dragon Coin and onto the block. Jump right onto the ledge and slide right into a jump through the goal gate's tape. +--------------+ | Groovy | +--------------+ Note: If you watch the beginning intro of the game, it takes place in this level. Run forward, jump on the Koopa Troopa, and launch its shell into the ? Block ahead for Yoshi or a 1-Up if you already have Yoshi. Now walk forward and under the Koopa sliding forward. After four different- colored Koopa Troopas (the whole bunch), you'll go right to find a Pokey. Eat each segment or jump over it if you lost Yoshi. Now go right cautiously, wary of the Jumping Piranha Plant, and then jump the gap to the right past a Volcano Lotus and its fire. To the right is a transparent block you can hit for any power-up you want (preferably a Super Star), and run right to find Pokeys, the second Dragon Coin, and then a terrible mess of more Pokeys and Volcano Lotuses. And then after more Pokeys you'll reach a Jumping Piranha Plant that spits fire in a pipe. Wait for it to go down, jump onto the pipe, and jump right through the third Dragon Coin. Now you'll reach a series of tiers with Pokeys on them. Gobble them up and jump right over a Jumping Piranha Plant-inhabited blue pipe to reach a ledge. Now jump right onto the Chargin' Chuck for a fourth Dragon Coin and jump right again to fall between two Pokeys for the fifth. Now run right to two more Chargin' Chucks (both of the baseball-throwing breed) and to the goal gate. +-------------+ | Mondo | +-------------+ It's a semi-water level. Come with Cape Feathers, grasshopper. Swim forward and jump over the water when you see the Cheep Cheep. Hit below the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother when you get back in and use his platform to reach the ledge to the right. If you jump to the pipe to the right, you'll notice that the water level rises. Swim right and hit the ? Block you find after some Cheep Cheeps for a Cape Feather. Afterward, the water level lowers to the ground. Get on the blue pipe when you can and jump right to defeat the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother and take its platform. Or, you might want to take the first Dragon Coin before that. Anyways, when you have his platform, jump right over the pipe and swim right to some ? Blocks and Cheep Cheeps. Hit the uppermost one for Yoshi and jump right onto land. Here, take the second Dragon Coin and jump right to a pipe, which you can take down. Do so and run right through the coins for the third Dragon Coin at the end. Now take the pipe out of there. When you emerge, swim right over some plants and get onto the ledge. Jump right to two rows of ? Blocks. If you hit one in the upper row, you can get a power-up. Also, along the bottom row is the fourth Dragon Coin. Now head right, defeat the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother over the lethal plants here, and take the fifth Dragon Coin while you're at it. Then jump back up, take it to the pipe to the right, and jump through the tape of the goal gate. +------------------+ | Outrageous | +------------------+ It's a dark forest level. Go right and jump over the Wiggler and then a gap. To the right you will find one of the worst obstacles in the game, little embers (unfortunately, you cannot stop forest fires here! Oh, funny!). Just jump over them, take the first Dragon Coin, and continue right. Now stand under the Bullet Bill Blaster, grab the jumping board, and then jump the B. B. Blaster to reach a very high one. Set the jumping board there and bounce over it. Now jump right over the ember below to reach another blaster. Head right past it, take the second Dragon Coin, ignore the Wiggler, and then jump over to more Bullet Bill Blasters. Obviously avoid their fire and jump right to a Jumping Piranha Plant. Jump past it and the adjacent Bullet Bill Blaster to fall to the third Dragon Coin and an ember. Bounce over it and then jump the next blasters to land on a Wiggler. Bounce on it over the next stacked blasters and then bounce on the Bullet Bills they fire to get over the pipe. This is one of those occasions where pressing L to scroll over and see the blasters helps. Now jump right over some Wigglers and then defeat an Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother. Steal his platform and jump right through the fourth Dragon Coin (note that there is an ember on the ground and that the Rotating Blocks may contain enemies). You will