Gold Mario

Gold Mario and Silver Luigi are forms debuting in New Super Mario Bros. 2, acquired by grabbing a Gold Flower. In this form, Mario and Luigi can throw explosive gold and silver fireballs, respectively, which can defeat most enemies, turn any Brick Blocks hit into coins, and empty out any item-holding blocks caught in their blast radius.

Occasionally, like other power-up forms such as Cat Mario or Tanooki Mario, Gold Mario appears as a separate character from Mario himself, sometimes as a variant of Metal Mario.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Gold Mario debuted as a power-up form in New Super Mario Bros. 2. In this form, Mario turns into gold, but Luigi becomes silver. In both cases, the form resembles Mario's Metal form, since gold and silver are types of metal. If Mario or Luigi reaches the Goal Pole in this form, he receives a coin bonus. The higher the pole is grabbed, the more coins he will receive. However, he will revert to Fire form upon clearing a stage, making it impossible to keep this form between levels. This form's fireballs are able to defeat almost every enemy in the game, including Boos, Thwomps, and even spiked balls (though not the giant ones; Boohemoths are also unaffected), rivaling the power of Hammer Mario's hammers. The form can also defeat most bosses with one fireball (though the Koopalings take three fireballs to be defeated).

Gold Mario and Silver Luigi can also gain coins by defeating consecutive enemies, either by stomping on them without touching the ground, hitting multiple enemies with a shell, or staying invincible. The values gained consecutively are 5, 10, 15, 20, and finally 50 coins for the fifth enemy onwards. When the area is under the influence of a Gold Ring, these values double to 10, 20, 30, 40, and 100 coins. The same values apply if a single blast from a fireball defeats multiple enemies at once. Additionally, touching a Gold Mushroom while Mario or Luigi are Gold Mario or Silver Luigi causes them to gain 100 coins (and consequently an extra life) instead of 50. In, World 3-2, World 3-A, World 3-5, and World 4-5, there are secret rooms that only Gold Mario/Silver Luigi can access, which play the Coin Heaven music instead of the underwater theme.

The model for the gold/silver fireballs always spins clockwise, even when they are thrown to the left.

Super Mario Maker
One of the Mystery Mushroom costumes the player can obtain by chance after winning the 100 Mario Challenge in Super Mario Maker is that of Gold Mario (referred to as "Mario (Gold)"). This costume can likewise be unlocked if the Mario - Gold Edition amiibo is scanned upon the Wii U's GamePad. The costume consists of the original sprite of Mario from Super Mario Bros., only gilded. While acquiring this costume, the transformation sound effect from New Super Mario Bros. 2 can be heard. Sparkling sounds can also be heard at the time of wearing the costume. Gold Mario's blunt position, seen if the player presses on the controller, is that of him raising his hand while looking at the player. All of these traits are shared with the Silver Mario costume, which can be unlocked either by completing the 100 Mario Challenge, or by scanning its respective amiibo on the GamePad. Collecting a Super Star while this costume is active plays the Metal Mario theme from Super Mario 64 rather than the normal invincibility theme; this is also shared with the Silver Mario costume.

Super Mario Run
Gold Mario, Peach and Bowser statues are available in Super Mario Run as a My Nintendo or Remix 10 reward. The pose is identical to the regular statues but with a solid gold finish. Gold statues of Luigi, Daisy, Yoshi and Toadette were added in version 3.0.4 of the game, and can only be obtained in Remix 10.

Super Mario Odyssey
Gold Mario returns as a costume for Mario in Super Mario Odyssey. It can be unlocked immediately using either the Gold or Silver Edition Mario amiibo figures, or if the player obtains more than 480 Power Moons. Unlike previous games, Gold Mario has a different finish and reflection color to the gold coins in the Super Mario franchise. Mario's voice clips do not change when wearing the costume.

Wearing the Gold Cap and Gold Outfit when confronting Bowser for the final boss battle scares him. This is a reference to the fact that, in New Super Mario Bros. 2, this form's fireballs can defeat him in one hit.

Mario Golf: World Tour
Gold Mario appears as a separate downloadable character in Mario Golf: World Tour. He has the same stats, voice, and animations as the actual Mario with the only difference being his Double Bogey animation, where he turns into Super Mario instead of Small Mario revealing that he is just Mario powered up. He has a permanent Gold Flower shot, meaning he collects a coin for every yard the ball travels. This means he cannot use special shot types (Power, Item, or Approach) and is not allowed in Coin-Collecting Tournaments or challenges. In Mario Open online tournaments, players are not allowed to use him. The computer never uses this character in match play. To obtain Gold Mario, all three downloadable packs, the Mushroom, Flower, and Star, must be bought. His costume is unlocked by getting 10 trophies in online tournaments.

Gold Mario's promotional render for this game is an altered version of Metal Mario's from Mario Kart 7, replacing the tires he is leaning on with a golf club and giving him visible pupils.

Super Smash Bros. series
On the Golden Plains stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, if a character collects 100 of the coins scattered across the stage, they turn gold temporarily. While in this form, the character's attack power is increased, and the character does not flinch and cannot be launched. Despite this, the character can still be launched by being grabbed and thrown. While in the form, the character cannot collect additional coins until the form wears off. Unlike in New Super Mario Bros. 2, Luigi does not turn silver when he attains this form.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, some fighters can appear in their gold forms during spirit battles. When Xerneas is summoned by a Poké Ball or Master Ball, it also turns the fighter who summoned it into their gold form. In addition, Gold Mario appears as a Legend-class support spirit, using artwork from New Super Mario Bros. 2. When equipped, the fighter gains a permanent "Super Armor" which makes them harder to flinch or throw. This is a stronger variant of the "Slow Super Armor" trait that does not grant a slow mobility penalty, though it costs three slots to equip (compared to "Slow Super Armor"'s two slots), effectively filling all slots and can be applied only to spirits that have three open slots. The spirit can be summoned using a Metal Mario, Super Mushroom, and Fire Flower core.

