Flying Squirrel Mario

Flying Squirrel Mario is a form introduced in the Wii U game New Super Mario Bros. U. When he grabs a Super Acorn, Mario can lightly glide above ground or long chasms, and can also temporarily cling to vertical surfaces that are safe to touch.

While Mario is in his Flying Squirrel form, he gets red puffy overalls, a grayish shirt and shoes, and a big red cap with two squirrel ears on it and a beige brim. On his back, he has a pair of grey membranes and a tail. This appearance seems to be based off of Raccoon Mario. Flying Squirrel Luigi has these changes, too, but wears green cap and overalls. The Flying Squirrel Toads have a cap colored according to their emblem color, with two bright stripes and squirrel ears. They also get a red handkerchief around their neck, gloves, squirrel-like fur, yellow or blue pants, grayish shoes, flying membranes, and a tail. Toads lose their vests becoming Flying Squirrel Toads.

This form is based on flying squirrels, real life mammals that are capable of gliding between trees. Waddlewings, creatures that debuted in New Super Mario Bros. U just like the Flying Squirrel form, are inspired from these animals too.

New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U
The Flying Squirrel form, along with the Super Acorn, makes its initial appearance in New Super Mario Bros. U. While using the power-up, the player can glide by holding down the jump button. While gliding, they can also propel themselves upwards, giving them additional height for a few seconds before they start to descend. Turning around while gliding will causes the player to descend significantly They can also stick to walls, blocks, and pipes, but after sticking to a wall, they start sliding downwards after a few seconds. The Flying Squirrel form also allows the player to Spin Jump higher than normal.

The Flying Squirrel form returns in New Super Luigi U, although Nabbit, as with every other power-up, cannot use it.

A rarer variant of the Flying Squirrel form, the P Flying Squirrel, is available in both games. It can be acquired from touching a P-Acorn. It physically glitters and allows gliding even after propelling upwards. The P-Acorn can only be acquired by catching Nabbit or finding one on the map.

Super Mario Maker / Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS
In Super Mario Maker, after the version 1.20 update, and already in Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS, if the player repeatedly taps / knocks a Warp Door, Weird Mario, found in a random position or wearing a certain costume, comes out of that door before going back. Exclusively to the New Super Mario Bros. U style, one of the costumes he wears is the Flying Squirrel one. This brief appearance of this costume does not affect gameplay in any way.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
A trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U shows Flying Squirrel Mario gliding.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
This form also appears for both Mario and Luigi in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition. Flying Squirrel Mario has a high heart point rating of 5 out of 6, and his recover rating is also high, reaching four points out of six. In spite of these characteristics, his attack power is moderate, and receives a rating of 3 out of 6. Flying Squirrel Mario can reach level 99, which is maximum for any character in general. His main attribute is Wood, while Fire stands as his secondary attribute. Every ten turns, Flying Squirrel Mario can use the "Air Glide" skill, which changes all Light Orbs on-screen into Wood Orbs. Likewise, he has a leader skill called "Acorn Power" that doubles the attack and recover ratings of any Wood-attributed team mate. Meanwhile, Flying Squirrel Luigi, although he shares some of his traits with his brother, features a handful of distinctions; firstly, each of his attributes is Wood. He has a 4 out of 6 rating for both his HP and recovering power, and a 5 out of 6 rating for his attack performance. His maximum level is 99; his Leader skill is called "Acorn Miracle" and it doubles the attack and HP ratings of all Wood-type team mates. Lastly, Flying Squirrel Luigi's main skill is "Air Smash", which functions just like his brother's main skill.

Mario Sports Superstars
Toads in the Flying Squirrel form are selectable teammates in Mario Sports Superstars, in both yellow and blue varieties. They are classified as speed characters. Both colors are available in baseball, while only Yellow Flying Squirrel Toads can be chosen in soccer.

Trivia

 * The color scheme of Mario's Flying Squirrel form resembles his color scheme from Super Mario Bros.. Also, Luigi's Flying Squirrel color scheme resembles his in-game color from Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.
 * Blue and Yellow Toad have their caps in a design similar to Rose Town Toads'.