Koopa Troopa factory: [Screen shots: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
This might work in all similar situations, but an easy place to do this is World 1-1. Near the beginning of the level, there will be two Goombas walking down from a high platform, onto another platform with a Question Block in the middle. Scroll the lower platform almost all the way to the left end of the screen. With perfect timing you can run back and knock the left-most block from below as the last Goomba walks over it. For some reason, this turns the Goomba into an upside-down green Koopa shell as he dies! If you knocked the out of the Question Block as you ran by the first time, the shell will be red.
Another good place to pull this off is World 6-1, in the area where you can find the warp-only 1-Up (see screen shots 3 - 5 above). If you're in the right spot, you can consistently turn Spinys into Koopa shells. Since Spinys survive knocks from below, the Koopa shells will also survive, and turn into live Koopa Troopas on the ground...
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Mushroom magic: [Screen shots: 1, 2]
In World 1-1, at the same part as described above, sprout the , then get on top of the high platform. As the falls in the pit, try to jump so that Mario goes off the top of the screen as the goes off the bottom of the screen. If Mario and the are lined up perfectly, Mario will collect the off-screen.
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Don't know.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Don't know.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Inside the enemy: [screen shot]
As Super or Fiery Mario, run into an enemy. While you're blinking with post-damage-invincibility, get right up inside the enemy, and try to mimic his movements. When the invincibility wears off, you'll be inside the enemy without getting hurt! Once you get out of the enemy, you're fair game again.
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Scale Lift glitch-fest: [Screen shots: 1, 2, 3]
You can cause lots of chaos by simply by breaking platforms off of Scale Lifts. A great area for this is World 4-3. At the first Scale Lift, ride the left platform down and break it off. Jump to safety, then quickly move to the right, jumping to the Elevator Lifts. Sometimes Mario will encounter invisible platforms around the Scale Lift, either hitting his head on the bottom of one or running into the side of one. That is the most annoying part of this glitch, because it almost certainly results in as your jumping trajectory is changed drastically, causing Mario to fall down the pit. If you happen to avoid the invisible platforms, moving quickly to the right will often mess up the Red Koopa Troopa on the next platform. Sometimes he will get stuck inside the platform, but usually he will end up walking off of it onto thin air. You can cause even more chaos by keeping the gravity-defying Koopa on the screen as you break more platforms off and quickly move ahead. Once I had an Elevator Lift drop down the pit (which I was unfortunately not able to get a NESticle movie of), and a few times scale lifts would break off and fall to the bottom of the screen (screen shot #3).
--[Found by Deezer]
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Don't know.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Not really.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Mushroom through the blocks:
Keep a shell sitting on an "unused" question block, and if you can get a to slide onto that same block, hit the block and the will drop down. Try this in World 2-1.
--[Sent in by Juan Pablo Peloso]
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Don't know.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Walk through walls:
In 1-4, pass the first firebar thing and stop on the next platform. You'll notice that the ceiling drops down and almost forms a wall. Slowly go to the right until there's about half a block length between the left edge of the screen and that wall. Direct Mario to the left side of the screen, and jump. Mario should hit his head on the ceiling and land on the wall. (If Mario can't fit, you've scrolled too far. If Mario doesn't get stuck, you haven't scrolled far enough.) Now, hold Left and jump rapidly until Mario starts moving backwards through the wall. At this point, you'll be able to walk through to the end of that low ceiling (beware the firebars...). It is possible to repeat this trick anywhere you find similar floor/ceiling/wall combinations.
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Almost. After you're stuck you have to duck and jump to get into the wall.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Un-Fiery Mario:
(This is sort of related to the "drown bug" listed down at the end.) Bring Fiery Mario to a water level. Stand on the sea floor and hold Down as you press A to swim up again. You won't be able to shoot fireballs until you touch the floor again!
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes, but if you keep holding Down, it works.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: No.
Minus World:
World -1 (A.K.A. the "Minus World") is an infinitely-long water level, only accessible through World 1-2. Here's what you do: As Super Mario, get all the way to the green pipe at the end of 1-2. Stand on top of the pipe and smash the blocks above you. Do not smash the very last block on the right. Now, stand on the end of the pipe and face left. Jump straight up, then press and hold Right on the controller. What you are trying to do here is jump through the bottom left corner of the block backwards. If you do it just right, Mario will slide through the block and be pulled through the wall. When Mario gets to the other side of the wall, go down the first pipe before it says "WELCOME TO WARP ZONE." You will not come out in 4-1, but in -1. Yes, that's right, -1. World -1 is just like 2-2, but the pipe at the end takes you back to the beginning. You cannot beat -1, but it does give you lots of swimming practice :)
Side note: If you go down them before it says "WELCOME TO WARP ZONE," the second pipe takes you to 5-1, and the third pipe also takes you to the Minus World.
