Star Road (Super Mario World)



Star Roads are stars that act as warp points to other locations, most notably in Super Mario World.

Super Mario World
Star Roads debut in Super Mario World, connecting five points in Dinosaur Land to the Star World. They are unlocked by finding secret exits in different levels. When entering a Star Road, Mario or Luigi will spin around rapidly before moving upwards and teleporting to the Star World.

When in the Star World, the secret exit of each level will allow Mario or Luigi to move to the next Star Road, regardless if he has encountered it in Dinosaur Land first. If the player goes to a Star Road in the Star World without beating the level in Dinosaur Land that leads to it, the road will show on the map, but Mario or Luigi will not be able to move forward towards the unbeaten Dinosaur Land level. However, the Star Road in the Valley of Bowser is an exception, and it allows Mario or Luigi to enter Bowser's Castle this way.

Mario Sports Mix
In Mario Sports Mix, the Star Road also appears as the Star Cup's alternate route. If players complete missions during the road, then it will become a big star for them to jump through, sending them back to the normal tournament for the final match.

Appearances in other media
Though never named, Star Roads make at least two appearances in the Super Mario World cartoon. They serve an identical purpose, being able to warp people to the Star World (or the "Star Path," as it is called on the show), and appear only alongside the Star Path itself. The cartoon depicts Star Roads as large star-shaped structures found on high cliffs; the only major difference between the Star Roads of the game and those of the show are that the ones seen on the show lack eyes and do not stand upright.

Star Roads debut in "Send in the Clowns," where Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Yoshi use a Star Road to access Neon Castle through the Star Path. Their second and final appearance is in "King Scoopa Koopa," where Mario and Toadstool use a Star Road to evade pursuit from a group of cave people-turned-Chickadactyls.

The fact that both Star Roads featured in the show are seemingly found on the same cliff may indicate that they are the same Star Road, or perhaps that only one Star Road exists in the show. However, the former is more likely, as both Star Roads are shown to be near or within the limits of Dome City. Most of the Star Roads on the Star Path itself (save for one seen in the episode "King Scoopa Koopa") are replaced by Warp Pipes instead. "King Scoopa Koopa" shows that the Warp Pipes act as the endpoint of Star Roads, while "Send in the Clown" depicts the landing point of Star Roads as a varying area on the Star Path. Both episodes show that these Warp Pipes have the same purpose as the Star Roads from the game.