Crouch

The crouch or duck move has been used in almost every Mario platformer made. To use it, the player must simply press or //. If the player releases or //, he or she will go back to standing position. It is used to duck under projectiles and slide under walls while moving. They can chain it to a Somersault or Long Jump while dashing; Super Mario Sunshine is an exception, as Mario can perform a Somersault, but he cannot crouch or Long Jump. If Mario or Luigi use it at the same time as a jump in side-scrollers, they can jump while still crouching. This can be utilized to get into one-block tall holes. It can also be used within these tunnels to move slightly with each jump, but if the player releases the down button, the character performing it will automatically go towards the opposite direction they are facing. Small Mario can only crouch in Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros., and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Also in Super Mario Bros. 2, if the player stays still in crouch position for a small period of time, the character will start to flash and can jump higher (once per charge). This ability is called the Power Squat Jump. This can also be done in Super Mario 3D Land and Super Mario 3D World.

In some games, such as Super Mario 64 and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, attempting to move while in a crouch allows the character to crawl (Only a number of characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl can do this, however). This generally has no advantage.