Goal Pole

A Goal Pole (originally known as a Flagpole) appears at the end of every normal level in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, New Super Mario Bros., New Super Mario Bros. Wii, New Super Mario Bros. 2, and New Super Mario Bros. U. The flags on a flagpole come in many colors, though Red Flagpoles usually indicate an alternate exit in the New Super Mario Bros. games. If the player manages to grab the top of the flagpole, they will earn an extra life. However, in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, the player can receive an extra life from a flagpole only if two conditions are met: The coin counter must be double zero and the last digit of the time counter must be zero when the player character touches the flagpole. In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, there are Bowser symbols shown on the flags instead of skulls. In Super Mario Bros. 3 there were Card Roulettes instead of flagpoles, and in Super Mario World, flagpoles were replaced by Giant Gates. These Flagpoles symbolize Mario taking over or claiming that area- taking down Bowser's flag or replacing it with his own.

Mario or Luigi have to jump and grab the Goal Pole to end the level. In Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Luigi can easily jump over the flagpole due to his better jumping abilities. In order to still finish the level, he has to jump at it from the other side. It is unknown whether or not this is a glitch, as it does not cause any errors. It was not fixed in Super Mario All-Stars. Interestingly, in New Super Mario Bros., while being Mega Mario or Mega Luigi, they can knock over the flagpole, and then shrink into their regular form and head into the castle. By doing this, they end up earning five extra lives. If the player gets a 1, 3, or a 6 in Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, and New Super Mario Bros. on the timer, they can get 1, 3, or 6 fireworks, depending on which last digit is earn.

Mario could also jump on Goal Poles (still called Flagpoles) in Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, in the Flagpole Leap minigame. This game answers the question, "Why jump on the flagpoles?". The answer is, "Why not?".

They also appear in the Bowser inter-missions in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door; Bowser can knock the pole completely off screen if he is large enough. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, there is a flagpole in front of the Little Fungitown that can be slid down on in the Beanbean Kingdom. A flagpole is also seen in the Super Mario Bros. picture behind the Border Bros..

In the Mario Party 8 minigame Crank to Rank, Goal Poles with the Star Carnival emblem shown on them appear.

In the opening cinematic of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool can be seen sliding down multi-colored Goal Poles.

Goal Poles appear in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story when the Mario brothers or Bowser gain experience points.

Goal Poles also appear in the Nintendo 3DS game Super Mario 3D Land; the first appearance under that name. Unlike previous Mario games, flagpoles appear in every level, even in castles and airships. After defeating the boss of an airship or castle, Mario has to keep walking to the flagpole instead of ending the level immediately after defeating the boss, as in previous games. When Mario grabs any part of a flagpole, a red flag with Mario's emblem replaces the one with Bowser's emblem. However, if Mario grabs the top of a flagpole, he will earn an extra life, and the flag will turn golden instead. These golden flags are required for completing 100% for the entire game. The normal flagpoles are replaced by flagpoles with giant Bowser flags after each boss battle or castle, which turns into giant Mario flags once grabbed.

In the course Piranha Plant Pipeway in Mario Kart 7, several black and red Goal Poles can be seen on each side of the road just before the finish line.

Goal Poles are also used in Mario Tennis Open, where they appear in the Super Mario Tennis mode. The Goal Pole can be hit by a tennis ball, and will end the mode in success, also offering a varying amount of coins dependant on how high the Goal Pole was struck.

Trivia

 * In both Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing: City Folk, the Flagpole as it appears in Super Mario Bros. appears as a furniture item.
 * In Super Paper Mario, there is a Sammer Guy called "Over the Flagpole", a reference to the glitch of the same name from Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
 * In Nintendo Monopoly, there is a Coin Block/Brick Block card that rewards the player with $20 for hitting the top of a flagpole.