In the Famicom Disk System version of SMB, the Minus World is a swimming version of World 1-3, with gray enemies, pink platforms, and a floating Bowser. At the end, if you touch the flagpole too high, you'll float over the castle door and won't clear the level. Touch it about halfway down to be safe, and you'll drop right into the door, taking you to World -2! World -2 is exactly like World 7-3, except beating the level takes you to -3. World -3 is like 4-4, except it's not a maze, there's no Bowser at the end, and the graphics are blue instead of gray. After you touch the axe at the end, you are thanked as usual, but the Retainer is not there. Press B, and you are taken to the title screen, where you can keep pressing B to choose a World to go to, with harder levels, exactly as if you had just beaten the game.
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Small and Fiery:
Being either Super or Fiery Mario, get behind Bowser and let him walk towards you. Jump, and try to land on the Axe and Bowser at the same time. You will defeat Bowser and move on as Super Mario. In the next World, the next powerup you'll get is a , which will make Mario small. Next item you'll get is a Fire Flower, which will turn you Fiery, but you will remain small. Note: This will not work in 8-4.
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes. I can't seem to land on both at the same time.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie? Yes.
Thank you Mario!:
Being small Mario, get behind Bowser and let him walk towards you. Jump, and try to land on the Axe and Bowser at the same time. Bowser will hit the lava, as usual. Mario will "die" but he will angle towards the Retainer and off the bottom of the screen. The Retainer thanks you, and you move on to the next level. Note: This works in 8-4 also.
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes. I can't seem to land on both at the same time.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie? Yes.
The Magic Koopa Troopa:
You may already know that it's possible to stomp a Koopa Paratroopa twice in mid-air. If your second stomp is when the Koopa Troopa is 1 or 2 block heights from the bottom of the screen, he will go into his shell (duh), but it will be floating in mid-air! Of course the only way to get the Koopa Troopa 1 or 2 block heights from the bottom would be to stomp on him over a pit. For a real challenge, try to double-stomp a Paratroopa and land on solid ground. The best place I know of is in 4-3, but it's extremely difficult to do, however. So anyway, after you land on the platform, the Koopa Troopa should be in his shell and floating. Wait a while and he'll pop back out and start walking, while still floating in mid-air! (I always do this bug in 4-3, but I assume it can be done in similar levels such as 1-3 or 5-3.)
-- [Found by Deezer]
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Don't know.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie? Yes.
Mario Copperfield:
If you are Fiery Mario, you can pull off this cool stunt: Before any level begins (during the "WORLD x-x" screen), press and hold A and B. When the level begins, use the arrow keys to move Mario... and he will be "gliding" along the ground on one foot! Just release A and B and Mario will walk normally again. This also works when Mario is coming out of pipes -- just hold A and B as he is emerging from a pipe....
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie? Yes.
Get stuck & drown:
If you are Super or Fiery Mario, you can pull this off in any water level. Stop right before the pipe in the water that takes you out to dry land somewhere. Press and hold Down to duck, then press A to swim, and then let go of Down. As long as your feet don't touch down anywhere, you'll notice that Mario's head goes all the way through to almost the very top of the blocks! Keep pounding Mario's head on the blocks as you swim above the exit pipe. Soon he will moonwalk behind the pipe and will get stuck. The only way to get out of this is to reset the game, or wait for time to expire.
Fixed in Super Mario Bros. DX?: Yes.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes, they added blocks above the pipes to make it impossible to get stuck.
NESticle movie? Yes.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Bugs/glitches
Pick up nothing:
After you throw an enemy into another, jump on the cluster of defeated foes and quickly press B as if you wanted to pick them up. Instead of picking them up, your character will pick up nothing! The game acts as though you are really holding something though, which means you can't go in doors unless you press B to throw your "nothing" away. (To make it easier on yourself, try hitting the second enemy on a bounce. This will give you more time to jump onto the dying foes.)
-- [Sent in by joseph.kendall@home.com]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Suicide door:
While entering a door, pause the game before the screen changes. Enter the code (Up + B + A on Controller II), then unpause the game. Instead of dying once, you'll watch your character fall through the floor and die for each extra life remaining! Game over.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Didn't check yet.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
The power of Pokey: [screen shot]
Lead Pokey off a ledge, and he'll keep walking in a straight line, but in mid-air. On a related note, Pokey will also walk through walls if you can lead him to one. When he walks through the wall in World 2-2, his head pokes through the top; pick it up and the rest of his body will disappear.
-- [Contributing: nintendoexpert89]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Door of doom:
In 5-1, pull out the Potion, and use the rolling logs to get on top of the tall wall before the door to Birdo. Throw down the Potion so the door forms off-screen, then take a few steps and press Up to go in the door. You will die as soon as you enter Sub-Space.
