Roll

The Roll is a move used by Mario and Luigi in Super Mario 3D Land, and also Peach, Toad, and Rosalina in Super Mario 3D World. To perform it, the player has to press or  while crouching; thus, it replaces the Sweep and Slide Kicks from Super Mario 64. This move moves Mario forward with a quick roll. When rolling, he can break open crates and gain speed and distance; however, he cannot defeat enemies this way, as opposed to the Roll Attack from the Donkey Kong Country series. If Mario jumps during the move, the roll will become a Rolling Leap, a longer and faster version of the Long Jump. If he is in his Tanooki form, this move becomes the . When used, the character will crouch and continuously spin their tail until or  is not pressed anymore. By combining this move with the Rolling Leap, the character can move while spinning their tail, defeating every enemy in their way.

The roll move makes a return in Super Mario Odyssey. Unlike in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World, Mario can turn while rolling and perform a continuous roll (by holding and pressing  or shaking the  to keep rolling ; the latter method being faster than the former), instead of performing just one roll. He can also roll by holding as he lands from a Long Jump, Ground Pound, or Dive (which now uses the Roll's input).

The roll can also be performed in the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong and Super Mario Run, when characters land from a great height (called a Landing Roll in Super Mario Run). In the former game, the roll only saves Mario from potentially deadly falls (Falls from higher heights can stun or kill him.). In the latter game, characters will also roll if the player taps the screen when they are on a Pause Block pointing to the right. This roll can also defeat enemies, unlike in Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World and Super Mario Odyssey. Tapping the screen while in a rolling animation performs a Rolling Jump, which can defeat enemies from below.

Trivia

 * In the pre-release version of Super Mario 3D Land, the roll was performed by pressing the or  buttons while moving. If the player attempts to do this in the final version, Mario will slide while crouching instead, as in the 2D Super Mario games.