O------------------------------------O | SUPER MARIO BROTHERS 3 Walkthrough | O------------------------------------O v3.5 Complete with walkthroughs for every single level, item and enemy summaries, maps of each world, and a few other nifty little tidbits :) Written by Snow Dragon (C) 2001-2002, with acknowledgments to John R. Jones. All rights reserved. TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= I. Updates II. Intro and Notes III. Item Summary IV. Enemy Summary V. World Maps and Level Walkthroughs ** Grass Land ** Desert Land ** Water Land ** Giant Land ** Sky Land ** Ice Land ** Pipe Land ** Dark Land VI. Cool Secrets and Extras VII. Credits and Copyrights UPDATES ======= 9-15-01: John R. Jones has informed me of an easier way to beat level 3-7, so I added that today. Much obliged, John! Upon further inspection of the walkthrough, I found that I created an item summary section but never added it! How I didn't catch this is totally beyond me, but since I don't have the patience or the brainpower to type it up right now, I've gotten rid of it. Maybe later. Stay tuned for further updates! 10-14-01: Added item AND enemy summaries, which are once again the work of John R. Jones. I got the e-mail containing them nearly a month ago, but the document containing the walkthrough is on my cousin's comp and I just visited him today, so I made the update just now. Thanks again, John! 11-17-01: This just in, R. Deland Smallwood IV has sent me some information on levels 3-4 and 5-7. Check it out! 12-24-01: Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas Eve! R. Deland Smallwood sent me yet more stuff - this time some hints for levels in Ice Land. Thanks again, man! Sorry it took a month to get around to adding, though. 3-17-02: Some of my older walkthroughs aren't aging too well, so I'm changing things on some of them to make them look fresh and like my newer walkthroughs. Some formatting issues and other changes throughout the document have been addressed. The Desert Land map needed fixing due to an unintentional Tab on my part. Whoops! Also, Anton Berglin (Truncated on GameFAQs) sent me a tip for World 8-1. Go there and dig it, forthwith! 4-5-02: Robert Glass sent me several tips just recently - all of them useful! He's a master of the game, and has caught myriad fallacies within the text. See what he's got to say about some of the most minor details of the game! Robert's tips can be found in Worlds 1-5, 1-Fortress, 2-2, 4-1, and the boat level in Dark Land. Michael Malleson also sent me tips for Worlds 3-2 and 3-3 and battle strategies against Bowser at the end. Thanks a lot! Finally, I corrected misspellings in the item and enemy summaries written by John R. Jones. INTRO AND NOTES =============== Welcome to the best-selling NES game ever, Super Mario Brothers 3. Before we get on with the program, there are a few things that everyone who looks through this FAQ ought to know, both about the game and this walkthrough. I'll just give you a quick rundown of the major points of this FAQ. ** I played the original NES version, so there's none of the fancy junk from Super Mario All-Stars in it. There is a world of difference between the NES game and the SNES port. ** World walkthroughs will go map first, followed by the level solutions. If there is a fork in the path and you can go to one of two levels, it shouldn't matter - they are all listed in numerical order. ** Depending on any items you have, you may find an easier way to beat a level than what is listed here. This holds especially true if you are an avid user of items like P-Wings and Jugem's Clouds. I will be giving each level solution with the bare essentials of what you need to beat it - which means none of the fancy P-Wing or Hammer Brother Suit stuff. ** Whatever a symbol means on a map, I'll only put what it means on the first place you encounter it. That means I'm not going to tell you what the symbol for a fortress is over and over and over and over... (Actually, in some worlds there are multiple fortresses, so I mark them on the map like F1, F2, etc.) If you don't understand that, it means that if you can't figure out what a symbol means, go to the first world in the game where you see one of those objects and LOOK IT UP IN THE LEGEND. It only takes as much effort as you are willing to shell out to hold a mouse button down and scroll. (The following two sections were written by John R. Jones. Thanks to him for his help on this!) ITEM SUMMARY ============ Super Mushroom -------------- You'll find this in "?" blocks, but only if you're small Mario. Grab it to increase your size and durability. Super Mario jumps just as high as small Mario, but the increased size allows him to hit higher blocks and break bricks. Super Leaf ---------- After picking this leaf as it floats down from the block it was in, Mario becomes Raccoon Mario. Use his tail to smack the enemies around, or get a running start to charge the P-meter, then take off and fly. Mario can't fly forever, at least without some help... Fire Flower ----------- Nintendo Power's strategy guide to this game said, "There's nothing like good old firepower." That couldn't be more true, especially if you've got Piranha Plant problems or fishy foes flopping about. Press the B button to send out a fireball, and see what it can do for you. Coin ---- Okay, not much of an item, but it plays a key part in bagging 1-ups (100 coins will do it), and is part of the equation for Treasure Ships. Comes in sets of 10 and 20 in the N-Spade game. Starman ------- Everyone's favorite invincible star is back to give Mario the power of invincibility. It doesn't last forever, though, and being crushed or falling into holes or lava will still mean instant death. Frog Suit --------- The newest apparel to hit the stores, this green suit is aptly named. Not only does Mario LOOK like a frog in it, he exhibits the leaping and swimming characteristics of one as well. Because of the awkward land control, this one's best saved for underwater levels. Tanooki Suit ------------ Think Super Leaf, only now the only non-raccoon part of Mario is his face. Press and hold down, then press B to transform into an invincible crushing Statue ... just don't do it over pits and lava (obviously). The statue's form can crush some otherwise unbeatable enemies. By the way, if you're not a rock at the time, you can fly in this. Hammer Suit ----------- A rare but useful find, this suit gives Mario the power to throw hammers. The hammers can clobber almost every enemy, and if you duck, the shell offers protection against all but the strongest of flames. The only drawback is you throw hammers the same way as the Hammer Brothers do, making aiming a bit of a chore. 1-up Mushroom ------------- Rarely found, this green 'shroom gives Mario an extra life, allowing him another chance to play a level if he dies somewhere. The terminology as rare applies to them often being hidden, sometimes in out-of-the-way places. P-Wing ------ The "P" stands for "Power". This item enables Mario to fly at will for an entire stage, or at least until he loses his tail (i.e. gets hit, takes a Fire Flower). If you grab a leaf or Tanooki Suit in the stage, you'll still have the "P" power for flight. Anchor ------ Only found in the secret white Mushroom Houses on worlds 2, 4, and 6, this item, when activated, prevents the Koopalings' airships from escaping. If you have a lot of trouble on the ships, it can come in handy, especially as the Koopa captains like to park behind incomplete levels. Music Box --------- The soothing melody of this tune box puts any Hammer Brothers and Piranha Plants on the overworld map screens to sleep. You'll need it about once, and that's to put the last Piranha Plant on world 7 under for a nap. Otherwise, it robs you of precious items, and if not used, it merely wastes inventory space. Jugem's Cloud ------------- One of the most useful items in the game, it's also pretty tough to come by. This allows you to pass by any level of your choosing, though if you die in the next one, you'll be sent back to the last level you played and completed. Save them for the last three worlds. Hammer ------ You'll be opening up new paths for Mario when you use this to break boulders on the map screens. Use it to access otherwise unreachable Toad houses, or to create a shortcut around a particularly tough level (i.e. World 6-7). Warp Whistle ------------ This mystic whistle summons a tornado that sweeps you to World 9, the Warp Zone. If you warp from world 1, you can access Worlds 2 through 4. Use it in worlds 2 through 6 to reach worlds 5, 6, and 7. Use it in worlds 7 through 9 to reach world 8. There are only three of these in existence, but you need only two to reach Koopa's world. Kuribo's Shoe ------------- I added this one ... it seems John forgot about it :) Only available in level 5-3, hit a Goomba that's donning one from under him to hop in the shoe. You can walk across almost all surfaces with this item, but if you get hit it's gone. Stomping on most enemies once is enough to take them out, including Spinys and Piranha Plants. Unfortunately, it goes away when you complete the level :( If only there was a way to keep it forever... ENEMY SUMMARY ============= ================ A) Koopa Troopas ================ Red Troopa ---------- A regular walking turtle that often occupies a ledge, pacing back and forth. Stomp it to send them into their shells for a while. Green Troopa ------------ Basically, it's a palette swap of the red one. The green Troopas only go in a straight line, only turning if something blocks their path. Red Paratroopa -------------- These critters float rather slowly in the vertical plane. Just run under when you have an opening, or stomp them when the time is right. Green Paratroopa ---------------- The wings of this creature allow it to fly endlessly, though they often prefer to use them to bounce towards you. On some occasions, they may be seen flying back and forth horizontally. It takes two stomps to send them into their shells, or just one fireball to send them off for keeps. Red Giant Koopa Troopa ---------------------- This thing's about four times Mario's size, and seems to be quite intimidating ... until you realize they can be treated the same as a regular Troopa. Green Gargantuan Koopa Troopa ----------------------------- Apparently, Bowser doesn't know that bigger heads don't mean bigger brains. This monster's no tougher, faster, or smarter than any ordinary Troopa. Colossal Koopa Paratroopa ------------------------- Lucky for you, they can't do much flying at this massive size. They only bounce, so get the jump on them to clip their wings. Dry Bones --------- The fortress version of a Koopa Troopa, they only crumble after being stomped... and that's only temporary. Unless you're invincible or have hammer power, you'll only be able to crumble them down, but you won't defeat them. ========== B) Goombas ========== Little Goomba ------------- Back from the old days of SMB, they're just the same as before. It's their new relatives that might be a problem. Just use a stomp or anything else up your sleeve to beat them. Para-Goomba ----------- A darker shade of brown and a pair of wings heavier, this Goomba will flap about at times, but won't really take off. It takes two stomps to beat them. Para-Goomba with Micro-Goombas ------------------------------ These rascals will take to the air, letting their kid brothers slow you down so they can do the damage. Watch the skies! Mugger Micro-Goomba ------------------- The miniscule, pesky Goombas released from above, they will cling to you, greatly hampering your jumping and running abilities. Tap A or B rapidly to shake them. Pile Driver Micro-Goomba ------------------------ Unlike the Muggers, these fellows hide out in bricks, waiting for you to come close, then they strike with surprisingly high leaps. Hit the block they may land on to beat them, as stomping's risky, and fire is useless ... or you could try out your tail... Grand Goombas ------------- The only thing being huge did for these menaces is to make them four times as ugly as regular Goombas, but not a stitch tougher. Kuribo's Goomba --------------- Despite what some may say, that's a BOOT he's hopping in, not a sock. Hit him from below to claim the boot as yours. Found ONLY on world 5-3 (Too bad... the boot's got all the power of the mighty statue.) ========== C) Beetles ========== Buzzy Beetle ------------ Back in SMB, their fireproof shells made them quite tough to defeat. This time around, they're all that and able to walk on ceilings. Of course, what goes up must come down, so watch your head. If you've got a tail to spin, do so. Para-Beetles ------------ Even worse than Buzzy, these red-shelled aviators must be used to cross wide gaps at times. Fortunately, those times only pop up on World 5-6. If you dare try, swing your tail at their face to beat them. Buster Beetle ------------- A few things set this guy apart from the Buzzy Beetle: they appear where it's cold, they're quick, and they're NOT fireproof. They like to hurl Ice Blocks (they look like regular bricks, but icy) at Mario; although this can be helpful at times, it's usually dangerous. ========= D) Lakitu ========= Lakitu ------ Another one from SMB to return, the master of the skies does fly-bys, bombing you with Spiny Eggs. An environmentalist through and through, he won't release Spiny itself in grassy areas. Of course, you know he's gonna be a problem in the Sky World... Spiny Eggs ---------- In a few cases, you'll see green versions of this, which won't uncurl to become a