Editing Pit

{{about|the obstacle found in many [[Super Mario (franchise)|Mario games]]|the track feature from the F-Zero series that appears in [[Mario Kart 8]] and [[Mario Kart 8 Deluxe]]|[[Pit (F-Zero)]]|the game commonly abbreviated as "PiT"|[[Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time]]|the protagonist of the [[icaruspedia:Kid Icarus (series)|Kid Icarus series]] who appears as a character in the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|Super Smash Bros. series]]|[[List of fighters debuting in Super Smash Bros. Brawl#Pit|List of fighters debuting in Super Smash Bros. Brawl § Pit]]}}
{{redirect|Abyss|the custom variant for [[Sheik]]'s Vanish special move in [[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS]] and [[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]|[[Sheik#Vanish|Sheik § Vanish]]}}
[[File:Abyss.png|thumb|[[Mario]] falling into a pit in ''[[Super Mario World]]'']]
A '''pit''', also called an '''abyss''', '''bottomless pit''', or '''void''' in 3D [[Genre#Platform games|platformers]], is a common obstacle in platform games where no solid ground is programmed. In 2D platformers, pits appear in almost every [[level]]. If a character falls or [[jump]]s into a pit, they will be affected negatively, usually by immediately losing a life. Aesthetically, pits can take many forms, and many of these pits appear to have no bottom; after falling a varying distance down (usually simply below the camera or screen), the player loses a life, even if an invincibility-granting item is in effect.

In 3D platformers, many levels consist of landmasses or platforms floating in a large void. Examples of this are [[Whomp's Fortress]], [[Pianta Village]], the [[Metro Kingdom]], and many levels of the ''[[Super Mario Galaxy]]'' games and ''[[Super Mario 3D Land]]''. These voids are essentially considered to be massive pits.

While most pits cause instant death, some instead warp the player backward or to a particular location (sometimes in addition to losing a life). The pits in ''[[Wario World]]'' lead to [[Unithorn's Lair]], a subterranean cavern, and because players can resume progress once a specific goal has been reached, these cannot be considered bottomless pits.
==History==
===''Donkey Kong'' series===
In ''[[Donkey Kong (game)|Donkey Kong]]'', there are no bottomless pits. [[Mario]] will lose a life if he falls from a height greater than his own. In [[75m|75 m]], touching the bottom floor subtracts a life as if it were a pit. In the [[Donkey Kong (Game Boy)|Game Boy version]], this floor is covered with [[Spike Trap|spike]]s.

In ''[[Donkey Kong Jr. (game)|Donkey Kong Jr.]]'', falling from a [[Beanstalk|vine]] or chain costs a life. The [[Vine Scene]] contains a [[water]]y pit, while the first true bottomless pits are in the [[Jump Board Scene]] and [[Mario's Hideout]].

===''Super Mario'' series===
[[File:AbyssSML.jpg|thumb|150px|Mario running across many narrow pits]]
Pits are a common obstacle in the 2D games of the [[Super Mario (series)|''Super Mario'' series]]. [[Lava]] and [[poison (obstacle)|poison]] are essentially pits. Allowing the player's character to sink through [[quicksand]] is the same as falling into a pit. Certain pits may be only one block wide; in such cases, the player can often [[dash|run]] straight across the pits without falling down as long as they have enough speed. Walking across these narrow pits without running generally does not work.

Although Mario can [[swim]] in some levels of ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]'' and ''[[Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels]]'', if he falls into [[water]] in a non-swimming level, he loses a life just as if it were a pit. In ''Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels'', some backwards [[Warp Zone]]s have a small pit Mario can fall into to avoid warping backwards.

In ''[[Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins]]'', falling into a pit will play Mario's death animation upon touching the bottom of screen, similar to falling into lava.

In ''[[Super Mario 64]]'', in the mansion of [[Big Boo's Haunt]], if Mario falls into a pit, he ends up in the mansion's basement rather than losing a life. Also, in the [[Super Mario 64 DS|DS remake]], if Mario falls into a pit in [[Big Boo Battle]], he is teleported back to the starting area.

In ''Super Mario Galaxy'' and ''[[Super Mario Galaxy 2]]'', pits often take the form of [[black hole]]s, appearing in island-like [[galaxy|galaxies]] such as [[Beach Bowl Galaxy]] and [[Matter Splatter Galaxy]], although Mario can still lose a life by falling into voids otherwise.

In ''[[Super Mario Maker]]'', the game may play an [[Easter egg]] sound effect upon the player falling into a bottomless pit, with a landing noise suggesting that the pit apparently has a bottom. In these sound effects, Mario is heard to be doing something offscreen. On some occasions, the sound effect is accompanied by other objects such as a car and several other Marios.

In ''[[Super Mario Odyssey]]'', once Mario hits the void's event horizon, several [[coin]]s spill out in each direction and he loses them before respawning; this is due to the game lacking a life system. If the player falls into the void in Assist Mode, a [[bubble]] brings them back out and they lose one [[Heart Point|Health Point]].

In ''[[Super Mario Bros. Wonder]]'', for the first time in a sidescrolling ''Super Mario'' game, lethal pits are visually indicated as such, featuring a darkened gradient texture acoss the bottom.

===''Mario Kart'' series===
Pits also appear in the [[Mario Kart (series)|''Mario Kart'']] series, appearing in certain courses such as [[Mushroom Gorge]] from ''[[Mario Kart Wii]]''. When a character drives off the course into a pit, they yell out as the camera pans down into darkness, and a few seconds later, [[Lakitu (Mario Kart referee)|Lakitu]] lifts the character back up and drops them back onto the course, essentially making the pits act as a large time penalty, though they also cost the player a few coins in the games featuring them.

===''Mario Party'' series===
Pits appear in some of the [[minigame]]s in the ''[[Mario Party (series)|Mario Party]]'' series. Falling into a pit usually causes the player to be eliminated, although in a few minigames, such as [[Tile and Error]], falling into one causes the player to be carried back to the playfield. In a few other minigames, such as [[Skyjinks]], players can fall into a pit a certain number of times before being eliminated.

===''Super Paper Mario''===
In ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', if Mario, [[Princess Peach]], [[Bowser]], or [[Luigi]] falls into a pit, they will flip back onto solid ground and lose one [[Heart Point|HP]]. A few pits in ''Super Paper Mario'' (on the outskirts of [[Flipside]] and [[Flopside]]) do not hurt the player, instead sending them to a secret room with a [[Trampoline|spring]] and (a) valuable item(s). Also in ''Super Paper Mario'', some [[Shayde]]s are tasked with cleaning pits as punishment in [[The Underwhere]].

===Unused appearances===
During the development of ''[[Mario Bros. (game)|Mario Bros.]]'', [[Gunpei Yokoi]] suggested removing the threat of falling from great heights that were seen in the first two ''[[Donkey Kong (series)|Donkey Kong]]'' arcade entries.<ref>[https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/wii/nsmb/0/1/ Iwata Asks: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Vol. 1 Ch. 2]. Retrieved July 13, 2023.</ref> This would have a major impact on subsequent games of the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]].

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Spa=Hoyo
|SpaM=Pit
|Fre=Fosse sans fin<ref>[https://www.nintendo64ever.com/Scans-Magazine,2,Le-Magazine-Officiel-Nintendo-01.html Nintendo official French magazine N1], page 92</ref>
|FreM=Bottomless pit
}}

==References==
{{NIWA|WiKirby=Bottomless pit|ZeldaWiki=Hole}}
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