Time Limit

A Time Limit, or Timer, is instituted in many Mario series games, especially early platformers.

Time Limit in Platformers
All the Super Mario Bros. games (not including the Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic version of Super Mario Bros. 2), Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros. have time limits in most levels, that is, a certain amount of seconds to finish the level. These limits usually start large (300/400), but are no less than 200 and are used as a means to keep the player moving throughout the level, and not have a luxury of "waiting" for enemies to clear on their own by falling down a pit, for example. Faster music cuing the player to finish up the level occurs often if there are less than 100 seconds left. Also, when a level is finished successfully, the time left is multiplied by a certain number, varying by game (often 50), and added to the player's score. Sometimes when playing in Bowser's Castle in New Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, players are given 800 seconds because of the large size.

However, levels are designed in such a way that they can be beaten well before the time limit expires. If it does expire on a tortoise-moving player, a life will automatically be lost, along with a "time up" message before being returned to the level or map screen. If the player starts at a midway point in a level after losing a life, the time resets all the way back up to the original starting time, making it easier to complete.

Some platformers' levels use the time limit to provide an additional challenge. An example is the Super Mario World level Funky.

Also, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 uses the time limit as a challenge (a legitimate one at that), but only while Speedy Comets and some Purple Comets orbit the galaxy and some mini-game challenges.

Mario Platformers with Time Limits

 * Donkey Kong (Original version)
 * Donkey Kong Jr.
 * Super Mario Bros.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2 (Original version)
 * Super Mario Bros. 3
 * Super Mario Land
 * Super Mario World
 * Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
 * Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
 * Donkey Kong (Game Boy version)
 * Mario vs. Donkey Kong
 * New Super Mario Bros.
 * Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
 * Mario vs. Donkey Kong 3: Minis March Again!
 * Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii
 * ''Super Mario 64x4

Mario Platformers without Time Limits

 * Mario Bros.
 * Wrecking Crew
 * Super Mario Bros. 2 (Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic version)
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Super Mario 64
 * Yoshi's Story
 * Super Mario Sunshine (includes optional Red Coin challenges)
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (includes optional mini-game challenges)
 * Yoshi Topsy-Turvy
 * Yoshi Touch & Go
 * Super Princess Peach
 * Yoshi's Island DS (includes an optional Time Trial mode)
 * Super Mario Galaxy (includes optional Speedy Comet challenges and mini-games)
 * Super Mario Galaxy 2 (includes optional Speedy Comet challenges and mini-games)

Time Limit in Spin-Offs
Time limits appear in many Mario spin-off titles ranging from go-kart racing to sports.

Sports
In sports games such as Mario Smash Football and Mario Strikers Charged Football, the match has a certain time limit which can be manually set from two to fifteen minutes. If the scores are equal after the time has run out, sudden death will commence. Mario Hoops 3-on-3 also has a time limit for all basketball games ranging from 1:40 to 3:20 divided up into two or four periods with 2:30 as the default amount.

Mario Sports Mix
The new sports game, Mario Sports Mix, includes a time limit as well, and the only sport that doesn't have it is volleyball. The limit can be manually set in the sport's exhibition mode, and it can be turned off in dodgeball. When the timer reaches less than fifteen seconds, the music will speed up and the final ten-second countdown is on. The clock won't start until the whistle is blown to signal the start of the game. Also, in the game, party games have a time limit, and the only one that doesn't have it is Harmony Hustle. The Shot Clock is also considered a time limit in this game, and the only two sports that use it are Basketball and Dodgeball. Just like the game clock, the Shot Clock can be manually set in the exhibition mode of these two sports. In Basketball, each team is given twenty-four seconds to shoot the basketball while Dodgeball has thirty seconds to attack with the ball.

Mario Kart series
The Mario Kart series also has a time limit and comes in various ways like collecting Shine Sprites, battling, and missions. There is another type that is used for the start of the race and that is the Pre-Race Countdown Timer (see below).

Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
The Shine Thief battle game from Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has a time limit for holding the Shine Sprite. If the characters hold on to it when the time limit ends, then that team wins. The limit decreases when the team gets hit with an item.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, the battle game Shine Runners has a sixty second time limit for collecting Shine Sprites. When time is up after the first round and when someone has the least amount, they will be out for the rest of the game and an additional thirty seconds is added for each new round. Time limits are also found in some missions in Mission Mode.

Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart Wii also has a timer for all Battle Mode matches. The time limit for all matches is three minutes with faster music coming in at the final minute of battle. When there is only ten seconds left until the whistle, the timer will flash red, which means that teams are given one last chance to collect coins or pop balloons.

Mario Party series
The Mario Party series also has a time limit for most of the mini-games ranging from three seconds to five minutes with thirty seconds as the default amount. When time runs out or when it stops, the mini-game announcer will alert the player that the mini-game has ended.

Super Smash Bros. series
In the Super Smash Bros. series, the Time mode is one of the rule setting options for VS mode. After the set time limit has expired, the KO scores of the players are tallied up and the player with the most points wins. Coin mode works the same way, but with coins as the scoreboard for each combat. Even Bonus mode has the same thing as the other two modes, but they don't know the final score until the end of the match. The Home-Run Contest from Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl has a ten second time limit so players can smash Sandbag as far as possible. Break the Targets! also have a time limit as well. Players have two minutes to smash all ten targets as fast as they can in order to earn bonus points. Race to the Finish! is also included in the series. Here, players must run as fast as they can to any door to collect coins and bonus points. When there's only five seconds remaining until the end of the match, the announcer will count down from that number, giving the combatants one last chance to attack and when he calls "TIME!", that means the match is over. "GAME!" is also acceptable because when the clock stops and when the combatants lose all of the stocks, then the announcer will alert the player that the match is finished. The Pre-Fight Countdown Timer (see below) is another type that is used in the series. It tells the player when the fight can officially begin.