Spiny (too bad, green would've looked cool on them) ... but entirely too often, that's not the case, and you'll be face to face with the red ones instead. Spiny ----- A familiar sight to veteran Mario gamers, this creature's not called "Spiny" because of a smooth back that's safe to stomp on. They can travel the ceiling as well, if the mood suits them. But fear not, that's a rare case, and you've got your tail at hand to stun and flip them, though it won't kill them off. ================= E) Piranha Plants ================= Piranha Plant ------------- There's a red and a green variety of these, but unlike the Lost Levels, that makes no difference now. They've got teeth as sharp as a Spiny's back, so stomping is out of the question without some seriously tough feet. Hang out next to or on top of their pipes to keep them inside. Venus Fire Trap --------------- Despite their smooth heads, they aren't fazed by ordinary stomps. Their strategy is to breathe fireballs at passersby, and they can even aim to some very slight extent. Hanging Piranha Plant --------------------- These like to come out of upside-down or sideways pipes and munch on whatever gets close. They won't stay in hiding if you get close to the pipe, so time your moves carefully. Piranhacus Giganticus --------------------- For once, Bowser made sure size does matter. Unless you stand directly ON the pipe it uses, this plant will continue to pop in and out of them, making the timing tougher for the unarmed. These, as well as the previous three, have a red and a green variety. Ptooie ------ A walking species of Piranha Plant, it has a strategy of blow-juggling a black spiked ball with its mouth. Wait for an opening to jump on past, or use whatever weapon power you've got to beat them. Unfortunately, this doesn't apply to statue stomping. Nipper Plant ------------ The small guys of the family, but by far the fiercest. They wait on land for Mario to get close, and when he tries to jump over them, they strike, and he finds himself bitten in a VERY sensitive place. Statue stomps have no effect, but the tail your suit has will. Munchers -------- Unevolved Nipper Plants, these black flowers stay to one spot, contentedly munching the air. They can only be defeated by a tail, shell, or Ice Block to the side of them, but they often cluster in spots that make this impossible. If there's a P-switch around, though, you could be in for some SERIOUS cash! Lava Lotus ---------- Classified officially by Nintendo as part of the Piranha Plant group, these deep-sea bloomers will blow out anywhere from 1 to 5 balls of lava at regular intervals. Watch their movements to know when they'll blow, and swim past. Fire won't affect them, but I never said hammers won't. If you want to risk it, the statue stomp will work, but the positioning is critical, making it better to just leave them alone. ========== F) Aquatic ========== Blooper ------- The SMB squid patrol is back, though not as ugly as before. They move in the same way as they originally did, right down to it being safe to walk right under them. Flame them, or avoid them. Blooper Nanny ------------- A parental Blooper, it always has the kids trailing behind them ... unless they've scattered them for a widespread attack. Jelectro -------- A high-voltage jellyfish, they often sit in tricky patterns, making swimming a chore for those without a Frog Suit. Nothing can defeat them, not even hammers. Cheep-Cheep ----------- Just as in the first SMB, there's a green variety and the faster red ones. The green pace about underwater, the red prefer to fump out and get some air. You can stomp the red ones, but fireballs are safer for both of them. Boss Bass --------- A huge, relentless fish, it is the only enemy capable of swallowing Mario, and to that point, the only one that can take a fully-powered Mario out of commission. It's best to stay out of his water, but the tidal terrain makes that impossible at times, so you'll want to beat him if you have the equipment for it. Just don't try stomping him. Spiny Cheep-Cheep ----------------- Native only to World 7-4, these are a bit faster than the regular Cheeps, and they sport a spiked back to boot. Pity that you can't stomp underwater anyway, making that a bit of a waste. Big Bertha ---------- She looks a lot like Boss Bass, but she won't eat you. Bertha prefers to swim a bout in tricky spots, sending her babies after you, then swallowing them back up. Baby Cheep ---------- Big Bertha sends it after you, and then she takes it back (usually). Don't touch them - just beat it, unless you've got firepower to deal with them. ================== G) Hammer Brothers ================== Hammer Brothers --------------- The twin turtles from SMB have brought the family about, although they're not about to be ignored because of that. Stomps are a risky venture, as they toss the hammers in an arc above their heads, but you can hit them from below. Or there's the option of tails or fireballs... Boomerang Brothers ------------------ Thank goodness they can only toss two boomerangs at a time. The wide range of their returning weapons makes close range fights a bad idea, but plausible when they pause after the second toss returns. Fire Brothers ------------- The only red members of the family, they're able to spit fire in much the same way Mario throws his fireballs. Use your own firepower to give them a taste of their own medicine before you end up on the grill at a Bowser barbecue. Sledge Brothers --------------- Their massive girth causes tremors when they land from a jump, and the tremors will temporarily stun you. Jump to avoid this, then stomp them. Since they're more mass than muscle, they can't throw very fast. ================== H) Fortress Family ================== Boom-Boom --------- A feared and loathed guardian of fortresses, he's quick, he's bad, and he's MAD! After the first stomp, he shows his true jumping power, and after the second, he gets REALLY steamed and a LOT faster. Fortunately, stomp number three is the end for him. Sometimes, he's known to sprout wings and fly, though it's tough to tell when that will happen. Five fireballs or one hammer is better and safer. Roto-Disc --------- Swiftly rotating around various points in the fortresses, they intend to block Mario's path while putting on a facny light show. To break them, aim a statue stomp at the flashing disc. Sometimes, they come in pairs, but it only takes ONE statue to beat them both. Thwomp Trap ----------- Big bad granite guardians, they wait silently for Mario's approach, then WHAM! Mario Pizza! Unless of course, you didn't foolishly run right under them. Naturally, hammers will send them away. Podoboo ------- Back from Koopa's old castles, this flaming fiend is born of pure magma and evil magic. So naturally, a statue or the magic of Starman is required to stop them - that, or hammers. Otherwise, jump across lava pits with care. "Boo" Diddly ------------ The ghosts that started all the "boo"haha in Mario games, they may look shy and innocent, and in fact, they are as long as you look them in the face. But turn your back, and it becomes a different story. Hammers will take them down, otherwise, face your fear until you're ready to run for it ... and be careful. Stretch ------- Two Boo heads occupy one strange long white block. Needless to say, you'll occasionally need the blocks for standing purposes, so have a Hammer Suit on to deal with the residents. Hot Foot -------- Don't be fooled be the decor, these candle flames are very real, and very alive. Keep an eye on them to ensure they don't follow you around, although an candle flame on the floor is beyond suspicion, so why would you even stick around? A hammer will put these small flames out. ================ I) Miscellaneous ================ Spike ----- A small green turtle, it attacks by throwing spiked balls at Mario. It often throws them in pairs, so think before you stomp. Firesnake --------- A living, mobile chain of fireballs, it can jump THROUGH obstacles at will. A whip from your tail will defeat them, but be warned: leave their territory, and they WILL come back. Chain Chomp ----------- A black ball chained to a wooden bolck, it's got a nasty temper and its bite is worse than its bark (they bark in Mario 64, and it's tied to wood.... bark, get it? :) Well, since it's immune to all but the strongest attacks (Hammers, statues, invincibility), you'll probably find yourself avoiding them instead of fighting it off. Fire Chomp ---------- A Chain Chomp with fireballs for the chain, they attack from the air at the worst possible times. They're weak to everything you can do, but if you need to revisit the area they were killed in, they'll be back. If they use up their whole fire chain, they self-destruct as a last measure. The Angry Sun ------------- Bet you'll never complain about the heat again after facing this menace. It only appears twice, but it dives after you, making it a deadly foe to face. ============ J) Artillery ============ Cannonballs ----------- These are cannonballs fired from cannons on the airship and tanks. You can only beat the with a stomp, everything else goes right through them. Unless they're GIANT cannonballs from Bowser's fleet, those can be beaten with anything but fireballs. Bullet Bill ----------- The Turtle Cannons are back from the first game, and so is their living bullet. He's a bit faster than in SMB, and with his tricky positioning, that serves to make the airspace hazardous. Stand at point-blank range to keep him inside the cannons. The cannon itself is harmless. Missile Bill ------------ Deadlier than the Bullet Bill, these flashing foes will actually turn around after one pass to pursue Mario. If you don't stomp it or get away from their Turtle Cannons immediately, you'll be numero uno - with a bullet! Rocky Wrench ------------ Though not a living weapon, they only appear on airships and military vehicles. Their strategy is to use ninja throwing wrenches against intruders, and they often appear in groups of three. If you see brown ones, you're lucky, as they don't come back for more. Rocket Engines -------------- These flames propel the Airships, but also serve as an excellent defensive measure. If you want to beat them, use the statue stomp, but ONLY if the flame points up or to the right. Bob-Omb ------- Originally from SMB2, this little guy's got quite the temper. They'll explode after being stomped, unless you use the statue. On World 8, you'll see shades of SMB2, as those Bob-Ombs will explode after a set time, whether you stomp them or not. LEVEL SOLUTIONS =============== World 1 - Grass Land GRASS LAND MAP # (1-10)= Level Number (if applicable) MH = Mushroom House SH = Spade House (bonus level) F = Fortress L = Lock (what breaks when you beat the fortress) B = Bridge H = Hammer Brother C = Castle X = Starting Point o = one of those little knots on the map that you can stop on 1----o--2--3----o | | | | | | --X--o o--4---MH L | | | o---F--SH | | o MH---oB-H----C | | | | 5---o---6 World 1-1 --------- Get the mushroom and the leaf at the beginning, then get a running start on the same platform that you got the leaf on and fly up into the clouds. There is a 1-up in the brick up here. Get another running start on the row of clouds and you can fly to a pipe. Inside the pipe are a few coins in a "3" formation. When you exit the pipe, you can either go to the exit on the right or get a few more coins with the P switch on the left. World 1-2 --------- If you go to the T-shaped pipe arrangement in this level and you have a leaf equipped, you can do a trick for multiple 1-ups. Just stomp on the Goombas as they flow out of the pipe. You have to stay in the air though, because it won't count as a chain reaction anymore if you touch the ground. Over the pipe and down the hill, the brick on the left (there are two bricks there) is a P-switch. You can hit it and use it to get up to the pipe, where there is a stack of coins inside. If you stand on the right side of the pipe and jump, there is a 1-up that is hidden from view above the top of the screen. Get it after you go in the pipe if you don't want to mess with flying back up to the pipe. The only other point of interest in this level is the Starman in the last musical note block. Get it and run like the wind to the end of the level. World 1-3 --------- Play your cards right and you won't have to mess with the entire middle of this level. Kill the Boomerang Brother at the beginning in the green turtle shell. At the pile of bricks in front of you, hit the red turtle and kick him to the left and make him break a whole bunch of bricks. Among the goodies hidden in here are a 10-coin block and a pink musical note block that will send you to a bonus stage where you can get a few coins. NOTE: If you have the leaf in the cloud bonus, you can fly up in the middle of it and get a whole bunch of coins and a 1-up to boot. This works in all the pink musical note block levels. The pipe will drop you off near the exit. Instead of going to the right and finishing out the stage, go left until you see a white block. Kick the red turtle off and duck until you are behind the background. Run to the exit and you will run behind the black background. Eventually you will reach a secret Mushroom House that rewards you with a warp whistle. Getting the whistle completes the level. World 1-4 --------- There is a White Mushroom House opportunity here IF you can get 44 coins in this level. Get every single coin you can. Among the opportunities to gain this many are two 10-coin blocks, a column of coins you can get by letting the