Shrinking platform

"The floor blue! Be careful!"

- Hint Toad

Shrinking platforms are platforms with a green checkerboard-like design found in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. When Mario or Luigi steps on one, it immediately begins to shrink. Eventually, the platform disappears, leaving only the metal frame around it. Shrinking platforms are mostly used in areas where Mario or Luigi must walk carefully to avoid falling but quickly enough to avoid falling through. Some planets are entirely made up of shrinking platforms. The objective of these planets is to collect all of the notes around the planets themselves before all of the shrinking platforms disappear. Player 2 can help in Co-Star Mode by freezing a platform after Mario or Luigi has stepped on it, though the platform starts to shrink once Player 2 lets go. Shrinking platforms can be found in several galaxies, including the Hurry-Scurry Galaxy, the Sea Slide Galaxy, the Toy Time Galaxy, and Mario Squared Galaxy.

Shrinking platforms make a reappearance in Mario Tennis Open in the Special Game called Galaxy Rally. Four of them of equal size compose the court. After the ball bounces on a platform, it disappears, making that section temporarily out of play. However, if the ball bounces on another platform, that platform disappears while the previous one reappears. The number of platforms missing from the court can go from one to three as the game progresses.