Sky Land

The Sky (known as Sky Land in the original NES version) is the fifth world in Super Mario Bros. 3. The Sky has nine levels, three Hammer Bros., two Fortresses, three Toad Houses and a special Tower level. There are two parts to the world, The Ground and The Sky, connected by the Tower level. The first three levels, the first Fortress, and two of the Hammer Bros. are on the ground, while everything else is in the sky. The world's Airship can move between the two.

The Koopaling Roy Koopa presides over The Sky.

This world starts out with a Buster Beetle (new enemy) running toward Mario. A stomp will defeat the Buster Beetle it easily. On the brick formation, the wooden block contains a power-up, and a Chain Chomp to the left, which are somewhat prominent in the level. The second one guards the way to another power-up. There are no special secrets, except a Starman hidden in a long row of ? Blocks. Also, the Nipper Plants here can only be defeated by a swipe from Raccoon Mario's tail.

Alternately, if Mario has a P-Wing, he can enter a pipe, and then fly through narrow corridors to get a Music Box. There is also another pipe exit that Mario can use to gather four 1-Ups. Then, he can fly up and reveal a P-Switch which, when pressed, makes two giant numeral 3s made of coins (a 3 and 4 in the Game Boy Advance version) appear, which is a reference to the game's title (Super Mario Bros. 3, and Super Mario Bros. 3: Super Mario Advance 4 in the Game Boy Advance remake).

This underground level can be very confusing. After the pipe is entered, there are two routes. Falling down will give the lower route, while bouncing along the Note Blocks and climbing a block staircase will give the upper route. See below for summaries of each.

The upper route is the hardest to get to, but it pays off. Mario must leap on the Jump Blocks and hop on the blocks to get to the pipe, guarded by two Koopas he must dispose of. After entering the pipe, there are plenty of slopes and Goombas to slide on. When a pipe is spotted, Mario can duck into it to unlock a secret room. The jutting block has a power-up with which to break the blocks and get to the big ? Block that has three 1-Ups inside. Outside, none of the ? Blocks contain anything but Coins, but the pipe nearby leads to the Goal Panel.

If Mario took the lower route, he should duck into the middle pipe at the bottom to find himself underground, where Buster Beetles throw Ice Blocks, which can be picked up and thrown back. With the combination of the Beetles, Piranha Plants, lack of power-ups and Venus Fire Traps, this part might be considered difficult. All the pipes are solid except the last, which leads to the Goal Panel.

This level is the only in the game where Mario can find the Kuribo's Shoe. By ducking into the pipe, Mario is transported to the bottom part of the stage, where, if a Goomba in a green shoe is seen, Mario should hit a block under it to bop it out, letting him hop into it. While wearing the Kuribo's Shoe, Mario can defeat any enemy with a stomp. But the Shoe cannot be used if the Goomba is defeated with a jump or a fireball, as it will defeat the Shoe, too. In the first part, there is only one secret: above the Nippers, in a row of blocks, a 1-Up is concealed. However, only Shoe-clad Mario can grab it without being damaged. Hopping in the pipe against the wall will bring Mario to the third part of the level, where the Shoe is very, very useful. The Shoe will disappear when the Goal Panel is hit.

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This fortress might be very tricky. The only secret is that if Tanooki or Raccoon Mario races back and forth along the first corridor (with a Thwomp in an alcove that must be avoided) then takes off, he can fly up past two blocks and a ? Block until he gets to a pipe that will take him to a secret room. Inside, he must fly up to reveal three 1-Ups.

Tower
Every pipe in this Tower will take Mario higher up, until he is at the top, on towers made of blocks (and some Microgoombas posing as blocks). On the second tower, in the middle block, is a 1-Up. Afterward, by the pipe, three blocks are Ten Coin Blocks, and hidden 1-Up Mushrooms can be found to the right. The pipe leads back inside. The player should dodge a Thwomp and Roto-Disc to get in both pipes. Outside again, there are no secrets, but in the row of ? Blocks, the ordinary block holds a Magic Vine to the pipe to the second part of the world, in the clouds. Mario can get back to the ground by taking the Pipe, but if he wants to get back to the sky part, he must re-do the tower.