moving platforms drop a little bit, and various patches of three coins strewn about the level. There are also 2 1-ups here. One is at the beginning where you see a platform of two bricks below a ledge of four bricks. The third brick in the four-brick platform is one of them. The other is located just after the first 10-coin block. It is the solitary brick sitting on top of a row of four. When you get to the end, ignore the Boomerang Brother and run to the right. You'll know if you got the White Mushroom House or not. World 1-Fortress ---------------- There is a very easy way to get out of this fortress and there is a slightly more difficult way. The easy way is getting the game's second warp whistle. You have to have a leaf to get it though. There is one by the door leading to the next area. When you get to the end of that first room, you'll see a door. Leave the door alone and crush the skeleton turtle, then get a running start and fly up and to the right. If you make it, go until you can't walk any farther, then press up. Inside the door is the warp whistle, and once again, getting it completes the level. If you have to go the long way, you can avoid injury by the spikes by hiding in the small alcoves when they drop down. When you reach the door, you reach Boom-Boom. Three hits will do him in. When you beat him, the lock will break outside, even though going in that direction is completely pointless. NOTE: If you exit the fortress by getting the warp whistle, the lock will not break. Meh. World 1-5 --------- This level will be over a lot quicker if you get the pink musical note located past the two pipes with piranha plants. At the beginning, slide down the hill to take out the four Buzzy Beetles. At the second pipe (the vertical one where the small green piranha plant comes out), take the high road and get the pink musical note. It is invisible, but two red dots should tattle on its location. If you have a leaf, get the 1-up. Once back in the cave, go to the end, avoiding the two piranha plants by the exit (your only real danger). It is the general old-school gamers' consensus that taking the pink note block route will make this level a lot faster. World 1-6 --------- Another level that can be over quicker if you just do what I tell you. Have a leaf, of course, because this is a sky level (somewhat). There is a green ledge with two pillars consisting of two bricks on it. Among all these bricks are a 1-up (same location as the first 1-up in 1-4), and a 10-coin block (the two-brick pillar on the right, top block). Now, at this high ledge where you can drop down to a moving platform, get a running start if you have your leaf and fly to the exit - don't try to get all the coins you see, as your flying ability will probably run out before you make it to the exit. Fly as high as possible to ensure your safe landing. If you don't have a leaf, take the moving platforms at the bottom, but watch your jump when going to the last one. It can be tricky. Level 1-Castle -------------- The small cannons here are utterly harmless provided you don't get in the way of any cannonballs. The Bullet Bills, while fast, are equally easy to elude. The only item on this airship is a Fire Flower (or a mushroom if you're small Mario/Luigi). If you have a leaf already, don't get it; otherwise, take it. Larry Koopa is easy to kill. His wand's magic moves too slow to get you, assuming you don't dawdle and you focus directly on your target. When you jump on him, run under his shell and hit him when he's conscious again. The king, who was previously a dog, will thank you after three hits on Larry and the return of his wand. The Princess, locked away in Bowser's castle, will also send you a letter rewarding you with another P-wing. World 2 - Desert Land DESERT LAND MAP AS = Angry Sun P# = P stands for pipe, and there will two of each number to indicate which pipe leads where. PY = Pyramid R = Rock (will only be mentioned if directly in something else's path) SH----o----2 o----o MH----o--4----oR--o--MH | | | | | | | | | | | | | | o---o o o 3---H---AS H H | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | F----o----o--P1 o C o o----o | | | | | | | | | | | | o MH---P1 oR--o 5 o---PY o | L | | | | | | | | ----X---o----o---o SH----o--o----o World 2-1 --------- Watch out for the Micro-Goombas inside the brick. They jump at you but can be easily eradicated with one jump. The real annoyances here are the Firesnakes, but they can either be taken out with the Starman or totally avoided. The first question block in this level is a leaf, by the way. Run with the Starman until you get to the first purple metal area. Between that one and the second one are two wooden blocks. Fall between them and jump to reveal a hidden musical note block. If you jump on the new musical note block and bounce off the wooden block to the left, you'll reveal a leaf. Go back up to the top of the first purple metal area and charge up your flying meter from the right. Flying to the left you'll discover a pipe blocked off by bricks. If you go in it and hit the P switch you'll get a few silver coins. The exit pipe drops you off at the end of the level. You can go in the pipe nearest to the exit and hit that P switch, then exit the room to find more silver coins, but it isn't really worth it unless you get an extra man out of it. World 2-2 --------- Another White Mushroom House opportunity, but this time you need 30 coins to get it. It's not worth it, seeing as how you get the oh-so-useless anchor out of it. You don't exactly need the P-Wing to get the anchor, if you would even want it, that is. Having a P-Wing helps, but a leaf will also get the job done. This level is extremely straightforward. The first wooden block you see gives you a leaf, if you have the P-Wing it shouldn't matter if you get it or not. When you clear all the quicksand pits and make it to the water, here's where you have your shot at the mushroom house. Just hit the P-Switch in the row of two blocks and get all the coins made from bricks first, then get the other coins after that. Either way you do it, the end result is a White Mushroom House containing an anchor. Thanks to Robert Glass for tips there. World 2-Fortress ---------------- If you have time and patience, you can get multiple 1-ups here. With a leaf equipped, let the three skeleton turtles group themselves together. Crush one by jumping on him, but hold A and float down to the second one. When you repeat this with the third one, the first one will come back to life, and the chain keeps going so long as you can keep Mario in the air. Emulator users take note: this is far easier with a controller than it is the keyboard. When you go up the pipe to the next floor, pass the Thwomp when he moves up. The shiny silver brick contains a leaf (or a mushroom depending on your size) which isn't worth the trouble. Charge past the other four Thwomps ahead and they won't hit you. The spikes in the next room are easy to pass too. Don't get hit by ghosts though. According to Toadstool, they "give chase" when you turn around. They can be annoying to move around, especially in this area. Once through the door, Boom-Boom takes the same three hits as before. When you get the ?-orb, the fortress and lock come crumbling down, and you have access to a Mushroom House. World 2-3 --------- Unless you feel like getting into a fight, avoid the Firesnakes here. There is a leaf above the first block pyramid and a Starman above the second one. Take a running leap and start flying from the bottom ground of the second pyramid if you have a leaf. Way, way up there is a purple P switch. Fall to the ground to start rolling in dough. You notice a brick that didn't turn into a coin - it's a 1-up. For the pipe at the end, let the turtles take care of all the bricks. The Angry Sun ------------- One of the few miscellaneous levels in the game, this is actually quite easy unless you don't know how to deal with the whirlwind in the middle. If you're having a hard time with it, a running jump will let you break through the wind's force. Once you get past the whirlwind, the sun starts chasing you. This is my serious answer to you: when he swoops down, kill him with a turtle shell and make a mad dash for the exit. Really, it's all that easy. World 2-4 --------- Easy level if you have a leaf, and one is available at the beginning. If you don't have the leaf, go get it and fly up against the left side of the level. If you break all the bricks and make it up there, there is a massive coin heaven that extends all the way to the end of the level. There are two P switches also, so break as few bricks as possible. The last musical note block on the way down spouts out a leaf when hit. World 2-5 --------- Watch out for the Chain Chomps at the beginning. They can extend their reach quite a distance, so make a broad jump over them. When you come to two red turtles, carry one of their shells and release it on the pile of bricks nestled between several wooden blocks. The one farthest to the left is a beanstalk. Climb up it and drop off to the left. Jump across the rows of clouds to get to a pipe with an odd brick arrangement inside. The very middle block at the bottom of the brick pattern (not the one closest to the ground, the one up from that) is a P switch. If you break too many bricks it won't be worth getting. Once outside, there is a leaf in the question block to the far right. Get it and float over to the end of the level, avoiding the Chain Chomp below the card. World 2-Pyramid --------------- Go in the door and avoid all the Buzzy Beetles you see. Even though the first question block is a leaf, don't get it unless you absolutely need it. Of the three platforms you can jump to, leap to the middle level and break the brick wall with either your tail or Buzzy Beetles. From the pipe, go up, left, up, and right to find another brick wall that you should use the same breaking procedure on. The two white dots above you signify an invisible coin block. Jump to reveal it so you can go into the pipe. Outside, there is a purple P switch in the bottom lone brick. Get all the coins before hitting it, then hit it and get the coins that remain. The pipe will lead you back inside. Move to the right and watch out for the Buzzy Beetles when they fall off the ceiling. Their shells will roll at you. Jump over them (or pick them up if you need them to get to the exit) and eliminate the brick wall to make it to the last pipe. You can either kill the Boomerang Brother outside or maneuver around him to the exit. ****GETTING THE THIRD WARP WHISTLE**** If you defeated the Boomerang Brother that gives you a Hammer, use it on the rock at the top of the screen. It will break, revealing a Mushroom House that gives you a guaranteed Frog Suit and another Hammer Brother. These two are Fire Brothers, and they move pretty fast with their fire. When you beat them both, you'll earn the third warp whistle (also the last one in the game). Level 2-Castle -------------- Similar in difficulty to the first airship, except there are Rocky Wrenches to thwart you, and the Bullet Bills outnumber the normal cannons. There is one flower available if you lose your leaf or Frog Suit or whatever you're using or if you came in as Super Mario. Morton is just the same as Larry, except his terrain is a bit more elevated. It's nothing to give him the old head-stomp three times and save the king. World 3 - Water Land WATER LAND MAP DB = Drawbridge BT = Boat D = Dock MH--o--o--3 MHDB-oDB-o--6B-o-7--H D--MH | | | | D | | | | | B | 2 o 4---H 8B-o-SH-F2 | | | | | L SH--MH | | | | | | | o SH--F1--o---o o oB9-P3 P2 | | | | | D--MH--SH 1 oLP1 5---oR-o-o-D-BT DB C---o--P3 | | X--P1RSHR-H-P2 World 3-1 --------- Once again, Nintendo has provided an easy escape for their gamers. First hold to the left side of the screen at the beginning and move down to find a flower, which is an essential item for this level. If you go back up and swim all the way to the right to the wooden wall, then jump out of the water and hold right, you can walk along the top to another flower (which you shouldn't need) and eventually the other side of the level. Go down into the bottom area with the musical note blocks and the Lava Lotus. All the way to the right is a brick surrounded by coins. The brick contains a 1-up. Let the current push you up, and be prepared for a Blooper ambush. Face left when the current takes you up and fire at the Blooper when you see it. Outside is a horizontal pipe leading right to the exit. World 3-2 --------- If you have a Frog Suit, you might want to use it here. If you go down in the water and stay low enough in this level and the next one, then you stay below the Cheep Cheeps and Boss Bass and cruise at top speed through the level. Fortunately, Toad's House prior to this level has Frog Suits available, and you can do this trick with ease. You can thank Michael Malleson for making this shortcut available to the public. There is a chance here for repeated Starmen, but the short invincibility time plus the fact that you're above water makes it not worth it. If you want it though, start the chain reaction by bouncing off the wall of wooden blocks after the Donut Lifts. Donut Lifts are pink donuts that shake when you stand on them and then fall. Riding the platform all the way across to the end is the best strategy. It is easy to recognize the red Cheep-Cheeps' pattern. They do two small hops and then a big one, at which time it is best to jump on them and kill them. Don't concern yourself with the flower in the bottom righthand corner at the end. When you go through the