then reach a block containing Yoshi or a 1-Up and then two Jumping Piranha Plants, the right of which can spit fire. After it, jump right to face off with another Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother. Defeat it, naturally, and use the platform it leaves behind to get onto the pipe to the right. Jump down to the ? Blocks (don't even try to hit them) and then jump right over a Jumping Piranha Plant to reach the final obstacle. Take the fifth Dragon Coin, bounce off the Wiggler to hit the Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brother, and avoid gunfire as you get onto the platform and jump right to the goal gate. +-------------+ | Funky | +-------------+ It's the late afternoon in this setting, and you start right under a menacing Sumo Brother. Run right quickly and run right past a Jumping Piranha Plant to find another Sumo Brother. Jump over its flames to find two blue Koopa Troopas and the first Dragon Coin. Past them, hit the red Koopa Troopa and throw its shell upward at the ? Block for either Yoshi or a 1-Up if you have Yoshi. To reach him, you'd have to use the Magic Cape. Now go right, jumping below the Sumo Brother to knock him off, and drop down to some Koopa Troopas. Swallow them with Yoshi and fly right over the Sumo Brothers until you reach land. Go left, take the second Dragon Coin from the pocket, and then return right. After two Chargin' Chucks you'll reach the third Dragon Coin. Jump right from there to some Grab Block platforms and avoid the oncoming Super Koopas (or defeat them if you've really got a grudge against them). Now jump right from them, avoid or defeat the Sumo Brother, and go right to a blue-shelled Koopa. Swallow it or grab its shell and head right to a Chargin' Chuck. Spit it out to defeat it and go right. Here, grab the shell of the red Koopa and go right. Use it on the next Koopa and go right past some Para-Goombas to reach the fourth Dragon Coin and a Chargin' Chuck. Past it is a power-up in the ? Block and then you'll find three Chargin' Chucks (dear me) on the ledges. Jump them and head right to find coins. They spell out a message: "YOU ARE A SUPER PLAYER!!" And then you reach the goal gate. The Special World is completed! Take the final portal here to find Yoshi's House. But, it is different. Yes, it is now the fall season in Dinosaur Land! Everything looks different now! Try exploring it and finding the differences, not only in background but in enemies... That's the reward for beating the most challenging levels this game has to offer - a cool change of pallet. To know what else changes and find out other useful information, check out Section 5. It's loaded with stuff I couldn't fit elsewhere. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ / \ / \ ||----------------------------Section 5*-----------------------------|| \ / \_________________________________________________________________/ ======================================================================= ============================Enemy Changes*============================= ======================================================================= As you found out above, beating the Special World changes summer to fall in Dinosaur Land. As such, the scenery changes drastically, but the enemies also change a bit. Here are the new enemies in the game, and what they used to be. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Enemy Name Counterpart: Differences: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- And now for the list below! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Jumping Pumpkin Plant Counterpart: Jumping Piranha Plant Differences: Jumping Piranha Plants now have pumpkin heads. The same goes for the Piranha Plants on vines... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Mask Koopa Counterpart: Koopa Differences: Koopa Troopas and Koopa Paratroopas now wear large masks with hats in the color of their shell. Oddly, the masks seem to show Mario or Luigi, since they have hats and mustaches. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Pidgit Bill Counterpart: Bullet Bill Differences: The Bullet Bill is now a small, winged, black bird. Pidgit is supposed to be "pigeon." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- So, though there are not many enemy changes, and all enemies behave like their counterparts, the fall theme is very interesting nonetheless. Try beating the game in fall... ======================================================================= ===========================Goals Checklist*============================ ======================================================================= This section is designed to be printed off for your use. If you need to, copy and paste it into a text editor (like Microsoft Word, for example) and print it. Or you could increase the text size or the font (we are required to write 10-size font for GameFaqs, and you may want to increase the size so that it prints larger). It is helpful if you check it off as you go, or you'll be forced to play through tons of levels to get that perfect 96/96 goals score for your file. Back Door and Front Door are not counted because you cannot save after them. The brackets ([__]) are for placing checkmarks in. -Yoshi's Island- [__] 1) Yoshi's Island 1 [__] 2) Yellow Switch Palace [__] 3) Yoshi's Island 2 [__] 4) Yoshi's Island 3 [__] 5) Yoshi's Island 4 [__] 6) # 1 Iggy's Castle -Donut Plains- [__] 7) Donut Plains 1 [__] 8) Donut Plains 1 Secret [__] 9) Donut Plains 2 [__] 10) Donut Plains 2 Secret [__] 11) Green Switch Palace [__] 12) Donut Ghost House [__] 13) Donut Ghost House Secret [__] 14) Donut Plains 3 [__] 15) Donut Plains 4 [__] 16) # 2 Morton's Castle [__] 17) Donut Secret 1 [__] 18) Donut Secret 1 Secret [__] 19) Donut Secret House [__] 20) Donut Secret House Secret [__] 21) Donut Secret 2 -Vanilla Dome- [__] 22) Vanilla Dome 1 [__] 23) Vanilla Dome 1 Secret [__] 24) Vanilla Dome 2 [__] 25) Vanilla Dome 2 Secret [__] 26) Red Switch Palace [__] 27) Vanilla Ghost House [__] 28) Vanilla Dome 3 [__] 29) Vanilla Dome 4 [__] 30) # 3 Lemmy's Castle [__] 31) Vanilla Secret 1 [__] 32) Vanilla Secret 1 Secret [__] 33) Vanilla Secret 2 [__] 34) Vanilla Secret 3 [__] 35) Vanilla Fortress -The Twin Bridges- [__] 36) Cheese Bridge Area [__] 37) Cheese Bridge Area Secret [__] 38) Cookie Mountain [__] 39) # 4 Ludwig's Castle [__] 40) Soda Lake [__] 41) Butter Bridge 1 [__] 42) Butter Bridge 2 -Forest of Illusion- [__] 43) Forest of Illusion 1 [__] 44) Forest of Illusion 1 Secret [__] 45) Forest of Illusion 2 [__] 46) Forest of Illusion 2 Secret [__] 47) Red Switch Palace [__] 48) Forest of Illusion 3 [__] 49) Forest of Illusion 3 Secret [__] 50) # 5 Roy's Castle [__] 51) Forest Ghost House [__] 52) Forest Ghost House Secret [__] 53) Forest of Illusion 4 [__] 54) Forest of Illusion 4 Secret [__] 55) Forest Secret Area [__] 56) Forest Fortress -Chocolate Island- [__] 57) Chocolate Island 1 [__] 58) Choco-Ghost House [__] 59) Chocolate Island 2 [__] 60) Chocolate Island 2 Secret [__] 61) Chocolate Island 3 [__] 62) Chocolate Island 3 Secret [__] 63) Chocolate Fortress [__] 64) Chocolate Island 4 [__] 65) Chocolate Island 5 [__] 66) # 6 Wendy's Castle [__] 67) Chocolate Secret -Valley of Bowser- [__] 68) Sunken Ghost Ship [__] 69) Valley of Bowser 1 [__] 70) Valley of Bowser 2 [__] 71) Valley of Bowser 2 Secret [__] 72) Valley Ghost House [__] 73) Valley Ghost House Secret [__] 74) Valley of Bowser 3 [__] 75) Valley of Bowser 4 [__] 76) Valley of Bowser 4 Secret [__] 77) # 7 Larry's Castle [__] 78) Valley Fortress -Star Road- [__] 79) Star World 1 [__] 80) Star World 1 Secret [__] 81) Star World 2 [__] 82) Star World 2 Secret [__] 83) Star World 3 [__] 84) Star World 3 Secret [__] 85) Star World 4 [__] 86) Star World 4 Secret [__] 87) Star World 5 [__] 88) Star World 5 Secret -Special World- [__] 89) Gnarly [__] 90) Tubular [__] 91) Way Cool [__] 92) Awesome [__] 93) Groovy [__] 94) Mondo [__] 95) Outrageous [__] 96) Funky May this list serve you well. Good luck getting to 96/96. ======================================================================= ===========================Minimalist Quest*=========================== ======================================================================= So, now that you know there are 96 goals in all in Super Mario World, how many can you get by without doing? Like any Mario game, only a fraction of it needs to be done to beat the game. It is possible to the Front Door (Bowser's Castle) in only eleven levels. It manipulates - what else - Star Road. Here's how. 1) Yoshi's Island 2 2) Yoshi's Island 3 3) Yoshi's Island 4 4) # 1 Iggy's Castle 5) Donut Plains 1 Secret 6) Donut Secret 1 Secret 7) Donut Secret House Secret 8) Star World 1 Secret 9) Star World 2 Secret 10) Star World 3 Secret 11) Star World 4 Secret And then you can use the Star Road warp to reach Front Door, Bowser's Castle. So, all in all, only 11/96 