-- [Sent in by TeamRocket2002]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes; no door is made off-screen.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Life meter glitch: [screen shot]
When you pull up a Rocket, pause the game before the Rocket takes you to another screen. Perform the code (Up+B+A on Controller 2 while paused, then unpause). When you unpause, your character will have no dots filled in the life meter, but the Rocket will take you up to the next screen, explode, and drop you off as usual. But now, you'll be "small" with no dots in the life meter, and the music will turn off (except in 5-1, because the music changes). Grab a Heart, and it will fill in two dots, but you'll still be small! Grab another to fill in the third dot, and to become "big."
-- [Found by David Wonn]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes; you can't pause while in a Rocket.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Trapped: [screen shot]
When fighting Fryguy, break him down into four "baby" Fryguys. Now try to kill one as you get hit by another at the same time. After you kill off the rest of them, the door won't appear.
-- [Sent in by sin@iconnect.net]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Not sure.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Illusion items: [screen shot]
Throw down a Potion on top of some grass. Enter Sub-Space, and press Up to exit. As soon as the door opens, quickly and repeatedly press B. If your timing was right, the item that you pulled out will be on top of your head. You can't throw it, but if you go in a door, or up a vine to a new area, the item will become real and will be sitting in your hands. If you get killed while carrying the illusion item, you'll have a real item in your hands when you retry the stage!
-- [Found by Jeff Walker]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Not sure.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
A chip off the old Rocket: [screen shot]
Do the "illusion item" trick above, and then go and pull up a Rocket. When it flies upward, your item will stay where it was, and the upper right corner of the Rocket will be gone.
-- [Sent in by sin@iconnect.net]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Not sure.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
POW madness: [Screen shots: 1, 2, 3]
In World 7-1, pick up the POW and go to the end. Jump on an Albatoss and ride it all the way to the left. Throw the POW, and if you pull up the Rocket right away, it will shoot up super fast.
Get a POW block and go near logs that are rolling down a waterfall (try World 1-1). Throw the POW Block, and if you are standing on one of the logs when the POW Block hits the ground, the log will go straight up and off the screen.
You'll get similar results as the glitch above if the POW block hits the ground while you're standing on a Crystal Ball (try World 1-3), (try 3-3 (Sub-Space)), or Turtle Shell (try 1-1).
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movies?: Yes.
Throw a POW block, then quickly pull up some vegetable and throw it. The veggie should fly high in the air.
Throw a POW block, then quickly pull up a Bob-Omb (try World 5-2). He should drop right through the ground. If you go in a door, die, or otherwise leave the area, you'll experience a delayed Bob-Omb explosion...
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes
NESticle movie?: Yes.
-- [Found by David Wonn]
Warp backwards:
In World 6-1, get a Potion from the first vase. Take it to the grass between two cacti that yields a Potion. Do the "Illusion item" glitch as explained above, and make sure you get that Potion as the illusion item! Now go into the cave with all those vases. At this point, your illusion Potion should've turned real by entering the cave. Throw it down, and while in Sub-Space, go down one of the vases. You'll warp to 6-1, the same level you were in! (Any vase that cannot normally be entered in Sub-Space turns into a backwards Warp Zone with this glitch.)
-- [Found by David Wonn]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Didn't check yet.
NESticle movie?: Not yet.
Disappearing Blocks:
This trick is good to do in World 2-3 after beating Tryclyde, where you'll have a doorway and lots of Blocks to work with. Put one or two MBlocks horizontally on top of the door. Pick up another MBlock, and as you're moving, try to throw the MBlock into the bottom corner of one of the MBlocks sitting on the door. If you throw it in the right place, it should go in the exact same spot as one of the MBlocks sitting on the door. The one you threw replaces the one that you threw it into, I guess. This glitch is sorta hard to explain... but once you pull this off, it's easy to duplicate.
-- [Found by Deezer]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Most likely.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Flashing while climbing a vine:
On vines that go all the way to the ground, get on or in front of it, and press and hold Down until you start to flash like you're ready for a super jump. Start climbing the vine, and you'll still be flashing as you climb! If you press Left or Right while on the ground you will cease flashing.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Sub-Space music in the overworld:
Get Starman and immediately enter Sub-Space. Stay there until your time is up and you're thrown back to the overworld. If you're still invincible when you come out, the Sub-Space music will keep playing over and over.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Enemy elevator: [screen shot]
If you throw an enemy, then hit it with another enemy while it's still upside-down, both enemies will shoot straight up. One way to do it is to find a wall or pillar. Hold an enemy while standing on top of another enemy. Press B twice quickly, and if you bounce the first one off the wall you'll have a good chance of pulling off this bug.