pipe to the last screen, be aware that there is still one red Cheep-Cheep left. World 3-3 --------- If you have a Frog Suit, stay low in the water here and swim below Boss Bass. If not, you had better watch your back around him. Boss Bass swims around, swiftly patrolling the area below your feet and waiting to eat you whole. No matter your status (raccoon, frog, what have you), Boss Bass can take one of your lives in one chomp. Obviously, since he snaps at you when you're close to him, STAY ON HIGH GROUND! There are plenty of opportunities to do this. The most notable comes from the P switch hidden in the brick next to the two white bricks. White bricks can be picked up and thrown into objects, hint, hint ;) If you need to get Boss Bass off your back for a little bit, basically anything fired or thrown at him will lighten your load temporarily. A well- placed fireball, turtle shell, or white brick should do the trick. If you're feeling especially adventurous, there is a 1-up far to the right of the pipe that leads to the exit. Unless you have a leaf and can float over there, there is a good chance that Boss Bass will eat you on your way to get it so you had better be well-prepared! World 3-Fortress (1) -------------------- Aaugh, fortress #1 ... that's never a good sign... There are nine doors inside the fortress that lead to different places. Three of the doors will keep you on safe ground; the other six will have you plunging into a pond full of Cheep-Cheeps. Here's the lowdown on the door situation: The sixth door is the one that leads to Boom-Boom. Unless you use a P-Wing here, which would be utterly senseless, only the sixth door will get you on the way to Boom-Boom. The ninth door leads to a room apart from the water. There is a containment area with coins in it. If it looks hard to get into, there are several invisible coin blocks that will aid you. The fifth door will lead you to a 1-up. Stand on the left tip of the ledge so that your feet hang over and then hit the brick. If you hit it from the left side, it will travel to the right and you will be able to get it easier. The bottom line is that the sixth door takes you to Boom-Boom, so don't test every door seeing where it takes you because doors 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 8 send you splashing into a lake, and you don't have time to test all the doors anyway. World 3-4 --------- Altogether this is a totally useless level that is a waste of your time, but if you feel that you must go to it, there are a few points of interest. This place is full of sloping hills. The second one you come to can be part of a fun little trick. Start from the top and kill all the Goombas by sliding, then when you come to the "ramp" part of the hill, hold A (jump) and B (run) for a stellar jumping effect that will put you at the top of the hill without dealing with that annoying green Cheep-Cheep! (If you miss and land in the water, there is an invisible coin block up against the wall to help you out.) The only other things to get in this level are a P switch that unveils some silver coinage and a 1-up in a row of bricks. Around the time that you reach the 1-up comes a Lakitu who throws green Spiny eggs. Green Spinys never open; their eggs roll along the ground and if you're in the way they hit you - they don't go into that funny tracking business. It's pointless to kill Lakitu, so run away from him. The exit isn't far from where he appears. As for getting flowers and leaves, both are in this level, so you can walk away with either one if you get past the Lakitu without getting hurt. But real quick, a note from R. Deland Smallwood IV: If you're patient and willing, you can create a 1-up factory. Off the third slope from the start (the one with three green Koopas), spare the last for time being. Killing the hanging Venus flytrap - same area as the P-switch - is a huge plus for your survival. Go on until you cross into the area where Lakitu would start to hover, and head back with him tailing behind. Knock the surviving Koopa into its shell, and carry it to where the P-switch was. Have Lakitu drop off some of his eggs and kick the Koopa off. As it ricochets in between the wood blocks, whatever eggs are in its way turns to 1-ups for you. The eggs, for the majority of Lakitu's attempts, will never hit you, since the pipe is causing them to deflect off and into the line of fire. Bail out when you're back to small Mario, or the timer reaches 100. World 3-5 --------- Don a Frog Suit for this level. It will help you reach a veritable treasure trove, but you can only reach this promised land if you are wearing the Frog Suit! You also have to make sure you keep it on or you can't get through the bubbles shooting up from the pipe. Although bulky and unwieldy on land, you'll swim as gracefully as a fish with the Frog Suit. Stay low in here so you'll know when the pipe comes around. Some enemies to avoid include Big Bertha (an underwater version of Boss Bass who can't swallow you whole but can shoot her babies out at you), Blooper, and Jelectro (an invincible jellyfish). When you reach a row of seven coins next to a pipe, that's the one you're looking for. Go into the pipe and HOLD RIGHT ON THE D-PAD OR YOU'LL MISS THE HUGE QUESTION BLOCK!!! Inside the question block are three 1-ups that you definitely won't want to miss. When you get them, go inside the silver pipe at the bottom. It's okay to lose your Frog Suit from here; in fact I suggest losing it so you don't have to deal with it on land. World 3-6 --------- This is a side-scrolling level, so if you still have the Frog Suit from 3-5, lose it here by getting the flower just up ahead. The flower is not the greatest item to have here - for all the bricks that sit on the ground, it's best to be Raccoon Mario. Trudge along until you come to a choice between the high road and the low road. Take the low road and hit the leftmost brick with a white brick or your tail. The blue P switch will make it possible to take either path and put you closer to the end of the level. Watch out for the rotating ledge at the end. Jump onto it near the end of its spin so you land on it when it stops. If you step on it while it's spinning you'll get thrown in a random direction (I've actually been tossed right onto the pipe before). Also keep an eye out for the green Para-Troopa at the end. World 3-7 --------- John R. Jones gave me a better solution to this level, so I decided that in the interest of convenience I'd stick it in just so you have an easier time beating it. Here, in the words of Mr. Jones, is the solution: "Midway through the stage is that setup of bricks with a vine (beanstalk) leading to the clouds. If you jump off the vine, but go RIGHT instead of left, you'll land on a lone cloud platform. Jump in the dead center of it to make a Note Block (of the pink variety) appear, and you're off to a coin bonus. The landscape here is different than that of the coin bonus in world 1-3 and 1-5, and there is not 1-up at top center. But this particular bonus leads to a Jugem's Cloud and the end of the level... by taking the cloud from the small chest, of course." Thanks, John. That's a load off on me. World 3-Fortress (2) -------------------- Unlike the previous fortress, this one is all water. Get the flower at the beginning - a valuable asset in this level indeed. Shoot any Cheep-Cheeps in your way and go into the first pipe. The Stretch ghosts here are a great nuisance to your free movement. Swim under the first two and over the third one. The only part of Stretch that hurts you is his head. You can walk freely about the rest of him. Amazingly, the pipe after the Stretch ghosts leads to Boom-Boom's room. You know how to handle him. World 3-8 --------- Boss Bass is coming back at you in full force, but there's barely any high ground to keep you safe this time. Keep a flower handy in your inventory and equip it before going into this level. Fireballing Boss Bass will only keep him away for about five seconds, and sometimes the land sinks so low you'll wonder if you're going to survive! A few beanstalks are placed in the level to keep you out of the deep end. Best of all, you can fire fireballs at Boss Bass from the beanstalk! At the end when you see the high road and the low road by the wooden platform, take the high road and you won't have any worries at all. Also, finding 44 coins in this level will yield a white Mushroom House with a P-Wing. World 3-9 --------- Definitely the most complex level yet. Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills are your main worries. Bob-ombs can be picked up and kicked around, but be careful, they WILL blow up in your hands if you hang onto them too long. White bricks are plentiful in this level too, and they can be used to effectively defeat the majority of your enemies. Be aware of the 1-up near the pipe to the far right. When you go in the pipe to the far right (it's surrounded by white bricks), there are two paths. The one to the right offers a quick, safe, and easy exit. However, if you choose to journey to the left, you must prepare to test your patience. It would be best to have a flower here. Kill all the Cheep-Cheeps in your way with the fire, and when you come to the pipe near the blue-block wall, skip it. It leads outside to way too many Bullet Bills and Bob-ombs. Instead, go over the wall and find another pipe. Hold right on the D-pad when you enter, because the enormous question block inside will reward you with a Frog Suit for your trouble. Try beating the next airship with this little suit on for a neat trick. You can swim to the exit once you have the Frog Suit. ****IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE BOAT**** You will earn a Hammer from one of the Hammer Brothers in this world. You can use it to break the rock blocking the canoe and you can go paddle happily along on the canoe getting extra lives and items, but this will only provide temporary pleasure. If you use the Hammer now, your stomach will hurt when you realize what you will have missed out on ... mwa ha ha ha ha! World 3-Castle -------------- Actually, if you keep the Frog Suit from 3-9, you'll find that its jumping capabilities are well-suited to this airship. You just have to also be nimble enough to avoid all the cannonballs and Bullet Bills. This is especially the hardest in the area after the Rocky Wrenches. Here's the best way to keep your Frog Suit: At the three cannons after the Rocky Wrenches, go under each one after it shoots its cannonball. Jump up to the Bullet Bill cannon and hang up against so it can't fire at you. Make a small leap on top of it. When the next cannonball comes down from above you, hold A when you jump on it to find relief above all the gunfire. After all the cannons comes an area with a blue screw-looking device above two fire blowers. It's futile to stay above them on the screw, so hop down into their area, but stay out of each fire blower's range. Jump up over the top of the screen at the next wall and bound over the Rocky Wrenches. If you made it all the way with the Frog Suit, congrats! Beat Wendy for a special thank-you from the king. If not, just go in and beat her and get the boring old normal offer of gratitude. Wendy is the hardest of the Koopa Children to defeat. Her rings move around the room in a diagonal pattern, and after you jump on her twice, she starts jumping really high - way higher than Mario could ever go in his Frog Suit. World 4 - Giant Land GIANT LAND MAP X--P1 MH--6--o--o P2LF1---H--3--o--2 | | | | | | | | | | | | o C---o -HBF2 H---o o--SH MH o | | | | | | | | | | | | P2 SH--5--o--o o--4 MHRP1--1 | | MH **Where the hole is just to the right of the castle, a bridge will appear there when you beat the second fortress. ****WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT THE HAMMER, HMM???