of the game needs to be beaten. Of course, I don't recommend this because it takes away a lot of the fun in the game, but it is a neat trick. ======================================================================= ===========================Top Secret Area*============================ ======================================================================= This is the third time in my guide I am saying how to do this, but it is that important! Without Top Secret Area, we'd have to waste our time going into levels to get power-ups. But, with Top Secret Area, you have access to almost any power-up whenever you want it (the only two not available are, of course, the Power Balloon and Super Star, but for good reason). Here's how to get it (I also made this section so that I don't get e-mailed about it). 1) Get to Donut Ghost House. 2) Follow the below guide to find the secret exit of Donut Ghost House. +-------------------------+ | Donut Ghost House | +-------------------------+ Play the ghost house and enter with the Cape Feather (play Donut Plains 1 a few times if you need one). Get to the end of the first segment of walkway. Now run left and take off flying. You'll go through a gap and get onto the roof of the house! Run right until you fall into a secret alcove of the mansion where all the Rotating Blocks contain 1-Up Mushrooms. Take the door here to a secret exit that creates a path on the map to a secret level. 3) Read the below guide to Top Secret Area. +-----------------------+ | Top Secret Area | +-----------------------+ Halleluiah! This level rules! Top Secret Area is simply five different ? Blocks. The central one contains Yoshi or a 1-Up Mushroom if you already have Yoshi. The right two contain either Mushrooms or Cape Feathers depending on your status. The left two contain either Mushrooms or Fire Flower depending on your status. That's it! Stop here whenever you need to refresh on power-ups or Yoshi. Oh, joy is me! Pretty sweet, huh? Yes, this will save you quite a bit of time. Wait, a bit of time? No, I mean A LOT of time. Huzzah! ======================================================================= ===========================GBA/SNES Changes*=========================== ======================================================================= A few years ago, Nintendo started to re-release these classic games in the Super Mario Advance series for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). This game - Super Mario World - was released as "Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2" in 2002. I'm glad that Nintendo regularly re-releases the classic Super Mario Bros. trilogy and Super Mario World, as they are really great games and every generation should have a chance to experience them. Even if they start releasing 512-bit systems and whatnot, we shall always look back to Mario in his early days, quite simply because of the truth below. Without Mario, there would not be home consoles today. It is true. Without Mario, the NES would most likely have been crushed. Sega would have never started competition, Sony would not have ever joined the Console Wars to defeat Sega, and Microsoft certainly would not have joined the fray. In fact, without Mario, Nintendo probably wouldn't have even released the NES because they would have had very little success in American arcades. In short, Nintendo is the father of all home consoles, and Mario is at the helm. And if I sound partisan Nintendo, I am. But, that's not what this section is about. It's about the changes between this game and its wonderful re-release. The game is even easier on the GBA, and more fun, too. Luigi and Mario are now differentiated, but here are the specifics. +-------------------------+ | Game Play Changes | +-------------------------+ - Mario plays like he did in Super Mario World, but Luigi is more like he was in Super Mario Bros. 2 (American). First, Luigi can do the floating, feet-kicking jump he did in SMB 2. When on Yoshi, he can swallow enemies like Mario but he can spit ANY of them out. The result for most enemy is them being launched forward and rolling until they stop, then dissipating (much like In "Yoshi's Island: Super Mario World 2"). When he jumps to hit a block with many coins in them, he gets all at once instead of having to hit it repeatedly. Finally, his fireballs have a much higher trajectory than those of Mario. - You can change characters (Mario to Luigi and vice versa) by pressing R on