Another way is to throw a Shyguy into quicksand, then quickly throw another Shyguy onto the one drowning in the quicksand (try World 2-1). I think they stay upside-down longer while drowning in the quicksand, so this might be an easier way to do it.
-- [Found by David Wonn]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Bob-ombs from Blocks: [screen shot]
Find one of those vases covered with a Block, that when you take off the MBlock, Bob-ombs come out. Pick up the MBlock and throw it down to the side of the vase leaving a one-block-width gap between the MBlock and the vase. Stand behind the MBlock so the Bob-ombs get stuck between the vase and the MBlock, and eventually they'll blow up the vase. Now take the MBlock and throw it where the vase used to be. Scroll the MBlock off the screen, then scroll back. Bob-oms will be emerging from the Block!
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Put holes in Chains / Change the color of Blocks: [Screen shots: 1, 2]
Pick up a Block and jump towards a chain. When the chain is directly behind you, throw the MBlock. It should get stuck in the chain and change to a greyish-blue color. If you jump onto the MBlock and pick it up, the MBlock will revert back to its original color, leaving a hole in the chain in the process! Also, once you get on top of the MBlock, you can do the "flashing while climbing" bug on the chain. This also works on Vines and Ladders.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Floating Blocks:
In doorways created after you beat a boss in any x-3 level, you can throw Blocks on top of sunlight emanating through the door.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: No.
Get at least 2 Blocks, and put one in a corner against a wall. Pick up the other one, run towards the wall and jump, and make sure you are still moving towards the wall in mid-air. Right before you touch the wall, throw the Block and then try to land on top of the one in the corner. If you did this right, the Block you threw should be behind you. Now press B to pick up the MBlock you're standing on, and then jump. The MBlock you threw is now floating in the air! You can do this over and over again until the floating MBlock is too high to jump onto.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Bugs/glitches
Ice Block magic: [screen shot]
In any level with Buster Beetle, stand next to an Ice Block that Buster is heading for, then press the B Button at the same time that Buster Beetle grabs the block. The one Ice Block turn into two, as both of you will end up holding an Ice Block!
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Mario invincibility:
Get to Bowser as anything but small Mario. Stay put, and let Bowser stomp you. Now, as long as you stay on the ground, Bowser can't hurt you, but the next time you jump, you're fair game.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Unfiery Bowser:
Use a P-Wing and fly to Bowser using the lower route after all those Donut Lifts. When you're in Bowser's room, immediately fly up and over the wall on your left. As soon as you get over, drop all the way down, then fly all the way back to the room you started in. When Bowser appears, nothing will happen when he tries to breathe fire.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Strange #2: [screen shot]
In world 4-3, make your way over to the second instance of those wooden blocks. There should be three brick blocks above you, one containg a 1-Up. Walk over a little more and you'll see a Spiny walking upside-down on some bricks, and a Buzzy Beetle walking on top of the same bricks. When you see this, don't get too close to the Spiny, or it'll drop down. Instead, walk slowly over and stand under the first block of that platform. When the Buzzy Beetle is above you, jump so you kill him as you hit the block. The Spiny will also die, and you didn't even touch it!
-- [Found by Deezer]
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Bowser's "secret" room:
In World 8-Castle of Koopa, go in the highest door at the end of the Donut Lift part. You should be in a room with donut lifts, Bowser statues, and at the end Bowser starts fireballs at you even though he's in the next room. Anyway, squat and fly (easiest with a P-Wing) and land on top of the last Bowser statue's head. Stand up and Mario will "moonwalk" through the wall to another room! It's not really a new room, per se. It's just a duplicate of the room you'll enter if you don't take the highest route during the donut lift part of the Castle.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Gray Mario: [screen shot]
As Tanooki Mario, press B as you go down a pipe. If your timing is perfect, Mario will turn gray, but not into a statue.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Gray Hammer Mario: [screen shot]
Enter World 7-8 with a Tanooki Suit. Go down the pipe that leads to the secret room that contains a Hammer Brother Suit. Hit the Giant ? Block to sprout the Hammer Brother Suit. Stand in a place where you think it will bounce on you, and press Down and B to turn into a statue. If you get the Hammer Brother Suit while you're in statue form, you will be Hammer Brother Mario, but gray! The bad thing about this cool bug is that you can't go up the pipe at the end; you're stuck in the secret room.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No. Instead of gray, Mario will be bronze.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Suicide:
In World 5-Fortress, jump up to wedge yourself between the exit (3rd) pipe and the left wall. Jump a few more times and you will get smashed and lose a life.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Sort of. Mario will get stuck, but he won't get killed.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Change the color of stuff: [Screen shots: 1, 2]
This bug is really hard to explain.... Just uhhh mess around with kicking a shell into an object just as you scroll that object off the screen. Scroll back and sometimes it has changed color! Usually the object turns green or something.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Find hidden Blocks:
In stages with the starry background, you can tell where the hidden Blocks are because the stars are a different color.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: No.
