Item storage

The Item Storage (also referred to as the Item Reserve Box, or Item Stock) is a feature debuting in Super Mario World that allows the player to keep an additional item in reserve. If Super Mario gathers a Cape Feather, for example, he will turn into Cape Mario and his former Power-Up, the Super Mushroom, will move into the Item Stock. After taking damage, Cape Mario will turn into Small Mario, and the stocked item will drop down automatically. The item will not drop on the ground or platforms, however, and will fall off the stage if the player does not collect it fast enough. The player may also make the stocked item drop down whenever they want by pressing. The stocked item, when used, will not bring any extra Points, unless it's the Cape Feather, which still brings 1000 points, though only in the SNES version. Super Mushrooms will always replace the stocked item when collected in Super, Cape, or Fire form, regardless of the Item Storage's contents.

The Item Storage was reintroduced in New Super Mario Bros., working like it did in Super Mario World. For example, if the player is Super Mario and the player has a Fire Flower in the Item Stock, he or she can tap the item with the and it will automatically appear on the top screen. Unlike in Super Mario World, if Mario, while powered-up and holding a higher-tiered power-up in the Item Stock (like the Blue Shell), grabs a Super Mushroom, or earns one from a Toad House, it simply gives 1000 points to the player, instead of replacing the stocked item. Dropped items will also act as if they were knocked out of blocks normally, meaning they no longer float down and off the stage, but instead drop and move along the ground. The Item Storage also will not drop its contents unless the player uses it. The Power-Up and Mega Mushroom Toad Houses also give power-ups that go straight to the Item Storage.

It later appears in Super Mario 3D Land, acting in the same manner as in New Super Mario Bros. However, due to the game being a 3D Mario game, the stocked item pops out of Mario or Luigi and falls in front of him.

It was present again in New Super Mario Bros. 2, where it behaved exactly as it did in its predecessor.

It appeared once more in Super Mario 3D World, acting the same as in its handheld predecessor, and now appearing on the near bottom-left corner of both the TV and the GamePad screens. It is used by pressing or tapping it on the GamePad screen. Depending on the number of players present in gameplay, the Item Stock can be capable of holding up to a maximum of four different items.