the map screen. - You can spin jump off many enemies you couldn't before, like Boos. - You can now hold B to run up vines. - You do not automatically drop the item in the box at the top of the screen anymore if you're hit. Instead, it will fall only if you press Select. Or, if you are Super Mario, it will fall if you're hit, but not if you're Caped or Fire Mario. - Interestingly enough, if you are Fire Mario or Caped Mario and you are hit, you revert back to Super Mario, not regular Mario like in the SNES version of Super Mario World. The same goes for Luigi. - You are now able to skip cinemas and the text in cinemas has changed (to show Mario or Luigi). - A Mushroom in # 3 Lemmy's Castle is now a Cape Feather. - In # 4 Ludwig's Castle, there is now a midway gate in the long, vertical hallway with the wire nets. There are also Dragon Coins, power-ups, etc., as this room was expanded. - In # 6 Wendy's Castle, one of the moving blocks moves differently to make it easier to beat the castle. - Of course, controls have changed because SMA 2 is on the GBA. - You can save anywhere now, even in the middle of a level. And, saving does not erase your status like it does in Super Mario World. That is, if you save and turn off the game, you still retain what status Mario was in, how many points you had, how many lives you had, and Dragon Coins do not reappear in levels you've gotten them all in. - Yoshi's House now has ten berries in it. - You can now leave Yoshi on some surfaces that you couldn't before, like Message Blocks. - If you walk against a Yoshi that is standing still, they will scoot along as if being pushed. - Yoshi can now jump on fish enemies when they are in the water. - Once you unlock each Yoshi of each color (green, red, yellow, and blue from EACH level of Star Road), you can get them any time from any ? Block containing a Yoshi. Though random, Super Mario tends to get Yellow Yoshi, Fire Mario Red Yoshi, Caped Mario Blue Yoshi, and regular Mario a random color. - Depending on what color Yoshi you have when you eat the tenth red berry in a level, you get a different power-up. Green Yoshi yields a Mushroom, Red a Fire Flower, Yellow a Super Star, and Blue a Cape Feather. - Yoshi does not turn blue when you complete a level using the Wings anymore. - Yoshi does not disappear anymore if you abandon him (let him run off, for instance), unless you see him die (fall into a pit, into lava, and so on) or if you do it yourself. - Dragon Coins now appear in levels they did not before, like in fortresses. This really multiplies their numbers. Also, there are now new platforms and the like to help you get out-of-the-way Dragon Coins. - You can now access a status screen from the map that tells you how many Dragon Coins you've collected, how long you've been playing, how many goals you've cleared, and how many have been cleared with either Mario or Luigi. - When you've beat every level and found every exit, a Level Select is activated to let you warp to whichever level you choose instead of walking around so much. - You do not get the fall theme by beating the Special World in Super Mario Advance 2. Instead, you must beat every level with every exit. - When getting 1-Ups in sequence, like from using a Super Star to beat many enemies or bouncing on many enemies in a row, you used to be able to get a maximum of a 3-Up icon. Now you can get a 5-Up. - You can get up to 999 lives. - Top Secret Area now has a time limit. - You need to clear all 96 exits to unlock the fall theme. - You get a tremendous 800-second time limit to beat Bowser's Castle now. - You get points for beating Bowser. - You get 2000 points instead of 1000 for beating Chargin' Chuck with fireballs. Also, he turns into a coin now. - You get 20 points now for eating green berries. - There are more Message Blocks than there used to be. - There is now a block in the bonus part of Donut Plains 1 (to reach it, just take a pipe down about halfway through the level. It is blue) that tells you how many coins are in it (600, as it turns out). If you collect them all, you get three additional extra lives on top of the six you get from collecting 600 coins. -Various glitches no longer work. +----------------------------------+ | Graphics and Sound Changes | +----------------------------------+ - There is now an opening cinema to explain the storyline of the game visually. - There is now a cinema depicting how the Mario Bros. change the enemies for the fall