Mario Kart Arcade GP DX
In Mario Kart Arcade GP DX, Gold Mario appears as a downloadable alternate color scheme for Metal Mario. Gold Mario's Special Item is the Mario Coin Plus, which can be used to earn ten Mario Coins.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Gold Mario appears in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as a playable character and the game's sole unlockable character. He acts as a variant of Metal Mario, similar to the Shy Guy, Yoshi, and Inkling colors. He is unlocked by winning all twelve gold cups in 200cc, though upon unlocking him, he replaces Metal Mario as the default choice on the roster. However, COM players never play as Gold Mario. Unlike previous appearances, Gold Mario lacks pupils in his eyes (similar to Metal Mario). His kart symbol is the same as Metal Mario's but with a golden "M". He is also the 200cc staff ghost for Mario Kart Stadium. Like Metal Mario, Gold Mario's voice has a filter.

Mario Kart Tour
Gold Mario reappears in Mario Kart Tour, initially appearing exclusively in Coin Rush mode before becoming a fully playable character in the 2023 Anniversary Tour, which was the last tour to introduce new content to the game, among which was the Gold Mario Cup. In Coin Rush, Gold Mario drives the Gold Standard as he races a single lap through a track (which changes depending on what tour the game is currently hosting), and draws in nearby coins, which may also be red or blue. At the end of the lap, all collected coins are multiplied by a selected amount then rewarded to the player. Gold Mario's special item is the Fire Flower, though during the Coin Rush in the Valentine's Tour, it was the Coin Box. Gold Mario retains his ability to draw in coins in normal races (though with a smaller radius than in Coin Rush), and is the only driver that can do so. In the game's files, this ability is named "Coin Vacuum".

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit
Gold Mario appears in Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit as an unlockable outfit for Mario. It is unlocked by getting a gold trophy in all 150cc cups.

Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash
In Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, it is possible to have Gold Mario as an amiibo doubles partner if the player uses a Mario - Gold Edition amiibo. Gold Mario himself is otherwise not a playable character.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games
In Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Gold Mario appears as a Mii Wear costume. This can be obtained by using any Mario amiibo (except the Mario Sports Superstars amiibo cards). In the 3DS version, players can activate the Gold Mario costume for a limited time, whilst it can be unlocked permanently in the Wii U version if players complete the Mario amiibo league. The costume's stats are overall better than all the characters in the 3DS game with the exception of Super Sonic, whilst in the Wii U version, it has balanced stats.

Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition
Gold Mario appears in Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition as a Leader, available with the game's digital update to version 2.0, unlocked after earning an S rank or higher in Course 4 of the Fixed Challenge mode in Score Attack. Gold Mario is a Light/Light attribute teammate with an HP rating of 4/6, an ATK rating of 3/6 and RCV rating of 5/6. Gold Mario's Skill, Gold Shine, changes Wood Orbs on the Orb field into Light Orbs, while his Leader Skill, Gold Sunshine, raises the ATK of the entire team by 3x if the player clears two Light combos, or by 4x for three Gold combos or more. Gold Mario uses Fruit and Rare Fruit to raise his Skill Levels.

Gold Luigi appears as a Leader as well, unlocked after earning an S rank or higher in Course 4 of the Free Challenge mode in Score Attack. Gold Luigi is a Light/Light attribute teammate with an HP rating of 5/6, an ATK rating of 3/6 and RCV rating of 3/6. Gold Luigi's Skill, Gold Flash, changes Water Orbs on the Orb field into Light Orbs. Gold Luigi shares the same Leader Skill and Skill item requirements as Gold Mario.

Super Mario Party
In Super Mario Party, characters turn gold when they use a Golden Drink, letting them receive one coin for each space they move during that turn.

Other appearances
In the first Animal Crossing game, there are two furniture items based off of Mario and Luigi: the Mario Statue, which is golden, and the Luigi Statue, which is silver.

There are different amiibo versions for Mario, where the Mario amiibo is coated either gold-colored or silver-colored paint. These versions are called Gold Edition and Silver Edition, and may be referencing the power-up.

In Hey! Pikmin, the Gold Mario amiibo, along with the Silver Mario amiibo and regular Mario amiibo itself, appear as treasures.

New Super Mario Bros. 2

 * Electronic manual description: Press / to throw a gold fireball. Hit blocks with gold fireballs to turn them into coins. You'll also receive coins for hitting enemies.
 * Note: If you complete a course as Gold Mario, you will turn into Fire Mario.

Trivia

 * In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Garro layers Mario into a coat of gold dust so he can be disguised as a statue to sneakily break into Nimbus Castle, whom he names "A Plumber's Lament". After Valentina is removed from the throne, Garro creates a true golden sculpture of Mario.
 * Prior to Gold Mario's debut, Metal Mario had an alternate gold color scheme in Mario Golf for Nintendo 64.

Interwiki links

 * Gold Mario (form) — de:Gold-Verwandlung — it:Mario dorato (trasformazione)
 * Gold Mario (character) — de:Gold-Mario (Charakter) — it:Mario dorato (personaggio)

Mario dorato (disambigua)