? Switch

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This article is about the object that appears in various games. For the level with the same name in Super Mario 64 DS, see Tower of the Wing Cap.
? Switch
A ? Switch
A red ? Switch from Yoshi's Story
First appearance Yoshi's Story (1998)
Latest appearance Super Mario Bros. Wonder (2023)
Effect Causes a mysterious event

A ? Switch, also known as a Mystery Switch,[1][2] a Question Mark Switch,[3] a ? Switch Block,[4] or erroneously a ? Block,[5] is a Switch Block that has widely varying effects depending on the context.

History[edit]

Yoshi's Story[edit]

Sprite of a ? Switch in Yoshi's Story

In Yoshi's Story, when a Yoshi presses a ? Switch by simply jumping on it, the ? Switch disappears and a part of the level is changed briefly. As the effect expires, the switch's music speeds up. There are panels that also act as a ? Switch and extend the switch's time limit.

Super Mario series[edit]

Super Mario 64 DS[edit]

? Switch
Main article: Cap Switch

In Super Mario 64 DS, the red, green, and blue ! Switches from Super Mario 64 were reduced to a red ? Switch. It appears in a secret course named after it (also titled Tower of the Wing Cap), and it activates corresponding ? Blocks.

New Super Mario Bros.[edit]

Sprite of a ? Switch in New Super Mario Bros.

? Switches later appear in New Super Mario Bros., this time with an orange color. Like the ones in Yoshi's Story, these switches change or add to an area of a level, like adding moving platforms or flipping the entire level upside down. The effects of a ? Switch can be either temporary or permanent, depending on the ? Switch. One appears in the fight against Mega Goomba, being the only time one is used against a boss. Most levels have only one ? Switch, but some have two of them.

? Switches appear in the following levels, with the following functions:

New Super Mario Bros. Wii[edit]

Qswitch.png

In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, ? Switches reappear with their design from New Super Mario Bros., though they are less common than before. World 6-6 notably features multiple with separate functions.

? Switches appear in the following levels, with the following functions:

New Super Mario Bros. 2[edit]

Question Switch

In New Super Mario Bros. 2, ? Switches have become more common. Several are used for spawning more coins. They additionally appear in some of the DLC courses.

? Switches appear in the following levels, with the following functions:

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U / New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe[edit]

In New Super Mario Bros. U, ? Switches are again less common. Some act somewhat similar to ! Switches in New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. 2 by causing red blocks to appear. In New Super Luigi U, ? Switches are considerably uncommon, appearing in only three levels. In New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, ? Switches return in both capacities.

? Switches appear in the following New Super Mario Bros. U levels, with the following functions:

? Switches appear in the following New Super Luigi U levels, with the following functions:

Super Mario Maker[edit]

SMM-NSMBU-Switch.png

In versions of Super Mario Maker before version 1.30, P Switches in the New Super Mario Bros. U game style have the appearance of ? Switches.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder[edit]

In Super Mario Bros. Wonder, ? Switches are about as uncommon as in New Super Luigi U, as they only appear in two Break Time! levels and one main level.

? Switches and their purpose in the levels are as follows:

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Yoshi's Story[edit]

  • Instruction booklet: If you step on it, something secret will happen. Exactly what, is a secret.[5]

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ?スイッチ (Yoshi's Story)
? Suicchi
ハテナスイッチ[6]
Hatena Suicchi
スイッチブロック[7] (New Super Mario Bros., shared with P Switch and ! Switch)
Suicchi Burokku
? Switch

? Switch

Switch Block

Chinese (simplified) ?开关[11]
? Kāiguān
? Switch

French Interrupteur ?[9]
Interrupteur[10]
? Switch
Switch
German ?-Schalter[8]
? Switch
Italian Blocco Interruttore ?[citation needed] (New Super Mario Bros.)
Interruttore ?[citation needed] (Super Mario 64 DS)
? Switch Block
? Switch
Portuguese (NOE) Bloco de Mudança ? (New Super Mario Bros.)
? Change Block

Trivia[edit]

  • Although New Super Mario Bros. does have ? Switches in-game, the red ? Switch model from Super Mario 64 DS was left unused in the files of the final version. However, it was used in early prototypes.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Leung, Jason; Munson, Terry; Pelland, Scott (1998). Yoshi's Story Player's Guide. Nintendo Power. Page 16.
  2. ^ Nintendo (1998). Yoshi's Story official website. Retrieved April 14, 2020. (Archived Error: Invalid time. via Wayback Machine.)
  3. ^ Nintendo 64 Game Secrets, 1999 Edition. Prima Games. Page 104, 111.
  4. ^ (2006). New Super Mario Bros. British English instruction booklet. Nintendo. Page 18.
  5. ^ a b (1998). Yoshi's Story Australian instruction booklet. Nintendo. Page 15.
  6. ^ (2015). Super Mario Bros. Hyakka: Nintendo Kōshiki Guidebook. Shogakukan. Page 119, 151, 200, 216.
  7. ^ (2006). New Super Mario Bros. Japanese manual. Page 17.
  8. ^ (2006). New Super Mario Bros. German instruction booklet. Page 20.
  9. ^ (2005). Super Mario 64 DS French instruction booklet. Page 68.
  10. ^ (1998). Yoshi Story instruction booklet, French segment. Nintendo (French). Page 59.
  11. ^ New 超级马力欧兄弟. iQue (Chinese). Retrieved February 8, 2024.