Super Mario Brothers 2 FAQ/Walkthrough Copyright Nintendo 1988 Written By Brian P. Sulpher E-mail: briansulpher@hotmail.com Version 3.7 Dates Written: December 13th to January 1st, 2003 I dedicate this to all Nintendo Entertainment System fans out there! I am a hardcore old school gamer, and I hope more than a few of you are as well! Read on and maybe I can teach you something, or mayb you can write me with something I do not know! Also, for Cougar, Howler, and Koonce. I miss you, and I hope you are living it up in the afterlife as you did in this world. You will always be in my memories, and you will never be forgotten. ----------- Version 1.0 ----------- -submitted guide on 29th of December -All appendices but Mushroom Locations completed -Walkthrough completed through World 3 ----------- Version 2.0 ----------- -submitted guide on January 1st, 2003 -Walkthrough is now complete through World -Mushroom Locations is complete -If I missed anything, please e-mail at address listed above or at the end ----------- Version 2.1 ----------- -Added New First Triclyde strategy -Thanks to Wislon Lau for above strategy ----------- Version 2.5 ----------- -Submitted guide on April 17th, 2003 -Reformatted FAQ -Corrected Spelling -Updated diagram of narrow corridor of Level 5-2 ----------- Version 3.0 ----------- -Submitted guide on November 22nd, 2003 -Altered format ----------- Version 3.1 ----------- -Submitted guide on July 17th, 2004 -Altered format to make it more pleasing to the eye and easier to read ----------- Version 3.2 ----------- -Submitted guide on 18th of October, 2005 -I added in Retronintendo and Honestgamers as sites allowed to use my FAQs -Altered the format to make it easier on the eyes of the reader ----------- Version 3.5 ----------- -Submitted guide on 13th of October, 2007 -Added in a shortcut for 1-1 (thanks to Jason Woofenden for the contribution) -Added in a shortcut for 1-2 (thanks to Jason Woofenden for this one as well) -Altered the World 4 Warp Zone info slightly (thanks to Jason Woofenden one more time) ----------- Version 3.6 ----------- -Submitted guide on January 4th, 2010 -Added in the second Mushroom for 5-2 (thannks to Guillermo Gallardo) ----------- Version 3.7 ----------- -Submitted guide on January 15th, 2013 -Added in some information for the 1-2 Shortcut on how to perform this other ways with Luigi (thanks to Aaron Robinson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------Table Of Contents----------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Introduction 2) Story 3) Controls 4) Characters 5) World One 6) World Two 7) World Three 8) World Four 9) World Five 10)World Six 11)World Seven 12)Enemies 13)Bosses 14)Items 15)Bonus Round 16)Mushroom Locations 17)Warp Locations 18)Ending Summary 19)Tricks And Oddities 20)Origins 21)Final Word ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------Introduction--------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) This game is a strange one in the Mario series of games. You get to choose between four different characters for use on a level, and this was the first game to introduce Mario characters having different stats and abilities. An odd departure for the series, but a highly enjoyable game. To read up on the reason for such an odd sequel to Super Mario Brothers, read the Origin section near the end of this guide. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------Story------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) This section will tell the story that is straight from the opening screens of the game. These words are unedited, and presented just as they were by the games programmers. They are copyright Nintendo of America, 1998. o-------o | | | Story | | | o-------o When Mario opened a door after climbing a long stair in his dream, another World spread before him, and he heard a voice call for help to be freed from a spell. After awakening, Mario went to a cave nearby, and to his surprise, he saw exactly what he saw in his dream... What does this mean to us as the player? Well, it appears that Mario was resting up from his hard adventures in saving the Mushroom Kingdom, along with Princess Toadstool, and he had a vision of another land in dire peril. Upon waking, he went to a cave, almost as if led there by some unseen forces, and he finds a doorway just like his dream! Upon opening the door, he sees the same land, with the same problems, and he decides his status as a hero requires him to intervene (plus Mario is just a nice guy). He gathers his brother, as well as Toad and Princess Toadstool since they insist on coming to represent the Mushroom Kingdom, and the four set off to rescue the people of Subcon! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------Controls---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) This section will review the controls of the game for player select and regular play mode. D-Pad...: LEFT and RIGHT will move your character in the corresponding direction. Down can cause your character to duck (hold DOWN to stay crouched, charge up the super jump (hold DOWN till starting to flash), enter a vase, and to go DOWN a ladder/vine/etc. UP will allow your character to move up a climbing apparatus. SELECT..: No apparent use. START...: Selects your character for the upcoming level, and it pauses/unpauses the game. B Button: This button has a few functions including: hold the B Button to run, to pick up an enemy/plant/item, and throw an enemy/plant/item, and digging through the sand in the pyramids. It can also be used to stop the scrolling items in the Bonus Round (see Bonus Round section for more details). A Button: This button has one use, but it is a rather important one. When pressed, you character will leap into the air. A tap will get you a partial jump, holding it will give a full jump. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------Characters---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) This section will give a quick bio on each hero, and how each hero ranks against the rest of their fellow heroes. o-------o | Mario | o-------o Background.....: The more famous of the two Mario brothers, he was the brother who was controlled by Player One is Super Mario Brothers. He has returned in his now famous red and blue get-up, and he is ready to lead the troops into battle. Jumping Skills.: Mario is rated as a world class jumper nowadays, but he seemed to have done some training since his early days because in this game, his height on his jump is second to Luigi. He ranks third for hang time (time spent in the air) to make him seem to be an average jumper at best. Plucking Skills: Mario has got some decent ability to pluck plants, enemies, and items with the strong upper body he possesses. He is second only to Toad for speed of his picking things up. o-------o | Luigi | o-------o Background.....: Although not called into action as much as his brother, and not as popular either, he was the character controlled by Player Two in Super Mario Brothers. He returns, this time in a new colour scheme (the one that he has stuck with) of green and blue. Jumping Skills.: Luigi is a Mario brother, so you know he is going to have some hops. It turn out that Luigi has the highest jump of all characters in the game. He also seems to walk across the air with his kicking legs, and seemingly endless hang time. The best jumper of the bunch is Luigi, so pick him for any level that requires a great leaper. Plucking Skills: Luigi may be a jumping fiend, but his upper body strength leaves a lot to be desired. He has only the third best picking ability of the team, but he still has a respectable speed to his plucking. o------o | Toad | o------o Background.....: Toad has not been an active member in many games (he was only in Super Mario Brothers to say the Princess was in another castle). He has one lone game that he starred in with no one else as a hero (Wario Wood's), and he is a shorter guy with white pants and a mushroom cap on his head. Jumping Skills.: He is the shortest member of the team, and there fore he has the shortest of everyone. This limits his ability to jump, so much so that he has the worst leap of the whole group. Plucking Skills: He may have the short legs, but in this case it is a huge advantage. Since he is so close to the ground, he can pull things up much quicker than his friends. He is the fastest fun-guy (get it? fungi, fun-guy?) for picking up anything that is not nailed down. o--------------------o | Princess Toadstool | o--------------------o Background.....: She has spent most of her career being rescued, but this game early in the series had her first steps towards helping out. She has used this role to build up her character into a more independent person. Super Mario Brothers revolved around the Mario Brothers rescuing her, so she probably wanted to prove herself as a good fighter. Jumping Skills.: The Princess ranks in as third best jumper for height. She has surprisingly strong legs for a woman of the court, but height jumping is not her forte. Her real strength comes her ability to defy gravity for a short time with her hover-jump. By holding the A Button down after she jumps, she can float for a few seconds, which allows her to get maximum distance for any of the characters on a jump. Plucking Skills: Princess may have serious hang time, but her upper body is weak. We are talking like someone fresh out of the body cast after one year inside it. She is the slowest plucker of the bunch, so take her only if you need her hovering skills. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------World One------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) This section will cover levels 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3. o-----------o | Level 1-1 | o-----------o You start off with your selection for the level, and any level such as this, you do not need superior jumping ability. This means that Toad or Mario are the most obvious choices for the level. You start by falling from the door at the top of the stairway in the story, and you will land on a grassy series of hills. Two Pink Snifits will be patrolling separate ledges here, and a Ripened Vegetable will be waiting on the same ledge as the first Pink Shyguy. Once you are done goofing around with these guys, go through the door found on the very bottom level of the hill. You will face two Red Shyguys and a Tweeter to start off with, and then you will arrive at a Vine (which you should climb up). Upon arriving at the platform, jump onto it, get rid of the Pink Shyguy, and then grab the right-most grass tuft to reveal a Magic Potion. Drop it on the ground, enter the door, and then grab the Mushroom to extend your life meter (be sure to get any Cherries that are on the screen, but DO NOT touch the grass tufts). Once you exit, head right to find two Red Shyguys and a Tweeter guarding a POW Block (grab it and drop it for a few easy kills, maybe releasing a heart). Jump up the grass platforms past a Pink Shyguy, and then take on two Red Shyguys and a Tweeter before hopping across the two rolling logs to the far side. Get to the highest ledge there, jump across the gap to the highest ledge on the next set of platforms, pull the grass tuft for a 1-Up Mushroom, and then grab the POW Block before hopping down to the ground. Now you should drop it to wipe all the enemies out on the screen, and then grab the second grass tuft to get a Turtle Shell to throw at the enemies in front of you (run behind it to follow it's path of destruction). Now you will cross the log over the water, fight the Red Shyguy and Tweeter off, and then enter the door. Note you can also use the Tweeter as a standing point, using a charged jump with any character to reach the ledge above (provided you are on the log bridge and the Tweeter has jumped into the air). Upon entering, you will face a stationary jumping Ninji, and after you get past him, climb the Vine to the next screen. Go right to find a door, go through it, and then grab the first grass tuft to your right to get a Magic Potion. Now you should drop that between the two grass tuft sections on your right, enter sub-space, and then grab the Mushroom, as you pull all the grass tufts you can. Now go back through the door you just came through, come back out, and then repeat the same procedure with the Magic Potion (minus collecting the Mushroom since you already got it). Now you face two choices: 1) take the shortcut to Pink Birdo, or 2) go the slightly longer way. If you want the shortcut, dot he following steps. All you need to do is take a running leap across the waterfall, jump up the ledges, and then time your drop of a Bomb to break the wall down that guards a door. To get it to work, wait for the bomb to start flashing for about one second before dropping (this should bust the bottom two bricks). Now you just have to go through the door to reach Pink Birdo. If you want to take the longer route there, head up the Vine that Hoopster is guarding. On the next screen, jump up the ledges past two stationary jumping Ninjis, a Pink Shyguy, a Ninji, and then a Pink Shyguy before getting onto the cloud ledge where the next Vine awaits (be sure to use any Unripened/Ripened Vegetables you need to do this job). Climb the Vine to the next cloud ledge, get to the right-most Vine (jump on above the Hoopster), and then climb till you reach another cloud ledge with a solo Vine extending off the screen. climb up it to enter the fight with Pink Birdo. Go right to jump a gap, and then jump up to find Pink Birdo staring at you. Jump onto the one egg she fires, grab it with the B Button, and then throw it back at Pink Birdo. Now you just need to repeat these steps two more times, and then you should grab the Crystal Ball left behind by the deceased Birdo. Now you should head right to enter the waiting Hawkmouth to get to the Bonus Round to use your hard earned Coins. o-----------o | Level 1-2 | o-----------o For selecting your character on this level, you will have to decide if you wish to attempt the fairly hard shortcut contained within the level (it does cut a fairly large chunk of the level out). If you want to take the shortcut, you are best to choose Luigi. Otherwise, Mario or Toad are the best options for you as their is one excellent opportunity for Coin gathering. Start by jumping to the ledge below the flying Pidgit, charge your super jump, and then jump onto Pidgit (if you wait til he is as far right as he can get, it is possible to pluck him and go straight to the right, possibly reaching the high ledge ahead for an easy shortcut). "Borrow" the flying carpet from Pidgit, fly across the gap as you duck under the diving Red Beezos, and then jump onto the solid land on the right. Grab the first grass tuft to get a Magic Potion, take it right to drop it near the second Jar, enter sub-space, and then collect the Mushroom and Cherries there (do not get any grass tufts here). Now you should go down the Jar on your left, grab the Grass Tuft for a 1-Up, and then exit the Jar. Now you can try for the following shortcut with Luigi. Stand on the edge of the first Jar you see, crouch till your super jump is charged, and then jump up and to the left. As you continue to float upwards, a Red Beezo will swoop down from the left, and your mission is to land on the moving Red Beezo. Once you accomplish this hard task, you must keep moving with the Red Beezo towards the right, and then you must hop up onto the ledge above once you reach the cliff. This allows you to skip the acquiring of a Key, and doing the cave in this section of the game. You will be but a few quick hops from the Pink Birdo boss for the level. If you want to do the cave mentioned above, we need to go down the Jar on the right to find your first Key along with your first relentless pursuer in your first Phanto. Grab the Key, and then quickly hop out of the Jar to see that the Phanto that rumbled to life is chasing you. Drop the key to make the Phanto leave, grab the Key, go past the two Stationary jumping Ninjis, and then enter the locked door to get into the cave. Grab Cherries as you enter (this will likely result in a Starman), jump the gap, kill the Pink Snifit, grab a grass tuft to get a Bomb, take it right over the gap to drop by the wall, and then grab another grass tuft for the same purpose. Now climb the ladder before the Grey Snifit can shoot you, grab the left-most grass tuft to find a Bomb, run right to drop it on the floor that can be broken, and then repeat this procedure with the two right-most grass tufts for Bombs. Now get the Magic Potion from the remaining grass tuft, drop it down the hole you made, and then drop the Magic Potion so you can enter sub-space. Upon entering, grab the Mushroom, exit sub-space, and then go right past the patrolling Ninjis to get to the exit. Upon exiting, jump straight up, head left, grab the patrolling Ninji, throw it at the Grey Snifit, and then get the Magic Potion. Head right till you see a large patch of grass tufts, drop the Magic Potion in the middle of it, and then enter sub-space to collect a slew of Coins. Go into the door you came out of, come back outside, and repeat the procedure for another large amount of caves. Then head right past the Red Shyguys to find a door, which takes you to a Pink Birdo fight. Jump onto the one egg Birdo fires, grab it with the B Button, and then throw it back at her. Now you just need to repeat these steps two more times, and then you should grab the Crystal Ball left behind by the deceased Birdo. Now you should head right to enter the waiting Hawkmouth to get to the Bonus Round to use your hard earned Coins. o-----------o | Level 1-3 | o-----------o This level requires some decent jumping skills, as well as some decent plucking skills. Luigi or possibly Mario would be the best choices. Start off by heading right across the gaps, pluck the second grass tuft for a Magic Potion, and then drop it immediately. Now you will enter sub-space, get a Mushroom, get a Cherry, and then exit sub-space. Go past the Red Shyguy, get the two Cherries, and then jump the gaps (avoid the Trouters that jump out of each one) till you reach the