This level has lots of moving platforms! Some twirl constantly, some twirl occasionally, and some never spin, but will tilt when jumped on. Mario can swim up the waterfalls in this level, so if he falls in one, all is not lost. Raccoon Mario, by taking off from the first cloud, can uncover three clouds way up high, with a few coins. By taking off from the last one and flying as far as possible, this is a very effective way of skipping the whole level. At the Goal Panel, Lakitu shows up, and if Mario can get enough Spinies on screen when he hits the panel, he might get a few 1-Ups.

A potentially difficult and stressful level, this one also is rich in rewards. As this level is based on Donut Lifts, Mario must keep moving to avoid falling into a bottomless pit. In the first part, Mario should grab a Koopa Paratroopa and, when some pipes are seen with bricks blocking them, he should throw the shell to clear them. To the right, a row of ? Blocks has a power up and a few coins. Mario should gather all the coins and continue to the right to find coins above and below a row of Donut Lifts. He can gather them all by standing on a Lift until it falls, and just as he hits the coin, jumping to safety. After gathering them all, Mario should continue back to the pipes and enter the one on the right. After falling through a bunch of coins, the big ? Block has a Tanooki Suit! After exiting, Mario must go back to the left, hit the ? Blocks after the pipes again for a few more coins, then race back to where he came from the secret room. In the formation of wooden and ordinary blocks, one has a coin. There are no more secrets, so the player should get to the pipe, hit the Goal Panel, and end the level. If Mario got all the coins, a White Toad House will appear on the map, and when entered, Toad will supply a P-Wing.

Parabeetles are introduced in this level, flying beetle shells that Mario can leap on to reach new heights. But they are enemies, so Mario should avoid them when he is on solid ground. No secrets are hidden in this level, but when two rows of bricks are seen after most of the Parabeetles are gone, Mario can drop to the lower one and bop the bricks overhead to get a P-Switch. He can stomp it to make the going a little easier.

This stage is filled with blocks, and block-impostor Microgoombas. It is possible to cross a majority of this level invincible by using a Starman from your inventory before entering the stage. At preset blocks throughout the stage, a Starman can be obtained, but only if Mario is invincible while hitting the blocks. There are no secrets until the first huge hunk of bricks; the block right by the ? block by the Venus Fire Trap has a 1-Up. Ducking into the Fire Trap's pipe will lead Mario to a platform like World 1, and if Raccoon Mario flies up he can find a big formation of bricks. A P-Wing is best used for this, as Mario must hit them from below to find a P-Switch (below the gap in the blocks) that will turn all the blocks into coins. Afterward, in the sky, a Lakitu appears again. Mario should try to avoid him and the Bill Blasters as he makes his way to the pipe to the exit.

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Mario begins this lava-filled fortress by going through a pipe. Enemies here include Podoboos and Dry Bones, plus a kind of Podoboo which can stay suspended in air for a short while. These fly up and down, suspended in air. In one of the blocks in the the long row of ? Blocks, there is a Starman. Mario can grab it and gain invulnerability to everything but lava. After completing the main stretch, Mario will be taken straight to Boom Boom's room.

In this Level, Mario has to cross a large gap by jumping on narrow platforms. To hinder his progress, A Lakitu appears and throws Spiny Eggs at him.

Probably one of the hardest levels, this has Mario venturing upwards in an auto-scrolling level. He must jump to avoid a quick death, avoiding Fire Chomps and Paratroopas while doing so. No secrets can be found in this level.

This Airship is armed with many traps and obstacles, as well as filled with Bullet Bills, Cannonballs, and Rocket Engines, that try to hinder Mario from reaching the boss room. There, like a Sledge Bro., when Roy jumps, Mario should too, as he can paralyze the plumber! Three hits, though, and he is defeated. Mario then can grab the wand to return the King from an Albatoss to a human again.

Trivia

 * There is a glitch in the original NES version of the game in which the Airship can "hide" in an undetermined area between The Ground and The Sky. This means that, if this happens, the player can be permanently stuck and unable to continue, as they cannot reach the Airship to challenge it. The Airship appears to be in the top left corner of The Sky's screen, where a miniature version of The Ground is visible.
 * The "Ground Map" on the NES and SNES Version has a different layout when seen on the Sky Map. The only difference between the maps is that the Sky Map shows a path Mario cannot take going north from the tower, but it was fixed in the GBA Version as the sky map moved the "Ground Map" up and right.