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 Sub-Space 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, sub-level,[6], or sub-room[7] is a feature in most games, especially platformers, in the Super Mario franchise. Sub-areas are places that are often 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 and Super Mario World 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. Super Mario Land sub-areas also exit out at their entrance pipes. In Super Mario World, 1-Up Chambers frequently appear as sub-areas.
Sub-areas return in the New Super Mario Bros. series, 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 respectively, within them.
In Super Mario Maker, Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Mario Maker 2, the player is able to include one sub area in each of their levels, with can be accessed only via Warp Pipes in the main area. The theme used for a sub area can be different than that of the main area, though the game style cannot be changed between the areas.
Super Mario Galaxy[edit]
This section needs Super Mario improvement. Specifically:
- Screenshots for the table.
- More detailed info on the sub-areas in Honeyhive Galaxy, Gusty Garden Galaxy, and Toy Time Galaxy.
- Are these truly all the sub-areas in the game? I'm sure there were a few more in other galaxies.
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.[8]
List[edit]
| # | Image | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Good Egg Galaxy | Found on the bottom of the starting planet and is part of the intended path to complete the missions Luigi on the Roof, and King Kaliente's Battle Fleet. It contains many platforms that let the player move up and down through gravity, as well as a ? Coin. When activated the coin will spawn music notes that play Underground BGM before granting a 1-Up. |
| 2 |
|
Good Egg Galaxy | Found in A Snack of Cosmic Proportions on the Chain Chomp planet. Contains a Rainbow Star, and several Ruby Rocks to destroy. |
| 3 |
|
Honeyhive Galaxy | Found on top of the platform with water. |
| 4 |
|
Beach Bowl Galaxy | Located underwater near the waterfall. Contains a tall area with Goombas and Brick Blocks with some Empty Blocks. Touching the ? Coin at the top turns every Brick Block and Empty Blocks into some star shards, so the goal is to break as little Brick Blocks as possible. |
| 5 |
|
Gusty Garden Galaxy | Underneath a platform on the starting planet during Gusty Garden's Gravity Scramble and The Golden Chomp missions. |
| 6 |
|
Dusty Dune Galaxy | Found after the Eye Beamer segment in Blasting through the Sand and Sandblast Speed Run.[citation needed] Identical to the Good Egg Galaxy one, but produces three 1-Ups.[citation needed] Transports player to the planet with Bone Twisters. |
| 7 |
|
Gold Leaf Galaxy | Found on top of the starting planet. Can easily be found if a ? Coin near a black hole is hit, which creates a Sling Star and a total of 50 coins. Inside is a bunch of Ruby Rocks and gravity ramps with a Rainbow Star. |
| 8 |
|
Toy Time Galaxy | Encountered on Mecha-Bowser, and requires the Spring Mushroom. Similar to Beach Bowl Galaxy's sub area, but upward. |
| 9 |
|
Toy Time Galaxy | Only accessible in the mission Bouncing Down Cake Lane. It can be found on a spoon. Many spiky plants are in this one. |
Super Mario Galaxy 2[edit]
In Super Mario Galaxy 2, sub-areas funtion slightly differently from its predecessor. They may involve collecting coins under a time limit to get extra lives and Star Bits, spinning three Chance Cubes, or opening treasure chests. These sub-areas 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.
Super Mario 3D Land / Super Mario 3D World / Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury[edit]
In Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, some sub-areas are timed challenges accessed via Mystery Box. Completing these challenges usually reward the player with a Star Medal, Green Star, or Cat Shine respectively. In the Bowser's Fury campaign of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, entering a sub-area while Fury Bowser is active causes his rampage to end prematurely.
Super Paper Mario[edit]
In Super Paper Mario, Sub-areas appear in various levels through the game. They are most frequently accessed via pipes, although some are instead entered through other means, such as doors, or certain pits.
While most of them are optional, some sub-areas must be visited in order to progress the level, such as the area where Boomer is located.
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
Themes[edit]
 Underground BGM - The theme played in most sub-areas in Super Mario Bros. | File info |
| Pipe interior - The theme played in sub-areas in Super Mario Galaxy | File info |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch | Geheime kamer | Secret room | [9] | |
| Muntenkamer | Coin room | Super Mario Bros. | [10] | |
| French | Chambre secrète | Secret room | [11] | |
| Salle de monnaie | Coin room | Club Nintendo | [12] | |
| German | Münzenraum | Coin Room | [13] | |
| Italian | Stanza segreta | Secret room | [14] | |
| Portuguese | Quarto secreto | "Secret room"; quarto usually refers to a room in a home | [15] | |
| Spanish | Habitación de las monedas | "Coin room"; habitación usually refers to a room in a home | [16] |
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.
- ^ 2003. Wario World instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 22.
- ^ SwankyBox (November 16, 2019). The Launch Star That Grants a Fate Worse Than Death in Super Mario Galaxy (7:17). YouTube. Retrieved June 3, 2026.
- ^ Club Nintendo Magazines (Dutch
- ^ Club Nintendo Magazines (Dutch
- ^ Super Mario Galaxy 2, Le Guide Officiel. Prima Games, page 14
- ^ Club Nintendo Edition 1989 - 1, Numéro 1 (French)
- ^ Club Nintendo 1989 | German
- ^ Club Nintendo 1992 4
- ^ Revista Club Nintendo nº1 (Portugal)
- ^ Club Nintendo - Numero 1 (Spaco)