Warp to BOOM-BOOM:
In World 3-Fortress, go in the third door and press Up again fast, and you'll go straight to BOOM-BOOM.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Most likely.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Invisible Mario:
In World 3-9, squat on the white block for 5 seconds. When you drop down behind the background, go down the pipe at the end of the dry land. You won't be able to see Mario in the water.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
Wall jump:
If you jump at a wall just right, you'll "catch" the wall with your foot, and you'll be able to jump off the wall! This has many practical uses, such as in the beginning of World 6-9. Have small Mario jump off the ice blocks into the wall of ice. When Mario touches the wall, jump again and he should make it over the top. Go right and you'll find the end of the stage!
Note: This glitch requires a perfect jump, and perfect timing.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
A strange : [screen shot]
In World 3-9 at the part with the Para-Goomba, have small Mario hit the sixth Block on the left to sprout a Super . Let it go past that Block, then bump the from underneath again and the Para-Goomba will die.
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: No.
NESticle movie?: Yes.
World 5-1 treasure box glitch: (Japanese version only)
Use a P-Wing before entering World 5-1. After coming out the other side of the pipe that leads to the goal, fly up and over the wall on your left. Travel left on the top of the wall, and you'll hear the treasure-box-appearance sound effect. (You are on the ceiling of the bonus area that you can reach by flying straight up at the beginning of the world.) Go back down, and head for the goal. The Nipper Plant under the Roulette Block has transformed into an object that constantly changes from a "5UP" sprite to a Warp Whistle and back again!
Stranger still, after you hit the Roulette Block, a treasure box will appear! If you hit the Roulette Block with an average jump, the treasure box will appear on the left; if you still have the P-Wing, try to time your tail-flaps in the air so that Mario hits the Roulette Block and continues to fly up a little more, which will cause the treasure box to appear on the right because Mario was flying up instead of moving right (like the treasure boxes in the Wandering Hammer Brother battles, this one appears on the side of the screen that is farthest away from Mario). If you get the treasure box to appear on the right, Mario will collect both the Music Box from the treasure box and the card from the Roulette Block, although the graphics will glitch a little and replace the "Course clear! You got a card" message with scrambled background graphics.
(This will only work in the Japanese version because the English version has no tall wall near the goal. See the SMB3: From Japanese to English page for more details.)
Fixed in Super Mario All-Stars?: Yes.
NESticle movie?: No.
Super Mario All-Stars
Bugs/glitches
Super Mario Bros.
Points for the patient: [screen shots: 1, 2]
(Also works in the "Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels" mode.)
In any Bowser level (x-4 worlds), stomp the axe when the timer reaches zero. (You may want to fireball Bowser out of the way first.) Mario will go save the Retainer as usual, but then the timer shoots up to 999 and starts counting down to 0, giving you 50,000 points! As you may remember in the original SMB/SMB2(J), you do not get the 50-points-per-remaining-timer-second bonus in the Bowser levels, but in SMAS, you do. Therefore, this bug will not work in the original NES/Famicom versions of SMB/SMB2(J).
-- [Sent in by Nicholas Harvey]
ZSNES movie available here.
Check out the Super Mario Bros. bugs page for original bugs that still exist in this mode of Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario Bros. 2
Check out the Super Mario Bros. 2 bugs page for original bugs that still exist in this mode of Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario Bros. 3
Battle Game bug:
Choose any SMB3 save slot, then enter the Battle Game from the title screen. Now, run into an enemy in the Battle Game and immediately let go of all the buttons on your controller. As usual, your character will blink with temporary "post-damage-invincibility," but if you stand still, it can last forever. Your invincibility will go away if you jump, move, or if the other player touches you, hits you from below, or hits the POW Block.
-- [Found by Deezer]
ZSNES movie available here.
Check out the Super Mario Bros. 3 bugs page for original bugs that still exist in this mode of Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Points for the patient:
Same as the glitch in the Super Mario Bros. mode.
Check out the Super Mario Bros. 2 (Japan) bugs page for original bugs that still exist in this mode of Super Mario All-Stars.
Super Mario World
Bugs/glitches
Freeze the game:
Bring Yoshi into a level with Berries, and you must be either Caped Mario with a Fire Flower in reserve, or Fiery Mario with a Cape Feather in reserve. Position Yoshi's mouth directly underneath a Berry, and then press Select to drop your item in reserve. Time a jump so that Yoshi's mouth eats the Berry as Mario collects the item in reserve, and the game will freeze up. The only way out is to reset the SNES, or press Start then Select to exit the level.
There is a cool variation of this glitch that not only freezes the screen, but increases your Coin total forever, eventually giving you 99 extra lives. This seems to happen rarely, and when the item in reserve is collected a fraction of a second after Yoshi's mouth touches the Berry. A good place to practice this is in Yoshi's Island 2.
