Jump

"As you know, the primary action for mobile creatures is the jump, if you follow."

- Stuffwell

Jumping is one of Mario's most commonly used moves. While it was originally only used to evade obstacles in the original Donkey Kong game, it has been Mario's primary method of attacking since Super Mario Bros. Depending on the type of game, Mario and other characters jump for a variety of different purposes.

Because Mario can jump in nearly all of his games, only significant examples are mentioned on this page.

Donkey Kong
In the original arcade version of Donkey Kong, Mario has to jump over the barrels that Donkey Kong threw at him. He could only jump high enough to leap right over the barrel, in contrast to the impossibly high jumps in the Super Mario Bros. series. If Mario landed on a barrel in the game, he dies. In the early concept of Donkey Kong, Mario originally wasn't able to jump. It was implemented when Shigeru Miyamoto and his team thought "If you had a barrel rolling towards you, what would you do?"

Donkey Kong (Game Boy)
In Donkey Kong on the Game Boy, Mario has a greater variety of moves related to jumping. If the player jumps then presses down on, Mario does a handstand. From the handstand position, Mario could perform high jumps and wide jumps depending on the situation. Mario could also backflip by walking and then immediately pressing the opposite direction and the jump button, resulting in him going high into the air backwards. Unlike all other 2D Mario titles, Donkey Kong also punishes the player for falling too far, resulting in Mario losing a life. This jump system has also been used in Mario vs. Donkey Kong.

Mario Bros.
In Mario Bros., jumping is the primary attack of Mario and Luigi and the only way to defeat enemies. By jumping from below to hit the platforms on which the enemies stand, the player can stun the enemies or turn them around. The enemies then have to be finished off with a kick. Unlike later games, stomping on enemies is deadly in Mario Bros. Because of this, the Shellcreepers have been changed to Spinies in all remakes of the game to remind players not to stomp on them.

Super Mario series
Since Super Mario Bros., jumping has been a much more integral part of the Mario franchise, and is no longer used solely to jump over gaps and enemies. In later games of the series, Mario and other playable characters use a greater variety of jump moves which can be used to reach certain areas or get bonus items from special blocks. These include the Spin Jump from Super Mario World, the Ground Pound first seen in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, and even the Double Jump, Triple Jump, and Wall Jump introduced in Super Mario 64.

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. features various types of Brick Blocks which Mario can find coins in, as well as ? Blocks that contain Magic Mushrooms and Fire Flowers. To break these blocks, the player must jump while under them. Mario can also defeat enemies like Little Goombas and Hammer Brothers by stomping on them. Koopa Troopas are not defeated by the stomp, but hide in their Shells, which can then be kicked by the player. Hammer Brothers, Cheep-cheeps, fake Bowsers, and Bowser himself all jump in the game as well.

Super Mario Bros. 2
In Super Mario Bros. 2, jumps served a different purpose than in all other games, due to the game using the only slightly altered Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic as its engine. The characters in the game could not defeat any enemies by stomping on them. Instead, they could stand on them and pick them up by using the B button. Players could even land on Birdo's eggs and throw them at Birdo. Enemies and items could be picked up and thrown to knock out other enemies. This system has been carried over to Donkey Kong on the Game Boy.

Super Mario World
While the standard jump remains mostly unchanged in Super Mario World, Mario is also now capable of Spin Jumping. It trades height for offence, as it can break blocks (if Mario has eaten a Super Mushroom) and destroys enemies that usually more durable. It also allows Mario to bounce off of certain enemies, notably those with spines, where he would usually take damage.

Super Mario World is the debut of Yoshi, a dinosaur-like creature Mario can ride. His jump is greater than Mario's, but kills enemies as quickly the Spin Jump, and Yoshi even bounces on spiny enemies, too. Mario can also jump off of Yoshi in mid-air to gain an additional boost.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
The playable appearance of Yoshi, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island introduces multiple aspects on top of the jump. By holding the jump button, Yoshi will Flutter Jump, which stalls him momentarily, allowing for careful landings and covering greater distances. Pressing down makes him Ground Pound, an offensive move that is stronger than landing on enemies. These are all new to the franchise, with Ground Pounding becoming a staple of Super Mario Bros. games, and Flutter Jumping being an iconic move of Yoshi's.

Super Mario Sunshine
In Super Mario Sunshine, Mario's jump can defeat most enemies. When using F.L.U.D.D.'s Hover Nozzle, Mario can float higher and longer. In addition, if Mario loses health, his jumps become weaker. Also, if Mario jumps over a pit, his jumps are different.