highest log. Jump across the three rolling logs on the waterfall, ignore the grass tufts, jump across the next gap courtesy of the rolling logs, and then pull the first grass tuft on the ground (watch out for the Pink Snifit). Now you have two choices on what to do: 1) go for the Warp Zone to World 4, or 2) get some Coins and the second Mushroom. Both will be covered below. For the Warp Zone to World 4, do the following steps. Head right over the water, past the two Ninjis and the two Tweeters till you run into a Jar, at which point you should drop the Magic Potion. Now go into sub-space, and then press DOWN when you are on top of the Jar to get into your warp to World 4! For the Coins and the second Mushroom, head left back across the logs to the platform, crouch to charge the super jump, jump to throw the potion onto the platform above jump to the platform if you are Luigi, or if you Mario go left to charge a super jump so you can get onto the rolling log at a high point for a quick hop onto the platform. Enter sub-space for your Mushroom and the five Coins. Head right again, past the rolling logs once more, past the Pink Shyguy, over the small gap, past the two Ninjis and the Two Tweeters to enter the door that you will find. You can then go back out to repeat the procedure for the second Mushroom so you can get five more Coins. Once you are ready to take on the buildings challenge, take a running leap to the Chain (it is the same as a Vine), and then climb up to the next screen. Upon reaching the top of the Chain, wait for the Pink Shyguy to head right, and then jump onto it so you can throw it away. Next, grab a Mushroom Block, throw it to the ledge above, and then do that with one more Mushroom Block before you hop up behind them. The screen scrolls to reveal a high ledge patrolled by a Spark, so stack the Mushroom Blocks, jump up to the ledge, and then go up the hole above you on the left. Jump up the platforms to reach the next screen, and then jump up the platforms patrolled by the Sparks here to reach the door (which you enter). Upon entering, time your jump up to the platform, grab the Key, and then run out the door quickly. Now head left, fall down the vertical shaft with the Chains, and then use the Key on the Pink Shyguy (this will also get the Phanto to stop chasing you for a bit). Now grab the Key, fall down off the ledge, work past the Red Shyguy, and then head down through the platforms to fall down through a pile of Chains with Grey Snifits shooting at you (be sure to hold to the right as you fall). Once you get to the locked door, open it with the Key to move onto the next section of the level. Jump across the path of platforms while dodging the Sparks, and then head across the top platform. Avoid the Tweeter and Pink Snifits, walk left through the blocks to reach the next lowest level, grab the POW Block, and then head right. Jump across the gaps to the second platform with Sparks, drop the POW Block (this clears all the Sparks away), and then head right across the gaps to find two patrolling Ninjis in your path. Once you get by them, grab the Crystal Ball just sitting there (no Birdo this time!), and then go through the Hawkmouth to enter the... BOSS ROOM! Mouser is a big mouse who seems to have some emotional problems. How else do you explain a personality that rationalizes throwing bombs as not only a good idea, but as a full time job? Anyway, you will enter the room to do battle, but you must first break through the walls between Mouser and yourself. Avoid the Spark as you pluck the plants to reveal bombs. Lay these bombs against the brick wall to open a path through to Mouser (takes two), and then get one of the planted bombs from the platform above (again being careful not to hit the Spark). Now run to the right to see Mouser on his platform, and lay the bomb in your hands on the platform near Mouser to score a hit. Now you need to either: go back for another bomb or catch one of Mouser's. Now take the bomb, lay it on the Bosses platform, and then repeat. You will need to hit the deranged mouse with 4 well placed blast to move onto the next World of Subcon! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------World Two------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) This section will cover levels 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3. o-----------o | Level 2-1 | o-----------o This level requires some rather fast moving as well as some good jumping skills. Mario is the best choice for this level, although Luigi for the less experienced, Toad for the more experienced is not a bad idea either. Start off by heading right till you see a Cobrat pop from the ground, and you should either jump it or grab it for use as a weapon. Now head over the bone structure, go by the next Jar with the Cobrat inside (or go down the pipe to find a Turtle Shell if you like), and then continue left to see a Red Shyguy and a Pink Shyguy patrolling the length between two bone structures. Following that is another Cobrat in a Jar, and then you will jump onto the platform above to grab the left-most grass tuft for the Magic Potion. Drop it, enter sub-space, get the Mushroom and the Coins, and then go down the Jar to your left. Immediately come back out to repeat this procedure for some more Coins. Now you have to jump across a quicksand pit, so get hopping to stay above the sinky sand, and be sure to stand on anything solid like bone structures or cacti. A Pink Shyguy patrols the first bone structure, and that is the end of the quicksand. You will see a structure with two Red Shyguys and a White Panser, so you should try to hustle by this area as fast as possible. Now you enter another quicksand patch, and a Cobrat will quickly pop up to attack you. Once you deal with it, enter the Pyramid on the right to get to the next section of the level. Now you will have to dig through the sand (press the B Button), and you will have to dig for a bit, run across the level of sand you are on so the Red Shyguys behind you will not catch you, and be sure to watch out for the Grey Snifit who is jumping up the left side of the room. Once you reach the bottom of the sand pile, head left to the ladder, head down it, and then go right to find the door to Pink Birdo. Head right upon entering the room till you have to jump a gap to a lower platform, which is where Pink Birdo is taking up residence. The danger in this fight is that the eggs can carry you over the cliff, so be sure to grab the eggs before you over thin air. Do this, throw it back at Birdo, and then do the procedure two more times. Grab the Crystal Ball, hop across the two gaps, and then enter the Hawkmouth to play in the Bonus Round. o-----------o | Level 2-2 | o-----------o This level requires a little more jumping skill than the previous one, so the best bet is to go after this level with Luigi. Head right to jump off a bone structure into a quicksand patch where a Cobrat will greet you. Following that you will have to get by some cacti that are blocking the path, as well as Red Beezos swooping from the sky to attack. After getting by a Cobrat in a Jar and a Red Shyguy, pick up the first grass tuft to find a Magic Potion, and then throw it down by the next Jar on the right. Enter the door, grab the Mushroom, grab the Cherries, and then the Coins. Head right across the quicksand till you find a short Jar with a Cobrat in it (be sure to avoid the charging Red Beezos), and then you need to take a running leap to clear as much of the super fast quicksand that is ahead of you. As soon as you land, start to jump with the A Button repeatedly so you will not sink a lot. Upon exiting the quicksand, go through the door you see underneath the cliff overhang. Upon entering, go right to the bottom level where one grass tuft is to get yourself a 1-Up Mushroom. Next you need to pluck one of the grass tufts just to your left to get a Bomb, and you then need to jump up a level (this will likely require a super jump) so you can put said Bomb by the wall so it will break apart. Now you will jump a gap to arrive at a small formation of blocks, and you will have to avoid three Pink Shyguys as you grab the middle grass tuft on the top level to find a Magic Potion. Drop the Magic Potion, enter sub-space, and then collect the Mushroom as well as many Coins as you can. Now you should make your way back outside of the cave from the way you came in to the cave. Upon exiting the cave, head right to face multiple Cobrats in their own respective Jars (grab one Cobrat, and then use it on the next one). After a few of these Cobrat Jars, a Pokey will join in the attack (he can walk right through Jars and cacti, so be aware). Once you clear the tall cactus, run right at top speed so you will run right underneath the two White Pansers on top of the block formation. Now you just need to jump up to the Vine, and then climb down to enter the next section of the level. This area needs a dig through the sand (press the B Button), and you will have to dig for a bit, run across the level of sand you are on so the Red Shyguys behind you will not catch you, and be sure to watch out for the Ninji is jumping up the middle of the room. Once you reach the split in the path, go down the right path past some more Red Shyguys as well as a Grey Snifit. Once you reach the bottom where the door awaits, go through to face-off with your first Red Birdo! Upon entering the chamber, go right to find three Mushroom Blocks (grab one), and then head right past the gap till you are on the same level as Red Birdo. Now head left to come into contact with Red Birdo, and throw the Mushroom Block at her for the first hit. Now you have the choice of using the Mushroom Block again for the next couple of hits, or you can grab an egg from the shots of Birdo. Keep in mind that this incarnate of Birdo will shoot three projectiles at a time, and it will be a random mix of eggs and fireballs. After you get the three hits to gain access to the Crystal Ball, pick it up, and then go through the Hawkmouth to play in the Bonus Round. o-----------o | Level 2-3 | o-----------o A leaper of good quality will be needed here. There is one excellent opportunity for many Coins as well, so you have to choose between Mario and Luigi. Luigi will make the overall level easier, but Mario will provide more Coins for the Bonus Round. Head up the ladder, turn right, grab the first grass tuft you encounter to get yourself a Magic Potion, and then start off to the left. When you reach the platform with the Pink Shyguy, throw the Magic Potion down, enter sub-space, and then collect the Cherries and Mushroom only (do NOT pick any grass tufts). Now head back to the right past the ladder, jump the cacti, and then start to the right as you face multiple dive-bombing Red Beezos. Keep moving right till you see a door on a platform above you, at which point you will use a super jump of Luigi's to reach the platform, or you will need to use the Red Beezos as stepping stones to get up there with any other character. Now that you are inside, grab the first grass tuft on your right to get a Magic potion, which you should position beside the normal door before entering sub-space. Once inside, grab the Mushroom, and then exit sub-space. Now you just have to leave the room, re-enter it, enter sub-space, and then collect as many Coins as you can. Then you just need to repeat the steps just once more for another round of Coins, and then you are all ready to head back out into the main part of the level. If you want to have no enemy attacks coming your way when you head out, just pick the second grass tuft from the left of the door to get a Ripened Vegetable, and then exit. Repeat till you get a Stopwatch for your fifth Ripened Vegetable of the level, and then run out the door to the right like a wild man. Now you have to head right to find cacti hurdles while dodging the continual bombardment of Red Beezos until you reach the bones lying on the sand (be sure to watch out for quicksand as you go). Now you just have to jump across some small quicksand pools while collecting Cherries, and then you have to face a Cobrat and a Pokey after jumping past a tall cactus. Following that two-pronged attack, you will head right to enter a large pyramid. Go to the right when you appear inside the pyramid, fall above the Red Shyguys while collecting Cherries, and then go pull the grass tuft above the pit the Red Shyguys are stuck in to find a POW Block (use it right away so you might get a Heart for enemy kills). Head off the ledge to your left to fall down to a locked door, a Tweeter, and some diggable sand. Avoid the Tweeter, and then begin your descent down into the sand. Use your typical style of dig down for a while, and then run to the far side of the sand fill when the Red Shyguys above you are about to fall onto you. Keep going down till you see a door, which you need to enter. When you enter the room, time your jump onto the platform when the Spark is not in the way (you are safe from the Spark if you stand on the Key), and then grab the Key before you hightail it from the room. When you reappear, drop the key to get the Phanto to leave you alone for a bit, and then pick the Key up as you start to jump upwards. Anytime that the Phanto starts to draw near, throw the Key down to make it go away, and then require the Key so you can continue upwards. If you somehow lose the Key (like scroll it off the screen), then you can head back down to the Key room for another copy. Also be sure not to jump up from below the Key or you may get stuck for a little while (if this happens, hold LEFT or RIGHT and repeatedly press the A Button to jump out from underneath the Key). Once you reach the top of the sand fill, use the Key on the locked door to enter the next section of the pyramid. The next room has a small sand fill with Red Shyguys patrolling it as it protects some Cherries (grab some if you like to make a Starman appear). Following that is a White Panser and two Pink Shyguys on a sand fill in the shape of a pyramid. After that are two small cacti, followed by a Cobrat in a Jar, and then two more Cobrats in Jars guarding the Crystal Ball! Dispose of the Cobrats however you please (their pipes contain POW Blocks that are useful for this disposal), and then grab the Crystal Ball to force Hawkmouth to open his mouth to allow you into the Bonus Round. The one little thing is that you land in another room with the same Boss music you have faced before! Triclyde awaits you in this room, so listen up to the following strategy to get the easy kill. Head right to find six Mushroom Blocks arranged in a 2 X 3 design. Your first step is to stack the blocks up in a big column (1 X 6). Now get yourself on top of the column, take the top Mushroom Block, hop to the ledge on the right, jump up in the air slightly to the right so you can toss your Mushroom Block at Triclyde before pulling your player back onto the left of the ledge (that way the fireballs from Triclyde will harmlessly pass under you). Now you should grab another Mushroom Block, repeat the same song and dance, and then go back for one more Mushroom Block (take it between fireball volleys in your direction), and then clock the boss for the least hit so that snake will be knocked onto the endangered species list! A neat little trick to use if you are Luigi is to grab your Mushroom Block, hop over Triclyde, hit Triclyde from behind, and then super jump back out to repeat the process (this is a safer way to avoid fireballs). A recent e-mail from Wilson Lau states that if you grab the Tweeter that bounces in from the right where Triclyde is, and then chuck it past Triclyde so it hits the wall, and then it will fall onto Triclyde. The Tweeter will bounce off of Triclyde for three fast hits, and that will finish the triple-headed snake off super quickly! Thanks Wilson! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------World Three----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) This section will cover levels 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3. o-----------o | Level 3-1 | o-----------o A level with a few alternate paths to finishing it, but it does not require any great plucking skills. Princess Toadstool should get the nod here, although Luigi is a solid second choice for you as well. Right from the start you will head right, jump a small gap, and enter the door. Now you will see cloud platforms leading upwards, but we are going to do a free fall jump down the waterfall first. As you fall you need to stay in the middle of the screen so you will land on the ledges at the bottom. Enter the door, and then count off the first nine grass tufts before you pull the tenth grass tuft to get a Magic Potion. Now you can take the warp to World 5 (by going right to find the lone Jar where you will enter sub-space and go down the Jar), or you can set the Magic Potion in the middle of the multitude of grass tufts for a great amount of Coins. If you are going the Coin route, be sure to exit through the door you came through to the cave. Re-enter, and then count off the nine grass tufts before you pick the tenth for the Magic Potion so you can pick all those grass tufts for Coins in sub-space yet again. Now take the door on the right to get back to the start of the aforementioned cloud platforms. On the first screen, jump up the cloud platforms till the screen scrolls. Avoid the Pink Shyguy on this screen as you jump upwards until the screen scrolls yet again. The next two screens require the same thing as you jump upwards while avoiding the one Pink Shyguy who is in the way. This leaves one more screen to jump up to find a Pidgit on the next screen. Jump on top of him, pick him up, and then ride his carpet directly upwards. Head upwards past the Red Beezos (they will not have time to hit you if you are centred on the screen), and then start to climb the Vine when you reach it (you will hit the Vine right on if you are centred on the screen). When you arrive on the next screen, you can head left to take a shortcut with Princess Toadstool. Let the Pink Shyguy go on by as you climb up the Vine, and then take a running leap off of the left side of the cloud platform, making sure to hover so you will reach the far cloud platform where a door awaits. Upon entering it, pick a grass tuft to reveal a Bomb, use it on the wall to break a hole in it, and then jump over the top of the ceiling so you can go over to face Red Birdo. Otherwise you will head right to find some Mushroom Blocks and a Red Panser. Pick up a Mushroom Block, throw it at the Panser, and then jump down to the ledge where two grass tufts wave in the breeze. Pick up the left one to reveal a Magic Potion, which you should throw down beside yourself. Enter sub-space, collect the Mushroom, and then exit sub-space. Head left till you see a Mushroom Block, which you should pick up so you can toss it at the White Panser that is shooting fireballs at you. Take the Mushroom Block with you, use it on the Pink Shyguy that attacks as you land on the solid ground to the right, pick up the Mushroom Block, and then use it on the Blue Panser that is walking towards you from the right as it rains fiery pain from above. Now you should head down the ladder to grab the first grass tuft you come across to get a Magic potion, which you will take to the far left of the enclosed chamber and drop it. Enter sub-space to see the Mushroom fall down, so you will race up the ladder, head right, and then grab the Mushroom before time runs out on sub-space. When you return to the level, head back up the ladder, grab the Pink Shyguy, and throw it at the reincarnated Blue Panser. Now you just need to head right to jump a gap, and then enter the door to go into the chamber of Red Birdo. Here you will have Birdo in an enclosed space with two Mushroom Blocks stacked behind her, and a cliff to the left. You have a few options, but try to not get drawn over the cliff where you can fall to your death. After you deal Red Birdo the required three hits, grab the Crystal Ball before you go through the Hawksmouth to enter the Bonus Round! o-----------o | Level 3-2 | o-----------o A level that requires some well-rounded skills for most of the level, so Mario is the best choice. However, the boss fight will be easier with Luigi, but this is only if you struggle against Birdo. Head right from the Hawkmouth to encounter a Red Shyguy riding an Ostro (pluck the Red Shyguy if you like), and then continue right over the obstacles while dodging the now familiar Red Beezos. When you reach the two grass tufts, the Red Beezos should lay off of you, and you should grab an Unripened Vegetable from the ground to use on the Red Panser that is in your way. Head right to find two Ostros with Red Shyguys patrolling around two POW Blocks, but you should jump them and run past the POW Blocks. Go right over the standing logs, grab the Grey Snifit, and then take it right to use on another Grey Snifit. Jump onto the green hill, grab the left-most grass tuft to reveal a Magic Potion which you will drop immediately to enter sub-space to get a Mushroom and some Coins. When you return, go down to the grass tufts on your left, find a Bomb, and then lay it on the brown rocks so it blow open, allowing you underground. Go down the ladder to your left, jump the gap, and when you reach the top level of the two floors, grab the farthest to the left grass tuft for a Bomb, which you will run right with to fall down to the lower level to place against the breakable wall in your way. Climb the ladder, grab the grass tuft on the right for another Bomb, drop down to the next level, and then run left to put the bomb by the next wall. Now you just need to use the remaining two grass tufts to Bomb through the remaining two walls, and then deal with three charging Tweeters before taking the ladder out of the cave. When you emerge to the outside again, run left through the vollies of the Red Panser, and then take the ladder down into the cave below. This is a quick little spelunking journey as you jump from platform to platform (timing your jump onto a Pink Shyguy on the third platform) before taking the ladder to the topside once more. Run to the left as you see Red Beezos coming from both directions (just run and they will not touch you), so take the next ladder down into the cave again. Now you will see three grass tufts sitting by a ladder, and you will pluck one to reveal a Bomb. Now walk to the left side of the platform, and wait for the bomb to flash for about 1.5 seconds before you drop the Bomb down the hole. Once you blow a big enough hole in the wall for you to get through (exit the cave and then re-enter to reset the grass tufts for bombs), head left to go up the ladder, but hop off onto the high ledge on the left. Go down to find a Magic Potion, drop it, and then pick the far left grass tuft for a Bomb, which you will use on the breakable floor on the right. Enter sub-space to pull some Coins and get the Mushroom before exiting sub-space, and then heading right to go up the ladder to the outside, where you will go through the door to enter Red Birdo's lair. Here you will find Red Birdo to your left upon entering, and you can use the Mushroom Blocks on him only if you are Luigi (you need to be able to get up to his level with them). Otherwise you need to use the usual tactics of Red Birdo fighting, grab the Crystal Ball, grab a Mushroom Block to fall through the floor, and then head right to go through the Hawkmouth to enter the Bonus Round. o-----------o | Level 3-3 | o-----------o This level requires some great leaping ability to make your life easier, so Luigi gets the nod here. Head out of the starting cave, head right over the barriers while dodging the Albatoss paratrooper Bob-Ombs, and grab the POW Block to throw down immediately to clear any enemies out that are touching the ground. Next you should grab the right-most grass tuft for a Magic Potion, which you will throw to the left, and then enter sub-space for a Mushroom and some Coins. Upon returning to the level, head right through the Bob-Omb barrage and the Red Shyguy/Ostro combo to find a door on the far right, which you should enter with all due haste. Upon entering, grab the first grass tuft to your left to get a Turtle Shell, which you will throw to your left. Immediately grab the next grass tuft to your left for a Magic Potion, which you will take left behind the Turtle Shell until you reach a ladder. Drop the Magic Potion near the ladder on the left side of it, enter sub-space, climb the ladder, and then grab the Mushroom before your sub-space time runs out. Now you need to climb the ladder, jump right across the gaps past the patrolling Sparks to reach the door, which you need to go through. Now you need to climb up the paths while avoiding the Red Shyguys produced by the vases (Luigi can super jump from one level to the next). When you reach the door, go through it to find a Key guarded by a Spark, so grab the Key and then exit the room. Now you have to move down the same Red Shyguy producing vase area you just came through. Be sure to drop the Key when the Phanto gets too close, and when you finally exit this room, take the Key to the left while avoiding Sparks, Ninjis, and the Phanto until you pass the ladder to find the locked door for you to pass into the next section of the level. You will not have to jump up the platforms past the Spark to reach a big ledge, where you will head left to get on the low platform to hop up to the ladder. After climbing up the ladder, wait for the Spark to go off the screen, at which point you fall to the cross platform, and then hop your way up off the screen. now that you are on the blue ledge, jump right to climb the ladder, and then hop off when the patrolling Spark moves by. Now you should hop up to the door above you, and then enter it. Start climbing up the ledges while avoiding the two Tweeters, and then head up the chain past the White Panser fireballs. Once you reach the very top of the chain, jump your way across the top of the chains so you will stay out of range of the arcing fireball vollies of the two White Pansers (if you have Luigi, you just need to hold UP-RIGHT and the B Button to get by this section). Climb up the chain, get by the Grey Snifit, and then go through the door. Now you need to go past the Sparks to use a super jump to reach the top of one of the floating ledges (still avoiding all the Sparks at the same time no less). Once you get up to the ledge, go to the semi-enclosed blue block structure to find a POW Block to use to kill all the Sparks (likely get a Heart for doing so). Now head up the blue platforms as you avoid the Sparks that patrol about half of them. Climb the ladder to the door, go through it, and then pluck the grass tuft for a Turtle Shell. Throw it along the elevated path as you follow it to see it kill two stationary jumping Ninjis, followed by three mobile Ninjis before you have to jump two gaps to reach the Crystal Ball. As you should now expect, the Hawkmouth does not take you to the Bonus Round here, but rather it takes you to the Boss Room! You fall down into the Mouser room to battle yet another deranged Mouse with a bomb fetish. Anyway, head past the chains to the right to find our bomb-lobbing friend Mouser, along with a Spark circling the perimeter of the room. Your goal is to catch a bomb thrown my Mouser, put the bomb on the platform Mouser patrols (usually on the opposite end of where Mouser is so he will walk into the blast), and then go catch another bomb. Mouser will blow the Spark into many pieces at some point during the melee. You need to tag Mouser with five big bomb blasts before he will bite the dust, and you can move onto World Four. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------World Four------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) This section will cover levels 4-1, 4-2, and 4-3. o-----------o | Level 4-1 | o-----------o You will notice that you have arrived in sub artic temperatures, so head right off the start with the knowledge that your traction is less than 100%. A Flurry will skate right at you, so jump him, and then run past the two Trouters hopping out of the water before going to the lower ledge of ice. Three Flurries will attack on this ledge, so go right to the higher ledge where yet another Flurry will attack you when you jump up. Go right to jump down to the lower ledge, run underneath it to the grass tuft, pull the Magic Potion up, and then hop out of the way of any charging Flurry. Now you should drop the Magic Potion on the left-most block of the elevated platform you just ran under, and then enter sub-space to get the Mushroom and a few Coins. When you return, continue on your way to the right past the Flurry horde (much like one of my families who are named "Fleury" oddly enough ^_^). Once you pass a Trouter by a part where the ice blocks descend like a stair case, you need to hop the gap. Upon landing on the rock formation, grab the second grass tuft from the left to get a Magic Potion, and then immediately drop it. Enter sub-space, get the Mushroom on you right, and then pull grass tufts for Coins. Now you will need to drop down over the edge of the ledge, and then pull to the left to land by a lone grass tuft. Pull the grass tuft to reveal a Rocket! The Rocket will drop your character down on an ice ledge, and Boss Music will start (no actual Boss to fight though, at least not a single Boss)! Go right to see your first Red Shyguy/Autobomb pairing, and then continue onwards over the rock formation. After jumping the frozen vegetable growths, two Flurries and a Red Shyguy on an Autobomb will attack, so you are advised to use princess Toadstool's hovering ability to clear the whole bunch before you take off running away from them. The next part has a Flurry stuck between frozen vegetation, and then another Flurry will greet you on the far side of said vegetation. As you approach the stairs in the rock, an Autobomb with a Red Shyguy will attack, so wait for it to come down to your level before you hop it and head up the stairs. Jump off the tall cliff next to grab a Flurry, and then head right to another rock formation with stairs, and then throw the Flurry at the approaching Autobomb with the Red Shyguy riding shotgun. Now all you have to do is go up the rest of the stairs to grab the Crystal Ball before heading into the Hawksmouth for the Bonus Round! o-----------o | Level 4-2 | o-----------o This level has some high leaps to make, so Luigi is a solid choice. Princess Toadstool and Mario are also good choices, but Luigi is the hands down winner for this level. Head right from the Hawksmouth to climb the Vine up to the next section of the level. This section will present a new enemy to you: Pink Beezos. They fly straight fro one side of the screen to the other side. They also fly in large groups, so for the purpose of this walkthrough, I will try to list what "level" they are coming at you from (this will be explained in the diagrams below). LEVELS OF FLIGHT + |7 -> + |6 -> + |5 -> + |4 -> + |3 -> L + U |2 -> I + G |1 -> I + So this means that when the walkthrough lists numbers for the flight groups, you can try to plan your path through, ok? ^_^ You will see a couple Pink Beezos buzz overhead as you climb up, and then you will head right to see a solo Pink Beezo at level 1. Next you will face a flight pattern at levels: 3, 2, 5, and 1. Next up is Pink Beezos at flight levels: 2, 1, 2, 6, and 1. You will then face two Flurries with a Pink Beezo at flight level 6, followed up by a Pink Beezo squadron flying at levels: 3, 2, 4, 1, 6, and 1. Once you land on the lower level ledge, a Pink Beezo flies at flight level 2, and then one at level 1. Once you reach the next ledge, you face three pink Beezos and a Flurry before you get to the door which goes to the next area. Immediately head left to the last whale, and then pluck the far left grass tuft for a Magic Potion. Enter sub-space, carefully hop to the whale's tail for your Mushroom, and then exit sub-space without collecting a Coin. Now go back to the door you came from, go through it, and then re-enter once more. Now you should go left to get the Magic Potion again, and then head right over the whales till you arrive at a couple rock formations with three grass tufts each. Drop the Magic potion on the second one, and then enter sub-space to collect some Coins. When you exit sub-space, grab the solo grass tuft to your right for another Magic Potion, which you will drop down on the same platform as the one you just did (repeat for Coins). The other option you have with the Magic Potions is to go for the Warp Zone to World 6. Take the Magic Potion across the whales till you see a Jar. You have two choices for reaching the Jar: The simpler way to do it (if you are using Luigi) is to take a running leap off the whale with the third Pink Shyguy out of the last three Whales, or you can go above the Jar, past a Flurry, and use the Whale on the other side of the Jar to reach it (the jump is much shorter). Throw the Magic Potion to the ground, enter sub-space, and head down the Jar. Otherwise you have to head across the whales while avoiding the Pink Shyguys and the Pink Snifit until you get onto the ice ledge above you, and then head right past a Flurry to arrive at a grass tuft once you jump the gap. Pull the grass tuft to enter a Rocket, which carries you off the screen to the next segment of the level. When you land on the ice ledge via the Rocket, head right to pull the Red Shyguy off of the Autobomb. Let the Autobomb go on it's own merry way, throw the Red Shyguy to your left, and the grab the Magic Potion from the grass tuft. Jump on top of it so you can ride across the spikes (be sure to get the Cherries along the way). Once you reach the far side, drop the Magic Potion on the solid land, and then enter sub-space to get your second Mushroom. Once you come out of sub-space, go past the Porcupo to go through the door to face Red Birdo! Jump over the rock formation, and then hop down to the lower ledges to find Red Birdo. Lots of holes to fall in, plus the danger of Red Birdo triple vollies, and then you have to consider the slippery surface of the ice. Your job is to jump the first two shots, grab the third one if it is an egg, and then try to hit Birdo with said egg. This is a battle where it pays to be patient. Once you beat Red Birdo, grab the Crystal Ball, and then go right over the gaps to enter the Hawksmouth to get to the Bonus Round! o-----------o | Level 4-3 | o-----------o If you are going to take a shortcut in this level, take Princess Toadstool. Otherwise you would be better served by Toad or Mario for their speed and plucking skills. Go up the ladder to the door, and once outside, grab the left-most grass tuft to get a Magic Potion. Ignore Pink Birdo for now, and head left till you reach the frozen vegetation, where you will drop the Magic Potion on top of the highest point of the frozen vegetation. Enter sub-space to collect your Mushroom, and then go back through the door you just came out of previously. Come back out, take the Magic Potion once more, and then get on the left side of Pink Birdo. When she shoots one egg at you, ride that egg across the water till you are deposited on a rock formation. Now you will drop the Magic Potion on the top tier of the rock formation, and then enter sub-space for some Coin collecting. Now head right over the gap to the walkway, and then go right to find the next door. Now if you chose to take the shortcut, run past the door, jump into the air, and then hover your way across the open water till you land on another walkway. Ignore the first door, and go right till you see the second door (watch out for the Pink Beezo). Join up with the walkthrough four paragraphs from now. Enter the door to find some ice ledges that are patrolled by Flurries. Try to make your moves slowly so you will not slip off the ledges, and you also need to be ready to dodge the diving Flurries. After going up a few screens, a row of spikes will show their pointy selves (try to not fall off now!). After climbing all the way to the top of the tower, you will find a door to the outside. When you get outside, go right to the first grass tuft, grab it to reveal a Magic Potion, which you will