Mystery Box

Mystery Boxes are boxes Mario can access in Super Mario 3D Land. They are found in most Worlds of the game, with their primary task being to defeat all the enemies in the box within ten seconds. Enemies can range from Goombas to Boom Booms. When Mario completes the task, Coins and a Star Medal will appear. Other items, such as 1-Up Mushrooms, Super Leaves and Fire Flowers are also found within Mystery Boxes. However, if Mario loses a life in a Mystery Box, he will be forced to quit the level. Whenever the player encounters a Mystery Box on the world map, he or she is required to complete it before moving on.

Mystery Boxes can also be golden on the inside, while still appearing purple on the outside. All of the golden-sided Mystery Boxes contain two Star Medals, and at least three 1-Up Mushrooms, with some containing as many as eight. No golden-sided Mystery Boxes contain enemies, and as such, Star Medals appear immediately upon entering a box. They can contain many different things, such as Poison Mushrooms, Toads, or even P-Wings.

There are a total of 20 unique normal Mystery Box contents and 15 unique golden-sided Mystery Boxes contents. Golden-sided Mystery Boxes are less likely to appear than normal ones. Each normal Mystery Box can be found in two different Worlds, while each golden-sided one can only be found in a single World.

After completing a Mystery Box, it turns gray on the Overworld Map, "falls asleep", and becomes inaccessible. It may be accessed again 24 hours later. The contents of each Mystery Box changes each time it is re-entered.

Mystery Boxes can also be accessed via StreetPass (A wireless feature that automatically exchanges infomation with other 3DS holders while the system is in sleep mode). The only difference in a StreetPass Mystery Box is that it is guaranteed to have a Star Medal or two, unless of course all Star Medals have been collected.

Mystery Boxes also can appear in some levels, which the goal is to collect as many coins from the blocks within the time limit.

Trivia

 * If the player waits outside of a Mystery Box on the World Map, the "Never Ending Stairs" theme from Super Mario 64 can be heard.