ZSNES movies available here.
Killer corner:
Bring small Mario into Chocolate Island 4. When you start the level, immediately turn around and walk the short distance to the left wall. Keep facing left, and then release Left the Control Pad, letting Mario slowly slide down the slope a little. Then press B to jump, and try to hit Mario's back on that corner sticking out of the ceiling. If you hit it just right, Mario will get killed.
-- [Sent in by Juan Pablo Peloso]
ZSNES movie available here.
Anti-gravity room: [Screen shots: 1, 2]
Enter Vanilla Dome 2. Make sure you are Fiery Mario (keep a Cape Feather in reserve for more fun) by the time you bring the first P-Switch over to your left, where you'll run through a thin wall of Coins and into a bunch of brown blocks. Stomp the P-Switch, and collect some Coins from the bottom row (run and duck). Keep ducking until the P-Switch's power stops and the Coins change back to brown blocks. Then, spin jump until you drop down into the wall. Inside this wall is particularly special because any object inside that isn't touching Mario will float from side to side. To see what I mean, shoot some fireballs; they won't bounce... instead they shoot straight to the other side! With careful planning you can take Yoshi with you, and even the P-Switch. Leave them above you inside the wall and watch them float back and forth.
-- [Sent in by Juan Pablo Peloso]
ZSNES movie available here.
Play that funky music...:
Bring Yoshi to Funky. Wait for the timer to drop under 100, then when the music speeds up, eat a Green Berry to take the timer back over 100. When the timer drops under 100 again, the music will speed up again! Repeat this process, and see how fast you can get the music to go.
Magic Mouth #1:
Bring Yoshi and Caped Mario into Donut Secret 2. At the part near the end with the lone Koopa Troopa and 2-3 Spinys, have Yoshi eat the Koopa, then fly up above the pipe next to the wall of red Winged Koopa Troopas. Make sure you can see the goal, then spit out the shell. You'll see the "shell" is really a cycling conglomeration of stuff. To get a better look, spit it inside the pipe that hangs down. Anyway, when you spit it out, the goal tape will disappear, and you can walk through the goal without clearing the course. To get the tape back, fly over the pipe and come back.
-- [Sent in by Chomp]
ZSNES movie available here.
Magic Mouth #2:
Make sure you have the Green and Red Switch Palaces cleared, and bring Yoshi and Caped Mario into Star World 4. Get all the way to the Key, and have Yoshi eat it. Run and fly to your left, hitting all the Green [!] Blocks. Get all the feathers, then get up on the platform with the Koopa that kicks a shell. Spit out the Key and it you'll see that it turned into a deformed spinning thing. If you spit it between the two pipes, you can experiment a little. You'll notice that Mario cannot stomp it, nor can it hurt Mario or enemies. But if you make Yoshi eat it, you'll get a Cape Feather.
-- [Sent in by Chomp]
ZSNES movie available here.
Double Yoshi:
Chocolate Island 5 is the best area for this, but it can be done anywhere with similar conditions. Start off with Caped Mario without Yoshi. Fly up from the start to get the Gray P-Switch and put it down on top of the blue P-Switch. If you have it in the right spot you can pick both up at once. Now, throw them both up at the block containing Yoshi. You'll notice Yoshi will sprout out quicker than usual. Mount Yoshi, then leave him on the blocks below. Go back up top and jump as if Yoshi had just sprouted out. You'll hear the zip-zoo sound, but you'll be walking around like normal. Hit the P-Switch to turn the blocks into coins, and Yoshi will fall down the pit. The second Yoshi will appear where Mario is standing!
-- [Found by David Wonn]
ZSNES movie available here.
The magic Coin:
In Donut Secret 2, have Yoshi spit a shell at the first ? Block. A faster music theme should play as a line of Coins trickles from the block. Eat the Coin that moves, and now the faster music will stay on until you beat the stage.
Walk through walls:
In Valley of Bowser 2, make your way to the maze with the rising and falling floor. Get under an overhang of some sort, and duck. When the floor starts to rise, keep ducking until just before you're about to get smashed, then spin jump. If all goes well, Mario will go through the wall! I'm not sure if this works with small Mario yet.
ZSNES movie available here.
Buns of steel
Sliding down on these enemies will result in some really weird symbols after you defeat them... Though it's just a graphics glitch, it looks like Mario totally smashed that enemy!
Iggy and Larry Koopa's fireballs (shell-in-the-lava bosses) - Let them chuck a fireball at you, then slide into it.
Grinder - In Forest Fortress, slide down the Triangular Blocks into the Grinders.
If you have a Game Genie, use a unlimited invincibilty code and you'll see similar effects if you kill stuff that's not supposed to be killed, like a Blargg, for example.