take left to the cloud platforms. Now get onto the parapet of the towers, and then jump to the right till you are over a different door, at which point you drop the Magic Potion so you can enter sub-space. Carefully jump to the Mushroom on the left on the parapet, and then go back to get a Coin from the grass tuft. After all of that work, jump down from the parapet, and enter the door you made your entrance to sub-space over. Upon entering this tower, jump onto the Red Shyguy so you can ride it onto the spikes (the Pink Shyguy will not fall off the ledge). After you fall off the second set of spikes, you can pluck the Red Shyguy, and try to catch the Cherries as you fall down onto an ice platform with a door. Enter the door, go left or right to bait the two Flurries from the platform above you to your level, jump to their former platform, and then go grab the Key. Quickly run to the exit while the Phanto is still coming to life. Upon exiting, go down through the ice ledges while you avoid/kill Flurries (your Key makes an excellent weapon, just be sure to not toss it away). If you lose your Key, head upwards to the Key room to get a new one. Anyway, once you reach the bottom, go through the locked door with your Key. Head right till you find a door, which you should enter before the charging Pink Beezo can run you through. Once inside the room, go right to find the Crystal Ball, grab it, wait for the Flurry to kill itself (if it followed you), and then go through the Hawksmouth to enter the Bonu... Oh! We have to fight the Boss first! I forget these things sometime! Fryguy the huge Fireball flies around the screen in a figure eight pattern. He will continually spit smaller fireballs down at the ground, so be sure to stay high to avoid the shots (just be ready to jump when he buzzes close to your platform). Your first job is to open up a hole in the middle of high platform in the middle of the screen. Take the Mushroom Block with you as you climb up the platform steps as you dodge Fryguy and his projectiles (remember that the screen wraps around, so you have a place to cut through to get away from Fryguy). Once up top, drop the Mushroom Block through the hole as Fryguy passes underneath you to score a hit. Then you should take the other Mushroom Block from your platform, climb back up, and hit him once more. Now you have to go down to the bottom to get another Mushroom Block, bring it back up top, and then drop it on Fryguy to cause him to explode! Unfortunately he splits into four small fireballs, all of which must be extinguished individually (you can kill more than one at once though). The best bet you have is to build a column of Mushroom Blocks as you fight Fryguy so you can stand on top of it, out of reach of the fireballs, and drop Mushroom Blocks from above. Be warned that with each one killed, the remaining fireballs will gain the ability to move faster, jump more often, and to jump further than before. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------World Five------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) This section will cover levels 5-1, 5-2, and 5-3. o-----------o | Level 5-1 | o-----------o Without a doubt this level calls for a tremendous leaper. If you ignore this warning, then you will have to suffer through the difficulty of near impossible jumps. Luigi is the best choice by far, although Princess Toadstool could work as well. Head right to see an Ostro with a Red Shyguy, which you will pluck so you can use it on the White Panser to your right. Net you will have to drop down to the lower ledge, and then jump left over the gaps till you reach the door. Upon entering the cave, go pluck the second grass tuft for a Magic Potion which you will drop right there, and then enter sub-space to collect six Coins. Now you should go back to the door, re-enter, and then repeat the procedure for six more Coins. Following that, repeat the exit/re-enter to get another Magic Potion, but keep that one with you for a bit. Jump across the gap, and then use the rolling logs to cross the next expanse of waterfall by using the rolling logs (avoid the Trouters as you go along). Next gap requires your character to use the Trouters as stepping stones (try to make a big leap off the first one with Luigi to skip the rest of the jumps from fish to fish). The next gap has a simple rolling log jump, but that is followed by a Trouter to Trouter jump set to get to the high ledge where a 1-Up Mushroom and a Magic Potion sit. Use the Magic Potion you have immediately when on your high perch, and then enter sub-space to get your Mushroom from the lower platform on your left.' Now you must pluck the left grass tuft for the 1-Up Mushroom, and then pick up the Magic Potion so you can head right across a few easy jumps across some small gaps via rolling logs. When you reach the second in the set of two rolling logs, jump onto the roof, and then drop the Magic Potion down the right hole before entering sub-space to get your Mushroom. Now enter the door to face your very first Green Birdo! You see Green Birdo on the platform above to start, so you should run right underneath him till you find the Mushroom Block (pick it up). Now head left to throw it at him, and then dodge his three fireballs before getting the Mushroom Block again to hit him. Repeat these steps once more, and you will get your Crystal Ball to open up the Hawksmouth so you can play the Bonus Round. o-----------o | Level 5-2 | o-----------o This level is easier if Princess Toadstool or Luigi is used, but any character will have little trouble getting through the level themselves. Head right to find the ladder out of your cave, and then go right to get by three Hoopsters patrolling a tree. This is immediately followed by Ostro with a Red Shyguy riding shotgun (dispose of the menace), and then pluck the Ripened Vegetable to clear the Hoopsters above you out of your way. Then you should head right till you hit a Jar, at which point, you will head inside to find your prize. Use the bomb that the Red Shyguy is walking around to blow open the floor, and then you need to take the Magic Potion from the right grass tuft before you exit the Jar. Drop the Magic Potion to the right of the Jar, enter sub-space, and then grab a couple of Coins before you go after the Mushroom on the lower platform. Now you will jump down with a vegetable in hand to face three Porcupos and a Ostro with a Red Shyguy rider in a big group (one throw will wipe most of the group out), and then head right as little further to use the two Hoopsters here to get onto the high ledge that is past them. Next up is another Hoopster assist to get to another high ledge, and that is followed up by the use of a Hoopster with an assist from a super jump to get past the Red Panser. Grab a POW Block out of the ground, and then go use it on the right to kill the enemies underneath the Vine. Climb the Vine to the next section of the level. Note that you can get the second Mushroom here, but you need to haul the potion from much earlier in the level. If you decide to grab it, look fo rit on the "little mountain" with three trees decorating the landscape. Climb up the first screen, and then on the second screen, climb through the two Grey Snifits shots. The next screen challenges you with a Hoopster on the right Vine (so switch to the left Vine), and then the fourth screen has a Hoopster on the left Vine (so switch back to the right Vine). The fifth screen will have a Hoopster above you, so switch to the left Vine once more, and then climb up to the sixth screen where you can jump to the right to enter the door. Go right to grab the POW Block, and then you will get to free-fall down the narrow corridor, but avoid the spikes. Use the diagram below to plan your descent. __________ |KEY | | | |^ - Spike | |X - Wall | |PW - POW | | Block | | | |__________| XXXXXXXXPWXXXXXXXX X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X^ ^X XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX XX^ ^XX XXX XXX XXX ^XXX XXX XXXX XXX XXXX XXX XXXX XXX XXXX XXX XXXX XXX XXXX XXX XXXX XXX ^ XXXX XXX X XXXX XXX X^ XXXX XXX^ XX XXXX XXXX XX ^XXXX XXXX XX XXXXX XXXX XX XXXXX XXXX X XXXXX XXXX X XXXXX XXXX X XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX^ XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX^ XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX^ XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX ^XXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX ^XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXXX XXXX XXXXX XXXX XXXXX XX XXX XX XXX X XX X XX X X X X X X X X X X X X X ^X X XX X XXX X XXX X XX X^ XX XXXXX X X XXXXX Anyway, be sure to go to the right side as you fall near the end so you fall by the door to take on Red Birdo. Upon entering, go jump over the gap, grab the Trouter, throw it at Red Birdo, and then draw an egg over the gap to where you can pick it up without being shot at anymore. take it to hit Red Birdo, and then just get one more egg to throw at Red Birdo for the victory, the Crystal Ball, and then the passage through the Hawksmouth to get into the Bonus Round. o-----------o | Level 5-3 | o-----------o If you wish to take the easy way out of the level, choose Luigi to reach the Warp Zone to World 7 right at the start. Otherwise, Mario is your best choice because of his all round skills. Head right to find the ladder out of your cave, and then go right. If you are warping, use a super jump up to the high ledge, find the Magic Potion, and then go into sub-space to take the Warp Zone to World 7 via the Jar. Otherwise you will head right to find Cherries and a Magic Potion from the first grass tuft (hold onto it). Be aware of the Bob-Ombs raining from the skies, so head right till you see a patch of grass tufts, where you will drop the Magic Potion, so you can enter sub-space to collect some Coins as well as get a Mushroom. Upon reappearing, grab the left-most grass tuft to get a Magic Potion (hold onto it). Head right as you continue to avoid the paratrooping Bob-Ombs from the Albatosses, and when you see three Bob-Ombs already on the ground, run and jump them so you can draw them to a wall that they will blow up the wall. If they will not line up with the wall correctly, drop your Magic potion beside the wall, and then get a Bob-Omb in your hands and throw it at the wall as they start to explode to break a hole in the wall. now you will enter sub-space to collect the other Mushroom. Upon exiting, pluck the Bomb from the ground on your right, and then blow the wall up to your right while you dance around the Bob-Ombs that are attacking till they blow themselves to pieces. Head down the ladder to your next challenge. Upon coming down the ladder, head left to pass two Bob-Ombs before jumping a gap by using the blue platform. Use the Turtle Shell on the log bridge to kill the Bob-Ombs, and then jump the gap before jumping past the White Panser to get to the door it is guarding. Go down to pull the Mushroom Block to go down to the next screen, where you should put the Mushroom Block on top of the Red Shyguy vase so they can not get out. Pull the Mushroom Block on the right, fall down, pull the next Mushroom Block (making sure the Spark will not get ya), and then deposit the Mushroom Block on the vase that produces Red Shyguys. Pull the next Mushroom Block to get to the bottom of this chamber, and head up the left side of the chamber while dodging Sparks and loose Bob-Ombs. now head up to the next section where Blue Pansers will walk down the segmented platforms while zeroing in on your character. After passing the two Blue Pansers, you will find a door to the next section of the level. Head right to find some Ripened Vegetables, so pick about three so you can get a Stopwatch in a bit, but first you have to pass a Pink Snifit. Now hijack the flying carpet from Pidgit, and then fly across the gap to find more Ripened Vegetables. As soon as the Stopwatch appears, quickly hop across the log platforms before the Red Beezos are allowed to start attacking you. Once you get past the Pink Shyguys, take on Red Birdo in the usual fashion with three hits to get the Crystal Ball! Go to the Hawksmouth to enter the B... the B... well you know it is a Boss Fight! You enter Clawgrip 's lair, head right till you find the big mean claw hurtling his huge boulders. Now stay in the lower part with the wall at your back, and then jump on top of a hurtled rock before you pick it up. Now wait for the next rock to fly, and then quickly hop up towards Clawgrip to throw your rock at him before he launches his next rock (this will likely hit you if you are not fast enough). Now return to the same area as you were before, and get yourself another rock. An alternate way to attack Clawgrip is to dodge all the rocks flying down at you, and then go after Clawgrip when he starts moving back and forth across the platform rapidly. Repeat these steps until you have hit the mean old crab five times to send him out to the restaurants as the special of the day! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------World Six------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10)This section will cover levels 6-1, 6-2, and 6-3. o-----------o | Level 6-1 | o-----------o This level is a nice hodge podge of obstacles, but there are no great areas to pick up lots of Coins. This means Luigi is the logical choice, or Mario if you prefer a little bit more speed. Start off to the right over the slow sinking quicksand to find a Cobrat, which you should grab, and then go right onto the first bone structure to throw the Cobrat at a Pink Shyguy on the next bone structure (it will likely bounce into the next Cobrat to kill it as well). Next you will find a Cobrat in a Jar, which you will remove so you can go into the Jar to get the Magic Potion contained within. Once you exit the pipe, jump to the bone structure on your right, drop the Magic Potion, enter sub-space, and then get the Mushroom that falls into the quicksand. When you return, Pokey will appear to attack you, so hop over past him and then go right to fast sinking quicksand where two Cobrats and a Pink Shyguy on a bone structure attack. Next you will face two Cobrats, each in their own Jar (their Jars contain a Turtle Shell), and following that are two more Cobrats in the dirt. After hopping up into the cacti group, grab the first grass tuft for a Ripened Vegetable, which you will use on the Pokey, and then grab the second grass tuft for a Magic Potion. Now you will have to get past a Pokey, and then use lower cacti to jump the higher cacti as you have to dodge the shots of an entrapped Blue Panser. Once you get past these obstacles, drop your Magic Potion by the four grass tufts, enter sub-space, and then get the Mushroom and Coins. Enter the door, and you will find a huge row of Jars, some of which with Cobrats inside. Go right till you find a Cobrat, which you should pick up. Now go left till you see the first Jar covered by a Mushroom Block, which you will then throw the Cobrat at the Jar to kill the Cobrat hiding inside, and then go down into the Jar to dig through the sand to the bottom to find a 1-Up among the grass tufts at the bottom of the Jar. Now you will head right (count Jars as you go) till you reach the fourteenth Jar, which you will go down. Once inside, start digging down to the bottom of the Jar (you will know it is the right Jar as a Phanto will be visible in the sane. Grab the Key, make your way out of the Jar, and then head right to find the locked door (be sure to dump the Key when Phanto comes screaming through the air after you). Upon entering this room, you will find three Mushroom Blocks in a row, so grab the second one in line to stack on the one to your right. Now Green Birdo will not be able to shoot his fireballs at you directly, so you should grab the first Mushroom Block, go up on the rock formation, throw the Mushroom Block at Green Birdo. Then you can go back down to get the next Mushroom Block, and repeat. Do it one more time and you will kill Green Birdo without taking a hit. Grab the Crystal Ball and then go through the Hawksmouth to the Bonus Round. o-----------o | Level 6-2 | o-----------o This level has no real chances for Coins, and you will be making some hard jumps from Albatoss to Albatoss. Princess Toadstool or Luigi should get the nod here. Head right to go outside, pluck the Ripened Vegetable, and then hitch a ride on the Albatoss coming from the left (be sure to jump the Albatoss coming from the right side of the screen). When you see the Red Panser, throw the Ripened Vegetable at it to clear the path. Now you should charge up your super jump, and when the cliff ahead draws near, jump onto the top of it. Grab the left grass tuft to reveal a Magic Potion, which you will immediately drop so you can enter sub-space to get a Coin and a Mushroom. When you reappear, grab the grass tuft to reveal a Ripened Vegetable, and then hop on the Albatoss coming from the right. As you head back, three Pink Beezos will shoot on by, and then you will have to jump the fireballs of the reincarnated Red Panser. When you get close to the starting point of this section, a slightly higher flying Albatoss will come from the left (jump onto it). Now you will start back to the right, where you will pass over the Red Panser without taking a hit, and then you will have to jump between one to three Pink Beezos. After passing the rock formation where you got the Ripened Vegetable you hold now, you will have to use the Ripened Vegetable to kill the top one of three Albatoss flying in a column formation. Next up are an Albatoss that you need to leap over, a second one will pass over head, and the third one will need to be jumped/ducked. From there you have a free pass to the door, but first grab the grass tuft to revel a stopwatch (if you have been grabbing all the grass tufts so far). Quickly go through the door. Quickly run right to find a frozen Green Birdo. Grab the Mushroom Block, throw it at Green Birdo, and then grab it again to throw at Green Birdo once more. At this point the stopwatch will wear off, but you only have to get one more hit to kill