**** If you heeded my advice or you just aren't looking at this and you didn't take the boat in Water Land, saving the Hammer pays off here. Go in the pipe to the right of the starting point. When you come out of the pipe, there will be a rock behind you that is blocking a red Mushroom House. Any of the treasure chests inside will yield a Tanooki Suit. The Tanooki Suit gives Mario the ability to turn into a statue. Just hold Down and B for temporary petrification that keeps enemies from hurting you. Otherwise, it's like having a leaf that turns you into a whole raccoon instead of giving you the tail and the ears. World 4-1 --------- Every enemy in this world is gigantified, but they are all still just as easy to defeat. There is only one part of this level that is truly interesting - a room filled with three 1-ups. Once you find the second leaf in the level, break as many bricks around you as possible and fly up. If you can get inside the wooden area filled with water, swim all the way to the pipe on the far left. Here's the point where I was grievously mistaken in previous versions of this walkthrough: there are only two extra lives in the place with the two Big Berthas, not three as I stated prior to this. There is one in each row of bricks. The brick on the floor next to the pipe cannot be broken. Thanks to Robert Glass for this important correction of my mistaken statement. After leaving this room, jump out of the water and head right to the end of the level. World 4-2 --------- If you want an anchor, you have to get every single coin in this level, and you can't do it by hitting the P switch the first time you see it. Go on ahead and get all the coins that are already there. THEN go back and get the P switch. The star will help you greatly in warding off the massive barrage of Cheep-Cheeps. World 4-3 --------- Two Sledge Brothers guard the entrance to this level. If they jump on the ground while you are standing you will lose your footing due to the tremors they cause and leave yourself extremely susceptible to attack. You can take out the first one, but try to clear the second one by jumping on the huge cloud and over him. Both pipes lead to the same cave. Inside, jump over the Spinys and Buzzy Beetles that fall off the ceiling and come at you. Unless you have the floating power of the leaf you will have to use the flying turtles to get across some of the wider gaps. Watch out for the two wooden blocks at the end. You can bounce off them and easily fall into the abyss. World 4-Fortress (1) -------------------- The candle flames will follow you much like the ghosts if you turn your backs to them. It all cancels out though because the Thwomps move to the side to hurt you instead of falling on top of you and making noise. This also makes them much easier to dodge. When you get to the row of five pipes, the middle one will take you to a cave with a power-up in it. Use the red and pink dots as guides for finding the invisible coin blocks. The pipe you come out of is right next to Boom-Boom's lair, and there is a platform in the middle of the room that makes him easier to jump on in case he starts flying. World 4-4 --------- You should have an extra Frog Suit from Water Land in your arsenal. Take it and move down with it when you land in the water. The Frog Suit allow you to paddle past the forceful bubble current and into the pipe on the left. There are two P switches in this room that provide a decent opportunity for a 1-up or two. When you leave the room, stay as low as you can and swim fast to avoid Lakitu's air attacks. He won't be a problem as long as you keep him out of your sight. World 4-5 --------- Even though it can be skipped, it is probably to your benefit to play this level. Once you get past the huge turtles, you'll be faced with a lot of Bullet Bill cannons. Some of these fire Missile Bills, a flashing variant of the Bullet Bill that can turn around and come back to hit you. When you cross the first pit, you'll just barely be able to see a brick at the top of the screen. Use one shot from the cannon to bounce up and hit it. Use another to get to the beanstalk on the top. Inside the pipe you are rewarded with a Tanooki Suit. Forget about getting the silver coins and make a running float to the exit. World 4-6 --------- In this level you will actually have an opportunity to turn the giant enemies into normal-sized people that you are more capable of hitting. Find a black door and go in it to make the change. There are two of these - both are located in pink background blocks. Two 1-ups can be found in this level. The first one is hidden among the bricks in the hollow square of bricks at the beginning. The second one is nestled among a group of invisible blocks between two pipes. The third one from the right is the 1-up. When in this level, making the enemies smaller is definitely to your advantage. If you intend on keeping your Tanooki Suit, watch out for the green bouncing turtle at the end. He'll take you down if you're not on the lookout for him. World 4-Fortress (2) -------------------- There is a lot you can get in the fortress. You have to know what you're doing though. Lava will kill you no matter what condition you're in - even if you've got a Starman equipped. The Donut Lifts and skeleton turtles don't make it any better on you, so skip all of it and go to the hall of gray blocks. Look around here for an invisible door. If you can't locate it, a P switch to the right will make a door outline out of silver coins to make the hunt easier. You'll get your first taste of directional platforms in this area. You'll become better acquainted with them once you get to Pipe Land. If it has an arrow pointing in a direction, it will take you in that direction. Direction platforms with a light bulb will start out moving up, but will change to the appropriate direction that you need to go when you jump on them once. Take them up to the pipe that curves around and puts you on top of another pipe. Walk off of that pipe and go in the one that leads up. Ride the directional platform around the piranha plant and go in the pipe at the top. Prepare to hit the mother lode. Inside the huge question block are three 1-ups, but if you'll notice, there are bricks in the ceiling to the left. If you have the leaf or the Tanooki Suit, fly up and crush them. There are plenty of coins up here, hopefully enough to provide a fourth extra life. When you exit the treasure chamber, a lot of enemies (three bone turtles and a Rotodisc) will surround you. Move over to the right to make it to Boom- Boom's residence. The usual three hits will let you out of the fortress. World 4-Castle -------------- There is not much here that will thwart you except a bunch of fire blowers. There is one Rocky Wrench who is actually quite the little wrench chunker, but you can easily elude him by navigating the lower level. It won't be too much to get through this except on the last part. Unless you can amazingly make it to the upper level, you'll have to make your way up through three fire blowers, each firing up at different intervals. For the easiest time, jump up to the second step after the bottom one stops, then wait until both the middle and top one are in view, and jump when they are both off. If you lost any power-ups here, there is a question block that proffers a mushroom or a leaf just before you meet up with Iggy. Iggy is extremely easy to beat, except that he is much like Wendy in that he starts taking huge leaps once you hit him twice. Keep him on the lowest part of the ground to keep your hassle to a minimum. You have enough Tanooki Suits, I would bet; try beating this airship with one for a simple, but different thank-you message from the king. World 5 - Sky Land **Here I will post the surface map before the surface levels. Once you beat the spiral tower, scroll down to the sky levels for the sky map. SKY LAND SURFACE MAP ST - Spiral Tower o--2--MH 3--H | | | | | | | | 1 P1 P1--o o--ST | | | | | | o F1--o o--H | | | | | | ----X o--SH--o World 5-1 --------- There is a really easy way out of this level and there is a really long way out of this level. The easy way can be achieved with a P-Wing. At the beginning of the level, fly up until you see a pipe. Go in and start ducking and flying at the same time. If you fly through the tiny narrow passageway and let go of the down button, you'll be pushed to a room with a music box, an item that will put Hammer Brothers to sleep so you don't have to fight them for a few levels. Getting this will end the level. The long way is ... well, long, and there's not much to be had from it, but if you are forced to take this path, here is the solution. Jump up all the steps, dodging the Chain Chomps you first met in the Desert Land. There are also some small white piranhas along the way that smack their mouths, as if trying to stave off an appetite. They want to eat Mario. They will jump up to take a bite out of him if he tries to clear them by jumping. In the row of six question blocks, a Starman is in the fourth. Get it and haul to the exit. Wait, you were wondering what that one area is below the path? To get there, you still need a P-Wing, and you still need to go in the pipe at the start of the level, but this time, go in the pipe in the lower right corner. You will end up in the area below the normal path. There are a few extra men to get a hold of down here, so if you don't want the music box but you don't want to deal with all the Chain Chomps and white piranhas either, take this path. Regardless, keep an eye peeled for the white piranha at the end. He can be easily eradicated by getting the card. World 5-2 --------- Another place that will reward you for using a P-Wing, but unlike the last level, you can also easily reach this area with a normal leaf. There are several exits to this level. Go in the pipe at the beginning and start floating when you fall out. If you hold to the right, you can easily make it to a series of platforms that lead you up. When the two green turtles fall into the area below the pipe, break a brick that releases them and you can make it into the pipe. There is another pipe here that you will probably not want to miss. Slide down both hills and kill all the Goombas, then go in the pipe. There are three 1-ups in the large question block and a flower in the brick that hangs out from the square. When you go in the pipe to exit the three-extra- lives room, you'll end up on the other side of the hill. Go to the pipe at the end and you will have a straight path to the end. If you don't make it to the bonus side, you'll have to take a long, horrible, stupid path that you shouldn't have to endure and easily don't have to. All the Buster Beetles down here can throw white bricks at you. If you stay close to them and duck, they will throw the white bricks completely over your head and you can jump on them when they are vulnerable. Dealing with them is not difficult, but it is a waste of your time and is a senseless method when you consider how easy it is to take the good way. World 5-3 --------- YES! THE KURIBO'S SHOE LEVEL! Get one of these and never let go of it. You can do basically anything you want to when you are the possessor of Kuribo's Shoe. To get one, just get a Goomba who is inhabiting a Kuribo's Shoe on top of a brick and then crush the brick with him on it. You can jump on top of nearly anything with Kuribo's Shoe. You can kill Spinys, Bob-ombs and (get this!) piranha plants simply by jumping on top of them. You can walk on the black Muncher plants, allowing you access to a previously impossible-to-obtain 1-up. Once you have Kuribo's Shoe, don't let anyone mess with you. Just hightail it to the end of the level. It's a crying shame that they don't let you keep the shoe - if they did I'd find a way to keep it forever :) World 5-Fortress (1) -------------------- Believe you me, this level is not worth the effort it takes. There is one special room here, but the reward is not worth the P-Wing it takes to get to the pipe. You can fly up to a red pipe that leads to an antechamber with an up-arrow coin formation. Two 1-ups are hidden in invisible coin blocks that can also only be easily reached with the P-Wing. Odds are you will lose that P-Wing when you leave due to the incredibly haphazard layout of Thwomps and Rotodiscs. Boom-Boom lies in the door all the way to the right. Skip this level entirely unless you are a fanatic that has to beat everything. Spiral Tower ------------ Lengthy but not difficult. The first room is full of Rotodiscs that are easy to evade. The second room is full of Thwomps that are easy to evade. When you reach the pipe in the Thwomp room, you will be led to some mock brick towers. The middle brick on the second tower contains a 1-up that can only be gained with a raccoon tail. Keep your eyes open for the Micro-Goombas that are hiding in some of the bricks. If you fly over the last tower with a P-Wing, there is a 1-up on the other side over the wall. There are also several 10- coin blocks in the wall next to the pipe. The airship trick works on this world, and the brick tower is an easy place to aid you. (see the Secrets and Extras section). The next room is the only truly difficult part of this level. Suavely move past when the Thwomp is moving up and the Rotodisc is not in your path on the jump over. The pipe to the right leads to another room with an interesting lighting arrangement. I used to think they could come to life and kill you - when I was about nine :p You can't go back through the blue pipe when you get outside. Climb the blue beanstalk in the brick to make it to the sky area. SKY WORLD SKY MAP MH | | P2* o--5 | | | | | | oL-o--4--o SH | | | | SH--o-F2--o--7--o | | | | | | C--o--9--8 o-MH--6 * P2 is not listed on the surface map because it leads back to the Spiral Tower. World 5-4 --------- Do not come in this level without a leaf or a Tanooki Suit on. There is a leaf at the beginning in case you need it. You can avoid all the mess involved with trying to maneuver around the spinning platforms. Get a running start from the beginning ledge and fly up to a thin cloud with coins on it. There is a second one just like it. Get a running start from that thin cloud and fly till you can't go any farther to the right. When you go in the pipe, let Lakitu drop four Spinys in the area where the card is. When you hit the card, the massive enemy kill will give you a 1-up. World 5-5 --------- Not only does Sky Land allow you to get the mysterious airship, you can also get the White Mushroom House with the P-Wing AND a Tanooki Suit in this level! Yes! Near the beginning of the level you find two pipes blocked off by bricks. You can't go in the first one, but the second one has a large question block that yields a Tanooki Suit. Just fall straight down to get all the coins. You will have to backtrack for these next coins. Seven are above the Donut Lifts and seven of them are below. Let the Donut Lifts drop enough for you to get the coins while also making sure that the Micro-Goombas don't inhibit your jumping ability. There are three more coins in coin blocks to the left. After that is familiar territory, so turn around and keep going right. Kill the Fire Chomp and then find the place with wooden blocks and bricks. Crush the two bricks and jump inside. The only coin block is the one on the left. You now have obtained