ZSNES movie available here.
Confused Spike Top:
In Vanilla Dome 1, jump over the first Spike Top, then follow him back to the left. When he gets to the end, he will climb around the very left edge.
Forever Grab Block:
In Valley of Bowser 2, take a Grab Block through the pipe to the Goal, and it will never "melt" in your hands.
Forever cloud ride:
Shoot a fireball at a Lakitu that's riding in a cloud, and make sure you get the Coin! Now, jump in his cloud, and it will last forever.
Gray Buzzy Beetle shell:
In Donut Plains 2, carry a Buzzy Beetle shell through the pipe to the Goal. When you come out, the shell has turned gray, and the beetle inside won't come out!
Color-changing pipes:
In Donut Secret 1, swim up the first pipe to a room with coins and a P-Balloon. Notice the pipes in that room are orange. Now get the P-Balloon, and float as far up as you can. When you come back down, the pipes are now green! For a variation, get the P-Balloon then float all the way over to the right (just to make this easier) then float up. If you don't go any farther up than two or three block heighths below the group of two Coins close to the wall, when you come back down, the bottom of the pipes are green, and the rest is orange! You can change one-third to two-thirds of the pipe green depending on how high up you float.
ZSNES movie available here.
Clogged chimney:
Go to Yoshi's House and just keep pressing the L and R buttons. Sometimes the birds will pause, and the smoke from the fireplace will skip. If you're lucky, the smoke will then spaz out. It's hard to describe but you'll know it when you see it. Re-enter Yoshi's House if you can't get it to work after a minute or so.
Magic fireballs:
At the start of #2 Morton's Castle, go past the Twimps and you will get to an escalator. Shoot fireballs on and around the spinning blocks at either end of the escalator. If all goes well, the fireballs will teleport above you. It's hard to explain so just try it! This works with the escalator in #7 Larry's Castle also.
ZSNES movie available here.
9,999,990: [Screen shot]
Get a cape and find a bunch of Wigglers close together. Hold Y and B as you jump on them one after the other without touching the ground. As usual, you will get more and more points for each one you stomp, then eventually 1UP, 2UP, 3UP. Each time after 3UP you will get a bunch of weird symbols, some coins, and a TON of points. The last time I did this I went from 6,714,540 to 7,247,020 to 7,799,980 to 7,912,620 points with each jump.
Ideal course: Forest of Illusion 1. A bit after the Midway Gate, there are floating logs with 3 Wigglers roaming across them. Jump on them and keep scrolling back and forth so they change from mad (red) to normal so you can stomp them again.
ZSNES movie available here.
Keyhole craziness:
Jump off Yoshi to an area where there is a Key and keyhole above Mario and not visible on your screen. Make sure the screen does not scroll up to the keyhole. Take the Key and insert it into the keyhole. The keyhole will expand from the center of the screen instead of from the actual keyhole.
Ideal course: Donut Plains 1.
ZSNES movie available here.
Glitchity graphics:
In Chocolate Island 3, bring Yoshi to the first Goal. Get on the block that sprouts the vine, jump up, then jump off Yoshi. Just like the 'misplaced keyhole' bug above, you want to get on this platform without the screen scrolling up. Now go through the goal. When the course clear spotlight thingie focuses in on the bottom of the screen, your screen will flicker. Sometimes the screen will turn black and the game will freeze up. If it doesn't, you'll go back to the map screen like normal... except the colors will be all messed up. Next time you go in a level, the colors will be back to normal, but you'll have several black vertical lines in the background. Reset the SNES to get the game back to normal.
WARNING: One time, when the screen completely froze, some weird music kept looping, and I had to reset the SNES. When the game came back, all my saved games were erased! Who knows what else can happen....
ZSNES movie available here.
Invisible object:
In certain areas, there are invisible objects that, when Yoshi touches with his tongue, will make a thumping noise similar to when Yoshi tries to eat stuff like keyholes. There are two known invisible objects:
Yoshi's Island 3: At the first orange pipe, stand somewhere under the two coins. Face left, and hold Up as you shoot out Yoshi's tongue. The invisible object is somewhere below the coins and above the pit.
Top Secret Area: Stand somewhere under the two ? Blocks on the left. Face right, and hold Up as you shoot out Yoshi's tongue. The invisible object is somewhere below and to the left of the middle ? Block.
ZSNES movie available here.
Block factory: [Screen shots: 1, 2]
I still do not fully understand this bug, and it's really hard to explain. It usually happens when there's a bunch of blocks around you. Pick up an item like a P-Switch or something, and jump. Try to kick the item into a block and hit your head on a block in rapid succession (or possibly even simultaneously). Sometimes a block will appear out of nowhere! The type of block you can create depends on your location.