Green Birdo. Grab her Crystal Ball, and then go through the Hawksmouth to get your ONE shot at extra lives via the Bonus Round. o-----------o | Level 6-3 | o-----------o This level has two ways to the finish, and how you are going to go to the finish will influence your choice of character. If you take the mega-fast shortcut path, choose whichever character you are most comfortable using. If you are going through the long path, choose someone who has good jumping skills because of the fast sinking quicksand (Luigi or Mario are best choices). For the Shortcut, this paragraph is for you. After coming out of the cave you start in, head left to find a big wall with quicksand flowing underneath it. Walk into the quicksand till you are right against the wall, and then sink till your character just disappears underneath the top level of sand. Now start to jump while holding LEFT, and you will move under the wall to reach a door on the far side. After going through, jump across the cloud platforms, and then enter the Pyramid to cut over 90 % of the level off! Otherwise you will head right from the start to pluck the first grass tuft for a Magic Potion. Next you have to jump through the quicksand past the two bone structures (the second will have a Pink Shyguy), and then jump into the quicksand beside the short cactus where you will drop the Magic Potion. Enter sub-space to grab your Mushroom, and then when you exit, go right past the Pokey. Next you have to get by a Cobrat, a Pink Shyguy, and another Cobrat before making it to solid ground where you head right to find to enter a cave. Go right to find vases that spit out non-stop Bob-Ombs, so run through this area quickly (you know you are past the danger when you hit the diggable sand). Use a Bomb on the wall to your right, pick the other grass tuft for another Bomb, and then run right till you see the next wall, which you will throw the Bomb at to blow it open. Next you will pick the left-most grass tuft for a Bomb, which you will use on the wall to your right (not the hole), and then pick the next left-most grass tuft for another Bomb to use on the hole blocked with two pieces of bombable debris. Now grab the left-most grass tuft on your platform for one more Bomb to blow the hole open, and then go back for the grass tuft we passed up earlier for a Magic Potion, which you will place near the hole we blew open. Enter to grab Coins and the Mushroom below in the hole. Now you have to finish your trek right to go down a ladder, continue right to the Vine, which you will climb up to enter the next section of the level. Climb up the Vine, get off of it, get onto the Vine on the right when the Hoopster is down at the bottom, climb up, and then jump to the vacant Vine on the left. Head over to the Vine on your left, climb up to the next screen, and then head up to the top of the Vine where you will hop to the cloud platform on your right. Go onto the Vine on the far right to climb up to the next screen, where you just have to get onto the Vine just to your left to climb off this screen to come to a cloud platform with a Red Shyguy. Head up the Vine on the left to find a Grey Snifit and a Hoopster trying to block you. Climb up your Vine between the vollies from the Grey Snifit, and then time your jump to the next Vine when the Hoopster is below you. Next you have to climb past another Grey Snifit to go off the screen to find a cloud platform (which you jump to). Now jump across to the right Vine, then to the next one on the right, climb it, and then jump across to the Vines on your left. Now climb left from Vine to Vine till you have to wait till the Hoopster is below you, and then climb up his Vine to the top where you hop off onto a cloud platform. Now you should head up the Vine on the left, and this will take you up to two jumps to the left to new Vines when your current one runs out. The next Vine goes up till you have to jump to a Vine on the right, and then do this one more time to get to the Vine that takes you out of this segment of the level. Head right to jump a gap, and then enter a pyramid. When you appear, head right to grab a Mushroom Block, then jump onto the Hawksmouth to throw the Mushroom Block at Red Birdo from below for the first hit. Now go onto Red Birdo's level to grab eggs or use the Mushroom Block for the next two hits to get the Crystal Ball to open the Hawksmouth and gain access to the... WELL YOU KNOW IT IS GONNA BE A BOSS FIGHT, NOT THE BONUS ROUND BY NOW, DON'T YA! Triclyde is to your right, but stop when you see a drop to some Mushroom Blocks. Now wait till you catch the rhythm of the fireballs shot by Triclyde, and then fall down, followed by a quick jaunt to the Mushroom Block closest to the pit (the Triclyde can not shoot you there). Now you should get onto the platform between Triclyde shots, and then toss the Mushroom Block at the three-headed snake. Go back and get another Mushroom block to repeat the process once more. After you have scored three hits, you will have put the permanent squash on this demon snake, and you will be able to move onto the final world, and get your hands on Wart! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------World Seven----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11)This section will cover levels 7-1, and 7-2. o-----------o | Level 7-1 | o-----------o This level will be much easier with a decent leaper, but you can cut off a section of the level by using Luigi. Mario is best choice overall, but Luigi is the choice for shortcutting. For the shortcut, do the following steps. Exit the hole you start in, and quickly stand on the column to your left (immediately entering into a crouch). As soon as it is charged, jump up into the air to land on the Albatoss coming to the left. Now you can jump the columns to get to the Rocket. Rejoin the walkthrough in five paragraphs time. If you are going the slow route, head out of the hole to the right to get by two Bob-Ombs and a mobile Ninji to a POW Block (use it right away to kill them off). Now go by the grass tufts to continue through more paratrooper Bob-Ombs from Albatosses and a stationary jumping Ninjis to a solo grass tuft on a column. Grab the Magic Potion from the column, and then head back to the left to drop the Magic Potion on the ledge with three grass tufts. Enter sub-space to get your Mushroom, but do NOT take any Coins. When you return, head right past Bob-Ombs and the stationary jumping Ninji to jump a gap where you find a Mushroom Block. Use that Mushroom Block to "block" (get it... hee hee) the vase where the Red Shyguys pour out of. Now enter the door to the right to find two Sparks patrolling small platforms, and a ledge loaded with grass tufts. Get onto the ledge with the grass tufts, pluck the third from the right grass tuft to get the Magic Potion, and then drop it immediately. Enter sub-space to collect your Mushroom as well as some Coins. Now exit the room, re-enter, and then go into sub-space again for a second set of Coins. Go outside, jump on top of the roof, and then hop on the passing Albatoss (it is going left). As you go, be sure to jump any Albatosses that get in your way, and when you go past the starting area where you have to hop up and over the columns in your path. Keep going till you reach the grass tuft on the far left where you get a Rocket to ride to the next area. Head right to grab the charging Tweeter, and then turn the Tweeter loose on the Grey Snifit. Continue right past the Grey Snifits, and then go under the cloud platform you were just under. Now you will have to walk through the cloud platforms while avoiding the loose Red Shyguys. When you get onto the lower cloud platform, go right to grab the Grey Snifit, and throw it to the ledge above. Now head right till you see a Pink Shyguy, which you will draw back to the left, where you will wait above it till you can grab the Pink Shyguy. Now go right again, and jump up and throw it at the mobile Ninji to clear the platform. Next you should run off your platform at full speed so you will clear the Grey Snifit, and then throw the Grey Snifit over the side before jumping to the ladder to get to the next segment of the level. On this screen, just jump straight up the cloud platforms, and when the screen scrolls, use a Mushroom Block to kill the Sparks. Climb the ladder to the next section, where you will have to pull one of the Mushroom Blocks from the left or right side of the Mushroom Block set so you can kill both of the Sparks. Now you should use your super jump (in conjunction with Mushroom Blocks if necessary), and make your way past the two Hoopsters up the ladders. Once you reach the one single ladder going upwards, be sure to time your ascent past the bullets of the Grey Snifits. Enter the door at the top to take on Green Birdo! Upon entering, go right to grab the Mushroom Block, and then jump to the platform on your right so you can toss it at Green Birdo. Now you will need to dodge Green Birdo's shots, and when it stops, go grab the Mushroom Block so you can toss it at Green Birdo, and then do the same song and dance one more time to get the Crystal Ball. Then you just need to go through the Hawksmouth to enter your last Bonus Round, and then off to Wart's Fortress! o-----------o | Level 7-2 | o-----------o Since this level will not have a Bonus Round, plucking skills are not a large factor in character selection. I suggest you take Luigi, or possibly Mario so you will have the best skills of all categories. Also keep in mind that there are two Paths to take before joining back together at the same point, so you will have both paths available to you in this walkthrough (they will be listed one after the other). Start off by going up near the Grey Snifit, charge a super sump, land on top of the Grey Snifit, and then use him on his brother down below you. Now you should hop past the next Grey Snifit, ignore the stationary hopping Ninji above the entrance, and go ahead inside. The floor is a conveyor belt that pulls right, so go forward slowly, and then time the arrival of a Red Shyguy with an opening overhead that you can jump into so you do not get hit. Once you get past the Red Shyguy producing vase, and then on the next conveyor belt (it moves to the right) to face three stationary jumping Ninjis. Following that you will hop down to another conveyor belt (moving right) where you will face an endless stream of Bob-Ombs from another vase, so get by it quickly to the next conveyor belt (it moves right). When you see the two Red Pansers, you have reached the crossroads for the level, so they will be labeled OPTION ONE and OPTION TWO. ========== OPTION ONE ========== This way is to go down to the next conveyor belt where you will head left to get to the Chain we passed overhead earlier. Time your run through the fireball shots, and then go down the Chain to the next section. When you arrive, pick a Mushroom Block to get to the next level of Mushroom Blocks (kill the Spark with your Mushroom Block if you wish to). Now pick a Mushroom Block near the left wall to fall down to get a Cherry, and then pick another Mushroom Block to get into the next section. Use your Mushroom Block on the Sparks, and then pick another Mushroom Block on the right side to get another Cherry before dropping into the next section by picking another Mushroom Block. Kill the Spark, go down into the right section below to get another Cherry before dropping down to the next section (kill the Spark upon arriving). Go down into the left section for another Cherry before dropping down into the next section to kill up to three Sparks, and then take out a Mushroom Block to fall down to the door to the next section. Head right past the Sparks till you find a door, which you should enter. When you get inside, go left to find two grass tufts, pick the left one, and then drop the Magic potion you found on the column to your right. Enter sub-space, collect the Mushroom, and then go back out the door. Head right again past the Sparks to find a door to the next section. In this section you have to climb a Chain till it runs out, wait till the Sparks are not in your way, and then you can jump off, get some Cherries (if you want to that is), and then hop to the open Chain above. You have to get through two sections like that, and then the next two chambers can be climbed right through (although you can stop to grab Cherries along the way). Go up the Chain to find the door to the next section on your left. Head right through this room past the two Sparks to climb up the Chain on the left side of the room to the next section of the castle. Start off by getting a hold of the Red Shyguy, and then use him on the Pink Snifit on the conveyor belt above you. Follow that up by jumping past the Sparks till you get to a conveyor belt that is the equivalent in height to the spike line being patrolled by a Spark. Now you will jump to the conveyor belt above you so you can hop to the belt to the left and up of you (time your jump around the Spark patrol), and then do the same with the next platform before you make the jumps to the left wall. Now you will see two parallel conveyor belts that appear to be slanted (despite not being so), each with a Spark patrolling one of them (time your jump into the middle of them), and then hop up to the left or the right. Now you need to hop up to the conveyor belt with the Pink Snifit, pick him up, use it on the Pink Shyguy above you, and then you should climb up the Chain to get to the next area of the fortress. When you arrive in this room, you will find a Red Birdo blocking the path! You can do conventional battle to kill it and get by, but you can also take the sneaky path by going under the conveyor belt, ducking to allow the Red Birdo to pass overhead, and then you can jump up to the Chain between vollies from her to get up the Chain to the next section. Now we have arrived at the join up point with the other path, so on to OPTION TWO! ========== OPTION TWO ========== Jump past the Red Panser on your right, and then do the same on the next Red Panser to land on solid ground before going up the Chain to the next level. Head left past the two Sparks here to go up the Chain to the next section. This room just requires a simple jump and climb to the next area. In this room, you best bet is to get on the floor, and just run past the Sparks, one column of space at a time before climbing up the Chain on the left. Now you will see three Sparks above you, so jump up on the left side near the left Chain, duck to charge your super jump, and then jump to said Chain to climb upwards to a door, which you should enter. Dive off of the platform, hold LEFT, and when you hit the bottom, jump past the Tweeter to take the ladder down to the door. When you get in there, jump to the right tuft of grass, grab the Magic Potion, and then drop it by the real door. Enter sub-space, get your Mushroom, exit sub-space, and then exit the room. Now you should head up the ladder, use one of the Tweeters on the White Panser, and then climb up the long ladder to the original chamber you started from. Now that you are back in the vertical room, super jump to the ledge above, and then jump up through the platform when the Sparks are out of the way (then you need to hop up to a higher ledge on your right). Now you have to time your jumps past the Sparks on various platforms to finally reach the Chain out of the room. Grab the POW Block, kill the Sparks, and then you are ready to rejoin the other path. ============= REJOINED PATH ============= Get onto the conveyor belt, head right, and make sure to duck under any Sparks that come your direction. Go down the Chain to face your next challenge. In a room with a conveyor belt, you will see Red Birdo, and this one you must fight as it hold a Key (also note that the Phanto is here for the chase after the battle). A safe way to fight is to stay on the Chain, and then drop onto an egg shot at you (but this method is slow). The other method is more dangerous but much quicker, and it requires you to deal with the conveyor belt motion to the right while dodging fireballs and grabbing eggs to throw at Red Birdo. After landing three hits, Red Birdo will cough up the Key, you will grab it, Phanto will rumble to life, and you will quickly duck through the door on the right. Once you appear, throw the Key down immediately at the Spark beside you to keep the Phanto away and clear an enemy from your path. Grab the Key again, use it to kill the next Spark, and then reclaim your Key so you can continue left to open the locked door. So you have fought your way through the large castle of Wart, and you have finally found the Crystal Ball to open the Hawkmouth, and get your shot at the crazy toad, Wart! As you approach the Hawkmouth, it will suddenly come to life, and it will charge you! Go back to the left to find Mushroom Blocks, and then get on top of one of the column stands that are strewn throughout the room. Now when the bird approaches, wait till it is about to reach you, and throw the Mushroom Block. That will stun the Hawkmouth long enough to let you escape to the next Mushroom Block (you can also leap the Hawkmouth to buy yourself some time). Do this two more times to get the Hawkmouth to give up it's wild charges for a second, and to open up it's mouth. Now I will give you the best advice that this whole guide has, and that is to GET INTO HIS MOUTH IMMEDIATELY! If you delay for too long, the Hawkmouth will shake off the damage you dealt it, and start the attack anew! Once you have gone through the mouth of the flying Hawkmouth, you will arrive at... WART!!! The big bad goon himself! Head right to see a Vegetable distributing machine, followed up by the big fat toad spitting bubbles. Stand on the platforms above the machines, catch a veggie, and then you have to time your throw at Wart so the veggie goes down his open mouth before his bubbles come flying out to block your attack. There is an easier way to hit this guy, and that is to jump over him, and when he opens his mouth to spit out his bubbles, you will have an unimpeded shot which can not miss (you do not have to hit him in the mouth). You need to hit the Boss of the enemies a whopping SEVEN times before he will finally choke his way off of the screen (keep in mind that as he flies backwards choking, he will still damage you if he touches you). Go through the door to rescue the Subcons! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Enemies------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12)This section will give a run-down of every enemy you will face along your path to battle the evil Wart! you will get a description of each enemy, how they behave, and how to beat them. o----------o | Albatoss | o----------o Colours: Red. Actions: A large, flying bird that can not be picked up by your characters. They only appear in areas where you will need a lift to get further into the level, but they will hurt you if you touch them anywhere other than their back. These guys will also paratroop Bob-Ombs onto the battlefield to do battle with your character, so be ready for that attack. o----------o | Autobomb | o----------o Colours: Black. Actions: These rolling cannons will fire off fireballs when they are hunting you down. They will often come with a rider which can be plucked off, but the cannons themselves are not possible for you character to pluck from the ground. o-------o | Beezo | o-------o Colours: Red, Pink. Actions: Red Beezos like to swoop down from the top of the screen so they can give you a haircut. Pink Beezos like to charge in a straight line. Both colours like to show up in groups (especially for Pink groups). o---------o | Bob-Omb | o---------o Colours: Black. Actions: These walking explosive devices will relentlessly chase you until they have had enough, at which point they will detonate themselves. Some areas will have walls you can bait them into blowing up for you, but most of the time you are best to ignore them. You will also find the odd one underground, but they come out angry, and all ready to blow themselves to little pieces (throw them away immediately). o--------o | Cobrat | o--------o Colours: Red. Actions: Cobrats are found in two locales: vases and the ground. The vase Cobrats will hop in and out of their vase to spit a bullet every time, and the underground Cobrat will hop up into the air to try and chase you down (occasionally letting a bullet fly as well). o--------o | Flurry | o--------o Colours: White. Actions: These guys appear only in World Four, and they usually appear in big groups. They will relentlessly home in on your location, but they tend to slide quite a bit while doing so (due to the ice they live on). Try to get by them quickly as they are tough to jump onto (but they can be picked up). o----------o | Hoopster | o----------o Colours: Red with black dots. Actions: This is a ladybug-like enemies live on vines all across Subcon. They patrol their vines in a methodical pace, and when your character is directly above/below them vertically, they will speed up their efforts. They will often team up together (often two to a vine), so be ready to jump to another vine to get around them. o-------o | Ninji | o-------o Colours: Black. Actions: Ninjis come in only one colour, but they have two distinct behaviour patterns. The first is when they stand in place, jumping up and down, and the second one is to run around and jump while they torment you. o-------o | Ostro | o-------o Colours: Black. Actions: This ostrich-like opponent runs around the screen, trying to run your character down. They will often have a Shyguy riding with them. You can remove their rider, but you can not pick them up directly. o--------o | Panser | o--------o Colours: Red, White, Blue. Actions: The Red Pansers shoot their fireballs straight in the air from their stationary position. White Pansers will shoot their fireballs on an arc from their stationary positions. Blue Pansers will also shoot their fireballs on an arc, but they will also come moving towards you as they do so. o--------o | Phanto | o--------o Colours: Half Silver, Half Orange. Actions: This enemy will sit quietly, does not attack you, and not even hurt you if you touch him. As soon as you grab a Key however, he will immediately sputter into life, and he will relentlessly dog your steps until you get rid of the Key. So if he gets close to you, drop the Key, and then pick the Key back to resume your journey (just be ready to drop the key again). This will continue till you find the lock for the door. o--------o | Pidgit | o--------o Colours: Black. Actions: Pidgit rides on a magic carpet, and he will swoop down towards your character after he passes overhead a few times. Pidgit will usually appear in an area where you will need to hijack his carpet because you have to get across a wide gap that jumping can not accomplish (you take his carpet across the gap instead). o-------o | Pokey | o-------o Colours: Green. Actions: This is a segmented cactus that will relentlessly try to hunt you down on the desert worlds. If you remove it's head (the top segment), the next segment will become the head (you must defeat all the segments to kill it entirely). Aim your item/enemy at the bottom segment for the one hit kill. o---------o | Porcupo | o---------o Colours: Black. Actions: This spike-covered Porcupine can not be jumped on, so your best bet is to throw an enemy, item, or POW Block down on the ground to kill one. They act in the same manner as a Red Shyguy (they just walk regardless of cliffs, walls turn them around). o--------o | Shyguy | o--------o Colours: Red, Pink. Actions: Red ones will walk in a straight line till they hit something to turn it around, or until it falls off a cliff. Pink ones will patrol a specific area, and they will not change their platform (much like the Red Koopa Troopas of Super Mario Brothers). o--------o | Snifit | o--------o Colours: Red, Grey, Pink. Actions: Red Snifits stay in one place as they spit their bullets from their nose. Grey Snifits will stand in one place, and jump and down as they spit bullets from their nose. Pink Snifits will walk forward and spit bullets to attack you, so they present the biggest problems to you. o-------o | Spark | o-------o Colours: Black and White. Actions: These balls of electrical energy will patrol the perimeter of their assigned platform, room, etc. They move at varied speeds, but they will not deviate from their assigned route area, unless you block their progress somehow. o---------o | Trouter | o---------o Colours: Red. Actions: These jumping fish will go up and down from the watery depths to high up in the air. It is usually a bad idea to grab one as they are located over water (wide areas of water too), but occasionally they make great stepping stones. o---------o | Tweeter | o---------o Colours: Brown. Actions: These guys bounce their way along the ground, occasionally getting a slightly higher hop than their usual slow, low gait. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------Bosses----------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13)This section will give you the stats on how the Bosses look, how they attack, and the best way to deal with each of them. o------------o | Pink Birdo | o------------o This is the first Birdo you come across, and they are rather common throughout most of the game. This Birdo has one attack pattern, and that is to spit one egg at a time. To beat this low intensity version of Birdo, you must hit the flightless bird three times with it's own eggs. Occasionally you will have an item or two on hand to help, but most of the time you will need to jump onto the incoming egg attack from Birdo, grab the egg, and then throw it back into Birdo to score a hit. You will have a fairly easy time beating this version with minimal practice. o-----------o | Red Birdo | o-----------o Red Birdo becomes the most common version of Birdo you will face as you get into the second half of the game. This version will spit three projectiles at one time in your direction, but there is a slight catch to this. This Birdo will randomly spit an egg or a fireball on all three shots. This means that you the player will need to be fast to grab the egg (if any eggs are shot) while avoiding the fireballs. A good strategy for not getting hit is to only concentrate on grabbing the third projectile. If it is an egg, grab it, and if it is a fireball, then just jump it. o-------------o | Green Birdo | o-------------o Green Birdo Is the rarest of the three types of Birdo, but it really begins to show up repeatedly in the last two worlds. This Birdo will shoot three projectiles (like Red Birdo), but the difference is that the three projectiles are in fact three fireballs every time! To beat this baddy, you will often have to make use of an item (usually Mushroom Blocks) to get the three hits necessary for victory. o--------------o | First Mouser | o--------------o The first big Boss you will face is Mouser on level 1-3. He is a big mouse who seems to have some emotional problems. How else do you explain a personality that rationalizes throwing bombs as not only a good idea, but as a full time job? Anyway, you will enter the room to do battle, but you must first break through the walls between Mouser and yourself. Avoid the Spark as you pluck the plants to reveal bombs. Lay these bombs against the brick wall to open a path through to Mouser (takes two), and then get one of the planted bombs from the platform above (again being careful not to hit the Spark). Now run to the right to see Mouser on his platform, and lay the bomb in your hands on the platform near Mouser to score a hit. Now you need to either: go back for another bomb or catch one of Mouser's. Now take the bomb, lay it on the Bosses platform, and then repeat. You will need to hit the deranged mouse with 4 well placed blast to move onto the next World of Subcon! o----------------o | First Triclyde | o----------------o You arrive deep in the pyramid of 2-3 to find a triple-headed snake. You fall down into the room, head right to find six Mushroom Blocks arranged in a 2 X 3 design. Your first step is to stack the blocks up in a big column (1 X 6). Now get yourself on top of the column, take the top Mushroom Block, hop to the ledge on the right, jump up in the air slightly to the right so you can toss your Mushroom Block at Triclyde before pulling your player back onto the left of the ledge (that way the fireballs from Triclyde will harmlessly pass under you). Now you should grab another Mushroom Block, repeat the same song and dance, and then go back for one more Mushroom Block (take it between fireball volleys in your direction), and then clock the boss for the least hit so that snake will be knocked onto the endangered species list! A neat little trick to use if you are Luigi is to grab your Mushroom Block, hop over Triclyde, hit Triclyde from behind, and then super jump back out to repeat the process (this is a safer way to avoid fireballs). A recent e-mail from Wilson Lau states that if you grab the Tweeter that bounces in from the right where Triclyde is, and then chuck it past Triclyde so it hits the wall, and then it will fall onto Triclyde. The Tweeter will bounce off of Triclyde for three fast hits, and that will finish the triple-headed snake off super quickly! Thanks Wilson as I tried it myself and saw it work in action! o---------------o | Second Mouser | o---------------o You fall down into the Mouser room to battle yet another deranged Mouse with a bomb fetish. Anyway, head past the chains to the right to find our bomb-lobbing friend Mouser, along with a Spark circling the perimeter of the room. Your goal is to catch a bomb thrown my Mouser, put the bomb on the platform Mouser patrols (usually on the opposite end of where Mouser is so he will walk into the blast), and then go catch another bomb. Mouser will blow the Spark into many pieces at some point during the melee. You need to tag Mouser with five big bomb blasts before he will bite the dust, and you can move onto World Four. o--------o | Fryguy | o--------o This huge Fireball flies around the screen in a figure eight pattern. He will continually spit smaller fireballs down at the ground, so be sure to stay high to avoid the shots (just be ready to jump when he buzzes close to your platform). Your first job is to open up a hole in the middle of high platform in the middle of the screen. Take the Mushroom Block with you as you climb up the platform steps as you dodge Fryguy and his projectiles (remember that the screen wraps around, so you have a place to cut through to get away from Fryguy). Once up top, drop the Mushroom Block through the hole as Fryguy passes underneath you to score a hit. Then you should take the other Mushroom Block form your platform, climb back up, and hit him once more. Now you have to go down to the bottom to get another Mushroom Block, bring it back up top, and then drop it on Fryguy to cause him to explode! Unfortunately he splits into four small fireballs, all of which must be extinguished individually (you can kill more than one at once though). The best bet you have is to build a column of Mushroom Blocks as you fight Fryguy so you can stand on top of it, out of reach of the fireballs, and drop Mushroom Blocks from above. Be warned that with each one killed, the remaining fireballs will gain the ability to move faster, jump more often, and to jump further than before. Once they are gone, move onto World Five! o----------o | Clawgrip | o----------o Upon entering this crabs lair, head right till you find the big mean claw hurtling his huge boulders. Now stay in the lower part with the wall at your back, and then jump on top of a hurtled rock before you pick it up. Now wait for the next rock to fly, and then quickly hop up towards Clawgrip to throw your rock at him before he launches his next rock (this will likely hit you if you are not fast enough). Now return to the same area as you were before, and get yourself another rock. An alternate way to attack Clawgrip is to dodge all the rocks flying down at you, and then go after Clawgrip when he starts moving back and forth across the platform rapidly. Repeat these steps until you have hit the mean old crab five times to send him out to the restaurants as the special of the day! He is by far the most difficulty of the Bosses you have faced so far! o-----------------o | Second Triclyde | o-----------------o Upon going in, head right till you see a drop to some Mushroom Blocks. Now wait till you catch the rhythm of the fireballs shot by Triclyde, and then fall down, followed by a quick jaunt to the Mushroom Block closest to the pit (the Triclyde can not shoot you there). Now you should get onto the platform between Triclyde shots, and then toss the Mushroom Block at the three-headed snake. Go back and get another Mushroom block to repeat the process once more. After you have scored three hits, you will have put the permanent squash on this demon snake, and you will be able to move onto the final world, and get your hands on Wart! o-----------o | Hawkmouth | o-----------o So you have fought your way through the large castle of Wart, and you have finally found the Crystal Ball to open the Hawkmouth, and get your shot at the crazy toad, Wart! As you approach the Hawkmouth, it will suddenly come to life, and it will charge you! Go back to the left to find Mushroom Blocks, and then get on top of one of the column stands that are strewn throughout the room. Now when the bird approaches, wait till it is about to reach you, and throw the Mushroom Block. That will stun the Hawkmouth long enough to let you escape to the next Mushroom Block (you can also leap the Hawkmouth to buy yourself some time). Do this two more times to get the Hawkmouth to give up it's wild charges for a second, and to open up it's mouth. Now I will give you the best advice that this whole guide has, and that is to GET INTO HIS MOUTH IMMEDIATELY! If you delay for too long, the Hawkmouth will shake off the damage you dealt it, and start the attack anew! Once you have gone through the mouth of the flying Hawkmouth, you will arrive at... o------o | Wart | o------o The big bad goon himself! Head left to see a vegetable distributing machine, followed up by the big fat toad spitting bubbles. Stand on the platforms above the machines, catch a veggie, and then you have to time your throw at Wart so the veggie goes down his open mouth before his bubbles come flying out to block your attack. There is an easier way to hit this guy, and that is to jump over him, and when he opens his mouth to spit out his bubbles, you will have an unimpeded shot which can not miss (you do not have to hit him in the mouth). You need to hit the Boss of the enemies a whopping SEVEN times before he will finally choke his way off of the screen (keep in mind that as he flies backwards choking, he will still damage you if he touches you). Go through the door to rescue the Subcons! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Items-------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14)This section will show all the items that Mario can utilize along the path to victory. o------o | 1-Up | o------o These are gained by picking them from the ground. Once collected however, they will no longer be there. This means that you should try to avoid dying a whole lot, as they do not re-appear on your second trip through! o---------o | Bob-Omb | o---------o Sometimes you will pull this enemy from the ground, and it will be so enraged that it will immediately try to blow your character up! If you pull one from the ground, be sure to throw it away immediately, and run in the opposite direction to avoid taking damage. o------o | Bomb | o------o These explosive little darlings will help your character to break through bombable walls. There are a few levels that this will come in handy, so practice your throwing techniques! o----------o | Cherries | o----------o Collecting five of these in one level will reveal a Starman. o-------o | Coins | o-------o These are found in sub-space by harvesting plants from the ground. These will be used in the Bonus Round after you finish the level (see Bonus Room section for more details). o--------------o | Crystal Ball | o--------------o These will open the mouth of any Hawkmouth you come across. They are usually guarded by Birdo, but you will find them just sitting in the open as well (though far less common of an occurence). o-------o | Heart | o-------o These will appear in a level after you kill about ten enemies. Each one you collect will replace one lost heart of your life meter. You can collect many in each level, so kill off enemies to regain your health. They appear at the bottom of the screen, and they float on a near 90 degree angle upwards. o-----o | Key | o-----o These items are always guarded by an enemy called Phanto. The Key is the "key" (get it?!?) to opening the locked doors that you will come across in your journey through Subcon. o--------------o | Magic Potion | o--------------o These beakers filled with some sort of red liquid are your way to enter sub-space from the normal levels. You must build the doorway on a stable surface, or else the door may not materialize. If you placed the door in the correct location, you will be rewarded with a Mushroom (see Mushroom for more details). Picking plants in sub-space will give you Coins (see Coins for more details). o----------o | Mushroom | o----------o These can be found in sub-space. all levels (except for 6-2 possibly) have two Mushrooms to be collected in sub-space. Each time you collect one of these items, you will receive a complete restoration of your life meter, as well as an extension of it by one heart. However, after every level, your life meter reverts to two hearts, so start collecting anew each time! o----------------o | Mushroom Block | o----------------o These items are often found around bosses, and they make incredibly good weapons. They do not break, they are reusable, and they block enemy projectiles as well. o-----------o | POW Block | o-----------o This item is usually located in plain site, but they can be found under the ground via a tuft of vegetation. When this item is thrown, the ground will receive a good shake, and during that time any enemies located on the ground will die as a result. An excellent method of clearing large groups of enemies from your path. o--------------------o | Ripened Vegetables | o--------------------o These are fuller vegetables, and they are found more rarely than Unripened Vegetables. Find five of them in one level to cause all enemies to freeze for about seven seconds. o--------o | Rocket | o--------o Occasionally you will reach an area where you will have no way to advance further, and you pluck the grass tufts around to suddenly discover a Rocket! You will get a free ride to another area, you will be deposited, and then the Rocket will self-destruct! o---------o | Starman | o---------o These bad boys will make you invulnerable for about seven seconds once you have earned one (collect five Cherries in a single level). These float on a zig zag pattern left to right as they slowly move up from the bottom of the screen. o--------------o | Turtle Shell | o--------------o These can be yanked from the grass tufts in the ground occasionally. They can be thrown so they slide along the ground, plowing through any enemy foolish enough to get in the way (a la Koopa Troopa shells did in Super Mario Brothers). Unlike Super Mario Brothers, the shell will disintegrate upon making contact with a wall or some other solid obstacle. o----------------------o | Unripened Vegetables | o----------------------o The much more common of the two type of vegetables, these will be very useful in clearing enemies from your path. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------Bonus Round------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15)This section will look at how to earn money for the Bonus Round, how a winner is determined in the Bonus Round, and an idea of how to score lots of extra lives in the Bonus Round. o-------------------------------o | Earning Money For Bonus Round | o-------------------------------o -To earn Money for the Bonus Round, you must first find a Magi potion. Then you need to take the potion till you find an area with plants in the ground. -Drop the Magic Potion, enter the door, and you will enter sub-space. Upon entering the backwards world, you will see the plants on the ground, at which point you will pull them from the ground for one Coin apiece. -This can only be done twice per level, and then you will only get Unripened Vegetables instead of coins from the sub-space plants. This can be circumvented, but it requires a special trick listed below (and in the Tricks And Oddities section). -What you need for this trick to work to the maximum effect is to have the following things: at least 6 lives, large amounts of grass tufts, and a fast to kill your character. Now you will drop the Magic Potion to enter sub-space, and proceed to pick as many grass tufts as you can. The next step requires you to fall off the cliff you have dropped the potion near to kill yourself. When you return to the level, repeat this procedure till you have reached the lowest amount of lives you feel is the maximum number required for you to finish the level. Then you should collect the grass tufts twice more (they will count this time), and then go finish the level. You will then enter the Bonus Round with an excess of coins to not only replenish your purposely sacrificed lives, but you will also gain many extra lives as well. With some practice at the Bonus Round (some details will be given on this below), you will easily get into the triple digits for lives! o------------------------------------o | Winning Results In The Bonus Round | o------------------------------------o -Three Ripened Vegetables = 1-Up -Three Red Snifits = 1-Up -Three Starmen = 1-Up -Cherries in the first slot = 1-Up ======= Example ======= +------+ +------+ +------+ | /| | | | | | | / | | | | | | | ()() | | | | | +------+ +------+ +------+ -Cherries in the first two slots = 2-Up ======= Example ======= +------+ +------+ +------+ | /| | | /| | | | | / | | | / | | | | | ()() | | ()() | | | +------+ +------+ +------+ -Cherries in all three slots = 5-Up ======= Example ======= +------+ +------+ +------+ | /| | | /| | | /| | | / | | | / | | | / | | | ()() | | ()() | | ()() | +------+ +------+ +------+ o--------------------------o | Scoring Many Extra Lives | o--------------------------o -Cherries offer the fastest life gain of all the slots. To get at least one Cherry each time is to press the A Button as soon as the slot machine starts to tumble to get yourself a Cherry for the first slot. -If you have to get three Starmen, three Red Snifits, or three Ripened Vegetables, tap the buttons in a pattern of the same time in between. With some practice, you will be able to use this for not only getting the 1-Ups, but it will also net Cherries for multiple extra lives. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------Mushroom Locations------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16)This section will list the location of the two Mushroom found in all twenty levels of the game. If I miss any, please e-mail me a detailed explanation of how to get them. Thanks a Million! o-----------o | Level 1-1 | o-----------o Climb the vine to the left of the POW Block, jump off to grab the first Tuft of Grass in the line to get the Magic Potion, and then drop it to enter sub-space. The Mushroom is sitting on that platform. The other Mushroom for the level is located near the Vine to the multiple Vine section of the level. Grab the Magic Potion from the Tuft of Grass section, and then drop it near the gap in between the Tufts of Grass. The Mushroom will appear in that vacant spot. o-----------o | Level 1-2 | o-----------o Grab the Magic Potion between near the two vases, drop it between the vases, and enter sub-space to get your Mushroom (it is on top of a vase). Once you enter the cave section of the level, and you reach the ladder (this ladder comes after a Pink Snifit, but before a Grey Snifit). At the top of the ladder, pick the left-most Tuft of Grass to reveal a Bomb, so run left to drop it on the bombable section of the floor (it is the same stuff you have blown up in this level already). Now go back to get the next closest Tuft of Grass, take the resulting Bomb back to the same spot, drop it, and then do the same procedure with the next closest Tuft of Grass. Now you just need to get the final Tuft of Grass (the Magic Potion), and then head left to drop down through the hole you created, and enter sub-space to find your Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 1-3 | o-----------o When you arrive at two grass tufts, pick the second one, and drop it immediately to enter sub-space. Inside on top of the bridge is the Mushroom. Head left back across the logs to the platform, crouch to charge the super jump, jump to throw the potion onto the platform above jump to the platform if you are Luigi, or if you Mario go left to charge a super jump so you can get onto the rolling log at a high point for a quick hop onto the platform. Enter sub-space for your Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 2-1 | o-----------o After you pass the second Jar of the level, jump onto the platform to the right of it, grab the left-most grass tuft for a Magic Potion, and then immediately drop the Magic Potion so you can enter sub-space to collect your Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 2-2 | o-----------o Once you find the Magic Potion between the two Jars on the ends of the same plateau, drop it near the right jar, and enter sub-space to collect your Mushroom. After entering the cave, Bombing the wall down, and heading left, grab the middle grass tuft on the top platform to get the Magic Potion, which you will immediately drop to enter sub-space and find the second Mushroom of the level. o-----------o | Level 2-3 | o-----------o As soon as you come up the first ladder in the level, go right to find a Magic Potion from the first grass tuft you come across. Now run left till you see a Pink Shyguy on a platform, at which point you will chuck the Magic Potion to the ground so you can enter sub-space to find the Mushroom on the highest ledge of the hills. After you start to be div-bombed by an ungainly amount of Red Beezos, you will see a door on a high platform. Get up to the platform with a super jump and/or off of the back of Red Beezos. Once inside, grab the first grass tuft you come across to your right, and then drop the Magic Potion near the real door. Enter the door to go into sub-space, and then grab the Mushroom on your right. o-----------o | Level 3-1 | o-----------o After climbing up the Vine, head left past a Red Panser to find two grass tufts waving in the breeze (the left one has the Magic Potion). Drop it on the same ledge you found it on. enter sub-space, and then collect the Mushroom over the gap to your right. After you have disposed of a Blue Panser, go down the ladder to grab the first grass tuft to your right to find a Magic Potion. Take the Magic Potion to the far left of the room, drop it, enter sub-space, and then climb the ladder to get the Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 3-2 | o-----------o Head to the far right from the start, pick the left-most grass tuft on the hill for a Magic Potion, drop it immediately, and then enter sub-space for your Mushroom. In the final cave segment you must pass through, go left off the exit ladder to find four grass tufts. pick the right-most one to get a Magic Potion (drop it in the middle of the platform), and then pick the left-most grass tuft for a Bomb to use on the breakable floor on the right. Enter sub-space to get your Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 3-3 | o-----------o When you find the POW Block with four grass tufts near the start, grab the right-most one to reveal a Magic Potion, and then throw it beside the barrier to your right. Enter sub-space to find the Mushroom resting on top of the same barrier. Once you have gone through your first door, grab the grass tuft to your left to reveal a Turtle Shell, which you will throw to the left. Now you need to pluck the next grass tuft to the left to get a Magic Potion, and then follow the Turtle Shell till you are at a ladder. Drop the Magic Potion to the ground left of the ladder, enter sub-space and then climb the ladder to get the Mushroom resting above you. o-----------o | Level 4-1 | o-----------o When you arrive at a location with a ledge, a one block space, and then another ledge below, quickly run between the ledges to grab the lone grass tuft for the Magic Potion. drop it on the left-most block of the higher ledge so you can get the Mushroom as well as a couple Coins. When you reach the end of the first section of the level, grab the left-most grass tuft from the top ledge for the Magic Potion, which you can drop immediately. Enter sub-space to claim your Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 4-2 | o-----------o As soon as you enter the section of the level with the whales, go to the last whale on the left side, and grab the far right grass tuft for a Magic Potion. drop it on the same whale, and then enter sub-space where you have to make a delicate hop onto the whale's tail to get the Mushroom. After riding the rocket, pluck the Shyguy from off the Autobomb, throw him on th eground, and then pluck the nearby grass till you find the Magic Potion. Now ride the Shyguy across the spikes, dropping the potion on the solid ledge ahead to enter to find your second Mushroom! o-----------o | Level 4-3 | o-----------o Once you go through the first door of the level, jump up to the next ledge, and then grab the left-most grass tuft to find a Magic Potion. Now go left till you reach the frozen vegetation, where you will drop the Magic Potion on top of the frozen vegetation so you can enter sub-space and get the Mushroom you appear with. After climbing the first tower (the one with ice ledges and Flurries), go right to the first grass tuft to find a Magic Potion. Go left till you see two cloud platforms, which you will use to reach the parapet above. Jump across the parapet till you are on the other tower directly over a door (you have not gone in this door), which is where you will drop your Magic Potion. Enter sub-space, and then start leaping to the left to get your Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 5-1 | o-----------o When jumping across the second Trouter only gap, get yourself onto the high ledge to pull a Magic Potion. Drop it immediately, enter sub-space, and then grab the Mushroom from the lower ledge. When you reach the final set of rolling logs (two in this set), jump over the ceiling, and then go down the second hole to pull the Mushroom Block out of the way. Then use the grass tuft on the far left to get the Magic Potion which will allow you to enter sub-space where the Mushroom will fall down the recently opened hole. o-----------o | Level 5-2 | o-----------o When you reach the only Jar in the level, go inside and get the Magic Potion contained within. Come back out with the Jar, and drop it to the right of the Jar so you can enter sub-space. Get the Mushroom from the lower ledge to extend your life meter. Near the vine leading up to the climbing portion of the level, look on the "little mountain" with three trees on it, as that is where the Mushroom awaits pick up. o-----------o | Level 5-3 | o-----------o From the start, grab the first grass tuft for a Magic potion, and head right till you hit a five patch of grass tufts, at which point you should drop your Magic potion. Enter sub-space to get the Mushroom. Grab the left-most grass tuft to get a Magic Potion after the above events (hold onto it). Head right as you continue to avoid the paratrooping Bob-Ombs from the Albatosses, and when you see three Bob-Ombs already on the ground, run and jump them so you can draw them to a wall that they will blow up the wall. If they will not line up with the wall correctly, drop your Magic potion beside the wall, and then get a Bob-Omb in your hands and throw it at the wall as they start to explode to break a hole in the wall. now you will enter sub-space to collect the other Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 6-1 | o-----------o Go down the first Jar you encounter, grab the Magic Potion, and then throw it down on the bone structure to your right. Enter sub-space to get the Mushroom before the quicksand swallows it whole. After getting the Magic Potion among the cacti, get past the Pokey and the Blue Panser, and when you see the door, throw the Magic Potion down. Enter sub-space to grab the Mushroom. o-----------o | Level 6-2 | o-----------o Once you reach the halfway point of the level. grab the grass tuft on the left to reveal a Magic Potion. Enter sub-space, and grab the Mushroom that falls down to the ledge beside you. o-----------o | Level 6-3 | o-----------o pluck the first grass tuft for a Magic Potion. Next you have to jump through the quicksand past the two bone structures (the second will have a Pink Shyguy), and then jump into the quicksand beside the short cactus where you will drop the Magic Potion. Enter sub-space to grab your Mushroom to extend your life meter. Upon entering the cave, go right to find vases that spit out non-stop Bob-Ombs, so run through this area quickly (you know you are past the danger when you hit the diggable sand). Use a Bomb on the wall to your right, pick the other grass tuft for another Bomb, and then run right till you see the next wall, which you will throw the Bomb at to blow it open. Next you will pick the left-most grass tuft for a Bomb, which you will use on the wall to your right (not the hole), and then pick the next left-most grass tuft for another Bomb to use on the hole blocked with two pieces of bombable debris. Now grab the left-most grass tuft on your platform for one more Bomb to blow the hole open, and then go back for the grass tuft we passed up earlier for a Magic Potion, which you will place near the hole we blew open. Enter to grab Coins and the Mushroom below in the hole. o-----------o | Level 7-1 | o-----------o Once you pass the ledge with three grass tufts, continue right till you find a grass tuft, which you should pick to reveal your Magic Potion. Now head back to the left to the three grass tuft ledge, which is where you will chuck the Magic Potion down so you can enter sub-space to get your Mushroom. When you reach the house at the end of the path to the right, go inside. You will need to get up to the ledge inside with the grass tuft, where you will grab the third from the right grass tuft for a Magic Potion. Enter sub-space to get your Mushroom o-----------o | Level 7-2 | o-----------o The OPTION ONE route will have a door directly in your path after the Mushroom Block room, so enter it. Pick the left grass tuft to get a Magic Potion, drop it on the middle column, enter sub-space, and then get the Mushroom on the right-most column. The OPTION TWO route will give you access to a Mushroom when you pass through a vertical chamber with three Sparks guarding three platforms. Jump up the left side to reach the left Chain, climb it, and then enter the door. Go to the bottom of that area, go down the ladder on the bottom of it, and enter that door. Now go left to the grass tuft to get your Magic Potion, drop it near the door in the room, enter sub-space, and then collect your Mushroom. