Backward Somersault

The Backward Somersault (referred to as Backflip by Prima Game Guides and Crouch Jump on the official Super Mario 3D Land website, the Super Mario 3D World manual, and Super Mario Maker 2) is an advanced type of jump introduced in Super Mario 64; it has been present in every 3D Mario game since. To do this, the character must jump while crouching. The character jumps high and flips over in midair, moving backwards. The character may chain it to a Ground Pound. The character can also control the backwards horizontal distance by holding back on the Control Stick.

This move is also present in Donkey Kong 64, working as it did in Super Mario 64, though it can also go straight up and forwards.

In Super Mario Sunshine, though Mario cannot crouch, he can perform this move if he sprays water, then lets go of the pump while jumping. Doing so creates a blast of water.

In Super Mario 64 DS, Luigi spins to slow his descent after performing this move.

In Super Mario 3D Land, Super Mario 3D World, and the respective game style in Super Mario Maker 2, this move must be charged up first by crouching, like the Power Squat Jump from Super Mario Bros. 2, and it can also go straight up and forwards, as in Donkey Kong 64.

In Super Mario Odyssey, Mario can do Backward Somersaults continuously if any of the shoulder buttons (,, , or ) are held.

A similar move known as the Backflip can be performed by Mario in Donkey Kong for Game Boy, Mario vs. Donkey Kong for Game Boy Advance and Super Mario Run. The player can do backflips by pressing the A Button while moving and pressing the +Control Pad into the opposite direction. Backflips allow Mario to quickly reach higher platforms. They require movement to execute them, so they can't be done on small platforms easily. In Super Mario Run, backflips are performed if the screen is tapped while the player is on a Backflip Block.

Super Mario 3D Land

 * North American Website Bio: "Mario charges up kinetic energy when he crouches. Harness it to jump even higher."
 * European Website Bio: "Press the B Button (or the A Button) while crouching to perform a Crouch Jump. Mario jumps higher than with an ordinary jump."

Trivia

 * In Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, performing a Backward Somersault from the edge of a platform toward a body of water causes Mario to instead do a diving move into the water, as long as the platform's surface is high enough above the water level.
 * Super Mario Odyssey contains an incomplete sentence when displaying instructions for a Backward Somersault on a sign: "If you're looking for the easiest way to get somewhere that a regular jump won't quite reach. Stop, crouch, and press to do a Backward Somersault."