season. - When you beat the game, the character you used leads the princess in the credits and the other tails behind (in Super Mario World, the other wasn't even there). - When you beat a castle, the color of the eggs are not golden anymore, but rather there are two red, two yellow, two blue, and one green. - Bosses and the brothers now have voices, from the stereotypical "lets-a-go" and other Super Mario Advance sounds to bosses crying out in pain when hit. - Luigi is back to his good new blue and green color scheme instead of green and purple. - When you get many points in sequence (like defeating enemies with a Super Star) and you get 1-Ups, you'll hear a voice saying "Bravo, Mario!" or "Bravo, Luigi!" and a flower will pass by the screen to count how many extra lives you got. - There is a skidding sound added when Mario or Luigi are running one direction and then quickly turn around. - The blue box that contains stock items is now just brackets. - Instead of saying something like "Mario x 5" for lives, it now says "M x 5," or "L x 5" instead of "Luigi x 5" if you have five lives. - The Power Balloon now gives warning tones to indicate that you're about to deflate. - Bottomless pits are now shaded to show that you will die if you wander in. - The Rotating Block smash sounds different than before. - The extra life icons that rise from your character when you get them (like 1-Up, for instance) are enlarged. - There's a new zoom effect for point bonuses (like beating an enemy, for instance). - For every 1,000,000 points you get (that's a million), you get a star icon on the Game Select screen. You can earn up to five. They do nothing; they are just proof of your mettle. - The doors of the wire nets have a new sound effect instituted for when you spin on them. - When you beat the game, the castles are no longer in ruins (they are brought back). They still have there white flags over them, however, to show you've beaten them. - There's a chime when you start scrolling on the map, and another one for returning to your character. - On the map, Top Secret Area is now a smiling bush instead of just a yellow dot. That bush stays green even through fall. - The word "Special" does not appear in Special World initially in Super Mario Advance 2. - Message Blocks now say "Tourist Tips" at the top of their messages. - Once you've beaten the game so that you've found all 96 exits, high scores will be kept for levels in Special World. - Once you have gotten all the Dragon Coins in a level, a Dragon Coin icon appears on the left side of the screen. There is also a short cinema for getting all the Dragon Coins. - Background sound is much different now (higher pitched), and different instruments are sometimes used. Also, some songs have been rearranged a tad. - There is a teleport sound added for Magikoopas. - Chargin' Chucks have a new sound for being hit by fireballs. - Pokeys and Goombas change their look for the fall season. - Boos now have their little laugh, big and small. - Big Boo will peek to see if you're still watching him if he is shying away. - Amazing Flyin' Hammer Brothers have a new sound effect for throwing hammers. - Bowser has a new sound effect for dropping his boulders in the final fight. - When you see the "The End" screen, you can now press Start to keep playing without resetting the game. - All of your level status (time, coin count, etc.) shows during the final fight with Bowser, whereas in Super Mario World only the stock item showed if you had one. - The 1-Up sound is different. - The sound in bonus rooms when 1-Ups come from the pipes is included, whereas there was no sound for this in Super Mario World's SNES incarnation. - The sound of the blocks spinning in the bonus game has been added. - If you fail to get anything in a bonus room, Mario or Luigi hang their heads in shame. - Bonus Blocks give a little sound if you get a coin from them instead of a 1-Up Mushroom. - Echoing is now different (more spread out and elongated). - Reznor makes a different sound when he spits fireballs. - Yoshi's gulp sounds different (no coin sound mingled in). - Power-ups are not translucent like they were in Super Mario World in ghost houses. - Fire Mario and Fire Luigi have tanner skin than regular Mario or Luigi do. In Super Mario World, there was no change. - Scrolling has been shortened to fit the screen, and the effect is a little shaking on some horizontal lines, especially when scrolling diagonally. - When