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------Warp Locations---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17)This section will list what level every warp is found on, and how to get them operational. The key to warping in this game is to find a vase that can not be used in the regular world, so you must enter sub-space, and then go down the vase to warp ahead a few Worlds! o--------------------o | Warp To World Four | o--------------------o Found in Level 1-3, you will not have to go far into the level to locate the vase. Head right from the start, and once you pass over the last stretch of water on the rolling logs while avoiding Trouter, you will arrive at the following area: --------------------+ Key | | TG - Tufts of Grass | MP - Magic Potion | | --------------------+ TG TG TG +---------------------+ | / / / / / / / / / / | +---------------------+ +------+ +------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |TG TG | | ------+------+-----------------+------+------+ | Now you should pick up the Tuft of Grass that is the left one on the ground (the lower set of Tufts of Grass). This will be your Magic Potion to get you into Subcon, so head right over the water, past the two Ninjis and the two Tweeters till you run into a vase, at which point you should drop the Magic Potion. Now go into sub-space, and then press DOWN when you are on top of the Jar to get into your warp to World Four! o--------------------o | Warp To World Five | o--------------------o To access this warp, you must be in an andventurous mood. Start level 3-1 off be going right to find the only door in the area (go through the door). Now instead of climbing the cloud platforms laid out ahead of you, walk off the cliff ahead of you to take a free fall down the gigantic waterfall. As you fall, try to stay in the exact centre so when you run out of waterfall, you will land on a small island of land with a door on it. Enter the door. Once inside, go to the right to find a large line of Tufts of Grass. Count off the first nine, and then pluck the tenth to get your Magic Potion (or you can just keep picking Tufts of Grass to narrow the choices). Now head left till you see a Jar sitting there, throw your Magic potion to the floor, enter sub-space, and then press DOWN while you are on the Jar to warp to World 5! o-------------------o | Warp To World Six | o-------------------o This is performed on level 4-2, and it is located fairly far into the level. After you have passed through the Pink Beezo Brigade that buzzes you early in the level, you will enter a door to find whales for you to hop across the Arctic waters. As you head left, you will find six Unripened Vegetables (three per platform), and then a single Tuft if Grass (grab it as it is your Magic Potion). Now make your way across the whales with the Magic Potion, and you have two choices for reaching the vase: The simpler way to do it (if you are using Luigi) is to take a running leap off the whale with the third Pink Shyguy out of the last three Whales, or you can go above the Jar, past a Flurry, and use the Whale on the other side of the Jar to reach it (the jump is much shorter). Throw the Magic Potion to the ground, enter sub-space, and head down the Jar. o---------------------o | Warp To World Seven | o---------------------o This is most easily accessed with Luigi, but it can be done by all characters. For Luigi, climb out of the hole you start in, go right till the ledge above you stops, and then super jump up to the ledge to find a Magic Potion and a Jar. Drop the Magic Potion near the Jar, enter sub-space, and warp to World Seven. With the rest of the crew, you must head right to find a higher ledge so you can jump onto an Albatoss to ride to the left to the ledge. Then just pick the Magic Potion up, drop it near the Jar, enter sub-space, and then go down the pipe to warp to World Seven! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------Ending Summary---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18)This section will give a brief review of the game ending, and then a summary of what is left unsaid for the viewer to interpret. Keep in mind that this is the view that I have taken, and you may interpret certain points in a different manner completely. o-------------o | Game Ending | o-------------o So Mario and friends proceed to release the cork from the Jar that contains the ruling members of Subcon from their captivity, and thus the day is saved! The people of Subcon hold a party to celebrate their release, and Wart is passed along by the people as the largest contributor to the quest is honoured for it. Wart is then pummeled unmercifully off-screen, and then we cut to a scene of Mario sleeping in bed. He wakes up, glances around, and then he drifts back off to sleep. The enemy list will then scroll by, followed by the writing of THE END. o-----------------o | What This Means | o-----------------o What this really is a nightmare within Mario's own psyche. "Subcon" is really Mario's "sub-conscious", and he what he is battling is the nightmare in his mind. What is causing these manifestations is his worries about Bowser and Koopa Clan reappearing, as well as his desire to be the hero. He most likely enjoyed the accolades of rescuing the Mushroom Kingdom from the dominion of Bowser, and this is exhibited extremely well when the Subcons are cheering the four characters for their contributions. Mario's friends and brother being included is also not an accident. Mario had his brother Luigi along with him in the Mushroom Kingdom, and they put an end to Bowser's rule. Princess Toadstool and Toad were both involved in the adventure of Super Mario Brothers, and so they are included within this game. They are given roles as helpers to the cause as opposed to being rescued because Mario has given rise to a new land of people who have been subjugated by an evil ruler. Wart is the ruler here because Mario could not have Bowser as the ruler due to the very different army of enemies running around in this strange world. This also explains how come no enemies from Super Mario Brothers return as the Koopa Clan is not involved, plus Wart does need his own Army. Mario may dream the adventure, but it does give you some interesting insights into the workings of one of the greatest video game heroes. He may be centering his Id on self gratification, his Superego will keep him a humble Italian plumber from Brooklyn that will save the day for Princess Toadstool. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------Tricks And Oddities------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19)This section will look at shortcuts, tricks, and strange happenings in the course of this game. a) Enemies will reappear as soon as you leave the area. This respawning can be rather irritating, especially in an enemy-heavy section. b) Grass tufts, and what they hide in the ground will also respawn, but they require your character to enter another area of the level (through a jar, door, or vine climb off the screen). This is especially useful if you have found a large patch of tufts to pick in sub-space for lots of coins (see Bonus Round section for details). c) This is not the same Super Mario Brothers 2 that was released in Japan (see Origins section for more details). d) 1-Ups, once pulled from the ground, are no longer able to be collected on your current game. e) Items collected and plants pulled from the ground in sub-space will not be gone upon returning to Subcon. If you get an Unripened Vegetables from sub-space, it will still be in your grasp upon your return to the regular world of Subcon. f) What you need for this trick to work to the maximum effect is to have the following things: at least 6 lives, large amounts of grass tufts, and a fast to kill your character. Now you will drop the Magic Potion to enter sub-space, and proceed to pick as many grass tufts as you can. The next step requires you to fall off the cliff you have dropped the potion near to kill yourself. When you return to the level, repeat this procedure till you have reached the lowest amount of lives you feel is the maximum number required for you to finish the level. Then you should collect the grass tufts twice more (they will count this time), and then go finish the level. You will then enter the Bonus Round with an excess of coins to not only replenish your purposely sacrificed lives, but you will also gain many extra lives as well. With some practice at the Bonus Round (details will be given in the Bonus Round section), you will easily get into the triple digits for lives! g) A rare glitch in the game will happen where your character (usually Toad), will pick a Vegetable from the ground, but it will become stuck in their head, not their hands. This will allow the player to go through doors while holding the Vegetable. It also requires the player to press the B Button to get the Vegetable into a throwing position (into their hands), and then the B Button again to throw (like normal). h) Whenever any of your characters is picking up a POW Block or a Mushroom Block, they are invincible when transferring it from the ground to over their heads. This is useful in a few fights with Red Birdo and Green Birdo. o-----------o | Shortcuts | o-----------o Level 1-1 = When you enter the cave that has a Vine climbing upwards beside a waterfall, you will reach the top floor of the cave. Now any character can take this shortcut, and all you need to do is take a running leap across the waterfall, jump up the ledges, and then time your drop of a Bomb to break the wall down that guards a door. To get it to work, wait for the bomb to start flashing for about one second before dropping (this should bust the bottom two bricks). Now you just have to go through the door to reach Pink Birdo. Level 1-2 = This shortcut usually requires the use of Luigi as he is the best jumper (making it easier to reach the heights necessary). After crossing the long gap (courtesy of Pidgit's magic carpet you liberated), stand on the edge of the first Jar you see, crouch till your super jump is charged, and then jump up and to the left. As you continue to float upwards, a Red Beezo will swoop down from the left, and your mission is to land on the moving Red Beezo. Once you accomplish this hard task, you must keep moving with the Red Beezo towards the right, and then you must hop up onto the ledge above once you reach the cliff. This allows you to skip the acquiring of a Key, and doing the cave in this section of the game. You will be but a few quick hops from the Pink Birdo boss for the level. Alterbatively, it is far easier to get up on top with Luigi by either riding the Pidgit magic carpet as far to the right as you can before it disappears, leaping to the ledge, or you can place a Ninji below the hill, performing a Superjump off of it's head when it is leaping into the air, getting up top. Level 3-1 = After climbing your way up the cloud ledges, stolen the magic carpet that belonged to Pidgit, and then climbed the Vine to the new screen. Now you need to use Princess Toadstool for this shortcut to work. Head left from the Vine, take a running leap, and then float across the gap to find a door. Enter into it, and make your way over the wall to face Red Birdo. Level 4-3 = Choose Princess Toadstool, ride across the water on the Pink Birdo egg, and then head over the gap to the first door. Instead of entering the door, run right till the platform stops, at which point you will take a hovering leap. This will land you on the far side of the level, and you just head right to find the next door. The one warning against this is that you will have to face Fryguy with just two hit points. Level 6-3 = Anyone can perform this shortcut, and it cuts off a massive amount of time from the level. After coming out of the cave you start in, head left to find a big wall with quicksand flowing underneath it. Walk into the quicksand till you are right against the wall, and then sink till your character just disappears underneath the top level of sand. Now start to jump while holding LEFT, and you will move under the wall to reach a door on the far side. After going through, jump across the cloud platforms, and then enter the Pyramid to cut over 90 % of the level off! Level 7-1 = Luigi is needed for this shortcut. Exit the hole you start in, and quickly stand on the column to your left (immediately entering into a crouch). As soon as it is charged, jump up into the air to land on the Albatoss coming to the left. Now you can jump the columns to get to the Rocket. This shortcut carries the usual penalty of no Mushrooms for extending your life meter. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Origins------------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20)This section will give a synopsis of how this oddball of the Mario games family came to be, and the story behind the Lost Levels. As many players know, Super Mario Brothers 2 released in the United States and other countries such as Canada, it is not in fact the "true" sequel to the smash hit Super Mario Brothers. The following will give an idea of what occurred to make the events unfold as they did back in late 1980's with Nintendo. o-----------------------------------o | The "Real" Super Mario Brothers 2 | o-----------------------------------o This was released in Japan around the time that Super Mario Brothers was entering into the massive popularity that the whole Mario series would enjoy to this very day. Super Mario Brothers 2 (Japan) was released in 1986 to the Japanese public, and it was a huge hit. It also had everyone marveling at how much the difficulty had increased from the original game. Added onto that was the fact that only one truly new enemy had been added (Red Piranha Plant), with a few others modified in their behaviours and areas of use, Nintendo made a decision that the North American gaming community would find the game to be too similar to the first one, not to mention way too difficult for the casual gamer. This led to the decision that is outlined below. o-----------------------------------o | The Conversion Of Doki Doki Panic | o-----------------------------------o The game Doki Doki Panic had four characters of varying degrees of skill who were attempting to fight through their world to overthrow the boss baddie. This game was chosen to be remodeled as the Super Mario Brothers 2 meant for North America. The changes made were fairly small, with the main ones being the main characters were changed into four Nintendo characters (Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad). This is the main explanation as to why NO enemies from the first game were included in the sequel (including Bowser). o-------------------------------o | Super Mario Brothers 2 U.S.A. | o-------------------------------o In 1988, The Super Mario Brothers 2 released in North America was released in Japan under the title listed above. It was the same game essentially, with slightly modified graphics. This now meant that only North America was still missing out on the "real" Super Mario Brothers 2 until... o-----------------------o | Super Mario All-Stars | o-----------------------o This was a compilation of Super Mario Brothers, Super Mario Brothers 2 (North American), Super Mario Brothers 3, and a game entitled "The Lost Levels" (also note that some cartridges were produced later in the compilation's run that included Super Mario World as well)! With updated graphics, a few upgrades to each game, and the new found ability to play the "real" Super Mario Brothers 2, North American gamers were given the opportunity to experience the difficulty of the "true" sequel to Super Mario Brothers. Hopefully this has helped enlighten some people of all of the things that transpired in the whole saga of the Super Mario Brothers 2 games, and why the one released here is such an oddball when compared to the rest of the series. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------Final Word---------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21)As is the usual, this walkthrough is copyright property of Brian P. Sulpher, 2003. The only website, group, person, etc. to have access to post it is www.gamefaqs.com, www.ign.com, www.retronintendo.com, and www.honestgamers.com. You must ask for permission before posting this, as doing so without consent is a violation of international copyright law. If you liked it, hated it, have anything to add, then please E-mail me at briansulpher@hotmail.com. You can also contact me through MSN messenger through the same E-mail address. A strange Mario game that grows on you over time. It is definitely the largest departure from the main Mario formula, and it still offers some great jumping action. I highly suggest that you play it, just for the radical departure from the more conventional "Mario" style of platformer. Of course, that is likely due to it not being a Mario game originally, but it is still a solid game.