Sub-area
- This article is about the sub-areas commonly found in the Super Mario series. For the sample level revolving around the mechanic in Super Mario Maker, see Sub Areas. For the sub-areas in the Donkey Kong Country series, see Bonus room.
- Not to be confused with Subspace or Magical Potion.
A sub-area[1] (alternatively subarea[2] or sub area[3][4]), also known as a bonus area, Coin Room,[5] bonus room, or sub-level,[6] is a feature in most games, especially platformers, in the Super Mario franchise. Sub-areas are places that are optional to access and are not required to enter in order to finish the level. They are most commonly, but not exclusively, entered through heading into Warp Pipes or climbing vines and usually contain coins, occasionally power-ups, and, in later games, collectibles such as Star Coins. Some also lead to Warp Zones or Coin Heavens. In the 2D games, the character usually also exits out to a different part of the main area.
History[edit]
Super Mario series / Super Princess Peach[edit]
Sub-areas were introduced in Super Mario Bros., with the first one being in World 1-1. They are present throughout the game.
The sub-areas return in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels with the same functionality.
Super Mario Bros. 2 contains many sub-areas, which can be accessed by entering vases. However, in this game, entering some of these vases, usually to pick up keys, is mandatory to finish levels.
Sub-areas in Super Mario Bros. 3 function the same as in Super Mario Bros. The ones in Super Mario Land, Super Princess Peach, and the Super Mario Maker series function very similarly but without the possibility of warping directly to later levels.
In Super Mario World, sub-areas differ somewhat from earlier games, as the only conventional sub-area in the game is the 1-Up Chamber. However, many pipes do lead to alternate areas of levels that are played similarly to the regular areas. There is also the bonus game for reaching 100 Bonus Stars from completing levels.
Sub-areas return in the New Super Mario Bros. series, Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, functioning very similarly to the ones in Super Mario Bros., but now with the possibility of finding Star Coins or 10-flower coins within them.
Many sub-areas in Super Mario Galaxy seem to be set directly inside the planet from which they are accessed. They often feature inverted gravity, drawing Mario toward the surface of the planet from inside. They may involve collecting notes, defeating enemies with the Rainbow Star, or spawning large amounts of Star Bits, each facilitated by a ? Coin. The theme "Pipe Interior" plays while inside a sub-area. On a technical level, these sub-areas are simply placed far away in the main area of a galaxy, and can sometimes erroneously be seen in the sky.
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, sub-areas may involve collecting coins under a time limit to get extra lives and Star Bits, spinning three Chance Cubes, or opening treasure chests. They play "Pipe Room", a swung arrangement of the melody of "Overture" and "Sky Station Galaxy". The Prankster Comet mission "Purple Coin Shadow Vault" is set in a sub-area and involves collecting Purple Coins instead. The game also includes Teleporters granting timed access to bonus planets.
In Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, some sub-areas are timed challenges accessed via Mystery Box.
Wario World[edit]
Sub-levels play a key role in Wario World as areas housing red diamonds, objects needed to access the boss of each level. There are two types of sub-levels; sub-levels accessed through wooden trapdoors can be accessed simply by ground-pounding to enter them and are often small, contained puzzles. Sub-levels accessed through steel trapdoors can only be accessed by Wario using the Piledriver move. These sub-areas are considerably larger than the ones accessed through wooden doors and take place in a sky like setting. Should Wario fall off the area, he will be reset at the sub-level's beginning. Sub-levels always contain a red diamond and sometimes also contain a Gold Statue piece, a captured Spriteling or both. Once the red diamond is collected, it is replaced by a normal wooden chest.
Princess Peach: Showtime![edit]
Sub-areas show up in most stages in Princess Peach: Showtime!. A vast majority of them offer Sparkle Gems, though some merely offer coins.
They are entered by having Peach (specifically her transformations except Radiant/Super Radiant) pose on certain spotlight spots in the stages with 
/ 
. This will lead to a round elevator platform lifting Peach up a bit, the audience clapping, and the elevator heading down into a curtained backroom that Peach drops down to.
The sub-areas usually have small missions inside them for Peach to complete. The challenges can only rarely be failed, and a spotlight spot after the missions will summon an elevator that goes further down and then immediately back up to where Peach originally entered the sub-area from.
Should Peach run out of HP while in a sub-area, for instance in the sub-area next to the boss fight entrance in Cowgirl in the Wilderness, she will be returned to the previous overworld checkpoint.
Gallery[edit]
Super Mario Galaxy
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | Chambre secrète[7] | Secret room |
References[edit]
- ^ Yamamura's Dojo in Super Mario Maker 2
- ^ "By touching Mario and dragging him into a pipe, you can create a subarea." – Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS American English digital manual (PDF). Nintendo of America. Page 23. Retrieved from nintendo.com.
- ^ Sub Areas sample level in Super Mario Maker
- ^ "By touching Mario and dragging him into a pipe, you can create a sub area on the other side of the pipe." – Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS European English digital manual (PDF). Nintendo of Europe GmbH. Page 18. Retrieved from nintendo.com.
- ^ Sase, Shinji, Howard Phillips, and Lynn Griffes, editors (1987). How to win at Super Mario Bros. (U.S. Edition). Redmond: Tokuma Shoten, Nintendo of America. ISBN 4-19-720003-XC. Page 7.
- ^ "Listen, eventually you're going to have to deal with the Stone Doohickey that sits on the Goal. To get rid of it, you've gotta collect a certain number of red diamonds. Below every ground hatch is a sub-level that holds one! Jump and then press the R Button to do a Ground Pound. You can crash through most hatches this way! For this area, you only need three diamonds!" — Chartreuse Spriteling. Greenhorn Forest. Wario World.
- ^ Super Mario Galaxy 2, Le Guide Officiel. Prima Games, page 14