Donkey Kong Country series
In the Donkey Kong Country series, the time limit appeared in various Bonus Levels, telling them how much time the Kongs have left in the challenge. If they collect everything before time runs out, then they'll get a prize for finishing it like DK Coins, Kremkoins, and more.

Donkey Kong Country Returns
In Donkey Kong Country Returns, the Bonus Levels have a thirty second time limit. Here, Donkey and Diddy Kong must collect all of the bananas, Banana Coins, and Extra Life Balloons. If they collect them all before time expires, then they are rewarded with a Puzzle Piece.

Countdown Timer
The Countdown Timer is another type of time limit that appeared in the Mario series. It tells the player when to start anything like racing, mini-game challenges, battles, and more. Most timers start at three seconds, while others have more or less. In most installments like the Mario Kart series for example, a beep is heard to tell the player when to start a challenge but in Mario Kart Wii, an air horn is used only for Battle Mode, and in the Super Smash Bros. series, the announcer's voice is used to start the battle.

Yoshi's Island series
In the Yoshi's Island games Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and Yoshi's Island DS, the timer appears on the top of the screen to tell the player how much time the Yoshis have to save the baby he is currently on in the game. When the timer runs out, some Toadies will take the baby and the Yoshi will lose a life. The timer always starts at ten when the stage began and it can be increased by getting stars and passing through Middle Rings.

Pre-Race Countdown Timer
The Pre-Race Countdown Timer (also known as the Pre-Battle Countdown Timer in Battle Mode, and Start Signal) is a special countdown timer that Lakitu uses in the Mario Kart series. It is used to signal the start of each and every race when the drivers are at the starting line prior to it. The only game in the series that doesn't use it is Mario Kart DS, which used numbers.

When the countdown starts, a special sound is heard to tell the players when the race or battle can commence. Depending on the game in the series, and the mode that matches with it, the sound can be heard twice or thrice. When the game screen says START! or GO!, and when that final sound is heard, it means that the race or battle has officially begun, and the drivers can do a Rocket Start or a Double Dash!!.

Not only does the Pre-Race Countdown Timer signals the start of the race for the players, it can also start battles, time trial runs, missions, and tournaments.

Other Appearances
In addition to the Mario Kart main series, the Pre-Race Countdown Timer appears in Mario Golf, Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, and Mario Power Tennis. In both Mario Golf games, the timer is used to signal the start of the Speed Golf sub-game. For Mario Golf, the Mario Kart 64 version is used, while in Toadstool Tour, the Double Dash!! version is used instead. The mini-game Artist On the Court from Mario Power Tennis also used the Double Dash!! version and this time, it signals the start of the mini-game. The Mario Party series also use it to signal the start of various mini-games. Some of them include Slot Car Derby (Mario Party/Mario Party 2), Sky Survivor (Mario Party 5), Kartastrophe (Mario Party 8), and Mario Speedwagons (Mario Party 4).

Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!
In Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!, the countdown timer tells the player when to start a battle against Donkey Kong, special levels, and mini-games.

Super Mario Galaxy series
In Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, the timer shares the same thing as the Pre-Race Countdown Timer from the Mario Kart series, but it is used in various mini-game challenges like Bob-omb Blasting, Crate Burning, Fluzzard Gliding, The Chimp's skating challenges, Manta Ray Surfing, and Cosmic Mario races. In Super Mario Galaxy 2, the countdown sequence is the same as the one in the Double Dash!! and DS versions, while in the original game the screen shows GO! at the end of the sequence, which is used later in Mario Kart Wii.

Pre-Fight Countdown Timer
The Pre-Fight Countdown Timer is a special timer that appeared in both Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In these two games, the timer appeared on the top of the screen to signal the start of a match. When the announcer of the game counts down from three, the combatants will make an entrance to the arena before the GO! signal is given to begin the match but, if a battle is at Mario Circuit, then it will have the same effect as the Pre-Race Countdown Timer from the Mario Kart series, which starts the race for the Shy Guys, and the battle for the combatants, a special aspect which can only be used in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

WarioWare series
In the WarioWare series, the countdown timer is a Wario Bomb. It tells the player how much is left during the current microgame. Players have four or eight seconds to finish the game. If they do succeed the challenge before it explodes, then the game is won.

Donkey Kong Country Returns
In Donkey Kong Country Returns, the countdown is done by a Tutorial Pig to start a level that is beaten once in Time Attack mode. When the countdown ends, the pig waves the green flag so he can let Donkey and Diddy Kong start the timer and their run.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, the countdown sequence is exactly the same as the Mario Kart series, but with a small change, it can only be used for all of the races. There is a Rocket Start technique if the timer hits "1" and when it disappears, a rocket start will occur.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
In Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the timer appeared in four levels, Chopperbird Race, Deep Sea Sprint, Helibird Dash, and Ninjape Rally. When Donkey Kong touches the starting line of that respective level, the timer will start counting down, which signals the start of the race for that corresponding level.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games, the countdown is done in two ways. In the Wii version, the announcer of the game will tell the players when to start the event by counting down from three like Moguls, Alpine Skiing, and the Snowboard Cross. The DS version follows the same pattern as the Wii version but instead of the announcer's voice, a beep is used. The events that use this version are Ski Jumping, Moguls, Luge, Skeleton, and more.