Anchor

An Anchor is an item from Super Mario Bros. 3. The item is rare and can only be received at a special White Mushroom House after collecting a certain number of coins in a certain level in the even-numbered worlds. An Anchor will prevent an Airship from moving if Mario fails to clear it, thereby eliminating the need to trek long distances to take another shot at it.

There is also an Anchor in Wario Land 2. It is in the SS Tea Cup world. It only appears in the fourth level called Drop the Anchor!!. Wario has to use his attack to move it and drop it into the water. After it's dropped, the level ends.

After a long absence, the Anchor reappears in New Super Mario Bros. Wii. All of the Airship levels have an anchor near them before the player actually goes to the level. Anchors do not serve the same purpose as they did in Super Mario Bros. 3, however.