every coin in the level and can go to the exit to pick up your P-Wing. World 5-6 --------- There's a reason they let you skip this level. If you've just gotta play it though, here goes. Use the Para-Beetles (this is the only appearance in the game, BTW) to elevate yourself and jump to the others more easily. They will take a slight dip, but fly upwards after that. A leaf will be invaluable to you here. You'll be mostly safe when you get to the wooden blocks, although it would be advisable to get rid of the Fire Chomp. At the long row of bricks where you meet the Fire Chomp, the next-to-last brick is a P switch. This will make it easier to make it to the pipe leading to the exit. Once again, the Lakitu-and-four-Spinys 1-up trick works here. World 5-7 --------- I've decided to use R. Deland Smallwood's input on this level as well. His idea is much better than mine. You might want to try it with a Starman going in. Although it doesn't start this way under normal circumstances, this is one of those levels that I like to call "Star Streaks" (3-2, 7-5, for example). You'll find extra stars in the first two trios of question blocks (first block of each of the three- some), to the immediate right of the Venus Flytrap's pipe, after the second huge set of blocks (again, after the Venus Flytrap), and above the exit pipe coming from the land portion. There are areas on the land which can continue this in both of their coin blocks; however, I do not really recommend it (since you can't get back to the sky through the pipe) unless... You might want to try it using a P-wing. In the land part of that area, use it to fly up top and hit a P-switch to collect the transformed coins. But there's more: With the P-wing, fly over to the extreme right. When you go to the wall, you can fly over it - it's too high without the item - and go straight to the end without having to go through that crossfire. Warning: Lakitu will be waiting. World 5-Fortress (2) -------------------- **In the Mario All-Stars version of this game, there is lava on both the ceiling and the bottom of the level. There is no lava on the ceiling in the NES version but the fireballs still come out of the ceiling. Jump to the pipe at the beginning and go to the place with a skeleton turtle and the six question blocks. The last one is the Starman that you should take and run like the wind. When it runs out, watch out for the ghost following you. The only difference between Boom-Boom here and Boom-Boom everywhere else is that here you have to jump over a lava pit to get to him. World 5-8 --------- All seems well and it looks like there's nary an enemy to be found, except for this REALLY ANNOYING Lakitu. If you want my advice, here it is: No matter what items you lose in the process, make a blind run for the pipe. This is not a long level. You can make it. There is another Lakitu 1-up trick at the end. Do not try to outmaneuver the Lakitus. They know where you are, and they will throw Spinys on top of your head. Therefore, making a mad dash trying to outrun him is almost the best idea I can give. Hey, it works :) World 5-9 --------- Since you move up, up, and even further up throughout this level, you can use a P-Wing to avoid all the enemies, but I'd call that cheating. Here's the real strategy: Eventually after moving so far up these moving platforms, two Fire Chomps will each try to sneak up and get you from the bottom. It's impossible to maneuver around both them and the fire they blow out you, so kill them both when you have the opportunity. This is also not another long level, but there is no sense in making a mad dash like you did in World 5-8. World 5-Castle -------------- The most taxing airship yet. Make sure you have a leaf so you can move slower and more carefully. This is the first airship to kind of be a hodgepodge of all the airship obstacles that you've seen up until now. At the beginning you'll see a small cannon and a fire blowing contraption. You'll really have to watch out at the end with the wall full of cannons. It is very hard to dodge all this cannon fire without losing your power-ups. Don't try any funny stuff like trying to beat it with a Frog Suit. To get past the wall near the end the easiest, try to get on top of the wall full of cannons by caroming off of a cannonball. Roy is the most annoying of the Koopa Kids yet. He has the ability to create earthquakes much like the Sledge Brothers from Giant Land. Of course when he jumps (his jumping ability is pretty sorry) he'll make the tremors, but he'll also cause the deadly seisms when he bounces inside his shell after you hit him. You'll have to jump twice in a row because if you even stay on the ground for half a second, you'll lose your balance and not be able to walk, thereby getting the smack laid on you. Hit him three times just like all the other Koopa Kids and you'll walk away happy. World 6 - Ice Land ICE LAND MAP MH P2-o o | | o--2-oRP1 o-o--o 9--o--o | | | | | | X-1-SH F1BHL-o-P2 o--6-H F2Bo 8-o-o F3B-oL--oB-oB-o--C | | | | | | | | | P1 oB-o-3 SH--4-H MH o-oR-o-7 o--o-10 | | | | | o--5-o-o-SH-o World 6-1 --------- Go into the level with a leaf (not a P-Wing, a leaf). Get a running charge and fly up until you see a door on a high wooden platform. There is a large wall of bricks inside this door. Jump up to the high level in the room and slide under the large ice blocks until you find a P switch. When you hit, run and duck at the same time to make it back to the wall of bricks that is now a wall of coins. When you leave, you'll be dropped off near the end of the level. Use your tail to pound the winged Goomba and the Ptooies, piranha plants who can blow spiked balls in the air with their breath. Some can walk and some stay in pipes. They can beaten with the raccoon tail too. World 6-2 --------- All this level is jumping from moving cloud to moving cloud. There is nothing even remotely difficult in relation to this level. The screen will scroll fast up and down at various points, but this is all made easy with the fact that they provide a leaf if you don't already have one. When you get to the wooden wall with a brick behind it, the screen scrolls so that the brick will quickly fade from view. If you use the clouds to jump up there, you will reveal a 1-up if you can find it. World 6-3 --------- A slight change in the end-of-the-level has been added here. Kudos again to R. Deland Smallwood for his great tips. Even though this level doesn't scroll like 6-2, the jumps you make will have to be a little timelier. The leaf will help you significantly here, and they even provide one early on into the level. Or, if you want to, you can skip it altogether. When you get to the part with one brick followed by two bricks, hit the first brick. A white beanstalk will pop up out of it. Climb up it and jump from the musical note block to the wooden block and from the wooden block to the inside of the pipe. A Tanooki Suit is inside, along with the same room of coins to the upper left from a few levels back. When you exit the treasure room, you will come out the same pipe you came in :( Once you get the Tanooki suit, you can make this a bird course: you can fly right on by to the end. After you get the coins, use that same long strip to get to the P on your meter. Stall for a split second, and go up the pipe; DO NOT FLY INTO IT. When you come out, immediately fly to the right, and then take the landing you would normally do. If everything goes right, you'll land right on the ending runway. Should the P not hold when you leave the secret room, however, go back down and run it up again. World 6-Fortress (1) -------------------- If you still have the Tanooki Suit from 6-3, stay as a statue while riding the small platform. In the statue form you will kill both fireballs and Rotodiscs that run into you. Jump off when you see the door to the right. Use the statue form in the next room to kill or at least not get hit by any Rotodiscs in your way. The next room is the everlasting Boom-Boom's den. If you got all the way to Ice Land, I shouldn't be having to tell you how to beat him. World 6-4 --------- If you go to the right where the brick is, there is an extra man in that brick, but ignore it. There are easier ways to earn lives. Skip past in and go to the moving platforms. All of these in this level are on a set path indicated by the black lines that they travel on. When you come to the P switch on top of bricks, hit it and start running. Running will help you avoid the Fire Chomp up ahead. Float through the passage with the last rotating platform if at all possible; the last one can easily toss you in the pit right next to the exit. World 6-5 --------- Although you can skip this level, I for one would not recommend it. The reward you will reap from this is unbelievable ... **drool** Oh, right, the level. First of all, you won't be able to beat this level unless you have flying ability and a turtle shell. When you enter the pipe that leads you into the cave, go in the first pipe to the right if you don't have a leaf yet, then exit the pipe to the left. Go in the first pipe to the right anyway, even if you don't need the leaf. It makes this faster. Whack the piranha plant, then get rid of the Buster Beetle who seeks to throw white bricks at you. You can then stomp on the turtle and take him up through the hole to the left. You need the turtle to get rid of the annoying white jumping piranhas. (Ah, now you see...) In all reality, this level is WAY easier with a P-Wing. If you have a Tanooki Suit that you don't want to part ways with, don't worry. What you're about to get is far better than any Tanooki Suit... World 6-6 --------- You can either take a P-Wing over the wall to the exit of this level, or you can do it the hard way. I have the list the hard way or I'd be considered lazy. Go in the pipe. If you've used your Hammer Brother Suit, you can fire at everybody with hammers. Otherwise, take the upper fork in the path and get the flower at the end. When you go back down, hit one of the wooden blocks to reveal a Starman. Run with it until you get to the water. The first chance you get while swimming, go up. There is a hidden 1-up near the wall on the snowy shore. Keep moving to the right. Eventually you will get out of the water. All you have to do from here on out is either avoid or kill the piranha plants, Spikes, and the one Cheep-Cheep that hops from pond to pond. World 6-7 --------- To get the white Mushroom House in this level you must collect every single coin in the whole stinking level. That's 78 coins, and you need both a leaf and a flower to get them all. Here's what to do: First of all, to get this Mushroom House, you will need to come into the level with a flower and keep it throughout the entire level. Walk across the two sets of three Donut Lifts. When you see what looks like two coins below one of them, it's actually three. Jump at the last moment so that you grab the third coin and make it to safety. Do not get the leaf in the question block. Stand on the Donut Lift ahead to move on. You will kind of have to anticipate when the Fire Chomp is about to come up. Keep jumping and tossing fireballs and you will probably hit him before he has a chance to do anything to you. Let the Donut Lift fall so you get the coins below. The rest of the level pretty much involves letting Donut Lifts fall so you can get the coins below. Kill the second Fire Chomp when he appears. When you get to the end of the level, you'll see why you needed the flower. Thaw all the coins out of their ice habitats with fireballs and kill the turtle trapped inside. Getting the coins from the previous area and all the coins in the ice amounts to 77; an invisible block to the left brings the total to 78, earning you a white Mushroom House and (bleah) an anchor. World 6-Fortress (2) -------------------- I hope you still have your Hammer Brother suit for this level. Equip the Hammer Brother suit if you still have it, then go in. The coolest part of this whole level is, you can kill Boo Diddlies and Thwomps with the hammers! Awesome! Make sure your movement is balanced so you don't slip off the ice. It doesn't take that much work to aim hammers and ghosts and monsters. I am not positive that the hammers will kill Rotodiscs. Best of all, one hammer kills Boom-Boom! No way! If you don't have the Hammer Brother suit, the level provides a leaf. When you beat this fortress, a bridge connects the mainland and a small island with a pipe. World 6-8 --------- Wow. A surprisingly warm level in the ice zone. It must be like Antarctica was back in the dinosaur days or something. If you have a P-Wing, use it here and find a pit in this level. If you go to the left, you can fly in the green hill area! Just a fun trick, nothing particularly productive will come of it. If you have the Hammer Brother suit on, I recommend keeping it that way. Kill or avoid the white piranhas as the situation calls for you to. When you see a Buster Brother pick up one of the white brick, hurtle over to him and jump on him before he gets a chance to throw it. They shouldn't get much of an opportunity to. This is a really short level - there's no need to explain the rest of it. World 6-9 --------- This level is easy as long as you stay on the top level where the Munchers are. Stay up there and keep running along until you see a very high question block. There is a P-switch in it. Look for the red dots that signify a hidden block and hit it. When you hit the P-switch, the Munchers turn to coins! Run along and avoid the piranha plants, then jump in the pipe in the ceiling at the end. If