Super Star

Stars (a.k.a. Super Stars, Starmen, Invincibility Stars or Rainbow Stars) are items used in many Mario games, including the Super Mario series and the Mario Kart series. If Mario gets a Star, he will become Invincible Mario. The user becomes temporarily invulnerable to all damage, except to hazards that would normally be fatal regardless of powerups (lava, pits, time-over, getting crushed, etc). Any projectiles or enemies that come into contact with the user of the Star while it is activated are either destroyed, damaged, or spun out (depending on the type of enemy and what game it is). The Star also increases the speed of the user substantially.

From Super Mario World and beyond in the Super Mario Bros. series (including several remakes), if the player collides and defeats eight enemies while invincible (five in Super Mario Land 2), they will get a 1-Up. As they continue rampaging through enemies, they will keep getting 1-Ups for each additional enemy steamrolled until the Star wears off completely (as in the player becomes vulnerable again). Touching another Star while already invincible will prolong the effect and allow the player to continue getting 1-Ups.

In most games where stars appear as items, once collected, a theme will play. This theme is just as famous as the Super Mario Bros. theme, leading to remixes and remakes into ringtones.

Super Mario Bros.
Super Mario Bros. is the first Mario game to feature a star. It is a very rare item, only found in some levels. When Mario gets it, he turns invincible. Any enemy that comes in contact with Mario will get defeated. However, the star's power is only temporary and it will disappear after a certain amount of time.

Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
The Star returns in the same manner as in anything else that returns in Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. They still grant Mario the invincibility and the ability to defeat any enemy Mario touches.

Super Mario Bros. 2
Stars return in Super Mario Bros. 2 but the only way to get it is to collect cherries in the level. The stars have the exact same effect if the player touches the star; it will grant the player invincibility and the ability to defeat any enemy.

Super Mario Bros. 3
Once again, Stars were rare items in Super Mario Bros. 3. Just like the preceding games, they grant Mario the ability to be invincible, but as extras, Mario can run slightly faster than normal. If Mario jumps, he'll do forward roll in the air. Stars also appear in the Card Roulette which must be hit in order to clear a level. If the player gets 3 Stars they recieve 5 extra lives.

Super Mario World
Stars are very rare in Super Mario World, just like the preceding games. Stars are mostly found in the blocks that change power-ups in an order. If the player manages to get a star while the items are getting changed, they will be able to defeat any enemy and become invincible to any attacks for a limited amount of time, as in past games.

New Super Mario Bros.
Stars make Mario turn invincible in New Super Mario Bros. like they always do. They are much more rare here and sometimes appear in hidden ? blocks. Mario can run a lot faster when he is invincible.

Super Mario Galaxy
Although traditional Stars did not appear in Super Mario Galaxy, an item known as the Rainbow Star was introduced. When Mario uses the Rainbow Star, he becomes Rainbow Mario and leaves a trail of light behind him whenever he runs. If Mario keeps running without stopping, he'll get Star Bits and be able to jump farther. The theme that plays after getting a Rainbow Star is a remixed version of the classic invincibility music and also similar to that of the Vanish Cap in SM64. Rainbow Stars reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, stars are mostly found through Roulette Blocks or just regular Question Blocks. They act very similar to the previous game, but with a different theme remix and they now have the ability to light up dark places entirely. Storing in purse is only possible in toad houses.

DiC cartoons
Starmen also made several appearances throughout the three Mario animated cartoon series produced by DiC Entertainment.

In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, they did not grant invincibility; they instead could power-up Mario and Luigi into Super Mario and Super Luigi, giving them increased strength and the ability to shoot fireballs. The person wielding the Starman, often Mario, would usually recite, "Starman, star bright, give me pasta power, give me pasta might," before powering up. This power would last until either a fair bit of time elapsed, or they were attacked by an enemy. However, Fire Flowers, along with other powerful artifacts such as Magic Pendants, could also be used in lieu of Starmen in order to power-up. In "Toad Warriors", Toad managed to transform into the Toad Warrior by using a Starman, although in the next episode, "The Fire of Hercufleas", he transformed into Super Toad by using a Fire Flower.

Starmen continued to make appearances into The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. In these appearances, they no longer followed the rules of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Instead, they granted temporary invincibility, just like in the games.

