Midas River

Mario at the falls

Mario rolling on the river

The Midas River is a large river seen in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. When Mario and Mallow are flushed out of the Kero Sewers, they end up being flung down the falls, also known as Midas Waterfall. The name "Midas" comes from a figure in Greek mythology, Midas, who is a king that turned everything he touched into gold, which is fitting since many gold coins can be collected in the waterbody.

The falls are segmented and feature the first nonstandard gameplay section. After Toad appears and the player accepts or rejects his explanation, Mario is carried by the downward current. It is possible to swim slightly upstream for a moment so as to slow down Mario's fall. Mario can try to grab coins and Frog Coins scattered all around the surface of water. Holes are visible behind the waterfall as Mario descends; entering one results in a brief scene playing that can result in the player recovering FP or gaining or losing coins, among other effects. Up to 36 coins can be collected.

The river in the Switch remake

At the bottom of the falls, Mario lands on a barrel floating in the river. This begins the second nonstandard gameplay section introduced by Toad, which is the barrel-jumping event. It is a barrel-ride to the end, collecting more coins along the way. There are two "lanes", which can be switched between by bumping into barrels. Certain lanes have more coins than others. Bumping into one of the river's irritable jumping fish will result in Mario losing coins. In the original version of the game, fish can only come from the front; in the remake, they can come also come from behind. Up to 64 coins can be collected.

A Mushroom person waits at the course's end, who will hold onto any coins earned on the course. Collecting 50 coins earns the player one Frog Coin. When clearing the Midas River for the first time, he will also give Mario a Koopa Shell. The exit in this small area leads to Tadpole Pond.

The bucket in Moleville serves as a warp to the Midas River. If it is accessed this way, the Mushroom person at the bottom of the river will be absent, leaving a note saying that the course is closed for the day; reading the note will give the player any coins they earned on the course to keep.

This river briefly reappears in the short book, Mario and the Incredible Rescue, where Mario, Luigi and Toad pass through here to reach Tadpole Pond. They get there after falling off the waterfall, an event that later inspires Mario to compose a song on the flute called "Falling Down a Waterfall", which he plays for Toadofski.

Names in other languages

Click an area to open the relevant article.

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ワイン川がわくだり Wain-gawa Kudari ワイン川がわ Wain-gawa ワイン川がわのほとり Wain-gawa no Hotori	Wine River Descent (waterfall) Wine River (course) Wine River Bank (map)
Chinese (simplified)	红酒河漂流 Hóngjiǔ hé piāoliú 红酒河 Hóngjiǔ hé 红酒河边 Hóngjiǔ Hé Biān	Wine River Drift (waterfall) Wine River (course) Red Wine Riverside (map)
Chinese (traditional)	紅酒河順流 Hóngjiǔ hé shùnliú 紅酒河 Hóngjiǔ hé 紅酒河邊 Hóngjiǔ Hé Biān	Wine River Descent (waterfall) Wine River (course) Red Wine Riverside (map)
Dutch	Midas-Kanaal	Midas Canal
French	rivière Midas	Midas river
German	Fluss Krösus	Croesus River
Italian	Fiume Mida	Midas River
Korean	와인강 내려오기 Wain Gang Naeryeo-ogi 와인강 Wain Gang 와인강 둔치 Wain Gang Dunchi	Wine River Descent (waterfall) Wine River (course) Wine River Bank (map)
Spanish	Río Midas	Midas River

Trivia

• In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the background music for the Midas River is unusual in that it uses microtonality; it is written in A-flat major internally but pitch-shifted upward by 50 cents, so that the song as heard uses a nonexistent key between A-flat major and A major. The updated version from the Nintendo Switch remake is played in A-flat major throughout, with no microtonality. This can be observed by switching from the music version from Modern to Classic through the System menu.