Ideal course: Chocolate Island 5. Pick up the P-Switch and use it as your item with the square of blocks above you. You can create lots of Rotating Blocks.
In Donut Plains 1, take the key and use it as your item with the wall of Green ! Blocks. You can create a few Green ! Blocks here.
-- [Found by Deezer]
ZSNES movie available here.
Smashola:
Find an area with lots of Rotating Blocks. Get a cape, and spin jump while rapidly pressing Y and either Left or Right on the Control Pad. Sometimes you will travel really fast through the blocks and end up getting smashed against a wall, and in certain situations you will even end up in a wall.
Ideal course: Star World 1.
ZSNES movie available here.
Magic Yoshi:
Get hit by an enemy the same instant you hit a block that contains Yoshi. Jump up to mount Yoshi, and Mario will bounce in mid-air above him, and then land on him. For each bounce, the mounting-Yoshi "Zip-zoo" sound effect will play, creating a stuttering sound effect like: "Z-z-z-z-z-zip-zoo". But wait, there's more! Throw Yoshi down a pit, then go back to where you got Yoshi. He should be there again!
The few times that I ever pulled this off was in Donut Plains 1, where you have the Super Koopa flying at you as you pass a ? Block that contains Yoshi. You may have to use your cape to hit the block as you get hit by the enemy.
-- [Found by Deezer]
ZSNES movie available here.
Displaced object:
If you have Yoshi, sometimes if you're eating Berries and moving/turning around real erratic, you will leave a Berry in mid-air, motionless. It's pretty weird and rather hard to explain.
Ideal course: Yoshi's House.
If you have Baby Yoshi, sometimes when you're eating your fifth enemy for Yoshi to become "big", you'll eat the enemy but sorta leave him behind as well. The enemy drops to the background and you can't stomp it or touch it, and the enemy cannot affect you as well. Again, rather hard to explain.
Ideal course: Star World 4.
ZSNES movies available here.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Bugs/glitches
Where am I?:
In World 3-1 or 4-7 (easiest in 4-7), find the Spring Ball that leads to a bonus area. Spring off of the ball, but hold Left on the Control Pad as you're flying upwards. Instead of going to the bonus area, you might end up high in the sky of another area. If you are carrying any Huffin Puffins from 4-7, they'll turn into glitched red blobs of some sort. Anyway, once you make it here, repeatedly flutter jump to the right until you can't go any farther, then flutter to the left as far as you can. Keep going back and forth, and eventually you'll scroll up some land. You have now arrived back in World 1-1! You'll still have everything you collected from the level you came from, and anything else you get will be counted towards the level you came from. Although you can rack up MORE than 100 points from playing in two levels, the game will not award you more than 100 when you pass through the goal ring.
-- [Sent in by Nicholas Harvey]
ZSNES movie available here.
Compressed blocks:
In World 2-1, get past the part where you're automatically scrolling up a tall shaft with blocks constantly falling down. Go to the right until you see a big Spring Ball, and a tall wall above you to the right. Shoot an egg up the right side of the wall to reveal a Winged Cloud. Shoot the cloud for a ! Switch. Step on the Switch, then press Down on the Control Pad where you see a red arrow pointing down. Once you enter the bonus area, just go up the pipe on the left to exit. Now, go back to where the the tall shaft was with the falling blocks. The falling blocks have reset, and you'll see the big smashed mess of blocks fall all at once, making a long earthquake as they hit the ground. If you go down the shaft to explore, you won't be able to get back up...
-- [Sent in by Nicholas Harvey]
Message Block glitch:
In 2-7 (Lakitu's Wall), eat at least one fat Shy Guy to give Yoshi a huge egg. Go through the course up to the part with the Message Block and the car morph bubble thing. Shoot the big egg straight up at the Message Block. The egg will hit the block twice, causing the screen to go crazy. Yoshi will disappear, the stars will come to the foreground, and you might even get a small message text box lingering on the screen. Even though Yoshi is gone, you can still move around. For a real challenge, try finishing the level! If you make it through the goal ring, the game will freeze up.
-- [Sent in by Chomp]
Koopa in a Hill:
In World 4-5, go to the last big hill and kill the two Beach Koopas (Koopas without shells). If the Koopa with a shell is walking up the hill, jump on him so when he pops out of his shell, he goes up the hill. Let him climb back in his shell, and while he is still shaking stomp him again. If he goes upward, he will be stuck in the hill!
-- [Sent in by Dreemz]
ZSNES movie available here.
Yoshi Copperfield:
In Extra 3, there is a spinning platform next to the first Flower in the stage (which is blocked by a wall). Jump on the spinning platforms, and face left. When Yoshi's back hits the wall, rapidly tap Left on the Control Pad a few times, and Yoshi will go through the wall!
ZSNES movie available here.