User:Nintendo101
Casual Nintendo historian. Otherwise an artist and a field ecologist. Bio degree. I've had an account here since 2012.
I wrote the character sections for Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Super Mario Odyssey. I contributed much of the article for Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Sunshine.
I have been a fan of Nintendo since a very young age. My first Mario games (and three of the first video games I ever owned) were Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2, Super Mario 64 DS, and Mario Kart DS. These games were good company for a young kid who moved around a lot and had difficulty keeping long-lasting friends.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I sequentially played some of my favorite games in the Super Mario series to 100% completion. This includes, in order, Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, and Super Mario Odyssey. It's been really fun! These are great games, and I always wanted to marathon a series like this before but never had the time. It has been interesting to see where the series began and where it has ended up. The design philosophies, the characters, the art directions, world building, level design, narrative, etc. All good stuff. It might be fun to write something about it some day.
My favorite video game character is Yoshi.
For assets I have uploaded to the wiki, I suggest viewing them here.
Sandbox for current project
Items
Collectibles, pickups, and launchable objects.
Name | Description | Name | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Power Star |
Power Stars fuel Mushroom Castle and are stolen by Bowser to seal the castle's inhabitants away. They are the primary objective within missions and accumulating them unlocks new ones. A larger token called the Jumbo Star is made available after the final battle with Bowser. Collecting it does not contribute to the player's total, but it does liberate Princess Peach. | Bubble |
An underwater object that appears when Mario opens a Treasure Chest underwater, and contains oxygen that refills his Power Meter. |
Key |
A token awarded to Mario after the first two Bowser battles. A key permanently unlocks a Big Star Door. | 1UP Mushroom |
A green spotted mushroom that gives Mario an extra life when collected. |
Yellow Coin |
Collecting a Yellow Coin restores one wedge to Mario's Power Meter. | Koopa Shell |
A shell from a Koopa Troopa that Mario can ride, allowing him to defeat enemies he runs over and move around the course quicker. Pressing causes the shell to disappear. If a Koopa Shell is grabbed underwater by using , Mario can hold on to the shell for a short time and move underwater easier. |
Blue Coin |
A blue variant of the Yellow Coin, each worth five coins. They usually appear after Mario pounds Blue Coin Blocks or after he defeats stronger enemies such as a Mr. I. | Mario's cap |
TBW |
Red Coin |
A red variant of the Yellow Coin, each worth two coins. Eight are scattered around most courses, and collecting them all causes a Power Star to appear. They restore two wedges of Mario's Power Meter when collected. | Crate |
A smaller variant of block that can be picked up and thrown. |
Spinning Heart |
A large heart that spins when Mario walks through it, which recovers his health. The amount of health it recovers and how fast it does so is dependent on how quickly Mario moves through it. | Crazed Crate |
A crate with faces that bounces around three times in the direction Mario is facing if grabbed. |
Power-ups
Items that transform Mario's appearance and give him unique abilities.
Block | Power-up | Effect | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Red block |
Wing Cap |
TBW | |
Green block |
Metal Cap |
TBW | |
Blue block |
Vanish Cap |
TBW |
Objects
Name | Description | |
---|---|---|
Trigger objects | ||
Blue Coin Block |
Blocks that cause trails of Blue Coins to appear for a temporary period of time when ground-pounded. It disappears for the remainder of the accessed mission once struck. | |
Brick pillar[1] |
A pair of brick pillars are in the the basement of Mushroom Castle. Ground-pounding them permanently drains the moat. | |
Bubble ring |
Underwater rings released by the Manta Ray. Swimming through five consecutive bubble rings rewards Mario with a Power Star. | |
Cap Switch |
A type of ! Switch only found in switch courses. Ground-pounding one permanently makes corresponding semi-visible blocks turn solid, granting Mario access to the power-ups they contain. There are only three Cap Switches in the game, and they correspond as follows: the red one makes the Wing Cap available; the green one makes the Metal Cap available; and the blue one makes the Vanish Cap available. | |
Crystal Tap |
Octahedrons in Wet-Dry World that cause the water level to either rise or fall when touched. | |
Post |
A post needs to be struck by a ground-pound three times to be fully embedded into the earth, which may produce a Yellow Coin or trigger a nearby event. Running around one may produce multiple Coins. | |
Purple Switch |
Purple Switches cause temporary changes to the surrounding environment when stepped on. | |
Secret |
Sets of five, cryptically hidden "spots" within a course. Finding one causes a corresponding red number to appear on screen. Locating all five Secrets causes a Power Star to appear. | |
Climbable objects | ||
Flagpole |
Koopa the Quick's climbable pole. It marks the finish line of a footrace. | |
Pole |
Climbable poles. Mario clings to one by jumping onto it. He can ascend, descend, and change which face of the pole he is on when the player moves . Pressing makes Mario jump from whichever face he is on. Their height and designs depend on where they are encountered. | |
Tree |
Trees function like poles. Reaching the top of one sometimes triggers an event or releases a 1UP Mushroom that homes-in on Mario. | |
Wire net (horizontal) |
Ceilings of climbable metal netting. | |
Blocks and platforms | ||
Arrow Lift |
Floating blocks that begin to move back and forth once stood on. An activated Arrow Lift stops moving for two-second intervals before moving again. | |
Block |
Blocks contain Yellow Coins and release them once struck. They are visually identical to Crates, but are about the same height as Mario and cannot be picked up. | |
Bowser's Sub |
The submarine only appears in Dire, Dire Docks during "Board Bowser's Sub", during which it floats on the surface of the water. Bowser's Sub does not appear in subsequent missions, and completing it unlocks access to Bowser in the Fire Sea. | |