you collect all Dragon Coins in Super Mario World, the coin count goes away. In Super Mario Advance 2, the five coins stay up there. - --- - And those are the changes. Find any more? Well, don't send them to me. This section was researched enough, and I really don't want to add to the list. ======================================================================= =================================FAQ*================================== ======================================================================= FAQ stands for Frequently Asked Questions. Here, many questions I get loads of are put here for you to READ before sending me e-mails so that I get less e-mail. Let's begin, shall we? Question: Where are the Switch Palaces? Answer: See either Section 2 or Section 3 for the specifics. They are in: Yellow - Yoshi's Island Green - Donut Plaisn Red - Vanilla Dome Blue - Forest of Illusion Question: How do I beat _____? Answer: That's what the guide is for. What a coincidence, right? Question: How many levels are there? Answer: There are 96 "exits" in total, but there are fewer levels. To beat the game completely, you'll have to beat all 96. Question: I'm missing a few goals and I can't find them. Help! Answer: Not a question, but I'll run with it. See the checklist and go over which ones you know you've beaten, and then look over ones you aren't too sure of. It is found in Section 5 of this guide. Question: What is "Star Road" and "Special World?" Answer: They are secret worlds in the game. To find out how to unlock them, see Section 4, devoted to them entirely. Question: How do I get the colored Yoshis? Answer: Blue Yoshi can be gotten by clearing a level using Yoshi and the Wings. For the others, and for Blue Yoshi, too, you can get them by feeding them in Star Road. Question: How come you always say "Fire Mario" or "Caped Mario" or "move Mario" and stuff like that? Answer: Yes, you can play as Luigi, but Mario is the default character. So, since it applies more often, and because I don't want to go through the guide saying "Fire Mario, or Fire Luigi," I just refer to the star of the game (he got his name in the title, Luigi didn't). Question: How can I contact you? Answer: By e-mail only. My e-mail address - Kirby0215@aol.com (caps don't matter) - is listed here and at the top of the screen. My IM name is the same, but I do not accept IM's. If you still want to try your luck that way, then you're in for a ton of frustration. I'm frequently away from my computer and I don't respond to IM's even if I am on it. Furthermore, please put "Super Mario World" in the title so that I know what game you need help with. Please spell things as correctly as you can and do not write in slang (I can handle most of it, but writing things like IAALTRFTS, for example, are not understandable by any human being, including myself). Furthermore, do NOT send me Spam, chain letters, "tags," which are essentially the same thing as chain letters, or any personal e-mails (like a/s/l and that sort of thing). I don't have the time to get to know everyone, I'm afraid. Question: Can I use your guide on my website? Answer: No, no, and never. See my legal section for details. Question: What games do you have guides for? Answer: This one is my thirtieth. Can you believe it? I'm on GameFaqs's prolific dork list. I mean, I'd have to spend all my spare time in the past year writing these guides. I know what you're thinking... I have walkthroughs written for each of the following games: The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures, Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and 1, Sonic Heroes, Mario Kart: Double Dash, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario 64, Super Mario 64 DS, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Sunshine, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX, Mario Power Tennis, Mario Party 6, Paper Mario, Super Mario RPG, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Land, and you're reading my latest one - Super Mario World. Next up: who knows? But, I assure you that it will be a Mario game. I'm not stopping this binge until I have guides for all the classic Mario games. Question: So, what are your plans for future guides? Answer: Well, I want to keep on this Mario binge I've been on lately, and I am considering Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, or Super Mario Bros. 2 (American) next. Once I've covered all the classic Mario