Mario Kart series
In Super Mario Kart, players can hop with the press of a button. The Feather allows them to do a high jump. Hops can be used to cross gaps and to take shortcuts. In later games of the Mario Kart series, jumping is usually only possible when using ramps. In Mario Kart Wii, Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, it is possible to do tricks after jumping off, giving players a mediocre boost in Mario Kart Wii, and a short boost in Mario Kart 7, Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the Jump is a special move that requires 3 Flower Points. It does additional damage as a Timed Hit, and its power increases with the Jump Shoes. Mario can use this move from the beginning of the game. Mario's jump is also used by many characters in the game to verify his identity. Everyone also seems to think of it as his most defining characteristic.

Paper Mario series
Jumping is present in every installment of the Paper Mario series.

In Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, jumping is Mario's primary attack he can use from the beginning of the game. It can be used to defeat any kind of generic enemy like the Goombas, but some enemies like the Spiked Goombas prevent jump attacks with spikes, and the player then has to use the Hammer attacks instead. Jumping is also used on the overworld for platforming elements. In both games, Mario can increase his jump power and abilities with the Super Boots and the Ultra Boots.

In Super Paper Mario, all four characters have the ability to jump on foes as their primary means of attack.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star features multiple Jump stickers that can be used in battle, each with various strengths. There are seven different types of Jumps, each with their own variations: the Jump, Iron Jump, Hopslipper, Infinijump, Line Jump, and Clone Jump. All of these cards except the Infijump and Clone Jump reappear in Paper Mario: Color Splash, along with a new variation, the Spin Jump.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga used the same concept for jumps as the Paper Mario series. In addition, the player controls both Mario and Luigi simultaneously, with Luigi in tow following Mario's movements. Each have their own corresponding button: for Mario and  for Luigi, and it is necessary to use both to get both brothers over pits. On the overworld, Mario and Luigi could also perform the High Jump and the Spin Jump to reach higher areas. Many Bros. Attacks also use jump moves. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions retains this.

Glurps are extremely resistant to jump attacks.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the jump command was identical to how it was in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, however, the piggyback jumps with Baby Mario and Baby Luigi increased the number of jump commands in-battle. The Spin Jump returns, and later on the bros learn the Baby Spin move which allows them to Spin Jump into the babies to launch them even further upwards and makes it possible for them to cross large gaps along with the adult bros.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, the jump works similar to how it did in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, with Mario and Luigi performing multiple jumps with a well-timed Action Command. There are also 2D side-scrolling segments that take place inside Bowser's body, where the jumps use the mechanics of Mario & Luigi jumping in a typical Super Mario Bros. setting.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the Jump attacks for Mario and Luigi are identical in game-play to the ones in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, down to the 2D areas, although in the Dream World, successful Jump attacks cause several Luiginoids to fall on to surrounding enemies after Mario attacks. In the overworld, this game uses the Jump field action as usual for the series, and features the Spin Jump and the Ball Hop, a move very similar to the High Jump from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and seems to be a combination of the aforementioned move and the Ball Bros. move from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. The also uses the Jump action while in the Luiginoid Stack formation.

The Jump attack is also used during the Giant Battles by Giant Luigi, the result of Dreamy Luigi and many Luiginoids' combination. This involves Luigi first bobbing down as if he was about to spring into the air, where the player must wait until Luigi flashes to slide up quickly on the Touch Screen. Perfect timing allows Luigi to land firmly on the target and perform a second jump on them if the player succeeds in repeating the command. Perfect timing with both jumps yields an Excellent! rating, perfect timing on only one yields a Great! rating, sliding up at the wrong time results in a Good! rating and not sliding up at all results in an OK! rating. Also the Jump command block shows a Boot rather than an arrow.

Descriptions

 * Mario - Press the A button as you land to jump again. Time two jumps for an Excellent!
 * Luigi - Press the B button as you land to jump again. Time two jumps for an Excellent!
 * Giant Luigi - Charge up for extra oomph!

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Mario and Luigi's jumps remain the same, but Paper Mario is unique as him and his copies can jump on enemies many times depending on how many copies he has. The Papercrafts can also perform a jump move to stomp on enemies, though the player has to retrieve the Papercraft after jumping.

Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
In Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, Luigi can jump while he is sucking up a ghost to avoid attacks from other ghosts. This is executed by pressing the button while using the Poltergust 5000 to suck up the ghost.

Super Smash Bros. series
In the Super Smash Bros. series, a jump can be performed by all characters. Each character has a different jump height and speed. A major mechanic in the series is that players can jump again while airborne, and some characters can do so multiple times.