Super Star

Not to be confused with Power Stars.

Many Mario games, including the Super Mario Bros. series and the Mario Kart series, use Stars (AKA Invincibility Stars, Starmen, Super Stars). After picking up a Star, via ? Block or collecting it bouncing around, the user becomes temporarily invulnerable to all damage, except those of lava, deep water, falling, etc. Any projectiles or enemies that come into contact with the user of the Super Star while it is activate are either destroyed, damaged, or spun out (depending on the type of enemy and what game you are playing). The Star also increases the speed of the user substantially. The Star is undoubtedly one of the most powerful items in the Marioverse. Most side scrolling Mario games feature Stars to grant temporary invincibility, including Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario Land, and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins.

Odd enough, in certain Mario Kart games, a Star is seen with a smiling mouth, and only Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the one to reveal it. Stars were used differently in Yoshi's Island when they were smiley faced, with blue shoes. They were found by killing certain enemies and hitting some ? Clouds. They were used when Baby Mario fell off Yoshi's back. The Stars would somehow make a bubble around the screaming infant, protecting him from the evil Toadies until the power of the Stars ran out. Every Star collected would add one second to the Star meter, and collecting 30 of them was essential to get a Perfect on a level. Also, "Super Stars" found only in a few levels (they looked like an ordinary Starman, but with no eyes) would seal Yoshi in a huge egg, and Baby Mario would become invincible, and somehow sport a Cape, which allowed him to glide long distances. After a certain amount of time, Yoshi would return to normal and Baby Mario once again would seat himself on his back, losing his cape and invulnerability. There are also packs of Stars that come in 10 or 20.

Interestingly, Stars have made very few appearances in the Mario RPG series. Perhaps their only appearance as an item was in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, where Mario could occasionally find the rare item and use it to defeat enemies on the overworld (without having to go into battle with them). Doing this would, quite helpfully, still earn Mario Experience Points. Stars, despite being such rare items in the RPGs, were also briefly mentioned in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where they were said to be an ingredient of Invincishrooms. During the Mario Kart series, Stars give the character invincibility for a short time. Any item that hits the character using the star will be destroyed. Also a truck in Mario Kart: Double Dash!! in Mushroom Bridge and Mushroom City has "Star Travel" written on it. Its license plate is STR.

In Super Mario 64 and Super Mario 64 DS games, Power Stars are spread throughout the worlds, and Mario (or in the DS remake, Mario, Yoshi, Luigi, and Wario) must find them all. There are 7 power stars to collect in each world in the original version, 8 in the remake, and after finding most of them, the end boss, Bowser, is unlocked. If a player passes a Star Space in the Mario Party series, they can pay 20 coins for one Star. The winner is whoever has the most Stars at the end of the game. Stars appear in the Super Smash Bros. Series as well. If a player touches a Star, they will become invincible, allowing them to attack the foe, without worrying about damage. However, unlike the actual Mario games, the player will not be able to hurt them just by touching them.

Stars will return in Super Mario Galaxy.

In most games where stars appear as items, once collected a theme will play. This theme is just as famous as the Super Mario Bros. theme, leading to remixes and remakes into ringtones.

Trophy Information from Super Smash Bros. Melee
''This item makes you invulnerable to all attacks for a short period of time. The Starman bounces around and eventually tumbles out of the stage, but all you need to do is touch it to power up. It possessed similar powers in Super Mario Bros., except you could also harm enemies just by touching them while under its influence.''

Trivia

 * The Star appears as a Sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.