List of Super Mario 3D Land glitches

This page lists of glitches in Super Mario 3D Land.

If Invincible Mario or White Tanooki Mario were to ground pound onto a Baddie box, the game will start to lag as the box explodes. The "explosion" will continue and the game lags until the player jumps off of the exploding box. A harsh grinding sound is heard during the explosion, and a sound resembling that of a beanstalk coming out of an item box (in Super Mario Bros.) can be heard as Mario crouches when the player holds or  (beanstalks like this do not appear in the game). It is possible this sound is simply the sound Mario makes when he crouches, but distorted so much by the explosion it sounds like that. The glitch can only be done on levels such as World 2-4, 5-Castle and Special 1-3 where Baddie Boxes appear. Only the latter level (where there is a random item box and Baddie Boxes are placed on a surface and not in the air) will have this glitch even after the player beats the level before and is also the only level where Luigi can execute this glitch. Both World 2-4, 5-Castle require the White Tanooki suit.

During the boss fight with Bowser on the castle in World 1, the player must use Tanooki Mario to glide across the gap between the bridge and the platforms at the start of the fight then press the switch when Bowser jumps to the left. If done correctly, the bridge will collapse with Bowser off-screen, and the game will never end the cutscene. The player, however, can still exit the level. 12 Star Medals are needed to unlock the glitch.

In World 8-1, Mario must take the Spiked Ball before the Reversible Platforms to the end of the flipping platforms. The ball will shake between the platform and the ground in the other side. Meanwhile, the camera shakes, until Mario jumps and the Spiked Ball falls. Defeat False Bowser in World 1 to unlock this glitch.

In World 7-1, if the player manages to knock the Coin Coffer, thus making it face the stone wall and then Ground Pound it, the coins it will spit out will be shot into the rock. Complete World 3-3 with touching only Donut Blocks to unlock this glitch.

To perform this glitch, Mario needs to go to the airship of World 2. Then, he should enter the first Warp Box. The player should reach the end of the bonus airship, but Mario should not enter the Warp Box at the end. Instead, the player should press the left camera control button so that the camera turns to the left. Wait until the Warp Box is offscreen then immediately go inside the box before Mario loses a life. If performed correctly, Mario should lose a life while the camera pans back to the main airship.

To perform this glitch Special 8-Crown must be unlocked. Then position Mario/Luigi on the stage and Save and Quit. Occasionally, instead of a crown sprite, a Warp Pipe sprite will appear on the file-select screen. It can be fixed by loading the file and then quitting again. The player must complete Special 8-Crown with Mario and Luigi before unlocking this glitch.

In World 8-Bowser's Castle 2, the level starts off Mario/Luigi riding on the bone coaster. If the player stands on the tail after its first drop, then after the second drop, Mario/Luigi will fall down. If done right, Mario/Luigi will be standing on the edge of a platform, barely touching the lava. Complete Special 6-2 only touching Donut Blocks to unlock the glitch.

First, Save and Quit in any of the normal worlds. Then, on the title screen, wait until the very end when Mario jumps offscreen, and tap the screen (not press ) right when he starts flying. Then, at the file-select screen, both the title screen theme and the Toad House theme play at the same time. Complete Special 7-4 without dashing to unlock Music Times Two.

In World 1-1, the player must be Tanooki Mario/Luigi and do a Rolling Long Jump out of the house-like building. If the player bounces off of the first Goomba, they will pose as a normal Long Jump. Upon getting close enough to the second Goomba, it will abruptly die.

In any level with a Warp Pipe, if the player throws a Fireball or a Boomerang and presses or  at the same time, the pipe sound won't play.

If the player collides with both an enemy and a power-up at the same time, the power-up sound will play, but Mario or Luigi will remain exactly the same.

When Mario or Luigi jump into the air above a platform, their shadows pass through the platform and reach the ground.

At the start of the level, if the player activates the elevator and quickly stands on the front edge, the enemies will not spawn.

In World 8-1, the player must go to the Reversible Platforms area. Then, they need to make the Spiked Ball cross the first Reversible Platform and reach on the second, timing correctly to crash with another Spiked Ball shot by the shooter near the platform. This Spiked Ball occasionally will fall with the half on the wall.

The player must have a Statue Leaf to perform this glitch. In World 2-1, the player must move Mario to the upward-moving yellow platforms and turn into Statue Mario. Then, the player will never exit statue form unless the player lets go of the or  button.

First, the player must be Fire Mario or Boomerang Mario and have either a Super Leaf or Statue Leaf in the inventory. Secondly, the player has to jump as high as he or she can and then release the item. Right before collecting the leaf (while still fairly high in the air), the player must throw the projectile so it looks like Tanooki Mario is throwing either a Fireball or Boomerang. Finally, during the transformation, the player must use the gliding command. If successfully done, Tanooki Mario will appear to be falling, but will be falling slowly, as if he was gliding.

In World 6-2, the player must use a P-Wing to be warped to the end of the stage. Then, Mario must go to the rising tiles area, just before the Flagpole. The gray tiles will be missing. If the player goes to the far left, and then come back to the area, the tiles will suddenly appear.

In World 4-2, the player must jump in the bouncy platforms near the end of the level. When Mario jumps in the far left platforms, he will cross the ground and back instantly.

Where ever a Statue Leaf is, the player must grab it and press as soon as they touch it. Mario or Luigi will be a statue but the power-up sound will play. This glitch is very hard to do as it requires very good timing.

When Boomerang Mario enters into a Toad House, he must throw a boomerang and quickly leave the room. The Boomerang will disappear near the door.

In any level with a Warp Box, Boomerang Mario can throw a boomerang right as he enters the Warp Box, and it will not disappear. That leaves Mario to having to wait at least 5 seconds for it to fly back to him. This also applies to Mystery Boxes found within levels.

After the Checkpoint Flag, the player should go to the long, wooden bar with three coins on it. The player has to go behind the two walls and the camera will warp to the two wooden Goombas, without the ground.