Propeller Box

A Propeller Box is a power-up that first appears in Super Mario 3D Land. It is an orange block with eyes and a yellow propeller that characters can wear over their body. The blades of the propeller can be used to rapidly fly into the air to a great height, and then slowly fall back down towards the ground.

Super Mario 3D Land
While Mario or Luigi wears a Propeller Box, the player can press the jump button to make them fly up to a certain height. The player can then hold the button to make them descend slowly. The Propeller Box can be used to fly again once the character reaches ground. It is lost if the player is hit by an enemy or finishes a level, but an extra life is rewarded in the latter case. While wearing a Propeller Box, Mario or Luigi cannot throw fireballs or boomerangs, or turn into a statue, but are still able to perform a tail swipe.

Super Mario 3D World
Propeller Boxes also appear in Super Mario 3D World, where they act in a way similar to the predecessor, though the box color now changes depending on which character is wearing it. While Mario retains his orange box, Luigi now has a green one, Princess Peach has pink, Toad has blue, and Rosalina has cyan. The same power-up limitations from Super Mario 3D Land apply (including the inability to turn into a statue), though the player can also still perform a claw swipe.

Super Mario Maker 2
Propeller Boxes were added to Super Mario Maker 2 in the version 3.0.0 update released on April 22, 2020, appearing in the Super Mario 3D World style. While wearing one, the player is able to raise their elevation three times while jumping. In this game, the Propeller Box becomes red when Mario wears it, and it has three lights on the side to indicate how many times the player can use it.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
A trophy of Mario wearing a Propeller Box appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

Super Mario 3D Land

 * North American website bio: "When Mario dons one of these nifty blocks, he can perform an extra propeller-fuelled leap with every jump he makes. Having one of these handy makes those dizzying heights a bit easier to manage."
 * European website bio: "When Mario wears a Propeller Box on his head, the blades start spinning and Mario soars into the sky! A Propeller Box also lets Mario float slowly back to earth."

Super Mario 3D World

 * Instruction manual description (item): "While wearing this, Mario can fly upward."
 * Instruction manual description (form): "Fly high into the air."
 * North American website bio: "Fly up to hard-to-reach spots by jumping with this power-up."