you want some nice prizes, equip a Frog Suit and stay in the water until you find pipes with a current shooting from them. The one at the end will have some special power-ups in it :) World 6-10 ---------- Good place to have a flower. Most of this level's coins are sealed in ice, and you will need a flower (which is provided twice) to thaw them out. The Munchers are also sealed in ice - be careful that you don't free them as well. Also, you will not be able to access some of the pipes without a flower. The rest of the level is business as usual. Avoid the Buster Brothers and watch out for the one spinning platform and you'll have no trouble at all. World 6-Fortress (3) -------------------- Not ANOTHER one! Don't worry, it's easy if you're focused. A leaf would probably be the best thing to have here, unless of course you still have a Hammer Brother suit on, which can be used to kill the Boo Diddlies, Stretches, and Thwomps. The biggest problem in the first room is with the conveyor belts, which will be extremely pesky once enemies start apppearing near them. The second room sends you in a freefall to the bottom. You will have to wait for the floor to rise so you can enter the door to the right. Avoid the three Boo Diddlies until you get into Boom-Boom's lair. From there you know what to do. World 6-Castle -------------- Be prepared for this airship. It is not hard, but you will have to move with the most precise timing. There are no real enemies on the ship - only fire blowers, and they are all easy to move past. You can run and jump past most of the blue screws. If you can't, however, jump on them repeatedly to keep them moving. Lemmy is like Wendy in that he shoots stuff from his wand (green bouncy balls instead of rings), but he is easier because you can jump on the balls without getting hurt. Maneuver around them and jump on him three times to turn the seal on the throne back into the king. World 7 - Pipe Land PIPE LAND MAP \/ - Piranha Plant Level S--o--o P3 P2 F1-SH--6 7--o--P7 | | | L | | | | P5 1-P1 P2 MH P8-\/--o-P6 P7 SH--o---8--MH | P1-P3 o--4-SH--o--5--P5 P8L-9---o--F2 | | | | | 2-P4 P6 3-P4 MH C---oB-\/ World 7-1 --------- Go in the door and then go in the pipe on the far right. The piranha plants alternate when they come out of their pipes, so kill them if you can; otherwise, find an open spot and go in the vertical pipe next to the leftmost one. Again, when you come out of the winding pipe, go in the pipe on the left. Keep going up to the end of the level using the musical note blocks. There is a room full of coins available to you if you have a leaf. The exit is just above that room. World 7-2 --------- To get the white Mushroom House here, you're going to have to get the coins produced by the P-switch. It will more than likely require you having a Frog Suit. Unless you can swim fast enough, you won't be able to get the Mushroom House without a Frog Suit. Go in the first pipe wedged way down low between the cliffs. If you swim all the way to the left, you will find the P-switch. Hit it and get the coins above it, then swim REALLY fast to the right and get all the coins. You can't get the Mushroom House if you don't get all the coins. When you come out, you will go down into an area that you can't jump out of because there is a solid row of invisible musical note blocks. Backtrack once you've made the bridge. There is a hidden 1-up located above the bridge if you feel like getting it. From there, avoid the piranha plants and go on to the end of the level. World 7-3 --------- A short level, but difficult without the special trick here. There is an opportunity for continuous Starmen, and Lakitu will make your life so much rougher without them. Hit the first one, then run/slide/jump to the bottom of the hill and hit the bottom left block in the group of four. The path to the third star is identical to the path to the second. Avoid the red Spinys and narrow pits when running to the next star. Jump from the pipe with the piranha plant and hit the brick below the question block (which holds a flower) to reveal the fourth star. Skip the brick with the P- switch that reveals some silver coins and advance to the fifth star, which is in a brick to the upper left of a horizontal Goomba pipe. It's a safe run to the exit after you get the fifth star. World 7-4 --------- This is why the people who made this game put in the Jugem's Cloud. It would be nice to have some kind of projectile item for this level (i.e. a flower or a Hammer Brother suit). You'll notice the black spike-topped Cheep- Cheeps that cruise through the water at an accelerated pace. Either kill them or let them bypass you. Move past the Lava Lotus before it releases the lava pods. When the level starts to move up, kill the Blooper with its babies before it can release them if at all possible. Float carefully through the field of Jelectros. It will be hard to get through in one piece if you don't have a flower or hammers because of the Big Bertha up ahead. When the level descends back to the bottom, it's almost the same as the beginning. Advance carefully to the pipe at the end and congratulate yourself on beating this level. World 7-5 --------- All pipes lead to the same area, so just go in one. I'll describe all areas of the level in separate sections in a nifty chart I devised. o---------------------------------------------------------------------------o |ROOM |WHAT TO DO | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |First |Skip or kill the bouncing turtles and go in the pipe to the | | |right. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Second |Just go to the right. There's nothing in here of value. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Third |A bit tougher. Get rid of all the Bob-ombs first, then kill | | |the two green turtles with white bricks. The two holes in the | | |floor above have hidden coin blocks. Go in the second pipe | | |from the left. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Fourth |There is a 1-up hidden in this room above one of the pipes. If| | |you want it, get it. If not, you can go in the pipe to the far| | |right to get to the fifth room, or if you have the raccoon | | |tail, you can skip directly to the sixth room. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Fifth |Avoid or get rid of the turtles, then make a running jump to | | |the platform below the pipe. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Sixth |Move along the top ledge, then jump to reveal four invisible | | |blocks. Go back to the top level and go in the pipe to the far| | |right. You will have to come back to this room in just a few | | |moments. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Seventh |Go to the bottom and make the bridge out of hidden question | | |blocks. Go in the pipe just to the left. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Sixth |Kill the turtle with the white bricks and make your way back | | |to the pipe on the far right. | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------------| |Seventh |Walk across the new bridge to the pipe that leads to the exit.| o---------------------------------------------------------------------------o First Piranha Plant Level ------------------------- This level is so short it will blow your mind. You just have to be careful. Make a running leap to the first pipe to get on it. When you come to the Munchers, you'll see that they alternate coming out of pipes. Advance slowly so you don't get eaten alive. (What are those flecks of crap coming out of their mouths?) Get past the other piranha plants and go in the short vertical pipe. You'll be rewarded with a P-Wing, and the level will be over. World 7-Fortress (1) -------------------- You will need to be able to fly to beat this level. Fortunately, they provide you with a grand opportunity to do just that. Find the gray metal blocks just in front of you and crush bricks until you find a P-switch. Hit it and jump to the left. Go in the door and then go in the pipe in front of you (the vertical one). If the P-switch isn't timed out yet, wait for it. Get the Tanooki Suit in the large question block at the bottom. You will come out the same pipe you came in through, so go in the one to the right. Go to the door to the lower left. In this abandoned room, fly along the ceiling looking for a pipe. It's somewhere near the left end. It might even be particularly useful to own a P- Wing at this point. In fact you should have gotten one in the level just before this one (the piranha plant level). Boom-Boom is in the vertical pipe. He starts flying after you hit him once, so keep him grounded and you'll beat as easily as you have before. World 7-6 --------- In this level you will have the ability to move instantaneously from the left side of the screen to the right, and you will make use of the directional blocks that you might have encountered in Giant Land. Remember that to make the ones with light bulbs change direction, you have to jump on them. There is nothing very noteworthy to say about this level. The directional blocks will always take you in the direction you need to go. You can elude the piranhas almost too easily. Follow the level-given map to the exit and you should have no troubles at all. World 7-7 --------- To conquer this level, you will have to use the continuous Starman trick, but it's quite a bit harder than it was in World 7-3. It's easy until you see the Munchers. Get the first Starman and start running. The first one is easy to get, but you will have to duck while running to get it. The others are harder to get because of the pipes that you have to jump through to get to them. They let you skip this level for a reason. World 7-8 --------- There are a lot of piranha plants in this level. To avoid some of them, fly up from the beginning. You can barely make it to an area with eight coin blocks (nothing valuable). If you want, get the Starman and the bottom and start running. Be careful the whole way through, particularly at the end where you see the little white piranhas. The one on the brick ledge shoots fireballs when you get too close. Just past that one is the exit. If you have a choice between levels 7 and 8 (which you do), choose 8. Not only do you not have to deal with 7, you can access a Mushroom House! Yeah! World 7-9 --------- To get through this maze as quickly as possible, follow these directions to the letter: Go to the right with the musical note blocks (the middle one yields a flower), then go all the way up and to the left. Skip the first hole with the wooden blocks and go in the second one to the right (there are musical note blocks in there as well). Then go to the left and wait on the green turtle if he hasn't passed. After him you'll see three question blocks, the middle of which contains a flower. Go to the right and up. Either snag the coins or take the white brick path and go to the upper right. Go through all the white bricks in your path. When you get to the question block with yet another flower, take the trail down and go to the right. The pipe leading to the exit is right in front of you. World 7-Fortress (2) -------------------- Make your way across the lava and the pipes. A piranha plant appears out of almost every one of them. In some cases it is better to let the Boo Diddlies follow you so that you can make some jumps more safely. A leaf is of the utmost help here. In the first brick you encounter, there is a Starman, but it will probably bounce away too fast for you to obtain it. Lure the two Thwomps you meet to the bottom so you can continue crossing. A leaf is provided near the end, but it is more often than not too little, too late. The last pipe is the one you need to go in, and you will have to curve around from the top ledge to make it. In the next room, avoid the Rotodiscs and Thwomp. To the right is Boom-Boom. Stay on the three small bricks to avoid getting hit. Second Piranha Plant Level -------------------------- This is just a short level to sidetrack you before you make it to the castle. You can clear all of the Munchers at the beginning. Get momentum off all the musical note blocks to make it to the exit. You will be rewarded with a mushroom when you open the treasure chest. World 7-Castle -------------- Have a leaf or a Tanooki Suit for this level. You don't have to get on any of the blue screws except for one, and it is at the very end. The leaf is useful for floating from surface to surface and taking out what few Rocky Wrenches are located here. Just move from area to area and you shouldn't have any problems. Ludwig von Koopa is the hardest of the Koopa Kids to defeat. It's good to have a leaf here because he shakes the ground when he jumps and when he's in his shell form after getting hit. Float down at the peak of your jump to avoid his earthquakes and land on him if possible. Three hits will kill him just like the others, but when you beat him, you'll get a letter from Bowser saying he's got the Princess in his tower. On to the last world... World 8 - Dark Land T - Tank Level B - Boat Level ** As with Sky Land, I will display each map and the legend for new symbols as you come to it. DARK LAND 1ST MAP P2 L S P1 o | | | o--T--o---B Tank Level ---------- You will be overwhelmed by the barrage of cannon fire here unless you are ready to do this thing. Once you clear the first tank, the rest are easy to get on top of, and most have a dark brown Rocky Wrench in a hole waiting to chunk wrenches at you. Unlike most Rocky Wrenches, they are eradicated after you stomp on them once. Be sure to be on the lookout for cannons that