Yoshi series
Stars were used differently in Yoshi's Island when they were smiley faced, with blue shoes. They can be found by the player by defeating certain enemies and hitting some ? Clouds. They were used when Baby Mario fell off a Yoshi's back. The Stars would somehow make a bubble around the screaming infant, protecting him from the evil Toadies until the power of the Stars ran out. Every Star collected would add one second to the Star meter, and collecting 30 of them was essential to get a Perfect on a level. Also, "Super Stars" found only in a few levels (they looked like an ordinary Starman, but with no eyes) would seal the Yoshi in a huge egg, and Baby Mario would become invincible, and somehow sport a Cape, which allowed him to glide long distances. After a certain amount of time, the Yoshi would return to normal and Baby Mario once again would seat himself on his back, losing his cape and invulnerability. There are also packs of Stars that come in 10 or 20.

Super Mario Land
Stars make a return in the game, Super Mario Land. Little has changed between the preceding game and this game regarding gameplay effects.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins stars can be found. They make Mario turn invincible and move faster, much like the other games before.

Mario Kart series
In certain Mario Kart games, a Star is seen with a smiling mouth, and only Mario Kart: Double Dash!! is the one to reveal it. Stars make the player who uses it invincible, faster, and the ability to cross all types of terrain without losing any speed. However, if the player happens to fall off course, the star's effect will vanish quicker. An invincible player is also able to knock players with the Mega Mushroom effects in Mario Kart Wii.

Some places, stars can be obtained through special blocks. One is in DK Pass, where there is a super item block on top of a hill. If the player, in any position, touches the item block, the player may receive a star, triple mushrooms, mushrooms, or a single red shell. In Chain Chomp Wheel there is an item block on top of the center of the course with the ramps around. If the player can go through the ring and receive an item block there, they may receive a star or a mushroom.

Super Smash Bros. series
Stars appear in the Super Smash Bros. series as well. If a player touches a Star, they will become invincible, allowing them to attack the foe, without worrying about damage. However, unlike the actual Mario games, the player will not be able to hurt them just by touching them.

Mario Superstar Baseball
Stars only appear in Toy Field and Star Dash in Mario Superstar Baseball. A star can only be obtained by making the ball land on the slot and acquiring an item from the item slot. When a star is received, the star will take 50 coins from all other players and gives the player the 50 coins from each player. In Star Dash, the star may come out along with the coins that come out of the pipe-like mechanism. When the star is received, the player will receive 10 coins. When the player hits another player while the star is in effect, the player will steal 10 coins. The player can defeat Thwomps on the field also. The player must watch out for the Poison Mushrooms that come out. If the player touches a Poison Mushroom while invincible, the player will feel the Poison Mushroom effects and lose the star power up.

Mario Super Sluggers
Since the item slot was dismissed in the Toy Field of Mario Super Sluggers, it appears in a minigame called Graffiti Runner. In this game, the star is one of the many power-ups found inside treasure chest, in which the player must use the tackle button to open up. If the player acquires the star, they are invincible and impervious to almost all forms of attack, plus can be able to knock anyone else aside. However, the player is not fully invincible and will still get stunned by an earthquake caused by a larger player or a Chain Chomp. It also appeared in the Blooper Baserun minigame and shares the same thing.

Though stars do not appear as an item obtained in Toy Field, it can be found when the player makes the ball land on the "Jackpot" space. In one of these jackpots, there is an event where the player must choose a treasure chest to find a star. If the player did, they will receive coins.

Mario Sports Mix
Stars also make an appearance in Mario Sports Mix and in addition to making the character invincible, it has two theme songs.

Other Appearances
Stars have made very few appearances in games such as the Mario RPG series. Perhaps their only appearance as an item was in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, where Mario could occasionally find the rare item and use it to defeat enemies on the overworld (without having to go into battle with them). Doing this would, quite helpfully, still earn Mario Experience Points. Stars, despite being such rare items in the RPGs, are briefly mentioned in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, where they are said to be an ingredient of Invincishrooms, and in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, in which a camera-wielding Lakitu near the Glitz Pit remarks, "Stars make you invincible?".

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Trivia

 * Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2 are the only games to have a completely different Starman theme. In Super Mario Land, it is the chorus to the famous Can-Can music.
 * In the French version, Stars are named "Super Etoile" (meaning Super Star). For unknown reasons, the Super Mario Galaxy's Power Stars are named Super Stars in the French version.
 * Mario Sports Mix is the only game that has two Starman theme songs.
 * In the 2010 version of Nintendo Monopoly, one of the tokens is a Star.