List of Super Mario Bros. 3 glitches

These are the glitches found in Super Mario Bros. 3

In the Fortress level of Dark Land, the player must go through several doors in order to battle Boom-Boom. There are some Question Blocks which contain items near a door. If Mario hits one of these blocks and enters a door quickly, before the item appears, the next time he go to that area will have a permanent used block. It'll stay there unless losing a life or complete the level.

The player should have Mario wag his tail a fraction of a second after collecting a 1-Up Mushroom to hear an extended 1-Up sound effect. The exact moment to wag Mario's tail at 1/12 of a second after the 1-Up icon appears. The two sound effects will conflict, causing the game to play extra notes at the beginning of the 1-Up theme.

It is possible to remove Bowser's ability to spit fire. It works in the NES version and the Super Mario All-Stars version, but not in the Super Mario Advance 4 remake.

The player must use a P-Wing before entering Bowser's Castle. After climbing the stairs protected by Roto-Discs, the player must duck, then fly onto the ? block, and stand up; the player will glide through the wall. (This isn't necessary for the trick to work, but makes it easier to keep Mario's P-Wing activated.) The player must fly through the lava chamber and, when presented with the four corridors at the end, take the one guarded by the Thwomp. The player must then fly through the hall of statues and enter Bowser's chamber.

Once the player has entered Bowser's chamber, the player should fly straight up to the left. The player will pass over the wall. When the player reaches the end of the wall, they must stop. If they keep going, the player will land in Bowser's alternate room and fight him there. Instead, the player must return to the chamber they came from. Next, the player has to walk to the right, and Bowser will spawn. He will make belching motions at Mario, but will be unable to produce fire.

This works in the NES and Super Mario All-Stars versions, but not Super Mario Advance 4.

The player has to go to Bowser's Castle. After passing the Donut Lifts, the player will have to take the upper route. The player will follow the route until Mario/Luigi reaches the door at the end. Instead of entering it, the player must fly to the Bowser statue just before it and ducks. The player ducks on top of the Bowser statue, and after doing so the player has to fly through the wall. This will make the player end up in the room that would have been reached if the player had taken the lower route found after the Donut lifts.

As Tanooki Mario, if the player presses right as when Mario goes down a pipe, he will turn grey, but not into a statue.

This glitch can be found in World 6-10. The player follows the route until they reach a pipe with the Hammer Suit in it. If Mario enters the secret room and breaks the ? with the Hammer Suit, he will go up to the top of the hill, and he will still slide even with the Hammer Suit on.

In world 1-1, there are some Paratroopas. Mario needs to jump on one of them when they are at the highest point of the bounce. Mario will go offscreen and will not come back. He is actually in the bonus area although the screen didn't scroll there. If he hits the block that has the 1-up mushroom, the block is visible on the bottom side of the screen while it's being hit.

This was shown in a Super Mario All-Stars Limited Edition Super Play video. To do this, Mario must stand on two donut lifts and one of them won't fall.

This glitch works in the Tower in World 5. First, the player must start the level with a P-Wing. The player should fly to the area full of bricks. (There should be two Micro-Goombas there too) The player should then fly to the pipe and then go above it. Then keep going right until they get over the pipe into an area behind it. There is also a brick with a 1-Up back here. Over to the left, the player should see a wall of bricks. Mario should then fly over to them and whip them with his tail to make a spot to stand on. The player should then make Mario fly upwards off the screen for a while, he/she will start seeing "invisible" blocks being broken at the very bottom of the screen.

This works in the NES version of the game, but not in Super Mario All-Stars nor Super Mario Advance 4 versions.

This is a glitch from level 3-9. In it, the player plays with the Ice Blocks on the right side of the Pipe as follows: Mario ducks, getting rid of the bottom 3 ice blocks on the right side of the pipe, but keeping the ice block on the far top. Then he should duck and jump and he will suddenly go down the side of the Pipe. Fire Mario can still shoot fireballs, but Mario won't be able to get out of the pipe. The player can just scroll left and right, but Mario won't appear. Moreover, the player won't return to the map screen until 5 minutes after time runs out.

This works in the NES and Super Mario All-Stars versions. Whether it works in Super Mario Advance 4 is a meaningless question because a Fire Flower changes small Mario to Fire Mario normally in Super Mario Advance 4.

This glitch is in level 5-7. The player starts 5-7, and Mario should be Super Mario. Mario should jump into a block to make a Fire Flower without getting it right away. Instead, Mario collects the first coin to the right of the flower and it starts to flash. Then, a Micro-Goomba hits Mario so that he can downgrade to small, and he grabs the flower, and he becomes Fire Mario immediately.

This glitch can be performed in 6-10. Mario should start the level with Star (without Frog Suit). The player should then quickly break the block with Vine and climb on it. Mario will still somersault even when he loses his Star.

To do this glitch, player must wear Tanooki suit, then go to ? block with Frog or hammer suit in. When item will jump off the block, stand near it and turn into statue. When item hit mario he will be statue-colored frog or Hammer Bro.

In the beginning of 5-2, If Mario has a Tanooki suit, he must transform to a statue on the slope, then he slides down the slope to the far left of the screen, then he dies.

This glitch only works in NES version. In 5-3, with a Super Leaf or Tanooki Suit, the player should hit a Spiny and hold its shell. While doing so, Mario should get into a Kuribo's Shoe. The shoe will become transparent and Mario's clothes will become black.

To do this glitch, the player must land in a Kuribo Shoe while in statue form. Mario will be grey, and everything will play normally, exept Mario will be invincible.

When Mario's foot catches off a pipe or wall, he can jump again to do the wall jump.