Cloud House |
A large, floating building in Rainbow Ride. Magic Carpets travel through the Cloud House on a rainbow that weaves through it. The fireplace in the building shoots flames. | |
Conveyor belt |
Platforms with moving surfaces. The speed and direction vary depending on the position of the clock hands on Tick Tock Clock's face when Mario enters the course. | |
Falling Block |
Floating platforms that fall when stepped on. In some courses, the Falling Blocks drop quickly and Mario will lose ground if he does not keep moving forward. | |
Flipping block[2] |
Block platforms that flip in set intervals. The speed and direction vary depending on the position of the clock hands on Tick Tock Clock's face when Mario enters the course. | |
Floating wooden platform[3] |
Floating wooden platforms sink slightly in water when stepped on, then rise back up. | |
Gondola |
A hanging rail-based platform that moves once Mario lands on it, and stops again after it returns to the bottom if he has left it. | |
Lift |
Moving platforms. Some move along tracks. Others only move up and down, like elevators. Their designs and environmental context for moving depends on where they are encountered. | |
Log |
Logs roll when stood on. Mario must keep pace with the log's roll to avoid falling off. | |
Magic Carpet |
Types of lifts in Rainbow Ride that travel along rainbows. If Mario remains off of a Magic Carpet for too long, it will disappear and respawn back at its original position. | |
Merry-go-round |
A spinning platform in the basement of Big Boo's Haunt. | |
Metal crate[4] |
Large, stone blocks that can be pushed. | |
Minute hand[5] |
A long platform in Tick Tock Clock. It rotates in incremental intervals around a pivot point at the center of the course. The speed and direction vary depending on the position of the clock hands on Tick Tock Clock's face when Mario enters the course. | |
Mushroom |
Tall mushrooms. | |
Paddle wheel |
A set of four lifts attached to a pivot. Standing on a lift causes the paddle wheel to rotate. | |
Puzzle |
A sliding puzzle of Bowser suspended over lava. The individual pieces constantly shift positions, forming and unforming the image of Bowser on the puzzle. | |
Pyramid platforms |
Platforms that flips upside-down for a few seconds once activated by a Purple Switch. | |
Rainbow Cruiser |
A six-winged airship flying in the direction of strong winds. | |
Rotating bar[2] |
Thin platforms embedded in the side of Tick Tock Clock. The speed and direction vary depending on the position of the clock hands on Tick Tock Clock's face when Mario enters the course. | |
Rotating ring platform[6] |
A spinning platform surrounding the volcano in Lethal Lava Land. It stops moving periodically, during which the volcano erupts. | |
Seesaw |
Platforms that tilt left or right depending on where is standing on it. Seesaws have different appearances depending on where they are found. | |
Semi-visible block |
A transparent block that turns solid and is able to be used after the player hits the Cap Switch. | |
Ship |
A sunken ship at the bottom of Jolly Roger Bay, where Unagi nests. Approaching it causes the eel to stir and exit the vessel, granting Mario access to its hull. The ship subsequently can be found floating on the surface of the water during "Red Coins on the Ship Afloat". | |
Spinning disc[7] |
Circular, spinning platforms suspended in the air. Their size and design varies depending on the theme of the course they occur in. | |
Square[8] |
Pairs of square-shaped paired platforms that move within the rims of a larger square-shaped frame. | |
Swing |
Pendulums that swing back and forth. | |
Treasure chest |
Wooden chests contain bubbles and open when touched. In some missions, five treasure chests appear and either release a Power Star or trigger a change in the environment when opened in a specific order. Opening a chest out of order electrocutes Mario and forces the player to start over. | |
Wire platform |
Mesh lifts in lava. Some wire platforms move along tracks that temporary submerge them in lava. | |
Wobbly platform[9] |
Prism-shaped platforms that tilt towards the direction that Mario is standing on, dipping the nearest corner into lava. | |
Wooden beam[10] |
A plank in Whomp's Fortress. Kicking or punching the wooden beam causes it to fall over and become useable as a bridge. | |
Work Elevator |
A large flat platform with four arrow-emblazoned buttons that Mario can step on to move the platform. | |
Yellow block |
Floating blocks that contain items. One releases its content when Mario jumps underneath it. It is functionally comparable to the ? Blocks of prior Super Mario games and is the only ! Block available at the start of the game. | |
Transportation objects | ||
★ door |
A door that requires Power Stars to enter. | |
Big Star Door |
A bigger variant of ★ door that requires Power Stars to enter, leading to a boss level. | |
Cannon |
Cannons launch Mario to distant areas. They are accessed like pipes. | |
Key Door |
A door that requires a key to enter. | |
Painting |
A portal that is used to travel from the Mushroom Castle to one of the game's many levels. | |
Painting (Boo) |
A painting of a Boo through which Vanish Mario can pass. | |
Volcano |
TBW | |
Warp pipe |
Pipes going through the ground that bring Mario to new areas. He enters one by physically jumping into it. The cabin chimney on Cool, Cool Mountain functions like a warp pipe. Some are Shrinker Pipes that change Mario's size and bring him to the two different versions of Tiny-Huge Island. | |
Warp Point |
TBW | |
Other objects | ||
Arrow Sign |
Signs that direct players towards the intended focus of the mission they enter. | |
Rainbow |
Rainbows passively indicate an intended direction for the player to follow. Magic Carpets move along them in Rainbow Ride, and arches connect different clouds in Wing Mario Over the Rainbow. A ring-shaped rainbow in Rainbow Ride provides a visual target for which the player to launch Mario out of a cannon. All rainbows are intangible. | |
Sign[11] |
Posted boards that contain information on actions, scenarios, and locations. They can be ground-pounded into the ground. There are variants found hanging on walls. | |
Star Marker |
A Power Star appears above a Star Marker in missions where Mario must collect eight Red Coins. |
Notes and references
Notes