games, I may or may not start up with the Super Mario Land series. But, I've really been neglecting my true love - Zelda games. In a sense, I don't want to write a guide for the Oracle games because then I'll be out of Zelda games to write guides for. And yet, after my Link's Awakening guides, it seemed certain I'd finish up all the Zelda games with them. In any case, I'll also be writing a guide for the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess as soon as I can. It hasn't come out yet, but it sounds SO COOL! And now that we're done with that, one of my shorter FAQ's, let's get to the gem hidden among all this, err, stuff... That's right - the legal section! Huzzah! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ / \ / \ ||----------------------------Section 6*-----------------------------|| \ / \_________________________________________________________________/ ======================================================================= ====================Credits and Legal Information*===================== ======================================================================= I admit, I absolutely loath making these sections. Yeah, I joke about it being great in every guide I write, but let's get serious here. You can't see me, but I have so got my poker face on right now. I will simply copy and paste the legal section of a previous guide right here. If you are a stalker (admit it) or if you have a lot of time on your hands, you can figure out which guide it comes from. Reading legal sections is about as fun as watching a slow-motion foreign-language film about the making of boxes in black and white. First, though, the credits. Yes, I know that everybody is dying to know who helped me write this. Let's get started, shall we? First, I'd like to thank myself for writing the guide, playing the game, and for posting it. The man! The myth! The legend! Second, a big round of applause for Nintendo. They made Mario and this game, and this guide wouldn't be around without them. Third, let's all thank GameFaqs, the great site that is the only place where you can find my guides. Without them, you wouldn't be reading this. Recently, some more people have helped me out. Here's a list of who they are and what they did. - vultyrex, for sending in an awesome strategy for Tubular. - Spacepope4u, a contributor here on GameFaqs. I admit to being a great fan of his Mario Series Character Guide, and I write him with various tidbits regularly. Anyways, I learned a bit about Mario's origins, mostly name origins, from his guide. It was this guide that I started using some of his information for Mario character bios, as well as other characters' bios, like "ruiji" that evolved into Luigi's name and so on. Also, for creating a truly entertaining guide. Check it out if you haven't, because it is great. It is nearly impossible to find an encyclopedia of Mario characters that goes as in-depth as his guide does, and for that I thank him. That's it for now, but I'm sure that list will grow. Now for the legal section. If you're really obsessed with my guides, you'll know which one I copied the legal boilerplates out of. First of all, I take no credit for the creation, distribution, production, idealizing, or in any way making this game. That honor goes to Nintendo, not me, and I do not deny this. Second, this document is Copyright 2005 Brian McPhee. Third, this may not be reproduced in part of in full under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. To phrase that first item legally, all trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. To make it clear for those of you who might having problems absorbing information, no one but the website GameFaqs may use my guides on their sites, books, magazines, etc. And that's all for now, folks. I've had a blast writing this guide, literally, but now it's time to call it quits. But, let's not say good-bye. Instead, let's say something about 26,035,010,807 times better - my catchphrase. It won the award for Houdini of the Year, and the staff was bribed with only a few million apiece. So, if we could have a drum roll, please. Ahem, I am ready to say it. But first, it's time for this commercial break! And we're back! Now, where was I? Ah, yes. Adios. No, that wasn't my good-bye phrase, though I always pull that not-so-fresh-anymore stunt at the end of every guide recently. Boy, my originality's going south. Anyways, here it comes. GET READY, MORTALS! See ya later.