release Bob-Ombs. If you don't have one yet, get the leaf located on the first tank with a propeller. Most of the tanks from here on out have propellers on them. Watch out for the large cannon at the end that fires a massively large cannon ball. I wouldn't suggest jumping it, otherwise you'll get caught in its line of fire. Duck under it and then move on. The pipe to the exit is just after the large cannon tank. It's easy in there - all you have to do is take out a light blue Boomerang Brother. When you win, you'll get a Starman and you'll have beaten the level. Boat Level ---------- To avoid some heartache, follow this solution, modified slightly by the great Robert Glass. He's informed that not only can you swim under the second boat, but the first and third as well! You have to be fast to make it under the first boat - speed off the side first and tap A repeatedly while holding Right to stay afloat. The second boat can be passed on the underside, and at the third boat, you can jump onto the tip at the end from the water when the boat bobs low enough. Swimming under all the boats frees you from the agony of large cannonballs and Rocky Wrenches, but there's no avoiding the ubiquitous Boom-Boom at the end. Defeat him to pass on to the next world map. DARK LAND 2ND MAP H - Hand Level (where the hand drags you in) A - Airship Level P1 | P4--A P3L-o | o---H--H--H--P2 Hand Level 1 ------------ This level is full of Hammer Brothers, and right at the beginning is a Fire Brother, which you haven't seen since Desert Land. Jump him and go kill the two normal Hammer Brothers. On the bridge you'll meet a Boomerang Brother and a Sledge Brother. Kill the Boomerang Brother, but jump over the Sledge Brother and go in the pipe. You'll get a leaf, which will be especially useful for the airship level up ahead. Hand Level 2 ------------ This level couldn't be easier. Just jump to each bridge and avoid the fireballs and the lava. You'll earn another leaf for beating this level. Hand Level 3 ------------ This level is full of Cheep-Cheeps that soar through the sky at you like they so annoyingly did in the first Mario game. Run and don't worry about power- ups. Concentrate on the leaf at the end and you'll make it. Airship Level ------------- If you have a P-Wing, use it and fly over the entire level. If you don't, at least have a leaf. The walkthrough below is for those using the leaf or some other power-up. The level scrolls at an accelerated pace. Don't worry about any of the Rocky Wrenches. Any one of them that you hit should be accidental. Later on, you will have to make running jumps to get to the airships. Make sure you don't get hit by the fire blowers too. When you go in the pipe, take Boom-Boom out to lunch. A lock will open up when you beat the airship level. Go through the first pipe on the first map to access the newly-accessible pipe. Unfortunately, there's a lock on the other side right now. DARK LAND 3RD MAP P4--o P6--o--o--o | | | o--1 F--o P3 | | 2-P5--o--o--o--P5 World 8-1 --------- Don't come in this level without a leaf. Get a running charge (kind of difficult in that small space) and fly up and to the right until you see a pipe. Inside are three 1-ups. Slide down the slopes and go in the pipe in the bottom left corner. From there, it will take precise jumping ability to make it through the rest of the level. Use either the red turtle or a Bullet Bill to reach the top of the Bullet Bill cannons, then execute running floats until you get to the end. Or, for alternate easiness, read Anton Berglin's take on the level: Fly up to the pipe where you get the 1-ups. In that room, charge up your P-meter until it's full and flashing, then jump up out of the pipe. You should still be able to fly upon exiting, and can escape the level without any obstacles in your path. World 8-2 --------- An old archenemy makes his reappearance in this level: the Angry Sun! He's a lot harder to avoid in this stage, as you have to go up and down hills and across a pit with only musical note blocks to help you across. However, there is a way to escape his wrath. Sink all the way to the bottom of the first quicksand pit in the level. You have a choice of going in the pipe to the left or the one to the right. The one to the left has a 1-up, but you could possibly also earn one off of coins if you trek to the right. You come out of a pipe near the end of the level in any case. Avoid the piranha plants and slide on your butt down the hill if you want to have some fun. Bounce across the pit to make it to the exit, and you'll never have to deal with the Angry Sun! Whew! World 8-Fortress ---------------- If you have a leaf, give yourself a pat on the back here. Go in the first door you see and smash the brick wall to the right. (Even if you don't have a leaf, you can get one if you go through this door and go to the left.) Go in the safety hole below the Thwomp and smash those bricks when it's safe. Go as far to the right as you can. You can make it to the end of the level provided that you keep your leaf. Find the Thwomp that moves sideways and go to the left of him. There is a gray P-switch. Break through the brick, hit the P- switch, and go all the way to the right. Stay low so you don't get hit by the spikes when you move along the conveyor belt. Boom-Boom is as easy as ever. DARK LAND 4TH MAP KC - Koopa Castle P6--T--o--o--o--KC Tank Level 2 ------------ This level is not difficult - standard tank-and-cannon-and-Rocky-Wrench-and- Bob-omb fare. Jump on all the Rocky Wrenches (thankfully the one-hit variety) and avoid all the Bob-ombs. Fortunately, there are no large cannons that fire 10-ton cannonballs at you. The tanks stop when you reach the end. Fight Boom- Boom for the last time and you'll have access to Koopa's Castle. Koopa Castle ------------ Either run past or fly over the statues at the beginning - they fire lethal death lasers at you. Stand at the foot of the hole leading up and you will ride a light blue platform. Force the Donut Lift at right to fall, but hold to the right or you'll fall in a pit and lose a life. Maneuver carefully to the top of the stairs. To the right of the top step is a hidden 1-up. When crossing precariously along the Donut Lifts above the lava, you want to make sure to make it to the door at the top. This will lead to the room before Koopa. Only the first statue in this room fires a laser, so jump early to scale the figurine. You'll see fireballs coming at you from a mysterious source ... what game does THAT remind you of? :) In the next room is Koopa. You can fight this one, or, if you fly over the wall (P-wing only), you can fight a much easier version of him that doesn't blow fire at you. The trick in either case is to get him to fall through the bricks, which you will do by moving when he is about to jump on you. Wherever he jumps first, make that the area where he's going to plummet to his death. All you have to do is avoid his fireballs and get out of his way (although if you duck or are small and he lands on you, you won't be affected - only his top half hurts you). Once you do this three times, he will fall through the floor and you can through the door to see the end. Three or four hammers can also do the trick to kill him. Thanks to Michael Malleson for the top half glitch and hammer idea. Congratulations on beating Super Mario Brothers 3! COOL SECRETS AND EXTRAS ======================= Since I know so much about this game that is meant to be kept secret and found on your own, I figured I would share the wealth and let you know some of what I have found that will make your experience much better. 28 P-WINGS Beat the game once and your inventory will be packed to the hilt with P-Wings when you start over. HAMMER BROTHER AIRSHIP TRICK This takes meticulous attention to detail to make work. In worlds 1, 3, 5, and 6, you can turn a Hammer Brother into an airship that is filled with coins amounting to about three 1-ups (four if you enter with about 90 coins). Here's how to do it: in any level in the four aforementioned worlds, get enough coins to make the amount a multiple of 11 (22, 33, 77, etc.). Make the next-to-last digit of your score the same as the number in the amount of coins. The easiest way to accomplish this is by smashing bricks. Finally, when you beat the level, the timer has to stop on an even number. If all these criteria are met, one of the Hammer Brothers on the map will turn into the airship! At the end of the airship, you'll have to beat a Boomerang Brother, and you will receive a Starman when you beat him. Not bad! EASIER KOOPA I mentioned this in the walkthrough. If you keep a P-Wing in the last level all the way to the end, you can fly over the wall to the left and fight an easier Koopa that doesn't shoot fireballs. DIFFERENT THANK-YOU'S If you are wearing one of the three suits (Frog, Tanooki, or Hammer Brother) when you complete an airship level, you can get a different message of gratitude from the king. They are as follows: Frog ---- Oh me, oh my! You've been transformed! Shall I change you back with this wand? Tanooki ------- Thank you, kind raccoon. Please tell me your name. Hammer Brother -------------- Hey, you! Can I borrow your clothes? No dice? What a drag. WHITE MUSHROOM HOUSES Certain levels will allow you to get special items from a mystical white Mushroom House if you get a certain amount of coins in a given level. Although I specifically denote when you can access a white Mushroom House in a level, I will tell you the levels where you can access them and the amount of coins needed to reveal them. You will get a P-Wing in odd-numbered worlds and an anchor in even-numbered worlds. 1-4: 44 coins 2-2: 30 coins 3-8: 44 coins 4-2: 22 coins 5-5: 28 coins 6-7: 78 coins 7-2: 46 coins CARD GAME PATTERNS REVEALED! Yeah, you know, the annoying spade with an N that pops up every time you get 80,000 points. Well, listed here are the eight sets of cards that will let you get all the prizes available through this game. Here is the legend for the eight sets: ** Each symbol is composed of three letters. FLR - Flower STR - Starman 1UP - Extra life 10C - 10 coins 20C - 20 coins MSH - Mushroom Pattern 1 Pattern 2 --------- --------- FLR STR 1UP FLR 1UP MSH 1UP MSH 10C MSH FLR STR 10C MSH FLR STR MSH 10C MSH 10C STR 20C 20C FLR STR 20C 20C MSH FLR STR STR 1UP FLR MSH FLR STR Pattern 3 Pattern 4 --------- --------- MSH FLR 20C MSH 10C STR MSH FLR 1UP FLR STR STR FLR 1UP MSH 1OC 1UP 2OC 20C STR MSH 10C 1UP FLR STR FLR STR MSH FLR STR 2OC MSH 10C MSH FLR STR Pattern 5 Pattern 6 --------- --------- FLR 20C MSH STR 1UP FLR FLR 1OC 1UP FLR 1UP MSH 1UP FLR 10C MSH 20C STR STR MSH 20C STR MSH 10C MSH 1OC STR MSH FLR STR STR FLR 20C MSH FLR STR Pattern 7 Pattern 8 --------- --------- FLR STR 1UP FLR 20C MSH MSH FLR 20C FLR 10C STR 1OC MSH 20C 1UP MSH 10C 2OC 1UP MSH 1OC 1UP FLR STR FLR STR MSH FLR STR STR MSH STR MSH FLR STR And finally, how to deduce which pattern you have: Flip over the fifth card on the first row. If that card is a 1-up, flip over the third card in the first row. If it is not a 1-up, you have Pattern 5. If it is a 1-up, flip over the second card in the first row. If it is a Starman, you have Pattern 1; if it is 10 coins, you have Pattern 6. If the fifth card in the first row is 20 coins, you have Pattern 7. If it is a flower, you have Pattern 2. If it is a Starman, you have Pattern 4. If the fifth card in the first row is 10 coins, flip over the last card in the second row. If it is 20 coins, you have Pattern 3; if it is a flower, you have Pattern 8. There you have it! That's how to tell which setup of cards you have. CREDITS AND COPYRIGHTS ====================== There are several people I have to give my gratitude to, either for letting me use something or making something available to me: ** My cousin Chris for his awesome computer. ** FCE Ultra, the best NES emulator on the Internet. ** Neal Lundberg, who provided me with the card arrangements on the spade-N card game, the amounts of coins needed to reveal the White Mushroom Houses in worlds 1-7, and the message of gratitude you get for beating an airship with the Frog Suit. ** John R. Jones for the easier solution to level 3-7. ** R. Deland Smallwood IV for input on levels 3-4, 5-7, and the first fortress of Ice Land. ** Anton Berglin for the Dark Land tip in World 8-1. ** Robert Glass charitably gave his great input on the following levels: 1-Fortress 1-5 2-2 4-1 Boat Level (Dark Land) ** Michael Malleson's Water Land tips and battle strategies against Bowser in the final level. ** All the sites that post this walkthrough. Three sites so far have my consent in regard to posting, but if you want to be added to the list, just simply ask me. I will have to scrutinize your offer very carefully before letting you take it, and even then there are a few conditions (listed below) that you must meet. This version of this walkthrough (3.5) is (C) April 5, 2002 by me, Snow Dragon. If you want to post this on your site, ask me first. You can only put it up in its unmodified, original, chaste form. Any modifications will be met with initial anger and then some kind of negative reaction, because I COPYRIGHTED this thing, dang it! Some things not to do: don't change the walkthrough in any way, don't link directly to it, don't sell it for a profit to friends or anyone (though I will allow free distribution if someone needs it), and don't steal it. If you want to link to it, don't link directly to this walkthrough The latest version of this guide can always be found at GameFAQs. Other than that, have a great day, and have fun playing Super Mario Bros. 3!