Super Star

"Here's a rare item! I'm sure it'll come in handy..."

- Toad

Stars (a.k.a. Super Stars, Starmen, or Invincibility Stars) are items used in many Mario games, including the Super Mario series and the Mario Kart series. If the Player gets a Star, he or she will become invincible. 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 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.

Since Super Mario World, if the player collides and defeats eight enemies while invincible (five in Super Mario Land 2 and Super Mario 3D Land), 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's power wears off (The player is vulnerable to enemies). 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.

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 or Luigi get it, the character will turn invincible and will change colours frequently. Any enemy that comes in contact with Mario is defeated immediately. 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 invincibility and the ability to defeat any enemy he touches.

Super Mario Bros. 2
Stars return in Super Mario Bros. 2, but the only way to get one is to collect five cherries in a level. The stars have the exact same effect as in the previous games; 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 a flip 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 receive 5 extra lives.

Super Mario World
Stars are very rare in Super Mario World, just like the preceding games. Stars are mostly found in Roulette Blocks. 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.

The main difference, however, is that the player gains a combo, similar to a shell or a jump combo, when they defeat enemies. This results in increasing point values for each enemy, eventually scoring extra lives for each enemy.

New Super Mario Bros.
Stars make the player turn invincible in New Super Mario Bros. as always. In this game, however, they protect the Mario Bros. from being burnt by lava and being crushed. They are much more rare here and sometimes appear in hidden ? blocks. None of them can be found in Toad Houses, and there is no way to put one in the reserve. Mario and Luigi can run a lot faster when they are invincible. The star is the rarest item and can only be found in five levels: 1-1, 1-2, 4-6, 4-Castle, and 8-7. A different type of Star also appears exclusively in the multiplayer mode, a Big Star. Mario or Luigi have to collect the most of them to win.

Super Mario Galaxy/Super Mario Galaxy 2
Although traditional Stars did not appear in Super Mario Galaxy, an item known as the Rainbow Star was introduced, with the exact same functions. When the player uses the Rainbow Star, he becomes Rainbow Mario and leaves a trail of light behind him whenever he runs, changes colours frequently and can defeat any enemy. If the brothers keep running without stopping, they'll put his arms out and run faster and will be able to jump further. 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 Super Mario 64. Rainbow Stars reappear in Super Mario Galaxy 2 with the same function. Rainbow Stars, however, cannot protect Mario from touching lava or getting crushed.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Super 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. The way to store a star is only possible in Toad Houses. If a player with a Star in effect grabs another player, they too will gain the power of invincibility.

Super Mario 3D Land
Super Stars appear in Super Mario 3D Land, and have the same abilities as in previous games. They are exceptionally more common in this game.

New Super Mario Bros. 2
Super Stars reappear in New Super Mario Bros. 2, functioning and behaving as in the previous Mario games. They do not appear as frequently as they have in Super Mario 3D Land.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Super Stars return in New Super Mario Bros. U and function the same way they did in New Super Mario Bros. 2. They appear in many of the game's levels, often being used to walk over dangerous Muncher plants or light up dark areas. Also, there is a new purple Star called the Boost Star, which allows the player using Boost Mode be able to destroy enemies when tapped on.

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 Fire Mario and Fire 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 Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island and its follow-up when they were smiley faced, with blue shoes. They can be found by the player by defeating certain enemies and hitting some Winged 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. There are also packs of Stars that come in 10 or 20. Also, "Super Stars", found only in a few levels, seals the Yoshi in a huge egg, and Baby Mario would become invincible, and sport a Cape, which allows 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. The Super Stars in this game look like normal invincibility stars, but without a face.

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. The music, however, is different than the ordinary music. The music is actually 2 loops of an excerpt of the famous cancan.

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, except the stars do not bounce. The music was changed once again. It's a unique song.

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Stars also appear in the third installment of the Super Mario Land series, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. Here, Wario is able to use the Star for the first time. Besides the theme that plays while invincible, the Star's effects haven't changed much from the previous games. The Star also makes Wario run even faster.

Mario Kart series
Stars appear in certain Mario Kart games. In Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Stars are seen with smiling mouths. 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 wears off right away. An invincible player is also able to knock players with the Mega Mushroom effects in Mario Kart Wii. Additionally, the Star does protect players from incoming Bullet Bills.

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 players can go through the ring and receive an item block there, they may receive a star or a mushroom.

The Star is also the emblem of the Star Cup in every Mario Kart game to date.

Since Mario Kart Super Circuit, players can also earn ranks that can be one, two or three stars. The best rank is three stars. Players can also gain an overall star rank; when having earned minimally one star on every cup, the player gains a one-star rank. Minimally two stars on each cup means a two-star rank, and three stars on each cup means an overall rank of three stars, which is the highest.

In Mario Kart Wii, the Sugarscoot has a star emblem on its spare tire on the rear.

In Mario Kart 7 on the Shy Guy Bazaar course, there are Vases. If the racers hit a Vase while driving at high speeds, the Vase will break and Star may pop out and give them invincibility for a short time.

Super Smash Bros. series
Stars appear in every game of the Super Smash Bros. series as well. If players touch a Star, they will become invincible, allowing them to attack foes, without worrying about damage. However, unlike with the actual Mario games, players will not be able to hurt their opponents just by touching them.

Mario Tennis series
Stars appear in the Bowser Stage from Mario Tennis. Stars also appear in Item Battle from Mario Power Tennis.

Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Stars appear in Mario Golf: Advance Tour. It appeared only Star Courses by Dunes and Links. Odd Star Courses unlocked by game record condition and Even Star Courses unlocked by NGC connectivity with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour record condition. A starred ball has no effect from landform.

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 30 coins from all other players and gives the player the 30 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. They also increase the speed and accuracy of the ball. In basketball and hockey, players cannot intercept the ball/puck when it is thrown. In volleyball, opposing players who touch the ball will be heavily immobilized for awhile. In dodgeball, opposing players will immediately lose some health when hit, regardless of if the ball touches the ground or not.

In some missions, an item restriction may limit the items to Stars, making it possible for both teams to get that item at the same time.

Other Appearances
Stars have made very few appearances in games such as the Mario RPG series. Their first 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?".

Starmen appear for the second time in a Mario RPG in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, where they can be found in levels and grant Mario invincibility which lets him defeat enemies without battling them, much like Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

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Trivia

 * Super Mario Land, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins 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; the first is heard when the Star item is in effect during a match; the other is heard when the player clears the Star Road.
 * If the player touches another item while invincible in Super Mario Galaxy, it flies high into the air, coming back down a minute or less later.